Author Archives: Noah Stewart

The B.C. Lions WILL win their division

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If you find yourself as a fellow Vancouverite like myself and also happen to enjoy football, then you are obviously aware of the B.C. Lions from the Canadian Football League. Whether you have been to a game or not, or maybe you went to go see the 50 Cent pre game show for the home opener, then you decided to stick around for some football as well, either way, it’s always a party at B.C. Place.

If you have been keeping track of the Lions record, then you would know that they are sitting at 7-6 on the season right now. Well, I know that doesn’t sound like a divisional champion record, they are in second as of today. Even better, they are actually tied for first, as Winnipeg holds the same record as well! 

So let me give you my reasoning behind why I think the Lions can easily push for the 1 seed in the homestretch of the season. Earlier in the season, they lost their star quarterback, Vernon Adams Jr. to an injury and it was not looking good for the team and their record. That was until, the Lions agreed to a contract with B.C. native, quarterback Nathan Rourke, which made him the highest paid CFL player. If you have been a Lions fan for a while, then you would know that Rourke used to play for the team and he was a natural born playmaker. Rourke tested his luck in the big league of the NFL, bouncing from team to team but never finding a place to call home. It was easy for him to find his true home though, where he grew up, in British Columbia playing for the Lions. This is huge and easily makes the team playoff calibre.

Now imagine this, B.C. is in the Grey Cup Championship, which is hosted in the best city you can think of, Vancouver. The team is en route to capturing their first title since 2011, a whole 13 years. And you will never believe where the 2011 Grey Cup took place. You probably guessed it, here in Vancouver at B.C Place. The Lions are champions, the city erupts with screams of joy as B.C. are once again number one in Canada, the orange and black confetti falling from atop as the team hoists the coveted trophy.

You can not tell me that isn’t possible, as I know it is. Who doesn’t love a happy Vancouver? So whether you believe in the uproar of lions or not, just know, I told you so.

The Blue Jays are still looking to earn their wings

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Well well well, before the Toronto Blue Jays season began, if you would have told me that the Jays would be a bottom of the barrel team, I would have called you crazy. But now if you tell me the same thing today, I would shake your hand and agree with you. It genuinely feels like the Blue Jays are relearning how to fly.

Before you tell me that there is no reason to be upset with the season, I will give you many reasons on why you NEED to be disappointed with the Jays season. Yes, 68-76 is just slightly below par, but that record does not justify the Jays year at all. The season isn’t even officially over and I’m ready as ever to put this season in the books.

The theme of this season is double play, and not the good kind. If you were to ask me how many times I’ve tuned into a Blue Jays game to see runners on base, but then grounding into a double play, I would have lost count by now. The so called ‘Canada’s team’ in the Toronto Blue Jays, have grounded into 113 double plays, giving them the title of the 4th worst team in that stat category. At least Jays star hitter, Vladimir Guerrero hasn’t lost his touch ever since starting his hot streak after the all star break.

Focusing on the most recent series against the wild card chasing Atlanta Braves, Toronto looked to put a halt in the Braves playoffs plans, but the Jays looked like they forgot how to play baseball. Heck, even if you have never played or watched baseball, it would be pretty easy to tell that the Blue Jays just don’t have it. They lost the weekend series 2-1, as they lost yesterday evening in extra innings, 4-3 as they absolutely blew the small lead they had. They lost Friday’s game as well, only scoring one run in the game. I bet you or me could easily ring in more runs. 

One of the only spotlights I want to put on someone is Spencer Horwitz. Geez, can that guy ever swing that bat. He cashed in 3 home runs in the weekend series, with two of them happening in the same, in back to back at bats. The Jays batting average is so average that they are right in the middle of the pact, ranked 15th in the league.

As you probably know, the baseball season is on the wind down, and the Blue Jays are clearly missing the playoffs. Hopefully they can still rack up momentum and get some quality wins, because even when your team is down and out, you still want to see them win, you know?  The Jays are taking on the New York Mets tonight, as the Mets are in the same position as the Braves, fighting for the final Wild Card spot, so you should expect pretty much the same gameplay from the weekend.

