By El Grand Capitano
Lance Writer

March 29, 2011

When World Wrestling Entertainment says that Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling event in the world, it’s the company at their least hyperbolic. Bringing the most attention the company will receive all year, Wrestlemania can be used as a microcosm by which to judge their mind-set, as much of a spectacle as it is.
This Sunday, WWE brings their biggest show of the year to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Even though Wrestlemania is as big and important as WWE says it is, selling it has been a recent problem. The pay-per-view buy rates have been dropping at a rate of nearly 100,000 per year since 2007, when 1.2 million purchases marked a record high.
That was Wrestlemania 23 in Detroit, where, in addition to the viewers at home, 80,103 fans piled in to Ford Field, setting a record for the venue and WWE. This is a venue that hosted Super Bowl XL, something WWE reminds viewers of to this day.
One of the headlining matches at WM 23 was the “Battle of the Billionaires”, where wrestlers representing WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Donald Trump met, with the loser getting their head shaved bald. It wasn’t surprising when they tried a celebrity angle again at WM 24, which featured a fight between wrestler the Big Show and champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, and appearances from celebrities such as Snoop Dogg. >>

By Tristan Woodworth-Lynas
The Muse (Memorial University)

March 29, 2011

Fighting in the National Hockey League has always been a hot topic for sports analysts. In recent years, the discussion has intensified in the post-lockout era with communication and a new understanding of concussions.
The game of hockey is slowly changing its ways to protect its athletes, with a large emphasis being placed on head injuries. For even longer than the NHL, the junior ranks have been effecting change to prevent trauma to the heads of young athletes.
Only since the NHL lockout during the 2004-05 season have concussions really been accepted as not only a viable injury, but the worst type of injury.
During the ’90s, players competing in the playoffs could take a hit that had obviously concussed them, only to return to the game later because it was the manly and courageous thing to do.
When New Jersey Devils defenceman Scott Stevens floored the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Paul Kariya in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals, for example, he came back to score the winning goal of the game. But perhaps this concussion was the reason his career has been derailed ever since. >>

By Josh Kolm
Sports Editor

March 29, 2011

This season solidified the University of Windsor Lancers as some of the top university athletes in the country. Here are this season’s standouts, as well as some athletes who don’t always get the attention they deserve:

Men's Basketball

Issac Kuon
21.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG
The offensive backbone of a two-way basketball team. In his final year of eligibility, Kuon was an OUA All-Star, All-Canadian and was ranked first in Ontario and fourth in the country in scoring.

But don't forget...

Lien Phillip
11.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG
There isn’t a whole lot else that can be said for a player who is averaging a double-double in university basketball. Phillip is the team’s reliable, unflashy workhorse.

Women's Basketball

Jessica Clemencon
19.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG
Simply put, the best player on the best team in Canada. Only in her second year, Clemencon led the OUA in scoring and was named player of the year in the OUA and CIS.

But don't forget...

The Rest of the Team
One player, as good as she may be, doesn’t win a championship. When you have a target on your back as big as the one on Clemencon’s, you need that support system in place to pick up the slack in double coverage. Being able to comfortably send anyone in off the bench offered a depth and strategic advantage that won Windsor the championship.

Cross Country/Track & Field

Anthony Berkis
Pulling double duty in track and cross country, Berkis has brought medals home to Windsor from September straight through to March this year. >>