NFL Nuggets:

• This is not a good look: The Vikings’ “infection control officer” tested positive for COVID-19.
  • His name is Eric Sugarman, and he is officially also the team’s head athletic trainer and VP of sports medicine.
    • Sadly, he’s not related to Burt Sugarman of “The Midnight Special”. 
      • Who has also been married to Mary Hart since 1989.
  • And not just him – his whole family.
    • They have been in self-quarantine since Friday.
    • He sent out a note to players & fans:
      • “[A]s I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally.”
  • Hilariously, this comes a week after Peter King visited the Vikings and raved about their virus testing & protocols.

• Not with this in mind, but with this in mind, the League sent out new guidelines for players, informing them about what happens if they allow themselves to become exposed.
  • A memo from the NFLPA memo states: “Clubs/NFL can challenge designation as a football related injury if it can prove that the player contracted COVID-19 through engaging in (any of the) high risk conduct below. (This issue remains open.)”
    • an indoor nightclub with more than 15 people
    • an indoor bar with more than 15 people, other than to pick up food
    • an indoor house party with more than 15 people
    • an indoor music concert/entertainment event with more than 15 people
    • a professional sporting event, other than applicable NFL games or events, with more than 15 people
    • an indoor religious service attended by more than 25% of a venue’s capacity
  • What this means is that the team could challenge how the player contacted the disease & impose penalties up to & including the loss of all pay for the period in question.
    • It would also mean they would go on the non-football injury PUP list, keeping a valid IR spot open.
    • The player could only challenge the matter after the season has concluded.

• Speaking of the PUP list, here’s a reminder that Alex Smith will be starting the season on it.

  

  • More importantly, it was revealed Friday that Smith’s doctors had cleared him to return to football activities.
    • As a reminder, his season ended in November 2018 with a compound fracture of his leg, he underwent surgery to repair the fracture, then soon after developed a flesh-eating bacterial infection that nearly took his life & soon became septic.
      • He underwent 17 surgeries and wore a complicated, halo-like contraption known as an external fixator to keep his leg stabilized at all times. But he was able to work out.

• Raheem Mostert has gotten the upgrade deal he wanted from the 49ers.
  • It doesn’t add years to his contract, but the signing bonus & incentive clauses give him the potential to earn up to $5.0 million.
  • The whole issue came about because he wanted to be paid like a #1 back, but the Niners were trying to keep him at a kick returner’s salary.
    • A salary difference of $2.0 million.
  • This might have been okay if Mostert hadn’t essentially run the Niners into the Super Bowl.

I didn’t want to include this up top, but in looking through old episodes of “The Midnight Special”, I found the one that showed whom cocaine lived with before moving on to Fleetwood Mac.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X39MaWV8aCQ

MXC Monday:

Episode 205 – Toy Game Makers vs. Clerical Workers: “Board roomers versus board gamers”.

Keep your eye out for Kenner Hasbro, who invented a Candyland game for diabetic kids. His live-by motto is pretty inspiring: “Every hole is a chance for glory.” Not to be outdone, what happens to Tamela Lee will haunt Trent Green’s nightmares.

Tonight’s sports:

• MLB:
  • Blue Jays at Nationals – 6:00PM | Sportsnet
  • Mets at Red Sox – 7:30PM | ESPN / TSN3
  • Mariners at Cheatstros – 7:00PM | Sportsnet1
• MLS is Back Tournament:
  • San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake – 8:30PM | FS1 / TSN
  • Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC – 11:00PM | FS1 / TSN
• Premier Lacrosse League:
  • Redwoods vs. Chaos – 7:00 PM | NBCSN
  • Atlas vs. Archers – 9:00 PM | NBCSN
•  WWE:
  • Monday Night Raw – 8:00PM | USA / Sportsnet360

It’s with a relieved, yet slightly heavy (thanks angina!) heart that I will be announcing the end of “MXC Mondays”. We have a good amount of sports back on our TV’s, so I want to make sure that if another apocalypse comes around there are plenty of episodes left in the hopper should we need to go down this road again. Many thanks to those of you who enjoyed them along with me.