Column: 2020 is perfect for socially distanced Newby Awards

Vanderbilt place kicker Sarah Fuller (32) kicks an extra point during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee at Vanderbilt Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. After leading Vanderbilt to the Southeastern Conference women's soccer championship, she suited up for the Commodores undermanned football team, becoming the first female to play in a Power Five game and tacking on another historic first when she scored in her next game by kicking a pair of extra points. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

FILE - In this March 11, 2020, file photo, Atlanta Hawks guard Vince Carter, right, hugs former Hawk Dominique Wilkins as he leaves the court following an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks in Atlanta. When the NBA announced the night of March 11 that it would be halting play because of the pandemic, word filtered through the arena and all the way down to the bench of the shocking developments. The fans began chanting for Carter to enter a game for the Hawks in the closing seconds. Carter had already announced it would be the final season of his brilliant 23-year career, longer than anyone else has played in the NBA. The fans sensed that the season might be over. The Hawks sent him back to the court. The Knicks respectfully backed away to give him an open look at a 3-pointer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Portland coach Eric Reveno on bench against Washington during an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick participates in a workout for NFL football scouts and media, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, in Riverdale, Ga. Kaepernick is still blackballed from the NFL four years after protesting racial injustice. In the ultimate hypocrisy, the league has taken up the cause that he championed but clearly has no intention of taking Kaepernick back. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)

A woman ties a banner to a tree outside Progressive Field before a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Cleveland. Before the year was done, the Cleveland Indians said they would change the team's nickname, though not until after the 2021 season. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2019, file photo, Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman sits in a special outside booth before the Reds' baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Cincinnati. Brennaman, who used a homophobic slur while broadcasting the first game of a doubleheader, apparently not realizing he was on the air. Right in the middle of calling the second game, he apologized for his hateful language and was removed from the telecast. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

T. Bear holds a ball while sitting in his seat before the Oakland Athletics against the Los Angeles Angels game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. T. Bear was drilled in the noggin with a liner off the bat of Arizona's Ketel Marte but bounced right back up with a smile on its face. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

FILE - This Sept. 23, 1983 file photo shows Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa. At age 76, the Hall of Famer signed on with the Chicago White Sox nine years after supposedly retiring as a manager. Blessed with one of the best young teams in all of baseball _ not to mention one of the brashest and most socially conscious _ the White Sox inexplicably went with an old-school relic who began his managing career the same year as Disco Demolition Night. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2019, file photo, Kyle Larson sits in his car before the final practice for a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Kyle Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing, a day after nearly every one of his sponsors dropped the star driver for using a racial slur during a live stream of a virtual race. Of course, in a sport with an extremely checkered racial history, he's already lined up a new gig for 2021 at Hendrick Motorsports. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2020, file photo, Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera holds up a helmet during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility in Ashburn, Va. Washington's NFL team finally joined the 21st century by dumping its racist nickname, though it took the greatest national awakening since the 1960s to finally draw out some semblance of shame from owner Dan Snyder. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Phillie Phanatic tries to cheer the team on while surrounded by the cutouts of fans in the seats during a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Philadelphia. The Phillies did their best to compensate for the cold, sterile atmosphere by putting out an array of cardboard cutouts in the stands. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Atlanta United players celebrates with the trophy after defeating Club America 3-2 in the Campeones Cup soccer final Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, in Atlanta. Atlanta United, which had wrapped up a dismal 2020 MLS season on Nov. 8, returned to the pitch 5 1/2 weeks later to play one more game: the second leg of a quarterfinal series against Mexico's Club América. And when was the first leg played? Way back on March 11, just as the coronavirus was bringing everything to a screeching halt. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)