By Tim Peterson
While waiting in line outside of Ralphs at 7:00 o’clock in the morning in my quest for hand sanitizer and toilet paper I was thinking didn’t Kobe Bryant pass away about a year ago?
When it was announced that Bryant along with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan would headline the 2020 class for the basketball Hall of Fame inductees my first thought was “well deserved.” My second thought was, at least in my mind, that it had been about six months to a year or so since his helicopter crash. So I looked it up only to find out it was January 26th. January 26th! That was just over two months ago! How time doesn’t fly when you’re not having fun.
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While pulling on my gloves to get ready to pump gas at Chevron I was thinking there are still at least five local high school head coaching positions that have yet to be filled. Arcadia, Mt. View, Gabrielino, Nogales and La Puente are still open. The school year has already been ruled done for this year which would take it to June. So if things open up then, and that’s a big if at this point, those schools will be scrambling to get a new coach in place before summer practices begin. Also to hire a new coach after everybody has been sent home for the school year could cause problems. Once school administration makes a decision, board approval is needed as well. Then once that process is complete and a head coach is hired he still needs to put a staff together. And all of this needs to be done in a matter of a couple of weeks.
Of course, this is also contingent on the football season even taking place. Former Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser may have had the best idea proposing a 7-game season that begins in the middle of September if they are locked out until August. By then all of the head coaches need to be in place.
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While putting on my homemade mask to go through the drive-through at Popeyes I was thinking Major League Baseball may have it right. The plan that the league is focused on would have the season starting as early as May with all of the games being played in the Phoenix, Arizona area. The games would be played with no fans and coronavirus testing would be implemented through out the entire season. All of the parks are a few minutes from each other and players, coaching staff and other team personnel would be sequestered at local hotels, where they would live in relative isolation and travel only to and from the stadium. Social distancing and strict isolation would be in place and would definitely have to be adhered to for the plan to work. This plan would allow MLB to be the first professional sport to return. Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it doable? Absolutely. Is it worth the risk? That’s the question.
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While wondering why paper towels are such a hot commodity during this crisis, I was thinking does anybody else keep forgetting that Tom Brady is no longer the quarterback of the New England Patriots? And are you trying to forget that he’s now the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I still won’t believe it until I see Brady lining up behind center in Buccaneer gear. I might be a little behind here though. I thought “Tiger King” was a Tiger Woods documentary.
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While washing my hands again for 20 seconds I was thinking if Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson doesn’t like the logo, it probably isn’t a good logo. it’s hard believe that the Rams front office is so infatuated with the new logo that even a plea from Dickerson was dismissed. The only way they may come around is if it hits them in the wallet. Where can we buy the gear with the old logo? This one needs to go.
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While trying to decide if working at home is better or worse than working at the office I was thinking, I don’t care how long we go without live sports on TV, I’m not watching professional athletes play video games against each other. Sorry, not happening. Live PD has much more action. Dan Abrams may be the best play by play guy on the air right now. And you gotta love Sean “Sticks” Larkin on commentary.
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While searching my bookshelf for something that I haven’t read at least three times already, I was thinking the last sporting event I covered was the LA Galaxy game on March 7th at Dignity Health Sports Park. Man, I even miss soccer now.
Stay safe.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40.
Paper Towels?
There’s plenty of TP here.
My jonesing for sports is so bad,I found myself watching a rerun of the Women’s National Championship Cornhole tournament last week. My eyes will never recover.
While searching dating.com I’m wondering if I’ll ever kiss a girl again.
The Arcadia hire only needs the approval of their Board of Ed. I think local peeps will raise an eyebrow, indeed.
Who took the MV job?
From T. Peterson: Paul Rodriguez – see story posted.
Outstanding column, Tim. Oh, the things we have taken for granted; we might not view them in quite the same way again after this public health crisis is over.
I share your opinion about the Rams’ new logo. Is that the best one they can come up with, after all this time?
As for the Rams’ home and road uniforms, they should go back to the ones that were unveiled in 1973, after Chuck Knox took over as the head coach. They were fairly simple, but also colorful and sharp-looking.
The Mt. View job has been filled.
Reading this gave me a sense of normality! Thank you Tim.