(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Pittsburgh 2, Baltimore 1 Philadelphia 6, N.Y. Yankees 2 Tampa Bay 16, Atlanta 5 Texas 12, Chicago Cubs 8 Chicago White Sox 7, Arizona 4 Oakland 9, San Francisco 3 Kansas City 6, Colorado 3 LA Angels 6, LA Dodgers 5 San Diego 3, Cleveland 3 AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston 8, Minnesota 3 Detroit 4, Toronto 4 NATIONAL LEAGUE Miami 10, NY Mets 2 Washington 11, St. Louis 3 Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Phoenix 101, Charlotte 97 (OT) Portland 122, Toronto 117 Denver 126, Atlanta 102 LA Lakers 96, Orlando 93
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Washington 5, NY Rangers 4 Detroit 4, Columbus 1 Anaheim 3, St. Louis 2 (OT) New Jersey 1, Boston 0 Florida 4, Dallas 1 Nashville 3, Chicago 2 Ottawa at Montreal (Postponed)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65 Michigan 76, Florida St. 58 UCLA 88, Alabama 78 Southern Cal 82, Oregon 68
Courtesy of Gonzaga UniversityBy MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News
(SPOKANE, Wash.) — During March Madness at Gonzaga University, students typically are found camped around the Spokane, Washington, campus, or packed into its arena to root on the Bulldogs — if they didn’t travel to the tournament cities themselves.
This year, of course, is different. Non-essential travel is discouraged by the state, and on-campus watch parties are limited to up to a couple hundred students, seated by household “pods,” on the lawn outside the student center.
“March is a major production at Gonzaga, and what we’re doing is such a scaled-down version of that, that it isn’t even comparable,” Kent Porterfield, vice-provost for student affairs at Gonzaga, told ABC News. “But our students have really appreciated what we are doing, because there’s been so little of that this year. It is fun to see them having fun, but it is really dramatically different.”
Last year, the NCAA canceled the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments a day after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
As this year’s bracket heads into the Sweet 16 weekend, officials overseeing bubbles at competing schools are doing everything they can to mark the occasion — while also pleading with students to not let their guard down when it comes to COVID-19.
Gonzaga is one of several universities, including Baylor and Villanova, hosting outdoor watch parties this weekend, with social distancing and mask-wearing enforced.
“We actually believe that it’s better to have some events on campus that we can help monitor than the unsupervised events that occur off campus,” Porterfield said. “The parties and gatherings there are much more risky than the ones on campus. So we’re really working hard to try to make sure that we’re providing opportunities for students to gather safely.”
Loyola University Chicago is asking students to watch the tournament this weekend virtually or in small groups, after a large number of students gathered with “no social distancing” following the university’s recent win, school officials said.
“Some of the behaviors that took place near the Lake Shore Campus this past Sunday after our win against Illinois were not acceptable or responsible forms of celebration,” Student Government President Maddie Drescher and Dean of Students William Rodriguez wrote in a message to students Thursday. “There were many students reported to have violated COVID-19 health and safety protocols, as well as open container laws.”
Such behavior “could set us back and jeopardize future in-person opportunities,” the officials warned.
Ohio University, now out of the men’s tournament, similarly had to address students after a few hundred people gathered over the weekend on Court Street, prompting police to block and clear the area, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Amid a “concerning” increase in the campus’ COVID-19 infection rate, Syracuse University officials implored students to remain vigilant during March Madness and watch games safely.
“COVID cases are rising among our students and large gatherings could result in greater spread on our campus,” Robert Hradsky, vice president for the student experience, and Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado wrote in a letter to students Friday. “Now is not the time to let your guard down.”
The University of Houston had a similar message for its students, especially after Texas lifted COVID-19 restrictions this month.
“I realize we are in a transitional phase and some guidelines may be undergoing changes, but it’s to everyone’s advantage that you continue to take the safest, surest route to good health and pandemic protection,” Dr. Stephen Spann, the University of Houston’s vice president for medical affairs, wrote in a letter to students and staff Thursday, reminding them to continue to wear a mask — required on campus — observe social distancing measures and wash or sanitize their hands regularly.
For some schools, March Madness is occurring amid strict local measures and a minimal campus presence. At UCLA, most classes are remote, and the on-campus population — normally over 11,000 — is around 700 students. Large gatherings are not permitted in Los Angeles County.
Crowds of college students who are ignoring calls for social distancing and mask wearing are worrisome because that population largely has not been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, medical experts said.
“The most under-vaccinated populations are also the ones that have the greatest mobility, the least amount of social distancing, mask wearing and the ones who have been traveling for spring break,” Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News. “The concern is that this is a population that probably is at the greatest risk of potentially some complications when it comes to COVID.”
Brownstein, a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit, pointed to recent findings in Michigan of large growth in hospitalizations of young adults. From March 1 to March 23, hospitalizations increased by 633% for adults age 30 to 39 and by 800% for adults 40 to 49, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
“We should be concerned that we haven’t fully protected the population at this point,” Brownstein said. “The NCAA itself has been practicing really strict protocols and trying to keep players safe, and I think the same should extend to the fans. We should be trying to create safe viewing opportunities.”
