The last time I was able to attend a live sporting event was back on March 11th when I was at what will likely be the last Mavs game of the 2019-2020 season. Boban Marjanovic was going off for a career night to help Dallas take down the Denver Nuggets, but the game seemed almost like background music I barely paid attention to while I feverishly followed every single development around the country on Twitter.
While the Mavs and Nuggets were playing a relatively normal game, just up I-35 in Oklahoma City, the Thunder and Utah Jazz were leaving the floor right before tip-off due to the soon-to-be-announced positive COVID-19 test for Rudy Gobert. Sometime early in the second half of Mavs/Nuggets, the news came down that the NBA was suspending its season. This was also the night President Trump announced his first series of travel bans due to the virus.
A month has passed but the insanity of that night still rings loudly as we’re living the lives we do these days. One day things will get back to normal, but that day isn’t now. With the calendar now in mid-April, there are a ton of great sports possibilities we’re missing out on.
Mavericks Playoff Basketball
This week would have been the final week of the NBA regular season and sometime next weekend we would have been able to see the Mavs take the court for some playoff basketball for the first time since 2016. It’s unclear who their opponent would have been, but it’s likely they would have been considered the underdog in their first round matchup. Perceptions be damned, Dallas would have put up a major fight with whoever they faced in the first round with the likes of the young and feisty Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way.
I have serious doubts that we’ll ever get to see what would have become of the 2019-2020 Mavericks team, but I definitely enjoyed the ride they gave fans this season. To go from 33-49 last season to 40 wins with still 15 games left on the schedule this year was quite the impressive jump. Whenever NBA basketball resumes, Luka and the Mavs will be ready to pick up where they left off, but it’s just really unfortunate their record will likely be 0-0 when that time comes.
It's been one month since the NBA suspended the season. Playoffs would have started in a week. pic.twitter.com/yNTEhnKdp9
— FanSided (@FanSided) April 11, 2020
Stars Playoff Hockey
Last week would have been the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it was a relatively safe bet that the Stars would have been in it. When the season froze last month, Dallas was four points up on the last Wild Card spots in the Western Conference with 13 games left. Definitely not a sure-fire empty net finish that they’d be in the postseason, but they had the inside edge, for sure. If they would have made it, it would have been great to see the franchise continue its momentum following the electric playoff run they had last spring.
It’s well-chronicled how insane this Stars season has been with the terrible start to their season, then the unexpected firing of Jim Montgomery right in the middle of a hot streak, and the emotions of the epic Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day. A lot of ups and downs, but through it all, they were having a strong year in the win-loss column. It’s unfortunate that the season is likely done before it really got to the good part.
Rangers baseball at the new Globe Life Field
My son and I share a major love for the game of baseball and everything that goes along with seeing a game in person. We were both incredibly excited to check out games at the new Globe Life Field and even had a half season ticket plan ready to be at as many games as I could possibly manage with everything else going on in life. Well, the schedule is obviously a bit more cleared up now with basically nothing to do except work Monday through Friday and then teaming up with my wife to try and figure out ways to entertain our kids the rest of the time. Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a nice night out at the ballpark right now.
To those who continue to battle on the front lines, thank you for your tireless efforts each and every day. You are the real heroes. 💙#LightItBlue | #TogetherWe pic.twitter.com/2wuHhzUAPA
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 10, 2020
I am so antsy to get out there to see a game at this sparkly new stadium that I even drove out there last week just to drive around the outside. It looks so great that it just really bums me out that its moment of glory is being pushed down the road quite a ways. One day we’ll get to take it all in, but that day isn’t today — or anytime soon, unfortunately.
The further we get into the year, the more things we’re going to miss out on whether they have to do anything with sports or not. Nobody knows when this will all be over, but of course we can contribute to it ending sooner if we follow the social distancing rules laid out for us by the government. Looking at you, Dak and Zeke.
Cowboys Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott Party with Friends, Violate TX Quarantine https://t.co/veQkWoLmj4
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 12, 2020
Stay healthy and safe, everyone.
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