On March 28, the McGill Students for Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF McGill) hosted their annual symposium. Co-Presidents Trisha Tee, a second year master’s student in experimental surgery, and Lily MacDonald, a third year undergraduate Dietetics student, explained that with this year’s panel titled “Impact Zone: Navigating Sports-Related Concussions,” they hoped[Read More…]
Articles by Tillie Burlock
Varsity Report Card: Winter 2024
Redbirds Hockey (21–5–2): A After a disappointing second-round exit from the playoffs last year, the Redbirds entered the 2023-24 season looking for vengeance. With an added year of experience for Eric Uba and William Rouleau and the addition of Zach Gallant, the Redbirds were expected to come out flying from[Read More…]
Desperate hopes for a Guerrero revival: The Toronto Blue Jays’ 2024 offseason
In the wake of the Shohei Ohtani plane debacle, many Toronto Blue Jays fans have patiently waited for the game-breaking signing that would mend their broken hearts. The feeling of being mocked by the baseball world for believing the two-way superstar was on a private jet set to land in[Read More…]
Varsity Roundup: March 1-10 
While some McGillians jumped on a plane for a beach vacation, headed home, or found a way to make a stay-cation work in Montreal for reading week, the Redbirds and Martlets remained hard at work. On Friday, Mar. 1, the Redbirds (21–5–2) hockey team bounced back from their game-one loss[Read More…]
Point-Counterpoint: Fighting in hockey
Anti-fighting Tillie Burlock, Managing Editor Given the decline of fighting in hockey over the past decade, some may argue that there is no need to institute a formal ban. While it is enjoyable to watch the occasional bout between two tough guys, we must ask—at what cost? Fighting leads to[Read More…]
Black Ice: The absented presence of Black Canadians in hockey
Who invented the slapshot? If you answered Bernard Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s, you are mistaken. The correct answer is Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eureka in 1906. Who was the first goalie to drop to a knee in order to stop a puck? If you thought[Read More…]
Varsity Round-Up: Feb. 14-18
Swimming After dominating all season long, McGill Swimming excelled again this weekend at the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Provincial championship. Earning over 1,100 points and 33 medals combined, including 19 gold, Redbirds and Martlets left little for their competitors. In 2023, McGill became the first team to[Read More…]
To all the sports I’ve loved before: McGill athletes and sports fans share love letters to the sports they love most
Tillie Burlock, Managing Editor Dear baseball, My bat mitzvah was a week away. As my soft spoken tutor, Aaron, desperately tried to get me to focus on my D’var Torah, the speech I would be delivering before an audience of family members and bored preteens, Jose Bautista stepped up to[Read More…]
The Trib Explains: McGill Intramural Sports
While many students arrive at McGill having retired from their sport at the end of high school, intramural sports provide an exciting way to relive their athletic glory days. As it says on the intramural website––for those who claim they could have gone pro (if only that knee injury had[Read More…]
Varsity Round Up: Jan. 18–21
Martlet Volleyball (9–5) Coming off the heels of a three-game win streak, the No. 10, nationally ranked Martlets (9–5) were upset by the UQÀM Citadins (9–6) at the Centre Sportif de l’UQÀM in a match that lasted over two hours. After losing the first set 25-23, the Martlets were able[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Scott Walford
With a number of stitches adorning his nose from a puck to the face in the Redbird’s 4-3 victory against the Windsor Lancers (10–10–0) in which he scored the overtime winner, Scott Walford sat down with The Tribune to chat about his time at McGill. Like many McGill athletes, Walford[Read More…]
Varsity Report Card: Fall 2023
Redbirds Baseball (6–5): B+ Coming off a Quebec baseball championship victory last season, Redbirds baseball was afforded an exciting opportunity to play in the newly formed RSEQ baseball league. Four out of the team’s five conference losses came at the hands of the UQTR Patriotes; the Redbirds were unable to[Read More…]
AI writers cannot be the future of sports journalism
The future of sports journalism is incredibly bleak at the moment. The New York Times disbanded their sports section in July 2023, electing to rely solely on The Athletic after having bought the sports outlet for $550 million in 2022. In what was suspected to be preparation for the shift,[Read More…]
Varsity Roundup: What you may have missed in McGill varsity sports the week of Nov. 23-26
Redbirds Hockey Riding the momentum of a three-game win streak, the Redbirds (9–5–1) faced off against the Concordia Stingers (9–6) on Nov. 23, in a highly anticipated showdown between Montreal rivals. The spotlight fell on goaltender Alexis Shank, who put on a remarkable show with 22 saves in the first[Read More…]
Derek Silva calls for a National Inquiry into abuse in Canadian Sport in the Fall ’23 Eakin lecture
On Nov. 22, Western University Associate Professor of Sociology and visiting Eakin Fellow scholar Derek Silva delivered the biannual Eakin lecture. The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) awarded the Eakin Visiting Fellowship, which recognizes a PhD-level scholar whose area of study is related to Canada, to Silva[Read More…]
Trib Explains: What is happening with Hockey Canada
TW: Mentions of sexual violence In May 2022, Rick Westhead revealed that a plaintiff had settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), and eight unnamed CHL players. The lawsuit alleged that eight CHL players, including members of the 2018 Men’s National Junior Hockey Team,[Read More…]
The NHL needs to stop embarrassing itself
