The NFL has decided on its contingency plans if any postponed games cannot be made up by Week 17. Plus: Alabama and Ohio State games are among those called off this weekend, the NBA’s December 22 start date is now official, and more.
NFL owners OK contingency plans including Week 18, expanded playoffs
NFL owners have agreed to expand the postseason field from 14 to 16 teams if games pertinent to the playoff race are canceled, according to multiple reports. The expanded playoffs would be a last resort in the event that the league’s other backup plan — adding an extra week at the end of the regular season for postponed games that cannot be made up in the existing 17-week schedule — fails. [NFL.com 11.10]
Alabama, Ohio State games called off this weekend
Four SEC football games this weekend have been postponed, including the Alabama-LSU game that was supposed to air on CBS following the network’s third round Masters coverage. It is not clear whether Alabama-LSU, which had already lost much of its luster due to the Tigers’ poor season, will be able to be made up. [Related: College football TV schedule.]
Also postponed this week are Georgia-Missouri, Texas A&M-Tennessee and Auburn-Mississippi State have also been postponed. Beyond the SEC, Maryland-Ohio State has been canceled. [ESPN.com 11.11 a, b]
NBA’s December 22 start official
The 2020-21 NBA season is officially scheduled to begin December 22 after league owners and the players union reached agreement this week on a scheduling format and financial adjustments to the collective bargaining agreement. The sides continue to negotiate on other issues, namely health and safety protocols in a non-bubble environment.
No concrete word has been given on the league’s plans for preseason games, but ESPN’s advance schedule lists the network as airing five from December 6-18. The same advance schedule lists ESPN and ABC as carrying the NBA’s entire five-game Christmas Day slate in the same windows as last year (Noon, 2:30, 5:00, 8:00 and 10:30 PM ET). It should be noted that in the absence of an official schedule, all is subject to change. [NBA, AP 11.11]
Plus: NFL on FOX, NHL, Notre Dame hockey, Southern Conference
In a rarity, FOX plans to distribute its three late NFL games this week almost equally, with Seahawks-Rams and Bengals-Steelers each going to 34% of markets and 49ers-Saints to 31%. Because of CBS Masters commitments, FOX has all of the 1 PM ET games this week and would seem to be treating that window as “America’s Game of the Week” — sending Buccaneers-Panthers to 53%. … The NHL plans to update its board of governors on plans for the coming season on Thursday, according to Darren Dreger of Canada’s TSN. Per Dreger, the league is still aiming for a January 1 start, but has yet to provide concrete details on how the season would be structured. … NBCSN plans to air five Notre Dame men’s hockey games over the next five weeks, starting Friday against Wisconsin. Three other games would air on the NBC Sports app. … ESPN said Thursday that it has reached a six-year media rights extension with the Southern Conference through 2025-26. Under the deal, there will be an undisclosed increase in the number of men’s basketball games on a linear ESPN network. [Fox Sports; TSN 11.11; NBC Sports PR; ESPN PR 11.10]