Remembering the Gaudreau’s

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Unless you are living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the gut wrenching news of famous hockey superstars, Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s unfortunate passing a couple of weeks ago. This brought fans of all sports, just like you and I, together as one to remember the legacy they have left.

Johnny Gaudreau had spent his time playing in Canada for the Calgary Flames and also spent time in Columbus with the Blue Jackets. Both Columbus and Calgary held vigils for the brothers outside of the arena, including a 13 minute and 21 second moment of silence, to honour both brothers jersey numbers. The silence outside of a usually noisy arena was so quiet that you could hear every nose sniffle or tear hitting the ground.

The Gaudreau brothers were not just superstars on the ice, but a bright shining star in their family, as loving husbands, fathers, and all around family men. Their families were in the middle of growing as well, as Matthew and his wife, Madeline, were expecting a child together, before the unfortunate passing. If you know the Gaudreau’s, you know how they were two stand up guys, who loved the game of hockey, but loved their families even more.

Today, September 9th, NHL teammates, family, and friends came together for the funeral services of the Gaudreau’s, as it was held in their hometown of Pennsylvania. During the ceremony, Johnny’s wife, Meredith had taken the stand to say her peace about her devoted and loving husband. During her speech, she had announced that Matthew’s wife, Madeline, was not the only one expecting a child. Meredith had announced she was 9 weeks pregnant with her and Johnny’s third child.

Cole Caufield, a member of the Montreal Canadiens, looked up to Johnny and his career. Caulfield has decided to continue to honour Johnny, by repping his famous jersey number 13 on the back of his jersey for the upcoming NHL season. Many NHLers came to support the Gaudreau family, including commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance. 

If you had the chance to watch Johnny and Matthew in college, then consider yourself lucky, as they were an inseparable duo on and off the ice. The both played their collegiate career together, attending Boston College. They would skate together, sleep together, they were always next to each other. The world has been in mourning, and will continue to be as money is being raised for the unborn children of both Johnny and Matthew. For nothing being said, whoever knew these moments of silence, would be heard across the world.



Vancouver makes the playoffs!

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If you are a fellow Vancouverite like myself, then you know the energy and aura surrounding the Vancouver Canucks playoff push was unlike anything else. But, if you missed the playoff season in Vancouver, there is no need to worry anymore as it’s back and looking good, but it’s not the Canucks.

From the ice, to the field, the minor league baseball team of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Vancouver Canadians have had more than an impressive season, as they are sitting pretty near the top of the league. Playoff baseball is the perfect time of year, at least in my opinion, as you can grab cheap tickets with a nice view, and don’t worry, the food and beverage prices won’t give you a heart attack, but give you a good time. The best part is, you don’t even have to know how the game works to enjoy it!

The Vancouver Canadians are looking to go back to back once again, and win the Northwest League championship and give the city a reason to celebrate. The Canadians barely fell short of being on top of the league, but ended up 11 games behind in second place, finishing with a slightly above average record of 68-61. The Canadian crew picked up a 3 peat of championships back in 2011-2013, as they look to continue on that path and repeat history. If they can win this year’s championship, which I can easily see happening, the team will be just one step closer to running the 3 peat back.

If you’re unfamiliar with who may be on the team, or who’s doing well, don’t worry as I will fill you in on what you need to know. Jace Bohrofen is a name you need to get used to hearing as he will for sure be tearing up the major leagues one day. He is arguably one of the best hitters on the team, as he leads in the home runs category, smacking 14 balls out of the park on the season. Closing pitcher Alex Amalfi is also someone you might own a jersey of one day, as when he gets put into the game, you should expect lights out, strikeout after strikeout. 

Tomorrow, September 10th, is the day that the Canadians kick start their playoff journey, as they will take on the Spokane Indians in a best of five series. History between Spokane and Vancouver hasn’t been pretty though, as they met a total of 27 times throughout the season, only claiming victory 8 times. Luckily, games one and two of the series are in Vancouver, so if you find yourself free on the 10th or 11th, head to Nat Bailey Stadium to support your Vancouver Canadians, as they can use all the help they can get.

From UBC to the big leagues

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If you are an American football fan, you understand how difficult it can be to make the big leagues while playing in Canada. Whether it be a skill or competition gap, or just not getting the eyes on you that you deserve, making it as a pro comes with a lot of trials and tribulations, as it’s no easy task. 

