Although most sports are currently on hold, staying engaged with the world of sports has never been easier. Here are some of The McGill Tribune’s favourite sports documentaries that will tide you over to the next season. Athlete A Content warning: Graphic descriptions of sexual violence Athlete A is a[Read More…]
Articles by Gabe Nisker
In conversation with Yaron Weitzman
Yaron Weitzman covers the NBA as the national writer for Bleacher Report, so he ended up travelling from his New York home to Philadelphia to cover the 76ers quite often during the 2017-18 season. Ben Simmons was a rookie that year and, well, the Knicks were not playing well at[Read More…]
Textual schedule builder
Frankly, planning the perfect schedule is no joke. When I need to choose my classes for the school year (and I always know when this is; it’s in my calendar), I really, really need to weigh out my options. I log onto Visual Schedule Builder and I begin to optimize[Read More…]
10 things: The best nicknames in sports history
A March 4 Jeopardy contestant hilariously, and incorrectly, guessed that the nickname of Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid was “Do a 180.” In honour of this mixup, The McGill Tribune sports section compiled a list of some of our favourite sports nicknames of all time. Shaquille O’Neal: The Big ____[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: Is bowling a sport?
This week, The McGill Tribune placed an incredibly contentious issue on the debate floor: Is bowling a sport? The answer is less clear than you may think. Bowling is just like any other sport Gabe Nisker Bowling, on a surface level, seems fairly accessible: Grab some buddies, beer, and a[Read More…]
The causes and symptoms of allergies
Allergies always seemed so simple: Here’s a list of foods and environmental factors that you should avoid, since your body treats them like enemies. Dr. Christine McCusker, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill, is the Director of the Division of Allergy & Immunology at the Montreal[Read More…]
Where do I begin? The Sandman Cometh
In the middle of the 2006 film Click, audiences realized just how fascinated Adam Sandler is with the comedy of bodily functions: From farting to vomiting, he’s joked about it all. But in Click, he reassures his parents his ‘schmekel’—in a nod to Sandler’s Jewish heritage, he uses Yiddish slang[Read More…]
Pop Dialectic: ‘Cats’ divides theatre aficionados
Every generation has its signature so-bad-it’s-good movie: Before there was The Room, there was Showgirls, then Plan 9 From Outer Space. This week, The McGill Tribune decided to investigate Cats, the newest addition to this canon. A real cat-astrophe Gabe Nisker One cat takes a couple of attempts to launch Bustopher Jones, performed[Read More…]
Fantasy sports are ruining real sports
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal reported on Nov. 12 that the Houston Astros had used technology to steal signs in 2017. They had installed a camera in centre field to watch the opposing catcher’s signs to the pitcher; someone in the dugout would then bang a garbage can[Read More…]
Deputy Provost compels McGill Daily to publish letter about Zionism
The McGill Administration recently demanded that The McGill Daily publish a letter to the editor that critiqued the publication’s definition of Zionism. The letter, written by two Jewish law students, argued that the Daily had defined Zionism in a way that was both inaccurate and malicious. Michael Aarenau, 3L Law and one[Read More…]
PGSS general meeting reaches and loses quorum
The Nov. 6 Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) meeting in the Thomson House Ballroom initially met its 90-member quorum. However, several members left the meeting later in the evening, and all votes lost their binding status. Following some standard announcements, the motions to approve the PGSS opposition on Bill 21[Read More…]
PUP don’t care about nothing
Early into their Oct. 22 concert, the Toronto-based punk rock band PUP halted their performance; lead singer Stefan Babcock pointed to the mosh pit and said a few words to the sold-out crowd at Corona Theatre. “Someone lost a shoe,” Babcock said. “Whose shoe is that?” The shoe found its[Read More…]
Love at first bite
We set the scene on a Sunday afternoon. Dinnertime is approaching and my family has elected to order in. We shuffle through a list of options, and settle on Eastern Twist, a sandwich shop a couple of blocks away that sells barbecue chicken wraps—a form of Americanized roti, an Asian fusion[Read More…]
All that for a sandwich?
