Former University of Maine football head coach Buddy Teevens, most known for his time as the head coach at Dartmouth College, has died at age 66, following complications suffered in a biking accident in March of this year. 

Along with being a head coach for 30 years, he was well known for his advocacy of concussions and players’ safety. Along with this, he was known for bringing robotic tackling dummies to Dartmouth in order to help make practices safer.

Teevens started his career in football as a quarterback for Dartmouth. After graduating, he would become an assistant coach with DePauw University before becoming the offensive coordinator for Boston University Terriers from 1981 to 1984. In 1985, he was hired as the head coach at UMaine.

In his first season with the Black Bears, he would lead the team to a 6-5 record that was highlighted by defeating the thirteenth-ranked Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 10-7 to end the season. In his second season with UMaine, Teevens would lead the team to a 7-4 record, with the team being ranked 13th in the nation for one week before losing to Teevens former team, Boston University, 26-23, though the team would end the season by knocking off their rivals, eleventh-ranked UNH 14-13.

Following his success at UMaine, Teevens would leave the school to return to his alma mater, Dartmouth, for the first time from 1987 to 1991. After going 2-8 his first year, Dartmouth would have a record 5–5 and 7–2–1 the next two seasons before splitting the Ivy League title with Cornell with a 7-2-1 record and winning the Ivy League outright in 1991 with the same record.

After 1991, Teevens would leave Dartmouth and the FCS level to move up to the FBS level and join Tulane. In his five years there, Tulane would struggle, with Teevens’ final record being 11-45. Though he did not have success, he deserves credit for the 1998 12-0 season Tulane had, as a majority of those players he recruited to the team.

Following Tulane, he would become an assistant coach at Florida before getting a chance to be the head coach at Stanford. His time there did not go well, as he finished with a 10-23 record in three seasons and never beat a team with a winning record. As with everything Teevens did, he handled it with grace and class, even attending the announcement of his firing.

“Unfortunately, it’s a win-loss business and I didn’t win enough ball games,” Teevens said after being fired. “The attitude I have is I do believe I improved the quality of the program. I appreciate the opportunity. When you look back, there are a lot of things that are ‘could have, should have’.”

Three months after being fired from Stanford, Teevens would be rehired by Dartmouth to return, and to say his first few seasons were rough would be an understatement. Teevens won just seven games, including having a 0-10 season in 2008. However, in 2013, Dartmouth would go 6-4, their best record in 13 years and in 2015, would lead the team to their first Ivy League title since 1996 along with winning two more in 2019 and 2021.

In 2023 though, everything changed for the worst. On March 16, 2023, Teevens was hit by a Ford F150 while riding his bicycle after he failed to yield. It was reported that he suffered spinal cord injuries and had to have his right leg amputated. Sadly, he never would fully recover, as he died from the injuries he suffered in the accident on Sept. 19 surrounded by his family.

While Teeven’s tenure here at UMaine might have been a short one, it was the start to a legendary coaching career that impacted so much more than just this school. His work on making football safer will be felt for generations to come, and his legacy as not just a great coach but a great person will never be forgotten.

The University of Maine Black Bears opened their first home game on Friday for the first time since 2021 due to Hurricane Lee, playing against the University of Rhode Island (URI) Rams. While the Black Bears kept it competitive throughout the first half, the Rams proved too much as UMaine was held to just 57 total yards in the second half, resulting in a 34-17 loss.

Entering this game, URI came in as the 21st-ranked team in the nation with a 1-1 record after losing to FBS opponent Georgia State 42-35 but beating Stony Brook last week 35-14. The Black Bears entered with a 0-2 record, though the two losses came against FBS opponent Florida International University and FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.

UMaine started hot. On their first drive in 12 plays, they were able to drive down the field thanks to big runs from first-year running back Tristen Kenan, resulting in Kenan scoring after diving in from eight yards out to take the 7-0 lead. URI responded with a 10-play drive highlighted by seventh-year quarterback Kasim Hill finding fifth-year wide receiver Kahtero Summers on a fade route for 39 yards. However, thanks to Hill overthrowing a wide-open receiver that should have been six, the Black Bear defense was able to hold the Rams to three, making it a 7-3 game.

After forcing UMaine to punt on consecutive drives, URI’s fourth-year running back Gabe Sloat returned a punt for 40 yards after breaking multiple tackles, which two plays later Hill capitalized off of, finding Summers wide open for the 35-yard touchdown, making the score 10-7.

