by The Cowl Editor on February 1, 2018

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Sports

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By Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

The Winter Olympics are the best kind of games simply because of the sports that are offered. The most significant example is hockey, a sport in which some sort of competitive balance still exists. As compared to basketball or gymnastics in the summer, both of which have been dominated by Americans in recent years, hockey is the most well-known and most competitive sport in the Olympics. Teams from all across the Northern Hemisphere have a chance to win at hockey, including powerhouses Canada, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

   In addition to a better competitive balance, the Winter Olympics are also more viewer-friendly because they last for about a month just like the Summer Games, but they have much fewer events, which means that events can be scheduled at times that are best for the most viewers. Being a dedicated fan of the Summer Olympics requires watching almost 20 hours of footage a day, due to the non-stop nature of the schedule. The Winter Olympics have a much more relaxed pace, giving viewers the ability to spend less time watching the television.

   Finally, the Winter Olympics are also better because they are usually held in lesser-known cities around the world. The Summer Olympics are held in large, congested, and well-known cities in very industrialized nations. The Winter Olympics are more often held in smaller cities, which are given the opportunity to grow and rise to the occasion.

   For those of us who enjoy seeing smaller cities around the world, and for the avid hockey fans, the Winter Olympics are the best games to watch.

by The Cowl Editor on January 25, 2018

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Sports

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by Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

    The end of the New England Patriots’ dynasty is coming and the Eagles will start it off with a big win at the Super Bowl this year. After an extremely impressive NFC Championship game win, they have the momentum and the talent to finish their championship run.

  Nick Foles is shining in his substitute role after starter Carson Wentz was injured in the last few weeks of the regular season, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Bolstered by a strong offense surrounding him and backed up by a stout defense, Foles has the opportunity to become a giant-slayer on Feb. 4.

   The Eagles will do something that only their NFC East rivals, the New York Giants, have done in the last 18 years of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era: beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. With the city of Philadelphia behind them, the Eagles will travel to Minnesota with enough confidence to slay the NFL’s Goliath.

   All dynasties must end at some point. Nothing lasts forever. The end is nigh for the Patriots, whether or not they lose on Feb. 4. Brady is getting older and Belichick is closer to retirement than some may think.

    All of the factors seem to be lining up and we may see the walls of Gillette Stadium come tumbling down this year at the hands of the upstart Philadelphia Eagles. Lead by their (currently injured) and future-elite quarterback, Wentz, and his replacement, Foles, the Eagles’ chances are looking good.

by The Cowl Editor on January 25, 2018

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Sports

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by Sullivan Burgess ’20

Sports Staff

For the tenth time in the history of the franchise, and for the eighth time in the era of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the New England Patriots have shocked the world yet again to find themselves in Super Bowl LII.

After coming back from a 10-point deficit against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship, the Pats will finally have a chance to go back up aganst Super Bowl XXXlX opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are led by Nick Foles, the backup quarterback for the team after starting quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL late in the season. However, whether the quarterback is a backup, third string, or pro-bowler, nothing can stand in the way of New England’s roster.

With the Pats looking to become back-to-back champions after last season’s overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Brady is also fighting to secure his sixth championship. This could make him the only player in NFL history with six Super Bowl rings.

This game comes down to his ability to perform against the Eagles’ defense, which contains two pro-bowlers: Fletcher Cox, defensive tackle, and strong safety Malcolm Jenkins.

Brady, even at 40 years old, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career with 4577 yards and 32 touchdowns. He is looking to his number one receiver Brandin Cooks and hopefully superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, who suffered a concussion in the AFC Championship.

The defense, led by free safety Devin McCourty and defensive end Trey Flowers, will have to shut down options such as Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, and Torrey Smith. However, without their number one quarterback, will someone like Nick Foles be able to the handle the pressure of the big stage?

We all know “Touchdown Tommy” is capable of this. In the end, Brady and Belichick will be bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to New England.

by The Cowl Editor on January 18, 2018

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Sports

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Astros Win First Title

By Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

     The best sports moment of this past year occurred when the Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a triumph of David over Goliath, a true underdog storybook moment. The team that had never found sustained success in franchise history finally overcame the odds and took down one of the most storied teams in Major League Baseball history.

  Part of the excitement over this victory is due to the nature of the playoffs that took place before the World Series was even played. In order to have a shot at being world champions, both the Astros and the Dodgers encountered difficult opponents in their respective League Championship Series. 

   It took the Astros seven games to take out the resurgent and youthful New York Yankees, while the Dodgers had to finish off the previous year’s champion, the Chicago Cubs. Both series helped to raise the stakes and the excitement for the final showdown.

