The Sports Report: The games are over. Coronavirus wins

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Bill Plaschke on the incredible news Thursday that saw virtually every professional sports league stop in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. An exceprt:

What do we do now? What do we watch? Whom do we cheer? How do we cheer?

I planned to spend this weekend awash in the excitement of conference college basketball tournaments, particularly the desperate season-saving journeys of USC and UCLA.

Those courts have been emptied.

Friends were headed to Sacramento to watch the state high school basketball championships, especially the Hollywood-draped team from Chatsworth Sierra Canyon.

Those games have disappeared.

A buddy from Dallas was coming to town Monday to join me in watching the Clippers host the Mavericks in a possible playoff preview.

Staples Center will be locked.

My favorite four days in the sports calendar were next week, the first rounds of March Madness, an event that annually brings together the country with millions participating in office pools and school pride.

Every bracket has been busted.

Read the entire column by clicking here.

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Sports leagues or events that have been postponed or canceled by the coronavirus outbreak:

Baseball: MLB suspended spring training and delayed the start of the regular season by two weeks; minor league seasons have been suspended indefinitely.

Basketball: The NBA has interrupted its season for at least 30 days.

Hockey: The NHL and its minor league affiliates have suspended their seasons indefinitely. The women’s world championships, scheduled for March 31-April 10 in Canada, have been canceled. Also, the junior Canadian Hockey League suspended play.

Football: The NFL canceled its annual meeting scheduled for four days starting March 29. The XFL canceled the rest of its season.

NCAA: The men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled as well as all conference tournaments that had not been concluded. All remaining winter championships -- including wrestling and ice hockey -- and all spring championships -- including baseball, softball and lacrosse have been canceled. USC and UCLA have canceled spring football practices indefinitely.

Soccer: The MLS suspended its season a minimum of 30 days, as did the second-tier USL. U.S. Soccer canceled men’s friendlies scheduled for late March in the Netherlands and Wales and women’s friendlies scheduled for mid-April in Sandy, Utah and San Jose. The CONCACAF Champions League tournament has been delayed.

Auto racing: The Long Beach Grand Prix, scheduled for April 17-19, has been canceled. Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix has been canceled. NASCAR announced it would race the next two weekends, in Atlanta and Miami, without fans, and IndyCar made the same decision for its race this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Figure skating: The World Figure Skating Championships, scheduled in Montreal from March 16-22, has been canceled.

Golf: The PGA Tour canceled the Players Championship, which started Thursday, and all events through the Valero Texas Open, which begins April 2. The LPGA postponed the next three events on its schedule: the Volvik Founders Cup, March 19-22 in Phoenix, the Kia Classic, March 26-29 in Carlsbad and the ANA Inspiration April 2-5 in Rancho Mirage.

High school sports: The CIF canceled the state basketball championships scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Sports seasons have been suspended by schools and districts around Southern California.

Tennis: The Women’s Tennis Assn. canceled the Miami Open and the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C., as well as two international tournaments. The men’s tour has suspended play for six weeks. That decision covers the Miami Open, the U.S. men’s clay-court championships in Houston, and tournaments in Marrakech, Morocco; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Barcelona, Spain; and Budapest, Hungary. The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, which was scheduled to begin this week, was canceled on Sunday.

World Cup skiing: The competition’s finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, scheduled from March 18-22, have been canceled.

Sports still active, though without fans in attendance:

NASCAR, IndyCar, horse racing, MMA and pro bowling.

TODAY’S LOCAL MAJOR SPORTS SCHEDULE

Nothing.

BORN ON THIS DATE

1886: Baseball player Home Run Baker (d. 1963)

1930: Baseball umpire Doug Harvey (d. 2018)

1963: Former Dodger Mariano Duncan

1964: Baseball player Will Clark

1967: Soccer player Andrés Escobar (d. 1994)

1971: Football player Curtis Conway

1980: Basketball player Caron Butler

DIED ON THIS DATE

2015: Baseball player Al Rosen, 91

AND FINALLY

Dodger manager Dave Roberts has a message for fans regarding the delay of the start of the 2020 season. Watch it here.