Author: Alec Brideau

Categories
Sports

Amidst COVID-19, a look back at some great sports moments

Have you ever heard the saying “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone?”

Many sports fans around the world had this realization this past week, as they saw, one after another, their favourite sports teams and leagues suspended their activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

At this point, the vast majority of sports events have been cancelled. The Indian Wells Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the BNP Paribas Open was one of the first sports competitions to be officially cancelled. It was first announced that it would be played behind closed doors, but a confirmed case of the COVID-19 at the Indian Wells venue forced the organizers to cancel the event a few hours before its start.

As a tennis fan, it was a shock to see one of the biggest competitions of the season outright cancelled. At first, I thought it was a drastic decision, but then came to understand that the tournament wasn’t worth the risk, considering the severity of the virus.

I thought there would still be other sports to watch, like hockey, soccer, and even other tennis tournaments that wouldn’t be cancelled. Yet, in a matter of days, almost all were postponed or cancelled.

This is a unique situation we’re going through, and hopefully we won’t have to deal with this ever again. These moments make us realize how important our passions are to us, and help us gather together and cherish what we love.

I’m used to waking up in the morning and watching sports recaps and talk shows. I would normally talk about what happened in sports the previous day with my friends before going to class, and then prepare to watch a game in the evening.

It’s obviously impossible to bring fresh sports news to the public right now. However, as we’re looking for things to talk about other than COVID-19, here are some recent sports moments that should bring some happiness in your day.

 

First up is Sidney Crosby’s historic “Golden Goal” at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Team Canada faced Team USA for gold in men’s hockey. Tied 2-2, Crosby scored the game-winning goal with 12:20 left in overtime, lifting an entire nation into a celebration, with a goal that changed the history of hockey and the Olympic Games forever. Even 20 years later, people talk about that goal when celebrating the 2010 Olympic Games of Vancouver. The rivalry between Team Canada and Team USA continued to grow since then.

In women’s hockey, the Canadian national team won the Olympic gold at Sochi 2014, in what has become an iconic game against their American rivals. Trailing by one with less than a minute to play, Team USA hit the post when trying to secure what would have been a 3-1 score with an empty-net goal. Team Canada took advantage of it, as Marie-Philip Poulin tied the game seconds later to force overtime. Poulin then scored her second of the game in overtime, securing gold for Canada.

Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu made history last September when she won her first ever Grand Slam title at the 2019 US Open versus Serena Williams. She became the first ever Canadian Grand Slam title winner.

Next is this legendary bat flip from Jose Bautista in 2015, in Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers. Bautista’s three-run homer gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 6-3 lead late in the game.

The NFL sees its fair share of spectacular catches. One of the best (if not the best) was this one by Odell Beckham Jr. in 2015. Despite being held to one-hand while being interfered with, Beckham Jr. managed to catch the ball and get a touchdown.

One of the most discussed plays of recent years in football came when the Seattle Seahawks faced the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl XLIX. With a second down and goal, the Seahawks opted for a passing play despite the fact they would lose the game if it were to be intercepted. They also had the always-entertaining Marshawn Lynch at running back, which only made many fans more upset. Surely, they thought, Lynch would have made it to the end zone safely.

Unfortunately for the Seahawks and their fans, Russell Wilson’s pass was intercepted by the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler, ensuring his team’s Super Bowl victory.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a real football list without this play between quarterback Case Keenum and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. In the last seconds of overtime in a game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints during a National Football Conference divisional playoff game in 2018, Diggs caught Keenum’s pass while his defender missed their tackle, and ran down the field unopposed for a 61-yard game-winning touchdown.

In golf, Tiger Woods made history once again last year when he won the 2019 Masters Tournament. This was a historic moment, not only for golf, but for sports in general. His triumph was celebrated by many fans around the world, especially considering the tough years he went through preceding this victory.

This picture also went viral on social media. The first image shows Woods hugging his father after winning the Master Tournament in 1997, while the second shows him and his son, shortly after his 2019 victory.

What about the two-point buzzer-beater shot from Kawhi Leonard. As the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers were heading to overtime in game seven of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals, Leonard gave the Raptors the win, shooting the ball in the basket with less than a second left in the game. That put the score at 92-90 and pushed the Raptors to the next round. The team would go on to win their next series and the league’s championship.

Finally, at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games of Rio, Canadian Penny Oleksiak lived what us common folk would call “a fairytale” born of hard work and talent. Only 16 at that time, Oleksiak won four medals, including the gold medal in the women’s 100m freestyle event.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Sports

Stingers men’s basketball team’s season ends in disappointment

The Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team started this 2019-20 Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season as league’s defending champions.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t defend their title.

Head coach Rastko Popovic described last year’s championship as the result of years of hard work.There’s never a guarantee of winning in sports, he said at the beginning of 2019-20, and each season is a new start and a new challenge.

After losing 78-71 to the Bishop’s University Gaiters in the RSEQ semi-finals last month, Popovic described the 2019-20 season as a “challenging” one.

“It was obviously disappointing at the end with the result,” said Popovic. “Yet, with the injuries we had, we were forced to do some things differently. We were still able, after losing Adrian Armstrong almost half of the season and Cedrick Bryan Coriolan almost a quarter of the season, to adjust with the younger guys.”

Despite those challenges, the head coach said it helped watching the team’s younger players develop throughout the season.

“Yes, we wanted to win a championship, but we understand we still got a good season where guys got better and improved in many areas. I think we proved a lot,” said Popovic.

