SFU will be playing its first playoffs game on the road at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.
Neither the weather on Burnaby Mountain nor the finest defensive lines in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) were able to stop SFU men’s soccer on the road to success. The Clan easily found its way to the playoffs after a regular season full of potential and world-class goals. Simon Fraser was crowned last week as GNAC champions after 15 unbeaten matches, losing only one game 1–0 to the Western Washington Vikings. SFU is currently ranked first in the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) West regional tournament, and third nationally.
It is no doubt that head coach Clint Schneider is well-equipped for the NCAA tournament. Coach Schneider will be able to rely on junior midfielder Adam Jones, who recently earned the award for GNAC Player of the Year. Jones led the Clan with 10 goals and nine assists, including a hat-trick. The forward line grew stronger with the addition of forward Riley Pang, who took the award for Freshman of the Year and tallied four goals for his first season. Sophomore Mamadi Camara came second in the ranking behind Jones with nine goals and six assists registered. Captain Ryan Dhillon was also decisive with a total of four goals and seven assists.
The Clan’s defence is as promising and productive as the offence. Junior Magnus Kristensen, who played every minute of the regular season, had a very bright season and was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. Senior goalkeeper Brandon Watson registered a record 30th career shutout and became GNAC’s all-time shutouts leader.
Nine of the Clan’s players were represented in the all-conference team. “To me, I think every one of our players deserves to be mentioned. I feel that good about our group and I told that to the guys. We’ve had a hell of a year so far. It’s a team effort,” said Schneider. Schneider, who led the Clan at the top of the table after finishing second during the 2015 season, earned the award for GNAC Co-Coach of the Year.
The Clan will face fifth ranked Cal Poly Pomona for its first NCAA playoff game at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. SFU’s men’s soccer has faced Cal Poly Pomona once early in the regular season, taking over the Broncos with a score of 2–0.
“We don’t play thinking there’s no room for mistake. You just play your game. The biggest with our guys is being confident; it’s the belief that they can be successful. If a mistake happens, then how do you respond? Well, you respond in a positive way. That’s been preached from start to finish. For the most part, we did a good job. We’re consistent about how we respond; we talk about selflessness a lot. We don’t think that we’re playing anybody better than us, right or wrong. If we play well, we should get the results.”
Simon Fraser will not be hosting any game at Terry Fox Field. As the only Canadian school in the NCAA, Simon Fraser must play all NCAA games in the United States. The Clan will be playing at Interbay Stadium in Seattle, home of the Seattle Pacific Falcons. Coach Schneider commented on this decision.
“First, I’m very grateful that SFU’s athletic administration supported us [hosting playoffs at home]. Every one of us want to be in Canada. You can’t approach the game thinking it’s unfair. With that being said, I would be lying to say that I’m frustrated. This is the second time it happens, and it won’t be the last time. There will be other sports in our athletics department [that] will go through the same thing. To me, it is an absolute disgrace that the NCAA continues to treat our Canadian students that way. I feel empowered on behalf of our student athletes, because they deserve better. Again, we’re very fortunate that we’re able to host in Seattle. We’re very fortunate that this Friday is off from school and so our guys are not missing class. Even if we’re in Seattle, we would leave Thursday and miss class on Friday. None of the team[s] has that problem except for us. We’re fully aware of that as a coaching staff.”
Going in against the 2015 national runner-up — Cal Poly Pomona lost the NCAA title in a 4–0 contest against Pfeiffer University — coach Schneider can trust his highly skilled team to hopefully add another win against the Broncos and make a deep run.
This is the first in a week-long web series that documents Kevin Rey’s experiences living off of $5 worth of food a day. Check back daily for another post.
Things are way too expensive in Vancouver.
By now, I think we’ve all had that moment where we’ve seen yet another bombed-out crack house with no windows and at least three ghosts selling for a cool $1.5 million on the real estate market. We just don’t react anymore, because it’s so common to see.
Early this semester, I wrote an article about just how absurd it is to rent as a student in Vancouver — but in all honesty, the financial gouging doesn’t stop there. The same premium prices apply to many other facets of life, like gas and food. Expatistan, a website that aggregates prices for all kinds of products, ranks Vancouver as the third most expensive city in Canada, and 27th in North America out of 67.
Starting in 2012, an organization called Raise the Rates has shown just how disconnected wages are with the cost of living in Vancouver. Each year, they issue a challenge, asking participants to only spend the same amount on food that someone could if they were on welfare. Since rates have been frozen while rent and other costs have steadily increased, in 2016 that amount was $18.
Only $18 for an entire week’s worth of food.
