Sports

For the Yale Lions, a decisive defeat at the hands of the Walnut Grove Gators in Saturday's Fraser Valley East senior boys AAA basketball league final was a timely learning experience.

If familiarity breeds contempt, the Abbotsford Pilots and Mission Icebreakers figure to grow tired of each other in short order.

One night after turning in an effort that head coach Jim Playfair termed "disgusting," the Abbotsford Heat brought a surplus of passion, grit and elbow grease to their rematch with the Oklahoma City Barons on Saturday. The sweat investment yielded a hollow result, though, as the Heat suffered a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers' affiliate at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre.

Abbotsford's status as a soccer hotbed was confirmed on Thursday afternoon, as the recently rebranded Magnuson Ford Mariners FC was awarded a franchise in the new B.C. Soccer Premier League.