The National Basketball Association is back.

The NBA was the major domino to fall that ushered in our current era of social distancing when its season was indefinitely suspended back in March. Nearly five months later, the association will resume the 2019-20 on July 30th, headlined by the 9pm ET tip between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers in Orlando. Yes, the NBA will finish its season by sequestering players, coaching staff, and other team employees inside ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex in Osceola County, Florida. The "bubble" model is designed to heavily reduce the risk of team personnel contracting the coronavirus, but the recent spikes in COVID-19 cases is causing concern in NBA circles, including commissioner Adam Silver who told Time 100,

"If we were to see a large number of cases and see spread in our community, that would of course be a cause to stop (the season) as well."

We all hope the NBA can proceed in Orlando as planned and crown a champion in October, but if the virus severely infects the NBA's bubble, it could serve as a major deterrent for the next sport.

NFL facilities have reopened, here comes COVID, and Cam Newton.

As the NBA prepares to return to the game, the National Football League has continued to proceed as usual whilst announcing the end to its virtual off season, in which all team facilities were closed and the NFL Draft was conducted from commissioner Roger Goodell's basement - all until the league shaved two weeks off the preseason last week due to the pandemic. However, as people within the league have begun to congregate again, the virus has entered the scene once again.

Two weeks ago, several Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans players tested positive for COVID-19. The most notable being Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliot, and another being Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. It is worth noting that Jackson's teammate Von Miller also battled COVID-19 in April.

In other NFL news, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ended any debate as to whether he would hold out as he seeks a long term contract from Dallas, signing his franchise tender on June 22nd, which will pay him just over $31,000,000 for the 2020 season. Prescott was barred from participating in any of the team's virtual programs until he signed the tag and now has until July 15th to work out a long term deal with the Cowboys, or he will be forced to play on the tag for the upcoming season.

Another quarterback in the news is former Carolina Panther Cam Newton, who signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. The 2015 NFL MVP who led Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance missed most of last season with a foot injury and has been limited by a slew of injuries over the last few seasons, most notably to his shoulder. The Patriots were in desperate need of a quarterback after longtime signal caller Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this spring. Second-year player Jarrett Stidham and veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer were the only QBs on New England's roster prior to Newton's arrival.

Major League Baseball finally got its act together.

After months of bickering between MLB and the MLB Players Association, mostly over players' salaries for the season, baseball will be played this summer. Major League Baseball will stage a sixty-game season that will feature an August 31st trade deadline (about a month later than the usual deadline) and a postseason set to begin on September 29th with players making a full prorated salary. Some of the major changes for this season include the universal designated hitter (National League pitchers will not be hitting this season), expanded active rosters, and a modified injured list.

According to the deal, players will also have the ability to opt-out of the entire season similar to how NBA players can choose not participate in the association's Orlando restart. Several players, most notably LA Dodgers pitcher David Price, Colorado Rockies infielder Ian Desmond and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the defending champion Washington Nationals, have already exercised said option. Also worth noting is that the postseason, which was expected to expand to ten teams per league, will remain as-is due to the pandemic and the league hopes to finish the season on October 28th - should the World Series require a decisive seventh game.

As of July 7th, teams have reported to their various training camps with the season, set to begin on July 24th without spectators. Unlike the NBA, players will not sequestered in a single location, but will remain in their team's city. The season's schedule has been constructed in such a way that teams do not have to travel outside their particular region of the country. For example, the furthest the Los Angeles Dodgers will travel is to Arlington, Texas to face the Rangers. Questions loom as to whether Major League Baseball can complete the season without a bubble, but only time will give us this answer.