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A look back at the world of sports in 2020

Recapping this year’s great sports events — despite the pandemic

The year is coming to an end, and it’s time to recap what happened in sports in 2020. This year has been filled with unforeseen situations, but luckily for sports fans, leagues around the world have begun to see a bit of a return to normal these past few months.

Here’s a look back at important moments that happened in sports this past year:

National Hockey League (NHL)

It’s been a unique year for the league, as the 2019–20 regular season had to be abruptly postponed, and then cancelled the remaining games in order to resume right away with a special playoff format.

We saw the Montreal Canadiens take advantage of the new format, qualifying for the 24th and last spot available for what was first a qualifying round to the playoffs. It was the first time since 2016–17 that the Habs qualified for the postseason.

The Stanley Cup was finally won on Sept. 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars in six games. It was the Lightning’s second Stanley Cup after also lifting the trophy in 2004. For the Stars, it was an impressive playoff run, surprising many fans and analysts. The team didn’t start the regular season on the right track, but turned things around in time and came close.

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)

It’s been a busy season for tennis organizers. Most ATP and WTA tournaments have been cancelled this season because of COVID-19, while others, except for tournaments in January and February, were postponed.

Despite that, we’ve still seen important achievements in 2020. In the ATP, third racket in the world Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title last September when he won the US Open. On his way, he defeated Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, both members of the top 10.

Later in September, we saw the Grand Slam tournament of Roland-Garros exceptionally being played in fall. Normally, Roland-Garros is competed from late May to early June, which made a huge difference for players since the tournament is played on clay, and the colder weather impacted the ball’s speed and rebounds on the surface. Of course, many players were not used to playing in such cold weather, meaning we saw some wearing jackets during their matches.

Tournament favorite Rafael Nadal won his 13th Roland-Garros this year, a record in professional tennis. He has joined Federer at the top of the list, tied with 20 Grand Slam titles each.

In the WTA, young sensation Iga Świątek surprised the tennis world by winning Roland-Garros, her first ever singles title. At just 19 years-old, she defeated Markéta Vondroušová (21st), Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep (2nd), and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin (4th).

Major Baseball League (MLB)

The MLB season was shortened to 60 games, which forced the league to modify its postseason format. This year’s postseason allowed 16 teams to compete for the title. With a 32-28 record, the Toronto Blue Jays took the last spot in the American League and qualified for the wild-card series round. Despite their early elimination, it’s been great to see the Blue Jays qualify for the postseason.

It’s been hard for the MLB to organize its season with all the cities involved, but it ended pretty well. The Los Angeles Dodgers won their first championship since 1988, after coming really close in the past few years. They defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.

What was interesting about this series was the difference between the two teams’ payroll. While the Dodgers had the second highest payroll in the MLB with $107.9 million, the Rays competed with the third lowest of all, a mere $28.3 million. It raised a lot of questions on parity in baseball, since we’re normally used to having high-payroll teams playing the World Series.

National Football League (NFL)

The NFL always seemed clear that they would maintain their season, and despite some COVID-19 cases in the league and postponed games, things have been going fairly well for the league, considering the circumstances.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won their first 11 games of the season, the best season start in franchise history. After finishing 8-8 in 2019–20, the Steelers seem to be a totally different team so far this year.

Another team to watch are the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The team is currently 11-1 after 12 games, and easily leads the AFC West division.

Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA)

All eyes were on defending champion Tiger Woods at the 84th edition of the Masters. The event, normally held in April, was rescheduled for Nov. 12 to 15.

It was finally the best golfer in the world, Dustin Johnson, who put on the green jacket as winner of the tournament.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

We saw many great Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights in the UFC this year, but one thing that  stood out is surely Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last fight. The superstar remained perfect with a 29-0 record, defeating Justin Gaethje in his only fight of 2020.

After the fight, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the UFC, following his father’s death. Nurmagomedov is considered as one of, if not the best MMA fighters of all time.

 

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

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A memorable Masters

Dustin Johnson wins the 84th edition of the Masters

The Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club is traditionally held in the spring of April and serves as a joyful indication to golf enthusiasts everywhere of the beginning of a fresh season.

The Masters is widely considered the most influential career milestone that every golf star must conquer to achieve greatness in the sport. As a result, the best contenders have always had their sights set towards claiming the illustrious green jacket.

The ongoing pandemic ultimately forced tournament organizers to postpone the 84th edition of the event, settling on a projected return in mid-November and after a seven-month adjournment, The Masters officially took place from Nov. 12 to 15.

The azaleas that traditionally outline the course and give the competition it’s distinct look gave way to fall foliage. The usual thousands of patrons that line the course in greeting the field of players were now in the comfort of their homes. The greens that are notoriously deceptive and delicate were uncharacteristically lenient due to the added softness from frequent precipitation and cold conditions that come with the fall season.

