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Articles by Drew Kushnir
Network or Net Worth? Gabe Ravetz ’23 Looks to Help Student Athletes Find NIL Opportunities
In the fall, The Argus reported on the NCAA policy change which allowed student athletes to receive compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL). One Wesleyan student-athlete has been raising awareness of these new opportunities among athletes of all levels.
Humiliation on Ice: A Dark End to a Sinister Winter Games
c/o Chang W. Lee, The New York Times On Thursday, Feb. 17, the international community publicly humiliated a 15-year-old girl. Under the bright lights of the women’s individual free skating event, Russian skater Kamila Valieva failed to medal after coming into the evening as the favorite to take home the gold. After a performance marred by stumbles and near-falls, Valieva was visibly distraught as she skated off the ice.
NBA Trade Deadline Recap: Unpacking Pro Basketball’s Silly Season
As the clock struck 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10, the NBA’s “silly season” of trades came to a close. The league’s trade deadline is a key transition point each year, marking the last chance for good teams to improve ahead of the playoffs, for bad teams to begin their rebuilds before the off-season, and for everyone in between to manage salary cap space. Like every year in recent memory, Thursday’s deadline attracted more fan and media attention than the actual basketball being played this month.
In MLB Lockout, Owners and Players Clash as Fans Are Left Out to Dry
c/o Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images Major League Baseball (MLB) has once again fallen flat on its face due to a crisis of its own making. On Dec. 2, the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which governs the league’s relationship with the player’s union, the Major League Baseball Players Association, expired. As a result, the league, representing the owners of its 30 franchises, imposed a lockout, effectively barring any contact between teams and players until a new CBA is negotiated.
Up Next in Wes Athletics: Winter Season Preview
This week marks the start of the winter season for various sports—two weeks early, due to the loss of the season last winter. For many teams, this is the first official competition season since March 2020. As the seasons begin, keep an eye out for these upcoming games and rivalries. Swimming & Diving The swim team dives into the season on Nov. 20 with a home meet against Bates College and Wheaton College.
Making Waves: Ned Herrington ’22 Talks World Championship Regatta Win
Students coming to Wesleyan can anticipate plenty of opportunities. Taking advantage of the open curriculum? Joining clubs? Working on research projects? All reasonable expectations. But leaving school for a few days to win a world championship sailing race in the Caribbean? That’s not something you see every day.
University Resumes Fall Athletic Competition Following COVID-19 Hiatus
c/o Ava Nederlander, Photo Editor At this time last year, the fields were withered, the courts were closed, and students were confined to their rooms observing a 14-day quarantine. Now, however, a much more optimistic feeling is in the air above Andrus Field. The men’s soccer team’s 2–0 victory over Emerson College on September 7 marked the University’s first intercollegiate fall athletic competition since autumn of 2019.
After Challenging Season, Women’s Lacrosse Falls to Tufts in NESCAC Championship
c/o Rachel Morrow, Staff Photographer In a turbulent season that featured its fair share of highs and lows, women’s lacrosse’s underdog story drew to a disappointing close on May 1st, with the Cardinals falling to Tufts in the NESCAC championship game by a score of 14–3. Prior to the dispiriting loss, the team had been on a steady upward trajectory, overcoming a limited roster and an early season loss against no.12 ranked Colby to rise to the top of the NESCAC West Division.
Amid Pandemic, Spring Sports Return with Robust Testing Procedures
c/o Alexandra Turtil, Staff Photographer On March 9, the University announced its intention to allow limited competition against other NESCAC institutions for its spring athletic teams, with games set to begin in early April. The decision marked the first time in over a year that the University has scheduled intercollegiate games, following the cancellations of the Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and Winter 2020-2021 athletic seasons.
Calm, Campus, and Coffee: Finding Inner Peace at Wesleyan’s Cafes
I arrived on campus for the start of this academic year as a walking contradiction: When I first walked into my High Rise, I had both zero expectations for the upcoming school year and a laundry list of wishes, anxieties, and unresolved goals from the anticlimactic end of my sophomore year.