I’m not going to pretend that students at SFU are under the same kind of pressure as people supported by welfare (although there were SFU students who literally couldn’t afford a place to live, so they camped out on campus), but we do have to pinch pennies lest our student debt become sentient and try to conquer the world.
We’re also bombarded by a never-ending torrent of information that is asking us to consider society, our health, and the environment with every transaction we make. Eat less meat, buy local and organic, no dairy, no gluten, no cannibalizing other students. You know, the usual.
Taking all that into consideration, The Peak and I hatched a plan. We thought it would be interesting to see what kind of life is possible when we really hunker down on our food spending. So, for the next week, I am going to only spend $5 a day on food.
Some thrifty (read: graduate) students among you have probably already figured out that something like this should be easy for me if I roam campus for scraps and free food from departmental events. But for almost all of us, that’s not really possible.
I’m going to behave like a reasonable student with limited free time.
Here are the rules of my $35 Week Challenge:
1 – I can only spend up to $35 for the week on food and drink.
2 – I can only accept free food if other students could reasonably do the same.
3 – I am going to buy local as much as I can, since I’m constantly being told to do so.
By the end of the challenge, we’ll see if I’ve managed to survive mostly intact, or if I’ve started to do an impression of Matt Damon at the end of The Martian.
Today was my first day on the challenge, and I can already tell this is going to be really difficult. There’s something about seeing a bounty of untouchable food at home that seems to make me even hungrier than I would normally be. At the same time, I can’t help but be a little disappointed in myself: I haven’t even gone 24 hours and my stomach is ready to leap out in search of a better host.
New Westminster has a great farmer’s market that brings in produce from Chilliwack and Surrey, as well as other homemade cheeses, wines, and such. So, I went in search of my supplies for the week. The vendors were all very friendly, and I had a good time doing my best impression of an environmentally conscious retiree.
But the thing is, $35 really doesn’t go that far. I had an existential crisis when a vendor told me that the butternut squash I had brought him would be $5 on its own. I immediately thought of one day in the week where all I would eat is that squash, and I think my stomach started to pre-emptively digest itself.
Full disclosure: I normally shop at that farmer’s market and will probably continue to do so after this challenge ends. There are lots of good tangible reasons to buy local produce like freshness, reduced environmental footprint, and supporting farmers who treat their animals well. The big problem is that their stuff is several times more expensive than the food imported from China that ends up in the chain grocery stores. For better or worse, my local pride got the best of me and I ended up buying mostly local.
After some deliberation and fretting, I decided to pick up these supplies for the week:
12 eggs
Two cans of tomato paste
900g red kidney beans
800g long grain rice
800g all purpose flour
800g semolina flour
Four onions
One head of garlic
One loaf of bread
One jar of strawberry jam
One litre of one percent milk
$2.50 for things like spices, salt, and butter, that are really hard to buy for only one week.
Nicole Chevrier (#14) had four kills on ten attempts, while Tamara Nipp (#13) had 43 assists.
The SFU volleyball team earned its second straight sweep on November 10, taking down Saint Martin’s University in three consecutive sets. The Clan was impressive throughout, leading for most of the game and never relinquishing control. The team won each of its sets 25–21, 25–13, and 25–19, respectively.
A late push at the end of the third set that tied the game was not enough to give Saint Martin’s the edge it needed. A veteran-laden Clan team managed to clamp down on defence while maintaining its strong offensive play.
“I think we put them in trouble with some serving, which is one way to get them out of their offence,” said head coach Gina Schmidt when asked about how they were able to stay focused down the stretch. “I think our hitters did a good job of mixing it up and finding ways to score.”
With only three games left in the season after Thursday’s, the matchup with Saint Martin’s was an important stepping stone leading up to the playoffs. Currently ranked third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), the Clan is poised to maintain this level of play and get into the playoffs.
“[Playoffs are] not something we’re thinking about. We’re just focusing on getting the W. Our focus is on how we execute. If we execute, then those things will take care of themselves. It’s really about playing our style of volleyball and playing up to our potential,” coach Schmidt said on whether or not they are looking forward to the playoffs yet.
Two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Alison McKay, echoed this statement: “Playoffs are in sight but we’re still taking it game by game [. . .] We’re not looking too far ahead, we’re just trying to stay realistic.”
McKay, who had 17 digs in the contest, is just one of the seniors in the Clan starting line-up. With a veteran core, many members of the team are relied upon to keep the team focused during moments like the late run by Saint Martin’s.
“We executed things on our side. We took care of the ball and got it done,” McKay said when asked how they closed out the game.
