Sports
The Collegian: 6
10 February 2020
State of the Golden Hurricane address Veteran TU sports journalist Hannah Robbins and Sports Editor Brennen Gray deliver an analysis on how TU sports are doing as a whole.
After riding a high that allowed Tulsa’s men’s basketball team to beat Memphis and Wichita State, which pushed both teams out of the rankings, Tulsa’s men’s basketball team is almost ranked themselves and had a six-game winning streak before losing to UConn on Thursday. After adding a full slate on newcomers, the men have come together, and with a mix of seniors and underclassmen in the mix, cockiness and missed opportunities
their loss in triple overtime to SMU and single point Homecoming loss shows that the team can be competitive when they’re in the right place. Hopefully the team continues to figure out what works and cut the streak of three losing record seasons. As long as the team gets a field goal kicker who has put in the practice to hit the field goals when it counts, Tulsa can capitalize on the close losses from the past season.
“On the flip side, Tulsa’s football team has the skills they need; they just need some practice.” pushed the team from first in the conference to third. The team still has a chance to get momentum back before the conference tournament, but with Brandon Rachal going out halfway through the game Thursday, the team will be in a very different place than they were last week. On the other hand, the women’s team has struggled with stamina issues and injuries. The team seems tired;they let shots go uncontested and miss most of the shots they take themselves. The women’s team simply needs to take some time, get conditioned and get some shot practice in, and they have the ability to go far. The team has had some close losses, but sometimes they just get blown out. They can do better, and I look forward to seeing that side of them in the future. On the flip side, Tulsa’s football team has the skills they need; they just need some practice. Although they wound up in fifth place in the American West conference,
Another area to pay some attention to in the Softball team. Sports predictions are famously difficult to make, but this year looks to be a good one for the team. Not only has the team retained some of their best players, but they have stayed relatively healthy compared to other teams in recent past. Softball is definitely a team to watch in 2020. This address would not be complete without touching on the brand new E-Sports lounge on campus. The addition to Tulsa’s array of competitive opportunities includes teams for “League of Legends,” “Rainbow Six,” “Beat Saber,” “Overwatch,” “Magic: The Gathering,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” and “Call of Duty” that will compete with teams from other colleges. Now is a bit too early to say how good the teams will be, but one interesting facet of esports is the ever-changing aspect of it. New games come out all the time, and just
graphic by Emma Palmer
Captain Cane addresses an adoring crowd.
10 years from now, four or five teams from that list may disband as new games come out. While that may seem like a long time, entire sports teams forming and disbanding that quickly is unheard of compared to the hundred year old traditions of some intercollegiate football and basketball teams. This is important to recognize because esports may create opportunities for TU to have a nationally competitive team. Logistically, esports is an extremely difficult realm for dynasties; “Overwatch” and
“League of Legends” may no longer even be esports in 10 years, let alone have the same couple colleges win every single year. Of course there are many sports that deserve to be addressed here, but these are the highlights within the natural limitations of covering a topic this expansive. However, one thing that can certainly be said about nearly all Golden Hurricane Athletics as a cohesive whole is that times are tough right now, but the future looks pretty good.
Australian Minister of Sports resigns Student writer Zach Short details the politics and complicated implications of the Bridget McKenzie’s wrongdoings, and how they were dealt with.
They say the brightest flames burn the quickest, and such seems to be the case with Australia’s newly-resigned senator Bridget McKenzie. The relatively young politician shot to prominence quickly in the Australian nationality crisis that began in late 2017, when the High Court of Australia ruled that persons maintaining a dual citizenship could not serve in the Australian parliament, citing a clause in the constitution that demanded officials display allegiance solely to Australia. That ruling created a small crisis when it ultimately resulted in the exits of 15 active members of the parliament. With the tumult in the government, McKenzie was able to rise through the ranks faster than she could have otherwise, and she joined the Ministry in the Australian government in December 2017. In the 2019 elections, she achieved a long-held goal of hers when she became the Minister of Agriculture. The realization of that dream, however, was short-lived, when
scandal hit her almost immediately upon her taking office. Allegations of misconduct in the dispersal of government grants during her time as Minister of Sports started to gain traction as people began connecting the dots. McKenzie has maintained a friendship with the Coalition Party’s Nigel Scullion, and the two are fellow shooting enthusiasts. Scullion is a registered member of the
ment grant of $500,000 to the Northern Territory shooting club, which appears to have been a large instigator for all further investigation. Preliminary research that led to allegations and the official inquiry that followed those allegations have uncovered that, during her time as Minister of Sports, McKenzie granted a disproportionate amount of money to shooting clubs.
“... McKenzie authorized a government grant of $500,000 to the Northern Territory shooting club ...” Northern Territory Shooting Club, an organization for gun enthusiasts which has hosted many events at which McKenzie made an appearance. McKenzie herself is not an official member of the club, but is a member of the umbrella organization, Field and Game Australia. Closely preceding the May 2019 elections, McKenzie authorized a govern-
It has also been uncovered that the former senator never disclosed her membership of Field and Game Australia, a fact that would have necessitated her recusal from the situation. The turmoil only arose recently, gaining steam near the end of 2019, but it reached a head with the Feb. 2 resignation of McKenzie, who stepped down following the grow-
ing knowledge of the scandal in which she had become embroiled. In relation to American politics, the entire saga stands in deep contrast, and not just to the plethora of micro-controversies of the present administration. The second Bush administration is guilty of a similar transgression with the allocation of funds to religious organizations, a move that is both unconstitutional and openly linked to personal religious affiliations. Regardless, no repercussions ever reached the president nor anyone else in the administration for the money moved there. While the scandal in Australia has become large enough to make news on the opposite side of the world, it is still worth noting how unoriginal the scandal actually is when taken in comparison to other eyebrow-raising exchanges of funds in politics around the world. The characteristic that separates this scandal from others is not its nature, but rather the swift action that was taken once it was uncovered and the shame bestowed upon all involved.
Feb. 10 - Feb. 16 Monday/Tuesday
10/11
No Events
Wednesday 12
W Basketball @ Cincinnati 10 a.m. M Basketball vs. ECY 7 p.m.
Thursday
Saturday
Friday 14
13
Softball vs. TSU 12:30 .m.
No Events
Softball @ MSU 3 p.m. Track and Field @Annual Gorilla Classic Track and Field @Iowa Classic
Sunday 16
15
M Basektball @USF 11 a.m. W Tennis @DePaul West 1 p.m.
Softball @Bulldog Classic 3 p.m./5 p.m.
Softball @North Alabama Kickoff
Track and Field @AnW Basketball nual Gorilla Classic vs. SMU 2 p.m. Track and Field @Iowa Classic
Softball @Dayton 11:15 a.m.
M Tennis @LSU 12 p.m.
