The coronavirus put a four month delay on Major League Baseball starting their season but all 30 MLB teams are now ready to take the field for opening day.
There's No More Waiting For Baseball
The 2020 Major League Baseball season was originally scheduled to start on March 26th but the coronavirus pandemic interfered with those plans. Nearly four months later, MLB is ready to start the 2020 season tonight.
The 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals will host the New York Yankees for the league’s first game of the year. Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Also on the schedule for Thursday night is the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the San Francisco Giants. Eager baseball fans can tune in to ESPN for the live broadcasts of those games. If anyone is looking to bet or play Daily Fantasy, the crew from Sports Illustrated Fantasy and Gambling have plenty of strategy and advice for Thursday’s action.
National BEER Association? NBA Partners with Michelob Ultra
The National Basketball Association and Anheuser-Busch announced a new partnership that makes Michelob Ultra the official beer of the NBA. You’ve seen those Michelob commercials. They are the ones that depict people working out, running around, having fun, drinking beer and of course make me feel super guilty about not maintaining an active lifestyle.
Their biggest push is the fact the beer only has 95 calories and 2.6 carbs. Ricardo Marques is the Vice President of Michelob Ultra and said, "Combining athleticism with enjoyment is what defines Michelob ULTRA, and that's why we are incredibly honored to partner with the NBA and celebrate this historic return of basketball.”
Part of this sponsorship is Michelob ULTRA Courtside which according to the press release is, "a digital experience that allows fans to appear virtually inside the arena and share in the excitement of the game.” Not sure if Anheuser-Busch stock is seeing any movement but the NBA is moving closer to their start date as July 30th is when the NBA will resume their season.
Daily Business and Coronavirus Update
There are 15.2 million cases of the virus worldwide, with over 624,000 deaths. The U.S. has four million cases with over 143,000 deaths. 69,000 cases were reported nationwide on Wednesday. There were 1,130 deaths recorded Wednesday, which marks the deadliest day since May 29. California recorded 12,000 cases and 155 deaths Wednesday. The state’s total - which is currently at 422,000--has surpassed the total of New York, which was the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the U.S. back in the beginning of the pandemic. Texas reported 201 deaths.
Katherine Ross spoke to Dr. William Lang, a medical director at World Clinic and a former White House physician. They spoke about a variety of things, and she wanted to get his thoughts specifically on the vaccine development.
She asked why we’re seeing so many vaccine developers using two doses in their trials. He said that we should think of this as priming the pump; you start to build the initial immunity and then the second dose builds on that.
Ross also asked whether or not the speed of the development of the vaccine should concern the average American. I want to be careful in how I discuss this: the flu and the coronavirus are not directly relatable.
Dr. Lang said that we produce new flu vaccines fairly quickly every year, and while it is not a direct comparison, not all of this technology is as brand-new as we might assume. He said that he believes realistically that we could see one of these vaccines be approved and ready for distribution sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. He pointed specifically to the middle of the fourth quarter but said it could be earlier. That would mean that a substantial number of the population could start receiving vaccines by the first quarter. He specifically said that there could be a “substantial” reopening by the end of the first quarter. “I think we’re going to have a good spring,” he said.
And, finally, when asked whether or not he’d be comfortable in taking a vaccine once it’s passed through regulation, Dr. Lang said yes.
TheStreet's Katherine Ross contributed to this report.