The TEN: 4/6/2020

(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)

1. Former New Orleans Saints/ Rams kicker Tom Dempsey passed away at the age of 73 due to complications from the coronavirus. Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right kicking foot, was best known for kicking a then record 63-yard field goal for the Saints in 1970.

2. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is donating over 10,000 N95 masks to the Indiana State Department of Health to be distributed to hospitals in need to help protect doctors and nurses working with COVID-19 patients.

3. The North-South High School All-Star football game, which was scheduled for May, was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis game coordinator Hector Spathias said.

4. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett headline the Class of 2020 that will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August.

5. Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander will donate his weekly paycheck during the coronavirus shutdown to organizations that are helping with relief efforts.

6. CIF announced that high school spring sports are officially canceled for the year due to the coronavirus crisis.

7. Former Houston Astros catcher Evan Gattis said that “we obviously cheated baseball and cheated the fans. I feel bad for fans.”

8. On this day on 1992 Duke beat Michigan 71-51 to give the Blue Devils and Coach Mike Krzyzewski back to back NCAA titles.

9. Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, who was the first African American player to sign with the Washington Redskins, passed away Sunday at the age of 84.

10. “One time I fell asleep in the dugout. I was wearing Oakleys so nobody really knew until someone hit a homer and I didn’t get up to give high 5’s. In my defense it was a day game after a night game.” – Former MLB pitcher Dan Haren via Twitter.

7 Comments to "The TEN: 4/6/2020"

  1. Dodger Fan's Gravatar Dodger Fan
    April 10, 2020 - 7:25 pm | Permalink

    @#7. You think he is going to give his check back? Sorry my !%&#.

  2. ?'s Gravatar ?
    April 7, 2020 - 5:48 pm | Permalink

    There maybe a few sports that a high school player can play with physical distancing and of course no fans.Tennis, singles only, high diving, some track and field like pole vault and shot put and maybe golf.

  3. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    April 7, 2020 - 2:49 pm | Permalink

    @ Question Mark: You made some excellent points.
    Looking strictly at high school football, we could very well have an abbreviated season, or no season at all, if there’s a resurgence of the coronavirus during the fall. It would also mean another disruption for the economy and for instructional programs in schools across the country.
    If the disease becomes dormant during our warmer months, we should use that time wisely and at least finish the currently half-completed spring semester. Getting our economy back to some semblance of normality for a few months would be immensely helpful for everyone, too. (Again, none of this can happen unless the disease becomes dormant at some point.)
    It looks like our war against the coronavirus won’t be won until our scientists develop a vaccine that is reliable and safe.
    Most of the estimates as to when a vaccine might become available to the public range from at least a year to 18 months from now. I will definitely be in line for that vaccination, because this disease is deadlier than a common flu strain.
    The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 hit the U.S. in three waves: during the spring of 1918, the fall of ’18, and the spring of 1919. What was known as the Spanish Flu (which was a misnomer) took 675,000 lives in this country, a death toll that would be equivalent to two million today.
    That is why we are currently maintaining social distance and good health practices, such as frequent handwashing, until we can come up with a vaccine or effective treatments for the coronavirus.
    For the time being, we will have to be patient and wait this thing out.

  4. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    April 6, 2020 - 9:33 pm | Permalink

    @ #6: Many school districts in L.A. County, including the Alhambra district, have announced that their campuses will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
    District administrators and school boards are evidently adhering to the tone set by the superintendent of the L.A. County Office of Education, who went on local television Friday to recommend that schools not be reopened until at least summer.
    But—if I heard her correctly—she held out the possibility that summer school could proceed as currently planned.
    Of course, everything that happens will depend on the coronavirus and how effectively we, as individuals and as a society, respond to it. I believe we should proceed based on the best judgment of our public health professionals.
    However, in the event that the coronavirus threat has almost completely dissipated by late May, wouldn’t it be sensible to make up most of the lost instructional time in June and July, instead of having summer school?
    One might think our decision-makers in the field of public education would at least start planning for such a contingency right now, instead of just giving up and assuming that the rest of spring semester is unsalvageable.
    Shouldn’t the idea of bringing the regular academic term to a decent conclusion be given the highest priority?
    I believe our educational officials are getting it backwards. Their defeatist attitude could have an especially negative effect on high school seniors, who are facing the prospect of not only missing SAT and AP exams, but of also having incomplete spring-semester grades.

  5. ?'s Gravatar ?
    April 6, 2020 - 8:11 pm | Permalink

    With LA County not expected to peak until sometime in May and then plateau for awhile, summer and fall football can expect the axe. The reason is the virus is expected to return in force in the fall cooler weather. Dr. Fauci said we should expect our lives will never fully return to what they were before Covid-19.

  6. My Two Cents's Gravatar My Two Cents
    April 6, 2020 - 5:23 pm | Permalink

    #2) Come on Jim, 10,000 masks only? I hope it isn’t true. Players are donating six figures and he’s an owner of an NFL team.

  7. Ten's Gravatar Ten
    April 6, 2020 - 9:38 am | Permalink

    Watching or reading about baseball is my go-to sleep aid as well.

Leave a Reply