On Oct. 24, the National Hockey League (NHL) reversed its draconian decision to ban Pride tape after months of public outcry from fans and players alike, concluding one of the most embarrassing months of public relations for a professional sports league to date. The entire endeavour was a lost cause[Read More…]
An ode to Dusty Baker
The creator of the high five. The winner of a Gold Glove, World Series, and two Silver Sluggers. The first African American manager with 2000 victories and the first manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to lead five different teams to division titles. On Oct. 26, following their elimination[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Zach Gallant
For many USPORTS hockey players, their dreams of playing professionally ended upon their enrolment in post-secondary education. However, for McGill’s Zach Gallant, the dream is still alive. Hailing from Oakville, Ontario, the Redbirds’ forward had a rather unorthodox path to McGill. Prior to being picked fifth overall in the 2015[Read More…]
Can the Toronto Blue Jays make a deep postseason run?
With 162 games in total, the Major League Baseball (MLB) season can seem draining to some fans. From May to September, the games can feel quite meaningless, with fans just waiting for October to roll around and for the playoffs to finally begin. For Toronto Blue Jays fans, this postseason[Read More…]
Faculty of Education holds fifth annual Skátne Entewathahíta – We Will Walk Together event
On Sept. 29, McGill’s Faculty of Education held its fifth annual event for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day: Skátne Entewathahíta – We Will Walk Together. The event, which is an initiative led by Indigenous students and faculty members, began with an introduction[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Jonas Press
The story of how Redbirds baseball’s Jonas Press landed at McGill is all too relatable for many high school athletes who graduated in 2020 or 2021: COVID-19 derailed his dreams of heading down south to play Division I baseball. However, this unexpected twist has still resulted in a rewarding experience[Read More…]
Redbirds lacrosse edges out Carleton Ravens in a thrilling battle of the birds
On the heels of a massive 9-2 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters (0–2), the Redbirds (2–1) faced off against the Carleton Ravens (1–1) for their first home game of the season on Sept. 16. After taking a 10-5 loss in their Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) regular-season opener against[Read More…]
Filling the massive hole in my life left by 15 years of competitive sports
There are many different ways to cope with anxiety. Some go for runs, others meditate––I tryout for sports teams. Until the fall of 2020, I was never an anxious person. Between the baseball diamond, the hockey rink, the gym, and the classroom, my day provided no break to dwell on[Read More…]
Varsity Round Up: Sept. 11 to 17
Martlets Soccer (3-2-1) L 5-1 at Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 15 T 0-0 vs UQÀM Citadins on Sept. 17 The Martlets went on the road to face Université Laval’s Rouge et Or, currently ranked first in RSEQ standings. As Laval opened the score in the early second half,[Read More…]
Redbirds baseball stuns Stingers in thrilling walk-off win
After an undefeated weekend in Ottawa with six wins in three days, the Redbirds headed back across the Quebec border to play their regular season opener against the Concordia Stingers (0–1) on Sept. 5. The game opened with a two-run top of the first for Concordia, but McGill was quick[Read More…]
Does A.I. development need more doomerism?
In the blink of an eye, artificial intelligence (A.I.) has been incorporated into nearly every aspect of our lives. From education to grocery shopping to music––there is no escaping it. Following the roll out of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the quantity of publicly available A.I. technologies exploded, leaving a chasm of unregulated[Read More…]
Martlets soccer takes home back-to-back wins to open RSEQ season
On Aug. 30, following the first day of classes, the Martlets soccer team (2–0–0 ) kicked off their home opener and first game of the RSEQ season. With midfielder Mara Bouchard sporting the captains’ armband and the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes (0–1–0 ) looking to put an[Read More…]
Major League Baseball has a “nutting” problem
Professional sports leagues across North America all face the familiar practice of tanking: When teams underperform on purpose. They trade away their best players, neglect fan experience, refuse to sign franchise players to extensions, and intentionally make the team worse. The motivations behind tanking can vary. Oftentimes, the reason to[Read More…]
Behind the bans on transgender women in sports
On March 25, World Athletics, the governing body that regulates track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running competitions at the international level, voted to completely ban transgender women athletes who have gone through male puberty from competing at international events. The decision[Read More…]
Arts, Science Undergraduate Societies endorse MNPH letter to divestment and democratization
The McGill Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) and the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) have voted to endorse a call to action letter penned by the McGill Nurses for Planetary Health (MNPH). The document demands that the university divest from fossil fuels and democratize its Board of Governors (BoG). MNPH sent the[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: William Rouleau
As a kid, William Rouleau was always a fan of sports. His natural athleticism made things easy: Golf, tennis, baseball. Whatever sport he was put into, Rouleau excelled––except for hockey. “I first got into hockey when I was about three, four years old,” Rouleau told The McGill Tribune. “Wasn’t the[Read More…]
MLB’s new rule changes: Should we be excited?
