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CANCELED
March 14, 2020
McAlester schools cancel spring break extra curricular activities By DEREK HATRIDGE SPORTS EDITOR
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LADY MOUNTAINEER SOFTBALL and Mountaineer baseball have been notified to suspend play after a decision by the NJCAA on Friday afternoon.
NJCAA shuts down Eastern spring athletics in March By DEREK HATRIDGE SPORTS EDITOR
their preparation.” The NJCAA said it will reassess the rapidly-changing conditions on April 3, and make a decision regarding whether to continue with athletic competition for the remainder of the season. It is also extending hardships to 60 percent, meaning that if seasons are canceled before a student-athlete has completed 60 percent of the season, the NJCAA will not charge a year of eligibility for the 20202021 season. Parker said he and the Eastern administration are keeping a close eye on the situation, and will be ready to follow any procedures that are necessary. “We’re going to wait and take our directive from the NJCAA, State of Oklahoma, the health department, and our administration,” Parker said. As for the athletic teams, they’ll continue to work and practice. Parker said that although things may seem a little uncertain now, Eastern athletics will be ready if they’re given the green light to resume play. “We’ll trust that they signed up to work and they’ll do it on their own, and when they show back up that they’ll be ready to do what they can,” Parker said. “Let’s be the best team that’s taken a break and come back.”
The National Junior College Athletic Association has announced that it is suspending all competition through March in a release on Friday afternoon. “After reviewing and evaluating all of the feedback and information from our membership and regional leadership, the NJCAA is suspending all competition beginning Saturday, March 14 through Friday, April 3.” This suspension includes Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton. Mountaineer athletic director and baseball coach Matt Parker said he knew that the suspension could be a possibility. “We’ve talked about it every day since Wednesday,” Parker said. The NJCAA has allowed each individual college to mandate whether to continue to hold practices or not. The Mountaineers and Lady Mountaineers are set for spring break next week, but will get right back to work when they return to Wilburton on March 22. As a coach, Parker said that it is important for his team to stay sharp and conditioned despite the suspension in play. “Whether or not we play another game (this season), our job is to get better,” Parker said. “Regardless of what happens moving for- • Contact Derek Hatridge at ward, it shouldn’t effect dhatridge@mcalesternews.com
McAlester Public Schools have decided to cancel activities during spring break in response to novel coronavirus concerns. The school released a statement on the decision early Friday afternoon. “McAlester Public Schools, effective immediately, all extracurricular activities are canceled beginning tomorrow, Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, March 22, 2020,” the statement said. “This includes any and all games, practices, and scrimmages. The District will continue to monitor and reevaluate as next week progresses.” McAlester athletic director John Homer said the move came after school administration received an update from State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. “She gave all the ins and outs,” Homer said. “We sat down as an administration and decided we’re going to shut it down for the week.” Homer said that because of the upcoming spring break and all the travel that would be involved, McAlester officials thought that taking a breather would be the best path forward
DEREK HATRIDGE | Staff photo
MCALESTER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR John Homer speaks during an event earlier this month. Homer and the McAlester administration made the decision to cancel extra curricular activities during the upcoming break.
and allow for new and updated information to develop. “This was the safe thing to do with people traveling. We just said that to stay on the safe side, we’re going to shut it down,” Homer said. “We’ll look and see how everything has progressed and make a decision to go forward.” Homer said that he and the administration stand by their decision. They will receive another update from Hofmeister at the end of next week, and will assess the situation before
making a decision on how to proceed when students are set to return to the classroom. “It’s all precautionary. It’s for the safety of our kids. Whenever we’ve canceled, we’ve never lost a kid,” Homer said. “When kids are involved…their safety comes first. I know some of them are going to be disappointed. “It was the right thing to do.” • Contact Derek Hatridge at dhatridge@mcalesternews.com
OU’s Castiglione shares ‘incredible sense of disappointment’ with athletes By TYLER PALMATEER CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA
On a scratchy telephone line with roughly a dozen reporters on the other end of it, following a day of hours-long meetings, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione asked for understanding with regard to the uncertainties. “These are unprecedented times,” he said. Castiglione did his best to answer the questions in front of him, putting health first, while empathizing with those affected by the NCAA’s decision to cancel its remaining winter and spring championships in the wake of coronavirus pandemic KYLE PHILLIPS | CNHI photo concerns. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA athletic director Joe Castiglione shows how It left much to consider. staff will use a Biometrix finger reader to get into the building at Oklahoma >> See CASTIGLIONE // Page B2 Memorial Stadium.
IF THE HAT FITS
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The importance of a game in a world without sports
hey say it’s just a game. Yeah, it is. But it’s also so much more than that. The professional and collegiate sports worlds have come to a full stop as the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, has spread rapidly across the United States and the globe. We are currently in a very tough fight to combat this outbreak, and one that we must fight together. Oklahoma City was ground zero as the NBA had its first confirmed cases and suspended the season. The MLB, NHL, XFL, NCAA, NASCAR, PGA, and MLS have all followed suit by either suspending their seasons, taking a hiatus, or canceling events altogether. This is unprecedented. The last time the sports world came to a halt similar to this? World War II, and even then,
Derek Hatridge SPORTS EDITOR
the show still went on in some form or fashion. (Think Dottie Hinson.) But this hasn’t just affected fans and athletes at the national level, but here at home as well. After the Jazz-Thunder saga that shut down the NBA and pushed the first domino, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association postponed the Class 2-6A state basketball tourna-
ments, as well as all other OSSAA events this week. The OSSAA left canceling regular season games and events up to the individual schools, and some have done so while others are awaiting guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Unprecedented seems like too small of a word. This is a viral outbreak the likes that we haven’t truly seen in quite some time. Organizations at all levels are weighing options and erring on the side of caution. But that brings me back to the game. Whatever you play— basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track, golf, etc.—it’s the game that changes lives forever. Professional and collegiate sports are great. They supply role models and memorable moments. I’m a huge fan my-
self. But the high school level is something different entirely. The NCAA likes to use the tagline that their student-athletes graduate to a career other than sports. But in high school, student-athletes become something else: their best selves. Most athletes in high school will not play competitive sports after graduation. Some will go to college and get a degree, while others will move immediately to the work force. All of those former athletes will become adults, and long for those days in the sun or under the lights. Because it was there that they discovered hard work, ethics, teamwork, leadership, and self-sacrifice. It was sports that taught that young player that you can push yourself. That you can lose and lose, but it makes the vic-
tory that much more special. I myself discovered who I could be on the hardwood in a high school gymnasium in 2007 when I changed my jersey number to 10. I had lost my friend that previous summer and it was his number, but the power of the game showed me how to conquer pain and keep moving forward despite the trials of life. It taught me that the little things make the biggest difference. That’s a lesson I will never forget. So when we continue to see these games being played, at any level, it reminds us of those lessons we learned all those years ago. That’s why when the sports world stopped, things felt vastly empty. So, yeah. It’s just a game. But it’s so much more than that.
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