The Astros are one step closer toward playing an official Major League Baseball game inside Minute Maid Park again.
The Rockets would be allowed to host a game inside Toyota Center on May 31 — if the NBA were playing basketball.
And for perhaps the first time since all this craziness began, the states of Texas, New York and California have agreed on a cross-country response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Professional sports will soon be allowed to return.
As long as the world doesn’t end in the next couple weeks.
“Professional basketball, baseball, car racing, football, golf, softball and tennis leagues may apply to the Department of State Health Services for approval to hold professional sporting events in Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott and his Strike Force to Open Texas announced Monday. “These events may take place on or after May 31, 2020. The professional sporting events may not have spectators physically present on the premises.”
Bars, bowling alleys and bingo halls will also begin to reopen Friday.
Cheers.
You take what you can get during these unbelievable times. The return of “professional sporting events in Texas” is the best news this sports columnist has heard in a while.
I wrote last week that optimism, like pessimism and negativity, is contagious.
Sunday, I began the day by playing tennis — you don’t realize how much you love mishitting forehands until the coronavirus hits — and finished it off by listening to Pearl Jam serenade Michael Jordan with “Present Tense” in “The Last Dance.” It was the best day I’ve had in nine weeks.
Monday, New York and California began to follow Texas’ lead, teasing the return of an essential link in America’s social and economic engines.
“New York State is ready and willing to partner with major sports teams that are interested in playing games safely, without fans,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted. “If our professional sports teams can make it work (& be safe) on their end, we’re supportive.”
This isn’t the true athletic breakthrough you’ve been waiting for. But anyone still expecting sports to magically and fully return as we knew them — with fans, inside packed arenas and stadiums, with full schedules — should move to another planet for at least the next six months.
NASCAR roared back Sunday on live TV. The Darlington race averaged 6.32 million viewers, which represented almost a 40 percent increase over the televised audience for the sport’s last race before the season was suspended.
I tuned in for the start of The Real Heroes 400, checked the leader board throughout the afternoon, and greatly enjoyed the final hour. Of course, the stands looked a little empty. But it was 100 times better than another replay of some sporting event from 20 years ago. Or a choppy live broadcast of athletes playing a video game.
The Rockets reopened their downtown practice facility Monday for individual voluntary workouts.
NFL teams are allowed to start reopening their facilities Tuesday (but not to coaches or healthy players).
It’s all part of a slow, gradual build back to normal. But 70 days since the Rockets played their last game, we finally have what we’ve been severely missing since mid-March: something to look forward to.
“I think it will be great for America. We’re all missing sports, and everybody wants to see these great NBA teams,” Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said Monday, discussing the league’s potential return with President Donald Trump.
The next big step — the one that really counts — must be conducted in unison. MLB’s billionaire owners and millionaire players remembering that compromise is at the core of the modern game. The NBA’s superstars, role players, general managers, owners and commissioner agreeing that, overall, the reward outweighs the risk.
Texas has given the green light for pro sports to return. New York and California are up next.
In a time when good news feels golden, all three states agreeing on the same thing right now surely represents something positive.
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