Ever since 2020, only 18 Canadians have had the honour of being drafted into the NFL, and if you weren’t aware, the NFL draft has over 350 players selected each year, so 18 is nothing to call home about, but if you are part of the slim group of Canadians to be drafted, then you must’ve made your name known.

If you’re from B.C. like myself, then you already have a new favourite player, as the Detroit Lions drafted local standout, Giovanni Manu in the 4th round who attended and played football at the University of British Columbia. The big lineman, who stands at a whopping 6 ‘7 and weighs in at 350 lbs, is the first ever UBC football player to be drafted into the NFL. If you didn’t know, being drafted as a fourth round pick means you are going to have to put up a fight to get on the coveted 53 man roster, but Manu’s work ethic is incomparable.

Manu defied the odds though, as he was able to put the pen to paper and sign a 4 year contract, and land himself on the prestigious 53 man roster. He put on an absolute show during training camp, as he now shares the room with some elite lineman such as Frank Ragnow and young star Penei Sewell.

If you thought that UBC was happy when Manu was drafted, you best believe they were ecstatic to find out that another of their standout lineman had been picked up after the draft had concluded. Theo Benedet had many eyes on him after he fell undrafted, as around 10 teams had interest, but ultimately signed as an undrafted rookie to the Chicago Bears. The 6’7 big man was able to fight his way through training camp and also earn himself a roster spot on the Bears.

Being a football fan means yesterday was the best day of your life, as football Sundays were back! But, former UBC standout Giovanni Manu was inactive for yesterday’s Lions game, but be sure to tune in this season to both the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears game days as you could see former UBC standouts make history.

Canada’s minor breakthrough in Paris

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If you weren’t aware, the final ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Paralympics took place last night, as China triumphed the rest of the competition, claiming first on the podium with a whopping 94 gold medals. But, if you’re Canadian, there’s no need to worry as Canada still impressed rival countries with a solid outing in this year’s Summer games.

You probably tuned in earlier this year when Canada teetered on the outside of the top ten in the Summer olympics, landing themselves in 12th place, but would you believe me if I told you that Canada finished 12th in the Paralympics as well? I wouldn’t blame you if you thought that is pretty mediocre, but Canada accumulated more medals in the Paralympics compared to the Olympics, even asserting their dominance with more gold to their name as well. 

Canada was able to bring home 10 shiny gold medals, which added to their total medal count of 29. Okay yes, you are probably thinking that Canada had an average medal total compared to first place China, but I like to say comparison is the thief of joy, as there are still many positive takeaways from Canada’s performance.

As you know, Canada usually dominates when it comes to the Winter games, but Canada took over the para-swimming category in this year’s Paralympics, collecting 13 medals overall in the sport. Fellow B.C. native, Nicholas Bennett, paved the way, as he was able to obtain two gold medals and a single bronze, collecting 3 medals for the country. The young 20 year old put his name in the record books, as he is the first Canadian male to bring home multiple gold medals in the Paralympics, dating back to 2004, when Benoit Huot topped the podium for an outstanding 5 gold medals.

You may be wondering what are some other positives coming out of this year’s Paralympics, and I’m here to tell you that this was the first time since the 2008 games, that Canada had accumulated double digit gold medals. If you weren’t aware, Canada has always seemed to perform better in solo sports, rather than team sports. But that was different in this year’s games. Canada’s women’s sitting volleyball team was able to secure podium placement, landing them the first team medal Canada has obtained since 2012.

Lastly, if you are a fellow British Columbian like myself, then this stat will peak your mind the most. B.C. athletes were able to lead the way in the medal count as B.C. natives were able to collect a total of 9 medals in the competition. The next Paralympic games will take place in the neighbouring country of Canada, as in 2028, it will all go down in Los Angeles. You’ll just have to wait and see how Canada tops their performance from this year, and see how hard the stars will shine, in the city of stars.



Blue Jays are in the dirt

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Earlier, I spoke about Canada’s basketball team, the Toronto Raptors, but now I will be talking to you about Canada’s baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays. I have been a Blue Jays ever since I could remember, mainly since both of my parents were born there and would live there for the majority of their life, so I have always had a soft spot for Toronto sports teams, especially the Blue Jays. From Jose Bautista’s amazing bat flip after smashing a home run in the playoffs, or seeing Edwin Encarccion circle the bases with his patented ed-wing celebration, I was there for it all and breathed the Blue Jays.