Armstrong and Coriolan played their fifth and final seasons with the Stingers. Both were a huge part of the team’s success over the past couple years, including their 2019 championship year.

Armstrong finished 2019-20 as the RSEQ top-10 in a lot of the division’s individual university basketball statistics categories, including for scoring, steals and assists. Coriolan was named in the second all-star team in the RSEQ last season.

Popovic said a mix of everything in the Stingers’ season made things tough for the team. Although he said the team wasn’t bad, he pointed out they often had to deal with different lineups because of injuries.

“I think defensively we were good enough to have a chance to win the [championship], but offensively we didn’t play well enough,” said Popovic. “I think the inconsistency on the offensive end ended us losing our playoff game,” he said.

In 11 games played in his rookie season, Sami Jahan registered impressive numbers, scoring 147 points, 61 rebounds and 33 assists. Popovic thought Jahan played good games as a rookie and really was a positive this season despite not winning the championship. He said the team has many rookies who improved and will continue to be a big part of the Stingers in the future.

“Jahan had a huge progression from Christmas to the end of the season,” said Popovic. “He showed he can be a potential starter for us next year with the way he played. Aleksa Popadic was starting to have a good rookie year as well before he got hurt. I think those guys really improved as rookies. Ali White showed good flashes as well. I think the progression there was good.”

Yet, Jahan’s improvement in his first year really stood out for Popovic. For the head coach, it’s the most positive aspect to take out of the season.

“He showed that he belongs at this level of competition and that he can compete [in this league],” Popovic said. “He was able to do things that are required to compete here and have success at this level.”

Next season should be an interesting one for the Stingers. After going through the 2019-20 season with a fairly young group, the 2020-21 edition of the Stingers should boast an older squad, filled with second and third-year players.

Popovic said that his coaching staff will reevaluate their offensive and defensive schemes once they’ve completed their recruiting rounds.

“We’ll probably [bring some changes] in our plays, and Jahan will probably get more minutes, but right now it’s too early to tell,” Popovic said. “We’ll probably be faster with him. We’ll still have Olivier Simon and Sami Ghandour. We’ll need to make sure those guys will be the leaders of our team.”

Simon and Ghandour will be the only two fifth-year players in the lineup next season. Simon finished the season sixth in the league for points with 244, fourth in rebounds with 114 and third in blocks with 12. Ghandour finished third in rebounds with 116 and tenth in blocks with seven. Both have played a huge role in the team since joining it.

Photos by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil

Categories
Sports

A challenging season for Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team

It’s been a tough season for the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team.

After appearing in the Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) final in 2018-19, as well as going to Nationals, the team finished 2019-20 last place with a 4-12 record.

The Stingers faced adversity all season long. The team dealt with many injuries, which made things complicated for head coach Tenicha Gittens. Despite disappointing results, Gittens said she’s proud of the way her team competed this season.

“I don’t think I had one player who was 100 per cent healthy [this season],” Gittens said. “They still went out there and battled. I always want more of them, so as a coach you’re never really satisfied. Yet, overall, they showed a lot of [effort and character]. It would have been easy, and not just for the last games of the season but many, to give up.”

Photo by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil

Even during preseason tournaments and exhibition games, the Stingers had some of their starting players injured. Teams usually take advantage of preseason games to build chemistry between their players, and work on their system to make the last adjustments before the regular season.

However, the Stingers could barely do so because of injuries that occured to some key players before the start of the 2019-20 RSEQ season. The team showed chemistry towards the end of the season, but it was too late for a playoff push. Gittens said the chemistry was still a good point to retain from this year.

I think it started to get better,” Gittens said. “At the beginning of the season we were [dealing with injuries and had rookies]. Nelly Owusu and Myriam Leclerc were still out at that point. Sometimes, establishing a chemistry takes a little bit longer than you’d like. I think if we played like in this last game, but in January, it would have been a much different outcome. It just took us too long.”

Gittens said she talked with her players about not waiting for things to happen, and taking advantage of what you can control. She explained that building chemistry, and having success isn’t just always about things happening on the court.

“We went to Nationals and competed for the RSEQ championship last year, so of course we looked for the same kind of success,” Gittens said. “We have the understanding that we had no depth. We had players who were expected to join our program and ended up not coming. We just dealt with a lot. People don’t see that, as they see us in games or in the gym, but there’s much more than that. It’s an unfortunate thing, and it happens sometimes. We will be championship contenders again, and that’s the focus. You have to take it one day at a time sometimes.”

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Rookie point-guard Owusu also had a challenging season, coming back from her second ACL injury and a shoulder injury. Owusu played for Dawson College in division 1 of the RSEQ before joining the Stingers. She was one of the best players in division 1, especially defensively where she finished the 2017-18 season first in steals.

Gittens said the coaching staff knew what they were adding to the team when recruiting Owusu, but it’s still hard to describe her rookie season because just like other teammates, she wasn’t healthy from start to finish.

“Owusu played at like 65 per cent, and still doesn’t have feeling in her arm because of her shoulder,” Gittens said. “She’s incredibly hard on herself. She’s a great example for the other players. We didn’t really have [a healthy] Owusu this season. The focus now is just to have her back healthy. We’re going to take time off, and rehabilitate those injuries we have in the group for next year.”

Gittens described the season as mentally tough, including for herself. She said it’s been hard to try figuring out how to manage the team with all the injuries.

