By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

AS we continue to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and things slowly return to normalcy, pro sports continue to remain sidelined, leaving sports fans with nothing of substance to fill the sports void.

Thank God for game replays on YouTube - if not for them, Sandilands would have had a new resident by now.

WE GOT YOUR ‘DAK’

Relax Cowboys fans, the Cowboys signing Andy Dalton to a one-year deal, with $3m guaranteed, has no affect on the Cowboys signing starting QB Dak Prescott to a long term extension.

According to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, the Cowboys deal with Dalton was purely to upgrade the franchise’s back up QB position.

Jones discussed Prescott’s contract talks last week Wednesday on 105.3 The Fan, with ESPN’S Ed Werder.

“Dak is the quarterback of our franchise now, and for many years to come. We’ve gotta get his contract - we’ve gotta get over that hurdle. But we’ll do it, it’ll ultimately get done.”

Dallas placed the franchise tag on Prescott, but the two sides have been unable to agree on a long-term deal.

LET’S PLAY BALL

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic, Major League Baseball will offer a proposal to the MLB Players Association in short order, regarding the beginning of the 2020 season, which has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(The New York Post and ESPN also confirmed Rosenthal’s report.)

Rosenthal explained a few of the potential road blocks in jump starting the 2020 MLB season.

“Greater availability of testing is a must; players will need to undergo regular tests and daily temperature checks to ensure the infection of one team member does not require an entire club to shut down.

“A vaccine will not be ready in time for this season, and maybe not even next season, creating potential issues for 2021.

“But the development of medicines to effectively treat COVID-19 would reduce the health risks, and if the numbers trend in the right direction, the sport might push forward with a shortened season and adjust as needs be. Make no mistake, adjustments will be warranted.”

“Nonetheless, we are a whole lot closer to resuming pro sports than we were before, and for that I’m grateful.

I LOVE L.A.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported recently that the Los Angeles Lakers are targeting May 16 as the day to reopen their practice facility under the NBA’s protocol.

The Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said:

“It’s not really anything we can control. When it’s safe and appropriate for us to get back in our building we’ll do so at that time. There’s a handful of teams around the league that are going to be back on the 8th, most of them will not. We’ll continue to see how things progress next week.”

If the season resumes, the Lakers (49-14), who sit in first place in the Western Conference, will be allowed to continue its bid for an NBA championship.

If the campaign is cancelled though, there could be some big changes with the Lakers’ roster, leaving several important questions regarding the roster to be answered.

The hottest question in the NBA is whether Anthony Davis will decline his player option for 2020-21 and become an unrestricted free agent?

Or Could Kyle Kuzma end up on the trade block?

Those should be the hottest topics out of Hollywood all off season long.

I’ve got my popcorn ready and my beers on ice, this could get really interesting.

Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1.