During the offseason, we let some people go and I wondered how we would do without them. If you are a Blue Jays fan like myself, then you were probably sad to see the departure of both Matt Chapman and Jordan Hicks, as they suited up and went over to California to both play with the San Francisco Giants. Those losses hurt a big team, I won’t lie, but we also added some gritty veterans to the squad, in former World Series Champion Justin Turner, who I assumed would be a great addition, despite his age. The same goes with the addition of another veteran, Joey Votto from the Reds, who once made some hateful comments on Canadian baseball.

“I don’t care almost at all about Canadian baseball, I wasn’t raised inside of Canadian baseball really. I’m coming up on half of my life being in the United States working and being supported by American baseball. As far as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada… I don’t care at all. The Jays, or Canada in general, may disagree with that, but I really couldn’t give a rat’s ass about that.” said Former National League MVP Joey Votto. He would go on to apologize for those comments, but it made me really question the decision to sign him after all that.

Toronto Blue Jays fans have been in utter disbelief with how big of a let down the season has been so far, and the reason I started this story with telling you about the offseason, is because that is where the downfall of disappointment began. The Blue Jays were a consensus top ten team throughout the league before the season began, and the standard for Toronto was set. The offseason is when the true struggles began, as the Blue Jays were rumoured to be targeting the Japanese baseball star, Shohei Ohtani, but the Blue Jays would fall short of a deal, and that was the theme of the offseason. You think they would be able to land some big names, but they were only able to grab Turner and Votto, the two veterans. The Blue Jays had fallen flat on their face, after every deal negotiation would dissolve, things were not looking good.

The club is basically running it back with the same roster as last year, which got them all the way to the wild card series, but they unfortunately fell short if you didn’t know. That is nothing new to Toronto at all though, as they have been swept in the last three of four wild card appearances, with the Blue Jays not having a playoff win under their belt since 2016. Change was needed, but excitement was in store, said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “The mindset is just more excitement, excitement for guys to get back to their norms a little bit offensively. Excitement for the pitching staff to do what they’ve done and find out ways to get better.” said Schneider 

Now getting into the season, let me just tell you how in the dirt the Toronto Blue Jays really are, and it is really bad… like real bad. This is one of the worst offensive starts the team has seen, ever, as they were only averaging 3.8 runs a game through their first five games, and if you aren’t a baseball fan, let me just let you know how abysmal that is. We have a team full of power hitting batters but all the Blue Jays find themself doing is swinging and missing. Don’t be shocked that with this start, it is the sixth fewest runs scored in the first 25 games, in franchise history, yikes. The same story repeats itself, as if you didn’t know, back in 2022, the same stat was recorded and h=it ended up with former manager, Charlie Montoyo, being fired. So let’s just hope that the same thing doesn’t happen to my boy John Schneider as he is the last to blame with the team’s performance. The team did go on to make the wild card series that year thanks to Interim Manager John Schneider who turned the team around. Even in a recent game versus the Royals, the Blue Jays had seven chances to score with many on base, and were not able to even send one run into home plate, now you don’t have to know baseball to know how bad that is.

The bullpen has been actually doing pretty well this season, despite the departures of fan favourites, Jordan Hicks and Hyun Jin Ryu, who were two diamonds on the mound for us last season. With those departures, the Blue Jays didn’t bounce back by signing or trading for a talented pitcher whatsoever, leaving us with the same bullpen as last year just with two less stars. Behind starting pitcher Jose Berrios, the squad has  been able to get it done pitching wise at times, as on the season they currently hold an average 4.30 ERA which is so bad that it is the 22nd worst in the league but doesn’t reflect the Blue Jays bullpen at all. Star pitcher, Chris Bassitt came out of the gates slow but has been slowly able to pick it up during his third start of the season, but he still takes accountability for his teams and his own performance.

