Sports at Christmas have a long history. Today, five NBA games will be played, while the Vikings and Saints will face each other on the football field. Paid professionals who work on America’s most celebrated holiday are nothing out of the ordinary.
But something about college basketball being played at Christmas every year seems not only wrong, but also criminal.
Today’s slate features:
Wisconsin vs. Michigan State.
Michigan vs. Nebraska.
Iowa vs. Minnesota.
The conference that willingly chose to be the face of everything that is wrong with playing sports during a pandemic without a plan, decided that getting these six teams to play conference games is exactly what Jesus wanted for his birthday.
And yes, I know that Buffalo and Marshall are playing at the Cramton Bowl today, but college football sold its soul to the devil a long time ago.
Below is a list of factual things that happened in the past few weeks in college basketball that prove why the season needs to be paused at most, or a real plan needs to be put into action, at least, since the sport seems to have a fixation on playing during a global pandemic.
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In October, Deadspin asked if the NCAA had a plan to play basketball in those days. The answer has always been, and remains, no.
Oh, and one more thing.
A conference that has not won a national championship since 2000 is the last one anyone wants to see at Christmas.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren definitely woke up with a piece of coal this morning.