Once again, the Black Bears were forced to punt the ball back to the Rams. However, on the drive’s first play, UMaine’s third-year linebacker Latrell Couchman jarred the ball out of third-year running back Deon Silas’ hands, which third-year defensive lineman Justyn Haynesworth fell on. Thanks to a 21-yard connection to second-year tight end Rohan Jones, Keenan scored his second touchdown of the night, walking in from 15 yards out and regaining the 14-10 lead. 

However, UMaine was called for an excessive celebration after the touchdown, and that, along with a 5-yard penalty for punting the kickoff on a non-safety, forced the Black Bears to kickoff from their own 15 yard-line. This would result in fifth-year defensive back Romello Edwards returning the ball to the Black Bear 42-yard-line. Three plays later, URI made UMaine pay for the costly penalty as Summers scored his second touchdown, this time from 37 yards out after making an impressive catch while being tightly covered, managing to out-run third-year defensive back Alhaji Kamara for the score.

After forcing a three and out, the Rams would receive the ball at the 44 yard-line and would move the ball methodically down the field in eight plays, resulting in fifth-year running back Ja’Den McKenzie scoring from 17 yards out. Right before halftime, UMaine made it a one-score game as fifth-year kicker Cody Williams drilled the 36-yard field goal right down the middle of the uprights, making it a 24-17 game at the break.

In the third quarter, the Black Bears started off well after Summers caught a 40-yard pass from Hill. Two players later, UMaine’s second-year defensive lineman Xavier Holmes sacked Hill, followed by just one play later, third-year defensive back Abdul Stewart intercepted Hill, giving the Black Bears a chance to regain momentum. However, UMaine squandered the opportunity and was held to a three and out, which would be a sign of things to come for the offense in the second half.

From that point forward, it was all Rams. The Black Bears had four chances to stop URI on their next possession on third down and failed three; the last would result in a field goal by first-year kicker Ty Groff. The struggles on third down would highlight a major weakness on defense for UMaine as the Rams would convert 13 of 18 third downs to the Black Bears, pitiful three of 11.

After trading punts, URI forced UMaine to punt for the seventh time of the game to end the third quarter. In the fourth, the Rams were able to chew over four minutes off the clock on a 13-play drive that Sloat capped off with a 10-yard untouched touchdown, making it a 34-17 ball game. The Black Bears had one final opportunity to try and get back into the game as fourth-year quarterback Derek Robertson would lead the offense down to the 19-yard-line. However, one play after converting a third down, Robertson’s pass would be intercepted in the endzone by third-year defensive back Fredrick Mallay, ending the game as well as URI’s 25-year drought of losing in Orono.

After the first half, the offense seemed to vanish, only having two possessions that did not result in a three-and-out. Robertson did not have an impressive night as he completed 20-30 for 164 yards and an interception. Throughout the game, he made multiple questionable decisions and had more than a few passes nearly intercepted. Kenan led the team in rushing for the third consecutive week with 18 carries for 82 yards and two touchdowns. No receiver ran for over 50 yards for the third consecutive week, as there is no clear number-one receiving threat.

UMaine will go on the road next week as they head to Virginia to face off against the College of William and Mary before returning home on Saturday, Sept. 30, to face off against the Stony Brook University Seawolves, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, United States tennis player Coco Gauff became the U.S. Open champion, after upsetting no. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.

At just 19, no. 6 seeded Gauff defeated the Belarusian tennis player in the final two sets after losing the first. This marks just the 10th time this has happened and the first since Serena Williams won it in 1999 at 17 years old.

Gauff has been seen as a tennis prodigy since she was young, first playing when she was 6 years old. At age 13, Gauff started competing in ITF Junior Circuit and immediately went into the highest level Grade A and Grade 1 tournaments. In just her third tournament, she finished as the runner-up Jaimee Fourlis, who is four years older than Gauff.

At 14 years old, she turned pro and debuted in the ITF Women’s Circuit, where she won her first match. One year later, she became the youngest tennis player in history to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw at 15 after defeating Aliona Bolsova and Greet Minnen. She did the impossible in her first main draw, upsetting the seven-time grand slam and five-time Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams. She eventually lost to the eventual champion, Simona Halep, in the fourth round.

