Sports' varying approaches to pandemic show options for Olympics

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Twenty-one months later, COVID-19 continues to batter sports across the world. Back in March 2020, the answer was to simply shut down. Now, the solution isn't so obvious.

As the positive tests pile up, here's how some leagues and events plan to move forward:

NHL 

Now that players aren't headed to Beijing, the league has renewed flexibility to reschedule games into what was supposed to be the three-week Olympic break in February. It took advantage, starting its holiday break early and extending it by a day. Action finally resumes with a three-game slate tomorrow and some of last season's roster rules, including taxi squads, back in place to guard against more disruptions. A Flame at the end of the tunnel: Calgary, which had seven games postponed as 33 players and staff entered virus protocol, returned to practice with a full squad today. Read more about the NHL's latest pandemic response here.

NBA

Without the freedom of a built-in schedule break, the NBA is more hesitant to call off games. Instead, it's allowed teams to sign replacement players for those stuck in COVID-19 protocols to ensure games are played. That's brought some nice stories, like three-time MVP Xavier Moon and three other Canadian Elite Basketball League players signing NBA contracts in short order, or 40-year-old Joe Johnson returning to the Boston Celtics nearly 20 years after he last played for them.

But the rule also turned some games into a farce. For example, the Toronto Raptors lost by 45 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. But was it really the Raptors? Only four regular roster players (all of whom would be fighting for playing time given a full roster) took to the court, alongside four new signees. Forward Yuta Watanabe said he met his latest teammates on the way to the arena. Nonetheless, it'll count as an "L" in the standings.

Curling

The Canadian mixed doubles Olympic trials were scheduled to begin tomorrow in Manitoba. Instead, the bonspiel to determine Canada's representatives in Beijing was cancelled due to positive cases among the athletes. Mixed doubles, a two-person, eight-end version of the traditional sport, made its Olympic debut in 2018 when Canada's Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris won gold.

Thanks to Lawes' inclusion in the already Olympic-bound Jennifer Jones rink, the duo wasn't going to compete together for a repeat, with Morris instead teaming up with fellow 2018 Olympian Rachel Homan. The pair may prove to be a good candidate for the Olympic selection that will now be jointly made by Curling Canada, Own The Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Olympics

The Winter Olympics begin in less than six weeks on Feb. 4 in Beijing. And while there haven't been any changes to protocols — which already include potential three-week quarantines and a closed-loop system to minimize outside contact — the idea of gathering athletes from around the world seems more tenuous than it did just last month. 

Besides the curling cancellation, the Canadian speed skating trials scheduled for this week were also scrapped while American Mikaela Shiffrin was the latest in a line of ski stars to test positive and will miss the upcoming World Cup. Of the three pandemic approaches above, the NBA's appears to be the only tenable option for the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee ruled out postponement earlier in December, and there's no such thing as flexibility when 109 medal events must be produced over 17 days.