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 […]
High School
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 […]
B.C. senior girls pre-season 2022-23 basketball Quad-A rankings: PoCo’s Riverside Rapids top our first look at province’s largest tier!
LANGLEY — The Riverside Rapids, coming off a loss to its Port Coquitlam crosstown rivals, the Terry Fox Ravens, in this month’s provincial Quad-A championship final, have been tabbed as the team to beat next season in B.C.’s largest tier next season.In an early-look pre-season Top 12 produced by the pollsters behind B.C. senior girls […]
A SUNDAY READ: How the simple words “…Irish, it’s your time” lifted St. Pat’s Celtics past Elgin Park and to a B.C. Triple-A title dedicated to a hurting teammate!
LANGLEY — In the biggest games of his young basketball life, Irish Coquia has averaged an amazing 30 points per game.Yet in any description of the seemingly-indescribable St. Patrick’s Celtics’ Grade 11 guard, it’s important to note that despite his gaudy point totals, he scores higher in the intangibles department than any other statistical category.On […]
A Sunday Read: A pivot’s night of perfection! As Karan Aujla defies odds to play a perfect game, Burnaby South joins B.C.’s ultra-elite after 4A title win over Semiahmoo!
LANGLEY — Scour the basketball world and we’re pretty sure you’ll be able to find the analytical formulas which attempt to best define excellence on the court.Yet if you happened to be among the 6,000-plus delirious fans who set a new single-event attendance record late Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre for the B.C. […]
B.C. 2A Final: Will Whundas ever cease? Kamloops’ hoops wonders from Westsyde top No. 1 Lambrick Park for school’s first-ever B.C. boys title!
LANGLEY — They’ve always been known for having one of the truly great nicknames in all of B.C. high school sports.Now, Kamloops’ Westsyde Whundas can be known for something else as well: B.C. senior boys basketball champions.Caleb Ezedebego drained the three-pointer of his life from the baseline corner with 26.5 seconds remaining to put the […]