In 2021, she qualified for the 2020 Tokoyo Olympics, becoming just the second youngest after Jennifer Capriati. However, Gauff tested positive for COVID-19, forcing her to withdraw from the games. The next year, at the Canadian Open, she and Jennifer Pegula defeated Nicole Melichar and Ellen Perez to win the doubles, placing herself at no. 1 for doubles players.

2023 has proven to be Gauff’s year. She won the WTA Auckland Open in her first open of the season, defeating Rebeka Masarova. Gauff and Pegula successfully defended their doubles title at the Qatar Total Open. In August, she won the Washington Open for her first WTA 500 singles title, and her best was still yet to come.

Entering the U.S. Open as the sixth seed, she opened the tournament by defeating Latvian Jeļena Ostapenko, who, before facing Gauff, stunned the world by defeating the reigning U.S. Open champion Iga Świątek. After defeating Ostapenko, Gauff defeated Karolína Muchová, setting up the matchup against Gauff and no. 2 seeded Sabalenka.

In the opening set of the championship, which lasted 40 minutes, Gauff struggled throughout it and lost 2-6. In the last 28 U.S. Opens, 27 times the person who won the opening set has won the entire open, so the odds were more than stacked against her. But even with the numbers against her, she would take set two, setting up match three as the decider.

In match three, Gauff immediately took an early 4-0 lead, and while Sabalenka made a comeback by winning two sets, it was not enough as after over two hours, Gauff defeated Sabalenka for the title. The deciding factor ended up being unforced errors, as Sabalenka had 46 compared to Gauff’s 19.

After defeating Sabalenka, Gauff immediately collapsed to the ground and covered her face with her hands, overcome with emotion for what she had just pulled off.

“I’m just feeling happiness and a very, very small bit of relief,” Gauff said. “Because honestly at this point, I was doing it for myself and not for other people. I know how to keep my peace but also embrace all of this around me.”

With her win at the U.S. Open, Gauff continues to build her impressive resume, now having eight WTA double wins and six WTA Tour singles titles. At just 19, the sky is truly the limit for what she could accomplish in her career.

On Sept. 22, 2022, the MLB announced a new rule that the following season, in 2023 that they would be implementing a new mechanic, the pitch clock, in an attempt to cut down game time.

How the pitch clock works is when there is no batter on bases, the pitcher has 15 seconds between pitches once they receive the ball from the catcher, and while there is a runner on base, they have 20 seconds per pitch. If a pitcher fails to get a pitch off within the time frame, a ball will be awarded to the hitter. While at it, the batter also has a timer being seven seconds to get into a stance. Otherwise, a strike is called.

The main reason behind the rule addition has very little to do with the on-field product and more to do with the run time of games. During the 2022 regular season, the average game lasts three and a half hours. During that same year, the minor leagues implemented this rule the games were shortened by 26 minutes.

On opening day alone, there were 14 called pitch clock violations in the 15 games played, more than likely due to the adjustment. Interestingly enough, stolen bases were up drastically on the same day, winning 21 out of 23 attempts compared to five out of nine from last season. This will be an interesting correlation to watch moving forward.

It took all of one day for the first pitch clock violation to occur when in the third inning of the Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers opening day matchup, Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman was called for a pitch clock violation at the top of third while facing Christian Yelich as he was distracted by the runner on second Brice Turang. The violation did not affect anything as Chicago rolled to a 4-0 win.

While Stroman’s violation did not have much impact, the same could not be said for Boston Red Sox star third-baseman Rafael Devers, who became the first player in history to ever strike out due to the pitch clock after hitting a foul ball into the outfield against the Baltimore Orioles in their 10-9 loss. However, this would not escape controversy as Devers was in the box but was not looking at the pitcher and was called out.

But like any rule, there will be controversy, as we saw recently with Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger being called for one during his first at-bat back in Los Angeles, where he was a main contributor to their 2020 World Series win. At his first bat, the fans gave him a standing ovation though the moment ended when he was called for a violation.

From opening day onward, baseball has seen a drastic change in the length of games as opening day averaged two hours and 45 minutes, down from the three hours and 11 minutes from last year. So while the MLB has gotten exactly what they wanted out of the rule change, one could argue that the umpires should be more lenient on the clock so the Bellinger incident does not happen again, but that is for the executives to decide.

There have been 29 Summer and 24 Winter Olympic games in modern history. There is one, however, that is not in the history books. On April 22, 1906, the first and only Intercalated Games opening ceremony was held in Athens, Greece. Even though medals were handed out and acted as any other Olympics, none of them are recognized by the Olympic Committee.