On a sunny Friday afternoon, I stood at the corner of Saint-Laurent and Napoleon. The line at Schwartz’s Hebrew Delicatessen was 30, maybe 40, people deep. Just outside the door to the 61-seat restaurant, first opened in 1928, the line went down the block: Customers were waiting all the way[Read More…]
Wisdom for the youth
Get involved and discover your interests Leanne Young, Photo Editor The first year of university is undoubtedly a busy time for students, but it is not just about getting your degree: It is also the best time to explore new interests and develop life long relationships. While you should not[Read More…]
#SheTheNorth: Bianca Andreescu’s meteoric rise hits a new high
There’s still nothing like appointment television, even if it means sitting in a Plateau apartment with a laptop on a Saturday evening. All across Canada, sports fans cleared their calendars for 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu’s run to the 2019 US Open championship match. It took just over two hours on the[Read More…]
Listen up: Comedy podcasts take over Just for Laughs
The comedy world is dynamic and, at heart, an audial medium. On July 27 at the Just for Laughs festival, podcasts You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes and How Did This Get Made? presented live shows. The McGill Tribune saw—and heard—it all, and here is a breakdown of the[Read More…]
Adam Cayton-Holland brings jokes and frank mental health discussions to Just for Laughs
Content warning: Mentions of suicide. Denver comedian Adam Cayton-Holland wants to talk about tough topics most comedians choose to avoid, like his sister Lydia’s suicide. In Nov. 2018, Cayton-Holland published a memoir called Tragedy Plus Time, which discussed her passing and how he processes grief. “I was a little tired[Read More…]
Hasan Minhaj brings digital-age comedy to Just for Laughs
When Hasan Minhaj, host of Netflix’s Patriot Act, takes the Just for Laughs stage on July 26, he will likely surround himself with LED screens. It’s slowly becoming a trademark of his sets: From his parody news comedy to his standup special Homecoming King, information-dense visualizations are everywhere. “Look at[Read More…]
Spotlight: “The Nasty Show” at Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs’ annual Nasty Show will return to the MTELUS Theatre from July 17 to 27, with a full bill of raunchy, envelope-pushing, and hilarious acts. The McGill Tribune compiled some highlights-to-be from the upcoming show. Bonnie McFarlane Gabe Nisker, Features Editor Bonnie McFarlane knows that nut allergies are[Read More…]
Spotlight: “The Ethnic Show” at Just For Laughs
Billed to near-perfection with names from around the world, The Ethnic Show hopes to bring diversity to the mainstage at this year’s Just for Laughs Festival. The show will take place at Club Soda Theatre from July 12 to 25, and feature an exciting group of comedians. Here are two[Read More…]
Kawhi rewrites Canadian basketball history
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard leaned forward and crouched: His shot over Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid hit the front of the rim and bounced up. The ball came back down and bounced off the rim again, over to the other side. It hit the rim twice more before[Read More…]
Trivial pursuit
Fun fact: McGill students and professors love learning.
Trivial pursuit
Fun fact: McGill students and professors love learning.
Montreal baseball fans want the Expos back
The Packed House On March 25 and 26, over 47,000 fans packed into the Olympic Stadium to watch the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers finish up their Spring Training schedules. This series marked the sixth straight season that the Toronto Blue Jays played a set of games in Montreal.[Read More…]
Bay Area sports usher in new wave of fandom
This season, the Oakland Athletics will change baseball. It isn’t the first time they have done so, and, if all goes according to plan, it certainly won’t be the last. However, unlike Moneyball, their first innovation that spawned a Michael Lewis book and subsequent Brad Pitt movie, this development will[Read More…]
The All-Canadian March Madness team
For years, Canadian basketball fans have hoped that U Sports teams will get a chance to participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament. For now, however, they will have to settle for watching the best local talent lead American schools to victory. Ahead of this week’s[Read More…]
Breaking Bread
Time slows down when I enter a Montreal diner. It slows down because the menu is so long, and it takes forever to read through and decide, for certain, what to order. It slows down because the plates are so big that it takes forever to eat a meal. And[Read More…]
Point-Counterpoint: The G.O.A.T in men’s tennis
With 52 major titles between the three of them, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal have cemented their places in tennis history while creating one of the most exciting sets of rivalries in sports. But, only one can be the greatest of all time. Rafael Nadal: More than just[Read More…]
The best dishes at the seventh annual La Poutine Week
A quest for the best poutine in Montreal.
