CategorySports

2023 NBA trade deadline

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Usually, the NBA trade deadline is horrible. The NBA has perfected the use of social media to create tremendous levels of hype that consistently lets fans down. However, this year’s deadline brought huge fireworks that have completely shifted the balance of the league. In my opinion, here are the five most important moves. Kevin Durant to the desert KD was eviscerated by NBA fans for joining the...

Controversies in UFC judging and scoring

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Sports  generally  fall  in  one  of  two  broad  categories:  those  anyone  can  score and  those  only  experts can  score.  It  is  easily  discernible  who  wins  in  a  freestyle  relay,  but  it  is  harder  to  recognize ...

Where do they stand at the break?

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The National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star break has concluded, and Leafs fans had the opportunity to watch Mitch Marner fail to score on retired goaltender Roberto Luongo. This also means that the second half of the regular season is officially underway. The first half of the season was a roller coaster with injuries plaguing the entire defence core. However, the team rallied behind their young...

Halfway through the Barclays

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It is no longer the “Barclays Premier League” but the memories remain. The season has just reached the midway point, and the title and top four contenders are shaping up. However, do not forget the relegation battle, as some really significant clubs could be dropping out of the Premier League. Here are five developing storylines for the remainder of this 2022–2023 season.  The Gunners Are...

Commence the tank

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When we were in elementary school, our naiveté had us thinking that our Toronto Raptors were great. The likes of Joey Graham, TJ Ford, Morris Peterson, Jamario Moon, and Rasho Nesterovic were the Raptors of my childhood. We believed that Jose Calderon was an elite point guard and that Shawn Marion would change our fortunes. I never thought we could actually be on the top of the basketball world...

World Cup 2022 final thoughts

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“Lionel Messi has shaken hands with paradise.” – Peter Drury From 20 November to 18 December 2022, the world celebrated its most cherished and adored game. Thirty-two teams battled it out for the chance to hoist the World Cup, and it may have been the greatest World Cup tournament that has been played. Without further ado, here are my six final thoughts regarding the twenty-second FIFA World Cup...

Politics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: The case of Milan Borjan

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Milan Borjan (right), Canada’s 2022 FIFA goalkeeper, is seen helping up a Croatian player. Prior to the start of the 2022 World Cup, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) president Gianni Infantino urged teams to direct their focus not on politics but solely on soccer. But this is an impossible task, not only for the teams competing, but also for those following along...

The injury bug hits the Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs just lost defenceman Morgan Rielly for at least the next ten games. This was not welcome news: Over the last few weeks the Leafs have also lost TJ Brodie from their blue line and Ilya Samsonov from their crease. On the other hand, fans were seeing their team get on a roll with Matt Murray recovering and the team racking up at least one point in nine out of their last ten...

Qatar 2022 storylines

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FIFA is a disgrace. I hope Gianni Infantino is forever smeared for the comments he made when defending the tournament this past week. I also hope that Sepp Blatter never has the opportunity to do anything relevant in the world ever again. Qatar should not be hosting this tournament. Unfortunately, it is. If you will not watch because your values and morals prohibit you to do so, then you are a...

0-3: A rivalry spanning across years, organizations, and sports

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November 12 saw one of the most anticipated UFC pay-per-views of the year come and go: UFC 281. The card featured several stand-out fights that resonated with both die hard and casual fans alike. I watched the card with some friends, most of whom rarely tune into UFC cards or combat sports in general, and they were all clamoring that the Poirier versus Chandler fight was one of the best fights...

Canada Soccer refuses to publicly support Amnesty International’s concerns about the World Cup

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Qatar, the host of this year’s FIFA World Cup of soccer, has faced a barrage of criticism that began in 2010 when it was awarded the tournament. Concerns about the treatment of migrant workers and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community have made this World Cup one of the most heavily criticized and denounced in history. Migrant workers in Qatar who helped build stadiums and World Cup infrastructure...

NFL Week Thirteen picks

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Bills @ Patriots To start us off, we have the Bills visiting Gillette Stadium to take on the Patriots. The Thursday Night games this season have been under par to say the least. However, this game has the potential to be a good one, within reason. The Bills are 0-2 against their own division and are looking to get a much-needed divisional win on the road. With the AFC East having the possibility...

Five thoughts at the NFL midway point

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We are entering the halfway point of the 2022-2023 National Football League (NFL) season. Fortunately for some, and unfortunately for others, we have enough evidence to indicate how the rest of the season will go for most teams. Occasionally a slow starter may catch headwinds, ultimately shocking the rest of the league at the end, but generally speaking, this is rare. Without further ado, here...

