Column | Sports is back and it feels good

Sports are officially back. Live sports have brought a breath of fresh air to American society.

Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have agreed to restart their seasons under certain guidelines and restrictions.

It's a unique situation where no fans are allowed and also no celebrations among players. No hand-to-hand celebrations are allowed at all.

"It feels like the season again," Washington Wizards guard Ish Smith said. "I think guys are now getting into a flow and knowing this is the real thing."

It's like basketball and baseball like we've never seen before as a society.

"Once you get in between the lines, you can make a case that that's probably as comfortable as the players will ever be," Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said in a interview to the New York Times. "You can see the rust and all that, but for them, they were back in their natural habitat."

The MLB is using cardboard cutouts and crowd noise through the PA speakers to simulate the game environment for viewers on television.

"We miss our fans and wanted to come up with a creative way for them to participate in the action this year," Brewers President Rick Schlesinger said. "While nothing can replace the energy and passion of our loyal fans in the stands, the Cutout Crew is a unique way we can welcome familiar faces for now at Miller Park."

Rob Manfred has been publicly scrutinized more of his handling of the MLB than Adam Silver with his roll-out plan for the NBA in the bubble.

As a sportswriter, I'm elated to be able to watch highlights of current games or even being able to report on live events.

Watching how these leagues go about their daily operations will hopefully be a blueprint for lower leagues such as Triple-A baseball and the NBA D-League on how to possibly go forward next season.

All in all, there's live sports and we're getting to a slice of our new normal.

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