By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER — “Run it with a long lens.”That’s the answer Phil Jalalpoor received before he began his maiden journey last season as the first new UBC men’s head basketball coach in a quarter of a century.“That was the question I asked in the beginning… what’s the approach here?” Jalalpoor told Varsity Letters […]
Tag: UBC Thunderbirds
A Sunday Read: UBC’s game-ending drive an homage to the late Dan Dorazio! With come-from-behind grit, ‘Birds ground game paints a masterpiece in Regina, tops Rams 21-17 to set up first-place clash at home to Huskies!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersIt was the kind of football game of whose finish the late, great sports painter LeRoy Neiman would have loved to capture.We’re talking about late October football on the prairies and under Friday night lights… the kind of football which seems to inevitably come down to a late fourth-quarter comeback attempt, this […]
A Sunday Read: UBC’s defence is a little bit country, a little bit rock n’ roll! Time on task pays dividends as LB Jack Pasloski’s rise keys ‘Birds defence in decisive 34-18 win over Calgary on Country Night!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER — If central casting was looking for someone to play the part of a hard-working ranch hand to star in its latest neo-Western TV series, it could do a lot worse than writing Jack Pasloski into its leading role.In the days leading up to the UBC Thunderbirds’ key Canada West home […]
A Sunday Read: In a battle for first place No. 5 Huskies top No. 7 ‘Birds 34-24 with extra-special special teams! Says UBC head coach Nill: “… tough to get fooled when you’re not really fooled.”
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersYou can think you’re ready for the toughest test in Canada West football, but as the UBC Thunderbirds found out Saturday night in Saskatoon, exorcising the gridiron demons which reside in Saskatoon require an almost maniacal focus on stretch-drive moments.No. 5-ranked Saskatchewan (4-1) rallied back from deficits in the late stages of […]
Blueprint for mettle shown on back-to-back snaps last week, now No. 7 UBC hunt fourth straight win at No. 5 Saskatchewan! Alert: Griffiths Stadium dryspell into ninth year for blue-and-gold!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER —OK, quick… which sounds shorter: 3,274 days or eight years, 11 months and 17 days?If you had a feeling they were exactly the same, you’re right. But by now, you must be wondering what in the wacky world of UBC football could possibly have lasted that long?Well, that’s the length of […]
A Sunday Read: Is unranked UBC the nation’s best-kept secret? Thunderbirds do it again, this time 31-6 over No. 10 Manitoba! Today we examine how all the moving parts have become one!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersMaybe one of the only things that didn’t unfold as smoothly as planned for the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday night in Winnipeg against the No. 10-ranked Manitoba Bisons was the bobbled snap that wiped out a 32-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter.In that instance, kicker Alexander Hillyard simply improvised, calmly […]
UBC football 2026: Bringing balance to its offence the key as ‘Birds look to win third straight game on Saturday! The rub? Blue and gold haven’t won at Manitoba Bisons since 2018!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER — It’s hard to believe that the 2026 Canada West football season is reaching its midway point this weekend.It’s even harder to believe that a UBC Thunderbirds team looking to win its third straight game will reach the halfway juncture without having yet committed a balanced four-quarter performance to tape.Can the […]
A SUNDAY READ: With nation’s best RB now calling Point Grey home, UBC’s football stakes rise! Coach Nill, at his cautionary best, won’t rest on the laurels of Homecoming win over No. 4 Regina!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER — No, the UBC Thunderbirds did not steal fire from the football gods.Yet to give credit where it is due, they did maybe the next best thing… they seem to have plucked 18-year-old running back Marvyn Larozar from under the noses of every college and university football program that can claim […]
A SUNDAY READ: The incredible UBC debut of Marvyn Larozar! Behind an incredible stride, how ‘Birds 18-year-old rookie from Ottawa rushed for 285 yards, 4 TDs in Blue-&-Gold home opener!
By Howard TsumuraVarsity LettersVANCOUVER — In its classrooms at UBC, first-year physics students all begin with the knowledge that mass times velocity equals momentum.Across campus on Friday night, those very same principles held true at venerable Thunderbird Stadium where 2,912 fans jammed themselves into the old yard’s cozy confines to watch a first-year running back […]
Fourth-quarter steals highlight ‘disruptive’ UBC mindset as No. 6 ‘Birds rally to top No. 1 Vikes, setting stage for a winner-take-all Pacific Division finale Saturday in the B.C. capital!
By Howard TsumuraVarsityLetters.caVICTORIA — In ancient mythology, the gods made news by stealing fire from each other.On Friday, the UBC Thunderbirds made some fourth-quarter headlines of their own by instead stealing basketballs and ultimately the game’s momentum, keeping hopes alive of an 11th-hour fastbreak to the Canada West’s Pacific Division title.Trailing by as many as […]