When I left the Sportsnet offices in downtown Toronto on March 10, there was no sense that this would be my last look in the building.

I had just finished up editing a column by Vancouver based reporter Iain MacIntyre about a Canucks shootout win over the New York Islanders, it was 2:15 a.m., and I was too tired to think about the significance of what could be.

Just a few hours later, the beginning of what could be the end of both the NHL and NBA seasons — at least to this point — started with the COVID-19 pandemic taking over the sporting world. 

On a day off and while perusing the mall, I got a notification on my phone that there was something happening in an NBA game involving the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. Before we knew it, the NBA had postponed its season. The NHL and everyone else followed suit the following day.

With the way the work schedule lined up and a pair of pre-booked vacation days, I was off for six-straight days after my shift on the desk editing Canucks copy. By the time I got back to work a week later, it was a totally different ball game — all pun intended.

The first different aspect was the location. No longer were my shifts taking place at the big Rogers building at the corner of Jarvis and Bloor, but rather in an unfinished, but cozy, basement outside of the city. I had no idea what was going to happen during my shifts now or even how it was going to work.

On top of all of this was the fact I was working my last week at Sportsnet. What a way to go out, right? I had decided in early March to pursue other opportunities and therefore this week, the first full one of the coronavirus resulting in no sports to play or on TV, I was working my final shifts. And they were all night shifts at that: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

It’s always weird working while everyone else winds down from their normal 9-5 jobs, but it was especially present these final four shifts. I had to drink extra coffee to try and keep myself aware as the lights dimmed around me and people in the house started going to bed. Normally I would be in an office while all of this is happening with co-workers going through the same struggle. But all my co-workers were on Slack instead of in-person and getting them to help keep me awake or going to get $5 end-of-day sushi was no longer possible.

I give full credit to the reporters and senior editors at Sportsnet for keeping the story ideas and content flowing through this truly unprecedented time. Although my shifts were nowhere near as busy as they normally would be this time of year -- NHL and NBA playoffs around the corner along with MLB Opening Day -- it was still impressive to see how much was being done. Getting stories written when news is slim picking isn’t easy and full credit is deserved to those who are still contributing on a daily basis.

My final shift on March 20 was supposed to feature another late Canucks game to send me out. 

Instead, it was howling of coyotes outside that resulted in the stage curtains slowly drawing shut.