Once again, the COVID-19 virus has canceled another season as of right now; the American pastime will not be played yet due to the virus. This is very sad and a terrible time for sports all over the US and around the world. No games being played anywhere or anytime soon. Empty stadiums, not ticket sales, no workers are working, no entertainment for the players and the fans. The sports world has never seen anything like this and hopefully will never experience anything like this again. For me, I am not a baseball guy and do not follow any baseball accounts or players on social media. I am sure they are all training at home, lifting, throwing, and trying to stay fit. In this situation, all professional athletes I am sure can do is workout at home and play video games. For me, all over social media, I have seen ESPN, Bleachereport, and other sports social media tweets, and Instagram has athletes take over the social media platform for a day so us fans can get an insight on the players life during this off time from sports. This is great because us fans never get to see that side of a professional athlete at all. It usually is all on the field or after the game with interviews.

I am glad that big sports social media pages have kept it fun and engaging for the fans during this time, we all miss sports very much. I know that ESPN, NBCSN, FOX, and other television channels have been playing old classic games from years back for us to watch, which is excellent. I know that they are mainly played at night time, or on the weekends, but at least we have that right now, they are playing sports right now, but not live events due to the virus.

This virus has taken a lot away from the world at this moment in time, for me, I want to see major athletes, and sports teams who make a ton of money to donate money to hospitals in their city, to organizations who need money during this time. I haven’t seen many professional athletes and sports organizations due to this, with the exception of some, but we need more athletes to step up during this time, in my opinion. This virus is no joke, stay home and continue to wash your hands religiously, if you do go outside stay 6 feet from other people, and try and wear a face mask of some sort. Let’s all follow the national guidelines and get back to normal.

This year 2020, March Madness was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and around the world. No games, no fans, no madness at all. The NCAA did the right thing by canceling the whole tournament for safety reasons and looking out for everybody who would’ve been involved in the most exciting college basketball tournament in the world. The sadness has been hitting hard, no selection Sunday was aired on TV, no play in games, no round of 32, nothing at all. No excitement and nobody can watch the games religiously like most sports fans do during March. It is one of the craziest things that has ever happened in this country, no sports at all, and no March Madness. For the 21 years I have been alive I know that the NCAA March Madness tournament has gone on and the ones that I was able to watch, I watched most of every game. It is heartbreaking for the small schools that got a bid into the tournament this year, that is not able to play on the biggest stage. It is also unfortunate for the seniors on every team that made the tournament that doesn’t get to play potentially there last game for there school, again on the biggest stage possible.

The NCAA is also missing out on the fun, aka the money, the total money the make, on average, generates close to 900 million dollars off this tournament. That is a ton of money not being made due to this terrible virus that is impacting the world. The teams, players, coaches, managers, trainers that would have been involved in the tournament this year I am sure are home being safe and clean. Most of American’s should be doing the same, staying inside away from people and washing hands not to get this horrible virus that is impacting the whole world. I know everybody is super sad about no March Madness, but we all need to see the big picture and realize that this COVID-19 is very scary and getting deathly, I hope March Madness will be back and better than ever next year. During this time off from sports, we all should be reflecting how we should cherish all sporting events. This is a time when we should be thankful for sports and what all they have brought to our personal lives, and the stories and memories that have been made. Sports will be back and the excitement for that from everybody is unreal. It will be special when we can play/watch sports again.

On March 11th, the B1G Ten Basketball Championship was to start at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. The first two games got played; game number one was between Northwestern and Minnesota. It was never really a close game, Minnesota looked like they were out to prove that they shouldn’t have been a 12 seed and beat Northwestern with a final score 74-57. The other game that actually got played was between IU and Nebraska, IU was all fired up with somewhat home advantage playing in the state of Indiana. They also looked great and was showing the country that they should be a lock to make the big dance they won 89-64.

The CONVID-19 outbreak/scare canceled the B1G Ten Tournament and all of the other conference basketball tournaments around the country, even the whole March Madness. First, the games got played with fans, then no fans, then everything was canceled. Now all colleges have been shut down for the rest of the semester with no sporting events to even take place. This has been the most significant sports scare/shock ever. No March Madness in 2020, no sports in the world as of right now do to the virus and how serious it is. I assume all players/coaches have been sent home to not be by one another, due to the fact that the virus is very serious and can harm anybody. I bet coaches are trying to find ways to donate money to help people in there own community that need food, clothes, and basic goods during this time. I bet players are trying to stay in shape, working out, staying fit, and working on online classes for the rest of the semester. This is the worst thing to ever happen to sports, and the worst part is there is no timeline when things will be back to normal. I am praying that everything will return to normal as soon as possible, the world needs sports.