“To be honest with you, I’ve been pretty disappointed in our starters so far. Obviously, this is my third start and two of my starts were terrible, in my opinion. I’m no help to the problem.The biggest thing for us is getting our starters going. I’m so confident in all the guys we have. The first 10-11 games have been pretty rough for us outside of Berrios.” said Bassitt.

The Toronto Blue Jays have been having a less than ideal start, but the season is nowhere near over. Star batters, Vladdy and Bo Bichette have not been successful though lately, as they are both swinging under .300 which you don’t typically see from those all star calibre players. The young duo combined for five total all star game nods, but with how they are playing this season, I don’t expect it at all. The only Blue Jays player I can see maybe getting the nod is Jose Berrios who has truly been carrying us hard with dominant outings on the mound, and even Justin Turner has been a great acquisition, as he has the highest batting average on the team with .306 and also leads the crew with his on base percentage, with .390. Give the Blue Jays some time and some better training and they could easily turn their boat around with the talented roster they hold.

Vancouver needs basketball

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Let me tell you, I love Vancouver sports so much. You already know that we have the Vancouver Canucks who are currently in the playoffs, and just pulled off an impeccable 3-1 comeback to become one win away from advancing to the next round, if you didn’t know, the AHL affiliate of the Canucks, the Abbotsford Canucks, picked up a huge in overtime as well to advance to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, and the Vancouver Warriors have had one of their greatest achieving season, leading the entire National Lacrosse League with the highest attendance growth in the league.

But now I think it is finally time that Vancouver brings back a team we only had in the early 2000’s, the Vancouver Grizzlies. If you saw one of their games in person then maybe you wouldn’t be the biggest fan, since the owner was egregiously terrible. But, when the NBA hosts exhibition pre-season games down here in Vancouver, everyone and maybe even including yourself, were sure to attend. Heck, I even went to a game back in 2017 when Kawhi Leonard was making his debut as a Toronto Raptors, and the Rogers Arena was going crazy all throughout, from start to finish.

Earlier this year, a poll was taken by Metro Vancouver residents on if they thought that having a basketball team would be ideal, and 59% of voters agreed it would be a good or even very good idea leaving you and I to only think that time will tell and we should get an NBA team. Fewer than 6% were against the idea, so why don’t we have a team again? NBA Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned around a year ago that a relocation could be very likely, but was mainly mentioning Las Vegas and Seattle as prime destinations, but you know what I have to say about that? I think it’s pretty lame that those are the cities mentioned, as they already both have gotten NHL teams within the past 6 years, and Vegas is also getting the relocating Oakland Athletics, so I think that it is due time for Vancouver to get basketball.

But, do not worry at all because what I am about to say will make you feel a bit of joy. Adam Silver has had talks about the possibility of an expansion team coming to Canada, with Silver saying Vancoiver and Montreal would be prime contenders to be the Canadian counterpart to the only other Canadian team in the league, the Toronto Raptors. Vancouver basketball history does not tell the whole story though, as you may or may not know, the Grizzlies were not performing well at all with terrible marketing under terrible management and even now commissioner Adam Silver was aware.

“There was a moment in the league where prospects seemed down in terms of the team. Attendance was down, ratings were down, so I understood from an economic standpoint why the team owner wanted to move the team.” said Silver

The Vancouver Grizzlies would only call this place home for six years, until the inevitable happened and the team had relocated to Memphis. Fans were betrayed and hurt, especially by former owner, Arthur Griffiths. He had once promised the city that basketball will stay in Vancouver and that basketball belongs here, but that promise would later be defunct as the team would be sold and become referred to in the past tense. That was a different era and a different time though, as when Adam Silver speaks on the possibility of Vancouver getting an expansion team, he would be totally for the idea of Vancouver basketball; “In retrospect, I wish we had a team in Vancouver right now. I think that we do have regret…we were a bit ahead of our time,” Silver said.

Success wanes, but not entirely at times. When you look at the Toronto Raptors current position in the league, you would not be pleased as they sit near the bottom of the eastern standings, missing the playoffs and play-in tournament entirely. Yet, at one point in time, the Raptors were not just a championship calibre team, but the championship team. As you and more than most Canadians probably know, the Raptors won the championship in 2019,  cheating aura all around Vancouver.

