We've reached the point in 2020 where the mere reference to 2020 describes 2020. Example: Something bizarro happens? Go palms up, give a shoulder shrug and offer an absorbing, "well, it's 2020 after all."

Ah, but perhaps recent events suggest that 2020 isn't about Murphy's Law as much as karma — the spiritual principle of cause and effect, where our intents and actions influence our future. Good and bad. Maybe you call it the law of attraction, or the belief that positive or negative thoughts and actions beget positive or negative experiences. Whatever your semantics, sports are doing that microcosm-of-society thing again, teaching us that as we sow, so shall we reap.

Have you noticed the latest sporting trends?

First, there's Aroldis Chapman, the pitcher for the Yankees. We'd call him a "closer," but I wonder if he could close an umbrella in a big spot.

Anyhoo, Chapman decided to place his thumbprint on the Yanks-Rays feud about a month ago. In the ninth inning of a game the Yankees were about to win, he threw a 100 mph fastball at the head of Tampa's Mike Brosseau, who was otherwise innocent, save the uniform he was wearing.

Brosseau, thankfully, got out of the way. Chapman should have been suspended forthwith, but was instead allowed to appeal and participate in the playoffs. Enter karma. Who is the guy that homered off Chapman in the eighth inning of the best-of-five culmination game between the Yankees and Rays last week? Mike Brosseau. Coincidence? I don't think so. Karma, baby.

Then there's Cheating Jose Altuve, who, with his Houston teammates, used buzzers and trash cans to flimflam their way to the World Series more than once. You may remember Altuve's reluctance to remove his jersey on the field last year after he ended the American League Championship Series with a homer off Chapman. Modesty, such a lonely word? Either that, or there was an electronic device affixed to his body somewhere.

Now it appears Altuve has a case of the yips and can't throw the ball accurately anywhere. Coincidence? I think not.

My favorite karmic yarn, though, has befallen Dan Mullen, the football coach at the University of Florida. Seems coach Mullen was envious after his team's loss at Texas A&M last week, where a reported 24,709 fans made a lot of noise and affected the game.

(Note: It looked as though COVID-19 was a mere rumor at Kyle Field, where way more 24,709 were allowed into the stadium and did their best to crowd into the same sections and not wear masks.)

Mullen told reporters after the game that he wanted 90,000 fans at this Saturday's game in Gainesville against LSU. A recent missive from Florida governor Ron DeSantis sustained Mullen's whim.

Florida has allowed 20 percent capacity for games. DeSantis, whose liquor cabinet is clearly better stocked than his bookshelf, announced last week he would allow football stadiums to fill every seat. It's Florida, remember: COVID is hearsay.

"I know our governor passed that rule so certainly, hopefully, the university administration decides to let us pack The Swamp," Mullen said. "Hundred percent, because that crowd was a major factor in the (Texas A&M) game, and so, I certainly hope our university administration follows the governor. Absolutely want to see 90,000 in The Swamp."

I've heard more irresponsible things uttered in my lifetime. It'll just take me a while to remember one. In a state where COVID-19 numbers are rapidly increasing, here is a football coach whose myopia may have a few yahoos waving their flags, but whose heedlessness should have the rest of us calling for his job.

Ah, but karma came to the rescue. A few days after Mullen thought 90,000 people in close proximity during a pandemic was the best idea since remote control, the Gators had to stop all football activities Tuesday because of a COVID outbreak on the team. The LSU game was posponed Wednesday. Coincidence? I think not.

I view these as cautionary tales aimed to illustrate that there's a cosmic scorecard monitoring what we say and how we act. In a positive way, too. So be nice. Help people. Be thankful. Be hopeful. Be faithful.

I wonder, for example, what would happen if we made a gratitude list and read it aloud every day. Methinks more abundance entering our lives would not be coincidence. Besides, Einstein said "coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."

So maybe 2020 is a case study after all. Lesson I: As we sow, so shall we reap.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro