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Signs suggest pro sports, Red River Rivalry will face very rocky return amid COVID-19

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 7/7/2020

Jul. 7--Quarantined because of an outbreak of COVID-19 cases on their own team, the players and coaches for FC Dallas remain stuck in Orlando, unable to either play or return home.

FC Dallas vice president Gina Miller said Tuesday morning in a phone interview that the traveling party for the team that was scheduled to play in the MLS Is Back Tournament in Orlando is still coordinating with health officials from Florida and Texas about how to return to the Metroplex safely.

FC Dallas had to pull out of the tournament because 11 members of the team's traveling party have tested positive for COVID-19.

"We followed every single protocol to the T. We went above and beyond," Miller said. "It just exposes what we don't know."

You don't have to like soccer or Major League Soccer, but any fan of baseball, hockey, basketball or football needs to take a hard look at the beautiful game before celebrating the return of their favorite sport.

What happened to FC Dallas is a warning to every NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL franchise. Whether they play in a bubble, or in their home stadium with no fans, if these leagues somehow return to play this is all going to be a bleep show like we have never seen.

We all want sports to return, but if FC Dallas' experience is any indication of what the next couple of months are going to be like then this is going to be a mess.

Miller said there were approximately 40 people in the traveling party, and everyone tested negative when they left for Orlando on Saturday, June 27.

"MLS sent out a precise regiment for return to play. Temperature checks. COVID testing. Masks. Gloves," Miller said. "We did all of it."

A few days later after arriving in Orlando, the positive cases started. Those cases were quarantined. Then a few more tested positive. Eventually there were more than 10.

Then they were told to go home.

"You have to be incredibly vigilant to what we know can be effective," Miller said. "This is all so hard to do on this scale, on a large level what all of these leagues are trying to accomplish. There is no playbook on this. We are writing it. The way forward has been thoughtful and we are taking every precaution."

Miller said the team has no idea when they might return to playing.

The Dallas Stars are scheduled to return to practice on Friday at their home practice facility in Frisco to prepare for the Stanley Cup playoffs, to be played in the bubble cities of Edmonton and Toronto.

The Dallas Mavericks continue their practices, albeit the players are only going through individual workouts. The team is scheduled to leave for the NBA bubble in Orlando Wednesday with a traveling party of approximately 35 people. Their first game, against the Houston Rockets, is still set for July 31.

"There will be a level of fluidity as we move forward," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said Tuesday. "This is an extraordinary endeavor what we are trying to do. This is truly historic.

"We have been through a lot of things in terms of being educated. The most important thing is to do whatever you can to stay safe. To stay socially distanced and try to avoid the difficult situation what happened to FC Dallas."

Carlisle would not confirm if everybody is making the flight, which these days lends itself to obvious conclusions.

The Texas Rangers have returned to their "summer training" session at Global Pandemic Life Park. Outfielder Joseph Gallo has tested positive for COVID-19, so he's home.

The Rangers' 60-game schedule is set to begin on July 24, but with the MLB's testing procedures under scrutiny from players all over the league has front office employees less than optimistic about how a season can actually be played.

Then there is the NFL. Most of the leagues' teams have not gathered as a unit since the start of 2020, yet somehow they are to meet for the first time, and practice, during a pandemic within a matter of a few weeks.

A spokesperson for the Dallas Cowboys said the team is waiting for the NFL to determine the opening dates for camps.

Meanwhile, the University of Texas and Oklahoma are proceeding to play the Red River football game at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 10. The game was supposed to be played during the Texas State Fair, which had been scheduled to take place from Sept. 25 to Oct. 18, however, on Tuesday it was announced that this year's fair has been cancelled. The last time this happened was WWII.

"We fully anticipate that our annual Red River Showdown with Oklahoma will be played in the Cotton Bowl and are continuing to prepare for that," UT athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement.

Expect this to change.

Expect the NFL to follow the path set by the other leagues.

As what we just witnessed with the MLS and FC Dallas, expect all of it to be a mess of historic proportions.

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