At 3 p.m. Friday the PIAA will convene to discuss yet again whether or not to go against the recommendation of Gov. Tom Wolf and the departments of Health and Education and play fall sports before Jan. 1.

Since Wolf dropped the bombshell two weeks ago that he strongly recommended the postponement of sports until the start of 2021, the question to play or not to play has been litigated ad nauseam around the commonwealth.

It's been a colossal waste of time.

The point of the two-week delay imposed by the PIAA was to move Wolf and the departments of Health and Education off their position.

Didn't happen. Not even close.

It was clear Wolf wasn't going to give in; he wouldn't even meet with the PIAA.

The delay went on anyway.

Executive director Bob Lombardi and associate executive director Melissa Mertz spent that pause blitzing the state, telling anyone who'd listen how “fairly confident” they were that sports could be held this fall.

The more they said it, the less I believed it.

Confident people don't go around saying how confident they are. Confident people act.

“Fairly confident” people, in my experience, aren't really all that confident.

There were many times I was “fairly confident” I would do well on a test I hadn't studied for in college.

Didn't always work out like I thought.

But the PIAA is entrenched in its position. That's why it is likely they will vote to continue sports this fall against the recommendation.

The decision, however, ultimately will be with the individual schools. That's where, finally, this will be put to rest — at school board meetings across the state in the coming days.

The PIAA's decision is moot, unless the decision is to delay fall sports until after Jan. 1.

It's going to come down to this: are school districts comfortable going against the recommendation of Wolf and the departments of Health and Education? Are school districts comfortable opening themselves up to potential lawsuits?

Many won't be.

Then, a whole new crop of difficult questions will need to be answered:

How many schools need to drop out before the PIAA has to shut down the whole thing anyway?

What if all but two schools in one section of the WPIAL decide not to play? Will there really be a two-team section?

What happens if there is an outbreak at several schools in the middle of the season?

Other states are trying to play this fall, but those states have the backing of its governor and departments of Health and Education.

The PIAA doesn't.

Are Pa. schools really prepared to risk so much if an athlete, coach or other school employee gets sick, dies or has lifelong complications from COVID-19 because the school district ignored the recommendation?

So, you see, Friday probably won't be the big decision day we had hoped it would be.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.