One-team league

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Historically, Manchester City has been an irrelevant club in English football. Overshadowed by their neighbours—Manchester United—City was known for choking in big moments and never winning trophies. In 2022, they have completely transformed into the best footballing side in the world. Since the Abu Dhabi United Group purchased the team in 2008, City have won six out of fourteen league titles...

Don’t worry, Leafs fans! This will be a good year!

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As I begin writing this article, the city of Toronto is mourning the Blue Jays as they blew an 8-1 lead to be eliminated from the 2022 MLB postseason. This event has resulted in many Toronto sports fans comparing the Jays to the Leafs, and losing all hope for Toronto sports. As a devoted Leafs fan who is too far into the fandom to lose hope, I present to you a fairly optimistic and, in my mind...

The chess cheating controversy

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Over the past month, the chess community has been embroiled in arguments surrounding the allegations levied against Hans Niemann, a nineteen-year-old rising player, by Magnus Carlsen, who has won the world championship title five times. The way that discussions of the allegations so quickly gripped the two parallel chess communities—both the traditional over the board (OTB) organisations such as...

The 2022 Toronto Blue Jays: A box office flop

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The Toronto Blue Jays were agonizingly close to making the postseason in 2021. They were one game away from a wild card spot and were unfortunately eliminated on the last day of the regular season. Blue Jays star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr was emphatic that 2022 would be “the movie” and that fans should be excited about the team. The Jays may have lost American League Cy-Young winning...

NFL: Week Seven predictions

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The 2022 to 2023 NFL season thus far has been nothing short of exciting and full of surprises. As we are quickly approaching the halfway point of the season, I will be taking a look at the Week Seven match-ups and predicting the outcome for the first ten games on the slate.  Saints vs Cardinals Cardinals Coming-Out Party. With the return of DeAndre Hopkins, the Arizona Cardinals finally...

The only GOAT around: Serena Williams

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tennis Earlier this September, the sports and tennis world alike witnessed the last game of a true legend. The younger Williams’ sister announced her retirement earlier this summer and at her final performance on 2 September 2022, where she lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the US Open. Audiences around the world and at the court rarely noticed her losing the match but focused on losing a...

Five storylines heading into the 2022-2023 NFL season

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Football is back and I could not be more excited. The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl last season, but 2021-2022 will probably be remembered for the Super Bowl halftime performance rather than any game. Here’s what I am keeping watch over this year.  AFC West Arms Race  My Denver Broncos are finally relevant again. The Broncos traded for star...

Rob Manfred hates baseball

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Rob Manfred is the Tenth Commissioner of Baseball, specifically Major League Baseball (MLB). He was appointed in 2015, well into the MLB’s continual popularity decline. The MLB’s audience is the oldest of the four major North American sports leagues, with the average age well over fifty. Although MLB revenues have increased nearly thirty per cent – from $8.2 billion in 2015 to over $10.7 billion...

A wild trade deadline

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For once, the NBA trade deadline was explosive. The teams that were rumoured to be heavily linked to trades actually traded players. The Twitter-sphere received a heavyweight showdown between Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski, the two greatest NBA transaction reporters of all-time. The general consensus has Woj as top-dog because of his “Woj-Bombs,” but in an upset, Shams broke eleven trades...

Russia, figure skating, and doping

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Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to allow Kamila Valieva to compete is a slap in the face to sport integrity Figure skating has a reputation for corruption and questionable scoring techniques seen in the Olympic winter games. In 2002, at the Salt Lake City Olympics, the Canadian team composed of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were belatedly awarded a gold medal due to a judging controversy...

Chelsea FC: The Best Football Club in the World

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The Blues win the FIFA Club World Cup to complete their already bursting trophy cabinet When Australian referee Christopher Beath blew the whistle on 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, several Chelsea players collapsed to the Abu Dhabi pitch of both exhaustion and joy. For Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta, playing one hundred and twenty minutes of football in stifling heat at 37 and 32 years-old...

2022 NBA All-Star reserve picks

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Note: This article was written before the 2022 NBA All-Star Reserve Picks Were Announced First off, congratulations to Golden State Warriors Forward, Andrew Wiggins for making his very first All-Star team. The Thornhill native was controversially voted in through the fan vote along with the rest of the starters. As a front court player, he joins the Western Conference Starters––Stephen Curry and...

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