McGill Senate passes revisions to Code of Student Conduct
The McGill Senate, the governing body responsible for academic policies at the university, met for the first time of the new year on Jan. 16. Senators deliberated two major policies: They passed revisions to the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures and presented updates about upcoming changes to the[Read More…]
Changing the game: Competition in pro sports
Fixing the flaw in NFL OT rules Gabe Nisker Some of the NFL’s biggest games come to anticlimactic finishes, with stars like Patrick Mahomes stuck on the sidelines because of the current overtime rules. As it stands, if the team that starts with the ball in overtime scores a touchdown[Read More…]
10 things: Powerful sports moments of 2018
North and South Korea enter Pyeongchang under a united flag For the first time since the Korean War, athletes from North and South Korea entered the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Games together under the Korean Unification flag. Despite its purely symbolic value, the act was a strong gesture of[Read More…]
McGill men’s basketball rattled by Stingers
On Nov. 22, the McGill basketball teams hosted their annual Pots and Pans Night. Unfortunately, the raucous crowd went home disappointed, as the McGill men’s basketball team (2-2) could not complete its comeback against the crosstown-rival Concordia Stingers (2-1) and fell by a score of 87-81. McGill started the first[Read More…]
In conversation with Jay Baruchel
“Fans have always had opinions,” Jay Baruchel said. “But, it used to be that the only people that would hear them were other fans or, potentially, the poor bastard that has to host the postgame show on whatever radio station.” In this instance, Baruchel was alluding to social media specifically,[Read More…]
10 things: Spooky mascots
Sometimes, a lovable mascot does not turn out the way a team’s management had imagined. With Halloween just around the corner, The McGill Tribune ranks the top-10 most terrifying mascots in the world of sports. 10. Buster Bronco (Western Michigan University) Western Michigan University introduced Buster Bronco in 1988 but came[Read More…]
‘Festival du Nouveau Cinema’ showcases films from around the world
The 47th edition of Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC) ran Oct. 3-14, gracing Montreal’s silver screens with an eclectic program of films ranging from festival-circuit fare to micro-budget Quebecois features. The McGill Tribune team was there in full force.
So, uh, let’s get started
The hallowed aisles of Leacock 132 are almost a rite of passage for undergraduate students. The massive 601-seat lecture hall can often feel humid and sticky, and there’s occasionally a rat to be found. It’s usually the home of prerequisite lectures, and, thus its atmosphere isn’t often defined by its[Read More…]
In conversation with McGill baseball coach Casey Auerbach
When asked about his favourite sandwich, Casey Auerbach was quick to reply. “An ice cream sandwich,” he said. “It’s a little out there. It’s a little bit different.” Auerbach’s new position at McGill is also a little bit different. Once the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for McGill baseball,[Read More…]
McGill Tribune Sports Podcast: Ep. 1 – Baseball (w/Eno Sarris)
McGill Tribune Sports Editors Gabe Nisker and Miya Keilin discuss the MLB playoffs & McGill baseball. Then, Gabe sits down with the Athletic’s Eno Sarris to talk about baseball, sandwiches, and much more!
You are what you eat
Dairy, fish, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, tree nuts, peanuts, and shellfish. Seven rules for feeding me, or rather, what not to feed me—seven allergens that are ingrained in my memory. This list is a part of who I am. And no, it’s not easy navigating the world of food with[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: The case for Le’Veon Bell
Running back Le’Veon Bell, in search of a $17 million contract, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have reached an impasse in contract negotiations. Should Pittsburgh acquiesce to the back’s demands? Pay the man Gabe Nisker When Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley signed a four-year, $60 million contract this[Read More…]
My search for the best joke at Just for Laughs
On my third day at this year’s Just for Laughs festival, Irish comedian Dylan Moran said something that piqued my interest. Moran had just told a joke about time—comparing it to a French waiter, since it’s never around until it comes and cleans up—and tagged it with a proclamation that it was the best joke at the festival. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Duke basketball visits Montreal
Pregame When asked what he was anticipating in Montreal, Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t mince words. “I’m looking forward to beating McGill,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s first. Do you want a list?” The Duke Canada tour—the Blue Devils’ three-game pre-season trip to two iconic Canadian cities in August—was off to[Read More…]
The LeBron James narrative
“The human mind is addicted to stories,” author Jonathan Gottschall said. It is for this reason, he claims in his book, The Storytelling Animal, that our minds wander and turn information into stories. Sports are one of the best examples of this tendency. A fan’s addiction to narrativization creates incredible[Read More…]
World Cup group stage preview
Group A: Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, & Uruguay Russia and Saudi Arabia—stars in June 14’s opening match—should bring up the rear in Group A, as the stronger squads from Uruguay and Egypt are looking to go deep in the knockout stages. The Russians, 70th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, hope[Read More…]
Know your athletes: Class of 2018
Speaking about fond memories and future plans with some of McGill’s best graduating athletes.