“We do have several seniors on the floor and that certainly helps. They’ve been through a lot in their time here and we rely on them to have that poise in all situations,” coach Schmidt said about the seniors on her starting line-up.
The Clan improved to 19–6 overall and 12–5 within the conference after the win against Saint Martin’s. The team is currently ranked third in GNAC as well as in the whole Western region. It is important to note that the team is behind Western Washington University (WWU) in GNAC rankings because of WWU’s better conference record, but is higher in the Western region because of the Clan’s better overall record.
Clan volleyball plays at home again on November 12 in West Gym before heading on the road against Western Washington University on November 15.
That is what I read while standing on the plain green fields of Vimy Ridge in the north of France, knees shaking from the 2C weather, and teary-eyed from one of the most moving memorials I have ever seen.
When you think of spending a semester abroad, you typically think of drinking and partying — and while there was some of that, there were also some moments that moved me in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
When I got off the train in the small town of Lens, I honestly didn’t expect much. Small-town France has a reputation of being a little rough around the edges. I spent the night in an apartment, and in the morning, I pinned a poppy to my chest and started my trek towards the Vimy Ridge Memorial.
Getting out of the car, I was greeted by two very tall limestone pylons. I was quiet — everyone in my group was. The memorial was breathtaking. We walked up to it, slowly, taking it in from every angle. There were 20 or so statues, all expressing something so different and powerful, you couldn’t help but cry, smile, and pray as you walked around the monument.
Sacrifice, mourning, innocence, strength, courage, loss. The statues told it all.
When it came time for the ceremony, my friends and I gathered in a crowd of maybe 100 on the fields below the memorial. Looking up, we heard “Scotland the Brave” begin, and saw some of the bagpipers follow. Immediately, tears rolled down my cheeks. I looked around, and thought to myself about how many people died where I was standing so that I could have the life I do now.
The ceremony continued, the colours were marched in, speeches were given, and anthems were sung. All the while, I was fighting not to collapse right then and there.
Once the ceremony had ended, we walked up the side of the ridge to the museum and trenches. We stood in front of fields still warped from the war. Grazing on the fields at the museum were sheep, which I found a little strange. I asked why they had sheep out there, and apparently, in most parts of northern France, the fields still have active shells hidden under a layer of grass, so sending lawn mowers isn’t an option. The rolly hills plagued with bumps and humps were shocking, and the perfect reminder of what man can do to nature when we fight one another.
I walked through the restored and preserved trenches in complete silence. There was a cemetery on the other side of the memorial and we walked over to find a sea of white crosses. Again, all in silence.
Spending Remembrance Day at Vimy Ridge is an experience I will not soon forget. To stand on the fields where so many lost their lives is so different from standing in your school gym or having a moment of silence while at work. I had no idea how powerful Remembrance Day could be until seeing firsthand a community that was freed by Canadians. If you ever get the opportunity to visit a Canadian war memorial abroad, take it.
Ninety-eight years ago, the “war to end all wars” came to an end. In this global conflict, Canada mobilized 620,000 soldiers. Of these soldiers, 20,000 were under the age of 18 when they volunteered. So many of these brave souls didn’t come home. Roughly one third of the mobilized soldiers did not come home.
This is often considered the “lost generation,” as even those who returned home were affected for the rest of their lives. Just over two decades after the end of WW1, the world was once again at war. This conflict would go on to claim 60 million lives from around the world, including another 40,000 Canadian soldiers.
Beyond these conflicts, Canadian soldiers have gone wherever they are needed. This includes deployments during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Yugoslav wars, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, and the current fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as well as many others. Sacrificing their lives to protect people at home — protecting people like you and I.
The Peak wanted to find out how the student body felt about Remembrance Day, so we asked some SFU students, “What does Remembrance Day mean to you?”
What makes this sacrifice so stunning, is the fact that it is done for us, by people we don’t even know, and people we would most likely never meet.
As Jamie Shorter, fifth-year criminology student, suggested, “Remembrance Day is a day of reflection and of gratitude for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. My relatives were members of the British Army. November 11 is a day to honour their service and sacrifice.”
This was a common sentiment among the millennials I asked. As Peter Han, third-year psychology student, put it, “Obviously, there’s this generation that sacrificed their youth or basically their lives during their youth for the liberation of our country and to fight for our own good and I feel like it’s just an important time to give thanks to those people that let us live the quality of life that we have today.”
Echoing these two opinions, Patrick Sawers, fourth-year business student, said“Remembrance Day is about recognizing how everything we take for granted is the product of some truly unbelievable sacrifices by others. I think it’s important that everyone takes some time out of their day to appreciate those that gave their lives for us.”
