BURNABY — Ethan Beselt had long since stopped counting the days since his last football game.All the unflappable Simon Fraser Red Leafs’ receiver knew was that it had been a long, long time.For the record, it was 1,037 days, which within the window of eligibility for an NCAA student-athlete is indeed nothing short of an […]
Tag: Howard Tsumura
For Simon Fraser Red Leafs’ defensive back Gideone Kremler, finding his inner ‘safety’ comes after a pain-stamped journey to the top of Burnaby Mountain!
BURNABY — A framed photo sits on the dresser drawer of his room in the Burquitlam rental he shares with six other housemates, and for Simon Fraser sophomore safety Gideone Kremler, all it takes is a simple daily glance back at his 12-year-old self to understand — despite all of the pain and disappointment — […]
From offence to defence, UBC’s Ryan Baker now the ‘tackle maker’ … Thunderbirds’ linebacker records 13 tackles in opening win! No. 9 ‘Birds at No. 2 Sask Huskies on Friday!
VANCOUVER — Ryan Baker came to UBC four years ago with a football resume seemingly as vast as the geographic dimensions of the school’s sprawling Point Grey campus.Now, five seasons into a gridiron career punctuated by not only the pandemic, but by a switch from one side of the ball to the other, the prowess […]
UBC Football 2022: The ‘Canadianization’ of ‘Birds Texas-born quarterback Garrett Rooker takes flight! Reigning CW Rookie of the Year leads Blue-&-Gold into Saturday opener vs. visiting Alberta!
VANCOUVER — If you’re a fan of B.C. football, I am sure you’ll agree that the summer of 2022 has been blessed by a thick coating of something best described as quarterback karma… the likes of which we have never seen.Of course, you can start with the previously unthinkable: Canadians Nathan Rourke and Michael O’Connor […]
A message from Howard: After 40 years, I’ll bring a new writing direction to Varsity Letters for the 2022-23 high school and university sports season!
NORTH DELTA – Heartfelt greetings to all of you, my loyal, longtime readers.It’s been five months since I decided to take a break from my writing life.As was the goal from the very start, my decision to take sabbatical after 40 years of daily practice — first from my typewriter, and of course later, in […]
Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2022: The TBI has grown to 64 teams! Check out the new format as we unveil December’s boys and girls fields!
LANGLEY — The 2021-22 B.C. high school basketball season may be but a month in the rearview mirror, yet the journey to a new campaign’s tip-off is already well underway.While Varsity Letters is currently on an extended sabbatical, the one piece of news we did promise last month was unveiling the boys and girls entrants […]
It’s time for a rest: Varsity Letters will begin a six-month sabbatical with a planned September return!
NORTH DELTA — Hello to my loyal and cherished readers.I wanted to let you all know that for the first time in my career, I have decided to take an extended leave from writing.In simple terms, by the time I finish tapping out this story, I will begin a near-six month sabbatical to rest and […]
Howie’s High School Hoops Hamper 2021-22 finale: Random thoughts as the off-season beckons!
LANGLEY — Some random thoughts and remembrances as I pack the 2021-22 B.C. high school boys and girls basketball season into my over-stuffed memory banks and look ahead to the game’s off-season hibernation:BREAKINGTo those who pay attention to our early pre-season polls, I have taken great pride in not only producing the Quad-A poll the […]
2022-23 B.C. Boys Top 10 pre-preseason hoops rankings! 4A Semiahmoo, 3A St. Patrick’s, 2A St. Thomas Aquinas, 1A Glenlyon Norfolk top the polls!
LANGLEY — Fans of B.C. boys high school basketball were treated to an absolute gem of a provincial tournament for four days last week at the Langley Events Centre.Stirring games in all four rounds, and the largest crowd to witness a B.C. final this century, and perhaps even a lot further back than that… we […]
The Bear Claw Classic: Varsity Letters’ high school sports nickname story sparks new and unique boys basketball tourney for Prince George Polars!
LANGLEY — Do a quick web search with the words ‘bear’ and ‘B.C.’ and in a split second, you get information like ‘Most of B.C. is considered bear country.’Bears, of course, are so much a part of our provincial heritage that they have logically been absorbed into our lexicon of sports team nicknames.Last spring, Prince […]