While the most traditional of the four golf major tournaments was as different as could possibly be this year, the Masters ended in the most normal way, the green jacket being awarded to the top-ranked golfer in the world, Dustin Johnson. In 2019, Johnson finished in a three-way tie for runner-up at the event, and experts have always known it was only a matter of time for the superstar.

Sometimes as fans, we like to make spicy predictions because it gives us something new to root for when watching from home,” said Tom Carrier, a life-long golf enthusiast and golf instructor from Laprairie. “It’s easier to say in hindsight now that the tournament is done, but Johnson was the obvious pick if you know anything about golf.”

In the end, Johnson finished 20 under par, the lowest 72-hole score in Masters’ history. His five-stroke margin of victory was the largest since Tiger Woods’ historic 12-shot win in 1997.

He came into the fall edition of the Masters on a dominant run that hadn’t been seen since a young Woods lead the game for several years at the turn of the century.

In Johnson’s six previous tournament appearances this year, he won two events (the Northern Trust, TOUR Championship), finished second three times (PGA Championship, BMW Championship, Houston Open), and finished a respectable sixth at the US Open.

Johnson first became the top-ranked golfer in the world at the beginning of 2017 and has maintained the prestigious honour for a total of 104 weeks, fourth-most all-time. With his victory at Augusta National on Sunday, he now has two major championships to his name to go along with his 27 professional victories.

Johnson’s list of accolades rivals golf’s most notable superstars of the past; yet, the top-ranked golfer struggled to avoid criticism and skepticism from fans and peers coming into the competition.

While Johnson has won two majors, cynics will be the first to state he should have a couple more in his possession after failing to convert 54-hole leads into victories in several notable tournaments. In addition, his stoic and silent nature has at times played into the misconnected narrative that he is an uncaring and simple-minded jock.

However, Johnson proved he is as meticulous as any generational talent through his most recent triumph in golf’s biggest test. Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy summed up this year’s champion in a nutshell: “[Johnson] makes the game so simple. It’s something to admire all the time.”

 

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

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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

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Sports

Golf’s new era

Golf fans have reason to get excited once again

As the sun set on the Valhalla Golf Club on Aug. 10 and Rory McIlroy claimed the 2014 PGA Championship, professional golf quietly ushered into a new era. Led by McIlroy, younger players have begun to emerge as poster boys for the sport who can consistently dominate the leaderboard. In doing so, golf can finally flourish in a world without Tiger Woods.
There will never be another Tiger Woods. What he did for the sport is incomparable to any other legendary athlete. Woods took a gentleman’s game and tore it up. With a ferocious backswing and a relentless need to win, he showed the world how cool golf could be. Now, golf courses are littered with Nike polos and golfers trying to perfect their own Tiger-fist-pump. From 1997-2008, when he won the last of his 14 major championships, every time Woods stood on the tee box he expected to win. Woods was a child prodigy that simply lived up to his name. He was a beast; he was a tiger.
Since Woods’ scandalous fall and string of injuries, golf has been waiting for a saviour. As this year’s PGA season begins to wrap up, McIlroy has been golf’s hero to turn to. After two dramatic major championship wins this season, Nike’s new icon from Northern Ireland has gotten golf fans excited.
McIlroy, with a total of four major victories, is only the third player to reach that accomplishment by 25 years old. Appropriately, the two other players are Arnold Palmer and Woods.
It wasn’t the fact that McIlroy won back-to-back major championships this year, but how he won them. In late July, McIlroy won the 2014 British Open Championship. He shot a remarkable 66 in his first two rounds and led the field from start to finish. At Valhalla, after a rain delay and numerous lead changes, McIlroy prevailed once again. With his charismatic Irish accent and flawless yet aggressive swing, McIlroy’s character has that familiar superstar quality.

Will McIlroy replace Woods? No, but he doesn’t have to. Other young golfers such as Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, and future-star Jordan Spieth are stiffening the competition. All under the age of 26, these players will make golf fun to watch for years to come.
Fowler in particular has become another fan favourite for his flair and skill. Known for his bright Puma apparel and childish physique, Fowler looks like he belongs at a skate park rather than on the golf course. Nevertheless, Fowler has proven himself as he’s finished within the top five in all four majors this year and has played the most consistent golf.
Woods is not gone, and while he may win another major in the future, it will not be the same. It will be a happy reminder of what he once was—a curtain call, if you will. Led by McIlroy, golf turns to a legion of younger players that bring their own individuality to the sport. How fitting is it that after a decade of Tiger, golf now has a Ror’.

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