Yeah, it really looks fishy that the only fall sport that will be played by many conferences is the one that makes money for the universities, even though other fall sports have fewer student-athletes -- and thus less cost for testing, etc. -- and involve less contact.

Most of the pressure seemed to come from politicians in Ohio and from O$U. O$U was one of the three that originally opposed delaying football. It has been touted as having a real shot at the national title, and its players and coaches were very vocal early on. Then last week the state's AG publicly stated that O$U would have a good case for suing the B10 for damages (his office would handle such a suit for O$U). He probably would not have made such a public statement unless asked about suing the B10 by the university and/or important people at the statehouse.

I don't think I have posted in months, and when I checked back to view this post, it saddens me to see into what depths this board has devolved. A sports board that doesn't want to play sports because they believe in conspiracy theories. High school sports are being played, NBA, MLS, MLB, NFL is being played, European soccer and on and on it goes.

A few days ago, I had dinner with a friend of mine I grew up with whose a physician. If you think I think this whole Covid 19 is overplayed madness, he makes me look meek and mild. While we were dining, a colleague of his stopped by who is apparently is well respected in his field (Disease specialist.) We got to talking about the Big Ten which was still on the fence at the point. The specialist chimed in that he had no skin in the game because he's from India and a fan of Cricket, and barely knows anything about American football. He went on to say, studies about inflamed hearts etc were ridiculous because any virus temporarily inflames areas of the body, including the common cold.

He talked about the history of mammals and infections and the idea of lock downs were ridiculous because, while the vulnerable need to be protected we actually need exposure, otherwise we would never build up our immune systems. He went on to say anyone who doesn't understand this has no idea of science and is strictly operating under a political agenda. He sort of concluded by saying there is going to be a shakeout in the medical profession in the next few years, and it won't be pretty for those who had a political agenda.

My point being that we have all kinds of sports being played and conspiracy theories being debunked about athletes keeling over with heartaches. Yet, the MAC can't play sports? If the MAC presidents didn't want to play Division I football anymore than man or woman up and say so, and not let it die a slow death. It isn't fair to the other athletes of other sports in the conference.

It saddens me to see people I respect using the word "lab rats." You are going against the science you claim to represent. All kinds of sports are being played, my kids high school sports are being played, and so is every other league across the globe. In conclusion, if we aren't going to have sports anymore in the MAC (and be the laughing stock of the country) we might as well shut down this board, it will free up some time for those of you that didn't want to play sports to get the out vote for Joe Biden. You will probably be happier, because if everyone else is playing sports from little kids up to adults all over the globe and you don't want to, then you were probably liberal activists masquerading as sports fans all along.

The conspiracy is Covid itself. It'll never cease to surprise me how willing some people are to see nothing but evil in the hearts of their neighbors.

cbus cat fan, Would you liken the posters on here sinking to low depths to what Trump called the "herd mentality"?

Regardless, and speaking for myself, I would like to thank you for coming out of your self-imposed sabbatical to point out our shortcomings.

Glad this post created some discussion. First of all, the conspiracy theory I spoke of was not the virus, but the manufactured health scare concerning heart problems that do not exist.

My physician friend's colleague, the Disease specialist from India I spoke about was a fascinating man. I could have listened to him for hours. I think the crux of what he was saying (I don't want to put words in his mouth) was that a lot of these viruses that came from China are connected going back to the Hong Kong Flu of 1968-69 (H3N2 virus.) It was brought back to the US from soldiers returning from Vietnam, it spread across the across the country in late 1968. Some even say it was spread further by Woodstock in August of 1969, but that may be apocryphal. Anyway, whichever they are H1N1, Sars etc they have their own characteristics, but are somewhat interrelated because of transmission from animals (bats, pangolins.) The flu shot apparently still contains elements to fight off the H3N2 which is still somewhat with us today.

Covid 19 came into the world's view because of the horrible images coming out of China, the doctor from India stated. Everyone panicked thinking we had something like the 1918 Pandemic on our hands when we did not. Each strain of these viruses has their own special indicator, this virus doesn't seem to harm the young, as it did in 1918. However, politics entered the fray and a Pandora's Box of fear and panic entered the world, he continued. I do feel comfortable in quoting his following words because I remember them quite vividly. "This is not the 1918 Pandemic, and anyone who is engaging in fear mongering is woefully inept and shouldn't be practicing medicine, or they have a political agenda," he state forcefully. I don't think he would be the best spokesman for my cause because he was a Joe Friday, just the facts kind of doctor. He probably wouldn't play well politically, because he was loaded with knowledge and really wasn't interested in feelings, just cold, hard facts.

