May 20, 2020
Good afternoon, fellow CSBL members!
It’s been too long since I’ve sent out a message to everyone, and felt that although our future is seemingly as uncertain as it was two months ago it was best to reach out, touch base and see how everyone is doing.
It’s been ten weeks since we called an abrupt but essential end to our season, and it’s been just as long since I’ve picked up a basketball. Up until last week I had kept my gym bag (with towel, sneakers and ball) in its usual place of honor in the garage – ready at a moment’s notice to be tossed into the trunk of the car and whisked off to a gym. I finally allowed the harsh reality of the Coronavirus to win this psychological battle and exiled the bag down to the basement to be with other utilitarian artifacts of a sporting life – such as my baseball bag, golf clubs and coolers – that now seems like a lifetime ago.
My wife Joanne and I have been dutiful citizens and following the New York State on Pause guidelines of quarantine, social distancing and wearing of face masks, along with the inherent fogging up of my glasses. As an aside, how do eyeglass wearing professionals who have to wear face masks for a living do it? All you doctors, dentists and construction workers – my hat, which I wear daily now to hide a mop of uncut hair, is off to you!
We miss our freedom, we miss our family and friends and we miss our old, comfortable routines, yet we are both, thank God, healthy, able to pay our bills and maintain our sanity and perspective on this new reality. Above all, we recognize the pain and anguish that many families have had to face – getting sick, losing their jobs and income, being in isolation in less than tolerable environments or circumstances and even death to this malevolent foe, Covid – and we pray for their comfort and well being. We watch the nightly news until we can no longer watch it; we are pretty well caught up on any of the moderately entertaining series on Netflix, Hulu and YouTubeTV. I watched The Last Dance and last weekend’s Nascar race at Darlington – very strange to see forty cars racing around the oval with no one in the stands.
I’ve touched base with a handful of fellow CSBL players by way of phone and text, but I’ve not come face-to-face with anyone I know at the grocery store, hardware store or gas station, save for a guy named Dennis from Troy who I play pickup with during the winter – at first I didn’t even recognize him as he too was wearing a face mask and hat! I am hopeful that I’ll get the opportunity to join up with a few CSBL members this summer for a spirited round of golf – I’m thinking the “not putting out” element that many courses have adopted is suited perfectly to my game!
This has been and will continue to be the longest off-season in our league’s history and at this point we can only hope that our league can resume play in September. Regarding that matter it is still too early to begin the conversations with the South Colonie School District regarding the use of the gym. It’s not too early however to being to consider what our league would look like if we were fortunate enough to have a gym. Do all our members come back or do some number of our members opt to sit it out? Keep in mind, we have a number of members who would be considered at risk, including myself, due to age or medical condition. Do we modify our play rules to lend toward a less contact form of basketball? Where do we look for guidance, inspiration or trends? I continue to look for information from the NBA, College Hoop and even to the Y. Joanne and I have family in South Carolina and we have a trip planned in July to go down there. The reopening phases in South Carolina are about two to four weeks ahead of New York State. I’ve been in touch with a couple of the YMCA’s down there and although they have reopened their branches the are not yet allowing people into the pool, hot tub, sauna or steam rooms. They also are not signing out basketballs or allowing people to play pickup on their courts. I forgot to ask about Pickleball – I would have been asking for a friend (that’s you, Angel and Bill Fluty!). They also are not allowing Y members for other branches to come in. I suspect these restrictions will be relaxed at some point, just don’t know the timetable for that yet.
On a different topic it’s worth noting that our league treasury balance is higher than normal for this time of year due to our cancelling the playoffs and banquet and not issuing year-end awards for the tournament champions. Our board will schedule a meeting for the summer, but we will wait until we get some useful information from the School District before setting a date.
In the meantime I will periodically put out an e-letter to everyone with information, stories and happenings that come to my attention. To that point I encourage everyone to drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing, who you’ve seen or what you hope to see in terms of the league and the version of basketball we play when we can get back to the hardwood! Finally if you or any of our other members that you know are sick or in need please let me know and we can effort to mobilize our league resources to provide thoughts, prayers, comfort or services. I am always amazed at the love and kindness that the members of our league hold for one another – we truly are blessed.
At this time I do need to inform everyone that we lost one of our brothers recently. Charles (Chuck) Hansen, a long-time CSBL member from Round Lake, passed away on May 10, he was 80 years old. Chuck was a long-time salesman at Morris Ford Mercury, but he was also an accomplished Standardbred Horse owner, trainer and driver. Many of you have probably seen Chuck flying around the Saratoga Harness Track and didn’t even realize it. Chuck also was an active player in the Capital District music scene, having been a self-taught guitar player and singer-songwriter. He also owned and rebuilt motorcycles and managed to play organized hoop for the better part of his adult life. Chuck leaves behind a family including ten cherished grandchildren who have a lifetime of fond memories. Chuck’s was certainly a life well lived and we will miss him dearly.
Be well, my friends, and be kind to one another!
Andy Kramarchyk
CSBL Commissioner