A no-hitter is one of the two most incredible feats a pitcher can accomplish, second to only a perfect game. A no-hitter is when a pitcher allows no runners to reach safely on a hit. They may allow a walk, a hit batter, or even an error, but the pitcher must retire 27 batters without allowing a hit. It is improbable, to the point of being impossible.
Read moreCovenant's Year in Sports
It's crazy to think that we are nearing the end of this academic year. When we first arrived at school, we had to deal with a lot of unknowns as we didn't know the impact that COVID-19 would have on our lives. While we did suffer some scares and struggles along the way, we were blessed with the ability to stay at school. Alongside these blessings, we were able to play sports.
Sports Begin Their Return to Normalcy
On March 12, 2020, the world as we knew it ground to a halt. Schools were canceled, games were delayed, and everybody retreated into their homes for what they thought would be a two-week quarantine. Perhaps most jarring on that Thursday afternoon was the cancellation of March Madness, the popular college basketball tournament that dominates sports through March and early April. It’s an annual staple, almost a holiday, and its presence was sorely missed.
Read moreThe Return of the Champions: Intramural Outdoor Volleyball
The legacy of my intramural volleyball team began in the spring of 2018. I was a decently sought after recruit, but I wasn’t sure which team I would sign on with. On the one hand, I could join my brother Jacob Castillo ’19 and roommate Zac Mcdonald ’20 team. They had height and strength, but part of me wanted to take my talents elsewhere. However, while some offers came through from other teams, none were as good as the first.
Read moreBagpipes and Pickle Juice: Ultimate Frisbee at Covenant College
The ultimate frisbee club at Covenant, run by co-captains Luke Cary ’21 and Luke Ragan ’21, is, like ultimate culture, quirky and slightly insane. Yet there is a place for everyone on the team, no matter their skill level or experience. Cary, a junior who helped start the club, spoke to The Bagpipe about the ultimate frisbee scene at Covenant and its development during his time here. According to Cary, he and Ragan grew up in the same neighborhood and played on the same high school ultimate team. Both have had a life-long love for the game, so when they came to Covenant, they were both eager to see what the ultimate scene at Covenant was like.
Victory is Forever: A Paintball Adventure with the Outdoor's Club
There I was--hiding behind a tree with paintballs flying by on either side of me, and trying to shrink my large frame as small as possible, only to end up getting shot all over my body.
Abroad in Mexico: A Covenant Climber Takes on the Cliffs of Chico Canyon
I recently took a trip to El Potrero Chico, Mexico, for some world-class, multi-pitch sport climbing. This trip prompted me to ask what made rock climbing and other ‘extreme’ sports so unique. The simple answer is that through rock climbing, I’ve pushed myself to the limit in multiple ways that I’ve never experienced in any other activity.
Read moreBack on Track: Covenant Athletics to Compete in Spring Sports Season
With much excitement and anticipation, athletes returned to Covenant this spring semester with the promise of competition at last. Due to COVID-19, fall sports seasons were postponed until this semester. While the opportunity to play again brings much joy to athletes, coaches and fans, there are now a total of 14 teams trying to practice in Covenant College’s facilities.
JV Sports Cancelled Due to COVID-19
The JV season for this year has been canceled, while it appears that the varsity team will still play during the spring semester.
Josh Jacob's Improbable Run to the Las Vegas Raiders
For a vast majority of people, sports are just games, something to pass the time. Then there are those who love the game and put sweat and tears into proving that. But there also lies a tiny group of people outside of this, for whom sports transcend the notion of simply being a game and cement themselves as their only reality. For players like Josh Jacobs, sports become not only their outlet but also their lives.
Covenant's Pickup Soccer Community
Clubs, organizations, events, meetings, hall culture—all aspects of life at Covenant College that knit the students together. However, one group is driven by the sheer desire to play the most globally unifying sport to ever exist: soccer.
Read moreCOVID-19's Encompassing Impact on Sports
On March 11, it was seemingly just another normal Wednesday night for over a million people who habitually watch NBA games. The stage was set for the Utah Jazz to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The arena was packed with fans standing shoulder to shoulder with no masks on, cheering loudly, shaking hands and high-fiving.
Read moreThe Rise of Rugby Abroad and at Home
There is an old saying that goes, “football [soccer] is a gentleman's game played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen." This quote has somewhat reinforced the stereotype of rugby as a barbaric form of American football played without pads. Of course, there may be some truth to this; however, like many people around the world and at Covenant have recently noticed, there is more to rugby than that.