Baseball fans, it’s finally here––a new era of the sport is on the horizon. With the average game length coming in at three hours and four minutes, a plummeting fanbase, and offensive output on a steady decline since the juiced ball of 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) finally recognized its[Read More…]
The World Baseball Classic: What you need to know
Flashback to 2017: The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is underway in Los Angeles. Javy Báez and Marcus Stroman are the stars of the show as the United States defeats Puerto Rico in the gold medal game. Six years and one pandemic later, the most electrifying baseball tournament in the world[Read More…]
Redbirds hockey pacifies Gee-Gees in 4-2 victory
After closing out the regular season with a 4-3 win against Ontario Tech (13–11–2), the McGill Redbirds (14–8–4) opened up the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs against the Ottawa Gee-Gees (12–10–1) with a 4-2 win on Feb. 15. The best-of-three quarter-final series kicked off at McConnell Arena before heading to[Read More…]
Martlets basketball outduels Concordia Stingers in blowout victory
On Feb. 9, as the cold and rainy weather sought to destroy the morale of the McGill fanbase, the Martlets (3–11) provided a cure the only way they know how: A thrilling victory over their most formidable opponent, the Concordia Stingers (3–11). With a full crowd packed into the stands[Read More…]
No more Pride: The slow erosion of 2SLGBTQIA+ initiatives across the NHL
Pride night at hockey games always presents itself as somewhat of an oxymoron. Like all major men’s professional sports leagues, homophobia courses through the veins of hockey from youth leagues all the way up to the National Hockey League (NHL). So often, players, coaches, and analysts not only fail as[Read More…]
Finally, some parity: The shifting landscape of international hockey competition
When it comes to international play in both men’s and women’s hockey, the conversation tends to revolve around two familiar suspects: Canada and the United States. Tournaments hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)—the international governing body for ice hockey—are dominated by discourse surrounding the two North American superpowers[Read More…]
Varsity Report Card: Fall 2022
Men’s Baseball (21–8): A After two years of cancelled seasons and uncertainty, the McGill men’s baseball team is finally back, and they did not disappoint. With a roster mainly composed of players in their first year of eligibility, no one quite knew what this season would hold for the Redbirds.[Read More…]
The sports world cannot forget about Brittney Griner
When you hear the name Brittney Griner, you no longer reminisce on her superstar career in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). You don’t reflect on her remarkable college career with Baylor, or her seven All-Star seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. Griner’s deserved legacy as an outstanding basketball player and[Read More…]
Mitchell Miller and hockey culture’s continued failure
Content warning: Racism, ableism, physical assault, bullying What comes to mind when you think of hockey culture? Sexual assault? Hazing? Racism? There is no doubt that the culture of Canada’s game is a travesty to all those it touches. The recent Hockey Canada scandal has provoked an unprecedented level of[Read More…]
Varsity round-up: What you missed in McGill sports from Nov. 4-6
Rebirds Lacrosse Final: W (v. Queen’s) 13-9, L (v. Western) 12-5 In a stunning comeback victory over the Queen’s Gaels (7–4) on Oct. 28, attacker Cameron McGinnis scored eight goals, setting a new single-game record for McGill. After a week basking in the glory of the win, the Redbirds (8–5)[Read More…]
Varsity round up: What you missed in McGill sports from Oct. 19 to 23
Men’s Baseball 8-1 Final: Redbirds best Stingers in Quebec Baseball Championship After dominating UdeM in last week’s semi-finals 12-4 and 15-2, the Redbirds (21–8) were the sure favourites in the Quebec Baseball Championship matchup against the Concordia Stingers (12–10) on Oct. 22. A 4-0 win in the first game of[Read More…]
Climbing without a hijab: Iranian athlete subject to morality laws abroad
Content Warning: Gender-based violence, misogyny, suicide On Oct. 16, Elnaz Rekabi, a 33-year-old Iranian rock climber, competed at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Asian Championship in Seoul. Rekabi—who, just last year, became the first Iranian woman to win a medal at the IFSC World Championship—competed without a hijab,[Read More…]
Leading Canadian neurosurgeon recommends ban on body checking in hockey until age 18
In light of the revelation about the mishandling of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion, conversations about the role of concussions in many sports, especially youth hockey, have been reinvigorated. Dr. Charles Tator, a prominent Canadian neurosurgeon, Order of Canada recipient, and director of the Canadian Concussion Centre (CCC) at[Read More…]
