NCAA football is one of the most popular sports in North America with some states considering it better than the NFL. There are many reasons for this belief and one may be the lack of whining players who want a load of money to play or they will not set foot on the field. These kids are attempting to get to that point, many will become those types of players but they are still true heroes in college. Another is the excitement of NCAA games due to the spread of talent and the extreme need to win every game. In the NCAA the talent is very spread out throughout over 100 teams making man of the Division I FBS teams equal in their chance to win every game. There is also more of a chance of big plays and some more exciting offences that work great in college and terrible in the NFL, much like the Spread offence. There is also a need to go undefeated every year to have a chance at the National Championship. Losing one game can ruin your season and it can happen against anyone, see D-I FBS Michigan Wolverines vs. D-I FCS Appalachian State. For all of these reasons NCAA is extremely popular but one of the main reasons is the meaning that NCAA has for many fans. For some fans their University/College experience was the best time of their lives and staying connected means supporting your team. Almost everyone in the USA is attached to a team and the loyalty expressed is like nothing else in sports. This makes the NCAA exciting and the season will start again and you never know what can happen any given week.

For those of you that think that Ontario is a relatively flat, boring province with no cycling challenges, think again. This past Sunday myself and 4 friends rode the Durham Ride 4 the United Way.

In 160km we climbed 5,800 ft, and with several hills topping out at 10% -13% gradient. It’s not the French Alps or Pyrenees, but it’ll definitely make those legs burn and change your perception of cycling in Ontario!

What does a wilderness canoe tripper know about municipal politics? Yeah, well, you’re reading the article so why not just finish it and decide afterward? I’m not writing from the perspective of my official Sherpa area of expertise but I do follow political goings on and I felt like commenting on it here, mostly in the hopes of generating some interest in the campaign as it enters its last couple of months.

In the smallest of the 4 regional divisions of the CIS there are only 4 schools with a football program. The first organization of Atlantic Universities was in 1974 as the Atlantic University Athletic Association. This was created after the Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Atlantic Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association joined together. In 1999 they changed their name to Atlantic University Sport (AUS). The four football programs play for the Jewett Trophy in the Loney Bowl. Perennial Power Saint Mary’s has been receiving some challenges as of late from the Axemen from Wolfville and Acadia University. This year we will see who will be the lone team out of the playoffs as there is always a chance for a team from the AUS to make it to the Vanier Cup.

This week in the CFL the East had the week off while the West went to battle with the two worst teams in the league. It seemed to be a week full of boring games but it turned out that the bottom dwellers fought to stay out of the basement. Only one team achieved this feat as the other fell to possibly the best team in the CFL. Saskatchewan continues to falter as they lose again. The Stamps continue their dominance of the Western Conference as they attempt to pave a street to the Grey Cup. This still leaves B.C. and Edmonton trying to play their way out of the basement to prevent four Eastern teams from making the playoffs and two Western teams miss. They will have a long road to go as the season reaches its mid-point and they both seem to be missing something. Next week comes Labour Day where you can expect some changes or some last chances. As the second biggest weekend in CFL comes on I will take a look at the last week leading into the home stretch for the playoffs. Just as all other leagues are firing up the CFL is beginning to talk about how the teams will attempt to make the playoffs.

Originally a part of the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) the schools in the Sport Etudiant along with school from Ontario played for the Yates Cup. This league was established in 1897 and the Yates Cup was established in 1898, making it the oldest championship trophy in North America. In 1974 the Ontario and Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference (O-QIFC) was formed between a number of schools from Ontario and Quebec. In 1980 the Ontario based schools, except for Queen’s and Ottawa, formed the OUA while the others remained in the QIFC. Finally in 2000 Queen’s and Ottawa left and the QUFL/Sport Etudiant was formed of only Quebec Teams. Currently they play for the Dunsmore Cup starting in 1980.

There are thousands of articles and books with tips on how to play better tennis. Most of these are written by pros who employ various techniques and drills to improve strokes and strategies. However the best way to get better is very rarely identified. It is simply to practice or play with more players.

Still looking for some last minute festivals? Here is a list of some of the most popular events this week in Toronto. With the EX in it’s last week, we finish off the last long weekend of the summer with ever popular Canadian International Air Show.