Why did I mention the Raptors and their ups and downs you ask? Simple, it shows that the Canadian market is more than wide open and even though the Raptors are currently not succeeding, they were at a point in time, as every team and their city has to go through their triumphs.

Adam Silver has always been for creating a great fan experience, and just doing whatever would please fans to an extent. We have seen multiple different innovations and systems come from the Adam Silver era, such as the play-in tournament and this year’s inaugural in-season tournament, and Vancouver could be next when it comes to Silver’s everlasting development of the NBA. “Over time, given the development of the sport in Canada, there’s no doubt that at some point we’ll look to see whether there’s an opportunity to put a second team in the country. Based on what we’re seeing now in terms of the interest that we could sustain it in Canada.” said Silver.

One of the biggest problems that come with Vancouver possibly getting an expansion team, is who would actually want to own the team? The price tag is really hot right now for an NBA expansion, sitting at a hefty amount of roughly two and half billion dollars which would be too much, even for current Canucks owner, Francesco Aquillini. He commented back on the possibility back in 2018, but it was shot down as he was not trying to overpay, and now the possibility gets lower and lower, as the price tag continues to run up in price. It feels like everything is going up in price you know? Canucks tickets, the price of an NBA expansion team, and the worst of all, gas prices. 

Vancouver residents are more than ready for another sports team and we are ready to bring the noise. Even if the team does not succeed at first, it’s nothing new to Vancouver sports fans as the Canucks have failed and failed, over and over, but look at them now, shining on the biggest stage of them all after all those defeats the team and us fans had to witness. Toronto Raptors have already been classified as Canada’s basketball team, but let us just pray that Vancouver will be able to assist in being one of Canada’s basketball teams. We have seen the attendance growth within the Vancouver Warriors organization as they led the league, and we can easily see a future with Vancouver basketball doing the exact same thing.

Many NBA players are Canadian, with some of the best players in the league today, being a part of the Canadian population. At the end of the day, the league is not opposed to running it back in Vancouver and bringing an expansion team to the big city, but the big question will remain, who will own the team, and you’ll just have to wait and see. Vancouver only has one of the major four sports leagues, and I think it is now time to make it two and I believe we are all in agreement on this one.

Seattles’ Greatest Band Ever

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I love music so much, so much that I listen to almost every genre, except country. I listen to it a bit but not too much. But, I have always had a guitar drum sized hole in my heart for alternative rock. There is a certain band that I have listened to for awhile, but have gotten into more as of late, and that band happens to be, The Foo Fighters. On Evolution, we love to play the Foo Fighters!

The band was formed in Seattle all the way back in 1994 by former Nirvana member, David Grohl and the band was originally just him but he now carries on through as a lead vocalist as well as a guitarist. Grohl has been in the music game ever since he was 17 and started out as a drummer for the punk rock band ‘Scream’ and eventually became the drummer for the famous band Nirvana after scream had disbanded back in 1990. Nirvana has made instant classics but it was not until 1994 when the late great Kurt Cobain passed away, in 1994. Nirvana would later disband and that led Grohl to go into a deep depression and ended up going into isolation for several months and ending up leaving Seattle entirely.

“I was still in Seattle, and I just felt, ‘I gotta get out.’ I [had to] go somewhere where I could just disappear and sort through my life, and try to figure out what to do next… I was winding around these country roads – so beautiful – and I was finding peace… and I came upon this hitchhiker, and I was considering picking him up, and I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain T-shirt. And to me that meant ‘You can’t outrun this thing, so it’s time … to push through and find some sort of continuation.’ So I flew home and I immediately started recording those Foo Fighter songs.” said Grohl

While Grohl was in the band Nirvana, at times he would write his own songs on his own time and practice them. He would take his guitar alongside his pen and paper and get creative, but was always too shy to share them with lead singer Kurt Cobain and the group, as he always left in awe with Cobain’s songwriting and singer abilities. Grohl would actually book studio time to record covers and demos and would eventually release the album full of demos under an alias name in 1992. 

