Why the right decision is seldom well-received in the NFL In their penultimate game of the 2020 season, Philadelphia Eagles’ (now former) head coach Doug Pederson made a decision that nearly sparked a revolt amongst the Eagles’ roster, cost the New York Giants a playoff spot, and left the NFL community at large in a state of moral panic. The decision under trial was the choice to bench emerging...
Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Ben Johnson are just a few of the many decorated athletes known to have used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). These athletes are now considered “cheaters”, shunned for the use of PEDs to achieve a chemical advantage in their respective sports. They violated the rules, the trust of their fans and colleagues, and the spirit of sport. Over recent...
Last week, the glass ceiling was shattered by a baseball. The Miami Marlins announced they would be hiring Kim Ng as their general manager, making her the first woman in men’s professional sports to hold the title. The decision was showered with praise across the sports world (including congratulations from Michelle Obama), as it’s a move that some may have never seen coming and simultaneously...
Why the Ontario Government’s Body-Checking Ban in Hockey for 2021 Does More Harm Than Good Ontario’s Minister of Sport Lisa MacLeod announced earlier this week that in order for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to have a 2020-2021 season, body checking will not be allowed. Just days earlier, the OHL had formally announced its return-to-play plan for a shortened 2021 season beginning February 4th...
Sports have a storied history of hazing, bullying, and the “boys will be boys” mentality. Some consider it a rite of passage in sport, leading to stronger individuals and better people in the global community moving forward. But what happens when this isn’t the case? More often than not, the person who is being bullied will have no recourse and is left wondering what is wrong with them and why...
An interview with lawyer and Assistant General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Josh Flynn Jon Cooper, Brian Burke, Laurence Gilman, and Josh Flynn. What do these people have in common? For one, they all hold, or formerly held (sorry Brian), high-level positions within NHL organizations. However, there’s something else that links these men. Jon Cooper, Stanley Cup Champion and head coach of...
Outside of drafting and developing prospects, free agency provides NHL organizations with the best opportunity to improve their respective clubs. Sometimes these improvements come by way of making notable player signings or by inking multiple depth players, and in some cases, deciding not to re-sign a player at all. At the same time, there is no doubt that free agency can lead to GMs overpaying...
As the clock hit zero, Lebron James let out a shout of triumph as he and his teammates rushed to the court to celebrate winning another championship for Los Angeles. The celebration was different this year: with no fans present at the arena, the only sounds the audience could hear from home were the Lakers’ cheers of joy as confetti fell in the stadium. A few minutes later, the Lakers were...
2020 has been a tough year for tennis. After the Australian Open back in January, things quickly turned downhill for the professional circuit with major tournaments being cancelled left and right. Wimbledon was cancelled (the last time the tournament was cancelled was during the Second World War), the ill-fated inaugural Adria Tour was abandoned amidst a COVID-related scandal, and Novak Djokovic...
It goes without saying how much COVID-19 has impacted the world of sports. It is now October and it hasn’t been a week since the Tampa Bay Lightning bested the Dallas Stars, winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise history in Edmonton, Alberta of all places. Beyond rescheduling and reformatting the playoffs, the NHL was forced to delay some of the most important dates of the offseason: the...
The night of June 13th, 2019 was supposed to be the greatest night in Masai Ujiri’s professional career. It was the night Ujiri’s Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals 114-110, to secure the first NBA Championship in franchise history. In the dying moments of the game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Raptors President Masai Ujiri tried to go on the...
On the ice, the Tampa Bay Lightning finally got the equation right. After unceremoniously being removed from the playoffs last year by the Columbus Blue Jackets in an ugly 4-0 series, the Lightning found their stride in the 2020 playoffs. Perhaps it was getting all-star defenceman, Victor Hedman, back. Or perhaps it was the trade deadline depth acquisitions of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow...
