The last time the United States parted with sports for a week, the reasons were obvious. After a few days, it was clear when the distractions would be welcome again. College football, in particular, would reschedule only one week of games after the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. No. 23 Notre Dame would return to the field against Michigan State on Sept. 22, postponing a trip to Purdue until the week after the scheduled season.
This week without sports differs from that in nearly every way. The absence of balls, pucks and bats will last longer than a week, possibly longer than a month.