Embarrassment of the day: Ivy League panics and cancels basketball conference tourneys

Hoops McGee wrote:

The Ivy League's regular season is a round-robin tournament (every team plays each other, home and away). The Yale men (11-3) won, Harvard (10-4) and every other team lost. Harvard might have beat Yale twice, but it also lost to four inferior teams. Every game counts. The Bulldogs won the "endurance race."

Covid-19 aside, tacking on a single-elimination playoff, after playing a lengthy round-robin tournament, is idiotic. Conferences that engage in round-robin play (the larger conferences don't; too many teams for home-and-away play) need to get rid of conference tournaments. Of course they won't (I guess there's money involved, TV airtime to fill up ), and heaven forbid the players are denied a couple extra games.

Agreed, about every conference tournament/championship game is superfluous and clearly little more than a desperate money grab by conferences in tv contract negotiations that benefits the (unpaid) players in no tangible way. Though I'd guess the tv contract for Ivy League sports can't be a meaningful sum in relative terms. So sure, it would be nice to see the nonsense surrounding college ball sports toned down. However, doing so once for the stated purpose of responding to a viral epidemic isn't exactly a win.

JMar Superstar wrote:

[quote]Hoops McGee wrote:

However, doing so once for the stated purpose of responding to a viral epidemic isn't exactly a win.

I believe the main consideration is that Harvard is playing host to this year's tournament, Harvard is shutting down for the semester, and Harvard doesn't want to staff the games.

It's in the Harvard men's basketball team's interest to hold the tournament (sorry, but I haven't checked the women's standings), but the administration has decided that it's not in the school's best interest. They're just running out the clock on the basketball season (which is 99.9 percent complete), putting an end to it as soon a possible.

As for the other Ivy sports, I don't know exactly what's happening, but I'm sure it's out of a sense of fairness to the spring teams and letting them have a taste of a season. In a few weeks or so, those might get shut down, too.

HRE wrote:

...

No disrespect for your grandparents but let's think about this in terms of things like school classes, big road races and conference basketball tournaments, etc. People in that age group die. They do it from all sorts of causes. Let's say that confirmed 15% fatality rate is even a little low. Let's make it 20%. That means that 80% of the people in that age group who get the disease will survive.

You're making a popular mistake, following a common fallacy--you assume that the mortality rate is constant and matches what we've seen to date.

The variable that you're missing is one that many people are missing, although it has been explained over and over, is that hospitalization is required for many of the survivors. Unlike regular seasonal flu, this one is putting far more survivors into ICU.

To make sure you don't miss the point, that means that their survival (and thus the predicted mortality rate) depends on hospital facilities being available for them when they need them.

To be crystal clear, that means that hospital facilities need to handle the load; if they become overwhelmed, that may cause a radical change in statistics.

*This is the main reason to slow the spread--to spread (in time) the hospital load*

Well, at least 1 ivy is moving all classes online for rest of semester. https://cornellsun.com/2020/03/10/cornell-cancels-in-person-classes-after-spring-break-will-shift-to-online-instruction-amid-covid-19-turmoil/

THIS. Thank you

Yes, I am looking at current mortality numbers. I understand that those numbers could change. I also have read that the mortality numbers so far are probably higher than they really are because there are many people who get the disease and don't show up either for treatment and survive. Could there be a drastic turn for the worse? Sure. But you can say that about almost anything.

Yes. At the moment my mind is made up. I have a hunch yours is too. At the moment, if other conferences start cancelling their tournaments I will think that they also are over reacting. I am basing this opinion on the data I have seen so far. If that were to change I might also change my opinion.

HRE wrote:

Could there be a drastic turn for the worse? Sure. But you can say that about almost anything.

Right like you could keep posting here instead of Shutting TFU

concerned american wrote:

HRE wrote:

Could there be a drastic turn for the worse? Sure. But you can say that about almost anything.

Right like you could keep posting here instead of Shutting TFU

Yes, I could. And telling me to shut up only makes me want to keep posting more. Mybe I'll keep on posting until YOU STFU. Is your normal response to anyone who expresses and opinion other than yours to tell them to shut up? If so, how well does it work?

daft wrote:

Well, at least 1 ivy is moving all classes online for rest of semester.

https://cornellsun.com/2020/03/10/cornell-cancels-in-person-classes-after-spring-break-will-shift-to-online-instruction-amid-covid-19-turmoil/

Princeton has already declared online classes for the rest of the spring semester.

Cornell is following Harvard's lead - kicking the students off of campus and have them take their courses at home, online.

Sounds like professors don't wan't to be exposed to kids after spring break. Instead, leave kids at home to have Sunday brunch with 80 year old Granny. Who is being protected by having all of these college kids roaming their home communities instead of being at college away from the elderly?

jesseriley wrote:

Sounds reasonable.

Normally of course we would have a sane President providing guidance.

Why you dog-faced pony soldier!

HRE wrote:

concerned american wrote:

Right like you could keep posting here instead of Shutting TFU

Yes, I could. And telling me to shut up only makes me want to keep posting more. Mybe I'll keep on posting until YOU STFU. Is your normal response to anyone who expresses and opinion other than yours to tell them to shut up? If so, how well does it work?

Ok boomer

You said you WERE a therapist. I can see very clearly why you had you license revoked

I've read more than enough posts from HRE to know he's not a great man, far from it...

Ivy League has cancelled spring sports. Talk about panicking...

https://twitter.com/IvyLeague/status/1237815630511976450

HRE wrote:

Yes. At the moment my mind is made up. I have a hunch yours is too. At the moment, if other conferences start cancelling their tournaments I will think that they also are over reacting. I am basing this opinion on the data I have seen so far. If that were to change I might also change my opinion.

Always nice when someone admits their own ignorance.

everyone here. wrote:

Ok boomer

You said you WERE a therapist. I can see very clearly why you had you license revoked

You really cannot see clearly at all. I'm retired. There's no need to pay and get continuing ed credits for a license I'm not going to use.

Hoops McGee wrote:As for the other Ivy sports, I don't know exactly what's happening, but I'm sure it's out of a sense of fairness to the spring teams and letting them have a taste of a season. In a few weeks or so, those might get shut down, too.

OK, I was off by a few weeks. My bad.

HRE wrote:

everyone here. wrote:

Ok boomer

You said you WERE a therapist. I can see very clearly why you had you license revoked

You really cannot see clearly at all. I'm retired. There's no need to pay and get continuing ed credits for a license I'm not going to use.

Why should I believe you? Clearly you’re a paid actor contracted to come on here and spread your lies