The Western athletes of the 2015-16 school year have had a historically successful year, and for the first time in the school’s history, the men took home the GNAC Men’s All-Sport Championship. The honor is awarded at the end of each year to a school in the conference that demonstrates excellence throughout all three athletic seasons.
Never has a kick to the family jewels been more scrutinized than Draymond Green’s karate kick to the midsection of seven-footer Steven Adams.
After the Portland Trail Blazers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, it became clear that the Blazers are still one or two players away from becoming a championship caliber team.
It is safe to say that the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays loathe each other. The two teams’ animosity for the other has been simmering since last year’s American League Playoff Series when Toronto outfielder, Jose Bautista, crushed a late game home run and threw his bat in celebration, a move which Rangers’ players and coaches deemed to be excessive and classless.
The Western Oregon baseball team has been a perennial powerhouse in the GNAC for over a decade, winning 13 consecutive GNAC titles. The trophy case in the New P.E. Building is loaded with hardware as a testament to their success
Almost everyone can appreciate an underdog story in sports, whether it is a Cinderella team who defies all odds to upset the heavy favorite or a team that comes back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to shock the world. On May 2, Leicester City F.C. pulled off one of the craziest upsets in sports history when they were crowned champions of the Barclays Premier League.
When Johnny Manziel was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland fans celebrated like they had won the Super Bowl. Cleveland fans had good reason to be excited; Manziel electrified the college football world in his rookie season, becoming the first rookie quarterback in college football history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards on his way to becoming the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.
Western’s softball team found their groove at the right time, finishing out the season with a string of victories that propelled them into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships as the No. 2 seed. For the Wolves, every facet of the game seemed to be clicking: their pitching, offense, and defense.
It has been a little over five months since Western’s football team played their last game of the season. For fans and players alike, the offseason can be a difficult time, dealing with the symptoms of football withdrawals. Sure, one can find enjoyment in other sports, but there is nothing like the drama and excitement that a weekend football game provides.
Laremy Tunsil had a bad week. In a manner of minutes, the NFL prospect watched millions of dollars blow away in a cloud of smoke, literally and figuratively.
WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
345 Monmouth Ave. N.
Monmouth OR 97361
503-838-8000 | 1-877-877-1593