By Mark Carpenter-

We are living in a crazy time, a time in our lives that we won’t soon or ever forget. The last few months of my life have been ones that I really don’t want to remember. and this whole virus situation is just the icing on the cake. What a crazy couple of weeks, especially in the news business, where we have had to adjust to new information coming out by the hour. I have gone from thinking that all of this was a giant overreaction to thinking, “Wait this could be serious,” to wondering if there is something that they are not telling us, and worrying when someone in my house has a very compromised immune system.
For those in my line of work, at least the sports side, last Thursday was one of the worst, if not the worst, in a lifetime. One by one, the sports dominoes fell and we saw the most exciting sports time of the year pulled right out from under us. March Madness quickly turned into March Sadness as we all saw our plans for the next few weeks go up in smoke.
The whole situation with high school sports was nothing less than surreal, especially when that is your livelihood. The OHSAA first decided to play the remainder of the basketball tournaments with limited spectators and then changed that to a total “postponement.” If Peebles had beaten Berlin Hiland in the regional semis, how ugly would it have been if they had tried to keep Peebles fans out of the Convo…may have resembled Gaston and his buddies storming the castle of the Beast. Then it was announced that the schools were being closed for three weeks and the upcoming spring sports seasons would be put on delay, and sportswriters all over the state began to hyperventilate.
Now there seems to be a very good possibility that the entire high school spring sports schedule is in jeopardy, which would be devastating, not only to writers like me, but for student/athletes deprived of the opportunity to shine, especially those who are seniors. So if all of that gets postponed, I’ll be looking for story ideas, send me your suggestions!
If all were normal in the world, you would be preparing to hunker down not to avoid a virus, but to make yourself totally sick in the world of college basketball. The anticipation of selection Sunday- gone, filling out dozens of brackets trying to find that perfect one- gone, sitting on the couch for 12 hours on Friday and Saturday to watch the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament- gone! I feel like I missed the opportunity to watch nine more UK basketball games (do the math haters) and somewhere I know my Mom and Uncle Buck are very upset that UK and Dayton aren’t going to get their chance at “One Shining Moment”.
On a personal level, the delay of the Major League Baseball season, now seemingly until maybe June, might be hitting the hardest. My son was supposed to begin a new job with the Reds on Monday, one he was so excited about, but this d**n virus put that on hold. I wanted Reds baseball for my Dad, who is now alone and a Reds baseball game every night would have been real good for him right now. We already had my plans for the Opening Day parade and our tickets for the Opening Day game, who knows when and if that will ever be now. I sure will miss finding Holly, Debbie, Leeann, and Lavonne on the street for a parade. all jazzed up in there red t-shirts.
Though you won’t catch me watching an NBA game these days, that situation went from bizarre to more bizarre, starting with Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz being tested positive and all of his crazy antics. Then finding out that a member of the Pistons who had guarded Gobert in a game earlier also tested positive even added to the story. Shutting down the NBA seemed like a very good idea, though I for one won’t miss it.
As the dominoes fell last week, away went the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, PGA Golf, and then NASCAR, leaving sports fans such as myself scrambling for other entertainment options. I actually watched two movies at home last weekend, and because of trying to keep up with the constantly changing news, I’ve watched news broadcasts out of Cincinnati and listened to numerous talk radio shows. But let me tell you that I will be one unhappy camper if I get quarantined in my house and then don’t get to cover any spring sports, but I suppose it beats the alternative.
I always try to end these columns with something clever, but this time I think I’ll let a hobbit and a wizard speak for me.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I”, said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”