“I expect things of my players, but not anything I’m not going to expect out of myself first,” Gittens said. “There were so many things we wanted to do, but unfortunately couldn’t because we had six or perhaps seven depth players [in the lineup]. It’s part of the sport and the job, and I have to know how to manage those things and put us in a position to win.”

Despite finishing the season with just four wins, there are still things Gittens thought were good. She pointed out to the character her team showed in some moments this season, which is certainly a positive to keep for next year.

“I think that when we played McGill, and that Leclerc went down [because of an injury], our players offered a phenomenal fight,” Gittens said. “To me, it showed their character and ability to respond to adversity. They proved they had each other’s back. It was the same in the last game of the season, as it would have been to just give up and [accept the fact] we’re already eliminated. However, we were at home, and gave us a chance to win the game. Our players played until the very end and cared.”

 

Feature photo by Alex Hutchins

Categories
Sports

Stingers women’s and men’s basketball teams finish their seasons on different notes

Women’s Game

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team offered a great show, but ultimately lost 60-57 to the Université de Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday afternoon at Concordia Gym.

The Stingers had a tough first half, trailing 35-24 midway through the game. The team allowed key three-point baskets, and seemed lost on the court. However, they came back strong in the second half, controlling the ball for most of the remaining time.

Head coach Tenicha Gittens said that her halftime talks with the players shook them off. She said she told her team that they had to finish the right way.

“You can just go out there and [just kind of play], or go out there and make it hard for them to compete,” Gittens said. “They went out there and played their heart out.”

Despite not having any impact on the rest of their Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, Gittens was pleased to see her players show up the way they did against the Rouge et Or.

“We obviously knew it had nothing to do in terms of playoff hopes, but it still did in terms of going out there and competing [until the end],” Gittens said. “It gives our fans something to look forward to coming into the next season, and even us for the coaches and players.”

Gittens added she’s still proud of her team despite not finishing with the same result as last season, where they went to nationals.

“I don’t think I had one player who was 100 per cent healthy [this season],” Gittens said. “I always want more out of them, so as a coach you’re never really satisfied. Yet, overall, they showed a lot of [effort and character].”

The Stingers finish the 2019-20 season in last place of their division with a 4-12 record. 

Men’s Game

The Stingers men’s basketball team finished their 2019-20 RSEQ season with a convincing 92-68 win over the Université de Laval Rouge et Or, also on Saturday afternoon at Concordia Gym.

It was the fourth and final regular season contest between the two teams. The Stingers had won the previous three games, with two of them having been decided by only five points.

After scoring 15 points and leading by just two points after the first quarter, the Stingers got their offence going, almost doubling their offensive production from the first 10 minutes in the next two quarters. That good stretch, along with their good defensive play helped the Stingers to take a serious lead early in the game.

“We know what the Rouge et Or will do, so it’s about us [being positioned and everything],” said forward Olivier Simon. “I think we just need to follow our defensive game plan. When we are winning just by five points, it’s because we did something wrong.”

Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic said the team’s defence was better today than it was in games they won by just a few points, including those two against the Rouge et Or earlier this season. He said the roster available for the game also helped.

“This is the first game we play with our full roster since [early January],” Popovic said. “We’ve had all twelve players playing today, so it was a good team win in order to get ready for the playoffs.”

The Stingers will play their RSEQ semifinal game against the Bishop’s University Gaiters this Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at Concordia Gym. The teams each won two of the four head-to-head battles this season, with the Gaiters winning the most recent two.

Photos by Alex Hutchins

Categories
Sports

NHL trade deadline is a crucial time for the Montreal Canadiens

The National Hockey League trade deadline is one of the most exciting days of the year for hockey fans.

After weeks of rumors all over social media, we’ll finally know who’s getting traded and where some players are heading in the last sprint before playoffs.

The Montreal Canadiens have been quite calm during the trade deadline the past few seasons, mostly trading picks and veterans. While some teams make the most of trade deadline day, moving their superstars in exchange for the acquisitions they need, Habs general manager Marc Bergevin has largely opted for making his key moves during the summer break instead.

In 2016, Bergevin made a trade that people still talk about today, acquiring current team captain Shea Weber from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman P.K. Subban. He also traded Lars Eller before acquiring right-winger Andrew Shaw from the Chicago Blackhawks in another deal. The following year, he got Jonathan Drouin from the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2017-18, the Canadiens traded their 2012 first-round pick, Alex Galchenyuk, to the Arizona Coyotes for Max Domi, who scored 72 points in his first season in Montreal. Finally, Bergevin traded Shaw back to Chicago last summer.

Montreal’s biggest acquisition on trade deadline day goes back, arguably, to March 2, 2015 when the team acquired defenceman Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers. Since then, the team made no significant trades, considering the only moves were trades for picks and players like Jordan Weal, which weren’t enough for the team to qualify for the playoffs since 2016-17.

As teams not qualifying for the postseason often trade established players for future assets, like draft picks, and become what we call “sellers.” The chances of seeing the Canadiens do so and be on the selling side are fairly high.

Assuming Bergevin decides to be a seller in the upcoming days, many players could interest the other 30 general managers of the NHL. Does that mean superstar goalie Carey Price could get traded? It would be shocking to see it happen. However, veterans Ilya Kovalchuk, Nate Thompson and Petry are all on the well-known TSN Trade Bait list, a list of the players most likely to be traded before the trade deadline has passed.

