The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: nhl

  • Here’s How You Can Drown Your Sports Sorrows

    Here’s How You Can Drown Your Sports Sorrows

    While sports may be at a standstill, you can still relish and relive your favorite game moments

    Every major sports league, from the UEFA Champions League to the NBA, has canceled or postponed their league for the remainder of the year to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. This is a very tough pill to swallow for sports fans around the world, but there are still opportunities for fans to relive past games and watch sports shows and documentaries while practicing social distancing.

    One way these professional leagues are accommodating their fans is by offering free league passes to watch any past game you could think of. Leagues like the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB are offering these free league passes until May 31.

    If you have a cable provider like Spectrum or AT&T, channels like ESPN, FOX Sports, TUDN and CBS sports are showing daily replays of old football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer both at the professional and college levels.

    In addition to all these replays, ESPN has pushed up the release of one of their most anticipated documentaries, “The Last Dance,” to April 19. The documentary is based on Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, who won six NBA championships and are generally considered the greatest basketball dynasty of all time. The documentary is a 10-part series of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes.

    From movies to shows, sports are being given to us at an all-time high rate through many mediums.

    Netflix is also doing its part in getting more sports to us through shows and documentaries. Some of the more popular documentaries include three must-sees. First, “I Am Bolt,” detailing the athletic legacy of the greatest Olympic sprinter in history, Usain Bolt. Second, “Q-Ball,” a documentary about the basketball league in San Quentin prison. Third, “Notorious,” the documentary on UFC’s bad boy, Conor McGregor, and his rise to fame in the sport.

    Sports TV shows can also help entertain you through social distancing. One of the more popular shows right now is “All-American.” The show is based around Spencer, one of the best high school football players in the country from Crenshaw in Los Angeles, who transfers to Beverly Hills High School. The TV drama is basically “90210” meets “Friday Night Lights.”

    If you’re a wrestling fan, you’re in luck. Hulu has every episode of WWE’s “Raw” and “Smackdown” so you can relive the best fights. The same goes for the “Ultimate Fighter,” which produced some of the best UFC fighters such as TJ Dillashaw, Rashad Evans and Tony Ferguson.

    YouTube can also help with sports withdrawals. It has any kind of highlight you can think of, from France’s run toward the 2018 World Cup, to Lebron James’ first championship in 2012 with the Heat, to highlights from Super Bowl LII when the Eagles upset Tom Brady and the Patriots. The list goes on. Any sporting memory you have is almost guaranteed to be on YouTube.

    These are just a few options we have during social distancing to stay in touch with our inner fan. From movies to shows, sports are being given to us at an all-time high rate through many mediums. So stay home, stay healthy and drown your sorrows of social distancing with your favorite sports.

  • LJ Sports Podcast 9/19

    LJ Sports Podcast 9/19

    Listen to the KRFH Sports Show live on Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on 105.1 KRFH or KRFH.net

    https://soundcloud.com/user-815505871/lj-sports-podcast

    Featuring: Thomas Lal, Deion Alston, Albert Muro, Skye Kimya and Elliott Portillo

    Part 1: We talk about Humboldt State sports from the week including the volleyball team’s first conference win at home. We also discuss the men’s and women’s soccer team away games. At the end of the segment, conversation turns to international sports and we talk about the U.S. women’s national team.

    Part 2: We discuss the start of the NHL preseason with a focus on the San Jose Sharks and LA Kings while brining any non-hockey fans up to date on the rivalry between the Sharks and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. We also address the IIHF’s banning of Evgeny Kuznetsov for four years compared to the NHL’s three game ban for illegal substance use.

    Part 3: After waiting on the topic last week, we finally delve into the Antonio Brown saga and attempt to understand exactly what went wrong in Oakland and how on earth the Patriots keep getting better and better. We also talk about week two performances around the NFL and our favorite teams.

    Part 4: In the debrief section of the show we talk a little baseball with playoffs just around the corner. We also discuss Bruce Bochy’s 2000th career win as a manager and the Humboldt Crabs Alumni who made it to the MLB.

  • Is Hockey Really for Everyone?

    Is Hockey Really for Everyone?

    Sharks Forward Evander Kane speaks out about racism in the NHL

    On August 28, the San Jose Sharks’ forward Evander Kane shared a comment, left by a fan, on his recent Instagram post. The fan was telling the 10-year National Hockey League veteran to stick to basketball. Kane stands out on the ice not only due to his physical play and scoring prowess, but also because of his ethnicity.

    Kane is the only player who openly identifies as black on the Sharks roster and is one of only a handful of active black players in the NHL.

    Kane responded to the post by reaffirming his belief that racism surrounding the NHL needs to be more thoroughly addressed.

    “This exact thing was shouted at me in the penalty box in Denver during game 4,” Kane wrote on Instagram. “It’s racially motivated. It’s a problem in society and in sports. There is a focus on racism in football, basketball and baseball but in the hockey world it’s easier to ignore, dismiss and forget because let’s face the facts; hockey is a white sport.”

    Kane’s remarks point to the fact that although the NHL was never officially segregated when it was founded, it wasn’t until 1957 when Willie O’Ree took to the ice for the Boston Bruins that a black player played. Even after O’Ree broke through the unspoken color barrier, there was never an influx of black players in the league.

    “There is a focus on racism in football, basketball and baseball but in the hockey world it’s easier to ignore, dismiss and forget because let’s face the facts; hockey is a white sport.”

    Evander Kane

    According to a 2016 survey by TD Ameritrade, parents generally spend $100 to $499 per month on youth sports. The San Jose Junior Sharks list on their website costs of $1,800 to $6,900 for a full season of hockey depending on age that typically lasts around six months. The median income for a family household in the U.S. is approximately $77,000 per the Census Bureau while for black families, the median is only around $40,000. This adds yet another opportunity barrier for young black players to participate in youth hockey.

    In addition to the upfront cost, there are constant purchases needed to maintain sporting equipment and replace broken gear. This massive price presents an additional difficulty for families in minority groups who historically may not have the disposable income to support the financial burden of hockey for their children.

    If the financial support and skill are present to allow a player of color to make their way through the youth hockey system into the NHL, players tend to have experiences similar to that of Kane.

    After scoring a game-winning playoff goal in 2012, Joel Ward was the subject of racial bigotry on social media. Also in 2012, two-time All-Star Wayne Simmonds had a banana thrown at him during a pre-season game in London, Ontario.

    In 2018, Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly was the victim of several fans chanting ‘basketball’ at him while he was in the penalty box, suggesting the black winger was in the wrong sport.

    These overt displays of racism within the NHL fanbase prove that there is still a long way to go to educate and diversify fans of the sport. While some fans may complain that players are speaking about their experiences, the only way to improve matters will be through players like Kane speaking out and bringing attention to the problem.