Paul Severino is crafting specialized dessert nights.
Eric Reid is contemplating whether to start “The Irishman,” Martin Scorsese’s 3 1/2-hour Netflix crime drama.
Steve Goldstein is discovering classic sports memorabilia while cleaning out his closet.
With sports grinding to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, the TV play-by-play announcers for the Miami Marlins, Miami Heat and Florida Panthers find themselves in a similar position to the rest country — navigating through an unprecedented situation with a copious amount of free time.
“There’s always something to prepare for [during the season],” said Goldstein, who’s in his 13th season as the Panthers’ play-by-play voice. “There’s a story someone’s written that you want to read. There’s a game on an upcoming opponent you can record and watch.
“All that stuff just stops. All the normal research just ends, so that’s been definitely different, but I’m trying to have a positive attitude about it.”
‘I’ve kind of had a warm-up for this’
The trio, who announce games for Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun, find themselves at various stages in their respective seasons. While the Heat and Panthers each had fewer than 20 games remaining, Thursday was originally scheduled to be Opening Day for the Marlins.
For Severino, who’s entering his third season as the Marlins’ announcer, the delay essentially serves as a continuation of his offseason, albeit with significant differences. With schools closed, Severino and his wife are temporarily home-schooling their 9-year-old son for roughly four to five hours every day.
Afterward, he manages to sneak some time in on the links — the virtual golf course, that is — playing “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” on PS3.
“I’ve kind of had four or five months of warmup for this, so I’m probably a little more out ahead of the pack in terms of being quarantined then others,” Severino said.
“I’d love to say I’m spending long hours in the gym, but that’s not happening.”
While there are no games to announce, he’s staying active with baseball, launching a live web show on Twitter with Marlins radio voice Glenn Geffner, titled “SevGeffLive.” There’s plenty of family time at night, which includes walks, bike rides and dessert-themed nights like “Macaroon Monday” and “S’more Saturday.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding everything, Severino is taking a relaxed approach to the endeavor.
“I’ve been in basketball shorts most days since September 30 when the offseason began,” Severino said. “It’s 1:15 [p.m.] and I haven’t even gotten dressed for today yet, so that’s kind of where we’re at here. In a world without March Madness, it’s survive and advance right about now. That’s where we’re at.”
The day the sports world stopped
While the baseball season was slowly ramping up, the NBA and NHL seasons were suddenly stopped in their tracks due to the pandemic. On March 11, the NBA suspended its season after a player tested positive for coronavirus. The following day, the NHL and MLB followed suit and postponed their seasons.
“That last game, I drove down thinking, ‘Wow, this could be the last game we have with fans in the stands,” said Reid, the venerated voice of Heat basketball for three decades. “I remember looking into the stands that night and taking it all in. It was a normal, great Heat crowd. Midway through the fourth quarter, you find out that’s it. As much as it was sort of expected, it was unexpected to happen right then.
“In a way it’s like the offseason, and in a way it’s not, because we’re all on stand-by,” Reid said. “It’s suspended animation. We’re just waiting to see what happens next.”
During the down time, Reid begins each morning with a workout on his Peloton bike. He helps his wife with tasks around the house and has caught up on “The Walking Dead” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” At night, he’ll go for a family walk with his wife, 14-year-old daughter and their dog around the neighborhood.
In addition to his family time, he’s also been staying active on social media, leading to a fortuitous exchange.
“A gentleman that does a Miami Heat podcast in London was supposed to come to Miami this week for a three-game home stand,” Reid said. “I see this guy put out a tweet, telling his story and ‘I’m just going to throw this out there — do any Heat broadcasters want to come on my podcast?”
“He lined up Will Manso, Ethan Skolnick, Jason Jackson, Mike Inglis and myself. It’s a cool thing to talk to a part of the Heat fan base that’s overseas. So any little thing we can do like that.”
Home improvement
While everyone is used to down time during the offseason, the abruptness of the postponements upended meticulously planned routines around the season.
“Your home life for so many years is dictated by a schedule that comes out in July,” Goldstein said. “And pretty much for six to eight months, you know every day where you’re going to be and what you’re going to be doing for the most part.”
Much like Severino and Reid, Goldstein is spending plenty of family time around the house during the off time. In addition to catching up on some reading, the Panthers’ announcer is also engaging in some home improvement.
“I’ve doing some things around the house that probably needed to be done a long time ago,” Goldstein said. “I found some great old sports memorabilia cleaning out my closet.
“The front page of Sun Sentinel when Marlins won the World Series in 97 and 03. I found some great stuff from the ’96 [Stanley Cup finals] run from the Panthers. I found all my old scorecards from Panthers games, including the 20-round [Nick] Bjugstad shootout against Washington when he got the game-winner. I found a Wheaties box from 06 when the Heat won the title.”
With a temporary break from hockey, Goldstein is also working a few days a week at CBS 4, helping anchor and report in the studio.
While there’s not much Panthers’ preparation Goldstein can do without a set timetable for a return, he’ll be ready to jump back in the booth when the moment arrives.
“Believe me, I’m very aware that Chris Driedger is 2-0-1 in his last three games, giving up a total of five goals and Brett Connolly had the last game-winner in St. Louis to beat the Stanley Cup champs,” Goldstein said.
“I am definitely ready to go, if and when we get the call.”