With the emergence of young forwards like Cole Caufield, Ryan Poehling and Joni Ikonen, in addition to great hopes on defence with Alexander Romanov, Cale Fleury, Josh Brook and more, Bergevin knows the goal is for them to be in the lineup fairly soon.

In fact, Fleury already played with the big club this season, showing great signs of development, and what he could bring in the coming years. Head coach Claude Julien sometimes scratches him as the team’s seventh defenceman, but if a trade happens, perhaps with Petry, he might have a chance to play as a regular blueliner for the remainder of the games this year.

Recent years at the deadline have showed how much value depth centres are worth. For example, 35-year-old veteran Brian Boyle, who signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers in October, has been traded twice the past three years, all around the trade deadline. Both times, the club who traded Boyle acquired at least a second-round draft pick.

Thompson can win faceoffs, play important minutes defensively, on the penalty kill, and can bring depth to a contending team looking for that extra forward entering the playoffs. As injuries can seriously impact a team’s season, and sometimes be the reason for them falling short of expectations, general managers of contending teams often prefer trading away their draft picks for those extra, proven players—in order to be prepared for any scenario. Thompson could be a player to fill that role elsewhere.

Of course, the Canadiens aren’t lacking draft picks for this year’s NHL Entry Draft, which will be held at the Bell Centre in June. The team currently has 11 selections, with three second-round picks. In that sense, the urge to trade players for picks right now isn’t there.

If Bergevin decides to trade someone like Thompson, it could help the case of Poehling, or Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) Laval Rocket on Feb. 1.  It’s doubtful that both will spend the entire season with the Rocket next year, so an option could be to let at least one of them finish the season with Montreal.

Both Poehling and Kotkaniemi have NHL experience, especially the latter, who has more than 100 games played with the Canadiens already. These two young forwards are expected by many to play an important role for the Habs in the future, as they could be the top two centres in a few years. However, for that to happen, they’ll need to fit in somewhere in the lineup, which currently has enough centres.

Last season, Poehling played his first career NHL game on the last game of the Canadiens’ season because the team was already out of playoff contention.

This year, the team’s fate seems to be already known, which could lead to more ice time for prospects, especially if trades happen.

We’ll have many questions answered today at 3 p.m. Who knows what the 31 teams will look like once the trade deadline has passed.

Categories
Sports

Stingers basketball teams split double header against Bishop’s University Gaiters

Women’s Game

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team lost 57-48 to the Bishop’s University Gaiters last Thursday night at the Concordia Gym.

It was a tough start for the Stingers, as the visitors quickly took momentum and led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter.  Head coach Tenicha Gittens said the team needs to be better.

“We wanted to be aggressive, but they [Gaiters] were the aggressive ones for the majority of the game,” said Gittens. “They put pressure on us defensively. [One of our] keys was to protect the paint, and I don’t think we did a good job at that.”

Gittens said the effort wasn’t there all game, including in the fourth quarter where the Stingers still had a chance to win it. She thought there were many things not working on the court.

“We need to put four quarters together,” Gittens said. “There’s a stretch in the second quarter where we kept exchanging the basket. We just can’t do that. You can’t let the opponent take the ball and get rebounds. They got 12 offensive rebounds, and scored on at least nine of them. They made things happen.”

Point guard Myriam Leclerc said the team took too many fouls. She thought the Stingers should have played more aggressively, but it was difficult considering amount of fouls the team was taking.

“We took more fouls than they did,” Leclerc said. “We’re a physical team. I thought our effort was there, but we need to be better defensively, and [play] smarter.”

The Stingers would also drop their rematch on Saturday with the Gaiters in Lennoxville, 69-66.

Men’s Game

The Stingers men’s basketball team got the best of the Gaiters with a convincing 91-74 win.

The Stingers controlled the score from start to finish. In fact, the largest lead the Gaiters had was a two-point lead in the first quarter. However, the team wasn’t completely satisfied with their performance. Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic said it didn’t feel like the team won by 17 points.

“It’s important to make the right decisions, and that’s why I was a bit upset because I thought at times we rushed [the play]. We can do a lot better. We only [scored] 12 points in the second quarter, while in the three other quarters we got 29, 28 and 22 points. We need to focus on making the right decisions and taking the right shots.”

Stingers’s forward Olivier Simon finished the game with 34 points. Simon thought the team started off strong, but could’ve been way better regardless.

“I think overall we’re not satisfied because right from the start we should have led by 10, 20 or even 30,” Simon said. “We’re happy we won by 17, and that they haven’t had a lead. Yet, if we take a step back and look at everything that happened in the game, we should have pushed it harder. We should have led by [a higher score] at halftime already.”

The Stingers had their three game winning streak snapped on Saturday, losing 89-77 to the Gaiters in their rematch.

 

Feature photo by Alec Brideau

Categories
Sports

Injuries won’t stop Nelly Owusu from playing basketball

Recruiting is essential for university sports teams, as in most cases, student-athletes play about four or five years with their team before graduating.

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team recruited great talents from college in the past years––Nelly Owusu being one of them.

Owusu played basketball for Dawson College in division 1 of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) before playing for the Stingers. She was one of the best players in her league, especially in terms of defence, where she finished the 2017-18 season first in steals.

Head coach Tenicha Gittens said that when she recruited Owusu, she saw a player who had explosiveness, speed and an ability to take hold off defenders.

“It was amazing,” Gittens said. “She has one of the best attitudes. She’s definitely someone you want in your locker room, and as part of your program. We just saw her being able to be very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor.”

