The world of sports has changed since the suspension of the NBA season. 

A lot of professional, and college and Illinois high school sporting events have been canceled or suspended in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The coronavirus might have caused these cancellations, but there is still news and stories revolving around the world of sports; myself and others on the sports staff at The Daily Eastern News plan on providing those stories in the midst of this pandemic. 

My plans on covering, when it comes to sports on Eastern’s campus, will be in the form of feature stories, columns and analysis of what teams are doing during this offseason, how their seasons finished and delivering the voice of Eastern’s athletes and coaches during this time. 

We are all Panthers and while we are not used to this situation, we have the ability to adapt to it and do our part in keeping the information delivered and voices can be still heard. 

It has been interesting, to say the least, how this pandemic has been for me and my relationship with sports. 

Sports have always been an escape for me, and I looked forward to the NCAA Tournament, NBA postseason and MLB Opening Day. I looked forward to seeing what was to come for all these events, but they were put on hold, rightfully so, due to the safety of the athletes and the world during this time. 

While there has not been any live sporting events I have been watching replays and keeping up on the latest NFL free agency news. These alone keep the stories and spirit of sports alive despite there being no sporting events.

Replays can be found on social media, YouTube, ESPN on-demand or ESPN+. 

The replays provided are letting people relive the nostalgia of sporting events that were seen as great events that had athletes doing unique things under unique circumstances. The replays keep the spirit of sports alive during this time without live sports.

The NFL free agency creates so many stories based on the signings and whether top athletes are staying put with their teams or switching destinations. 

It was definitely hard to see Tom Brady leave the New England Patriots, but there have been so many stories created that draw interest from readers. As free agency progresses to the NFL Draft there will be more and more stories created. 

The timing of all of this as it relates to Eastern is spring sports have been canceled. The spirit of sports is very well alive and it is up to me and our sports staff to keep it that way and continue to get the information out to our viewers and let Eastern’s athletics voices be heard. 

I urge the coaches, athletes and staff to continue to email myself and other sports reporters, and respond to our inquiries, so we can work as a team and get information out to the community and further the relationship between Eastern’s athletics and the sports journalism production The Daily Eastern News continues to work on. 

Blake Faith can be reached at 581-2812 or bmfaith@eiu.edu.