Writers Reflect: Argus Sports Staff Remembers Favorite Live Games
It’s been almost a year since the now infamous Rudy Gobert interview, and the world has yet to return to a place where live sports with full stadiums are safe. However, with the U.S. making progress on vaccine distribution, it may not be too long before we can all return to the stands again. The Argus sports staff took a moment to reflect on our favorite moments from watching sports throughout our lives.
NBA Ignores Science and Safety with In-Person All-Star Weekend
There are few people in the world who would suggest that the National Football League (NFL) is a role model for corporate social responsibility, but the NFL made an uncharacteristically prudent decision in deciding not to hold an in-person Pro Bowl last December.
Student Athletic Advisory Council Letter Sparks Campus Controversy
c/o Henry Weed, Staff Photographer The University’s Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC), a group that represents student-athletes in conversations with University administration, released a letter on Jan. 23 requesting that intercollegiate play be resumed for the spring athletic season. Addressed to President Michael Roth ’78 and other NESCAC officials but shared on the SAAC Instagram account, the letter immediately sparked significant controversy.
Is Tom Brady the GOAT? Argus Sports Writers React to Super Bowl LV
On a Super Bowl Sunday for which communal bowls of guacamole or cheering crowds would have been a health hazard, Wesleyan students on campus watched the big game in the mandated quarantine period, and students off-campus likely watched while observing social distancing guidelines. In celebration of Super Bowl LV this past weekend, Argus Sports writers and editors shared their reactions to the face-off between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Disaster in Charlotte and an Arms Race in LA: NBA Free Agency Recap
With the NBA quickly rushing through the offseason in order to begin playing once again on December 22, NBA fans were fortunate enough to be treated to a whirlwind offseason, despite a noticeable lack of superstar-level talent on the open market. Last year, players as talented as Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant all changed teams via free agency; this year, perhaps the most desirable player to switch sides is new Houston Rockets big man Christian Wood.
NBA Draft Recap: Analysis Of The First Ten Picks
One of the first sporting events since the beginning of the pandemic was the NFL draft in mid-April. For sports fans, it was a glorious return to some type of normality. Now, seven months later, fans get to enjoy an event that usually takes place well before the school year: the NBA draft. As a result of not qualifying for the seeding games and playoffs that took place in Orlando, the teams picking at the top of the draft have had since March to scout this current crop of top prospects.
A Deep Dive into the Watery World of Wesleyan Water Polo
Note: This photograph was taken before the COVID-19 Pandemic c/o Dominique Monserrat To the untrained eye, the University has been on an unprecedented run of athletic success since the latter half of the last decade, with men’s lacrosse and women’s tennis winning Division III national championships in the spring of 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The Era of the Nonpolitical Athlete Is Over
Thirty years ago from today, on Nov. 6, 1990, the North Carolina Senate election drew to a close. On one side was Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt, a Democrat who was poised to become the first Black senator since reconstruction. His opponent was GOP incumbent Jesse Helms, a former segregationist and opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Sabermetrics Takes on Halloween
It’s spooky season in Middletown, and that means that it’s time for some in-depth analysis of some of the most iconic sports scenes in famous monster movies from “Teen Wolf” to “Twilight.” For us Sports Editors, this has been the most game action we have seen in a while, so we were excited to share our in-depth analysis with you. Teen Wolf Like many high school basketball teams, the Beavers are not particularly talented.
Halloween in the NESCAC; Ranking the Scariest Mascots
The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is known to host the fiercest athletic competition in the parts of New England where people don’t live, so naturally, each institution has a vested interest in trotting out as intimidating a mascot as possible. Unfortunately, some of these schools may have gone just a little too far in designing costumes that strike fear into the hearts of liberal arts students.
