Calgary receiver Michael Klukas (front) battles UBC defensive back Jean Ventose on Friday at Thunderbird Stadium. (UBC athletics photo by Bob Frid)
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Nill labels UBC loss to Dinos “…an ass kicking” as all roads to Vanier now go through Calgary

VANCOUVER— Blake Nill has never pulled punches, and the UBC Thunderbirds head coach wasn’t about to start a new trend Friday.“You can call it what you want but it was an ass-kicking,” Nill said following his team’s 31-17 loss to the Calgary Dinos at Thunderbird Stadium. “When we had momentum, we were stopping the run […]

UBC cornerback Will Maxwell (3) has proven himself to be the quickest of studies. (Bob Frid/UBC athletics)
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Will Maxwell: A year ago, UBC cornerback had never made a tackle… now he leads the team

VANCOUVER — The leading tackler on the best defensive team in the Canada West has a confession to make. “Up until the end of last season, I had never played a down of defence in my life,” says Will Maxwell. “Until last year, I had never even made a tackle.”

UBC head coach Blake Nill, pictured with offensive coordinator Paul Orazietti, says Calgary has set the Canada West's gold standard. (Richard Lam/UBC athletics)
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UBC’s Nill on Friday foes from Calgary: “They are the ones we have to measure ourselves against.”

VANCOUVER — The last time the UBC Thunderbirds won four straight Canada West conference football games was back in 2015 when Blake Nill was the team’s first-year head coach. History tells us, of course, that the ‘Birds parlayed that quartet of regular season-ending games into an eventual seven-game win streak that culminated with a Vanier Cup […]

Glenn Steele has been chosen the greatest UBC Thunderbirds football player of all time. (Photo -- UBC athletics)
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The Man of Steele: UBC running back Glenn Steele picked No. 1 on list of ‘Birds all-time 100 players

VANCOUVER — The greatest player in the history of UBC Thunderbirds football is asked to remember his favourite moment from the game which propelled his team into the 1982 Vanier Cup national final.All these years later, Glenn Steele remains the ever-humble ‘Bird, yet even his best attempt at a simple recollection winds up sounding a […]

UBC receiver Will Watson was a key part of the 'Birds dynamic first-half offence Wednesday night in Kamloops. (Richard Lam, UBC athletics photo)
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TSUMURA: My ‘Top 5 takeaways’ from ‘Birds preseason football opener as UBC tops Alberta 33-30

The UBC Thunderbirds’ youthful ways led to some anxious moments on Wednesday.Yet its first-unit players, in all three phases, looked as devastating as they ever have as the Blake Nill-era entered its third season in the Southern Interior.With quarterback Michael O’Connor and a healthy UBC offence, bolstered by a deep core of running backs and […]

UBC freshman running back Shane Noel (right) takes a handoff from quarterback Parker Simson during fall camp practice in Vancouver. (Richard Lam/UBC athletics)
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‘Sugar Shane’ brings sweet feet to Thunderbird Stadium, ex-STMC back ready to take flight with ‘Birds

VANCOUVER — If the reports from training camp carry over into the regular season, then a popular touchdown anthem at Thunderbird Stadium this fall is going to be a sound bite of the line ‘Sugar, Sugar’ from that infectious 1969 bubble-gum pop smash by The Archies.

UBC's Michael O'Connor has ridden both sides of the emotional roller-coaster over his first two seasons as the Thunderbirds' starting quarterback. (Richard Lam/UBC athletics)
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Michael O’Connor: UBC’s QB-1 on how his humbled ‘Birds prep for redemption in 2017

VANCOUVER — In those on-field moments, when he breaks contain and puts his feet to work, UBC Thunderbirds’ quarterback Michael O’Connor is a guy that can make you miss.

UBC receiver Alex Morrison missed most of 2016 with a broken arm, but he's got his health back and is headed off to New York Giants' rookie mini-camp on May 11. (Bob Frid, UBC athletics)
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UBC Thunderbirds receiver Alex Morrison answers call to duty at New York Giants rookie mini-camp

VANCOUVER — While gaining an invitation to the New York Giants rookie mini-camp offers UBC Thunderbirds’ receiver Alex Morrison no guarantee of an NFL future, recent history has shown that his particular destination packs a ton of karma in the pursuit of a professional football career.