Remember back to the beginning of March, when everything still felt normal? It’s been 20 days since the NBA put its season on pause, and the league is talking about how it might come back this year. The Hot Takedown team thinks that the logistics of even a shortened playoff or play-in tournament might be too complicated to manage in the next few months but had fun considering the smaller, more manageable spectacle of a Big3-style reality series where it’s Kawhi vs. everybody.
The crew then talks about the implications of the NCAA Division I Council’s decision to extend eligibility requirements for spring student-athletes, and how that will affect athletic programs big and small. There are still a lot of unanswered questions as to how many students will be able to finish out their collegiate careers, and how many schools will be able to afford them. However, the team agrees that it’ll be easier to manage than if more money-making sports were included in the extension — with minimal shade thrown to water polo.
Our Rabbit Hole isn’t quite enough to tempt Sara to watch esports, but an iRacing tournament with actual NASCAR drivers gets pretty darn close to simulating the real races.
What we’re looking at this week:
- FiveThirtyEight’s Chris Herring on whether quarantined tournaments are a good idea.
- The NCAA’s eligibility ruling might have awkward consequences for schools and coaches.
- What might have happened in the Elite Eight, according to the FiveThirtyEight simulated tournament.