The View from Pluto

Major League Baseball players begin reporting for spring training Wednesday, with a shortened 60-game season beginning later this month. It caps months of contentious negotiations between players and owners to start the season amid the pandemic. The MLB used its right to implement a season where the players receive 100 percent of their salary for each game played.

High school sports are resuming activities for the first time since March, when seasons were canceled amid the pandemic. But the Senate Athletic League for Cleveland schools has been slow to get students back on the field.

The NBA’s plan to restart the season with 22 teams at Disney World in August hit a snag this week. Former Cavs star Kyrie Irving is leading a coalition of players pushing back against the deal that’s already been approved by the league and its players union.

The NBA has agreed on a plan to restart the season that was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March. Twenty-two teams will compete at Disney World in Orlando beginning in August. But the Cleveland Cavaliers, last place in the Eastern Conference, are among the eight teams that didn’t qualify.

The two-month-long Major League Baseball shutdown amid the pandemic is having a big effect on the minor leagues. While major league players and owners continue to work toward a deal to start the season next month, it’s becoming clear that the minor leagues won’t play at all.

Normally this time of year, Progressive Field is filled with cheering Cleveland Indians fans and fireworks. Now because of the pandemic, Major League Baseball players and owners are locked in contentious negotiations to start the season around July 4 without fans. WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto says the baseball blues are setting in.

Korean baseball is giving American fans something to enjoy while the sports world largely remains sidelined during the pandemic. The Korea Baseball Organization started its season earlier this month in empty stadiums with masks, gloves and no high fives allowed.

Talks to start the Major League Baseball season amid the pandemic made some progress this week. Team owners have signed off on a plan that they will present to the player’s union. It calls for a shortened 82-game season beginning Fourth of July weekend.

Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, died this week at age 90. He’s best known for his 347 career wins, most of those as coach of the Miami Dolphins. But his roots began in Lake County and his legacy carries on at John Carroll University in University Heights . WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto had the chance to learn more about Shula’s early years in Northeast Ohio that shaped his Hall of Fame career.

The coronavirus pandemic is making colleges and universities implement budget cuts, and that includes spending reductions for sports. Both Kent State and Akron have announced 20% cuts to their athletic budgets for the next fiscal year. That’s on top of half the money they were expecting from the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, which was canceled.