What a difficult year to date for sport. Endless cancellations and postponements have taken place, leading to endless issues and complications for sides. You have the likes of the Olympic games and European championships, that were the first to be postponed and moved to 2021. The Euro 2020 betting has England as the general favourites at present, with both France and Belgium also at the top of the market. Punters can pick up a host of offers ahead of the event, including betting guides, with Turkey and Italy set to kick off the tournament on the 11th of June. Soccer is just one of the major sports to be affected, and it has been the same across the US, with endless sports continuing to return, following the extended break.
This past weekend saw the return of major US sporting events once again much to the delight of many punters – after initial cancellations and postponements started to roll out in late March, as many are now trying to catch up and finish their seasons before the winter in order to get the next campaign underway, a growing number of possibilities have become open. As we’ve seen with many other sporting events around the world this has led to a growing number of betting options and the increasing pace of sporting schedules means that there’s plenty of room for punters to play – there are some challenges to overcome, however, as not having fans in attendance for example has shown to really change the dynamic and has had an impact on some teams seen already as there have been some big upset results.
It doesn’t seem to be smooth sailing for all sporting events however, as it seems Major League Baseball may be the first at risk of having to cancel events once again following eighteen postponements on the opening weekend. Throughout the lockdown period there had been a growing number of stories of players testing positive for the coronavirus before the league had even been announced, which had been part of the reason for the longer delays. The bad news has continued after starting however as the number of players testing positive for the virus continues to increase in pace and now further protocols have been announced after the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals have shown the extent of how bad things are looking and 33 players would test positive.
(Image from USA Today)
A statement issued reads “Everyone must be accountable for their own conduct because the careless or reckless actions of a few can impact the health and well-being of everyone” amidst the new revised protocols – some of these changes are; all players and staff must wear a mask at all times including the dugout and clubhouse (with the exception of players on the field), players and staff members have been ordered to quarantine on the road, and clubs must also reduce the size of their traveling parties amongst other changes in protocols too – it is hoped that these adjustments will see a marked reduction in the number of positive cases and will help ensure the league can continue, but there are fears if cases continue on the path they have then this season may have to be scrapped.
It is expected that there may be some more cancellations or postponements however, in the case of the Phillies, they had played the marlins in the middle of the developing outbreak and although there has only been one confirmed case, it is possible this could also grow out of control and the same may be true for others who may have recently played against any team having an outbreak – the new protocols are certainly imposing and perhaps a little daunting for many, but it may be necessary to ensure the season can be completed.
