NHL Contingency Plans Come to Light, Belarus Soccer and Betting, Play Continues....With Manaquins
The National Hockey League is fielding offers from various cities to host games this summer assuming the 2020 season resumes.
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The NHL postponed its season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We do have people putting together the comprehensive laundry list of what we would need from facilities and evaluating some facilities on some level," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN on Friday. "But I can't tell you we've even finished creating a list [of potential sites], much less narrowed it down."
Among the reported possible locations for neutral-site games, which would likely be held in empty arenas, are Grand Forks, North Dakota; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
NHL 2020 Stanley Cup futures remain up at BetOnline.
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Odds to Win the Stanley Cup
21103 Boston Bruins +600
21126 Tampa Bay Lightning +700
21129 Vegas Golden Knights +700
21108 Colorado Avalanche +800
21122 Philadelphia Flyers +800
21124 St. Louis Blues +1000
21130 Washington Capitals +1200
21123 Pittsburgh Penguins +1600
21110 Dallas Stars +1800
21117 Nashville Predators +1800
21127 Toronto Maple Leafs +1800
21112 Edmonton Oilers +2200
21106 Carolina Hurricanes +3300
21128 Vancouver Canucks +3300
21105 Calgary Flames +4000
21101 Arizona Coyotes +5000
21115 Minnesota Wild +5000
21120 New York Rangers +5000
21113 Florida Panthers +6600
21119 New York Islanders +6600
21131 Winnipeg Jets +6600
21109 Columbus Blue Jackets +10000
21107 Chicago Blackhawks +25000
21116 Montreal Canadiens +100000
Wherever the games are held, the NHL's stated objective if it is able to restart the 2019-20 campaign is to finish the regular season and hold a playoff tournament.
- NHL Getting Neutral-Site Playoff Pitches From Cities
- Belarus' FC Dynamo Brest Using Mannequins to Replace Fans Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Belarusian soccer team FC Dynamo Brest used mannequins in the place of fans in their 2-0 win over Shakhtyor Soligorsk on Wednesday.
The club had fans purchase virtual tickets, then put their photographs on the heads of the mannequins as part of an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Our fans from all over the world seem to be happy! Thanks for your support, guys! pic.twitter.com/wX4dCLDtUH
— FC Dynamo Brest (@dynamobrest) April 8, 2020
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus is the only country in Europe still playing soccer amid the coronavirus pandemic but a growing number of fans are boycotting league matches, anxious about catching the disease.
In the western city of Grodno, local team FC Neman Grodno drew with FC Belshina Bobruisk on Friday in front of almost empty stands. Just 253 people attended, compared to last year when Neman’s games drew crowds of around 1,500 people.
The league has proved an unlikely draw for fans overseas who are starved of matches in their own countries. In choosing to stay open, it took its cue from President Alexander Lukashenko, who has resisted imposing strict lockdown measures.
“Of course, it is the main problem,” said Belshina coach Eduard Gradoboyev, when asked about the lack of fans.
“Because football is for spectators. And when you come to a absolutely half-empty stadium, especially such a good one like here in Grodno, it is a bit uncomfortable.”
Even Neman Grodno’s own fans urged people to keep away.
“Let’s stay home, reduce the risks associated with the spread of coronavirus, protect ourselves and our loved ones,” they said in a statement.
Before the match started, the Neman players applauded the empty stands in support for spectators staying away.
The Belarus football federation initially explained its decision to continue because only a small number of coronavirus cases had been recorded in the eastern European country, but more recently they have declined comment.
The latest figures show Belarus has 2,226 cases, with 23 deaths.
The clubs say they must comply with the federation’s decision.
“The federation decided to play - so we play,” Neman’s coach Igor Kovalevich said, adding the club was taking appropriate safety measures like using hand sanitizers and making sure that fans do not sit close to each other.
Supporters like Vladimir, who came to the stadium, had few concerns.
“Am I worried or not worried? I guess most likely not,” he said. “Because first of all there are not many people coming to watch football, there are no crowds. And all measures are taken at the stadium.”
But others are not so sanguine. Nikolay Zolotov is a Belarusian who plays for Russian club Ural Yekaterinburg.
In an interview with tribuna.com, he compared the situation to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the former Soviet Union, where the authorities concealed the scale of the disaster to the general public for a long time.
“No one really knows how many people are sick, where they are sick, how they are treated,” he was quoted as saying. “I thought: has nothing really changed in 34 years?”
Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has called fears about coronavirus a “psychosis”, prescribed drinking vodka and going to saunas to battle the disease, and said he was more worried about the economy.
Slideshow (2 Images)
At a meeting with officials on April 7, he said he could easily introduce quarantine measures within 24 hours.
“But what will we eat?,” he added.
More News:
- Poll: Sports Fans Won't Attend Games Without Coronavirus Vaccine
- Kolpack: Society Will Dictate When Sports Will Be Able to Resume
- Virtual Racing Puts NASCAR, IndyCar Ahead in Sports Shutdown
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
