What's Trending in Sports - August 6th, 2020

By: Lars Gjelhaug

​Here’s the first write up for our new segment here at Sports As a Job, Trending Thursday. Our goal is to keep you in the loop of what is currently going on in the industry. Don’t forget if you enjoy reading this to take a look at our Overtime video on Sports As a Job youtube channel to get a video update on what is ongoing in sports. Now let us take a look at how restart has been for some leagues and for one who has been shut down, what they have converted their stadium into and what league has been bought. 

On July 30th, the NBA restarted play at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, after a 20-week pause. The first two games of the restart were ones to remember as 2 points decided each game. 

In-game 1, Zion Williamson and the Pelicans took on the Utah Jazz. The first player in the league to contract the Coronavirus back in March, Rudy Gobert, would come in clutch knocking down two free throws with 6.9 seconds in the game. In the nightcap, it was the battle of Los Angeles as the Lakers squared off against the Clippers in a blockbuster matchup. Lebron James would perform as usual in a close game and sneak in a layup with 12.8 seconds. The Clippers couldn’t get a basket on the other end before expired, so the Lakers escaped that game with a 103-101 victory. Paul George would lead the Clippers with 30 points, and Anthony Davis would lead the Lakers with 34 points. 

The NHL also resumed play, but unlike the NBA, they are now into playoff action. For their league, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference are each located in a hub. Edmonton will host the Western Conference, and Toronto will host the Eastern Conference. History was made on August 1st when Jaccob Slavin a minute and a second into the opening game when he squeezed the puck past Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist. Jaccob became the first player to score an NHL goal in August. Slavin and the Carolina Hurricanes would win game 3-2 and be the first team to advance to the playoffs sweeping the series. 

On the opening night of the Western Conference games, the game between the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche ended in a way that no one would predict. The Blues headed into the 3rd intermission up 1-0, but that would end with a goal from Ryan Graves of the Avalanche early in the period. With 1:17 left in the game, Alex Steen of the Blues was called for a hooking penalty, which put the Avalanche in position to get the win. With 2 seconds left, a slapshot was taken and then Colorado Center Nazem Kadri would tap the puck in with .1 of a second remaining to give Colorado a win in the round-robin for the top 4 teams in each conference. 
 
Some minor league baseball stadiums have converted their fields into golf courses; the Pensacola Blue Wahoos made their stadium into an Airbnb. The Missoula Paddleheads, Rookie Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has taken a different approach. They have opened the Centerfield Cinema, which is every Thursday Night until August 27th. This is a drive-in movie theatre where fans can park their cars on the field and look at some classic movies, including A League of Their Own, Jurassic Park and Dirty Dancing. At the ballpark, they will have the same concession food as they would if there was baseball being played. 

On Monday, the XFL was sold to a group of 3 including The Rock, Dany Garcia and Redbird Capital for 15 million. Dany Garcia became the first female to own a sports organization. In the football world, the Big Ten Conference announced on Wednesday that they would be converting to a ten-game format. Opening day will be September 5th and will be a 12-week schedule, including two bye weeks. The Conference Championship Game is expected to be held December 5th. 

It’s been quite the week during the Covid-19 Pandemic, with some sports being pushed back while others are back in business. Make sure to return next week to see what’s trending.