Owusu said she decided to join the Stingers because of the team’s coaching staff. She had offers from other places, such as McGill University and Bishop’s University, but Owusu said the coaches made her choice easier.

“I think it’s important to have a great coaching staff who believes in you and has your back,” Owusu said. “It’s important to know that your coaches not only care about you in terms of basketball, but also for your future. They’ll be around for the four-to-five years that you’re here.”

Owusu admitted she thought that the university basketball experience would be similar to when she played in college, but she quickly realized the difference in speed, strategies and talent level.

“At Dawson, we would [practice] an hour and a half, but it’s like two and a half hours here,” said Owusu. “It’s being able to remember everything, and apply it in the games. I thought I would be playing against all those same players that I played against in college, just like I played the same players in college that I played before in CEGEP.”

Gittens said the coaching staff was looking for that kind of defensive support when Owusu started with the Stingers. Owusu’s defensive game, as well as the little things she was bringing on the court, pushes her teammates to be better.

“When she first came here, it first took her like two games to kind of get the hang of it,” Gittens said. “Her ability to single handle defensively was what we were looking at. She was our leader defensively.”

Owusu has faced some challenging moments since her university debut. Unfortunately, two injuries slowed down her development, including an ACL tear. The point-guard said it was a frustrating moment, as it was her second ACL injury.

“I came in every day, and came at practice every day even if I couldn’t do much,” said Owusu. “I came back again for preseasons, but dislocated my shoulder. I really love basketball, and have played it for a long time. It was really demoralizing [to get hurt again], and be cheering from the bench once again. My experience [so far] includes a lot of determination, pushing and mental strength especially.”

Gittens said it’s hard to describe Owusu’s development so far because of her injuries. However, she thinks her defence has been an important part of the Stingers’s game since her arrival.

“When she’s really locked in, it opens up for more offensively. Nelly is more than just what you see on the scoresheet,” Gittens said. “On paper you’ll see steals, but you won’t see deflections. You won’t see that she created the steal. She was on her way to challenge Myriam [Leclerc] for rookie of the year, just based on what she was doing defensively. It was really exciting, and allowed us to play and do our thing.”

Owusu is obviously aware of her defensive talents, saying that she really likes the satisfaction of when she stops opponents, and does all those little things you won’t necessarily see on the scoresheet, but are as important as the baskets scored by the offence.

“When you get to lock down some specific players, for example the best players of the other teams, you feel that strength in you,” Owusu said. “I know that defence is important, even if a lot of people mostly just think about the amount of points and things like that. I feel like that low-key part is my best asset.”

With five games left to the team’s regular season, Owusu wants to improve her decision-making. She likes to attack the basket and shoot the ball, but is aware she sometimes needs to analyze the play better.

“Most of the time, all I see is the basket instead of looking around me and being aware of where the [opponent’s] defence is, or where my teammates are,” Owusu said. “If I’m not patient and not making the right decision, I can [make us lose possession]. If I do my job on defence, that’s fine, but if I can’t do it on the other end, than it won’t help the team.”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga

Categories
Sports

A lifelong passion for tennis

One of the greatest tennis tournaments in the world is underway in Melbourne, Australia from Jan. 14 to Feb. 2. The best male and female athletes, from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) respectively, will battle for the first of four Grand Slams this season.

For tennis fans like me, the feeling of watching the Australian Open before going to bed, and then waking up early in the morning to see that there are still matches going on is just amazing. That’s one cool thing about professional tennis––it feels like it’s always on. There are tournaments everywhere in the world, every week from January to November.

I started playing tennis nine years ago, when I was 11 years old. I first played hockey until the age of seven, but quickly realized that team sports weren’t for me.

My parents asked me if I wanted to try tennis lessons, knowing it would be impossible for me to not play any sport. As a hyperactive, I simply can’t go through a day without doing any sort of physical activity. Even today, sitting on a chair for a two-hour class is a lot to ask of me.

When I started playing, I knew practically nothing about the sport except we had to hit the ball on the court with our racket in order to win points. With time and practice, I learned a lot and saw how unique tennis was.

I started watching matches on television whenever I could. Current first-ranked player in the world Rafael Nadal became my favourite player, and I started to analyze his style and technique in order to help my own game grow. A funny thing is that I never realized at that time that Nadal plays left-handed, which I also do. I don’t know if that unconsciously influenced my choice, but considering that in the WTA, left-handed Angelique Kerber is my favourite player, we can say it’s quite a coincidence.

I took lessons for about three years, and participated in tournaments. I was lucky to meet a few people of my caliber. We became friends, and then decided to stop taking lessons in order to just play together in the summer.

I’m now playing tennis whenever I can. In the summer, I used to go out and play every day; sometimes two or three times a day. During the winter, those same friends and I practice indoors. For me, playing tennis has become as routine as sleeping or eating.

Last summer, I had the privilege of covering the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The Rogers Cup is a Masters 1000 tournament in the ATP and WTA. There are nine Masters 1000s, representing the top tournaments in the tennis calendar after the Grand Slams and the ATP and WTA Finals.

Each summer, the Rogers Cup is played in both Montreal and Toronto, with men and women alternating cities every year. I covered the men’s tournament in 2019, and it was simply amazing. It wasn’t my first Rogers Cup experience, as I had gone to the previous five or six editions, but to be there as a journalist was something else.

