Medill Reports Chicago • 26th May 2025

From Nazareth to NFL: CJ West looks to make impact with San Francisco 49ers - Medill Reports Chicago

By Will McLernon
Medill Reports
At Nazareth Academy, CJ West didn’t just wreak havoc on the football field as he helped lead the Roadrunners to the 2018 Illinois 7A state championship; the 6-foot-1, 316-pound defensive tackle also wowed crowds on stage with his voice in the Catholic school’s musicals.
“It really helped me step out of my comfort zone,” West said about playing Moonface Martin in the musical “Anything Goes” and Kristoff in “Frozen.” “Your voice is really powerful depending on how y...

The Arizona Republic • 10th February 2025

Last of his qualifier breed, Will Chandler had one wild week at the WM Phoenix Open

Will Chandler played himself one wild and long week of golf. From competing in the WM Phoenix Open’s last-ever Monday qualifier to earning a coveted spot in the tournament — where he finished tied for sixth in just his third PGA Tour event — the 27-year-old underdog found himself walking down the 18th fairway on Sunday with the world’s top-ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler.The University of Georgia alum described his first three days of competition as a football-like environment, so the final rou...

Arizona Republic • 7th February 2025

Golf influencers drawing big crowds, ascending to celebrity status at WM Phoenix Open

The PGA players clearly aren’t the only stars at the WM Phoenix Open this week.

Nick Trapman waited eagerly on the right of the 10th hole fairway of TPC Scottsdale as Wyndham Clark teed off during Wednesday’s Annexus Pro-Am. And when Clark’s drive landed near him, Trapman seized a golden opportunity to ask for a picture. But it was not with whom you’d expect.

Instead of asking for a shot of 2023 U.S. Open champion, he wanted a photo with his caddie for the day, Robby Berger, a member of the po...

Arizona Republic • 8th February 2025

Grow Canada: All 6 Canadian PGA Tour players at WM Phoenix Open making the cut

PGA Tour veteran Adam Hadwin loves hearing “O Canada” when he hits a good shot in the coliseum-like 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. When he sank a 13.5-foot birdie putt on Friday morning, the Saskatchewan native gave the rowdy crowd a reason to erupt.

That electrifying putt contributed to a near-historic run for the 37-year-old Canuck as he birdied seven straight holes during the second round of the WM Phoenix Open — falling just two short of the PGA Tour’s all-time longest birdie streak. He was o...

CBC • 9th July 2023

This Canadian physiotherapist won a Stanley Cup in 2006 — this year his son helped Denver win the NBA title | CBC News

A father and son with Saskatchewan roots love to help athletes achieve their goals — and they're really good at it. Both men have helped high-level athletes bring home hardware and win championships. Peter Friesen helped the Carolina Hurricanes claim the Stanley Cup in 2006, working with the team as a physiotherapist and strength coach. He was recently inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Prince Albert, Sask. His son Jack, who was born in Saskatoon, is a physiotherapist for t...

CBC • 18th July 2024

How coming home to Saskatoon helped hurdler Michelle Harrison qualify for her first Olympics | CBC News

Saskatoon may not be the first place that comes to mind as a hotbed for breeding track and field Olympians, but hurdler Michelle Harrison says coming home helped her qualify for her first Olympics.Next month, Harrison will compete for Canada in the 100-metre hurdles, fulfilling her lifelong dream of competing on the sport's biggest stage. Coming out of high school Harrison left the province to pursue training opportunities but struggled to find her stride. She returned to Saskatoon in 2017, unsu...

CBC • 20th May 2022

Riding the waves off Nova Scotia, this surfer says she felt cancer-free | CBC News

It could be the most beautiful summer day in Nova Scotia or the harshest day of winter; if there are waves, Amber Spurrell will surf.Even while undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy."Getting in the ocean allowed me not to have cancer for a few minutes and just be," says Spurrell, 42, who was diagnosed last year with breast cancer.At 27, Spurrell met her biological mother for the first time and learned that her family had a history of breast cancer.Spurrell had yearly mammograms throughout her 30...

Arizona Republic • 5th February 2025

Former Phoenix Open volunteer, ex-high school star Frankie Capan III making tourney debut

At 12 years old, Frankie Capan III watched intensely as he held a sign displaying the scores of Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Bill Haas at the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Mickelson gave the youngster one of his gloves but that wasn’t his most memorable moment as a volunteer at TPC Scottsdale. Instead, the aspiring golf pro was wowed by one of Watson’s drives on the 6th hole.

“He just hit like a 60-yard cut, kind of his patented cut,” Capan III said after working on his bunker game o...

The Arizona Republic • 6th February 2025

Arizona State star, 2024 U.S Amateur champ Josele Ballester joining long list of Sun Devils at Phoenix Open

Phil Mickelson. John Rahm. Paul Casey. David Puig. Those are the names Arizona State senior Josele Ballester ticked off that have helped solidify the Sun Devils’ legacy as a college golfing powerhouse.The Spaniard is confident he can be one of those names. And perhaps soon.Playing his first PGA Tour event on American soil this week, Ballester has one of the WM Phoenix Open’s five sponsor exemptions and is one of four golfers with ASU ties. On his 21st birthday in August, he became the fourth ASU...

CBC • 29th September 2023

New hockey sticks aim to spark conversation about Every Child Matters movement in Canada | CBC News

Thousands of new orange and black Every Child Matters hockey sticks now on shelves of sporting goods stores across Canada are meant to do more than just send pucks into nets.Clay DeBray designed the sticks to spread awareness about what happened to generations of Indigenous children who were forced into Canada's residential school institutional system."My oldest son is a junior hockey player and I want him to have a stick so his teammate sitting right next to him can look at that stick and ask t...

CBC • 1st January 2024

The inaugural PWHL season starts this week. Get to know some of the players from Saskatchewan | CBC News

Growing up in Saskatoon, Emily Clark dreamed of being a professional hockey player, but the only option was the NHL because there was no established or sustainable women's league.Clark's dream is finally coming true with the introduction of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is one of four women from Saskatchewan signed to official rosters for the inaugural season that starts this week.The 28-year-old Saskatoon native made history in September when she was one of the first three...

CBC • 12th June 2023

These Northern Sask. students were displaced by wildfires — now they're helping restore their forests | CBC News

An approaching wildfire had displaced students from the Clearwater River Dene Nation in northern Saskatchewan — but now they are leading the charge in restoring nearby forests. Twenty-one students from the Clearwater River Dene School have helped plant 9,000 tree seedlings in the forests surrounding their community. This came weeks after a mandatory evacuation order was issued for their community. The tree planting initiative is part of a community-driven project called Beading a New World: Coll...