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It’s a COVID-19 world, and Jim Sterk is just trying to adapt to it for Fall sports

Mizzou News for Friday, May 15

By Karen Steger

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It’s a mad, mad world. Or in this case, it’s COVID’s world and we are all just trying to figure out what to do about sports (like Football)...

I’ve been thinking of the song ‘Mad World’ a lot lately, not only because it’s just a really, really good song, but also because I feel like it’s a scarily accurate portrayal of things these days.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

Most of us have been working from home for quite some time now (I, myself, am going on two months Monday), and I don’t know about you, but I’m just... tired. We’re all tired. I attend Zoom meetings, much like the rest of you, and you see the people you work with across the screen and everyone is just kind of... hanging on at this point. We’re getting up to go to work at our kitchen tables or home offices every morning, but we’re quite literally going nowhere. And I know for me and some of my coworkers, at least, it can just be a bit too overwhelming at times, so you turn off your video for a minute or you hide your head and no one sees what’s really going through your mind as someone says something stupid or upsetting, etc. (side note: I did both of these things last week)

I didn’t mean that to be alarming, y’all. I promise I’m getting by alright. I still have all my jobs (until they tell me I don’t), and I’m functioning as normally as I can.

So... the point of this whole thing! We’ve gotten there! Jim Sterk ZOOM’ed with some Mizzou media members, and chatted about when/if football will be played and what it might look like.

As for when student-athletes might be able to return to campus, he said:

“June 1 is the first time where we can, right now, the way it stands, would be the first time that we could repopulate and have workouts in the gyms and fields and things like that, weight rooms,” Sterk explained. “And the 22nd (May), I think the presidents and chancellors have a call, a meeting, and they’ll decide whether to stay with that date or to adjust that date. So that’s where we are right now.”

Sterk did say that if students are taking classes online, that will NOT prevent football from being able to start. Simply put, the campus isn’t closed, so athletics can still take place. IDK, y’all... seems to me like this makes the athletes more employees than students, though he did specify that students not comfortable with this arrangement could back out with no penalty.

What that looks like when student-athletes start arriving back on campus, they aren’t sure. They will surely take additional precautions, but how, who knows. Testing every athlete upon their return? Keeping those with a fever from participating? Quarantining just the impacted individuals or the team as whole? Nobody’s got real solutions for that yet.

Football and basketball are the only sports that hold mandatory practices during the summer, and while they are eyeing the June 1 mark, will other athletes be able to return then, too?

A whole lot else was covered, and you can Choose your own Sterk Teleconference here to read more: Dave Matter (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Souichi Terada (KC Star). Mitchell Forde (PowerMizzou). Another Mitchell Forde (PM) piece. And here’s a video (courtesy of PM). Eric Blum (Columbia Tribune). Andy Kimball & Adam Cole (Columbia Missourian).

Onto the links we go. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

And in case you want to listen to the song referenced above, here you go:

Yesterday at Rock M

More Links:

Football

  • Look at you, Nick Bolton!
  • Khalil Oliver has completed his Master’s of Public Health in Epidemiology! Congrats, sir!

Hoops

Assorted Mizzou Sports News

  • Check out the #MizzouMade twitter to see who the grad sash recipients were for each sport! It will be nice to see some of those athletes back in black & gold next season using their extra year of eligibility. Here’s Mizzou Football’s recipients:

Interesting/Non-Mizzou News

These are a few of the best sports stories & tidbits I found regarding some goings-on in sports and the world— Enjoy!

  • I must confess, I did not know until I saw this on Uninterrupted’s twitter feed that Packers player, Christian Kersey graduated from Hazelwood East! How cool! (I went to Central, for those wondering)

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