DETROIT – There are no sports happening right now. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. In fact, Sports Final Edition is on hold, for now, because there aren’t any live games happening.
So, I thought I would try something new. I’m calling it “Benched” and my plan is to reach out and talk to as many sports figures of all levels as I can to see how they are coping with quarantining at home and what’s next for them when life finally returns to normal.
I kicked off this series with Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill. Blashill is at home with his family. He said things are going well so far. He said there are nightly “Family Movie Nights” in the Blashill household and he is introducing his kids to the Rocky movies.
When it comes to keeping in touch with his players, he said he has texted with each and every one of them this week. He reports that all are well and doing the best they can with their home workouts.
When I asked him about the NHL and hockey, he made it clear that he is thinking about our world and our collective health more than sports right now, but he believes the league has done things the right way and he thinks they could return to the ice to finish the season.
Finally, I asked about this season, one in which saw the Red Wings win only 17 games so far. Blashill had this to say:
“Obviously it’s been a hard season,” Blashill said. “There have been hard things to go through. There have been days when the frustration was higher than normal. If you stay tough, you can learn a ton. In these hard times, you come out better than you came into them. I believe that’s true in life and true in sports. And as hard as it’s been and as hard as it’s been to grind through. I know we’ve grown as individuals and as a group.”
You can watch the full interview above.
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