The common thread that links each of these statements together is a notion of sacrifice. Not only that, but that it was a sacrifice made so we can live in the country we live in today. I had an opportunity that I am truly appreciative of, to ask this same question to a pair of veterans, who know better than anyone what sacrifice is.
As Sargent McTavish, of the Royal Westminster Regiment Airborne Infantry put it, “Remembrance Day causes me to take time to stop and think about the sacrifices others have made. We as a country, the things that we sometimes get angry about, if we stop and think about it [. . .] those weren’t just given to us, they had to be fought for.” Sargent McTavish elaborated on the First World War, saying “there’s not a city in Canada that wasn’t affected by that war [. . .] Back then you took a train across the country for days, then get on a ship for days. We are so lucky.”
Similarly, Corporal Reimer suggested that “Remembrance Day [is] also a sad day as I think about my friends that did not come home from tours of duty when I did. When I think about Remembrance Day, I think of honouring their sacrifice and paying respect by attending my local cenotaph. Veterans should be honoured because they put their lives on the line so we can all live in peace. It’s an important day for me to spend time with fellow veterans and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
The statements of Sargent McTavish and Corporal Reimer highlight the sheer extent of sacrifices of soldiers and their families. There are the sacrifices of those who went to war and came back deeply affected, both physically and emotionally, by their experiences; there is the sacrifice of the loved ones of soldiers who are sent to conflict zones, not knowing day by day if they will return home; and of course, there’s those who make the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.
What makes this sacrifice so stunning, is the fact that it is done for us, by people we don’t even know, and people we would most likely never meet.
Just the fact that 100 years ago, there was some 18-year-old boy, like thousands around him, who volunteered to spend weeks travelling across the country and the ocean, to go to a country he has never been to, just to risk his life so I can live in the free country I live in today. These men and women are willing to sacrifice everything for you. This Remembrance Day, please ensure you respect and honour that sacrifice.
Special thank you to Sargent McTavish and Corporal Reimer for their service and the interviews.
Rebecca Bassett, Miryam Bassett, Julia Howley, and Addy Townsend all finished in the top 30 of the individual rankings.
After a year’s absence, SFU’s women’s cross country team is back at the national championship. After a year where the team was “a little complacent” according to head coach Brit Townsend, they finished second at the West Regionals this time around — good enough to qualify for the event on November 19 in St. Leo, Florida.
“Regionals were awesome, the girls really came through,” said Townsend. “They’ve had a set goal since August at our training camp that they wanted to make nationals. Last year they just missed, and I think part of it was [. . .] maybe they were a bit overconfident, but they just didn’t have that focus that was needed. But that focus was definitely there this year, and it’s shown in every single race that they’ve run so far leading up to the regionals.
“They were ready. They were ready going in, they knew what they wanted to achieve, and they went out and did it.”
However, it was a disappointing day for the men’s side. They finished ninth, which unfortunately was not good enough to qualify for nationals this year. In the year previous, they qualified and finished 12th at the national championships.
“I think they showed up at the regionals, it was at altitude, they had to run 10k, and they were so excited and determined they went out really hard. Faster than they should have, especially two or three of our runners.”
The Clan was led by Rebecca Bassett, who finished eighth in the individual rankings. Miryam Bassett and Julia Howley finished 11th and 12th respectively, while Addy Townsend finished 26th. These four runners will be expected to lead the way once again for SFU at the national championship, but coach Townsend also needs other runners to exceed expectations if the Clan is going to get a result.
“I need those four to do what they always do,” she explained. “What I need is my fifth, sixth, and seventh to do something beyond what they’ve done before. Pick off some people, get some numbers, especially our fifth spot, because that’s our last scoring spot. But sixth and seventh can still pass and make a big difference, because they can displace a fifth place runner on another team. So every part of it is really important.
“If we can close that gap from one to five, and make that really small, then we’re going to perform a lot better.”
That fifth runner is expected to be Reta Dobie, who has been “consistently in that spot all year.”
Now the focus turns to preparing for the event. The key for the women will be to refocus after putting all of their effort into qualifying for the national championship.
“The trick now is to refocus and set some new goals from the national championships. What can we achieve as a team? It’s not enough to just go there, we want to achieve something special.
“My goal and the goal we’ll discuss as a whole team is finishing in the top 10. If we can do that, then we’ve achieved something very special.”
Site-specific dance: it’s dance outside the studio, outside the theatre, outside of the controlled environments where you would expect to see it. Site-based dance brings dancing bodies out to engage with the world in all of its complexities.
