2020 Wimbledon cancelled due to COVID-19

On Tuesday morning the AELTC made an announcement that many people suspected would happen- 2020 Wimbledon has been cancelled due to COVID-19. 

This will be the first Wimbledon event to be cancelled by something other than a war conflict. The last Wimbledon tournament that had been cancelled occurred during World War 2.

Wimbledon joins an ever increasing list of sports events that won't be delayed by outright cancelled due to COVID-19. Amongst them are all NCAA Spring Sports as well as the winter sport championships, the XFL, Major League Rugby, the AFL Women's Playoffs, and the entrie 2020 NPSL season. 

NBC makes select NBCS Gold subscriptions free for a limited time

NBC has become the latest sports subscription service to make some events available for free. The entire NBC Sports Gold package, including Premier League Pass, has been made available for a limited time.

NBC Sports Gold has the following packages available: 

PGA Tour Live (Free access through May 17) 

 Premier League Pass (Free access through April 30) 

Premier Lacrosse League Pass (Free access through April 9) 

IndyCar Pass (Free access through May 31) 

Trackpass (Free access through May 1) 

Pro Motocross Pass (Free access through May 1) 

Track and Field Pass (Free access through April 25) 

Rugby Pass (Free access through May 1) 

Snow Pass (Free access through May 1) 

Cycling Pass (Free access through May 1)

Each service provides a full archive of past events and matches. For example the entire recent Rugby World Cup is available on Rugby Pass, every Premier League match is available on Premier League Pass, past IndyCar races are on IndyCar Pass while NASCAR races are on Track Pass, and past Tour de France races are on Cycling Pass. Needless to say this is a lot of content that is free for a limited time. 

To learn more about the various services and sign up (if you're interested), please visit https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/free-access.

NBCS Gold joins the ever increasing list of sports subscription services making content available for free thanks to COVID-19. Others providing free content include the NFL, NBA, WWE Network, B/R Live, and the WNBA. 

WNBA becomes the latest sports service to make classic games available for free

Due to COVID-19 a large number of sports organizations have made their libraries free for either a limited time or until the Pandemic has offically included. Amongst that group have been the NFL, NBA, WWE Network, B/R Live, and others. On Monday the WNBA announced they would become the latest service to join the throng when they made WNBA League Pass available for free for a limited time. 

The free trial is a 30-day period that will be available through April 30, meaning if you sign up now you'll have it until the end of April and if you sign up sometime in April, you'll have it available into May.

"I know the evolving situation around the coronavirus pandemic is challenging and that social distancing, among other CDC and government recommendations has us all feeling a bit confined," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a letter to the fans. "It is an admirable reflection of how we're all taking to heart our responsibility to look out for one another. Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to those who are impacted by the pandemic."

The entire library of games is available, not just the most recent season. If you are interested in accessing this content, visit https://leaguepass.wnba.com/packages for more information. 

2020 Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony to take place on July 23, 2021

After offically postponing the games to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori announced that the new opening ceremony date for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be July 23, 2021. The announcement was made Monday morning. 

Some events could begin two days before the opening ceremonies, meaning the games themselves could begin July 21, 2021. The new closing ceremony date was also announced as August 8, 2021.

It was also revealed that there had been some discussion for having the games in the Spring, but ultimately summer was decided on so that the Olympiad wouldn't clash with the end of the European soccer season. 

Additional details and quotes are available on the ESPN website. 

MLB Opening Day 2020 will feature "Special Streaming" games for every team

Tomorrow was supposed to be opening day 2020 for Major League Baseball. Instead the league finds itself like many others- waiting out COVID-19.

Rather than do nothing to celebrate what would be opening day, MLB has decided to air 30 different classic games on MLB.com and various MLB Interactive Accounts. Each game will be a classic win for the teams and will be a mixture of RSN and national broadcasts. Additionally select classic MLB broadcasts will be televised on MLB Network, FS1, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes. 

Below is the schedule of games that will air and where you can find them. 

As a quick reminder, all the streaming games will be available on MLB.com in addition to the accounts mentioned. TV games can be found on their respective apps (MLB, Fox Sports, and ESPN). 

