Articles by Emerald Gao

A four-year starter, Cartwright was confident anchor of stalwart defense

09 May 2008

Although the sport of soccer is celebrated for its combination of skill and athleticism, it is driven just as heavily by the intangibles of intelligence and instinct...


Sports Shorts 5/9/08: Women's soccer drops game to Wildcats

09 May 2008

Missing key players and fielding a few experimental formations, women’s soccer played Northwestern in a spring exhibition game Tuesday, holding their D-I opponents scoreless in the first half bef...


Fandom cures the winter blues

21 Feb 2008

There’s a reason we call them spectator sports: The number of people who go to games matters, and the noise those people generate certainly matters. ...


Catching up with Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch

08 Feb 2008

In just over two years, “Deadspin,” the popular anti-mainstream sports blog, has evolved into the gateway drug to the sports blogosphere, and founder, editor, and Mattoon, IL native Will Leitch i...


If God doesn’t Save the Fan from ESPN, Will Leitch will

31 Jan 2008

Last summer I became a raging insomniac...


Aren't we all American Gladiators?

18 Jan 2008

Thank you, writers’ strike. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. ...


In a city of struggling teams, Blackhawks are suprising stars

27 Nov 2007

There’s only one team with a winning record in Chicago right now, and it comes in the surprising form of the Blackhawks. Hoc-key? Unexpectedly, astonishingly, yes. ...


The higher they rise, the harder they fall: Women’s soccer tops Aurora in first round only to lose on PKs to Pointers

13 Nov 2007

For a new generation of women’s soccer, the first brush with success was short and bittersweet, as the team experienced the frustration of an unexpected second-round exit from the NCAA tournament...


Women's soccer steadies itself for NCAAs

09 Nov 2007

Women’s soccer has practiced every day for the past 11 weeks to get to this point. ...


At rocky season's end, men's soccer finds steadier footing in shutout draw

06 Nov 2007

A persistent struggle for men’s soccer this season was consistency in execution—they needed desperately to find their footing, and they finally did on the last day of the 2007 season. It...


It's now or never for women's soccer against Bears

02 Nov 2007

Once again, women’s soccer is facing a do-or-die situation on the last game day of the season—but this time, there’s more at stake. Y...


Men’s kicks drops two games

30 Oct 2007

With one game left in the season, men’s soccer is still battling its demons. ...


What's next for soccer?

26 Oct 2007

While last Saturday’s double-overtime match against Wheaton may be the early favorite for game (and call) of the year, the Go Maroons audio team is already looking forward to the final stretch. ...


Women's soccer nearly upsets Thunder

23 Oct 2007

Trying to earn, borrow, beg, or steal a result against the best team in the country in under a minute—most would consider that a lost cause. ...


Men's kicks serves Judges, falls at NYU

16 Oct 2007

How is improvement measured? For men’s soccer and head coach Scott Wiercinski, more than halfway through the season and sitting sixth in the UAA standings, their philosophy lies in day-to-day pro...


Tartans hand women's soccer first UAA loss

08 Oct 2007

At the beginning of the season, women’s soccer was dominant in all areas of the field. Not only did they seemingly score at will, they were also able to stop their opponents in their tracks. ...


Men’s soccer can’t find finishing touch

05 Oct 2007

Past the halfway mark in the season and staring at a schedule filled with UAA play, men’s soccer is in a less-than-desirable position. ...


Men's soccer falls in UAA heartbreaker

02 Oct 2007

Last season, the biggest concern for men’s soccer was how new everything was—a new coach, a lot of new players, and a new system that took some time to figure out. No...


Women’s kicks gears for new era

30 Sep 2007

They came and they saw, but the conquering is still a work in progress...


Seeing Red: Robo-Crouch and Liverpool look to relive ’05 triumph

22 May 2007

The two best moments of my life so far have come as a supporter of the Liverpool Football Club...