Look around.
Where are you right now? What architecture do you see around you? What are the people around you doing? What did this site look like 10 years ago, or 100 years ago?
These are some of the questions dance artists consider when creating site-specific dance, one method of contemporary dance.
“Moving dance offstage is exciting because it allows it to cross paths with people who might not be interested in dance otherwise,” said Alana Gerecke, PhD.
As an SFU alumna, Gerecke has concentrated on site-specific dance through practice and research for over a decade. After graduating from the SFU dance program in 2004, Gerecke co-founded Behind Open Doors, an interdisciplinary dance group that makes site-based work in Vancouver. Since then, she and four other SFU alumni have explored and performed all over the city.
“The False Creek area and Olympic Village is one area we spent a lot of time in,” Gerecke told The Peak. “[In and around the Vancouver 2010 Olympics], we were trying to find ways to explore what the new social mixing was looking like and also engage all the dynamic features of the new architecture down around the waterfront.”
She and the dancers immersed themselves artistically in the area, experimenting with trying to fit their bodies along the urban architecture and dancing on a makeshift stage by the water.
Gerecke explained that site-based dance is unique because it “makes practitioners think long and hard about the places they’re using and inhabiting.” Before choreographing their routine, the artists will spend extensive time researching and observing the area and how local people already use it. Rather than just parachuting into a space and imposing dance movement onto it, the method allows the performance to be a response to the site itself.
Other artists in Vancouver have used site-specific dance to engage social and political issues, making performances in conflicted areas like Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). In 2008, Vancouver artist Althea Thauberger’s project Carrall Street was inspired by film crews. Thauberger used film lights to illuminate an area of Cambie Street between Hastings and Cordova one evening, setting the stage for a number of different commissioned performance pieces that addressed pertinent social issues.
Artist Karen Jamieson has also made community-based dance projects in the DTES for decades. Her noteworthy 1998 work The River happened along the historic Brewery Creek, one of the major waterways in Vancouver’s development. Over four nights, hundreds of people came to see the show and trace the path of the waterway. The piece raised questions about the relationship of urban development to the natural landscape and the life that it supports.
“Any time work is sited outside, especially in areas that have really rich or complicated histories, whether the work intends to or not it’s engaging with those histories,” Gerecke adds. As well as dancing herself, Gerecke has done postgraduate studies in site-specific performance through SFU’s English department. Right now she’s working on a postdoctorate that looks at more colloquial contexts, like flash mobs.
In the drizzly October weather, a group of third-year SFU dance students experimented with site-specific dance creation around Downtown Vancouver. The group danced beside the Georgia Viaduct, in a bubblegum pink painted alley off Seymour Street, at Blood Alley in Gastown, and even inside the Woodward’s complex. Much time was spent thinking about the histories of the locations and social issues there, but also trying to highlight the depth, length, and scope of urban architecture compared to human bodies.
As you can imagine, the dancing caught the attention of passers-by. By changing the “movement vocabulary” of the area, site-dance can trigger the people who see it to think differently about how we all move through everyday spaces. According to Gerecke, this can expose the “classed” and “gendered” habits of city dwellers, and bring to light the unofficial codes of the use of space.
Compared to sculpture, dance in public spaces is fleeting and can seem to disappear quickly. But to those who experience site-based dance, the site could be forever changed in their memory, leaving the “ghost” of the performance behind.
Site-based dance is exciting because even if for a brief moment, it bridges the gap between performing artists and public through the shared use of public space. It also uniquely roots us as artists to make work that is local and speaks to issues that are here and now.
Aaron Rodgers (#12) allegedly criticized his team after a shocking loss to the Colts in week nine.
Last Week 11–2
Season 79–52–2
Byes: Buffalo, Detroit, Indianapolis, Oakland
The 11–2 last week even picking games straight up was very encouraging. My only slip-ups were the Colts surprising Green Bay and Oakland taking care of business against Denver. Speaking of the Raiders, they are now 7–2 and get a bye week to rest and plot what looks like a trip to the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season. The only team with a longer drought is the Buffalo Bills who last made the playoffs in the 1999 season. The Bills got hosed by the referees in a close loss to the Seahawks last week and at 4–5 look like they are on their way to another losing season. This week has some very competitive matchups with several tough calls for your Peak prognosticator.
Cleveland (0–9) at Baltimore (4–4), Thursday 5:25 p.m.
Baltimore’s defence looked fantastic last week in absolutely dominating the Steelers. Look for them to punish the Browns at home and start the Browns into the 0–16 discussion.
Prediction: Ravens 24 Browns 10
Atlanta (6–3) at Philadelphia (4–4), Sunday 10 a.m.
