Pass it on.

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Religious groups across all creeds are coming to terms with a new normal in which socially distant does not have to mean spiritually apart.

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Ben Luderer was part of a high school team that was the stuff of New Jersey baseball legend. He went on to coach his own team before dying Monday of COVID-19.

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Workers fear that even if a store itself is not contaminated, they may have been infected with the virus by a sick colleague.

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A federal judge had put a temporary hold on the state’s abortion ban, but an appeals court overturned the ruling Tuesday.

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These final scenes are masterpieces.

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Dig in!

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The NBA and ESPN are teaming up to bring hoops fans a collection of virtual games of basketball. On Monday, it was reported that the league would hold an NBA 2K tournament involving 16 players from 16 different teams, with all of the games broadcasted on the Worldwide Leader in Sports. We learned a little bit earlier today that a few big names, like Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell, are slated to participate.

Now, the entire bracket is out, and it’s slated to be an absolutely loaded event with some of the best players in the league, both in real life and within the virtual world created by 2K Sports. The bracket was announced on the social media accounts for The Boardroom, Durant’s show on ESPN+.

Durant and Young as the 1 and 2 seeds makes plenty of sense, as both players were basically put on earth to torch opponents in video games with how they’re able to shoot and handle the ball. In terms of upsets, my eyebrows are raised at the 3-14 game, which has the potential to get hairy if Beverley is able to repeatedly pick Whiteside’s pockets. If that cannot happen and virtual Whiteside is able to essentially virtually manhandle Beverley, it’s hard to point out any major potential upsets.

For the finals, I’m inclined to go with KD making it there, although Booker potentially getting him before the championship game made me raise my eyebrows, because he’s the exact sort of player who can get thermonuclear hot in 2K and hit everything. On the other, Young seems like an easy pick to make it to the end, but getting LaVine in the second round could be treacherous, and if he runs into a big who sticks with him like Ayton, maybe he’ll run into some issues.

I have to go with Durant in the end, though, because picking against a healthy Kevin Durant in a 1-on-1 competition of any sort — whether it be in real life or a virtual tournament — seems foolish. But maybe I’ll be wrong, and maybe DJJ is able to take him down from the get-go. We’ll just have to see what happens when things get underway on Friday.

If there was a story that encapsulates the tragedy and beauty that humanity is experiencing right now, this one is it.

Less than a week ago, Alyssa Burks shared a photo of her physician husband Jared touching hands with their toddler through a glass door. Dr. Burks had been isolated from his family for two weeks to keep the safe from possible exposure as he treats patients who have become infected with the coronavirus. The heart-wrenching image captured the sacrifice our healthcare workers and their families are making to save lives and keep one another safe and healthy.

The photo went viral with more than 88,000 shares, and people praised Dr. Burks and his colleagues for their work on the front lines of this pandemic.

Three a few days later, a tornado ripped through the Burks’ hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and their home was completely destroyed. Unbelievable.

Adding the stress of losing your home in a sudden natural disaster to the challenges a doctor’s family already faces with this pandemic is just too much.

This is where the generosity of strangers comes in, reminding us that even in the darkest times the light of human kindness continues to shine.

Alyssa Burks’ friend Evan Clower set up a GoFundMe for the Burks family, writing:

“After the Coronavirus and having to be separated for weeks due to his residency, a tornado hit the Burks family home and destroyed it. They are going to need help picking up the pieces so that they can find another place to live, collect their items, rebuild, all while Jared is working and fighting for those who health may be compromised.”

Clower set the goal for $2,500. Two days later, more than $113,000 has been raised, largely by strangers who found out about the tragedy from the news.

“I don’t know this family but the story touched me very personally,” wrote one donor. “In 1967, my family had our home destroyed by a tornado. I am donating with that memory in mind, in hopes that they can rebuild their lives soon and also in thanks for all their family is sacrificing during this time.”

“The picture and story of Jared/his son just touched my heart,” wrote another. “Not only is Jared putting himself at risk every day treating patients at the hospital, but to lose his home to the tornado is simply unfathomable. I felt it was my duty and an honor to donate to the Burke’s Go Fund Me. God Bless You.”

Donations have flooded in from around the world, with nearly 3,000 people donating. What a beautiful outpouring of support for one of our medical soldiers and his family at a time when many are struggling financially themselves.

Times are tough and people are amazing. Let’s keep remembering that as we make our way through this pandemic together.

The sports world remains on pause in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the days pass our expectations regarding social distancing begin to stretch further into spring and, in some places, summer. That creates an interesting problems for sports organizations like the NBA, which may still attempt to squeeze in the remainder of the league’s playoffs and the rest of its offseason while not altering next season and potential inclusion of its players in the now-rescheduled Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Other leagues are still optimistic that they will not be impacted by the virus that has stopped much of traditional life for large portions of the world’s population. The NFL, for example, feels their September schedule will not be impacted. The league held a conference call with reporters on Tuesday and said that, despite death tolls rising and uncertainty about when people will be able to gather in crowds and attempt to go about life as usual, the league doesn’t feel that its schedule will have to change.

Per The Los Angeles Times:

“All of our discussions, all of our focus has been on a normal, traditional season, starting on time, playing in front of fans, in our regular stadiums,” said NFL executive vice president and general counsel Jeff Pash, in a conference call with reporters.

Asked what gives the league that confidence, Pash said: “I think what the doctors are looking at are models that address the effectiveness of different kinds of interventions, on how the curve has trended down and tailed off in other countries, and what they believe will be the result based on the modeling that’s been done in this country.

There are a lot of factors at play here and the very thought of the month of September feels light years away right now, but it’s interesting that the league hasn’t felt it necessary to consider things may not be back to normal come fall.

Pash noted that things remain fluid and could certainly be altered by further complications, but that the league is focused on playing in its current stadiums and with crowds of fans in attendance.

Hopefully the models they’re shown will include the flattening of the COVID-19 outbreak that social distancing is designed to produce, but we really won’t know how effective those measures have been for weeks and months to come. The larger issues of testing and a vaccine are not even far along enough to really consider here, but the NFL remains confident they’ll be playing football this fall.