Ken Dryden, the towering goaltender who backstopped the Montreal Canadiens to six Stanley Cups and became the calm heart of a dynasty, died on Sept. 5 at 78 following a battle with cancer. More than a hockey player, Dryden was a symbol of Montreal’s golden age. An athlete, intellectual, and[Read More…]
Behind the Bench
The NFL’s creepy new AI ad is proof the league is out of touch
Fans of the National Football League (NFL) watching the season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4 may have been surprised to see a giant AI-generated baby staring back at them during a commercial break. More shocking, though, is the fact that it was an official[Read More…]
Beyond the court: The Ostapenko-Townsend dispute
On Aug. 27, tennis players Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend got into a verbal altercation after the second round of the 2025 US Open. After an intense matchup where Townsend defeated the Latvian in straight sets 7-5, 6-1, Ostapenko initiated a heated conversation that ended in her saying that Townsend[Read More…]
Alexander Isak’s choice: The controversy swirling around one of football’s brightest lights
Amid a summer transfer window like no other, football’s biggest stars made even bigger moves. But one story especially captivated football fans this year. Alexander Isak, a 25-year-old Swedish footballer, had 27 goals in all competitions last season for his former club, Newcastle United. His time with the team came[Read More…]
Anti-trans sentiment strips swimmer Lia Thomas of her Division I titles
On March 17, 2022, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmer Lia Thomas hit the water in one of her last collegiate races, making a splash in 2SLGBTQ+ sporting history. She became the first transgender woman athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship, in the 500-yard freestyle.[Read More…]
Hockey Canada on thin ice as it continually fails survivors of sexual violence
Content warning: Sexual violence On July 24, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia found five Hockey Canada players not guilty of alleged simultaneous sexual assaults of 20-year-old E.M. Though disappointing, Carroccia’s verdict is not surprising: It is one in a long line of Hockey Canada-related failures to protect sexual violence[Read More…]
The blurry lines between poor sportsmanship and racism in women’s professional tennis
On June 7, American tennis star Coco Gauff fell to the ground in pure emotion upon winning the 2025 Roland-Garros (French Open) final. The 21-year-old shone in the match’s second and third sets to beat renowned Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka, currently ranked number one in the world by the Women’s[Read More…]
Protecting trans children’s right to sport is everyone’s responsibility
Since the start of Trump’s second term, the U.S. has seen a slew of executive orders, policies, and lawsuits attacking a fundamental right for transgender youth—the ability to play sports. Last week alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture froze funds to educational programs in Maine due to the state’s support[Read More…]
Sports media’s duty to athletes and fans
Sports journalism is often seen as a “soft” area of the media, but it is a lot more complicated than it appears. In covering sports events and athletes, journalists must uphold key journalistic practices, ensuring they truthfully and fairly represent the stories they are telling. Oftentimes, however, journalists and media[Read More…]
Varsity Report Card: Winter 2025
Martlets Artistic Swimming: A Synchronized swimming had an outstanding season marked by dominance, consistency, and poise in the pool. The Martlets brought home 17 titles, culminating in a silver medal finish at the Canadian University Artistic Swimming League (CUASL) nationals in Victoria, B.C. They made waves at every invitational they[Read More…]