The 2024-2025 Toronto Maple Leafs Photo Credit: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press The Toronto Maple Leafs faced skepticism after beginning the season with a 4-4-1 record. However, they have since defied pessimistic predictions, winning five out of their last six games and currently standing at 11-6-2 at the time of writing. Notably, one of these games featured Anthony Stolarz’s first shutout, and...
Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images I settled into my seat in the Meridian at Island Gardens, an arena pulsing with energy, crowded with spectators donning curated designer ensembles, gaudy jewelry and impossibly pristine sneakers. It was 30 January 2020, a mere week after the novel coronavirus ominously debuted in North America, casting a sense of global unrest. Another viral phenomenon was...
Photo Credit: Soobum Im/Getty Images Rebuilding an NBA franchise into a serious contender is a big challenge that spans many years and involves tactical trades. While it is normal for a team to go through a rebuild, not every team gets the result they want in the end. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, it looks like they have rebuilt into a great team with significant potential for continued future...
In every major North American sport, the combined average annual value of your players’ contracts comprises the team payroll for each season. Major League Baseball (MLB) remains the only major North American sport without a salary cap on that payroll, of some kind, in its Collective Bargaining Agreement. Additionally, it is also the only sport not requiring teams to meet a salary floor for their...
The 2024-2025 Toronto Raptors What would a successful season for the Toronto Raptors look like this year? I imagine that is a question that garnered much interest after the trade deadline last season. Would fans this season be content to see the Raptors go 0-82? The current situation is one many Toronto sports fans have not had to experience for some time. The Maple Leafs have been largely...
Photo Credit: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star When I learned I was going to be spending the next three years of my life in Toronto, I was fresh off watching two disappointing wild-card losses. Since then, the Toronto Blue Jays have lost seven straight post-season games. Although any major league baseball is better than no major league baseball, I am concerned that Ross Atkins is deliberately trying...
Top 5 Storylines to Follow as the 2024 Formula 1 Season Wraps Up It is that time of the year when law students scramble to finish summaries and readings, and pray that they end up on the right side of the curve (especially as a 1L student). Some of these students will also be asking a burning question: when will I fit the time to watch the last three races of the Formula 1 season? 2024 has...
There is a seminal debate in Formula 1: what is more important, the car or driver? While some would correctly assume it is a balance of both, most believe the car makes the difference. Lando Norris and the McLaren F1 Team seem determined to prove those fans wrong. The United States Grand Prix summed up McLaren’s 2024 season. Despite starting on pole position, Norris failed to defend his lead...
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Glance at Each Team’s Sophomore Season New names, fresh looks, and larger arenas to accompany familiar faces in their renewed quest for the Walter Cup Photo Credit: Christian Bender/PWHL Following an inaugural season without nicknames—resulting in jerseys with similar diagonal wordmark patterns—the six teams of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) are set to welcome their second...
Photo CredIt: AP Photo /Mark J. TerrIll The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is well underway and unique storylines are abundant this year. We have seen some unexpected teams make the playoffs, which has been a theme for the MLB postseason since the introduction of the expanded playoff format. Neither of last year’s finalists, the Arizona Diamondbacks or the Texas Rangers, will be...
What does this mean for the sport? Since the notorious rise of Conor McGregor, mixed martial arts (MMA) has entered the mainstream and become one of the most-watched combat sports. The sport is known for its brutal knockouts, sneaky submissions, and infamous superstars that combine to create a dynamic, fast-paced landscape. Recently, a group of MMA fighters have taken the fighting out of the...
Photo CredIt: USA TODAY Sports/John DaVId Mercer The NFL season is well underway, with teams battling their way for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. After just a few weeks, many fans are surprised with the results and may wonder who will reign champion. The season still has much ahead. Here are four teams to keep your eye on. Kansas City Chiefs The reigning champions are en route to potentially...
Photo CredIt: Getty Images /Sean Gardner In NASCAR, the race car drivers and teams seem to have it all: lucrative sponsorship deals, high viewership, dedicated fans, and prize money. This smoke-and-mirrors obscures the reality behind the cameras—a reality unveiled in the recent antitrust lawsuit filed on 2 October 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina by 23XI...
Photo Credit: Formula 1 WebsIte When Daniel Ricciardo crossed the finish line at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, something felt off. Maybe it was because Ricciardo’s team, Visa CashApp RB (VCARB), decided to run a denim-inspired livery on their car at a venue with a sauna-like humidity—where jeans would not be the norm. Maybe it was VCARB’s controversial choice to pit Ricciardo with three...
For fans of women’s hockey, the international competition scene may look different in the coming years as changes in rosters, seeding format, and leadership were recently finalized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The IIHF finalized these changes at its Semi-Annual Congress in Rhodes, Greece, in late September 2024. The current tournament format accommodates ten teams split...
Among the most prominent storylines of the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was that of the Minnesota Frost (formerly PWHL Minnesota). From significant on-ice accomplishments to questionable offseason antics, the team incorporated approximately a decade’s worth of drama into a singular season. The Frost’s meteoric rise and subsequent fall from favour, seemingly...
Photo CredIt: Getty Images/DennIs Pajot On 9 September 2024, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) released the official names and logos for their “Inaugural Six” teams. The new team names are Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres. The new names and logos come ahead of the league’s second season. The league played its entire...
This year, the expansion of major international football competitions will result in players participating in more games than ever before, raising concerns about the physical and mental toll on athletes as they are pushed to their limits. More games and tournaments are on the football calendar than ever before. Major tournaments, like the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and the Club World Cup are...
On March 20, 2024, the 2024 MLB season would have kicked off with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Opening Day in North America was slated to occur on March 28. For baseball fans, another 162 game season is on its way and the storylines are intriguing to say the least. Here are five that I will personally be keeping an eye on. ...
The Hart Memorial Trophy crowns the Most Valuable Player in the NHL every year since 1972. Greats like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Alexander Ovechkin have won the award multiple times, cementing their legacies as some of the best to step foot on the ice. This year’s race, however, is one of the tightest ones we’ve seen in recent history. It’s a four-way competition between Connor McDavid...
The NFL offseason just got underway and the player movement has been surprising. Star players seem to be changing teams daily and as the NFL world turns towards the Draft in late April, we can expect even bigger fireworks. Here are some of the most interesting and shocking offseason stories. Legends Retire Every offseason, the NFL bids farewell to historically great players. Defensive...
Auston Matthews was the first player since Lightning forward Steven Stamkos in 2012 to score 60 goals a couple of seasons ago. The season that followed wasn’t the greatest with some nagging injuries taking away Matthews’ scoring touch which had Leafs fans worrying if they had seen the peak of his goal scoring magic. All of that has been put to rest in just the first half of this season. Leading...
From 16–18 February, the NBA descended upon Indianapolis, Indiana for the 73rd NBA All-Star Weekend. While the NBA has provided fans with iconic moments during the All-Star festivities, the past few iterations have been underwhelming at best. While the Three-Point Contest has been fantastic and the Skills Competition and Rising Stars Challenge enjoyable, the two marquee events—the Dunk Contest...
The social media sphere was shaken this week by the incendiary comments unleashed by ESPN NBA contributor JJ Redick against perennial choking Bucks coach Doc Rivers and the general NBA fandom. JJ first angrily called out Rivers for never taking accountability for his failures. This stemmed from Rivers’ comments during the All-Star Break regarding how he had told Kawhi Leonard that trading Shai...