On Monday, September 28, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, approved the Kobe Bryant Act. This invasion of privacy bill moved to make it a criminal office for any emergency responders to take or share unauthorized photos of deceased persons at the scene of an accident. This issue first arose earlier in 2020, following the sudden passing of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter...
With new talent in tow,, the Blues appear poised to mount a title challenge In a Premier League offseason in which business as usual was severely dampened by COVID’s impact on normally bursting club coffers, Chelsea had a transfer window for the ages. While financial juggernauts like Manchester City tightened their purse strings, tinpot clubs like Liverpool furloughed staff, and Arsenal players...
A championship-proven team. Free food and drinks. Free penthouses. Coaching and medical staff attending to your needs. A city and country that loves and adores you. The opportunity to repeat as NBA champions. Who would say no to that? Kawhi could’ve had everything he wanted had he stayed in Toronto. Ultimately, the allure of playing in his hometown was the deciding factor for Kawhi to leave...
On September 12, 2020, it was announced that the New York Islanders general manager, Lou Lamoriello, former GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, had won the Jim Gregory award for General Manager of the Year. Much like any time the Islanders scored on or had beaten the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, or Tampa Bay Lightning on the road to the Eastern Conference Final, my dad was quick to let me...
The NHL’s response (or lack thereof) to Jacob Blake’s shooting did not go unnoticed On Wednesday, August 26th, the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic were set to faceoff for Game 5 playoff action in the Orlando bubble. There remained one issue – the Bucks had not yet left the locker room. After a short warm-up and with 4 minutes remaining until tipoff, the Magic walked off the court. Sources...
Three Important Storylines from the NBA Bubble To help mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19, the NBA and the NBPA agreed to complete the 2019-2020 season in isolation at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Inside what is colloquially called the NBA Bubble, players were separated from their families for months, subjected to frequent tests and required to wear contact tracing rings and...
March 11, 2020 changed the 2019-2020 NBA season forever. That night, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19 and soon after, the NBA season was suspended until further notice. Just five months later, the NBA playoffs are well underway inside a bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando. It goes without saying that these playoffs are different from others: all playoff teams are...
Which XFL stars could be playing in the NFL in 2020? The XFL’s short-lived renaissance has come and gone with the league’s season cancellation, and, rather than because of its own mismanagement like in 2001, this time it came at the hands of COVID-19—which seems to have eradicated sports from the planet for the time being. Although it was only in existence for a short five weeks, a few players...
NFL, Players agree to new CBA through 2030 Rejoice, football fans. You’re guaranteed labour peace for at least another decade. Last Sunday, the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) agreed to a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement that will last through the 2030 NFL season. It’s a bit surprising that the NFLPA agreed to the NFL’s proposal considering the PA’s...
Maple Leafs’ embarrassing loss to Emergency Goalie causes flashbacks to that Game Seven vs. Boston for fans On February 22, 2020, the Toronto Maple Leafs suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in history when they fell 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that was forced to send out David Ayres, a 42 year-old Zamboni Driver for the Toronto Marlies, as an emergency backup goalie after...
Reflecting on the Biggest Canadian Sports Moment of a Generation Sports are usually a great pastime; a 2-3 hour distraction from the mundane realities we put ourselves through. But sometimes they mean just a bit more. Every now and then in the sports world, we get a moment so dramatic, a story so compelling, an event so impactful and emotional, that it causes people to scream with joy and...
What NHL Teams Should be Making Moves at this Year’s Deadline The 2020 NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching. Teams will need to decide whether they’re buyers, sellers, or just letting it ride as we approach the quest for the Stanley Cup. Let’s take a look at a few teams who should be buying (or should’ve bought) at the deadline. Eastern Conference Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning are a team...
The World Reacts to the Death of Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant The world was sent into utter shock two weeks ago when Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others passed away in a tragic helicopter crash near Calabasas, California. The crash immediately sent social media into a frenzy, as conflicting reports caused people to question whether it was a hoax. Bryant’s most recent tweet had...