These games were held due to a deal made between the Committee, as Greece wanted the Olympics to stay in Athens after the original 1896 games. However, it was decided the 1900 Olympics would be held in Paris, followed by the 1904 Games in St. Louis. In 1901, though, the Committee decided to hold the Intercalated games every two years in Athens.

These Games would be the first to have a similar opening ceremony to the ones we see today, with countries marching out with a flag bearer for the first time. However, there was a Torch Relay which was first introduced in the 1936 Berlin Games. These games were also the first to host a closing ceremony. There were 854 athletes who competed, 848 of those being men and six being women.

Within the 20 countries that competed, there was no debate on what country was strongest as France bagged 40 total medals. The mark was nearly twice the amount the second-highest country had, those being 15 gold, nine silver and 16 bronze. Fencing was their top sport, led by Georges Dillon-Kavanagh in fencing, who won two gold medals in Individual foil and Team épée and silver in Individual épée. Max Decugis won three gold medals in tennis for the country in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

The United States tied for third in medals but second for gold with 12 out of their 24. The country did their most work on track and field, winning all but one of their medals in these events. Martin Sheridan was the country’s most impressive performer winning two golds in the discus throw and shot put along with three silvers in the standing high jump and stone throw (now known as discus throw.) Ray Ewry defended his golds in both long and high jump for the third straight games and did so again in the 1908 London Olympics. Paul Pilgrim would win both the 400 and 600-meter races, a feat that would not be repeated until the 1976 Montreal Olympics by Alberto Juantorena.

The home country was second for most medals, with 34, including eight gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze. Shooting was their top sport, with eight medals though only one person, Aristides Rangavis, won more than one medal with two bronze medals in 25-meter rapid fire pistol and 50-meter pistol. Nikolaos Georgantas had the most medals of any athlete from Greece with three, with one gold in stone throw and two in discus throw.

Other notable moments included Finland making their first Olympic debuts and winning their first gold medal in the Discus Greek Style event by Verner Järvinen. Ireland’s Peter O’Connor won silver in the long jump, though it was protested by the British team. Even in protest, O’Connor would climb the pole and hold his country’s flag to a roaring crowd.

Though the Intercalated Games were supposed to be held again in 1910, it never happened due largely to tensions in the Balkans, and it was too soon to host another game however it was World War 1, starting in 1914, that marked the end of the Intercalated Games. In 2010, Greece was supposed to host another off-season Olympics but failed to make the deadline, officially ending the dream.

Though it ended up not lasting more than one year, it may have saved the Olympic Games as it brought attention that was needed after the 1900 games were overshadowed by the World’s Fair in Paris and St. Louis. Due to its short run of two weeks, it brought more attention back; without it, the Olympics might not be here today.

For the first time in program history, the Quinnipiac University Bobcats are the NCAA Division 1 men’s hockey national champions after upsetting top-ranked University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-2 just 10 seconds into overtime when second-year forward Jacob Quillan scored off the puck drop for a thrilling ending to an all-time great game.

The Golden Gophers entered the championship as the favorites finishing the regular season 29-10-1 with very little issue getting to the championship coming off of a 6-2 victory over the Boston University Terriers.

The Bobcats finished the regular season with a 34-3-3. While they were not the top seed, the Bobcats sure played like it in the Frozen Four, knocking off the team who upset Minnesota in the Big 10 championship 6-2.

It was the Golden Gophers who struck first six minutes into the first when first-year forward Connor Kurth stole the puck on a clearing attempt from Quinnipiac and circled back behind the net, where he found fellow first-year forward John Mittelstadt, whose shot while falling down got in the net for the 1-0 lead entering the second.

Less than five minutes gone in the second, the Golden Gophers struck once more. After winning the face-off, third-year defenseman Brock Faber shot from just inside the blue line and was off, but fourth-year forward Jaxon Nelson was right there to put the puck in, extending the lead to two.

While it seemed like Minnesota might run away with it, Quinnipiac was not about to go down without a fight. Just three minutes after Nelson’s goal, the Bobcats answered back when grad student defenseman Zach Metsa found second-year forward Christophe Tellier low for the chip shot goal making the score 2-1 entering the third period.