MLB Network 

1 PM- 1996 Opening Day: New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians 

4 PM- 2013 Opening Day: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers 

6 PM- 2017 Opening Day: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks 

9 PM- 2005 Opening Day: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies 

FS1

7 PM- 2016 World Series Gm. 7: Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians 

10 PM- 2001 World Series Gm. 7: Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Yankees 

ESPN2

6 PM- 2019 Home Run Derby

8 PM- 2018 Home Run Derby

10 PM- 2017 Home Run Derby 

12 AM- 2015 Home Run Derby

ESPN Deportes 

2 PM  & 7 PM- 2019 Home Run Derby

MLB YouTube

8:30 AM- MILWAUKEE BREWERS 

Oct 4, 2018 vs. Colorado Rockies

NLDS Gm. 1

Noon- LOS ANGELES ANGELS 

May 26, 2018 vs. New York Yankees 

Trout 5-for-5 at Yankees Stadium 

3 PM- WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Oct 30, 2019 vs. Houston Astros
World Series, Gm. 7

6:05 PM- CHICAGO CUBS
Nov 2, 2016 vs. Cleveland Indians
World Series Gm. 7

10:30 PM- SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Oct 29, 2014 vs. Kansas City Royals
World Series Gm. 7

MLB VAULT YouTube
1 PM- CINCINNATI REDS
Mar 28, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Opening Day

4 PM- BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Oct 3, 2014 vs. Detroit Tigers
ALDS Gm. 2

MLB Facebook
9 AM- DETROIT TIGERS
June 12, 2007 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Justin Verlander No-Hitter

11 AM- ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Oct 27, 2011 vs. Texas Rangers
World Series Gm. 6

2:50 PM- NEW YORK YANKEES
Oct 16, 2003 vs. Boston Red Sox
ALCS Gm. 7

6 PM- BOSTON RED SOX
Oct 17, 2004 vs. New York Yankees
ALCS Gm. 4

10 PM- ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Nov 4, 2001 vs. New York Yankees
World Series Gm. 7

MLB @ Los Mayores Facebook
9 AM- CLEVELAND INDIANS
Sept 14, 2017 vs. Kansas City Royals
22nd Straight Win

12:15 PM- TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Oct 14, 2015 vs. Texas Rangers
ALDS Gm. 5

3:30 PM- SEATTLE MARINERS
Aug 15, 2012 vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Félix Hernández Perfect Game

6 PM- MIAMI (FLORIDA) MARLINS
Oct 25, 2003 vs. New York Yankees
World Series Gm. 6

9 PM- TEXAS RANGERS
Oct 22, 2010 vs. New York Yankees
ALCS Gm. 6

MLB Twitter

9 AM- PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Aug 15, 2019 vs. Chicago Cubs 

Bryce Harper Walk-Off Grand Slam 

Noon- HOUSTON ASTROS

Sept 1, 2019 vs. Toronto Blue Jays 

Justin Verlander No-Hitter

3 PM- COLORADO ROCKIES 

June 18, 2017 vs. San Francisco Giants 

Arenado Father's Day Walk-Off

6 PM- NEW YORK METS

Oct 15, 2015 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

NLDS Gm. 5

9 PM- LOS ANGELES DODGERS

June 19, 2014 vs. Colorado Rockies 

Clayton Kershaw No-Hitter

MLB @ Los Mayores Twitter
8:30 AM- PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Oct 1, 2013 vs. Cincinnati Reds
NL Wild Card

11:15 AM- MINNESOTA TWINS
Oct 6, 2009 vs. Detroit Tigers
AL Central Tie-Breaker

3:05 PM- ATLANTA BRAVES
Oct 7, 2018 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
NLDS Gm. 3

6:05 PM- KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Nov 1, 2015 vs. New York Mets
World Series Gm. 5

9:30 PM- SAN DIEGO PADRES
June 14, 2019 vs. Colorado Rockies
Come from behind rally (11-5 in the 9th) to win in extras

CUT 4 Twitter
11 AM- TAMPA BAY RAYS
Sept 25, 2011 vs. New York Yankees
Game 162

4 PM- CHICAGO WHITE SOX
July 23, 2009 vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Mark Buehrle Perfect Game

6 PM- OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Sept 4, 2002 vs. Kansas City Royals
20th consecutive win (At the time a MLB record)

Major Obstacle to Postponing Tokyo Summer Olympics Removed, Joint Announcement Makes It Official

A major obstacle toward postponing the Summer Olympics has been removed. According to the AP, IOC President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a phone conversation this morning where both parties agreed 100% to postpone the Summer Olympiad.