As for my post being Trumpian. Actually, both my friend and his colleague say they would have advised the President not to shut down , just shelter the vulnerable. Now my friend isn't a disease expert, but his colleague is and he is very angry at how he and others have been treated. That is what he means when in my last post he postulated that there will be a reckoning soon in the health care world, and those who perpetrated fear and panic will someday be held to account.

This all leads us back to the purpose of this board which is to post sports related posts, but since the MAC listened to political hacks and quacks here we are twiddling our thumbs at the mercy of political scare mongers while others enjoy their sports and our MAC athletes and fans are deprived of their opportunities. The shutdown folks say they are all about science, but nothing could be further than the truth; their agenda is state control and anyone who dares question it will be cancelled with the help of their lapdogs and sycophants.

Here are some relevant links
https://twitter.com/venkmurthy/status/1294406748678365191...

https://footballscoop.com/news/over-1000-high-school-foot... /


P.S. Mike that's why I didn't quote you by name, because I felt you might be relating it to that story. All I will say about that is consider the source.

Maybe it's because I read a great deal and listen to the stories of people I have met in my life, a colleague who grew up in Venezuela, a janitor I know who was from Cuba, the various East Germans I have met along the way. It starts out subtle and then you are cancelled. You get so happy to have the "privilege" to go outside and dine and or have a drink with friends that you dare not question anyone when they tell you that sports are optional, because their self appointed experts think there is a danger.

Cuba/Venezuela had their share of problems before the Socialist takeover, but they seem like a drop in the bucket to what they are dealing with now. Look at Nicholas Sandman the Covington Catholic High School student. The mainstream media made is life miserable until he fought back. Why? He wasn't bowing and scraping at their woke program. Didn't he get the memo, traditional Christianity, marriage and babies were out. What was he doing in Washington DC wearing a MAGA hat and trying to defend the most defenseless?

Sorry, Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame, I live in the Real World. Perhaps you would be fair minded with everyone, I am an optimist by nature and hope you are as fair minded as I hope you are. However, the woke forces that are in control aren't into being fair; they went from tearing down Confederate statues to the Founding Fathers, then Catholic saints, now it is trying to shut us down once again, whether it be sports, churches, businesses etc. Ever notice that abortion facilities remained open while churches were closed? Ever notice that big box stores were allowed to open but mom and pop restaurants and bars couldn't? The woke folks don't like peasant interaction. They can't control the narrative. Before one of the statue topplers was set free courtesy of either Kamala Harris or Justin Timberlake or some such wokester, the arrestee when asked why he was attacking a religious statue said, We got to get rid of the statues and symbols of their God and His followers.

The reason I fight to keep sports going is not just because the science says there is no harm, or because I played and coached and love the spirit of competition. It is because I know if they can keep even our humble conference shut down it makes it easier to keep or shutdown once again schools, churches, businesses etc. You might want to find an old East German, Venezuelan or Cuban to talk with, he or she might have a lot of useful information for you.

Okay, my man. Good luck with all that.

MAC is going to play. Why??? because there is no reason not to play. Risk is mitigated.

The only "conspiracy theory" on this forum is this comment right here. Like this comment doesn't even qualify as futilely stupid.

I don't follow.

Gotcha. Just to be clear, I was trying to explain what Cbus sees as the conspiracy. I clearly don't think Covid is a hoax. Pretty sure you get that, but just to clarify.

Edit: and just to be clear, Cbus has now clarified that it's not that Covid isn't a serious disease, but that "self appointed experts" and medical professionals with a "political agenda" are making up ongoing heart risks from Covid because keeping MAC football from playing helps condition people into accepting totalitarianism. So, you know, way more reasonable.

FWIW, here's the latest update I've seen on the MWC. https://mwwire.com/2020/09/16/mountain-west-looking-to-pl... /

In short, they're trying to find a way to play an 8-game schedule this fall, possibly without Hawaii, Fresno St and AFA. The State of Hawaii currently requires a 14-day quarantine for all visitors to the islands unless they have a negative covid test within 72 hours of arrival. That could cause problems for some teams, but the restriction might go away in Oct. Fresno hasn't had anyone on campus -- not even athletes -- this school year, so there are practice issues in addition to the wildfires in the area. It's unclear why AFA is on the list; they're scheduled to play Navy in two weeks and Army in November. The MWC release didn't mention New Mexico, which is subject to statewide restrictions on sporting events.