In the third, the Golden Gophers held strong defensively throughout almost the whole quarter. Still, with just under three minutes left, the worst-case scenario happened for Minnesota as with no goalie in the goal, Minnesota would get called for a controversial penalty giving the Bobcats a 6-4 numbers advantage that they took advantage of when Metsa found second-year forward Collin Graf in the left face-off circle, tying the game at two and heading into overtime with Quinnipiac holding all the momentum and setting up the heartbreak that was about to ensue.

In overtime, Metsa won a faceoff and found first-year forward Sam Lipkin on a 2-1 advantage opportunity which they would capitalize on. Lipkin found Quillan, who juked out Minnesota’s fourth-year goalie Justen Close, sneaking the puck past him for a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss for the Golden Gophers. Quillan wound up winning the tournament MVP due to the goal.

Close played tremendously for Minnesota, saving many clutch shots while finishing the game and going 24-27 while coming up clutch for the Golden Gophers time and time again until unlucky circumstances made it all for nothing. Second-year goaltender Yaniv Perets was not great for the Bobcats as he saw just 13 shots all game surrendering two goals, though he clamped down in the second.

Where Quinnipiac really got the best of Minnesota was on faceoffs, completely owning them 34-23, where Quillan won, leading the team going 12-6, proving to be the difference in this one. 

Next year, both teams figure to be top contenders once more, and this matchup is one we may see again potentially in the playoffs. But as hockey goes, expect the unexpected as with any team catching momentum at the right time, anyone can win.

In their home opening series, the University of Maine Black Bears faced off against the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks on March 31 and April 1. Though the River Hawks played competitively it was the Black Bears who won all three games 9-3, 9-8 and 6-3, giving the team their first 6-0 start to conference play since 2012.

UMaine entered the series sitting at 9-11 though they were 3-0 in conference play and on a two-game win streak. On the other hand, UMass has struggled this year, entering the series at 4-17 with a 0-3 conference record.

Due to the Sunday game getting canceled, Friday turned into a doubleheader, with the first game being a seven-inning match. The Black Bears got going after fourth-year utility player Jake Rainess drew a walk with the bases loaded, bringing third-year outfielder Colin Plante home. This would just be the beginning, however, as following Plante’s run, third-year second baseman Quinn McDaniel drove home two runs on an RBI single. Second-year first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins followed up by doing the same on a two-RBI single of his own. Jenkins then reached home thanks to an error from third-year shortstop Fritz Genther, making it six runs scored in just the second inning with the score 6-0 after two.

UMaine struck once more in the fifth when fifth-year third baseman Dylan McNary hit a triple, scoring fourth-year catcher Ryan Turenne. McNary scored off a single from Rainess. After a wild pitch, Rainess came home thanks to a sac fly making it 9-0 after five. While the River Hawks scored three runs in the seventh inning, they never posed a serious threat as the Black Bears won 9-3.

Photo by Liv Schanck

Second-year pitcher Colin Fitzgerald (1-0) picked up the win as he nearly pitched a full-game shutout until the final inning. River Hawks ace, fifth-year pitcher Matt Draper (1-4), struggled for the Falcons as he gave up eight runs throughout five innings.

In game two, UMass scored first in the second when Genther hit a fair ball right down the right-field line for a triple. Genther got home after fifth-year outfielder Gerry Siracusa’s chopper to second was mishandled and resulted in a throwing error, giving UMass a 1-0 lead that would not last long.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Black Bear offense exploded, scoring eight runs with two outs. First-year catcher Dean O’Neill got the scoring going as he sent the ball into center field, resulting in an RBI triple and bringing two runs in. Two batters later, McNary hammered a three-run home run into center field, bringing the lead to six. UMaine scored their final runs of the inning when fourth-year infielder Connor Goodman’s double to the left corner made the score 8-1.

UMass was not about to go down quietly, though, as they started to chip away at the deficit in the fifth. Second-year outfielder Alex Luccini scored first as he hit a triple, bringing second-year outfielder Jacob Humphrey home. Two batters later, the River Hawks struck again as fifth-year outfielder Siracusa’s single brought Genther home, making it an 8-3 game heading into the sixth.

In the sixth, the Black Bears’ bullpen inconsistencies showed. After the starter second-year Caleb Leys was pulled, everything went downhill. Second-year relief pitcher Ryan Scott walked his first two batters and was pulled in favor of first-year Blaine Cockburn. The quick hook became costly as he surrendered three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, tying the game at eight.