Sports Shorts 5/1/07: Men’s soccer battles DI foes in scrimmages

01 May 2007

Facing a pair of D-I foes, men’s soccer closed out its spring season Sunday with a doubleheader of truncated games at Loyola University. ...


Soccer’s Hall made final four her home

24 Apr 2007

It takes years to master the skills of any sport, and most athletes spend their careers perfecting one position that shows off all their individual talents...


Sindy set tone at net as assists leader, captain

13 Apr 2007

For a volleyball program that has seen its share of ups and downs over the years, the rare combination of tenacity, drive, and leadership in a single player can make a world of difference...


Sindy set tone at net as assists leader, captain

13 Apr 2007

For a volleyball program that has seen its share of ups and downs over the years, the rare combination of tenacity, drive, and leadership in a single player can make a world of difference...


23rd Chicago Latino Film Festival lets the dogs out

13 Apr 2007

The Chicago Latino Film Festival has been bringing an eclectic mix of Spanish- and Portuguese-language film to the city for nearly a quarter of a century...


Chicago: Just grin and Bear it.

06 Feb 2007

I wasn’t expecting to write this column under these circumstances. ...


After Midnight pays tribute to the silent film era

27 Oct 2004

The Mole Antonelliana—located in Turin, Italy—houses the unique, vertically organized Museum of Cinema, which boasts a collection of over 7,000 films representing all periods of cinema—a true Mec...


Aaltra is breezy, Adam and Eve sleazy at Chicago International Film Festival

24 Oct 2004

As the oldest international film competition in North America, the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) has kept a tradition of fulfilling two goals: to present new filmmakers and to recogn...


Hedberg brings shoegazing, one-liners to Mandel

15 Feb 2005

The first 47 minutes of Mitch Hedberg's set at Mandel Hall on Sunday night nearly put me to sleep...


Spamalot strikes perfect balance by revering, expanding comedy classic

18 Jan 2005

As both a Monty Python and a Mike Nichols fangirl, I was doubly excited for the Chicago stint of Monty Python's Spamalot at the Shubert Theatre...


Do you Love the '90s? Check out the stellar Stella.

16 Nov 2004

David Wain knows how to ask the important questions in life: "What could be better than sitting in a Jacuzzi and cracking farts all day?" It's supposed to be a rhetorical question, but Michael...


Film festival challenges students with vow of silence

17 May 2005

Last winter, fourth-year Mike LaRocco was approached by UT member Ramiro Castro in hopes of making a film with his sketch comedy group Big Dog Eat Child...


UT show invites different takes on Art

10 May 2005

Serge buys a painting: white lines on a white background. One friend, Marc, is visibly upset by his purchase, insisting that the painting is "a piece of shit...


Latino film fest shows growing up is (still) hard to do

22 Apr 2005

When the lights are dimmed, those few moments between the end of the sponsor segment and the beginning of the film are akin to time travel...


Latino Film Festival adds global flair in second week

18 Apr 2005

You know you're "in" when the press table ladies at Pipers Alley know your face and chuckle when you butcher all the movie titles...


Festival showcases diverse world of Latino film

12 Apr 2005

The Chicago Latino Film Festival is older than half of the University's undergraduate population, myself included...


Stars scribble hearts, teach us how to play with fire on latest U.S. release

08 Mar 2005

"When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire." These are the first words spoken on Stars' third full-length release...


Fall movie preview: giant gorillas and Johnny Cash

13 Sep 2005

Well, summer's over, which means two things: School is starting again, and Oscar season is almost upon us...


Men's soccer exits tourney on penalty kicks

14 Nov 2006

For men’s soccer, the euphoria of earning a postseason berth came to an abrupt end in the cruelest of fashions. ...


Men’s soccer earns NCAA bid

07 Nov 2006

The going is about to get especially rough for men’s soccer, and the Maroons (10–5–3, 2–3–2 UAA) will have to rise to the occasion and get tough in order to assert themselves quickly in the posts...