    After seven hard-fought games, the Astros emerged from the dust as the champions of the 2017 MLB season. After many years of less- than-stellar play and a transfer from the National League to the American League, many baseball fans were happy to see the Astros finally win their first championship in team history, and do it in a very entertaining way. It ranks as the best sports moment of 2017 not just for all of the above reasons, but also because it was nice to see the Astros win their first championship only a year after the Cub’s ended their 108-year World Series drought. Here’s hoping that next year brings the rise of another underdog.

by The Cowl Editor on December 7, 2017

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Sports

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by Max Anderson ’18

Sports Staff

   I believe that athletes, when faced with the decision to enroll at a college or university, or turn pro, should be given a choice: either enter professional sports right out of high school, or complete a minimum of two years at college. I believe this rule change makes the most sense for athletes.

    One of the biggest issues facing sports today is whether professional sports leagues are holding athletes back by forcing them to attend college. Many high school athletes, whether they play basketball, baseball, football, hockey, soccer, or any other sport, come from tough backgrounds, and want to make money as quickly as possible to help their families.

  Others feel that college simply will not benefit them in any way, and feel that they are ready to take the next step now rather than later. If a high school athlete falls into either of these categories, who are we to restrict them from turning professional now?

   However, if a high school student feels that they would like to attend college and receive an education, they should be required to complete a minimum of two years at the collegiate level. This way, the student can receive four semesters (or quarters depending on where they attend) worth of education, which can at least benefit them if their professional sports career does not work out.

   The main reason that leagues such as the NFL and MLB requires athletes to stay a minimum of three years in college before turning pro is so that these students can receive three years’ worth of education to help them later in life. However, that third year may be holding athletes back, as many may be ready to turn professional after two years, but are unable to do so thanks to these rules and limitations. With this new rule, I believe athletes can not only receive a proper education, but also turn professional if they feel they are ready.

by The Cowl Editor on December 7, 2017

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Sports

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by Meaghan Cahill ’20

Sports Co-Editor

Athletes leaving their respective colleges to go pro before graduating is not a rare occurrence in college sports today. Players such as Boston University’s Jack Eichel and Charlie McAvoy and Providence College’s own Noel Acciari and Ben Bentil, have all left their respective teams to pursue a professional career before they were supposed to graduate and rightfully so. Each of these players have moved on from their college programs and are currently very successful players in both the NHL and NBA.

   While it can be argued that college athletes should remain all four years with their college sports team, it is not right to expect them to stay. Becoming a professional athlete is a goal that not many athletes have success in achieving. So, when the opportunity presents itself, the players should be allowed to have a chance to take it with nothing holding them back. If a player is expected to wait around until they graduate college, they risk the chance of injury, which would end whatever chance they had at a professional career all together.

    There are many perks towards college players leaving their school programs early as well. For starters, they get a head start at actually having a career and making a living. In the case of McAvoy, who is now a top defenseman for the Boston Bruins, at just nineteen-years-old, is earning $925,000 a year with his entry level contract. With this kind of money, athletes are then able to provide for their families and create their own financial stability. Another reason that leaving college to become a professional athlete can be beneficial is that they can always go back to their studies when their professional career is over. If it was the other way around, the chance for a player to go back to their athletic career might not be possible. Also, much like Dallas Stars player and former Bruins player Tyler Seguin did, professional athletes are also able to take classes in between their sports season.

  College athletes should not be expected to stay in college for all four years should they get the opportunity to go pro. The opportunity itself is one that is very hard to come by and may not come around again. First and foremost, especially at a high collegiate level, athletes are athletes and at the end of the day, they need to base their decisions off of their sports career, not their college degree.

by The Cowl Editor on November 30, 2017

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Sports

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By Chris McCormack ’18

Sports Staff

The NCAA has a severe money problem. In 2016, the collegiate sports organization posted a revenue of $995.9 million. Meanwhile, the athletes, who are to thank for this revenue, do not see a dime of this.

Many argue that they get paid with a free tuition, which should be enough. However, many of the athletes are not there for the education. As disappointing as this may sound to some, this is the sad truth.

For example, many of the top athletes in college basketball are there for one year and leave for the NBA, either because they have the skills necessary or they are in desperate need of the money. Plenty of athletes come from lower-income areas and families which makes the money that much more appealing. If the NCAA paid their athletes, more players may stay longer because they no longer have the desperate need for the money the NBA has to offer.

Both college football and basketball are multi-billion dollar industries and possess the ability to pay the coaches large million-dollar contracts. Why does it make sense for the coaches to bring in large sums of money to support their families and lifestyles but the athletes, who are the ones drawing the attention to the sport, do not have this benefit?

