Shut it down right now, the show is over until further notice. At least until we get this coronavirus situation figured out a little better.

The bizarre thing about this whole COVID-19 scenario is nobody really knows what is next and how long this whole process will take, but right now we are pretty much on lockdown.

And that's not only sports that are shut down; it's everything and anything that draws 10 or more people together for doing virtually anything. It's time to pretend you are back in school playing hookey, and trying to avoid seeing anyone or being seen by anyone.

Each and every one of us is now assigned a responsibility to help our society deal with this, each of us has a part to play in a much more important game; the game of life in a modern, interconnected world.

The series of events unfolding before our eyes is not only unforeseen, it is the definition of unprecedented, and it is being felt all across this country and the entire world. In Montana, it finally and firmly hit home late last week in our prep sporting events.

The 2019-2020 Montana high school basketball seasons came to an abrupt halt Friday night as the MHSA took the extraordinary step of shutting down all eight of the state's prep basketball tournaments prior to championship Saturday.

That's right, with all eight championship games looming and large contingents of fans from the involved schools already in in Missoula, Butte, Bozeman and Billings, MHSA executive director Mark Beckman announced that those games would be canceled immediately after Friday's games were completed.

So, instead of only one undisputed champion in each classification we now have two teams at each level that have been awarded state championships. But it was an unsatisfying finish for those teams that really wanted to prove themselves to be the one and only, the best in Montana right here, right now.

Although none of the teams involved will admit to being happy about not being able to win it on the court in the traditional way, 2020 will go down as the year there were 16 Montana state basketball teams instead of the customary eight.

At the State B tournaments run concurrently in Butte, Missoula Loyola and Forsyth ended up sharing the girls' crown and Lodge Grass and Fairfield the boys' title.

In the State C tourneys played on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Fairview and Scobey shared the boys' championship and Roy-Winifred and Belt the girls' crown.

Hardin and Butte Central will go down as the Class A boy co-champs and Hardin and Billings Central as girl co-champs after the State A tournaments were suspended in Billings.

In Bozeman, Missoula Hellgate and Billings Skyview were declared the boys champions and Helena Capital and Billings West are both 2019-2020 State AA girls championship teams.

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Jake Mickelson, the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Thompson Falls is in the same boat as everyone else in the coronavirus realm – he is finding out about it along the way, and now trying to enjoy his surprise two-week vacation, just like all the other teachers and the students in the Falls school system.

Spring break was already scheduled for this week in Thompson Falls schools, the shutdown tacks another week on to that break.

"Right now we will not be practicing during the next two weeks while the schools are closed down," he said Monday. "We are also awaiting word on if the MHSA has any official plans for spring sports this year."

Since Mickelson spoke, the MHSA issued a press release later that day. That press release detailed that "all MHSA spring activities will be suspended until further notice. This includes practices and contests/meets/festivals. The Executive Board will reevalutate the situation on April 13..."

If sports seasons are then resumed after that, five practices will be required for most sports and two for golf before athletes can compete again. It seems like the chances for the resumption of sports seasons becomes more remote with each passing day, however.

"We are being flexible and trying to stay up to date as much as we can," Mickelson said. "I know that coaches will have things they want their athletes to do at home to stay in shape, just in case but, right now there are not any guarantees.

"Really, the best case scenario would be if we could begin school again in two weeks, that would allow us to resume our springs sports," he said. "That is optimistic at this point but we will remain ever hopeful."

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What does a track and field coach do when spring comes and you can't coach track and field?

"Unfortunately, we are directed to cancel all spring track and field practices for two weeks," Thompson Falls coach Trenna Ferris wrote in an email to her team members and coaches this past week. "Please take the necessary precautions to stay healthy and remember the social distancing recommendations."

Although Ferris really wants to get out there, breathe the fresh Montana air and do some coaching, she is left to console herself and other like-minded individuals instead.

"I am saddened by this announcement, but must follow the guidelines set forth," she wrote. "I would suggest that athletes continue to exercise and stay in shape, as we are uncertain what our season looks like at this point."

Well said coach, a lot of people are uncertain about their upcoming seasons look like right now.

John Hamilton

HIGH-RISING RED DEVIL Rylan Weltz shoots over Nathan Feliksa in Plains in February. Both seniors, Weltz and Feliksa completed their prep hoop careers this winter.

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The next few months of our lives will be a test, not only from a sports perspective but, more importantly from a human perspective. And it raises a lot of questions.

Is our system strong enough to fend off the effects of a long-feared pandemic? If it does arrive in Montana, how long will it last, and how severe will its effects be?

Time will tell sports fans, time will tell.