Loss dashes women’s soccer’s dreams

07 Nov 2006

When the NCAA website released its list of championship selections late Sunday night, there was a sense of disappointment that women’s soccer was not slated for a tournament spot. ...


Fuzzy numbers, Bears in men’s soccer’s playoff path

03 Nov 2006

Rip up those mathematical formulas and put away the calculators...


Hamilton, men's soccer stun Violets with last-second miracle goal

31 Oct 2006

Sometimes it’s the result that matters more than the way it is achieved, and men’s soccer ground out a win and a tie this weekend that lacked flair but not effort. ...


Catalano, Farmer spark women's soccer in late-season surge

31 Oct 2006

A little luck can go a long way...


Lights burn bright for NBC with new sports drama

27 Oct 2006

Growing up in the California suburbs, near De La Salle, a Catholic boys’ high school that boasted one of the best football teams in the nation, I was exposed early on to the idiosyncratic, someti...


Men's soccer edges Warhawks in instant classic

24 Oct 2006

Last year, men’s soccer pulled out a 1–0 overtime victory over UW–Whitewater. This...


Two Reeling films address social intolerance through individual portraits

04 Nov 2005

Reeling: 10 days, 67 programs...


Reeling begin 24th year with strong lineup of gay sports films

01 Nov 2005

For the past 23 years, Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival— has consistently proved that queer film isn’t just for Gender Studies majors. W...


Fall movie preview: Sorcery, sci-fi, and Spaniards

14 Sep 2006

Although Scorsese’s The Departed—a remake of the Hong Kong cult classic Infernal Affairs—has received less-than-sparkling reviews from advance screenings, and Sofia Coppola’s badly mangled Marie ...


The Dream Begins for America's soccer hopefuls just in time for the World Cup

12 May 2006

I’'ve seen Goal! The Dream Begins twice now, and I’'m still hesitant in my approach to this review. ...


Social tangles are unraveled at the Latino Film Festival

05 May 2006

The best part about having a press pass for a film festival is— -- well, duh, it’s having all those movies at my disposal, free of charge. T...


Goals and love on display at Latino Film Festival

28 Apr 2006

If there’s one thing that’s consistent throughout all Latin and South American countries, it’s their love for fútbol—--soccer, as we ignorant Americans know it. As a f...


Chicago Latino Film Festival paints striking portraits of friends and lovers

28 Apr 2006

My first experience with Spanish language film was when I was the only non-Latin American person in the audience at a limited showing of El Crimen del Padre Amaro...


Men's soccer cruises, sets sights on UAA

13 Oct 2006

While it may be in the nature of a young team to falter out of the gate, it is also necessary for the players to pick themselves up, move forward, and learn from past performances...


Foreign films pass muster at Chicago film fest

13 Oct 2006

A quick primer: The Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) is organized into competitive and showcase categories...


Rare shutout as women's soccer stifled

10 Oct 2006

There’s a first time for everything, and on Saturday women’s soccer was dealt a double whammy. ...


First CIFF weekend features human pathos and joy

06 Oct 2006

Chicago is one of the great cinema cities in the United States, a statement that is very easy to make each autumn when the Chicago International Film Festival rolls around...


Women's soccer takes down Tartans

03 Oct 2006

Bringing to an end a five-year stretch of futility against the visitors from Pittsburgh, the eighth-ranked Maroons (7–1–1, 1–0–0 UAA) downed Carnegie Mellon (4–4–1, 0–1–0) 1–0 Saturday morning at...


Hot streak ends as men's soccer drops UAA opener

03 Oct 2006

In a rough and tumble UAA opener, men’s soccer saw its four-game winning streak slip away. ...


Down and out: Maroons lose game, Prochaska at Wheaton

01 Oct 2006

For women’s soccer, the reception in Wheaton was as chilly as the weather Tuesday night. ...


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