Varsity round up: What you missed in McGill sports
Men’s Lacrosse On a chilly Friday evening, Redbirds lacrosse fans turned out for the first annual Legacy Game as McGill (4–1) faced off against Queen’s University (2–2). A boastful crowd of 580 watched the Redbirds dominate the Gaels for their third win in a row, spearheaded by first-year midfielder John[Read More…]
La Force de Montréal is the newest addition to the Premier Hockey Federation
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), previously known as the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), unveiled the league’s latest expansion team, La Force de Montréal on Aug. 30. The new team will compete against the Boston Pride, the Buffalo Beauts, the Connecticut Whale, the Metropolitan Riveters, the Minnesota Whitecaps, and the[Read More…]
Sarah Koenig is not perfect and neither is ‘Serial’
On Jan. 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, disappeared. On Feb. 9, 1999, her body was discovered in Baltimore’s Leakin Park, and on Feb. 25, 2000, her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was found guilty on charges of first-degree murder. Fifteen years later, Rabia Chaudry—an[Read More…]
Redbirds baseball makes long-awaited return to varsity field with 4-4 record on season
After two long years, McGill’s men’s baseball is finally back. The highly-anticipated return of one of McGill’s most competitive teams kicked off with a series against the University of Toronto (UofT) (4–0) where the Redbirds did not disappoint. McGill cleaned out the Blues, sweeping the series and scoring 18 runs[Read More…]
Hockey in crisis: Endemic unaccountability within Canada’s game
Content warning: Sexual violence On May 26, TSN’s Rick Westhead broke the news that a sexual assault lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), and eight unnamed CHL players had been settled. Filed on April 20, the lawsuit alleges that a young woman was sexually assaulted in a[Read More…]
How the NHL failed Nazem Kadri
With the Stanley Cup Finals kicking off late last week, the hockey world is already beginning to reflect on the narratives of the playoffs: Another first-round Leafs exit, a historic Connor McDavid performance, the brick wall of Jake Oettinger, and stand-out defence from Cale Makar. As fun as these narratives[Read More…]
All we need are some private jets: The untapped potential of women’s professional sports
Imagine if Lebron James, Auston Matthews, or Mookie Betts had to work a day job. Imagine if they were not paid unfathomable sums of money or built up to be some of the biggest celebrities in North America. Would they still be held in such high regard? When you ask[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Madison Mueller
After making the decision to study at McGill, Madison Mueller, a U3 student studying anatomy and cell biology, found herself trying out for the school’s water polo team, the Poseidons. Growing up in Burr, Saskatchewan—a province well known for its flat, dry plains—Mueller never considered playing water polo. But as[Read More…]
What on earth is going on with Major League Baseball?
Baseball is a game of highs and lows. In a game where a player hits a grandslam and makes an amazing catch in the outfield, they can also spend a significant amount of time wallowing in the dugout. While there was reason to be hopeful for the state of baseball[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Caiden Daley
After being drafted 22nd overall to the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2015, Caiden Daley, a forward for the McGill men’s hockey team, was forced to choose between starting a professional career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) or playing NCAA DI hockey at the University of North Dakota. His decision[Read More…]
Growing the game: The importance of the Olympics to women’s hockey
On Sunday, Feb. 6, an article titled “Why women’s hockey doesn’t belong in the Olympics” was published—and no, it was not by the Onion. A columnist at the Toronto Star berated women’s hockey, arguing that because Canada and the United States dominate the sport at the Olympic level, the women’s[Read More…]
Hockey culture is missing the mark on anti-racism
Just days before the jersey retirement of Willie O’Ree on Jan. 18, the first Black player in the NHL, the professional hockey world was confronted with two appalling acts of racism. On Jan. 12, Montreal-born Boko Imama, a forward for the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League, was harassed[Read More…]
An axe to grind: It’s time for Atlanta’s ‘chop’ to go
The transition away from dehumanizing caricatures of Indigenous peoples within the sports world has been marked by many teams dropping their blatantly racist names. After years of activism, McGill changed the moniker of their men’s varsity teams to the “Redbirds” in 2019. The Washington Football Team eliminated their degrading nickname[Read More…]