A study came out this year that put a value on the athletes of many Division I schools. Texas had the highest value per player at $670,000, and Alabama came in second with a value of $536,485. The Division I-A average came in at a substantial $163,689. None of these amounts are small to the average athlete.

However, the NCAA thinks paying players is unethical because the athletes are there for the education. At the end of the day, it is not going to be easy for the current rules to change. The people running the NCAA love the paychecks they get from the money that is brought in by the players, and the head coaches are not going to complain about the millions of dollars they get from the institutions. However, until changes are made, I would not be surprised to see more corruption scandals pop up like the one we saw earlier in the year.

by The Cowl Editor on November 30, 2017

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Sports

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By Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

College athletes should not get paid. There is no acceptable reason why athletes should be paid. The payment for their services is the education that they receive at their institution.

The main argument for paying college athletes is that the NCAA is making a lot of money off the sale of merchandise and the players should be allowed to partake in the fruits of their efforts. It seems that proponents of this argument have forgotten about the true purpose of college. They have forgotten that the main point of college is to educate, not to play sports. There are athletes all across the nation that get athletic scholarships to come and play a sport for a few years and get an entirely free education. Their payment for their athleticism is the education that they receive for free and no monetary compensation should be added on top. Even athletes that are not on scholarship are getting the benefit of an education and do not need to be paid for anything that they are accomplishing.

The real problem in this whole argument are the actions of the NCAA. It is true that the NCAA is making money unfairly off of the accomplishments of their athletes. But, instead of trying to stop the unfair activity, proponents of athlete pay want to keep the unfairness going, just as long as the athletes get a share of it. This is a classic example of one of those situations where everyone is offended by something until they benefit from it themselves.

by The Cowl Editor on November 16, 2017

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Sports

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By Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

  The hardest sport to officiate is soccer and there are several reasons why this is true. Soccer is a fast-paced game where many fouls are left up to the referees’ judgement which inevitably leads to some disagreement.

   In soccer, the game moves quickly.There are no stoppages of play like in football where players can take a quick breather between plays. It is a constant state of free-for-all where the ball is up for grabs and whoever gets there first controls the entire game. There is no allotted time to change between offense and defense; it has to be done on the fly with no warning. There is an attempt by the players to bring order to the game, by running plays and executing passes at the right time, but nothing can change the chaos that exists within soccer.

   Imagine being an official in the middle of all of this. There are certain rules that cannot be broken, such as when the ball goes out of bounds. Everything else that happens on that field is at the discretion of the officials, who have to decide in a short amount of time whether or not a breach of the rules occurred, such as tripping the opponents or when slide-tackling, making contact with the player before making contact with the ball.

  Soccer is a physical game, with players diving all around the field in pursuit of the ball. Contact with one’s fellow players happens frequently. The officials cannot see everything that happens on a soccer field, for it is too big for that to be possible. There will obviously be plays that should have been called fouls that go unseen. There will be handballs that will not be noticed. The life of a soccer official can be a tough one, with the expectations of the fans and players coming into conflict with what is humanly possible to see.

by The Cowl Editor on November 16, 2017

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Sports

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By Jeremy Perrigo ’18

Sports Staff

   Hockey has traditionally, and somewhat sarcastically, been called “the fastest game on ice.” While none of the other three major American sports (football, baseball, and basketball) take place on the same type of playing field, hockey still may be considered the fastest of the four, making it an incredibly difficult game to officiate.

  Over the last several years, the National Hockey League (NHL), has implemented various changes to its rulebook in order to make more accurate calls and to protect its players from dangerous hits. The addition of video review has created controversy in many sports, and hockey is no exception. Just before the 2015-16 season, the league agreed to implement a coach’s challenge specifically related to goaltender interference and offside calls resulting in goals.

  This was deemed necessary because despite how sharp NHL linesmen and referees are. The sheer speed of the game, along with its ability to be played continuously without regular stoppages, makes it extremely difficult to officiate. During a professional game there are two referees who are responsible for calling penalties, and two linesmen who are responsible for calling line infractions, such as offsides and icing.

  Even though there are two officials assigned to each category, there have been various instances within NHL games where wrong calls have been made on the ice that ultimately have had an impact on the outcome of the game. Video review is an attempt to assist officials, who work in collaboration with Hockey Operations in Toronto, to make the most accurate call possible.

This factor, along with restricting the amount of legal checks and altering how players are allowed to use their stick to impede an opposing player, makes hockey an extremely complex game to officiate.