Read moreCOVID-19 Kickers
College is in full swing (as much as it can be). Classes are going smoothly. Masks are being worn everywhere. Yet one aspect of college that just doesn’t feel right is sports. This time last year we were already playing games on the beautiful Scotland Yard.
Covenant Cliff Hangers
Forty feet up a sheer cliff, body sweating, forearms pumping, I pull my waist toward the wall for better balance, and stretch out my left arm, reaching for the next hold. I grasp it and stretch my left leg toward the next ledge for my foot. I find a minuscule notch in the rockface and wedge my toe onto it. I scan the wall for my next right-hand hold when suddenly, my left toe slips. I quickly push off the wall, as I fall feet first into the warm water of the river.
NBA 2K and the Olden Days
I, similar, I’m sure to many of you, spend two hours each Sunday night glued to the television. In a time where much of what we view can be paused and fast-forwarded, the thrill of bolting up from the couch to go to the bathroom or get a nice pan of nachos cooking has, for the most part, been lost. But I simply cannot miss a moment of “The Last Dance.” Michael Jordan’s jeans, Scottie Pippen’s voice, Phil Jackson’s shoulders, or Dennis Rodman’s explanation of how one learns to rebound a basketball. Sure, due to advances in technology, I could pause if my break is a bit longer than the commercial break, but then I would not be watching in real time and the tweets rolling hot off the presses would whoosh right over my head.
But this is not an article about “The Last Dance.” That would be low hanging fruit. Articles on “The Last Dance” are a dime a dozen, with talk of it dominating the sports news world. No, this is an article about what “The Last Dance” has made me realize about basketball as a whole, and more specifically, NBA 2K.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the throwback teams part of NBA 2K, allowing me to play as teams that I was, for the most part, not able to watch live because I was not alive. Nothing beats shooting a terribly inefficient game with Allen Iverson, as he is wont to do, and maybe sometimes winning. Or coming to the pleasant realization that yeah, Clyde Drexler is super good. Or lamenting the absence of Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley between each game.
“The Last Dance” has brought about a certain sense of nostalgia—or an equivalent word that can be used on something that I actually never experienced—regarding the last 60 years of basketball. And while this has, in turn, increased my use of NBA 2K historic teams, it has also reignited my disdain for NBA 2K20.
NBA 2K20 is a trash game with impossible post-play and stupid moves. And that, combined with my roommate owning our copy and taking it home with him during Coronavirus—but mostly because it sucks—has got me playing 2K19, a far superior game with manageable post-play and more fluid moves.
Typically the new 2K comes out, and I never look back. But this step back into 2K19 has got me wanting more from the 2Ks of years past. Maybe the celebrities of NBA 2K13, such as Brian Baumgartner, the man behind Kevin Malone of “The Office.” Or maybe a Career mode with much less story. But mostly, and I would take this over anything else in a heartbeat—bring back the historic team courts. Let us play as historic teams on their original courts, no three-point lines, with the camera all grainy-like.
It’d be a blast. So, ride the high of “The Last Dance” and all the classic highlights myself and so many other basketball fans are watching right now, and 2K, go all in on historic teams and make a game that doesn’t suck.
The Sports World Amid Covid-19
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or whatever you want to call it, has caused an onslaught of disruptions to millions of people’s everyday lives. One of those disruptions, while not the most important, is that of the effect on the sports world.
Read moreTampa Tom
Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history and owner of the greatest sports glow-up (sorry, Gordon Hayward), signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this off-season. After number one overall pick, Jameis Winston, left the team, a hole was left at the quarterback spot. And who better to head on down to Tompa Bay, then Tom Brady himself.
Read moreAt Home Exercise
In this time of social distancing and self isolation, the feeling of being cooped up can affect people’s morals, productivity, and gains. In this article, I will give a brief at-home exercise routine that can be done with or without weights, and has the ability to give you guys a quick break from school work and studying.
Read moreNFL Street
PlayStation 2, home of the iconic NFL Street 2 video game, turns 20 years old this month. The PS2 is the best-selling video game console of all time and has given our generation of gamers some of the greatest games ever. Games such as Battlefront II, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tony Hawk's Underground, Lego Star Wars, and MVP Baseball 2005 all originated on this console. However, none of these compare to …
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