Dodgers Win Pandemic Series

 The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the 2020 World Series in six games at Arlington, TX.  For a baseball season that began in late July and shortened to 60 regular season games performed in empty stadiums due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and few thought should have been played at all after two teams had outbreaks, this was quite an accomplishment.

Game 6, won by the Dodgers 3-1, was notable because:

• Rays manager Kevin Cash lifted his starting pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, ultimately losing the game and the Series with subsequent relievers failing to stem the tide.  So the moral of this story is:  If you live by the pitch count, you can also die by it too.
• Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was taken out of the game when he tested positive for Covid-19, yet he was allowed to celebrate maskless with his wife and teammates in the post-game championship ceremonies.  Obviously, somebody dropped the ball here.

This World Series was played at the Texas Rangers' new retractable roof stadium in Arlington, which is actually closer to Fort Worth than Dallas.  Not only was this the first Series to be played at a neutral site (league championship playoffs had also been held in Houston, San Diego and Los Angeles), but it was also the first held in the same ballpark since 1944 when the Cardinals and Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles) shared Sportsman's Park in St. Louis during that wartime series.  Until Turner's diagnosis, Major League Baseball had done a pretty good job of keeping the virus at bay with keeping close tabs on the players and limiting attendance.

The Dodgers, who have been in the Series three of the past four years before finally winning their first title since 1988, went through the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves in the National League playoffs to get here.

The Rays, only in their second Series since 2008, defeated the Toronto Blue Jays (who spent their regular season in Buffalo), New York Yankees and Houston Astros in the American League playoffs.

The Dodgers have now won seven world championships in franchise history, starting in Brooklyn in 1955 and the rest in Los Angeles.  This is the first title in which Vin Scully, who broadcast Dodgers games from 1950 to 2016, was not in the booth when they won.

Against all odds, Major League Baseball survived long enough to play a season in the shadow of Covid-19.  Whether there will be a full season in 2021, with paying customers permitted to watch inside a stadium, is anyone's guess.

Sid Hartman (1920-2020): Covering a Century of Minnesota Sports

It only seemed as if Sid Hartman had been around forever, if you've been a follower of Minnesota sports. For 75 years, he had been writing columns for the Minneapolis newspapers that eventually became the Star Tribune.  For 65 years, he was a fixture on WCCO Radio with daily appearances and a Sunday morning show.  On TV, he was a panelist on a weekly Channel 23 show hosted by Mike Max on Sunday nights. 

Hartman was 100 years old when he died on October 18.  On that Sunday morning, his final column had appeared in the newspaper.  By afternoon, when his death was announced by son Chad, the tributes started pouring in. 

Everyone who knew Sid, it seemed, had a story to tell about him.  Like how he operated and cultivated his "close personal friends" by insinuating himself into the lives of the athletes, coaches and other movers and shakers who normally wouldn't have the time of day for anyone else. Because unlike most journalists, in order to get the story, he knew everyone and everyone knew him. And he wouldn't write a critical word in return. 

Hartman was partially responsible for helping bring major league sports to Minnesota, starting with his stint as general manager of the NBA Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950s. But even after the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and the NHL were established here, he kept his focus on the University of Minnesota's athletic department, a focus he kept ever since he was selling newspapers outside Memorial Stadium. 

Sid Hartman came from an era when newspapers and radio were the main source of information and entertainment for most Americans. Now, with both mediums hanging on for dear life, one more piece of 20th century culture has gone for good.  And one more Minnesota icon passes into legend. 

Lakers, Storm Burst Basketball Bubble

The National Basketball Association was the first professional sports league to call a halt to its season when Covid-19 got serious in March.  Seven months later, after moving their playoffs to Walt Disney World in Florida, the NBA finally crowned a champion. 

It is the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the Miami Heat in six games.  For the Lakers, it was their 17th NBA title (that includes five in Minneapolis), tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most championships in the league's history.  For LeBron James, it was his fourth title with three different teams (the Lakers, Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers).

Despite the play of Miami's Jimmy Butler, for whom no one will ever call a team-killing malcontent ever again, the Lakers seemed preordained to win.  Not only because of James' presence, but also as a tribute to Kobe Bryant, who with his daughter was killed in a helicopter crash in January. 

The WNBA played their shortened season and playoffs in a bubble of their own in Bradenton, Florida.  The Seattle Storm, led by stars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, swept the Las Vegas Aces in three games. 

The bubble format worked out for both leagues, with no games postponed or canceled due to players getting sick or testing positive for COVID-19.  Other leagues such as the NHL and Major League Soccer have also done it successfully.  Outside the bubble, the NFL, Major League Baseball and college football have had problems keeping everyone healthy. 

Even though the players from the NBA and WNBA were sequestered inside the bubble, they didn't forget the social unrest going on outside. Courts and uniforms were adorned with Black Lives Matter, "Say Her Name", remembrances of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police brutality. The only postponements had to do with players protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisc. police, and the demonstrations that followed. (According to WTMJ in Milwaukee, Blake is recovering.)

It must be noted that all this activism by the players would not have been possible without the bubble. If fans had been allowed to attend games in their home arenas and players so much as took a knee during the National Anthem, the backlash would have been significant. 

Whether this experiment continues into next season depends on how long it takes for the coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use, if ever. The most the NBA can hope for is a shortened season that ends by early summer, and a return to arenas (though Toronto might be a problem).  Otherwise, Lakers and Storm fans can rejoice responsibly in winning championships in a most unusual year.