I was with other journalists all week, analyzing and talking tennis every minute. After every match, we were going to the press room to ask questions to the players, and get their thoughts on different things.

I simply watched during the first few press conferences. I’ll never forget when Nadal had his first press conference of the tournament. Of course, I was there, just like every single media member filling the room.

I’ve never been emotional or expressive in life. I can be extremely happy about something, but I’m that person whose face won’t necessarily express it. I’ve met and seen many professional athletes and stars in my life, Wayne Gretzky being an example, but I never had trouble approaching and talking to them.

However, when I saw Nadal entering the room that day, I just couldn’t believe it. My idol was right there in front of me.

After some press conferences, and after understanding how things were done in the conference press room, I started asking questions to players. I broke the ice with current fourth-ranked player Daniil Medvedev, before asking questions to a few other players. I also decided to ask the first question of Nadal’s conference after his win over Fabio Fognini in the quarter finals.

It’s great to see the popularity of tennis growing in Canada. Canadian stars like Bianca Andreescu, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic are really helping to promote tennis in the country.

Hockey has always been Canada’s most popular sport. Sports like tennis are sometimes unknown, but once people start playing or simply following the game, they discover a new passion for something they never thought they would before.

Categories
Sports

Stingers 74, Citadins 54: The Stingers avenge their loss against the Citadins with a convincing win

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins battled for a third straight game on Sunday afternoon at the Concordia Gym. The Stingers avenged their loss from Jan. 8 with a convincing 71-54 victory.

It was the Stingers’s annual Shoot for the Cure game. Since its first event in 2007, the campaign has raised more than $1.3 million. The Shoot for the Cure game is part of the eight Signature Series events presented by the Stingers in 2019-20.

The Citadins got a good start in the first quarter, taking an early 10-point lead. However, the Stingers gained momentum at the end of the quarter and never let the visitors control the game again. Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens said the team just kept things simple.

“Our players listened,” Gittens said. “They just executed the game plan, and took advantage of their [Citadins] mistakes. I think we did a good job on both ends of the floor.”

The Stingers scored 27 of their 71 points in the second quarter, taking a 40-28 lead at halftime. While it was the most points that either team scored during any quarter of the game, Gittens said she didn’t think that quarter secured her team the win.

“I think that we played a very good game overall,” Gittens said. “You can win the second quarter and lose the game. You can say that it started through the first quarter. We picked it up, and were able to score and do things defensively. We put four quarters together.”

Gittens said her team was undisciplined when it lost its previous game to the Citadins. She said her players weren’t intense or showing energy.

“Those are things we can control,” Gittens said. “That’s one thing to play a great game and just lose. That last game, we didn’t play the way we’re practicing, and preparing every single day. This last Thursday and Friday at practice, it was as intense as if we were playing like today.”

Stingers’s point guard Caroline Task scored 26 points in the victory, in addition to grabbing four rebounds. Gittens said it makes other players’ jobs easier when she plays that well.

“Myriam Leclerc had to do a lot on the offensive end of the floor, in terms of executing and getting people to the right place,” Gittens said. “It makes a huge difference when Task comes in and delivers shots like that. Our players did their job [today].”

The Stingers will play McGill on Jan. 23 at the Concordia Gym. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Categories
Sports

A look back at Craig Beemer’s years with the Stingers

The Stingers won four Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championships with Beemer as head coach.

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team will start its next Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season with a new head coach. The Concordia Stingers announced last month that Craig Beemer has stepped down from his head coaching duties for personal reasons.

The Stingers have been one of the most dominant Canadian university rugby teams in recent years. The team won four of the last six RSEQ championships, and participated to the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) the past three seasons. Beemer was a member of the coaching staff for all those RSEQ championships and CUMRC participations.

Beemer started coaching rugby when he joined McGill University men’s rugby team as an assistant coach. He was asked by the team’s head coach to join the program after he graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Education in 2005.

After eight championship seasons with McGill, Beemer stepped away from his coaching job with McGill in 2013, as he went to China that year. When he came back to Montreal, McGill had won the championship again. However, Beemer wanted to go back to coaching, and decided to post online to indicate his interest. Beemer was then approached by Clive Gibson, the Stingers head coach at the time, and took over leadership of the team  for the 2014-15 season.

“It was definitely a defining year,” Beemer said. “I was working at Loyola High School as a teacher [at the time]. I ended up coming out and helping out and coaching because I love to coach. It just happened to be the rivals [of the team I coached before]. It was very awkward to be honest. I was wearing Loyola High School gear the first game of the season, and the first game of the season was against McGill.”

Despite winning the RSEQ championship in his first season with his new team in 2014-15, Beemer said that year was a tough transition for him.

“It was pretty defining for me because all my success has been at one university [McGill],” Beemer said. “To change university [was significant]. I was fortunate that I had to take over as head coach.”

The next season was more challenging for Beemer and the Stingers. In 2015-16, Gibson made a comeback as head coach, and Beemer was back to being an assistant coach. The team finished the season with a 4-3 record, but lost their RSEQ quarter final game 19-18 against the École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) Piranhas.

“As an assistant coach, you’re not leading the ship,” Beemer said. “It was sometimes frustrating, but I was just doing the best as I could to help. 2015-16 was very difficult.”

Shortly before the 2016-17 season, Gibson retired. The Concordia Stingers Department of Recreation and Athletics announced a month later, which was also a month before the start of the season, that Beemer would take take over as new head coach.

