VANCOUVER — All similarities are of course unintentional, yet it seemed there were so many times this past Friday night at a sold-out Thunderbird Stadium that the cocked arm of UBC quarterback Garrett Rooker had an overflow crowd of 7,100 in the same state of rapt anticipation normally associated with a maestro’s baton at the […]
Feature
UBC football 2023: As Rooker’s return & Sudden Sam’s arrival spark impressive 25-10 road win over Rams, Thunderbirds’ young linebacking core takes giant step forward in Regina!
On a night when lofty preseason prognostication had put them in a place to answer the most elemental question of all, the UBC Thunderbirds provided a resounding response.So, was the latest edition of Point Grey’s gridiron Blue-and-Gold worthy of their co-No. 1 ranking to begin the Canada West football wars this season, right alongside the […]
A SUNDAY READ: Tsumura on the joys of summertime basketball, NCAA Div. 1 foreign tours, and the road-less-travelled path of Trinity Western’s electric David Mutabazi!
LANGLEY — The best part of ageing into an ‘old’ basketball writer?For me, it’s that rare but reassured feeling I get, when against any reasonable expectation, a player straps the fortunes of his team on his back, and in this case almost carries them to an improbable upset.That is the place I found myself this […]
TBI BOYS 2023: Our 32-team Tsumura Basketball boys unveil includes BC biggies, plus Cali’s Santa Margarita & Calgary-St. Mary’s, all at the LEC!
LANGLEY — The vast majority of B.C.’s very best teams will once again take to the court when the boys 2023 Tsumura Basketball Invitational tips off Dec. 6-9 at the Langley Events Centre.Yet as part of our latest December classic, which this year features two distinctly separate 16-team fields, we’re also thrilled to announce a […]
TBI GIRLS 2023: At 32 teams strong, here’s our full team reveal for the latest girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational, set to tip Dec. 13-16 at the LEC!
LANGLEY — Best ever?Admittedly, it’s a superlative that gets tossed around a little too lightly these days.Yet as it pertains to the overall quality, depth and competitiveness of what will be the 2023 senior girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational, it’s one that seems more likely than not to hit its mark.For the first time ever, the […]
B.C. boys preseason Top 10 hoops ranks: Oak Bay, Lord Byng, Pacific Academy, King David top the early charts!
LANGLEY — Just in time for summer, here is B.C. School Sports’ preseason senior boys varsity basketball rankings at all four tiers.Digest all of this as you anticipate the road to the 2024 provincials this March at the Langley Events Centre:BASKETBALLTOP 10 RANKINGSB.C. SENIOR BOYSPRESEASONQUAD A1 Oak Bay Bays (Victoria) (VI)2 Vancouver College Fighting Irish […]
A SUNDAY READ: With a 39-point average margin of victory at 2023 Quad-A B.C.’s championships, are the Semiahmoo Thunderbirds ready to be counted as one of tourney’s all-time best teams? Let the debates begin!
LANGLEY — Take a day to ponder what was in all likelihood one of the most dominant four-day runs in top-tiered B.C. boys high school basketball history, and you come to the realization that the 2022-23 Semiahmoo Thunderbirds have to be counted among the greatest champs in the event’s 77-year history.With too many gaping holes […]
A SUNDAY READ: Beneath its flash and dash, St. Pat’s reveal a new wrinkle as Celtics top hard-luck Dover Bay to repeat as B.C. Triple-A champions!
No. 1 ST. PATRICK’S 91 No. 2 DOVER BAY 80BY HOWARD TSUMURALANGLEY — Good basketball coaches know a good basketball team when they see one, and the second Nap Santos laid eyes on the Dover Bay Dolphins, he knew that somewhere along every defending champion’s perilous road to a repeat title, his team would have […]
B.C. Single A final: Rally-minded King David tops No. 1 Unity Christian! Vancouver’s No. 2 Lions claim first-ever B.C. senior boys hoops title!
BY GARY AHUJA(The Langley Events Centre)LANGLEY — The King David Lions pulled off the upset, denying the Unity Christian Flames an opportunity for a third consecutive provincial banner.Trailing by eight points with 7:35 to play, the second-seeded Lions scored 12 of the final 16 points to deny their Chilliwack opponent’s three-peat bid. The two teams […]
B.C. Double-A final: MVP Bakare’s 41 points and a good luck charm help No. 2 King George to resounding win over No. 1 Brentwood College!
By Gary Kingston(Special for Varsity Letters)NO. 2 KING GEORGE DRAGONS 63 NO. 1 BRENTWOOD COLLEGE 33LANGLEY – A rock. A simple little rock handed to him by his two-year-old daughter, Aria, was the good luck charm that King George Dragons head coach Darko Kulic kept in his pocket for four months.On Saturday at the Langley […]