WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

One person wrote, "Running with masks on is pretty much a non-starter. I have read many a thing about that being a very unsafe proposition."
Another person wrote, "If the NCAA does require masks on refs, running has to be curtailed"
Hello?

I wrote the first sentenced based on ... YOU!

Come November, will we see basketball referees wearing gloves and masks? (whistle usage could be difficult -- maybe they get an air horn thing)
Should they be running a lot wearing a mask? Or should there be four refs that more or less maintain scattered positioning around the court?
Maybe there isn't the quantity of refs to have four per game. Added expense for the school too.
I bet refs would like the air horn idea anyway; get the whistles out of the mouths for good.

You are the one who brought this up. Thus ... I have said that the idea isn't going to happen. But you keep speaking on it like it is a thing suddenly:

All of my speculation on this issue is serious.
Making refs run for a whole game (mask or not) is detrimental to their purpose : closely observing the action. And, moving around with a whistle in the mouth seems unnecessarily restrictive to breathing, compared to carrying some small device in one hand. A whistle in the mouth is a decades-old tradition that deserves no loyalty.

If the NCAA does require masks on refs, running has to be curtailed, as explained above by Dave.
Four basically static refs would be best, but likely isn't feasible.
We'll eventually learn what the NCAA and NAIA think about it.

So I ask again ... where are these thoughts of fancy coming from? No where has the idea of refs in masks been considered.

[RogK]

was just wondering what anti-COVID precautions might be implemented ... independent brain activity on my part ... hadn't read it anywhere

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The WHO continues to emphasize that masks are not necessary for healthy people.  Presumably, before athletic competition gets underway, there will have to be provisions for testing to ensure participants (officials included) aren't carriers - which would then make the mask issue moot.

We've still got standing mask directives in most of the US, because we still don't have great testing to know who's sick or not.  My Dad's in a vulnerable population for about five different reasons, but without symptoms he was only just tested for the first time this week.  Once we catch up, a lot of the mask questions will resolve themselves.

[RogK]

You can catch the virus 14 seconds after being tested. Or two days later, etc.
Testing negative is not a protection from acquiring the virus thereafter.

[Gregory Sager]

I think we can expect that she will not be easily discouraged on the basketball court.
Watch this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kIQw6vsCfg
Watch it twice.

That's powerful stuff. Now I'm twice as glad that she chose North Park.

Thanks for the link, Rog.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

You can catch the virus 14 seconds after being tested. Or two days later, etc.
Testing negative is not a protection from acquiring the virus thereafter.

Possibly ... but testing at least gives us a baseline understanding of what is going on, who may have it, etc.

Is it perfect? No. Neither is the flu vaccine.

But masks in competition ... even for refs ... not going to happen.

[RogK]

Ryan and Dave, a very accurate immediate-result test would be ideal. Hoping it is developed soon, alongside a cure and vaccine.
Greg, you're welcome. She's quite a resilient person.

[iwu70]

Very moving video.  All best to Ariana as she pursues her academic and sports career at NPU.  Lots of resilience there for sure.  Good luck!

'70

[Jester1390]

dont let stats get you rog. Im not a denier of the virus but the deaths are not as high as they show. Colorado had to lower their totals as a kid who died from alcohol poisoning had covid so it was listed as a covid death. I know alot of nurses and have been told that there is pressure from administrators to list deaths as covid even if it was death do the underlying conditions. They are guaranteed to get paid if its covid. Like everything in life always follow the money.  The one thing the riots and protest will show is if there is no spikes in covid cases then you will know the lock down wasn't necessary for the majority of the population.


89 percent of the deaths in Minnesota have been in senior homes. this is terrible and travesty but we focused on the wrong the places. Sending covid patients to senior homes is about the most brilliant ideal anyone has come up with.

[RogK]

When you get a chance, check with those nurse friends if there's any value in slowing the spread of the virus, if that would reduce the odds of it reaching elderly people who are not in senior homes.
Some medical people have said that the virus is more of a threat in cold months, warning of a spike of cases next winter (basketball season).
Sending COVID patients into a senior home is extraordinarily dumb, for sure.
Some senior homes' staffs were very smart very quickly and implemented strict precautions to reduce the odds of employees bringing the virus in, also banning visitors (who are an unnecessary risk). It is sad to have to label visitors that way, but it has succeeded in protecting those facilities.
More broadly, if it's raining and you use an umbrella to keep yourself dry while you get to your destination, you don't normally say, "oh, I stayed dry, so I guess the umbrella wasn't needed after all."

[Jester1390]

Rog

my point was like anything in numbers and stats anyone can find numbers to support their views but when you let fear take away peoples sense of humor and life just becomes this is going to kill us this is going to kill you and where facts change day to day. Notice no complaining by the media on protesters on not self distancing and that  they are going to kill the rest of us. I have no ideal if it will spike or not but i do no the discourse changes depending on political views.

When we as a nation were to ever lose our sense of humor then the  country really will be a dangerous place.  Enough on covid.  This is a basketball blog.  Cant wait for season to come back.

let start another conversation. I was talking with Dave about schools budgets and he wrote me a very in depth and really good response i didnt want to post without his permission but Dave I think you should post it. It was really good,  I have heard that their are 3 schools in the HCAC who are financially in trouble. Earlham has already cancelled their mens and woman's golf and tennis.

I have heard numerous school sin Minnesota on D-2 level may be in trouble.  If d-2 schools stop with scholarships that would mean a influx of even so called better players coming into d-3  and naia schools applying to be d-3 and not offering scholarships. these are some thoughts Dave had I agree.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Jester - share with me my exact words. I forgot to save a copy of my reply (had multiple things going on around me at the time)... so I don't remember my exact words. I just want to be sure it is okay to make more public.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

You can catch the virus 14 seconds after being tested. Or two days later, etc.
Testing negative is not a protection from acquiring the virus thereafter.

No, but if there's widespread testing, health officials can actually track it.  Cases in the US continue to go up as (in most places) hospitalization numbers are dropping consistently, if not dramatically.  That means they're finding more and more asymptomatic people, which helps put the overall puzzle together.  Without testing, we're acting blind.  Testing isn't a solution, but it's the key to managing the virus and opening up more of the country safely.

If we have widespread testing, the chances of someone catching the virus 14 seconds after a negative test decrease dramatically, because there's a much smaller chance of contact with someone who doesn't know they have it.

Any college is going to have a plan and likely a handle on contact tracing this fall.  I suspect we won't see fans (at least off-campus fans) at any sporting events all year - but if they have a clear picture of the campus community itself (who's leaving, when, and to where, etc), they'll be able to manage safely.

Remember, the goal was never to prevent infections, it was to manage them.  That will continue to be the goal until (if) there's a workable vaccine.

[RogK]

The goal was never to prevent infections? Apparently you don't have any older acquaintances with asthma.

[RogK]

a '20-'21 schedule :
https://athletics.wheaton.edu/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
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