Miscellaneous
Today’s top headlines: 13 in Floyd, Redmond with COVID-19; state adds 123 more. Monday sees 2,207 new cases in Georgia. Kemp extends public health state of emergency, safety protocol. Cartersville man now faces murder, three other counts following Sunday evening shooting. Politics: District 14 GOP hopefuls John Cowan, Marjorie Taylor Greene in televised debate July 19-20. Floyd Democrats set virtual meeting for Thursday. Business: Prime downtown Rome spot on the market for $450,000 — with parking. Ware Mechanical Weather Center: Another steamer on the way with a heat index of 98. Rain possible on Independence Day, that evening. Truett’s Chick-Fil-A Sports Report: Amid pandemic, a centennial celebration for the Negro Leagues. MLB camps open Wednesday. Rant of the Day: "Upon further review ..." Keep a sharp eye on your sports feeds in coming days -- even if you don't like what you're about to read. Or hear. So what have we seen and heard -- all from reputable news and sports media? Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals says no thanks to Major League Baseball's shortened season, which technically starts with training camps on Wednesday. At least one other Nats' player has joined him. Other MLB teams are reporting players and coaches who have tested positive, including Minnesota. And as our colleague John McClellan points out, the most recent extension of social distancing and other pubic health protocols by Georgia's governor overlaps with the first weekend of high school football scrimmages. We imagine they'll find a way to properly social distance to comply but it will be tough. And should we worry that Fulton County Schools has opted to delay its start of the new year by a full week -- so far. High schools in Gwinnett County also report four coronavirus cases -- we hear a mix of players and coaches -- and the Georgia High School Association again is reminding schools to report positive virus tests. On Monday, we saw the first official report that a football conference -- the storied Ivy League -- was thinking of switching football to spring. Some college football teams already are canceling nonconference games. At Clemson, 37 players, coaches and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus. That follows the report from LSU. In Alabama, the loss of The Tide could cost the state more than $2 billion. A study from 2015-16 concluded Tuscaloosa alone could see $25 million in game-weekend revenue vanish with each game canceled. Some NBA players are skeptical of the season set to resume, including a lifestyle in the Disney bubble throughout the run. So who do we blame? We see it as a rushing penalty. Too many governors, Georgia's included, preached the need to reopen our state. On Monday, Brian Kemp extended the state's public health emergency until Aug. 11. That includes much-less stringent social distancing rules as well. He's busy taking selfies with him wearing a mask and urging Georgians to do the same. That's way short of what other governors are doing -- ordering masks if you're in public. And yet, the sports machines of America continue to hype the hype about sports being back. Yes, but so is the coronavirus.