Sideline Commentary Archives

Determining the weight of words in sport

Written on February 14, 2019. Posted in Sports.

When it comes to extreme circumstances, there’s never a correct answer. Extreme circumstances are exactly what the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) officials have faced over the past two weeks after 15 men’s hockey players and two head coaches were involved in a bench-wide hockey brawl on Feb. 2. The...

Varsity winter power rankings

Written on January 18, 2019. Posted in Sports.

1. Men’s hockey (15-5-0) Currently ranked second in the OUA East, men’s hockey is riding the hot streak heading into the latter portion of the season. It doesn’t seem the team is on track to slow down, Through 20 games, the Gaels have scored 85 goals—forward Slater Doggett is fourth in the OUA...

Continuity in coaching holds value

Written on November 29, 2018. Posted in Sports.

When Pat Sheahan said he was the best version of himself he’s ever been at his resignation press conference last week, I didn’t doubt him. It made me wonder why Queen’s decided to cut ties with one of its all-time great coaches when he’s still got gas in the tank. At Queen’s, Sheahan coached...

Season grades for fall varsity teams

Written on November 16, 2018. Posted in Sports.

Grading fall performances for Queen’s varsity teams followed months of close evaluation. We considered each individual team’s pre-season expectations and whether they followed through on them. It’s a highly subjective, unscientific process that’s based off the backbreaking losses, hair-raising wins...

Parity is the fuel to the OUA’s engine

Written on October 12, 2018. Posted in Sports.

Before the season started, the expectations for the Queen’s men’s rugby team were clear: championship or nothing. They weren’t ambitious expectations. The Gaels have won the Turner Trophy five times in the last six seasons. This year, they’ve dominated in all six of their games—including a rematch...

What I learned covering sports this year

Written on March 24, 2017. Posted in Sports.

When I first got the news that I had gotten the job as Assistant Sports Editor back in April 2016, I was overjoyed. I couldn’t wait to write about different sports that I loved, get my stories published and pick up new skills along the way. Little did I know that the most significant part of my job...

Looking at the stats: women’s volleyball

Written on February 3, 2017. Posted in Sports.

With every season comes a fresh start, an opportunity to turn the chapter on last year. At 5-8, the women’s volleyball team currently sits fifth in the OUA East with only Trent and RMC behind them. With six games left, the team has a chance now to turn the page on a less than exciting start to the...

Trence and Hutcheson lead the drive in the OUA

Written on November 11, 2016. Posted in Sports.

Only three games into a new season, the men’s volleyball team doesn’t look phased by their veteran losses. When Ivo Dramov, Tyler Scheerhoorn, Marko Dakic, Scott Brunet and Mike Tomlinson graduated from the program, on paper there seemed to be a lack of senior leadership on the team. While last year...

Three days in November

Written on November 13, 2015. Posted in Sports.

I’ve been to March Madness, NFL games and even one of this year’s Blue Jays playoff games. But my three days spent on the sidelines of Nixon Field for the women’s rugby national championship easily matched them in intensity. Throughout Queen’s run to the championship game, I got swept up by the action...

Sports are a springboard

Written on April 2, 2015. Posted in Sports.

The first time I saw a plain-clothes police officer inspect the ARC bleachers before a men’s volleyball game, I was a little surprised. Stephen Harper, our country’s fearless leader, was in town to catch a November game against RMC and spend time with his son Ben, a first-year Gaels outside hitter. Skeptical...

Athletics must provide solid Richardson plan

Written on April 2, 2015. Posted in Sports.

Unlike a lot of current students, I plan on still being at Queen’s when the new Richardson Stadium is built. “Plan” is the key word, because I’m confident I won’t be seeing this stadium in 2016, when I’m a fifth-year at Queen’s. I’ll have to stay six years — and maybe even seven — if I want to see...

Women’s puck top playoff contender

Written on February 12, 2015. Posted in Sports.

Men’s basketball Any hope for men’s basketball going further than one-and-done in the playoffs doesn’t exist. The Gaels (5-10) have recovered from a brutal five-loss stretch start to the season, but their hold on the OUA East’s final playoff spot is incredibly flimsy. With four games left on their...

Turf move right call for Richardson

Written on January 16, 2015. Posted in Sports.

When the new Richardson Stadium opens in the fall of 2016, more than just its structure will change. The Gaels have hosted games on natural grass for the football program’s entire history, but the revitalization project means Queen’s will become the final OUA school to make the shift to artificial...

The rich get richer

Written on September 19, 2014. Posted in Sports.

There’s a parity problem in OUA football and not much can be done about it. Last weekend, all five of the conference’s football games were won by 20 or more points, including the Toronto Varsity Blues’ 70-0 shellacking of the York Lions. The week before, York lost 61-0 to a Western Mustangs squad...

Division decisions

Written on June 24, 2014. Posted in Sports.

There’s a disturbing lack of consistency within the OUA as to how teams are aligned in different sports. With last month’s expansion to four divisions in both men’s and women’s basketball, the conference needs to examine how teams in other sports are aligned. There’s no real logic in the geographical...