When the band Nirvana had sadly been put to the past, you might have wondered what would be next for Grohl, and I think he was wondering too. He was aware of his music and songwriting abilities, so he knew that many bands would be interested in him. You may not know this or even believe it but it was rumoured that he was offered a spot in the band Pearl Jam and he was also very close to accepting the position for drummer in the band Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Grohl commented on the opportunity by saying he was supposed to join the other band but it did not work out. He would go on to do what he said “nobody expected (him) to do” and that was going on to sign with a record company and work on 15 songs. He would play every instrument involved in each song and was obviously the lead vocalist as well. Grohl was so dedicated that he ended up finishing an album’s worth of material in only five days, can you even believe that? Wow.

When Grohl was solo under the name Foo Fighters, he hoped to remain anonymous and release his productions in a limited manner. You may be wondering how he even ended up choosing the name Foo Fighters, and it was actually a term that was used back in World War Two as a term for ‘unidentified flying objects’ which I find pretty interesting. Band names are always so interesting with a fascinating name chosen behind them, and who would have thought that the Foo Fighters would have been a term from the War! Well, unless you were involved with the war to hear the word often, then you would know it but other than that, it is a great name in my opinion but Grohl said that “it was the stupidest f*cking name ever”. 

Grohl would go into his recruitment phase when it was time to tour and he thought the band could use a few members to join the Foo Fighters. He would go on to recruit bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith who are both from Seattle as well, and were formerly a part of a band known as Sunny Day Real Estate. If you are wondering if anyone else from Nirvana jumped ship over to join Grohl and the Foo Fighters, you would be right because touring guitarist Pat Smear would hop on over and join Grohl as the second guitarist in the band.

In 1997, is when the famous and one of the band’s most notable members, Taylor Hawkins would join the crew after William Goldsmith’s departure. Hawkins was already part of another band that Grohl thought was bigger than the Foo Fighters, as he was a part of Morissettes touring band. If you guessed that Grohl was wrong, you would be right as Hawkins would volunteer to join the band himself after Grohl ringed him up, looking for potential candidates to be their drummer. Hawkins has dreamed of being a part of a rock band and not just a solo act, so this was an easy yes for him as you would imagine. Hawkins’ voice has been used for all different soundscapes, as he was the lead vocal on a cover of one of the greats, Pink Floyd’s songs, as well as the song being featured on the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack.

Taylor Hawkins was so dedicated to the rock band that even when Guns N’ Roses called him to be their drummer, you already know that he turned down the offer but still had some consideration. Hawkins had his fair share of ups and downs though, as back in 2001 he had overdosed on heroin, which left him suffering a coma for over two weeks. On March 25th, 2022, Hawkins was ready to play a show but would later on complain of chest pain. Emergency services would go on to visit him in his room, but would sadly find the famous drummer unresponsive. Colombian authorities would go on to test what was in his system and it was a lot. He had ten substances in his body at the time of death, including opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and THC. If you love rock, then this was a sad day for all. In 2023, his son Shane would take the stage with the band, behind the drums, and play at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert. You need to see it.

The Foo Fighters have had great success and would go on to release eleven studio albums during the time, and their time is still now as their last release was in 2022 but they are currently on tour. The Foo Fighters have won a whopping total of fifteen grammy awards with five of them being best rock album of the year, classifying them as one of the best rock groups in history. The band was also announced as the first ever recipients of the Global Icon Award at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards. If this entices you to check out their music then please do! You really can’t go wrong with the Foo Fighters. 

Offensive Overload

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The first round of the 2024 NFL draft has officially come and gone. Whether your favorite team drafted one of the many offensive college players early in the first round, or did not have a pick at all, I will be giving you a breakdown of the biggest winners and some of the biggest losers from Thursday’s huge event.

Which of your favorite players landed in the top ten? It had to be an offensive player because that was all that was selected in the top ten, you can’t tell me that is not insane. For the fourth time in history, we saw three quarterbacks get consecutively taken with the top three picks, as Caleb Williams went to the Chicago Bears with the first pick, coming off a Hesiman trophy season, Jayden Daniels was selected to the Washington Commanders, and I don’t know about you but I think Drake Maye who was selected third overall to the New England Patriots will be looked back on as a huge pick up, I really enjoy his playstyle and with the right weapons, the Patriots can cook with him.

