BIG BRAINS

Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams were awarded College Team Academic Awards by the United Soccer Coaches Colleges Services Program this past week for their academic achievements during the 2019-2020 academic year. Every rostered member of both teams maintained a GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for the entirety of the academic year. This is the 11th straight year that the men’s soccer team has earned this award and the 10th time out of the last 11 years for the women’s team. Nationally, a total of 942 college teams received the award, and Bowdoin was one of 203 schools that had both their men’s and women’s teams receive the recognition.

VIRUS-RIDDEN

University of Alabama Head Coach of Football Nick Saban was diagnosed this week with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). With other major football programs across the nation having problems controlling COVID-19 in their locker rooms, the college football 2020 season is becoming even more of a health and safety concern for teams. In the past few days, the highest-profile football conference, the Southeast Conference (SEC), has had to postpone two games to ensure that COVID-19 outbreaks at the University of Florida and Vanderbilt University are controlled. While cases are picking up in football programs across the country, many administrators are attempting to avoid panic by insisting that the season will go on as planned because of the months of planning they had over the summer.

KINGS OF DISNEY

For the first time since 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers won the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals this past Sunday, tied with the Boston Celtics for the most Championships won by a franchise (17). The path, however, was not easy nor quick. The NBA adopted the bubble concept—where teams come together in a closed, controlled environment to play games—to finish out its regular season and host the postseason. Unlike the National Hockey League (NHL), the NBA hosted its tournament in a neutral location: Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers won his fourth NBA Finals MVP trophy and promptly dedicated his play to the late Kobe Bryant, who died earlier this year at the age of 41.