What to Expect in Sports Over the Next 12 Months
(*Updated 3/24/20: Multiple events on the list have been canceled or postponed due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.)
With both the Toronto Raptors and the St. Louis Blues winning their respective national championships for the first time in each franchise’s history in the span of 24 hours, this summer is making clear how easy it can be to miss a big game if you’re not planning ahead.
As an editor or reporter, being proactive instead of reactive to historic sports moments is what can separate an article from the pack. It can make a photograph stand out among the thousands of other shots taken at an event.
This year, be sure to plan ahead for these upcoming sporting events so you’re ready the next time a franchise wins its first-ever title! (SPOILER: Cleveland Browns: Super Bowl LIV Champions)
August 2019:
The annual US Open tennis tournament kicks off August 26, lasting until September 8, in New York City. In this competition to find the 52nd champion of the US Open, the one to look for is the reigning champion and recent Wimbledon crown winner, Novak Djokovic.
September 2019:
The 5th of September marks the start of the 100th NFL season. The season will begin with the NFL Kickoff Game in which the Chicago Bears will host the Green Bay Packers.
October 2019:
October is the month of MLB playoffs, from the 1st until the World Series that starts on the 22nd. After some exciting moves at the end of the trading-deadline, the 2019 MLB playoffs should be a great one to follow.
November 2019:
In Formula One racing, the 2019 United States Grand Prix is set for November 3 and will take place in Austin, Texas.
December 2019:
The NCAA Football bowl games begin in December and last into January. The games take place across the country and lead up to the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 13 in New Orleans.
January 2020:
Both the NHL and NFL celebrate their best players with the NHL All Star Weekend on the 26th in St. Louis and the NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on the same day.
February 2020:
On February 2, Miami will host the NFL’s Super Bowl LIV. While the season hasn’t yet started, odds-makers yet again have the New England Patriots marked as the favorites to win the trophy for their fourth time in six years. Let’s hope there’s a more interesting ending to write about.
March 2020:
Start printing out your brackets! The culmination of college basketball, the NCAA March Madness Tournament, begins with the 1st round on March 19, with the Final Four taking place April 4-6 in Atlanta.
*On March 12, the NCAA announced that the March Madness tournament has been canceled.
April 2020:
The first of golf’s four major championships, the Masters, begins on April 9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Discounting former Masters champions who no longer compete in the tournament, there are 523 golfers currently in the field for the event, with the favorite being Brooks Koepa, the winner of the past two PGA Championships.
*On March 13, due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Augusta National Golf Club announced that it would postpone the Masters. It has not been rescheduled.
May 2020:
Get ready for a lot of “horsepower” in May, with the Kentucky Derby being held in Louisville on May 2 and the Indy 500 taking place on May 24. Four names to know for the Kentucky Derby, partly just because they’re great names, are: Shoplifted, Wrecking Crew, Schrodinger, and Basin.
*On March 17, Churchill Downs announced the Kentucky Derby would be rescheduled for September 5, 2020. The IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced they have not postponed the Indy 500 yet, but that the situation is dynamic and they are coordinating with health officials.
June 2020:
June 25 is the date many new NBA careers will launch at the 2020 NBA Draft. In a league focused on superstars that can shape a franchise’s future, the draft should be an exciting one to follow.
*While the NBA season has been suspended indefinitely since March 12, no announcement has been made regarding a rescheduling of the NBA draft.
July 2020:
You’ll have to mark your June calendar for this one too… The Championships at Wimbledon start on June 29, with the women’s singles final ending July 11 and the men’s singles final ending July 12. Here’s hoping 2020 will have as compelling a story as 2019’s remarkable run of 15-year-old Coco Gauff!
And last, but not least, is the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, set to take place in Tokyo, with the opening ceremonies on July 24. This Olympics will feature new events such as 3-on-3 basketball, freestyle BMX, and relay race track cycling.
*On March 24, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will be postponed until summer 2021.
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Louis Eyerman is a Customer Content Specialist in PR Newswire’s editorial department. Outside of proofreading press releases, he can be found writing music and playing drums, or rambling about Cleveland sports.
