As the second half of August began there was major news breaking regarding high school athletics. The PIAA (the governing body of HS sports in Pennsylvania) announced a delay of the fall season, for football in particular the delay forces the first three weeks of the season to be canceled. The revised schedule called for practices to begin on the 31st with the first games on the weekend of September 18-19. For the Lancaster-Lebanon League that means each school plays just one non-league game followed by its six-game league schedule, at McCaskey that means four consecutive home games followed by the final three on the road. The city school board subsequently announced a vote scheduled for September 8 at which time the decision whether or not to proceed with all the fall sports programs will be made. I guess they want to monitor the first week of practices and if all goes well the green light will be given. There were several school districts across the state announcing they would not participate in the fall season, I certainly hope the rug doesn't get pulled out from under the kids at JPM. The spring sports teams lost their seasons and the various summer athletic programs (the county youth baseball league included) reported no massive outbreaks so maybe the worst of it is indeed behind us. There are those who believe it was never as dangerous as it was portrayed (and to a degree I'm one of them) and after five-and-a-half months of "two weeks to flatten the curve" the public-at-large has just about HAD IT. I never doubted from the start that the situation was real and caution was warranted but sooner or later the political games must end and the public MUST be allowed to make their own decisions without constant interference from the state government (which has been inconsistent and confusing at best). Take care, thanks for reading.