The Eagles started the season 3–1 but have gone 1–3 since, whereas the Falcons are riding high in first place in the NFC South. This is a homecoming for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan who played his high school football at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. The play of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has really tailed in recent weeks as opposing coordinators have increasing game film of his tendencies. Ryan has a big game back home and the Falcons win the battle of the predatory bird species.
Prediction: Falcons 34 Eagles 27
Denver (6–3) at New Orleans (4–4), Sunday 10 a.m.
Another fascinating matchup sees the Broncos on the road for the second consecutive week against a Saints team that has won four out of five since their 0–3 start. The Broncos gave up 30 points last week and 218 rushing yards to the Raiders while the Saints racked up a whopping 248 yards on the ground against San Francisco. I’ll take the Saints at home led by their running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower over the Broncos’ suddenly vulnerable run defence and anemic offence.
Prediction: Saints 31 Broncos 21
Houston (5–3) at Jacksonville (2–6), Sunday 10 a.m.
It is the policy of this columnist not to provide analysis on AFC South divisional games until the division fields a member that is an actual playoff team.
Prediction: Jaguars 24 Texans 23
Minnesota (5–3) at Washington (4–3–1), Sunday 10 a.m.
The Minnesota Vikings have now lost three consecutive games after absolutely blowing their matchup last week against Detroit with poor clock management. The team is reeling and in need of a big road victory against a quality opponent. They won’t get it, as Washington is rested after their bye week and will be bolstered by the return of their playmaking tight end, Jordan Reed.
Prediction: Washington 23 Minnesota 20
Chicago (2–6) at Tampa Bay (3–5), Sunday 10 a.m.
Both teams are well-rested with the Bears coming off the bye and the Buccaneers playing last Thursday. The Bucs have major injury problems with their top four running backs injured and star receiver Mike Evans in the concussion protocol. I’ve always rooted for Jay Cutler and see his long-standing chemistry with receiver Alshon Jeffery being the difference in this one. Bears win their second straight over a game Tampa squad.
Prediction: Bears 26 Bucs 19
Kansas City (6–2) at Carolina (3–5), Sunday 10 a.m.
The Panthers have won two straight games after a terrible 1–5 start, but managed only 13 points against a stout Rams defence last week. The Chiefs also have a good defence and are quite capable of holding the Panthers under 25 points on the road. Their offence will be buoyed by the return from injury of underrated quarterback Alex Smith. Smith is a gamer who will lead his team to victory in a big road win that will also launch the Chiefs into contender status in the AFC.
Prediction: Chiefs 27 Panthers 24
Upset Special
Green Bay (4–4) at Tennessee (4–5), Sunday 10 a.m.
I do not know what to make of the Packers this year and apparently neither do their coach and quarterback. Last week both Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers called out the team after their lacklustre performance against the Colts. The Titans meanwhile looked impressive, on offence at least, losing a barnburner 43–35 on the road to the Chargers. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota put up 313 yards passing and had three touchdowns in the contest but was undone by three turnovers. The Packers are a team that prides itself on developing its own talent and eschewing free agency. It looks like their drafting and player development program has hit a wall this season because this team just isn’t very good. I am not buying that the Packers bounce back and have enough talent to win on the road against a Titans team with a good offence.
Prediction: Titans 33 Packers 30
Los Angeles (3–5) at New York Jets (3–6), Sunday 10 a.m.
This year just about every quarterback drafted has seen action other than Rams first overall pick Jared Goff. Goff continues to sit as rumours swirl whether he just isn’t very good or whether coach Jeff Fisher doesn’t want to look bad for sitting him this long if he is indeed an upgrade over the uninspiring Case Keenum. The Jets, meanwhile, have seen a promising season undone by the abysmal play of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is dealing with an injury and may or may not play this Sunday with talented second-year man, Bryce Petty, waiting in the wings. The Rams have a very stout defence and will undoubtedly force turnovers against Fitzpatrick and/or an untested Petty. The Jets are at home and boast the league’s fourth best run defence. Since the Rams cannot mount a passing attack, that should be enough to secure the victory despite the possibility of more Fitzpatrick gaffes.
Prediction: Jets 17 Rams 13
Miami (4–4) at San Diego (4–5), Sunday 1:05 p.m.
