New CDC Recommendation Puts NHL Season in Doubt

The CDC has issued a new recommendation for public gatherings, which will likely submarine the possibility of resuming the 2019-2020 NHL season with fans in attendance. Public gatherings of 50 or more should not occur for at least eight more weeks to halt the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Kiss goodbye the chance to attend any Pittsburgh Penguins games before the middle of May. Yep, we’re going to be hunkered down for eight more weeks. Oh boy.

BREAKING: CDC recommends the cancellation or postponement of all events with 50 people or more for the next 8 weeks https://t.co/Xk5XLLKiNT pic.twitter.com/fJ8JPX0B5t

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) March 15, 2020

According to a report via Twitter from ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA owners and executives are preparing for a three-month hiatus. Basketball is a summer sport anyway. Can anyone imagine the NHL trying to restart the season in May for an August Stanley Cup Final?

The possibility exists the NHL could eventually resume play in empty arenas. Maybe that idea will be floated in the near future if we somehow get a handle on this situation, and the danger diminishes.

The NBA led the way with a swift “pause” as soon as Rudy Gobert tested positive. All other sports leagues were forced to deal with the issue sooner than they otherwise might have made a decision. Now, we’re left to wonder which league will figure out a way to resume play, and when can they do it?

Pittsburgh Hockey Now will continue. Many of our subscribers have their anniversary date in June, and the NHL Draft and Free Agency will likely happen on some modified schedule. So hopefully, you’ll stick around for that coverage. Without tooting our own horn too obnoxiously, over the past couple of offseasons, we’ve had groundbreaking stories. From being the first on the Phil Kessel stories two years ago, and again last season, to breaking news of contract and trade talks, PHN has dug deep.

I hope you’ll stick with us through this time. You have my email.

Even Worse News

Sunday night, the Federal Reserve signaled an interest rate cut. The Fed will cut interest rates to near 0%, which may sound great, but is a harbinger of bad things. Wall Street is poised for a dark, very dark day on Monday.

God help us all. A lot of hard-working people are about to lose a lot of money, which they set aside for their retirement.

In my lifetime, and probably yours, this coronavirus situation is unprecedented. I don’t know what life will look like on the other side. I know that 9/11 changed us in ways we’ll never fully comprehend and that the 2007 and 2008 market crash altered many lives.

Online shopping and video chat are going to become very popular for those who have resisted. I hope Wall Street shovels that money back to folks when this coronavirus pandemic is over.

In some sort of Zombieland post-apocalyptic scene, as I stood in the Aldi’s parking lot loading my car with the few groceries I could pick up, a man pulled up next to me. Well dressed, he hopped out of his car with a stern look on his face, “How bad is it in there? Is there anything left? I heard the Giant Eagle in the West End has some good things left.”

And that’s where we are.

God Bless. Stay safe. Send beer.