Osgoode teams crowned champions, reach semi-finals, among 26 teams across North America in National Sports Moot hosted by U of T On March 13th, Osgoode Hall sent two teams (virtually) to the annual Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada, hosted by the University of Toronto. This year’s Osgoode teams were executive members from the Osgoode Entertainment & Sports Law Association, Jordan Kazan...
How Mark Messier “guaranteed” himself another victory, this time in Court In a career full of accolades, the greatest moment in hockey legend Mark Messier’s time in the NHL came after a guarantee. As captain of the New York Rangers, Messier “guaranteed” his team would come back and defeat their rival New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals to tie the series. The man they...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Three Takeaways From Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV provided the NFL’s 100th season with a storybook ending but it was a weird outcome based on how the game went. The game hummed along quickly and was devoid of big moments, aside from 30 minutes of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, which likely caused many young boys to experience weird feelings they’d never felt before. I predicted a few weeks...
Forecasting the outcome of Football’s Final Four AFC Championship — #6 Tennessee Titans vs. #2 Kansas City Chiefs Tennessee Titans The Titans are the surprise story of the playoffs. First, they sent the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots packing early with a 20-13 victory in Foxboro — the first time in nine seasons where the Patriots will not be in the AFC Championship. Then...
The 2020 Law Games transformed into a breakout campaign for Osgoode Earlier this month, 44 of Osgoode Hall’s finest descended upon Montreal for the 2020 Law Games hosted by the Université de Montréal. Over 5 days, the Osgoode Law Games team competed against 17 other law schools across Canada in a multitude of sports ranging from volleyball to capture the flag to inner tube water polo. Your...
OSTRAVA, CZE — Canada’s Akil Thomas deked Russian Goaltender Amir Miftakhov with 3 minutes remaining, giving Canada a 4-3 lead and helping them capture Gold at the 2020 U-20 World Junior Hockey Championships. But the bigger prize for Thomas and many other members of Team Canada, all between 17 and 19 years of age, was that they would not be incessantly tormented on social media for the next few...
Sportsnet’s decision to fire Don Cherry was long overdue I remember the first time I ever watched Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry. I was about four or five years old. I didn’t really understand why my family was crowding around the TV, and I had no idea what was actually coming out of the mouths of those two guys in front of me, but I could tell that the older guy with the colourful jacket was...
Why the World Anti-Doping Agency Needs to Clear Up the Status of Cannabis in Sport While many Canadians can say the legalization of cannabis has impacted their lives in some way, athletes who represent the country are not one of them, with the sporting world’s governing bodies hesitant to adapt their drug policies. Canada’s Anti-Doping Program (CADP) has made it clear to both amateur and...
How the Florida State Tax Rate Helped turn the Tampa Bay Lightning into a Juggernaut Earlier this month, the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team who had decimated the rest of the NHL in 2018-19 with the best regular season in over 20 years, managed to re-sign their young centreman Brayden Point to a three-year contract worth $6.75 million per season. As soon as the deal was signed, there were cries of...
Assessing how each NHL team did in their big offseason test Well, the free agency dominoes in the NHL have fallen. But who overpaid, and who came away with a total bargain? Let’s look at the contracts of the four restricted free agents who were expected to take home the biggest pay-day at the start of the summer. Sebastian Aho (CAR – C) Contract Projection: 6 years/$60M – $10M average...
New Zealand goes for three in a row while Canada looks to take down a giant Though it might not be as big in Canada, the Rugby World Cup, which consistently generates over a billion viewers globally over the course of the tournament, begins on Friday. So what should our hopes be for Canada this time around? And does anyone have a shot at dethroning New Zealand? Let’s take a look. Pool A —...
Why Bianca Andreescu Deserves the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s Top Athlete The Lou Marsh Trophy is an award given annually to Canada’s top athlete, professional or amateur, as voted by journalists across Canada. The award has been handed out 82 times since 1936, including 13 times to hockey players, nine times to a figure skater, and one time to a harness racer. Not once has it been awarded...
New Zealand Goes for Three-in-a-Row While Canada Looks to Take Down a Giant Though it might not be as big in Canada, the Rugby World Cup, which consistently generates over a billion viewers globally over the course of the tournament, begins on Friday. So what should our hopes be for Canada this time around? And does anyone have a shot at dethroning New Zealand? Let’s take a look. Pool A —...
Nolan Cattell – Sports Editor Congratulations on making it this far into this year’s first issue of Obiter Dicta! You might be thrilled to know there actually is a place to talk sports at Osgoode Hall, and it’s right here! Welcome to the sports section of Obiter! As the sports editor, I’m hoping to provide broader coverage of the sporting landscape. Sure, we’re going to be involved in...