Players in this year’s March Madness have been undergoing daily COVID-19 testing and staying in a tournament bubble in their respective cities.
Spectators are also limited, with masks and physical distancing required. At the women’s tournament in San Antonio, fans outside of players’ friends and family haven’t been allowed to attend games. Starting with the Sweet 16, there will be a limited capacity of up to 17%. In Indianapolis, the men’s tournament is capped at 25% capacity for all rounds.
Off the court, crowds remain a concern. After videos and photos depicted large groups gathering in downtown Indianapolis last weekend, many not wearing masks or social distancing, the local health department is urging people to follow protocols to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
“We want to work with restaurants and venues to safely host gatherings during the NCAA tournament and in the weeks ahead,” the Marion County Public Health Department said in a statement to ABC Indianapolis affiliate WHAS-TV this week. “We continue asking everyone to wear a mask and stay socially distanced when going out in public. Taking these steps help keep everyone safe during this time.”
Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesBy DANA ALKHOURI, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Student athletes are used to having routines and game schedules. But that regimen was taken away as of March 2020, as lockdowns and restrictions were put in place throughout the country to combat COVID-19.
Some college athletes and experts shared with ABC News the toll they said the pandemic has taken on student athletes’ mental well-being as well as their progress in their sport.
“The pandemic was awful for me in the sense that I felt like I lost everything in an instant,” Baylee Tkaczuk, a gymnast who attended the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh from 2016 to 2020, told ABC News.
Tkaczuk, who graduated in May 2020, spoke about disappointments amid COVID.
“One day my team and I were conference champs for the first time in 24 years and we were ready to go to nationals,” she said. “The next day we learned we wouldn’t be going. It was awful for the seniors last year because it was so abrupt and we never got to compete in our last competitions.”
“For many student-athletes, their sport is a big part of their identity, their community on campus and their daily routine,” Dr. Sarah Lipson, an assistant professor in the department of health law policy and management at the Boston University School of Public Health told ABC News.
While athletes fear getting COVID-19 just like everyone else, there’s the added sense of loss from restrictions put on their practice sessions and competitions which can affect their progression in their sport, said Dr. Shekhar Saxena, professor of the practice of global mental health at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
“The time window that athletes have in their career to do their best is very narrow and for some, one year lost could be a career lost. For others, the time lost breaks their routine and the chance to win a medal or to set a record — that can result in anxiety and depression,” Saxena told ABC News.
A junior when the pandemic hit, Noa Covell, now a senior on the women’s rowing team at Ithaca College, had a hard time processing that school and sports were becoming remote activities.
“Our whole team was told that we had to go home right after returning back to campus from our spring training trip in Georgia,” Covell said. “Working out alone for the first couple of months made me feel extremely isolated and unmotivated.”
Covell said she knew many of her teammates felt the same, so she found a way to keep her team connected even though they were all miles apart.
“We decided to try to make a schedule to do workouts over Zoom together. Having Zoom open during the workout and seeing the faces of my teammates made a huge difference,” Covell said.
Even athletes participating in socially distanced games and practices feel the effects of the pandemic.
Clair Kaji is a fifth-year senior on the women’s gymnastics team at the University of Iowa.
Kaji said not being able to see loved ones during the pandemic has been the most challenging.
“During season we haven’t been able to see our parents. These are sacrifices we’re willing to make to keep the team safe but it hasn’t been easy,” she told ABC News.
As with other teams, her team’s season has been different this year. Her team only travels by bus to meets and no fans are allowed to come root them on.
“We make it a priority to talk to our players and have them know that mental health is just as important as physical health,” Pedersen said.
As head of marketing for the team, Pederson helped start motivational and mindful Mondays for the players during the pandemic.
“It is expected that 10%of all short-term mental health problems will lead to long-term functional limitation,” Saxena said about the pandemic’s potential impact on student athletes.
Proactive steps to help student athletes navigate the pandemic may help ward off longer-term damage.
“It will be important to continue to understand the mental health of student athletes in both the short- and long-term and to promote help-seeking for mental health as needed,” Lipson told ABC News.
iStock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Phoenix 104 Toronto 100 Brooklyn 113 Detroit 111 Boston 122 Milwaukee 114 Denver 113 New Orleans 108 Portland 112 Orlando 105 Minnesota 107 Houston 101 Charlotte 110 Miami 105 Indiana 109 Dallas 94 Utah 117 Memphis 114 Atlanta 124 Golden State 108 L.A. Lakers 100 Cleveland 86 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Washington 4 New Jersey 0 Anaheim 4 St. Louis 1 Arizona 5 San Jose 2 Winnipeg 3 Calgary 2 Edmonton at Montreal 7 p.m. (Postponed)
iStockBy ABC News
