Sports are sidelined by coronavirus, but beat goes on for KC Star, Wichita Eagle
Today I’m working remotely. It’s Sunday, so I’m home posting stories and catching up on some planning that should offer our KC Star and Wichita Eagle sportswriters and columnists some reassurance and direction in the days to come.
Today, self-distancing looks like this: one eye on my winter-dormant backyard and the birds that flit about, one eye on droning TV newscasts, laptop humming and plenty of work to be done. Another story posted to Kansascity.com and Kansas.com, I allow myself a few moments to contemplate the thoughts racing through my mind at this hour.
Are we proceeding down the right track with the Royals, Chiefs and area colleges on hiatus? What is the right track? When will this end?
Unsure, unsettled, unknown. There’s no playbook for how a sports department is supposed to operate when the sports are seemingly gone. I say seemingly because, as you’ll see as you continue to read, there’s still quite a bit of activity happening away from the fields and hardwood.
This is uncharted territory for pretty much all of us, and I’m not just talking about sports journalism or media in general, of course, but America. The world.
The president has declared a national state of emergency around the quickly evolving COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Known cases of the illness in Kansas and Missouri continue to mount, and advisories against gathering in public in large numbers have been issued.
This morning, our church held an online-only service, which I watched while I worked. A more widespread curtailing of out-of-the-house activities is surely coming as our leaders try to get their arms around this pandemic by “flattening the curve” of its spread. We’re reminded that we can each do our part in this effort.
It’s only noon, but today has already been a busy sports day. The NFL’s players voted to ratify a new, 10-year labor agreement with the league’s owners, signaling that free agency is imminent.
The Royals put out a letter, a statement, to their fans and community in which they reiterated that they, like you, will persevere through this time of uncertainty. The words are reassuring, even as there’s so much we don’t know about the future and how this story will ultimately play out — when, and how, this delayed major-league season might commence.
This morning we published a full NCAA Tournament bracket, seeded by resident college hoops guru Blair Kerkhoff, because a March without March Madness didn’t feel very good at all. No games will be played, of course, but we couldn’t help but wonder what the 68-team field might’ve looked like this year had the whole thing not been called off.
On Monday, some of our KC Star sports personalities will be coming to you via live Facebook and/or podcast to talk about this mock bracket, NFL free agency, the Royals and other sports stuff we think you’ll find interesting. Elsewhere in the Star newsroom, our colleagues will keep reporting and bringing you the latest updates, insight and analysis about where we stand in the greater picture relative to this coronavirus.
They’re working around the clock to keep you informed, and our highest-ups have removed the paywalls for coverage surrounding the pandemic at Kansascity.com and Kansas.com. This is a public service to Kansas City and Wichita, and the right thing to do, and if you value what you read on our site we hope you’ll consider a digital subscription so we can keep going strong once this outbreak is under control and normalcy returns ... which it surely will.
In the meantime, my sports staff will keep discussing our sports-with-no-sports conundrum and continually reevaluate where to go from here. The Royals have told all of their players and staff that they’re free to return to Kansas City or remain in Surprise, Arizona, even though spring training has officially ended early. Lynn Worthy will continue to keep you updated on MLB developments.
The Super Bowl-champion Chiefs and NFL still have a draft upcoming, with the league’s “legal tampering period” underway through Wednesday, and we’ve already seen some activity. As of this writing, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jacksonville Jaguars have broken the ice by agreeing to trade veteran Calais Campbell to Baltimore, fortifying the defense of the Ravens — one of the Chiefs’ prime AFC rivals. Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell will keep you apprised of latest developments as the Chiefs contemplate next steps of their own.
Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian each wrote this weekend about the current state of affairs in sports and beyond. Sam does a typically nimble job making sense of it all, reminding us there’s joy and peace close by if we only allow ourselves to experience it, while Vahe paints a welcomed picture about how the spirit of sports remains vibrant even during this uncomfortable pause.
Our college sports team of Jesse Newell, Gary Bedore, Souichi Terada, Kellis Robinett, Taylor Eldridge and Hayden Barber, meanwhile, continues to report on developments surrounding Kansas, Missouri, K-State and Wichita State, which confront unprecedented challenges pertaining to their respective athletic programs. Their reporting is an invaluable link to the teams and schools many of us care so much about.
Shaun Goodwin watchdogs the news out of Sporting KC and MLS. The inimitable Pete Grathoff keeps us both informed and entertained with frequent posts.
Even the high school coverage continues. Missouri is one of the last few states in the country still holding state basketball tournaments (quarterfinals took place Saturday), while Kansas ended its tourneys early.
And though their opening day is delayed, the Wichita Wind Surge will eventually kick off their inaugural season in a lovely new downtown ballpark: Riverfront Stadium.
What else do you want to read about? Now’s a great time to let us know. We’re thinking about generating more e-Sports coverage, for instance, if that would be of interest and value to our audience.
Outside my back window, a squirrel swings from the bird feeder, trying to access seeds we’ve offered her winged neighbors. Foiled as usual but paying no mind to the drama on my television, she soon scurries up a leafless, gray branch to surmise the situation and plot her next move. There’s food to be had back there, just not in the places most easy to reach.
The simple profundity of this scene resonates as I return to my laptop. With a subconscious nod, I flick off the television and get back to the work at hand. Solutions will come, the sports will resume. In the meantime, we still have plenty to do.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Sports are sidelined by coronavirus, but beat goes on for KC Star, Wichita Eagle."