On Saturday, I put on my creative hat and hit the FanexpoCanada to see what the heck goes on at these conventions.I am long time gamer (love the Final Fantasy franchise and also the Mortal Kombat one too) and am a fan of all things science fiction and zombie so I was right at home amongst all the creative genius at the event. Entrance on Saturday was $35. That was the base cost and what got you into the event. Everything else cost on top. Not knowing what to expect I was hoping to get an autograph of Adam West or Leslie Neilson – not so much luck there unless you were willing to pay decent money for the privilege. William Shatner was also scheduled to make an appearance but only on the Sunday and your fee only covered the one day.

I started adventure racing last summer, and it has been a journey of growth and a lot of learning. When I first bought my mountain bike, I crashed within the first hour of having it from simply not knowing how to properly ride clipped in. Through trial and error I got an idea of what good riding entailed but ended up in a few additional crashes on the road and the trail. Finally, I decided I need to go back to basics and learn proper technique from a professional. Enter Ian Thomson stage left!

The OUA was first formed after the division of the CIAU and the formation of the Quebec-Ontario Athletic Association in 1955. In 1971 Laval, McGill and Montreal withdrew from the Q-OAA and the remaining schools were all located in Ontario. As a result the remaining schools voted to change the name to Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) and keep the trophies and records from the Q-OAA. In 1997 the women’s league joined with the OUAA to form the OUA. A number of schools have joined the ranks, the most recent being University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

“The Prodigy” BJ Penn was considered the greatest lightweight in UFC history until Frankie “The Answer” Edgar beat him at UFC 112. It was considered one of the biggest upsets in sports and was nominated for exactly that at the ESPYS. Since that fight BJ has wanted a rematch and has talked about it seeming as though he though Frankie had gotten lucky. Frankie on the other hand still had a lot of respect for Penn but also thought Gray Maynard, who is undefeated, deserved the shot to fight for the title. Penn took this to mean that Frankie believed BJ didn’t deserve a shot to win back his title. So the talk started and the match was made. Most of the talk came from Hawaii where BJ was training as Frankie stayed silent. Penn finally got his shot at UFC 118 as they Edgar defended his title for the first time.

The Canada West Universities Athletic Association was formed in 1919 as the Western Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (WCIAU). It then split into the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) and the Great Plains Athletic Association (GPAA) in 1971. It has been this way since although Canada West is the official representative of Western Canada in the CIS. Slowly new teams have been adopted into the CWUAA. Currently there are thirteen schools in the CWUAA that participate in a number of different sports. There are 6 charter members including University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Victoria. There are a number of other schools as well as schools who participate in certain sports. The most recent addition was in 2010 when the UBC-Okanagan Heat, were accepted into Canada West.

Being a member of the football community in Canada I see the difference between the U.S. and Canada all the time. They have a larger pro league in the NFL and a larger college league in the NCAA, which in some areas is more popular than the NFL. I’d like to be one of the people in Canada to support our own college league. Many do not know much about the league and for many they have not heard about it much. Well over the next five days I will review the college ranks in Canada. This is the first entry and will be an overview of the league in general. For most of us Canadians who have graduated from a university inside Canada we will be cheering on our alma mater. Some are not as long such as myself, who did not go to a university with a football team so I will be cheering on to see some great exciting games. For those who have not paid attention to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Football this first entry will act as a review of the entire league and will outline some of the major stories leading into the new season. I will also be including weekly national rankings in my CFL posts.

I was delighted to have the privileged opportunity to speak with Les Stroud, better known as Survivor Man, regarding his upcoming show on Discovery Channel; Beyond Survival. Les was genuine and great pleasure to speak with. The longer you chat with him the more you feel his passion exude through the conversation. Here is what Les had to say about his experience filming, what’s next and his favorite past times.

There is nothing better then riding out on country roads and breathing in that fresh country air. Getting out of the city, is one of the reasons I love cycling as a sport. Yet, it’s rare to find a ride these days (whether organized or even recreational) that promotes taking it slow and soaking it all in.

The Tour de Greenbelt is series of bike rides in September that allows you to do just that and more.