The View from Pluto

The Cleveland Browns begin the NFL season Sunday. The team has had little time to get adjusted under new coach Kevin Stefanski because of the pandemic. WKSU’s sports commentator Terry Pluto said the Browns face a tough opening game against the defending AFC North Champion Baltimore Ravens on the road.

The Cleveland Indians are in the hunt for the playoffs during this pandemic-shortened season.

The Cleveland Indians are halfway through the most unusual season in history. After 30 games, WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto said the Tribe is in contention, but what’s been happening off the field has gotten the most attention during this pandemic-shortened 60-game season.

It was 100 years ago this week that a tragic moment in baseball history centered on Cleveland. Tribe shortstop Ray Chapman was struck and killed by a pitch. He’s the only player in major league history to die while playing the sport.

Kent State, Akron and the rest of the Mid-American Conference won’t be playing sports this fall. The MAC became the first major conference to postpone the season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Ten conference officially scrapped its season on Tuesday.

The NFL season starts September 10 when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans.

Major League Baseball’s pandemic-shortened season is just getting started, but if television ratings are any indication, sports-starved fans are hungry for major league sports.

After a four-month delay because of the pandemic, the Cleveland Indians begin their shortened season Friday. They’ll play 60 games between now and the end of September. WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto said this shortened season comes with a lot of challenges.

Now that the NFL’s Washington Redskins have dropped their nickname, the spotlight has moved to other pro sports teams to make changes amid a nationwide movement calling for racial justice.

The Cleveland Indians will likely have a new nickname in 2021. The team late last week issued a statement that it will discuss the best path forward in response to recent social unrest. They've been the Indians since 1915.