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The annual soccer dance of spring — the Province Cup — opens this weekend for the four qualified Island men’s A teams. The draw, however, didn’t do Island regular-season champion and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ fourth-seed Saanich Fusion any favours.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Kobe Bryant pushed his fraying body and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates relentlessly through the second half of a vital game until he felt a searing pain in his left heel. Bryant's Achilles' tendon apparently is torn.

SEATTLE - Through the first couple weeks of the season, Hisashi Iwakuma has been the most impressive part of Seattle's starting staff.

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins watched snowflakes swirl over Target Field all night. What happened to Vance Worley against the New York Mets was, well, more like an avalanche.

PHOENIX - A night after their emotions ran at a fever pitch in San Diego, the Los Angeles Dodgers fell flat in Arizona. Not even Clayton Kershaw could rescue them in a 3-0 loss to young Patrick Corbin and the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

SEATTLE - NBA Commissioner David Stern said the sale of the Sacramento Kings would not become a bidding war. Chris Hansen and the group seeking to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle is making moves that prove otherwise.

ST. LOUIS - Kyle Lohse had no complaints about his first start in St. Louis since changing teams. Going on six days' rest and off a very short spring, he kept his team in the game.

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals led the Atlanta Braves 4-0 after two innings. The margin was 4-1 entering the eighth. And 4-2 into the ninth. That all disappeared, thanks to a shaky bullpen and a mistake on defence.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Royals committed three errors in their first nine games. They had that many in the first three innings Friday night.

MINNEAPOLIS - As snowflakes swirled over Target Field, John Buck drove another ball deep into the air to join them. Buck and the New York Mets sure didn't let the wintry Minnesota night slow down their swings.