The Indiana Pacers last night came out victorious against the San Antonio Spurs. The 5th placed team in the eastern conference the Indiana Pacers won there fourth straight game at the 12th placed team in the western conference the San Antonio Spurs. The final score was a high scoring 116-111. The game was live on Fox Sports Indiana, which covers all home and away Pacer games. Last night the Pacers had six players in double figures, the high man of the night was Malcolm Brogdon with 26 total points. This is Malcolm’s first year with the Pacers as he previously played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Malcolm has game onto this team and became an instant leader and a great player on both sides of the floor. He has a very smooth game, great handle, who is also a great passer and can score from just about anywhere on the floor, also adds a defense presence when he is on the floor. Last night he went 8/8 from the free-throw line, most coming down the stretch of the game. He also added six rebounds, and seven assist to his 26 points, all year he has been putting up great numbers averaging 16.6 points per game. The Indiana Pacers overall as a team are very deep and are very slept on in the whole NBA. They have a fantastic young talent who became an all-star this year in Domantas Sabonis, who is only 23. They also have one of the best shot blockers in the whole NBA in Myles Turner, who led the NBA in total blocks last season. They have a great second unit led by veterans as well. The only question will the Pacers superstar Victor Oladipo play on a consistent basis? Victor just came back after an all-star break from being out a whole year due to a quad injury, and he isn’t on minute restriction anymore, so he has been starting when he is healthy. He sat out last night due to right knee soreness; the Pacers have a massive game on ESPN this Wednesday night at the 1st placed team in the eastern conference, the Milwaukee Bucks. This will be a massive test for the Pacers to see if they can win in a nationally televised game. The Pacers usually make a nice run in the last part of the regular season; this next game could be the start of it.

The Evansville Thunderbolts came out victorious on Friday night against the Quad City storm. I went to the game and the atmosphere wasn’t the best but it was very fun to watch some live hockey. The Thunderbolts play at the Ford Center, in downtown Evansville. They play in the Southern Professional Hockey League, the Thunderbolts are sitting 6th in the standings out of 10 teams. They won this home game 5-3. I was surprised about how they let anybody sit anywhere at the Ford Center, I know it is a very big venue but it is cool that a general admission ticket can get you right up on the glass. It allows a ton of fun for fans and just people who want to see some live hockey. In my opinon that is great, because the Thunderbolts do not have the strongest of fan bases. They only had about 1,000 people at the game last night that I went to. I am sure when and if they make the playoffs that more and more people will come support them. I hope that they make the playoffs, I will for sure make it back to another game. I really hope that more people will start to follow and support the Thunderbolts because the Ford Center is a great venue for hockey and it can be very loud in there as well. If they make it to the playoffs which they will they need to keep wining, the next game for them is in four days at home again. They are fun to watch and very physical and not afraid of anybody which is great in hockey, when you go to a hockey game you want to see physical play and some fights! I will for sure try and make it to another game if they make the playoffs! Let’s go Thunderbolts! All games are held at the Ford Center.

This past Sunday, the NBA All-Star game was held in Chicago at the United Center. This year, the NBA made a new format apposed to the traditional game of just four quarters being played for a winner. This year there was charity money being played for at the end of every quarter, and then in the 4th quarter, there was no shot clock. The first team to hit 157 points wins the game. This year the NBA All-Star draft happened again, the captains for the teams where LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Team LeBron won with a final score of 157-155. The MVP of the game was from the Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, who had 30 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
The new format had all the players playing as if it was an actual game apposed to a typical All-Star game. Team LeBron played for the Chicago Scholars Foundation; team Giannis played for the After School Matters charity. Each team ended up donating a total of $200,000 plus to charities. The loss of Kobe and Gigi Bryant was present in the All-Star game as well, Team LeBron all players wore number 2 and Team Giannis all players wore number 24. Kobe was number 24 for the majority of his time in the NBA, and Gigi wore number 2. Before the game, there was a massive tribute for the legend Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a 15-time All-Star and won the All-Star MVP 4 times.

This years All-Star game was considered the best one ever, due to the fact all the players played hard and didn’t take it as a joke. It could have been the new format or because the players played hard in honor for Kobe Bryant. Kobe played every All-Star game like it was a game seven NBA final game.Rest in peace Kobe, Gigi Bryant and the other victims involved in the fatal helicopter crash.

