I can remember the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. I became a Dodger fan in the fall of 1952. They lost to the damn Yankees in 7 games that year. I was 10 years old and cried, but I had learned that Robinson was famous, I assumed because he was a great player.

While the IceDogs faithful certainly showed that they will pack a new arena, there is something about an old barn that fans have to love. Though the IceDogs season came to an end on March 29, their final home game on March 28 was a great show of raucous support from the fans.

On the evening of March 27, Brock University hosted its 46th annual Athletics Banquet at the Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Convention Centre. Brock University’s VP of Finance & Administration Brian Hutchings — formerly a CIS and Canadian Football League player — provided the opening remarks of the evening to over 600 guests who were in attendance for the ceremonies, at which Brock named its male and female players of the year.

From March 26-28, the students at Brock University voiced their opinions and voted on the 2013 Brock University Student Life Fee. After a large support campaign from the “Yes” and “No” sides, the final vote finished 54 percent in favour of the Yes campaign.

On March 24 the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 26 games with a 109-77 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. With each win the Heat extend their franchise win streak record as they leave their opponents in the dust in the Eastern Conference Standings.

On March 5, the New York Rangers’ Marc Staal was hit in the face by a slap shot from the Philadelphia Flyers’ Kimmo Timmonen. Staal left the ice and did not return because he had suffered serious damage to his eye. Initial reports indicated that he would be out indefinitely, but now rumors are spreading of his return in the coming weeks.

UFC 158 recently took place in Montreal, Quebec, with Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defending his title against Nick Diaz. This fight was much publicized due to the apparent “bad blood” that existed between the two fighters. St. Pierre and Diaz had some heated verbal exchanges leading up to the fight, yet when all was said and done it was nothing more than that, just words.

As students living in a first-world nation it is very easy to take things for granted, especially sports. Sports are something that is so accessible for kids living in Canada, so imagine how different your childhood would have been without sports. The Right to Play club at Brock University is trying to bring awareness to this situation, one soccer ball at a time.

On March 21, I went to Auburn Hills, Michigan to partake in the “Madness” for the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball championships. I have been to many sporting events in my life, but this is definitely one the coolest I have ever attended.

March 12 marked the beginning of the free agency period in the National Football League. Typically it serves as a last resort by General Managers to acquire a missing piece to the puzzle before draft day in preparation for next season. This is the time when teams with a lot of salary cap space can go after any player on the market.

It is fitting for an event with so much pride on the line to demand such a large amount of shamelessness on the stage. On March 13, Brock University Varsity athletes filled Isaac’s Bar and Grill for the sixth annual Varsity Airbands competition. Organized by the Brock University Athletics Council (BUAC), performers from Badgers varsity teams choreographed lip-sync routines.

When people think of the best quarterback currently in the National Football League (NFL), several names usually come to mind. Some say it is four-time NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Peyton Manning, others say it’s two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.

The Niagara IceDogs (30-33-2) lost a tough battle with the Brampton Battalion (33-25-3) by a score of 5-2 on March 14. The sell-out crowd of 3,145 in attendance were treated to a pre-game ceremony for the three over age IceDogs players who were playing their last career regular season home game at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

Last month, the New Orleans Hornets decided to change their name to the…. Pelicans. There has been much criticism about this move, however I personally think it is great. The Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana so at least there is some relevance towards the name change.

Companies such as Nike and Reebok have dominated the sport fashion world for the last decade and as a result they have destroyed their competition. One company that was stomped on due to these sporting giants was Starter Apparel. However, after years of being out of the game, Starter is making a comeback.

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) American League (AL) East division is often heralded as the toughest in Baseball. While that title is usually attributed to the presence of powerhouse New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox clubs, the offseason seems to have reshaped the playoff race into an even closer one than last year’s.

While Canadian Interuniversity Sport gets it done in one weekend, collegiate Basketball in the US is heading towards its most exciting couple weeks of the year – March Madness. The Men’s Basketball team is hoping to capitalize on the hype to help raise funds for the varsity program.

On March 10, the Niagara IceDogs (30-31-2) lost a heartbreaker to the Barrie Colts (42-19-2) 6-5 at the Gatorade Garden City Complex. This game had a lot of playoff implications as the Colts were looking to tie the Belleville Bulls in points as the number one seed in the Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference.

In February, two of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) greatest players of all-time turned 50-years-old. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley produced a rivalry that compelled audiences for many years. Both were named to the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” and to the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All-Time list.

With 22 games remaining in the season, the Toronto Raptors will need to find a spark if they hope to make the NBA playoffs. The Raptors, currently sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, were dealt a blow on March 2 with a 122-114 overtime loss to the eighth place Milwaukee Bucks.

In a time where there is so much parity in professional sports, the Chicago Blackhawks (18-0-3) are somehow continuing to make history. On Feb. 22, the Blackhawks broke the National Hockey League (NHL) record of 16 consecutive games to get a point to start the season.

The Niagara IceDogs (27-30-2-2) lost a tough battle against the Plymouth Whalers (36-17-5-4) by a score of 7-1 at the Gatorade Garden City Complex on Feb 28. With a crowd of 2,848 fans in attendance, the IceDogs looked to end the month of February strong with a victory.