Despite having been around since 2014 and having coached the Stingers that year during Gibson’s absence, 2016-17 had been more difficult for Beemer and his players. The team finished the season 1-6, and lost their RSEQ quarterfinal game 33-26 in overtime against the Bishop’s University Gaiters.

“We didn’t have as much talent [as the previous two seasons] in 2016-17,” Beemer said. “Progressing players went down with injuries in training camp before the season. It was a learning experience for every single person involved in the program. It was my first losing season ever.”

Beemer said despite being an incredibly tough season, it definitely helped him grow as a coach.

“Of all 12 seasons I coached [as head coach], it’s probably the one I’ve learned the most,” Beemer said. “I’m first to admit that you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes.”

The next three seasons were all but similar to 2016-17 for the Stingers. Since that difficult year, the team hasn’t lost a single game in the RSEQ. However, it didn’t happen just by luck. Beemer said it was a very positive off-season in 2017.

“I think the biggest thing I overcame is the standards, [in the sense of] where my standards were and where those of the program were,” Beemer said. “It was difficult to bridge the gap. There were a lot of hard conversations, a lot of reflection on my part, concerning what I needed to do differently to bring in a different culture and things like that.”

Beemer explained that the change of culture was a big step forward at that time for the team. He said that people’s expectations might concern wins and losses, but as a team, when you’re with people you know almost every day, there are other expectations you need to have before you even get to play a game.

“The culture really had to take a shift,” Beemer said. “I think the easiest thing I used to tell the guys was ‘six on 10 is acceptable in other aspects of your life, but it’s not here. We’re looking to strive for perfection, and obviously that’s not something we’ll always obtain. We can start to be happy with eight or nine on 10. I wanted to figure out a way to install that culture that would be embraced by the players.”

Not only were the Stingers starting 2017-18 with a new culture, but they were also seeing many key players injured in 2016-17 return to the lineup. Beemer said the Stingers simply were a more talented team coming into the new season.

“Our players were much better,” Beemer said. “I had good coaches [with me]. We went to work in the off-season, and got a really great recruiting class in. The standards may not have been nine on 10, but they no longer were six on 10. The players really started to take ownership over the program. I wasn’t the only one leading at that point. They didn’t want to have a repeat of 2016-17.”

Beemer admitted that he probably didn’t expect his team to go undefeated three years ago. However, he said that he’s always been a fairly confident person who always trusted his abilities as a coach.

“I believe that if you put in the work and time, and that you’re blessed to have the abilities and skills, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be successful,” Beemer said. “Coming into 2017, was the [RSEQ championship] really a realistic goal after a 1-6 season? No, but the confidence and abilities of the staff and players, including the ones coming back from injury and the rookies, were much better. I told the players that the thing that matters is to win your last game.”

The Stingers entered the 2018-19 RSEQ season in the same position as they were in 2015-2016, as they were the league’s defending champions. This time for Beemer and the Stingers, the team succeeded to defend its title with another perfect season. The Stingers went to the CUMRC, held in Victoria, and finished in fourth place.

Beemer said the experience the Stingers acquired at the CUMRC in Guelph in 2017 was probably one of the best things that could have happened to them. He explained that it gave his players even more desire to work hard in the off-season in order to be better.

“As much as we had an amazing season in Quebec [in 2017-18], the national championship wasn’t great for us,” Beemer said. “We didn’t want to go back to the CUMRC and not perform. In 2018-19, there wasn’t really the pressure of the RSEQ, but there was the pressure of going to the CUMRC and being ready. At that point, it was just our own goals. If you’re already winning and still trying to get better every single week, there’s a good chance you’ll continue winning.”

Finally came this past season, Beemer’s last as head coach. This season was huge for the Stingers, as not only were they the RSEQ defending champions, but had been selected to host the third edition of the CUMRC, which was held this November at Concordia Stadium.

“We really wanted to take advantage of [hosting the CUMRC] and promote rugby in Quebec,” Beemer said. “It was a huge season in the sense that we had two undefeated seasons under our belt, and didn’t want to go down [at that point]. The guys played really well. The standards the players had settled the previous two years really shined through this year.”

Beemer said a thing that helped his rugby program develop in its recent championships is the number of players training and practicing with the team. People always saw the same players on the field for every game, but in reality there were around 60 players training with the Stingers every week.

“Those guys were training with us to make sure we were increasing competition in our own training session, and making it a competitive atmosphere in our program,” Beemer said. “That way, we’re always going to have a good senior and rookie mix. Rookies had to come and fight for their spot. We had a deep program of players that you won’t even see on game-day that were supporting and looking to take a spot the very next year, which is pretty cool.”

After all those years and the success he had with the team, Beemer said it’s hard to name one favourite, or perhaps a highlight moment of his time passed as head coach of the Stingers. However, he said the thing that will stand out the most for him is the change of culture, and change of attitude of the players over the years.

“I got complimented on how respectful our athletes were and about how incredibly clean it was when they left almost everywhere we went,” Beemer said. “I watched the program grow. It turned guys here who just wanted to play rugby into very successful and outstanding young men who can play rugby well.”

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

Categories
Sports

Stingers men’s basketball team ready for the second part of the season

The Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team is back from holiday break and looking forward to continuing a good start to the season.

The Stingers’s last Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season game dates back to Nov. 30. However, the team remained active by playing a tournament in Halifax at the end of December. Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic said at this level, teams don’t have much time to rest during the season.

