For a vast majority of people, sports are just games, something to pass the time. Then there are those who love the game and put sweat and tears into proving that. But there also lies a tiny group of people outside of this, for whom sports transcend the notion of simply being a game and cement themselves as their only reality. For players like Josh Jacobs, sports become not only their outlet but also their lives.
Covenant's Pickup Soccer Community
Clubs, organizations, events, meetings, hall culture—all aspects of life at Covenant College that knit the students together. However, one group is driven by the sheer desire to play the most globally unifying sport to ever exist: soccer.
Read moreCOVID-19's Encompassing Impact on Sports
On March 11, it was seemingly just another normal Wednesday night for over a million people who habitually watch NBA games. The stage was set for the Utah Jazz to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The arena was packed with fans standing shoulder to shoulder with no masks on, cheering loudly, shaking hands and high-fiving.
Read moreThe Rise of Rugby Abroad and at Home
There is an old saying that goes, “football [soccer] is a gentleman's game played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen." This quote has somewhat reinforced the stereotype of rugby as a barbaric form of American football played without pads. Of course, there may be some truth to this; however, like many people around the world and at Covenant have recently noticed, there is more to rugby than that.
Read moreCOVID-19 Kickers
College is in full swing (as much as it can be). Classes are going smoothly. Masks are being worn everywhere. Yet one aspect of college that just doesn’t feel right is sports. This time last year we were already playing games on the beautiful Scotland Yard.
Covenant Cliff Hangers
Forty feet up a sheer cliff, body sweating, forearms pumping, I pull my waist toward the wall for better balance, and stretch out my left arm, reaching for the next hold. I grasp it and stretch my left leg toward the next ledge for my foot. I find a minuscule notch in the rockface and wedge my toe onto it. I scan the wall for my next right-hand hold when suddenly, my left toe slips. I quickly push off the wall, as I fall feet first into the warm water of the river.
NBA 2K and the Olden Days
I, similar, I’m sure to many of you, spend two hours each Sunday night glued to the television. In a time where much of what we view can be paused and fast-forwarded, the thrill of bolting up from the couch to go to the bathroom or get a nice pan of nachos cooking has, for the most part, been lost. But I simply cannot miss a moment of “The Last Dance.” Michael Jordan’s jeans, Scottie Pippen’s voice, Phil Jackson’s shoulders, or Dennis Rodman’s explanation of how one learns to rebound a basketball. Sure, due to advances in technology, I could pause if my break is a bit longer than the commercial break, but then I would not be watching in real time and the tweets rolling hot off the presses would whoosh right over my head.
But this is not an article about “The Last Dance.” That would be low hanging fruit. Articles on “The Last Dance” are a dime a dozen, with talk of it dominating the sports news world. No, this is an article about what “The Last Dance” has made me realize about basketball as a whole, and more specifically, NBA 2K.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the throwback teams part of NBA 2K, allowing me to play as teams that I was, for the most part, not able to watch live because I was not alive. Nothing beats shooting a terribly inefficient game with Allen Iverson, as he is wont to do, and maybe sometimes winning. Or coming to the pleasant realization that yeah, Clyde Drexler is super good. Or lamenting the absence of Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley between each game.
“The Last Dance” has brought about a certain sense of nostalgia—or an equivalent word that can be used on something that I actually never experienced—regarding the last 60 years of basketball. And while this has, in turn, increased my use of NBA 2K historic teams, it has also reignited my disdain for NBA 2K20.
NBA 2K20 is a trash game with impossible post-play and stupid moves. And that, combined with my roommate owning our copy and taking it home with him during Coronavirus—but mostly because it sucks—has got me playing 2K19, a far superior game with manageable post-play and more fluid moves.
Typically the new 2K comes out, and I never look back. But this step back into 2K19 has got me wanting more from the 2Ks of years past. Maybe the celebrities of NBA 2K13, such as Brian Baumgartner, the man behind Kevin Malone of “The Office.” Or maybe a Career mode with much less story. But mostly, and I would take this over anything else in a heartbeat—bring back the historic team courts. Let us play as historic teams on their original courts, no three-point lines, with the camera all grainy-like.
It’d be a blast. So, ride the high of “The Last Dance” and all the classic highlights myself and so many other basketball fans are watching right now, and 2K, go all in on historic teams and make a game that doesn’t suck.
The Sports World Amid Covid-19
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or whatever you want to call it, has caused an onslaught of disruptions to millions of people’s everyday lives. One of those disruptions, while not the most important, is that of the effect on the sports world.
Read moreTampa Tom
Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history and owner of the greatest sports glow-up (sorry, Gordon Hayward), signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this off-season. After number one overall pick, Jameis Winston, left the team, a hole was left at the quarterback spot. And who better to head on down to Tompa Bay, then Tom Brady himself.
Read moreAt Home Exercise
In this time of social distancing and self isolation, the feeling of being cooped up can affect people’s morals, productivity, and gains. In this article, I will give a brief at-home exercise routine that can be done with or without weights, and has the ability to give you guys a quick break from school work and studying.
Read moreNFL Street
PlayStation 2, home of the iconic NFL Street 2 video game, turns 20 years old this month. The PS2 is the best-selling video game console of all time and has given our generation of gamers some of the greatest games ever. Games such as Battlefront II, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tony Hawk's Underground, Lego Star Wars, and MVP Baseball 2005 all originated on this console. However, none of these compare to …
Read moreWill's Thoughts
In this week's edition of “Will’s Thoughts” we will be looking into the happenings of the English Premier League, the NBA, and MLB spring training.
Read moreIntramural Basketball
Basketball is underway! At least for most of us, because we can’t all be college athletes, and the only thing that beats watching people shoot hoops is shooting hoops yourself. This year there will be three leagues, as is usual: men’s A and B leagues, and a women’s league.
Read moreMax Out Barnes
Max out Barnes. Burn down Barnes. Whatever you want to call it, it delivered. The Covenant Scots came out on top, 72-70, in an overtime thriller against the Maryville Scots. Covenant has played a strong season thus far, coming into their game against Maryville with a 12-7 overall record and 9-3 in the USA South Conference, leading the West division.
Read moreCollege Football Wrap-Up
On January 13th, Clemson faced off against LSU in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Clemson started the game off strong by forcing Joe Burrow and the historically great LSU offense to a few quick three-and-outs before Burrow adjusted and dominated the rest of the game.
Read moreCovenant Basketball Midseason Report
It’s finally chilly outside. The beginning-of-semester steam is beginning to wear off. And maybe we’ll get some snow soon enough!
Read moreCovenant Basketball Season
Finals are approaching, everyone's a little bit tired, and it’s nice and chilly outside. We all know what that means—Covenant College basketball is underway! Fall sports wrapped up just as it was getting a little too cold to go to outdoor games, perfectly transitioning into the always too-warm indoor basketball games. And oh boy are we in for some fun seasons from our men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Read moreRugby World Cup
To be completely honest, I know nothing about rugby. The only time I have seen rugby is after soccer on Saturday mornings, playing Rugby 18 once on the PlayStation, and they played it once on the Bachelorette and Luke P. made people really mad.
Read moreWill's Thoughts
This article was written only hours after my Tottenham Hotspur Football Club fired my all-time favorite manager, Mauricio Pochettino. I saw the news on my phone as I was walking to my car after spending hours at Starbucks writing my intercultural essays. Not exactly a pleasant surprise.
Read moreA Definitive Ranking of Active #1 NBA Draft Picks
As a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I have spent this season marveling at Tristan Thompson and the threatening post-presence he has become, weighing the odds the team slips into one of those last Eastern Conference playoff spots, and wondering just how the team got where they are today.
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