Both parties agreeing to postpone the games means no lawsuit can take place, and no contracts will have been broken. 

The news comes less than 24 hours after the US Olympic Committee announced they would send no athletes to the Summer Games if they took place. It also takes place less than 24 hours after IOC member Dick Pound said the games would be postponed.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday the IOC and Tokyo Prime Minister have announced a few things. 1) The games will keep the name Tokyo 2020 despite when they take place, likely in 2021. 2) The Olympic Flame will not be relit. Instead it will remain sequestered in Japan for a year. 3) The time the games take place hasn't been arranged yet, but they won't occur later than Summer 2021.

The goal now becomes when can the games be moved to. The goal is to hold the games at a time to show the Global Pandemic has ended and that the Spirit of mankind continues to burn brightly. It means Olympian hopefuls will have another year of prep time, but considering that many are currently sitting in isolation it becomes essential prep time. 

2020 Summer Olympics to be postponed to 2021

In the last hour IOC member Dick Pound has come out of hiding and said the 2020 Summer Olympics from Tokyo will be postponed to 2021.

The statement comes less than 24 hours after Canada and Australia said they wouldn't be sending any athletes to the Olympics if they took place in 2020. The UK had also said they likely weren't going to be able to field a full roster for every event. Additionally other member nations, including the US, had been calling for a postponement of the Summer Olympiad.

While an official statement still needs to come, it looks as though the games will indeed be postponed. And why shouldn't they be? Sure, they might not be scheduled until the end of July and early August, but qualifications are supposed to be taking as early as last month. Ultimately postponing the Olympiad will be the best suggestion for everyone involved. 

AFL Women's 2020 season cancelled

After trying to speed up the playoffs, new rules and regulations from the Australian states led to the cancellation of the 2020 AFL Women's season.

In a press conference Gillon McLachlan revealed that the comprehensive shutdown of Victoria and New South Wales, along with other restrictions states were now putting into place, made the twin conference structure of the league playoffs impossible to maintain.

Discussion did occur about awarding a minor premier based off of the regular season performances, but ultimately they decided to cancel the season and let the focus be on the global pandemic instead.

The Women's Australian Football League joins the XFL and MLR at fully cancelling their season.

Meanwhile the main Australian Football League will have additional  games delayed until at least May 31.

Major League Rugby cancels the remainder of the 2020 season

2020 was supposed to be a coming out year for Major League Rugby. It was the third year for the league. The league had expanded from 9 teams to 12. The league had expanded from 1 national tv carrier to 4. Now the league will be left wondering what could have been. 

Wednesday afternoon MLR Commissioner George Killebrew announced the league would cancel the remainder of the 2020 season and instead turn its focus to 2021. The following quote comes from the MLR website. 

“On behalf of MLR and all of our teams, I am saddened to announce that the remainder of the 2020 season is cancelled. We believe it is ultimately the correct decision as we factored in health and safety risks for all parties,” Killebrew said. “I want to ensure our fans that there is no doubt MLR will be back in 2021 and will emerge bigger and better than ever before. We will be using this time as an opportunity to grow all aspects of MLR, and we’re excited to continue this journey into 2021, and for many years to come.”

So there you have it. MLR joins the XFL as having had it's league cancelled 5 weeks into play due to COVID-19. I wish MLR the best of luck as they decide how best to proceed in 2021. 

To learn more about Major League Rugby, please visit the leagues website at majorleague.rugby, visit any of the teams websites, or follow @usmlr on Twitter.

NCAA cancels all remaining winter and spring tournaments due to COVID-19

And then there were none. Following the declaration that COVID-19 is now a pandemic, the diagnosis of professional athletes with COVID-19, and the cancellation of virtually all remaining college basketball and hockey tournaments, the NCAA came out and announced the cancellation of all remaining men's and women's winter and spring tournaments. 

What all does this affect? It means no March Madness. It means no Frozen Four. It men's no national collegiate men's volleyball championship. It means no outdoor track and field championships. It means no college baseball, college softball, college gymnastics, beach volleyball, bowling, or college lacrosse tournament will be played. Or any other NCAA event I may have missed. It basically spells the end of any and all collegiate athletics until August.

Will the remaining UEFA football leagues follow suit? How about the XFL? WWE? Boxing events? UFC? Only time will tell, but either way collegiate sports has offically bid adieu until at least August.