Flashback to the January 2, 1982, wildcard matchup between these opponents. The Chargers — led by future Hall of Famer, Dan Fouts — racked up a 24-point lead and looked like they would cruise to an easy victory. The Dolphins responded with a 17–0 advantage in the second quarter, which ended with a touchdown on a spectacular hook and ladder play. The comeback set the stage for one of the most dramatic games in NFL history. The see-saw second half saw both teams score improbable touchdowns with the Dolphins in position for the win with a potential game-winning field goal at the end of the game. Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow checked in on defence and extended his 6’5” frame to deflect the kick and send the game to overtime. With both teams exhausted, the overtime seemed to last forever, as both teams agonizingly missing three more potential game-winning field goals. Finally, with over 13 minutes of overtime expired, Fouts led the Chargers deep into Dolphins territory, where kicker Rolf Benirschke finally connected for the game-winning field goal and the win. This matchup has the potential to be the most exciting game of the week, as both teams are playing good football and are led by excellent ground attacks. I like the Chargers to have the edge here, because Miami has the 30th ranked run defence. As a result, look for a big game from the Chargers lead back Melvin Gordon and his fullback Derek Watt. Gordon has attributed his success this year to the Chargers moving to an old school running game with a fullback leading the way.
Prediction: Chargers 39 Dolphins 37
Game of the Week
Dallas (7–1) at Pittsburgh (4–4), Sunday 1:25 p.m.
These two venerable franchises have competed in three Super Bowls with the Steelers holding a 2–1 edge. The rivalry in the 1970s polarized America, with the Steelers representing a hard-nosed blue collar image while the Cowboys were the epitome of glamour, flash, and glitz. These characterizations are still present today. Led by the strong play of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, The Cowboys have looked like the best team in the NFC, while the Steelers are reeling with three straight losses to the Dolphins, Patriots, and Ravens. Last week, the Steelers could not have played worse on offence against the Ravens but put forth a spirited defensive effort. The Steelers Triple Bs need to show up big time this week, and I think they will. Look for Big Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown to hand the Cowboys a road loss which may open the door for the return of long-time starter Tony Romo to the helm of the Cowboys offence.
Prediction: Steelers 29 Cowboys 26
San Francisco (1–7) at Arizona (3–4–1), Sunday 1:25 p.m.
The Cardinals are rested coming off their bye week and are facing, with all due respect to 49ers legend Joe Montana, the NFC’s version of the Cleveland Browns. Cardinals win big and right their troubled ship.
Prediction: Cardinals 42 49ers 21
Seattle (5–2–1) at New England (7–1), Sunday 5:30 p.m.
Seattle needs to call Cleveland and offer them a high draft pick right now for the services of All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas. Their poor offensive line play showed up once again last week where the team rushed for a total of 32 yards on 17 carries. The Seahawks also have a short week and travel across the country to take on the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. Brady has been lights out since returning from suspension with 12 touchdowns and 1,319 passing yards in three games. To make matters worse, the Patriots are coming off their bye and have had two weeks to prepare for this Super Bowl 49 matchup.
Prediction: Patriots 38 Seahawks 16
Cincinnati (3–4–1) at New York Giants (5–3), Monday 5:30 p.m.
These two high-scoring offences meet in what should be an exciting Monday nighter. The Giants have won three straight coming into this matchup, including a big divisional victory over Philadelphia last week. The Bengals are coming off their bye week and hoping to get a big win to right what has been a disappointing season. While both teams have strong passing attacks, the Giants have been unable to run the football with much success. This lack of offensive dimension will give the rested Bengals defence an edge as they secure the win and keep pace in the narrow AFC Central race.
An election that was the talk of the world for over a year reached its finale on Tuesday, with SFU students clamouring about the Highland Pub. Tables were filled hours before the election results were even announced. Decorated with bright blue and red streamers and stars dangling from the ceiling, the Highland provided a space for somewhat wary students to come and witness the unpredictable fate of our neighbours downstairs.
SFU’s international US citizen population currently sits at 0.85 percent of the overall student population and this statistic does not count for domestic US students. While this is relatively less than our other Canadian university counterparts, it didn’t stop the keen curiosity and watchful eyes of the Vancouver-residing students who were at the pub.
During the Canadian election, students will remember that there was no specific event created for the big night at the Highland. The electoral results were announced to a (comparatively speaking) much quieter audience, around this time last year.
This year, for the American election, the Highland was nearly at capacity.
“There isn’t as much hype for Canadian elections as there is for American elections,” said SFU student Evangeline Kesteven, a third-year anthropology student. “I’m pretty pumped for it [. . .] I think and hope that Hillary’s going to win because she’s the obvious choice. I’m tired of the argument that it’s two bad candidates. There was definitely foul play on both ends, but it shouldn’t even be a question that Hillary is more qualified than Donald Trump is.”
