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Playing three seasons with the same team in the West Coast League is about as rare as finding somebody on the Island who doesn’t have an opinion about ferries.

The MLS does not rely as much on the draft as the big-four North American pro sports leagues NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB. It is a long tradition in soccer world-wide for pro teams to develop their own players through youth academy programs.

VICTORIA 17 COWLITZ 6 There are more swings in a baseball season than at the Beacon Hill Park children’s playground.

TACOMA, Washington — It’s been 11 years, but David Hearn has very vivid memories of Victoria. How could he forget? That was the season that the 35-year-old Brampton, Ont.

They aren’t going anywhere. The Victoria Grizzlies are staying put in Colwood, at least for the next five sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Hockey League seasons.

The long-running soap opera that is the courtship between Nanaimo and the Western Hockey League may be headed toward a marriage.

SAN FRANCISCO 6 SEATTLE 2 SAN FRANCISCO — J.A. Happ hit his spot the first time he faced Matt Duffy only to watch the ball leave the ballpark.

TACOMA, Washington — Mainland and Vancouver Island golf fans are making their way down to Chambers Bay for the first-ever U.S. Open to be held in the Pacific Northwest.

The Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic fervency may have abated a bit this year, after reaching recent highs for Canadian tennis, but both are young and the sport remains on the ascendancy in this country.

COWLITZ 3 VICTORIA 2 The Victoria HarbourCats lost their second tight game in as many nights to the Cowlitz Black Bears in Kelso/Longview, Washington, dropping a 3-2 West Coast League decision on Tuesday. But not to fret, the cavalry is on the way.