It’s only been two weeks since coronavirus, or COVID-19, or the Chinese virus, or whatever you want to call it, effectively nuked the sports world for the time being. There are no pro or college games to watch other than the classics that are being replayed. Playing in youth baseball and softball tournaments is no longer a thing. It is a dark and foreboding time.

I’m sick of dwelling on the negatives, though. So instead of sitting around being bored, I figured I’d offer up some sports alternatives that you can play while quarantined at home or while scouring the Earth for toilet paper.

Feel free to add your own.

• Home golf. This is one we used to play around the office from time to time. All you need is a cheap putter, a couple of golf balls and a paper plate. Pick a starting point, set up the paper plate as a hole, and work your way around the house as you set up your own miniature golf course. You can increase the challenge by having to hit down stairs or around furniture. Just resist the temptation to pull out a driver.

• Wiffle Ball. A backyard staple for decades, a Wiffle Ball game can easily pull you through an afternoon or two. You don’t even need more than two people. Just set ground rules like any ball that gets past the pitcher is a hit, off the fence is a double, etc.

• Shopping cart races. For those rare and fun occasions when you do go scavenging at the grocery store. On the way to the car, stand with one foot on the bottom of the cart and use the other to quickly push yourself along like a skateboard. If NASCAR can do virtual racing, we can burn polyurethane doing this.

• Fish tank bass tournaments. Get a net and scoop your goldfish in and out of the tank. Not nearly as much fun as it sounds, especially for the fish. Also, please make sure there is a catch and release policy.

• Nerf gun battles. Another fun family staple, plus it’s good practice for the coming Toilet Paper Wars.

• Living Room Thunderdome. Two people enter. One person leaves. We’ll all be here in a few months anyway. Might as well get a jump on it. If you have kids, you can be Master Blaster.

• Video games. A great way to pass the time, especially these days when you can play online against people all over the world. When two competitive siblings are involved, however, this is only slightly less violent than Living Room Thunderdome.

Have fun in there!

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com