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Congress stuck as McConnell torpedoes emerging COVID-19 deal

Gov. Tom Wolf shut down all sports except for college and professional leagues starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Jan. 4 in an effort to curb increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state.
				Wolf made the announcement during a virtual press conference Thursday afternoon. A statement on the governor&rsquo;s website read: &ldquo;All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural, and intramural sports are paused.&rdquo;
				Practices are also prohibited during the shutdown. The PIAA tweeted Thursday night it would have a press release Friday morning concerning Wolf&rsquo;s decision.
				&ldquo;The point is right now the problem that we are all facing is this virus continues to rage in Pennsylvania,&rdquo; Wolf said. &ldquo;Over the past several weeks, it has become clear we need to take further mitigation actions to protect Pennsylvanians and stop the spread of COVID-19. We all hoped it would not come to this, and that&rsquo;s the point.
				&ldquo;The current surge in the state of Pennsylvania will not allow us to wait.&rdquo;
				Superintendents of 10 Wyoming Valley Conference schools decided earlier this week to shut down sports until Jan. 4. Wyoming Seminary also decided to halt sports until that date. The only three schools known to have continued practicing &mdash; Holy Redeemer, Lake-Lehman and Tunkhannock &mdash; will all now have to stop.
				The Lackawanna League, which forms the other part of the PIAA District 2, also shut down sports until Jan. 4 before pushing the date back until Jan. 11 on Wednesday.
				Many other leagues in the state also moved back their starting date prior to Wolf&rsquo;s announcement. Leagues in the Reading and Erie areas had games scheduled for Friday &mdash; the first allowable date to play under PIAA rules &mdash; and according to internet reports, those games will go on.
				The Jan. 4 restart set by Wolf doesn&rsquo;t mean games will be played locally on that date for two reasons.
				First, the PIAA Board of Directors passed by a 23-8 vote Wednesday a rule where a team must have a specific number of practices after a stoppage in its season. If the stoppage is more than seven days, two practices are required before playing. If it&rsquo;s more than 10 days, it&rsquo;s three practices. If it&rsquo;s more than 14 days, then four practices are needed.
				So that means if teams return on Jan. 4, they would need four practices and wouldn&rsquo;t be able to play until Jan. 8.
				However, a Jan. 8 return to WVC sports is also uncertain. The PIAA requires 15 practices, which could include scrimmages, before playing a contest. During the WVC boys basketball coaches media meeting on Sunday, some schools indicated they wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to start Friday.
				Pittston Area coach Al Semenza and Wyoming Seminary coach Pete Moses indicated their teams had only five practices before their programs were closed down because of COVID-19 concerns. Crestwood was scheduled to hold its first practice this past Monday. Crestwood would need a minimum of 17 days based on PIAA practice regulations before it could play, making Jan. 21 the earliest date for a game based on a resumption of athletics on Jan. 4.
				Only a few teams would have accrued 15 practices to play Friday if the WVC superintendents didn&rsquo;t halt sports earlier this week.
				All three WVC winter schedules will also need to be reconfigured. Swimming was set to start Dec. 15 and wrestling on Dec. 16. WVC boys and girls basketball were scheduled to begin on Jan. 2, although both had numerous non-conference games scheduled starting Friday.
				Prior to Wolf&rsquo;s announcement, the PIAA decided to keep Friday as the first day for competitions despite receiving a letter from the Pennsylvania Principals Association urging the delay of the winter sports season. State College Area superintendent Bob O&rsquo;Donnell addressed to the board, asking to delay the season until Feb. 1.
				The PIAA already tried to accommodate basketball by changing the deadline to complete district tournament from March 6 to March 15. It would also limit basketball and team wrestling state championship to only district champions. Qualifiers for the state swimming and individual championships were also cut down.
				The PIAA, like it did in the fall, is also allowing non-playoff teams and teams eliminated from the playoffs to schedule extra games until the date of the state championships.
				The PIAA Board of Directors has it next meeting scheduled for Jan. 6. However, board president Frank Majikes, who is also the District 2 chairman, said that date could be change if events warrant.

Gov. Tom Wolf stops high school, youth sports until Jan. 4