A behind-the-scenes look at coaching through the offseason
After building toward a championship victory for months at a time, the end of the season leaves players and coaches alike in a trance—the championship hangover. Coming off his team’s fourth straight CCBA championship, Redmen baseball Head Coach Jason Starr confirmed this predicament to The McGill Tribune. “Two weeks,” Starr[Read More…]
First-year intramural team, Threezus, falls to 0-6 in gritty affair
In another riveting Open B intramural game, Threezus (0-6) fell to Love Competition Ball (6-0) 86-35. When Threezus forward Jeffrey Smith, U0 Arts, joined his intramural basketball team for the winter season, it’s safe to say he didn’t know what he was getting into. The McGill Tribune was unable to attend[Read More…]
Predicting the MLB midseason
With regular season action less than two weeks away, all baseball fans want is to get started. For them, there’s nothing better than those summer afternoons spent at the ballpark with hot dog in hand. Given the slow offseason, The McGill Tribune pressed fast-forward on the MLB remote to provide[Read More…]
The most egregious snubs from our list of the most egregious Oscar snubs
Due to the significant outrage sparked by our previous “Oscar Snubs” list, and the end of Oscar season forecasting a barren eight months for movie thinkpieces, The McGill Tribune is proud to present our latest innovation in the Oscar-related content you crave. Welcome to The McGill Tribune’s Oscar Snubs Snubs. The[Read More…]
Point-Counterpoint: Elizabeth Swaney
Among the hordes of world-class athletes at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, one name seemed a little out of place: Elizabeth Swaney, the 33-year old Hungarian halfpipe skier who completed her Olympic runs with a handful of simple alley-oops. Swaney has come under immense criticism for her lacklustre performance, but[Read More…]
NBA midseason report
The Tribune looks ahead to the fourth quarter of the basketball season.
McGill Tribune Sports Podcast: Sweeping statements with curling correspondent Matt Sussman
A writer at Deadspin and Baseball Prospectus, Matt Sussman lent us his knowledge on Olympic curling and MLB free agency. Matt discusses the mixed doubles curling tournament, covering everything from the Canadians taking home gold to the bad boy of curling. He also breaks down the stories to watch in[Read More…]
Names and stories to watch at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games
The 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games are right around the corner, and a fresh set of Olympic heros are waiting in the wings. The Canadian delegation—225 athletes strong—is the largest in history. While every athlete hopes to capture Olympic gold, only a select few—from a wide variety of backgrounds—will have a[Read More…]
Seeing red: Redmen basketball take down Rouge et Or
A statement win on Feb. 1 kept the McGill Redmen basketball team (9-2) firmly in first place of the RSEQ, as they downed the second-place Université Laval Rouge et Or (6-4) in decisive fashion by a score of 103-81. Utilizing their deep bench and array of sharpshooters, the Redmen broke[Read More…]
As one former Expo enters the Hall, chances look slim for another
For only the fourth time in Baseball Hall of Fame history, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America elected four players to the Hall on Jan. 24, as Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman, and Vladimir Guerrero all found themselves on the right end of a phone call. Guerrero,[Read More…]
Redmen basketball triumphant in big win over Gaiters
One night after falling to Bishop’s the Redmen basketball team exacted their revenge with a monstrous, 51-point victory
Dribble basketballs, not heads
As tensions rise between players and referees in the NBA, conflict follows.
For the Cleveland Browns, incompetence is plenty cause for celebration
In appreciation of the craziness of sports fandom.
Pulling back the curtain: Access to sports superstars through social media
“I Dont wanna be here,” tweeted then-Phoenix Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe on Oct. 22. When he pressed send, Bledsoe had used a little over seven per cent of Twitter’s now 280-character limit to captivate the entire basketball world. Within a few hours, sports news sites picked up the tweet[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: Should fans bandwagon or remain loyal to losing teams?
The Tribune debates whether hopeless fans should abandon ship or ride out the storm
ExposFest fundraiser makes it clear: Montreal misses its Expos
Without Montreal’s beloved franchise, the dog days of summer will never be the same
2017 World Series preview
Looking ahead to the clash between baseball’s two best teams.
Everybody hurts, sometimes: Social media accounts reveal Kevin Durant’s emotional side
Last summer, Kevin Durant made possibly the biggest decision he’ll ever make. After eight years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he published an article on The Player’s Tribune, announcing his intention to sign with the 73-win Warriors—not long after his Thunder had blown a 3-1 series lead against them in[Read More…]
NBA offseason recap
Looking back at a wild summer of draft picks, trades, and signings