NESCAC and Wesleyan Announce Cancellation of Winter Sports Season
c/o Gemmarosa Ryan, Staff Photographer The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Presidents announced the cancellation of all conference competition for the winter season, including championships on Thursday, Oct. 8. The University elaborated on its individual plans for winter sports in an all-campus email on Oct. 12, with Provost Nicole Stanton and Athletics Director Mike Whalen announcing the suspension of all intercollegiate play for at least another season.
Return of the King: Lakers, Heat Meet in NBA Finals
The storylines that began this NBA season now seem like quaint daydreams. Fans imagined tense clashes over the soul of Los Angeles basketball, prepared themselves for the upcoming entrance of rookie phenom Zion Williamson, and speculated over the economic impacts of the league’s frayed relationship with China. Now, however, after nearly a full calendar year, the most tumultuous season in living memory finally is drawing to a close. The NBA Finals began on Sept.
Return of the King: Lakers, Heat Meet in NBA Finals
The storylines that began this NBA season now seem like quaint daydreams. Fans imagined tense clashes over the soul of Los Angeles basketball, prepared themselves for the upcoming entrance of rookie phenom Zion Williamson, and speculated over the economic impacts of the league’s frayed relationship with China. Now, however, after nearly a full calendar year, the most tumultuous season in living memory finally is drawing to a close. The NBA Finals began on Sept.
Voices in Sports: A Conversation with Audrey McMahon ’22
Audrey McMahon ’22 is used to leading and inspiring her teammates on the ice; after all, she led the women’s hockey team in goals and points last season. This year, however, she’s hoping that she can help her fellow student-athletes translate their energy on the field, court, or rink into energy at the ballot box. McMahon is Wesleyan’s resident ambassador for Voice in Sport (VIS), a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to supporting women athletes.
WesCeleb: Lucine Poturyan
As the Class of 2020 mourns the loss of their Senior Spring and spends time in social isolation rather than celebrating with champagne, The Argus remains committed to highlighting the accomplishments of those graduating during this frightening and uncertain time. To do so, we will keep publishing WesCelebs, and we are continuing to take nominations. Nominate on, and we’ll continue to confer members of the Class of 2020 to eternal Argus glory.
The Week When Sports Went Away
On the night of March 11, I was sitting on the couch with my dad watching basketball, a ritual I had practiced thousands of times throughout the first twenty years of my life. We were watching a game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets, highlighted by a 31-point outburst by 7’4’’ role player Boban Marjanivić.
NESCAC Presidents Announce Cancellation of Spring 2020 Athletic Season
NESCAC presidents announced this morning that they had unanimously decided to cancel conference competition this spring due to the threat posed by the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, according to the NESCAC’s official website. As a result, Wesleyan’s 12 spring sports teams will have the entirety of their in-conference slate removed, making it all but certain that Wesleyan will not compete in intercollegiate play at all this spring.
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Dominates Wesleyan Invitational
Track and field didn’t have to travel far for their latest competition on Feb. 1, as the Cardinals hosted small colleges from across New England at the Wesleyan Invitational in Middletown.
Track Defeated in Little Three Championship, but Rebounds in Invitational Slate
c/o athletics.wesleyan.edu Track and Field may have opened their winter season in December, but it wasn’t until this month that the team’s pace shifted from a trot to a full sprint. The Cardinals have competed in three tournaments so far this January, hosting the Little Three Championship before traveling to Smith College on Jan. 18. The Cards then journeyed up north to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Jan. 25.
Inside a Public Trade Tirade: Jimmy Butler Vs. Minnesota’s Front Office
Last month, Minnesota Timberwolves star guard/forward Jimmy Butler requested a trade from the team, preferably to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, or Miami Heat. Butler’s request came during a two-year stretch of remarkable star movement; of the 24 players to make the 2017 All-Star game, exactly half are now on different teams. As a result, Butler’s demand in itself isn’t that remarkable.
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