THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The real MVP of this pandemic

Gonzaga got good news from two sources this week.

Jalen Suggs, 18 years old from St. Paul, Minn., and a do-it-all guard, officially signed a letter of intent.

Anthony Fauci, 79 years old from Washington, D.C., a do-it-all doctor and America’s pandemic expert, officially stated that big-time sports can be played this year.

So what does it all mean?

Taking the second item first, Fauci made it clear that from a health standpoint, college and professional teams conceivably could play out seasons — but without fans in attendance just yet.

Athletes and staff would have to be tested weekly, the doctor said, but if proper precautions are taken…

The sports we miss so much might resume.

Having this opinion come from Fauci was critically important.

The leading member of the president’s coronavirus task force is not a team owner who’s hungry for TV revenue, or a network executive trying to wish a revenue stream into existence.

Fauci is both neutral and knowledgeable, which was so, so important.

FOOTBALL season, however, will be a monster challenge for both colleges and the NFL.

Just consider the number of people involved and the fact that a true season would involve plenty of difficult travel.

If the games simply cannot be played, there will be financial pain in addition to the nation missing its football fix.

According to a study by USA Today, cancellation of the college football season would cost public universities about $4.1 billion in total revenue.

Then there’s the hit that communities and regions would absorb from lack of what’s called “visitor expenditure impact” — basically, income that flows into college areas on football days.

The study estimated that for each Alabama home game that might be wiped away, the Tuscaloosa area would lose about $19.6 million.

Obviously, the numbers are smaller for a school like Washington State, but Wazzu’s athletic department — which AD Pat Chun must constantly fight to keep afloat — desperately needs revenue from its own football games, along with cash accrued by the Pac-12 through TV deals and bowl appearances.

Football without fans would cut into the cash flow, but at least there’s television and maybe, just maybe, we could see spectators at bowl games if a vaccine for the coronavirus can be found by the end of the year.

So we come to the vaccine.

It’s no secret that public and private labs are going full-tilt to find the magic bullet (even cutting corners with some testing protocols), and success or failure with that effort in 2020 will impact both sports that generate major revenue — football and basketball.

Bottom line, this one is in the hands of the scientists.

MEANWHILE, Gonzaga must wait along with everyone else to see when (or if) the Kennel can be filled anytime during the 2020-21 season.

Beyond that, of course, is the issue of the NCAA tournament — which the Zags missed this spring despite going 31-2 and possessing one hell of a chance to reach the Final Four.

Will America’s health allow for March Madness a year from now?

Once again, the answer to that question will impact the Zags.

One thing we can say without fear of contradiction: Gonzaga COULD have more talent on campus than at any other time in school history.

Players like Filip Petrusev, Corey Kispert and soph guard Joel Ayayi each have to make decisions about taking a shot with the NBA — but none are considered first-round picks and according to well-informed league sources, each of the three could sail through both rounds (60 picks) without being selected.

If that trio returns intact — and now with the likely addition of Suggs, perhaps the best prep guard in America — the Zags will be loaded beyond anyone’s wildest wishes.

WE’LL GO over a potential roster, piece by piece, with a special “Zags Tracker” page in next Tuesday’s Press, but suffice it to say that of the 12 scholarship players on hand right now, as many as eight or nine have legitimate aspirations of playing in the NBA.

That, Zags junkies, is the definition of loaded.

Yes, yes, all such skill needs to be refined, and would-be superstars must be blended into a functional rotation to actually win games.

But no coaching staff in the country is better at developing players and then getting them into the correct roles to be most effective — all while avoiding potential griping and disruption from former high school heroes who are asked to be patient and wait their turn.

Gonzaga pulls that off, season after season, with success that borders on miraculous.

Among other things, it’s a tribute to the type of young men that want to be Zags, and then fit seamlessly into the program.

Just as a taster for today, here’s a quick overview of the squad as it’s currently constructed — and remember how spectacularly players, especially international kids like Arlauskas, Ballo and Zakharov, usually improve year to year at Gonzaga.

BIGS — Petrusev, Drew Timme, Anton Watson, Oumar Ballo, Pavel Zakharov.

WINGS — Kispert, Julian Strawther, Martynas Arlauskas, (Watson).

SHOOTING GUARDS — Ayayi, Dominick Harris, (Arlauskas).

POINT GUARDS — Suggs, Aaron Cook Jr., (Ayayi).

It would be a shame if that team has to play in empty arenas, at least for part of the coming season.

But the Zags, like the rest of us and society in general, must fight COVID-19 and hope to stand tall when the pandemic finally passes.

Whether we watch this next crop of Zags in person or on TV, it’s going to be fun.

It’s also fair to say that both Suggs and Fauci handed us great news.

And we needed some now, right?

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Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes the Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.