FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH:

* Traditions are falling in this pandemic like snow in January.

There’s the cancellation of big, national events, like crowds for this New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square or sporting events around the country without fans in attendance to one that’s closer to home: No meeting of the Friars and Rams at the Dunk this year for their annual rivalry game because of to scheduling problems caused by COVID-19.

* At least URI and PC will be playing basketball this winter (we hope), with practices set to start in a few weeks.

* The NCAA is requiring basketball players, coaches and staff to be tested three times a week to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak.

* Meanwhile, NBA action in the bubble continues, with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Miami Heat for the title.

* This marks the 10th time LeBron James has played for the championship, if you’re keeping score at home.

* The Lakers are shooting to tie the all-time NBA record of 17 championships held by the Boston Celtics.

* QUIZ OF THE WEEK: Only three other NBA players have gone to 10 or more NBA finals. Who are they?

* LINE OF THE WEEK from the PawSox’s play-by-play announcer, Josh Maurer, about the last day at McCoy: “It wasn’t just a bittersweet day. It was a bittersweet last six months.”

* LINE OF THE WEEK II from Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, talking about the disastrous season that just ended: “Even though it was only 60 games, it felt like a heck of a lot longer than that.”

* No one should be surprised that the Red Sox are looking for a new manager, given that they just finished last in the American League East for the fourth time in nine years.

* Then again, Ron Roenicke, who took over as manager after Alex Cora left, wasn’t exactly dealt a good hand.

* For the Sox, it will be the sixth time they’ve hired a new manager since Grady Little was let go after the 2003 season.

* This will be the first time since World War II that crowds will not have gathered in Times Square to bring in the New Year.

* Did you see that Uncle Ben’s rice will now be Ben’s Original and there is no longer a picture of a white-haired Black man on the box?

* Sign o’ the times, Bunky.

* No truth to the rumor that Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima are a hot item in retirement.

* The Patriots are the underdogs heading into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, last year’s Super Bowl champions.

* It will be interesting to see how the older hotshot, Cam Newton, holds up against the younger hotshot, Patrick Mahomes.

* Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans are the first NFL team to report an outbreak of COVID-19 among its players and staff, with nine altogether testing positive earlier this week.

* Boston Herald columnist Bill Speros, AKA the “Obnoxious Boston Fan,” says the virus is now as much a part of professional sports as “guaranteed contracts, bad officiating and point spreads.”

* Let me see if I’ve got this this straight, Bunky. Trump paid less in federal income taxes than three averaged-price NFL tickets?

* Trump’s tax contribution? A grand total of $750, according to The New York Times. The average price of an NFL ticket is $252, according to the website, Bleacherreport.com.

* By the way, that wasn’t a debate Tuesday night between Trump and Biden — it was Biden trying to debate and Trump being Trump.

* Whatever that is.

* QUIZ ANSWER: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10), Sam Jones (11) and Bill Russell (12).

* The URI Rams are set to play Boston College on Dec. 4, the first time the schools will have played against each other in a basketball game in eight years. The last time they met, in 2012, the Rams beat the Eagles in double-overtime, 78-72.

* Michael Jordan is shaking things up in NASCAR, announcing the recent purchase of Germain Racing’s team charter, becoming the first African-American majority owner of a full-time racing team in decades. Bubba Wallace has agreed to be the team’s driver in the NASCAR Cup series.

* Serena Williams decided to withdraw from the French Open rather than play with an Achilles injury, postponing her quest for a record-breaking title.

* Another tradition lost to us this year has nothing to do with COVID-19 and everything to do with money and politics: The end of the PawSox at McCoy Stadium.

* Makes me wanna holler, Bunky.