Photo by Liv Schanck

In the bottom of the eighth, the Black Bear offense came through when Jenkins’s single got to deep left field, allowing Rainess to score from second, regaining the lead. At the top of the eighth, fifth-year closer Justin Baeyens (1-1) came in and pitched two full innings. He allowed just one hit and no runs, crucially contributing to a win for UMaine.

Leys (1-0) pitched five innings while allowing three runs, four hits, and four walks. First-year pitcher Jacob Jette (1-2) pitched three innings but gave up eight runs on six hits to just four strikeouts.

Saturday started right where Friday left off for the Black Bears as in the bottom of the first, Jenkins hammered a two-run home run into center field, giving the Black Bears a two-run lead. The River Hawks would score their first in the third as Luccini’s single made it a one-score game.

In the fifth, UMass tied the game at two when Siracusa’s single brought second-year outfielder Conor Kelly home. This would be followed by both teams trading runs, starting with UMaine as McDaniel hit a solo home run to center field that the River Hawks matched in the sixth with fourth-year catcher Ryan Proto’s double to left field.

In the bottom of the sixth, second-year Black Bears infielder Myles Sargent retook the lead as his line drive stayed fair down the right-field line, bringing Plante home. Soon after, Sargent was brought home when McNary hit a two-run home run to center field, bringing the Black Bears’ lead to three where they were able to put the game away from there.

Third-year pitcher Noah Lewis (3-1) picked up the win, pitching eight innings and allowing three runs on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Second-year pitcher Andrew Chevarie picked up his first save in the ninth inning. First-year pitcher Michael Simes (0-2) picked up the loss in relief duty.

UMaine will stay home this weekend as they face off against the University of Albany Great Danes April 7 to 9.

On Sept. 30, 2022, EA Sports released their 29th game, FIFA 23. Even though the game sold 10.6 million copies in the first week of its release, a record-breaking quantity, this is unfortunately not going to change the fact that this be the last game produced under EA Sports as they end their contract with FIFA.

Although EA ended its partnership with FIFA, this will not be the final soccer game they will make. They announced a new game, which will come out in late 2023. In a blog post, they announced the game would consist of over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums and 30 leagues. 

Last month, it was announced that EA was buying the rights to the Premier League for around £488 million, or $588 million. Along with purchasing the rights, EA Sports FC will acquire access to all 20 teams, players and apparel through the 2022 to 2023 season. 

While the split marks the end of the EA-FIFA, it is not the end of FIFA Games, as they have vowed to make their own separate game away from EA though no news has come out about it. However, with EA partnership deals in place, we may see a return to what FIFA was before the deals were made. Going forward will not be able to use the names and teams as those would belong to EA.

FIFA Games started in 1993 with the release of FIFA International Soccer on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Unlike FIFA 23, which features leagues from all over the world, FIFA International was completely different as the game featured 76 international teams while not having any actual players in the game. The following year saw the company introduce club teams within eight of the national leagues, those being Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Netherlands and the United States.

It was not until FIFA Soccer 96 that the game started using real players though only some of the teams’ real players, such as the team U.S. was still made up of fake players. 

FIFA 23 was met with mixed reviews. Metacritic critics review the game favorably, with a rating of 70 out of 100, many calling the game an improvement and a step in the right direction.  The same can not be said for the users. The user rating was 2.2 out of 10 with over 200 reviews, even lower than it was in 2022 when it was rated 2.6. The main gripes of the game were people calling it out for the few changes that were made since the last product. Even though it was one of the most profitable in the history of FIFA, it is clear that many who bought the game did not have a favorable experience with it.

EA Sports FC is set to release around the same time the FIFA games tend to be released, around the end of September or the beginning of October 2023. With the new games and branding, many fans are hoping the remodeled game will be different and play better.

During his 20 years in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky has been able to both hold and share a staggering 61 records on his way to becoming one of the greatest hockey player of all time. These records include the most goals in a season with 92 and the most assists in a season with 163. 

One record that was considered to be unbreakable for the longest time was Gretzky’s record of 894 goals in a career. The reason it was viewed by many as unbreakable was because of the way the defense has changed in hockey. During Gretzky’s time, NHL teams scored an average of 3.40 goals scored per game, with the highest at 3.95 and the lowest being 2.53 in the 1996 to 1997 season. Throughout his career, Gretzky racked up 2857 career points, being the only player in NHL history to score over 2000 points with the next closest being NHL ironman Jaromir Jagr at 1921 points.

