The 2020 Summer Olympics has been postponed due to the coronavirus. It will likely occur in 2021. I am guessing it will get moved back a year to start in late July or early August 2021. With the current situation it is the best move to postpone the games. Nobody knows exactly when the virus outbreak will be contained. Worldwide there is a good chance there will still be cases in early August. It is possible that things could be back to normal by August, but the training of the Olympians are on pause now. Also, if it cleared up by August, people will be hesitant to travel to a big event like the Olympics. Postponing instead of cancelling will allow athletes who have trained their entire life for their only or last chance at a medal. The Olympics are a big event for the economy of Tokyo. They don’t want to lose out on a massive event they have planned for years.
For the Olympics, it is on a different level than domestic sports leagues. The current sports leagues on pause in the U.S. and there is a good chance they could start playing by June if people take the situation seriously. They will likely continue without any fans in attendance. The NBA and NHL should be able to start their playoffs by the end of June or early July. I bet that at least the first round for both of their playoffs would be best of five. The finals would be a best of seven as usual. Major League Baseball is in a tougher position because they are going to lose a chunk of the season. I guess if they could start in the middle of June, they would play 90-110 games and crown a champion in the middle of November. The NFL is safe if it is contained by the end of August in the U.S. They might have to play with no fans or limited attendance. Losing out on the NCAA tournament sucks since it is one of the most exciting events in sports, but it had to be done. it is tough to have it in June or July with players graduating or leaving for the draft if it was even possible. Stopping sports is a precaution to stop the spread of the virus, to save lives. Worst case scenario is sports are cancelled for the rest of the year since that means the virus is still a problem. Hopefully the spread of the virus is stopped earlier than anticipated so we can get back to normal.
Brian's Sports Beat 