joetemple Wrote:

This is actually kinda cool. You can virtually effect the fake, piped in crowd noise of MLB games for all 2020 games, with an app. From my understanding the fake crowd noise is coming from an MLB video game that stadium crews will manipulate in real time. FOX is also doing digital crowds too, which I think is a step too far, but may be cool as well.

Basically you can use the MLB app, website or even social media to virtually Boo, Cheer or Clap during the game, chose which team you are reacting to, and the stadium can use a % of that info to adjust the fake crowd noise volumes and type of crowd noise they use. Looks like they even have emojis built in; not sure how that will translate in real time with the live game.

New MLB app feature lets fans remotely send cheers, jeers into empty stadiums

Their updated plan seems a lot more feasible, but I still question if it will still work, especially if there is a major spike in cases in a city or cities that a major league team plays in. I can certainly see a big city mayor or governor bring the hammer down if a second or third wave of infections is spreading unchecked throughout a city.

There's nothing I'd love more than to watch my beloved Cubs play the Sox 30 times this season, but I have a feeling the MLB is getting a little ahead of themselves.

I have to admit I was shocked when I first heard this and actually assumed it was a hoax. Tom Brady leaving the Patriots and *not* retiring? It had to be fake!

There's easily 10 teams that would pay pretty much anything to have Brady, even with him being 42 (43 when the season starts). They may not offer him a ten year contract, but I bet he has a minimum of 2-3 good years left in him.

The Patriots are crazy for letting him go after all he's done for them. I'm actually speechless that they allowed it to happen.

Coronavirus has come for major league sports and it's come with a vengeance. Every major sport currently in season (and preseason) has suspended all activities for varying lengths of time.

The NBA season has been suspended for a minimum of two weeks after two Utah Jazz players have tested positive for the virus. After the two-week hiatus, the NBA will reevaluate and announce their path forward.

The NHL has proactively suspended the season for a yet-to-be-determined length of time. No NHL player has tested positive for the virus as of this writing, but many NHL teams share arena's (and locker rooms) with NBA teams and see the writing on the wall when it comes to large gatherings in many major cities.

Major League Baseball is all-but-certain to follow suit, but has not made any announcement. However, multiple news reports have leaked that an announcement is expected by the end of today (3/12).

And Major League Soccer has suspended their season for a minimum of 30 days with the option to extend it as needed.

Needless to say, major sports teams are taking this virus very seriously. Sports bring us together as a community, but they are a double edged sword during a viral outbreak that has no known vaccine. Arena's, especially indoor ones, are giant petri dishes and can spread an illness in a matter of minutes or hours.

I applaud the major sports for being so proactive and only hope that these drastic measures help slow the spread of the virus. It will be painful for not just the players and fans, but also the vendors who make a living off of these sports, the servers and bartenders at the restaurants and bars that host watching parties, and on and on down the line.

It's a scary time, but we're a resilient people and will be filling the stadiums again whenever this all subsides.

He's still in "serious condition" at the hospital as of this morning, but thankfully his doctors are saying his injuries aren't life threatening. It's hard to imagine how anyone could have survived a crash like that, so I can't help but give kudos to NASCAR for having safety regulations that prevented this from being a true catastrophe.

What does everyone think about Denny Hamlin's celebration after his victory? I know it's easy to pile on and criticize him for his lack of empathy, but I take him at his word when he says he didn't know about the seriousness of Newman's crash because he had already unhooked his radio. And heck, he just won the biggest race in sports. I'd be celebrating, too. I do give him props for clearing the air and, while not necessarily apologizing, at least clarifying why he celebrated the way he did after crossing the finish line.

President Trump took a page out of George W. Bush's playbook, flyover and all. It is a made for TV moment having the airport so close to the track and there's no better way to get your fans riled up than arriving to a venue on Air Force One. The lap around the track in his motorcade was a nice touch, as well.

When it comes to the race - it was a shame it had to be postponed. It's the biggest race of the year and now a large number of the who would have been watched it, at least on television, won't be able to anymore.

I agree that these all seem really neat and will make the game a lot more exciting. Maybe it's not great for kickers who have been in the league for a long time, but who ever tunes into a game to watch their favorite kicker?!

Of all of the new rules that the NFL may eventually consider, I like the 1, 2 & 3 point options for PAT's. I also really like that the defense can score in those scenarios.

It will be interesting to see if the NFL takes any of these ideas seriously. Hopefully they will.

When I first saw this reported I thought it had to be a hoax, but sadly it isn't.

If it weren't bad enough, his daughter was on board the helicopter too. I can't even begin to imagine what his wife is going through right now. It's so sad.