Another student, Jozsef Varga, in his first year in political science, had similar thoughts. “I just think that elections in the States are far more sensationalized compared to others. But I guess that the media attention it gets is understandable, because [America] is the superpower of the world.
“Whatever happens tonight is going to affect everyone in some way. But I have faith that Americans will choose Hillary. She’s the candidate with the most experience out of the two.”
There was a positive rapport near the beginning and middle — cheers overtook the crowd whenever Clinton took a state, with a smaller number of quieter whoops here and there for Trump’s states. But as the evening (and the election) began to come to an end, a sombre and tense mood took over the atmosphere.
Numbers in the pub began to dwindle as a Donald Trump presidency came closer to reality, regardless of the predictions that Hillary Clinton was sure to take the White House. The few cheers for Trump’s state wins we almost immediately shushed and silenced by Democrat supporters. Once the night came to a premature end, many once-bustling tables were now suddenly empty.
Elliot Whitehead, a fourth-year communications student, voiced his thoughts on the result of the election. “I’m disappointed. It’s upsetting to see just how much of the American population can disregard the safety of minority groups, and there was so much obvious ignorance when it came to the stakes of voting for a certain party.
“I’m not scared about Trump so much as the people who were his diehard supporters until the end, and I really hope this doesn’t convey the message to bigots that they have a correct point of view.”
Regardless of whom readers support, one thing is clear: Trump will be the 45th president of the United States, and the only one in the history of America with no military or political background. Suffice to say, after eight years of Democratic governance under President Barack Obama, immense changes are approaching both America and the world.
There is no predicting what, exactly, will happen next. In Hillary Clinton’s concession speech, devoid of frustration or anger, she said this: “We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America — and I always will. And if you do, too, then we must accept this result — and then look to the future.”
SFU students and professors expressed their thoughts on Twitter:
Laughter is a political act. We laughed for a long time, but did not get the last laugh. Lesson learned. #ElectionResults#TheMorningAfter
1. Ur bigot vp supports conversion therapy 2. No gay person would ever make a sign this ugly 3. It's upside down u twat 4. I hope u choke pic.twitter.com/KSwJ9lsvKh
Adam Callegari (#36) returned to the lineup on Friday and had three assists over the two games played.
It may only be November, but in a five-team league, every game is important. Over the weekend, the Clan travelled to Victoria to play a back-to-back series against the Vikes. SFU lost in overtime on Friday but came back to win on Saturday, earning three out of a possible four points.
“It’s tough rink to play [in],” said head coach Mark Coletta on going away to UVic. “Everything is magnified because everything is so close. There’s always goal scoring chances off of every turnover, especially from the blue lines in. It was definitely a counter punch style of hockey, we carried a lot of the play and we took advantage of some breaks.”
In the first game, SFU forced overtime with a goal from Mathew Berry-Lamontagna with less than a minute to go. However, leading scorer Shawn Mueller scored in overtime to give the Vikes the win. The game was the first for SFU played with the new 3 on 3 overtime rules.
The game also marked the return of forward Adam Callegari to the lineup. He didn’t disappoint in his first game back, notching two assists on the first line alongside Brendan Lamont and Scott Patterson.
“You can never bank on chemistry happening with three guys or a line-up,” said Coletta. “But with him, Lamont, and Patterson, the chemistry is just there. There’s something that you try to manufacture as a coaching staff, but it’s a natural process, it just happens. Those three guys have it, and with [him] back, it’s definitely a good line.”
The second game saw SFU down 2–1 after two periods. In the third, the Clan decided to mount a comeback, scoring four unanswered goals to win the game 5–2.
“Coach Spencer and Camazzola knew that we were definitely carrying the play, but the pucks just weren’t going in the net,” said Coletta on the difference between the first two periods and the last. “So we just wanted to come out in the second period with a win and go into the third knowing that we had a chance. That’s all we focused on, one period at a time.”
Both Jordan Liem and Lyndon Stanwood played over the weekend, with Liem in net for Friday’s game and Stanwood Saturday. It’s a rotation that Coletta says will continue in the future.
“I think knowing that we had two weeks with back-to-back games and Stanwood coming off an injury, we want to get him some action,” said Coletta on the decision to split the starts. “Liem could use a little bit of a break, but at the same time, I think them both playing and splitting some games here is a good thing.”
Brandon Tidy played both games on defence once again, and is expected to be there for the near future. Tyler Basham is “a couple weeks away” from returning, while Robson Cramer is “out until after Christmas” and Pavlo Zerebecky is still recovering from offseason surgery.
SFU’s next home game is against Selkirk College on November 26. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
