The great outdoors. Mother Nature. The wilderness. This may come as a surprise to you but in Brantford, there is no shortage of flowing rivers, scenic views or things to do outside. In this city, getting outside and having a good time is easy, as long as you know where to look. Well, a GPS helps, too.

Hiking If hiking is your thing, then a walk along the Grand River should definitely be on your to-do list before the winter...

In terms of getting involved in athletics and recreation, there are four different streams that students can enter. The first and most obvious is intramural sports. There is an assortment of different levels of competition and sports themselves, offering something for students of all skill levels. Examples of the different sports that are available to students include: soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, softball, dodgeball and more. Wilfrid Laurier University Athletics & Recreation Coordinator Greg Stewart comments on the benefits that come...

So you are settling into university living just fine, and you and your new roommates are looking for a way to burn off some energy or to get the floor together for an outdoor meet 'n’ greet. The following list contains 10 sports that are easy (and cheap!) to set up and play with a small group of people, and are fun to play, regardless of your talent level.

1.) Volleyball: All it takes is a cheap net that you...

Unbeknownst to many, Brantford has a rich sporting tradition. Of course, Brantford is the birthplace of “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, and is known as the Tournament Capital of Ontario, due to the large number of youth and amateur sports tournaments hosted in the city each year. However, the city’s local professional, semi-pro and junior teams are also adding to Brantford’s sporting reputation.

Since the city is Gretzky’s home, hockey runs rampant in the streets and arenas of Brantford. The...

I would like to preface this article by saying that I am a die-hard Kansas Jayhawk fan. I was overjoyed when the NCAA committee selected Kansas to be its overall number one seed in this year’s Division I Men’s Basketball tournament. I was hopeful, I bragged and I felt smug when even President Barack Obama picked the Jayhawks to be this year’s National Champions.

But not even the most powerful man on earth could have predicted all the upsets, the...

Spring training is finally underway for Major League Baseball, and that means that the Toronto Blue Jays are back on the diamond getting themselves ready for the upcoming season.

Coming off a disappointing 2009, the Jays' new general manager, Alex Anthopolous, traded Roy Halladay and brought in young, fresh talent. In other words, the Jays are in a rebuilding phase.

For anyone who has ever been a fan of a rebuilding franchise, you know that it is a long and...

Ottawa Senators: The Sens currently sit fifth in the east and look to continue their strong play in the post-season. Led by a tough blue-line with the likes of Anton Volchenkov, Chris Phillips and newly-acquired Andy Sutton, Ottawa looks like they will be banging bodies come playoff time. Offensively, the team is well-rounded, though team captain Daniel Alfredsson and sniper Alex Kovalev have recently taken control and led the league. The Sens found themselves riding a huge streak before the...

The Olympic Winter Games have returned to Canada after more than a 20-year absence. Previously held in Calgary, Alberta in 1988, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are now on every channel, in every newspaper and on the tip of every Canadian's tongue. Let's take a look at some of the action so far.

For the first time, the opening ceremony was held indoors. The Aboriginal peoples of British Columbia welcomed athletes and fans from around the world to Vancouver for the...

There was much debate earlier this year when the IOC decided to scrap the women’s ski jumping event from the Vancouver games, with the organizers claiming it was not competitive enough, and feminists claiming that removing it would eliminate more grassroots program for women, arguing that it is setting the women’s movement in sports backwards.

Now women’s hockey faces the same problems and issues.

The controversy started after Canada’s first game where the hosts decimated Slovakia 18-0 and the U.S....

The announcement that the Brantford Galaxy would compete this summer came little more than a week ago from Andrew Pilkington, the man behind the effort to bring the team to Brantford, and also the Chair of Brantford Inter-City Soccer. “It will be a great opportunity for soccer in this city and the community in general,” Pilkington said.

That idea was furthered by CSL Executive Director Stan Adamson. “There were suggestions of Brantford because their grassroots soccer is so strong,” Adamson...

LAURIER BRANTFORD CRUSHES MOHAWK

Jesse Herman scored a natural hat trick in the first period to put the 7th Annual Charity Hockey Game out of reach early as Laurier Brantford defeated their rivals from Mohawk Brantford.

150 fans watched the Hawks overwhelm Mohawk 13-2, sending a $1500 cheque to Big Brothers & Big Sisters Canada.

BASKETBALL WOES CONTINUE

Both Laurier’s men’s and women’s basketball teams fell to the University of Western Ontario's Mustangs this weekend, the men by a final...

Canadians love their Olympic athletes and teams, but the love and expectations are found no higher than on the men’s hockey team. With the games taking place on home soil with a line-up full of stars, fans are expecting nothing less than a gold medal.

Unfortunately, optimism may be eclipsing realism, as the road to gold is much more difficult than fans are willing to see, or believe.

Standing in the way of world hockey dominance, just like in 1972,...

LAURIER’S ANNUAL POWDER PUFF TOURNAMENT BRINGS THE INTENSITY, COMPETITION AND PHYSICALITY TO GIRL’S FLAG FOOTBALL

 It was fourth and two. There was time left for just two plays, the team on offence was down by six. The quarterback was in shotgun formation, got the snap, dropped back. With nothing open, the only thing left to do was scramble. The defense made the stop just short of the first down, and the game was over. This was not one of...

Heroes are a lot different nowadays, with most young, enthusiastic sports fans trading in the cape-and-mask brand for those wearing padding and jockstraps. In fact, I can say safely that Steve Yzerman was my “hero” up until I reached middle school.

While this may seem harmless, the ever-increasing unruly behaviour displayed by a handful of professional athletes could possibly cause parents to second-guess their children’s idols.

The most recent event drawing an athlete into the negative spotlight was the late-December...

“Eh Oh Canada Go!”

These four simple words have begun to spark controversy around the country. The winning entry from a contest run by Pepsi Canada, the cheer has been pushed as a new slogan to be shouted at the Canadian Junior hockey games and at the upcoming Vancouver Olympics. But do most Canadians accept this new way of encouraging our brothers and sisters to the top?

“I had more faith in Canada to come up with a better cheer,”...