.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... High school athletes across the state this week got an injection of hope that there will indeed be games to play this spring after nearly a year of COVID-19 restrictions. But while the decision makers made clear that could happen – from the Governor announcing the green light on a return to in-person learning on Feb. 8 to the Public Education Department and the New Mexico Activities Association essentially confirming a tentative start date of Feb. 22 for high school sports – there hadn’t been talk about how that could be so within the parameters of the existing public health order. After all, a return to in-person learning at high schools only solves half the equation for a return to the fields and courts. A public health order remains in place that prohibits mass gatherings like practices and games.