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On paper, it was the dreaded game before the big game. But the Victoria Grizzlies made sure they remained focused on the task at hand Friday night — beating the Island Division’s last-place team, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

From the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ capital to the Alberta capital, the University of Victoria Vikes swung into Edmonton to sweep the MacEwan Griffins in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ West men’s and women’s basketball games played Friday night.

Oak Bay upset the ball cart Friday night. As a result, the second- and third-ranked teams in the province will meet in the semifinals Saturday at noon in the Island AAAA high school girls’ volleyball championships.

They have won four of the last five Subway Bowl sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ senior boys’ triple-A football championships, but make no mistake, the Mount Douglas Rams are decided underdogs when they enter quarter-final play today at sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Place.

Olympic medals aren’t delivered on gossamer wings. It takes birds with other wings — loonies and lots of them — to deliver Canadian athletes to the podium.

Coach Dani Sinclair proved to be made of stern stuff, both physically and emotionally, the last time she took her University of Victoria Vikes into Edmonton to play the MacEwan University Griffins in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ West women’s basketball.

When the Victoria Grizzlies head to the penalty box, they may be shorthanded, but the local sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Hockey League club is still a very lethal unit. The 14-4-2-3 Grizzlies have the No.

The Canadian Little League Baseball Championship will return to Victoria for the first time since 1991 when Layritz plays host to the prestigious event in the summer of 2020.

A change of surroundings is probably what Ty Westgard needs and he is going to get it. The Victoria Royals traded the rights to Westgard to the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday for a conditional pick in the 2019 Western Hockey League bantam draft.

It’s a remarkable legacy, and connection, to the world’s greatest sporting event: Many Islanders either know an Olympian or someone who does. That includes Bruce Courtnall, whose former NHLer brother Russ Courtnall skated in the Winter Games.