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...
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...
A Tribute to Kobe & Gianna Bryant January 22nd, 2006. I thought it was just another game. It wasn’t. I was at a family friend’s house celebrating his tenth birthday. We spent most of the day building snowmen and playing tag, hide and seek, Nintendo DS, and house. After stuffing ourselves with food and sweets, it was time for the basketball game to start. I wasn’t a basketball fan at the time:...
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...
Reflecting on how each of the seven Canadian NHL teams have fared so far in the roller coaster that is the 2019-20 season As we hit the mid-season mark for the NHL, it’s time again to review our Canadian teams to see how they’ve done thus far. It’s also time to review my pre-season thoughts and note how inexplicably wrong I was. Montreal “Kovalchuk” Canadiens The Habs have had an interesting...
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...
Crosby’s Golden Goal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is Obiter’s choice for Sports Moment of the Decade Picking a top sporting moment of the decade is obviously a very difficult process. So many sports are played around the world at such an incredible level. Honourable mentions would go to the Toronto Raptors winning their first title and bringing Canada its first big 4 North American...
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...
The North showed up in Southern California, Raptors go 1-1 in LA It is only the second month of the NBA season and the league has already been plagued with injuries and drama. We have seen stars like Steph Curry and Gordon Hayward sustain serious injuries that will prevent them from being on the court for, likely, the rest of the season. The anticipated debut and dominance from Zion Williamson is...
What a difference a few years makes in the art of the jersey burn. It was 2010: Our Prime Minister was a robot, Tech Billionaires were media darlings, and the Leafs were still disappointing. LeBron James, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but someone who I believe will never surpass Michael Jordan, “took his talents to South Beach”. The aftermath was a night of despair in...
NCAA amateur student-athletes can now make money alongside professional athletes in paid promotional materials. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a billion dollar business, yet 98% of student-athletes will never earn a penny for their athletic endeavors. With only 1.7% of college athletes going on to become professional athletes, the NCAA has opened a door for the rest of the...
A 30,000-Foot View of the Raptors 25th Season “What it do baby?!” The NBA season is back in full swing and our beloved Toronto Raptors celebrated opening night by raising their 2019 championship banner to the rafters while collecting their custom-made rings fitted with 600+ diamonds. It was quite a start to the season, but now the Raps need to put the celebrations behind them, and focus on the...
Have you ever wanted to actually know how your friends are doing when they waste their time playing sports instead of studying? No? Well, you get to anyway! Whew, what a month it has been for Osgoode Intramurals. These law students continue to show that they know how to do more than just read cases. About a month ago we saw Osgoode unite in the annual slo-pitch tournament that happens right near...
Osgoode’s Vaughan Rawes reflects on his decision to return to the diamond, this time as a York Lion. I remember the feeling as if it was yesterday. Losing (what I thought was) my last career OUA baseball game by giving up a 10-5 lead in the last inning and missing out on the first playoff berth in Queen’s baseball history as a result was an incredibly difficult day. After four years growing the...
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...