Another record deemed to be unbreakable is Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals scored in the league with less scoring and much stronger goalies’ defenses. The thought of someone even coming close seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. However, as impossible as it seems, there is a legitimate challenger to the record by the name of Alex Ovechkin.

Throughout his 17 seasons in the NHL, Ovechkin has proven to be one of if not the most dominant goal-scorers in NHL history. With his signature power play that is near unstoppable, Ovechkin has racked up impressive numbers considering all the adversity he has had to go through. 

In his rookie year, the 2004-05 lockout happened, canceling the entire season and making this the second time in NHL history that the Stanley Cup was not awarded. The only other time was in 1919 due to the Spanish Flu pandemic. Along with the rest of the world hockey had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the second half of the NHL season until the playoffs. Even this season, Ovechkin missed time due to his father’s sudden passing, causing him to miss four games this season.

Even through all this adversity, it has not slowed down Ovechkin in the slightest from chasing Gretzky for the goal record. On Feb. 20, 2020, in 15 seasons, he broke the 700 career-goal mark, and in December of this season, Ovechkin passed the 800 mark along with passing Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, for second all-time in goals scored with 802. 

On March 21, 2023, Ovechkin passed one of Gretzky’s milestones by breaking the record for most 40-goal seasons in a career with 13. If he is able to score 50 this season, he will break the record for most seasons with 50 goals as he is currently tied with Gretzky and the late New York Islander star Mike Bossy.

As it stands right now, Ovechkin has 821 goals all time and is 73 away from making the impossible a reality. To put into perspective the number of goals he has scored in this era, the next closest active player is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Sidney Crosby, who has played the same number of seasons as Ovechkin has, 544. As unlikely as it seems, Ovechkin may very well be two seasons away from breaking a record that was once considered to be unbreakable.

Cricket is a sport with around 2.5 billion fans globally, second only to soccer. One place it is popular is India, where for the first time in history, it ranks No. 1 in the world. One player who has shaped the sport is first baseman Sunil Gavaskar, widely regarded as one of the best opening batsmen in history and India’s best player. 

Gavaskar was born on July 10, 1949 in Bombay, India, now known as Mumbai. He was named India’s Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the year in 1966 and joined the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Colts XI in the same year. In the same year, he joined the Bombay team. In the 1968 to 1969 season, Gavaskar played for St. Xavier’s College and made his debut, but made a duck, which is when a batsman fails to score a goal. He responded by scoring 114 against Rajasthan in his second match, earning him a spot on the 1970 to 1971 Indian team to tour the West Indies.

India’s national cricket team played their first Test match, which is a match between two separate countries, in 1932, as they became the sixth country to get granted Test status. However, they struggled when they first started out as they did not win a single Test match until 1952, when they defeated England by eight runs, nearly 20 years after they played their first Test. Even after winning their first match, they struggled consistently, being one of the bottom teams and winning just 36 of their 196 Test matches. Things were about to change for the better, though, and quickly.

In his first-ever Test match from March 6 to 10, 1971, Gavaskar quickly made a name for himself. While it may have been his first Test match, he did not play like it for eight innings. He scored 774 runs in total, which to this day is the most ever scored in a Test debut. In four of those eight innings he scored over 100 with an average of 154.8, including scoring 220 runs in one inning alone. Gavaskar went from a no-name to a star almost overnight.

While most cricket players stand around 5-foot-9, Gavaskar is only 5-foot-5. However, this turned out to be an advantage as he dominated short-pitched bowling as well as fast bowling.

Throughout his career Gavaskar set numerous records, including being the first-ever Test cricket player to score over 10,000 runs, the highest number of Test 100s with 34 before fellow Indian Sachin Tendulkar broke it in 2005. He held the record for the highest number of Test runs in a career with 10,122 for nine years and 105 days before Australia’s Allan Border broke it. He became the first-ever Indian player to reach 100 catches, with 108 in his career.

Alongside his numerous stats, Gavaskar won 34 Tests and became the first-ever Test player to play in 100 consecutive Tests. Back in his home country, for his team Bombay, he won 20 Ranji trophies, three Irani cups and six Duleep trophies. In 2009, he was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame.

Gavaskars’ impact on the sport did not just come from the pitch. Alongside Kapil Dev and Gundappa Viswanath, he helped shape India into a cricket powerhouse and was able to inspire countless Indians in the next generation of players, including Tendulkar, to carry on what he started all those years ago. If it was not for Gavaskar, Dev and Viswanath, cricket in India would not be where it is today.