TSHTF Updates 3/5/20 9:15 ish PM PST

• In a first step toward a possible March Madness without fans, the NCAA has, in fact, announced that one "pod" of the Division III men's basketball tournament this weekend (at John's Hopkins University) will, in fact, be held with no fans present.

A major flare-up has been noted in Northern California in the last several days.  Sacramento is one of the eight cities hosting a pair of pods in the first two rounds of the Division I tournament.

Tampa, FL has announced a couple of isolated cases.  That's another of the eight pod cities.  (It also is to host Wrestlemania 36 and all associated events in about a month.)

Washington is probably the current major flare-up.  Spokane is a third city in this list.

And then, of course, if it gets to LA proper, Staples Center is one of the regional championship sites.

Basically, be prepared for empty-stadium championship basketball, as things currently appear to stand now.  And that should tell you all you need to know regarding many other sporting events coming down the pike.

Such as:

• A concessionaire at XFL games in CenturyLink Field in Seattle has contracted the coronavirus, indicating the stadium probably is now infected.

In other news:

• Eric Dier has been officially charged by the FA for going into the stands to confront two fans who apparently were harassing his brother. 

The charge is not complete, pending a possible referee report (provided he saw any of it).  With the incident making social media, it's clear the FA could suspend Dier for the rest of 2020.

Criminal charges have not been ruled out at this time, per English reports.

And in another case that The Shit Is Hitting The Fan:

• Brian Harkins has just been fired by the Los Angeles Angels.  He had been with the team 30 years.

And the reason may get him in significantly further trouble.

Harkins was, until today, the visiting clubhouse manager with the Angels.  An internal team investigation, reported by ESPN this evening, has found that Harkins provided illegal sticky substances -- contrary to the rules of MLB (and they're going to be enforcing this further this year!) -- to the other team.

Let.  That.  Process.

I get the concept that a certain amount of substance to allow for better gripping of the ball is necessary to prevent people from getting killed, and I will not argue that point.

But what business does the visiting clubhouse manager -- a guy with the team for 30 years! -- have in providing an illegal substance or substances to the players on the other team?

Even if it's pine tar...  That should be something already provided by the team themselves if they are so inclined to try to break the rule that way.

I don't get this, I don't like it, and it stinks to high Heaven.