Upon Further Review-Sports in the Covid Era

Matt & Ty chat with award-winning beat reporter and videographer Heidi Fang about the all the moving parts and balancing acts Covid-19 precipitated in Las Vegas, as well as how the pandemic has changed the way sports are covered in one of the tourist capitals of the world

We speak with recently retired (from Middle Tennessee State) Offensive Coach Tony Franklin and touch on many topics, including which programs got it right in putting community and player health first, against the backdrop of broader disregard in the profession for caution in group settings; and re-imagining the concept of patriotism as applies to leadership in a pandemic . Further, Coach Franklin looks back on his vocational and personal life, what shaped his guiding principles, and how he applied them within the militaristic command structure of football, sometimes in the face of resistance and threats to his livelihood, and even his own shortcomings.

We speak with Georgia Tech Men's basketball coach Josh Pastner on managing a program through the roller coaster of a generational disruptor, including winning a conference title, losing his best player just before the NCAA tournament, learning about health policy on the fly, what will remain the same even after COVID is less of a public health threat. In news, Matt and Ty discuss the return of Wimbledon and the summer tennis calendar amid surges, variants, and political turmoil surrounding covid in Europe; outbreaks and "venue shopping" in youth sports; and the UFC being the first league to hold an unmasked, capacity indoor crowd.

We interview Dr. William Roberts (MD, MS), distinguished Vice-Chair of Faculty Affairs in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and director of the department Program in Sports Medicine. We discuss the unique challenges COVID presents in youth sports, especially those popular in the region, associated outbreaks at sporting events, the uncertainty caused by variants for masking recommendations. He also gives insight as to the nuts and bolts of the advisory and policy process, sport-by-sport masking requirements and the tension between safety considerations and political/community pressures in Minnesota.

Matt and Ty discuss covid related news from the NCAA tournament and the Pac-12, and complete their interview with Lynette Lewis and GinaMarie Scarpa of Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI)

After a one year hiatus during what was a daunting year for Native communities, where COVID was especially ravaging, the Native American Basketball Invitational will return this July. CEO Gina Marie Scarpa and Basketball Operations Director Lynette Lewis the back ground of the tournament and organization, it's importance to traditionally underserved Native communities, and it's evolution into a braoder educational and community improvement platform. They also discuss the decision making process to cancel the 2020 event, and unique challenges of the Arizona and broader Native communities posed by the pandemic.

Virginia Cavaliers beat reporter Bennet Conlin discusses the women's basketball shutdown and overall regional sports outlook vis-a-vis covid 19; In a tennis-heavy news and commentary segment, Matt and Ty review the rash of foreseeable and absolutely preventable core injuries at tennis first major of 2021, the concept of "quarterly tour bubbles" and New Jersey's decision to allow 10% arena capacity

Dr. Kristina Wilson delves into factors that led to her committee voting against winter sports for the 2020-21 season (the Arizona Intersholastic Association voted to adopt that position, then reversed 2 weeks later in 5-4 decisions), including surprising fall sports transmission data from "physically distanced" sports, chronic fatigue data and "cardiac clearance. We further discuss the challenges of disparate messaging which impacts the gap between protocols and enforcement and the cooperation amongst the various public health agencies

Dr. Kristina Wilson takes us "inside the room" for valuable insight as to how a medical advisory council operates. As Chair of Arizona's Sports Medicine Advisory Council, Dr. Wilson oversees the kind of consortium of experts and stakeholders whose role has become amplified in the era of COVID-19 (SHOW NOTE: some early initial technical difficulties in Dr. Wilson but clear up around 20:00)

Veteran Arizona Preps reporter Richard Obert joins us to discuss the inspirational story of Coach Russ Stryker and both the Navajo Nation and Arizona Interscholastic Association winter sports cancellations. We also discuss COVID news surrounding the New Jersey Nets as a common denominator, Duke women's basketball cancelling the season, and whether COVID will chang the sports calendar permanently for the good