Adding to the history of this amazing round one, those quarterbacks alongside Michael Penix Jr, Bo Nix, and J.J. McCarthy was also selected within the top twelve picks, leaving us fans to witness the most quarterbacks drafted in the first 12 picks,and tied for most in the opening round of the draft. This was just one of many records that were broken, set, or tied, in the first round of last night’s NFL draft. Adding to the quarterbacks already making history, if you didn’t know, this was also the most quarterbacks drafted in the first eight picks, with a total of four being selected.

If you are a USC fan then rejoice! The reason being, as Caleb Williams was taken with first overall pick in the draft, this would mean that USC has produced the most first overall picks with six, breaking the tie between them and three other colleges. Caleb Williams is involved with even more history, as he and Jayden Daniels were both Heisman Trophy winners, who were selected with the top two picks and if you didn’t know, the last time that happened was almost a decade ago, in 2015. Adding on to one of your favorite quarterback records, Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers from LSU were the first LSU quarterback and wide receiver duo selected in the top ten in the common draft era.

Now there is a reason you read the title ‘Offensive Overload’ because the amount of offensive players taken in the first round was absurd. The draft kicked off with fourteen consecutive offensive players being taken which doubles the previous streak of seven. That is the longest streak in NFL history for either side of the ball, jeez. If you thought that was it, then you would be wrong as the previous record for most offensive players taken in the first round was a three way tie with nineteen, but that number was absolutely smashed out of the park, as 23 offensive players were taken in this year’s draft. The offensive side of the ball was very powerful in this year’s draft, even breaking a defensive record for it being the first time that there was no defender selected in the top ten of the draft.

The receivers came out to play as there were a total of seven selected in the first round which ties the previous record. The receiver run started with Marvin Harrison Jr. going to the Cardinals at four followed by Malik Nabers (Giants), Rome Odunze (Bears), Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars), Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) , Ricky Pearsall (49ers) and Xavier Leggett (Panthers). I told you this was an offensive overload.

Now let me tell you about some of the biggest winners from the first round. Starting off, it easily has to be the Minnesota Vikings. If you are a Vikings fan then you should feel ecstatic, as the team were involved with two trades during the night. The trade with higher implications, is when they chose to move up and select J.J. McCarthy. It was like the scene out of Braveheart as they kept going hold it, hold it, hold itttt and then pulled the trigger to move up after patiently waiting for the right time. I think this pick is great for the Vikings (even though I am a Packers fan) because he fits their scheme perfectly and is gifted with great assets in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addsion, and T.J Hockenson to help him kick off his rookie season with the Vikings. You need to tune in to see this kid play, he will more than likely be the starter, so be ready. 

The next of the winners batch, is another team in the NFC, and it is the Arizona Cardinals, They were able to land one of the best players available in this year’s draft, with Marvin Harrison Jr. He is easily number one at his position, and if you did not know, his dad, Marvin Harrison, was a former Super Bowl Champion and is a Hall of Famer, he has the records and I think his son can carry through and deliver as well. He is given a decent quarterback to kick off his career with Kyler Murray. We have already seen what Murray can do with a player like Harrison, as he has put on a show when DeAndre Hopkins was on the Cardinals. 

Now onto the losers of the draft, please look away now if you are an Atlanta Falcons fan, as you were probably looking away from your T.V. last night as well. They decided that with the eighth pick in such a star studded draft pool, that they would draft quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. Now don’t get me wrong, he is a really talented player who has played in championship level games, but this is not the right fit for him at all. The Falcons already have Kirk Cousins inked up for the next four years, and Penix is already 25. This is just a waste of money and not what you need when there are many other options available. It turns out that current Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, was not aware that the team would be drafting a quarterback prior to the pick, and he was left in shock. Sorry again if you are a Falcons fan because that is just rough.

Lastly, I have to give it to the San Francisco 49ers for losing the Super Bowl and now losing the draft. The thing is, the 49ers drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick and the only clip I ever see of this guy is just one good catch. It is impressive but it really can’t be your only highlight. Pearsall is a second round talent if I’m honest and the 49ers probably could have drafted him later on, but oh well, if you are a Niners fan, I really have no idea how you feel about this pick, but this is a C- pick in my opinion.

Well there you have it, that was my breakdown on the historic first round of the NFL draft. Comment on this post or let us know on X at evolution1079 what you think of your favourite team’s first round draft pick, if they even had one.