The University of Southern Indiana men and women’s basketball teams had a home game on February 13, 2020. They faced off against another Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opponent from Missouri, Lindenwood University. USI ended up coming out victorious, winning both games; the USI women’s team won with a score of 70-55. The women’s team won, and that is their fourth straight win! They are on a roll in midseason, getting into a very nice groove. They are a fun team to watch, everybody plays well, and they have scores all over the court at all times, against Lindenwood they have three different players in double figures. Leading the way was Emma DeHart with 18 points, followed up by Hannah Haithcock with 16 points, and Addy Blackwell with 14 points. The women’s team is very junior and senior-heavy, which will be great in post season with experienced players, should be a very exciting rest of the season for the ladies they are currently ranked third in the GLCV.

The men’s team also won with a score of 101-77. This game was over before it started, the men’s team is excellent overall and have many weapons on both ends of the floor. The star of the night was the big fella Josh Price, Price is a junior and has a great presence on both sides of the floor he can also play the four or five.He ended up with a team-high 19 points he absolutely torched Lindenwood in the paint. The men’s team had four players end up in double figures. Senior guard Kobe Caldwell looked relaxed and confident scoring 15 points, junior guard Mateo Rivera had 15 points as well, last but not least junior forward, Emmanuel Little added 12 points. The men’s team sits in sixth place in the GLVC currently, but that will change the men’s team are full of dogs and will get locked in with the end of the season approaching, no question they will make a run soon. They are lead by senior guard Kobe Caldwell who has excellent experience by being a key piece when this team made a run to the final four last year, and previously played at the Division 1 level. Both sides play home again on Saturday, February, 15th against a quality University of Missouri- St. Louis (UMSL).

The 2020 Super Bowl was a very entertaining game, from the actual game, commercials, and the halftime show put on by J Lo and Shakira. This year’s Super Bowl was the 52nd Super Bowl between the San Fransisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. It was held in Miami, Florida, at the Hard Rock Stadium. The winner of the Super Bowl ended up being the Kansas City with a final score of 31-20. It was the first Super Bowl win for the franchise, and the die-hard fans of that city deserved it.
The Chiefs were led by the young 24-year-old quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes, just in his second year as a starter in the NFL has an impressive resume already, last season he was voted MVP of the league and this season led his team to the Super Bowl and won the game and the MVP of the game. Mahomes had two passing touchdowns with 286 yards in the air, he also rushed for one touchdown and had 29 yards on the ground to win the MVP. He is the youngest player to win the Super Bowl MVP. The opposing quarterback was Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw for 219 yards, threw for one touchdown and had two interceptions. It was both of the quarterbacks first Super Bowl. The Chiefs have a great team, with a superstar quarterback, a great coach, solid defense, and a young full receiver core. They are a 6-1 odds to repeat next season.

Head coach of the Chiefs Andy Reid, finally won his super bowl he has been chasing all of his coaching career. It took him 21 years to reach the top, and he is one of the most well-respected coaches in the whole NFL. He has stayed loyal and built a super team in his current squad he has. Reid is 61 years old and has a wife Tammy, and they have five kids together.

The NHL All- Star weekend was held in St. Louis at the Enterprise Center, home of the St. Louis Blues, this past weekend (January 24-26). The winner of the 2020 NHL All-Star game was the Pacific Division with a final score of 5-4, in a very close, fun and entertaining game. The MVP of the game was David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. He was the first Bruins player to win the MVP in the All-Star game since 2001. He won the MVP due to an excellent game and fan voting online, via Twitter on the NHL Twitter page. The All-Star weekend was filled from Friday-Saturday. The Enterprise Center is a great location for the All-Star game due to the fact that it holds nearly 20,000 people, and is home to one of the best teams in the NHL the St. Louis Blues! On Friday night the Skills Competition took place holding 6 main events. The events included “Fastest Skater”, “Save Streak”, “Accuracy Shooting”, “Hardest Shot”, “Shooting Stars”, and finally “Elite women’s 3-on-3”. The winner of “Fastest Skater” was from the New York Islanders, Mathew Barzal the 22 year old, he had a ridiculous time of just 13.175 seconds. The winner of “Save Streak” was from the hometown team, Jordan Binnington, the Canadian had 10 saves. The winner of the “Accuracy Shooting” was from the Carolina Hurricanes, Jaccob Slavin, with a time of 9.505 seconds. The winner of “Hardest Shot”, Shea Weber of the Montreal Canadiens, clocking in at 106.5 mph . The winner from the most watched event, “Shooting Stars”, was none other than the Chicago Blackhawks superstar, Patrick Kane. He won in a tie breaker accumulating 22 points. The 3-on-3 winner for the women was team Canada, with a final score of 2-1. The Canadian goalie, Ann-Renne Desbiens had an unbelievable performance making a total of 15 saves. Desbiens is 25 years old and played at the University of Wisconsin. The NHL has roughly 30 more games until post season.