“We usually have a little break of about a week at the beginning of December for exams,” Popovic said. “We then practice and have a few days off before Christmas. We were back practicing again on the 26.” Popovic said the Stingers flew to Halifax on Dec. 27 for its tournament. The team then played three games from Dec. 28-30, registering two wins.

“It’s a very short break of about six school days off that players get before Christmas, but that’s about it,” Popovic said.

The Stingers won four of their first five games of the 2019-20 season, and are currently ranked second in the RSEQ behind McGill, with one game in hand. The team also had a 4-1 record after five games in the 2018-19 season.

“The McGill game was a close game all the way until the end,” Popovic said. “It’s a good start to the season, with two good wins against the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins. Obviously, after losing Ricardo Monge last off-season, we kind of had to get used to playing without him.”

Monge was the point-guard, team captain, played his fifth and final season with the Stingers in 2018-19, was named the MVP in the RSEQ and received all-Canadian honours.

The transition period for the point-guard position was a bit tough at first for the Stingers. The team played exhibition games before the RSEQ season, but had to deal with injuries. Popovic said it was an adjustment for his team and the young players coming in. However, he said the team is satisfied with what came out of the first five games this season.

“We understand that our league is very competitive,” Popovic said. “There won’t be any easy game during the second semester. We have to get ready [for all of them]. Our next six games are against UQAM, McGill and the Bishop’s University Gaiters. Those will be six very competitive games. Those teams all played during Christmas time and got better.”

Popovic said that, since the start of the season, the coaching staff has been stressing a lot on making the right plays on offence, and sharing the ball.

“We don’t care who scores,” Popovic said. “We just want them to get the best shots as possible in every position. We want to eliminate turnovers. Early in the season, we turned it over too much. I’d say that right now, it’s a great overall team effort. Defensively, we’ve been pretty good, especially at understanding what we want to do against each team. However, there are still a lot of games left, so there are many things we want to get better at.”

Last season, forward Sami Ghandour missed the first two games of the season following a shoulder surgery. Ghandour is an important part of the team and is recognized for his energy on and off the court. This season, the forward was in uniform for the first five games of the season, having registered 58 points, and is tied for first in the RSEQ in rebounds, averaging 8.4 per game.

We call Sami — what we call in basketball terms — a glue guy,” Popovic said. “He’s not the one who will score 25 points per game. However, he does a lot of little things for us. He communicates and knows where to be on the court. Every team needs players like that to be successful. We’re looking forward to a big second semester for him.”

The Stingers only played five games but some players are already leaving great impressions on the court.

“Nathaniel Boisvert is playing a decent role for us,” Popovic said. “I also think Tariq Barki-Hamad has played well as a backup point-guard. We need these guys to come in and play well. We’re hoping we can get contribution from everyone, and that they can keep improving because it will make our team better. When you’re a young athlete coming in this league and playing minutes right away, you have a lot to learn. When players like Bryan Coriolan and Adrian Armstrong will graduate, we’ll need these guys to step in and play big minutes for us.”

With 11 games left in the season, the Stingers aren’t looking too far ahead. Popovic said the team simply wants to focus on itself.

“It’s going to be one game at a time, with one practice at a time by trying to get better,” Popovic said. “We already know our opponents, as we played them before.”

 

 

Feature image by Laurence B.D.

Categories
Sports

Vikes dethrone Thunderbirds in CUMRC gold medal game

The Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) gold medal game didn’t disappoint, as we had to wait until the very last play to declare a winner. The University of Victoria Vikes finally won the battle 21-20.

The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds entered the contest as two-time CUMRC defending champions, and the first-ranked team of the tournament. The Vikes and Thunderbirds knew each other well, as the teams battle often in British Columbia.

The game started well for the Thunderbirds, as they scored two tries and 12 points in the first 15 minutes. However, the Vikes answered with 14 points in four minutes at the end of the first half to take the lead at halftime.

Thunderbirds head coach Curry Hitchborn said at halftime, he told his players they needed to settle down.

“They needed to relax,” Hitchborn said. “I told them the Vikes were there to play, and were going to test us. [They had] to stick to what they knew, keep it simple and not make it hard on ourselves. We did the complete opposite at times.”

The second half offered tight plays from start to finish. After the Thunderbirds scored three points on a penalty kick, teams exchanged tries.

At 21-20 Vikes in additional time, the Thunderbirds had the game’s destiny in their hands. They scored a try in additional time and had to convert for two points. A successful kick meant a win, and missed one meant a Vikes victory.

Vikes head coach Doug Tate said it’s good his team didn’t panic when they were down by 12 points.

“I think we closed the space, Tate said. “They are big runners, so if you get them off their feet, [it helps]. When we had chances to score, we did it. We didn’t give them many chances, as we were very aggressive defensively. We got a few bounces our way today, as they were close [to tying] the game.”

Tate said that being champions feels good for the Vikes. He said that victory feels more special than usual because of the history between the teams.

“I think we didn’t beat them in five years. Some of these guys have been with the Vikes for four or five years, and had never won against the Thunderbirds. For them, to beat that team in the CUMRC final is pretty special.”

On his side, Hitchborn gave a lot of credit to the Vikes. He said they came to play, and offered a massive effort.

“That was the best I’ve ever seen them play in years,” Hitchborn said. “They were everything a championship team needed to be. We play each other so often. It’s really great to see guys on both sides rise to the occasion like they did. It was a brilliant game for them.”

Exit mobile version