Too late for change

Written on May 27, 2014. Posted in Sports.

Starting this year, Ontario hockey programs will be better represented at the national level — a change that should have happened already. Last month, the CIS announced a restructuring of the annual men’s and women’s hockey national championships. Both tournaments have been increased to eight teams...

Sports journalism is still journalism

Written on April 3, 2014. Posted in Sports.

“With so much to celebrate, it is hard to comprehend why you and the Journal chose to sensationalize versus to recognize.” In last Friday’s issue, we ran a story outlining this year’s Colour Awards voting process — specifically, how men’s rugby was initially named best varsity team, before women’s...

Crowd behaviour must be addressed

Written on April 3, 2014. Posted in Sports.

You wouldn’t scream obscenities at a person on the street, so what makes it acceptable to do it to someone wearing another school’s jersey? This is a problem we’ve been seeing in the stands at Queen’s games and university sports in general over the last few years. There’s a point when school spirit...

Playoffs? We’re talkin’ ‘bout playoffs

Written on January 24, 2014. Posted in Sports.

Men’s basketball They’re a casualty of the OUA’s skewed divisional set-up, but the Gaels could do more to help their playoff chances. Grouped in the OUA East with three of the country’s top five teams, Queen’s results reflect this disparity. At 7-7, they’re well behind Carleton (14-0), Ottawa (12-2)...

Second best

Written on November 15, 2013. Posted in Sports.

For a season that ended in a championship blowout, Queen’s 2013 football campaign was still entertaining and a general success. In his 14th season as head coach, Pat Sheahan led the Gaels to a near perfect 7-1 regular season. Their sole blemish was a 50-31 defeat at the hands of the Western Mustangs,...

Attendance woes reach new lows

Written on October 10, 2013. Posted in Sports.

Our apathetic student body hinders athletics programs at Queen’s. After last Saturday’s Homecoming football game, it may look like the student body cares, but don’t let ticket lines at the ARC fool you into thinking the attendance had anything to do with the sport. If it wasn’t Homecoming, the student...

Perfect through four

Written on September 27, 2013. Posted in Sports.

It’s said defence wins championships, but a little offensive consistency doesn’t hurt either. Halfway into the OUA regular season, one thing is clear about the Queen’s Gaels — they have a game-changing defence that can carry the team to victory should the offence falter. A prime example is Queen’s...

Don’t press the panic button

Written on September 14, 2012. Posted in Sports.

The Queen’s Gaels women’s soccer squad is maintaining a cool demeanor, despite a rocky 2-1-1 start. The thought of not repeating as national champions hasn’t seemed to cross the minds of the Gaels players or coaching staff, although many issues still linger with the team. The most pressing issue so...

Basketball on both sides of the border

Written on January 20, 2012. Posted in Sports.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The city was orange. Syracuse’s college basketball team, the Orangemen, were playing the Providence Friars on Saturday. There was no place to eat — every sports bar had a minimum half-hour wait. Parking was hard to find. Ticket scalpers were on every corner within a kilometre of the...

McPhee can be as good as Quinlan

Written on December 1, 2011. Posted in Sports.

VANCOUVER — Friday’s Vanier Cup between the Laval Rouge-et-Or and the McMaster Marauders was an instant classic. The underdog Marauders flew out of the gates at B.C. Place, riding a virtuoso first-half performance from quarterback Kyle Quinlan to take a 23-0 halftime lead. Quinlan — who finished with...

New league ignores local talent

Written on November 4, 2011. Posted in Sports.

I was really excited when I heard about a pro basketball league coming to Canada. When the news broke, I immediately thought about the possibility of Canadian players living out their dreams at home. But when the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) started its inaugural season on Oct. 29, there...

Don't get too excited

Written on September 20, 2011. Posted in Sports.

Saturday’s game was impressive, but fans shouldn’t get excited until the Gaels beat a better team. Though they showed a lot of improvement in a 58-35 demolition of the Laurier Golden Hawks, the team is only 1-2 and still has a lot to prove. The previously-invisible offence was overwhelming on Saturday....

QB must step up

Written on September 9, 2011. Posted in Sports.

Billy McPhee’s debut as starting quarterback was one to forget. The offence didn’t score a point, and the Gaels fell 26-2 to McMaster in front of 8,517 fans at Richardson Stadium on Monday. The second-year pivot and first-year starter went 13 for 32 and threw two interceptions. Head coach Pat Sheahan...

Coaching continuity vital to success of Gaels Athletics

Written on June 28, 2011. Posted in Sports.

Queen’s most recent national championship teams have a common denominator. Their coaches have been at Queen’s for over 10 years. Pat Sheahan coached the football team for a decade before the Gaels won the Vanier Cup in 2009, while Dave McDowell led the women’s soccer team to a national championship...

Ups and downs of staying in town

Written on May 31, 2011. Posted in Sports.

Varsity athletes who stay in Kingston for the summer could be at a disadvantage come training camp this August. For some sports, there are no local opportunities to play at a high enough level. Men’s soccer striker Jordan Brooks has spent previous off-seasons playing for the Kamloops Excel in the...

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