No Plan in Sight for MLB but NBA Looks Ready to Go
As a fan of MLB, I'm bummed by what seems like a stalemate between players and owners.
At this point, it doesn't seem like there will be a 2020 season at all. The owners have rejected a player proposal for a 114-game regular season with no additional salary cuts and informed the union there will be no counter offer. This doesn't look good for anyone who was hoping to take in some baseball games anytime soon.
Late in May, the NHL announced plans to return with a 24-team playoff schedule to start in early July. Kudos for the NHL as they look to finish their season and get a Stanley Cup Champion.
Now, ESPN is reporting that the NBA is on the cusp of getting their season back too. NBA's board of governors approved a 22-team format that will restart the season in Orlando, Florida.
The plan put forth from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would include 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams, eight regular-season games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed, and playoffs—all played at the Walt Disney World Resort.
The top 16 teams in the Eastern and Western conferences will be joined by teams currently within six games of eighth place in the two conferences: Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix, Washington, the New Orleans Pelicans.
According to sources in the NBA, teams would begin training at team facilities no later than July 10th and then head to full training camps in Orlando later that month. That's good news for hoops fans.
So to summarize, the NHL has a plan, the NBA has a plan, and the NFL also looks to be moving forward with their season starting on time. MLB...not so much.