– The Canadian Junior Racquetball Championship opened Monday, but it wasn’t a successful opening day for the three Brandonites competing. Reid Sorotsky dropped a 15-1, 15-0 decision to Quebec’s Sean Sauve in his opening match of the Boys’ 12-and-Under singles; Milana Paddock fell 15-1, 15-5 to Calgary’s McKenzie Brayley in her opening match in the Girls’ 18-and-Under singles while Paddock and fellow Brandonite Alexandra Murray lost 15-9, 15-1 to Ontario’s Callie Hunter and Annie Fisher in their first match in the Girls’ 18-and-Under doubles. Murray did not see any singles action Monday.
– The Southwest Baseball League has grown to a nine-team circuit for the 2014 season. The Souris Cardinals are returning to the league after a five year absence while the Elkhorn Expos are joining the league for the first time. The teams will play a home-and-home against each of the other teams in the league for a 16-game regular season schedule that starts May 21st. Meanwhile, the Provincial Senior AA Baseball Championship will be held in Hamiota for the second straight season. This year’s event will run from August 8-10.
– The Elton Sabres are entering new territory for their high school sports programs. The Sabres have entered a Varsity Boys’ team into the Westman High School Rugby League this season. Elton begins the season Tuesday against Minnedosa at John Reilly Field in Brandon. Two other games are on the opening day schedule. Meanwhile, the Birtle Falcons have pulled out of the league due to a lack of players while the WHSRL will host the Provincial Rugby Championship games in Brandon on May 30-31.
– It was the second-largest field in Boston Marathon history. Over 32-thousand people took part in Monday’s race, including many who were prevented from completing last year’s race by the bombing that killed three people and wounded over 260. Among those that took part was Brandon’s Deanna Peyachew, who was running the Boston Marathon for the second time in three years. Peyachew ran the course in a time of three hours, 29 minutes and 31 seconds to finish in 9,171st overall. She was also 2,026th among female runners and 1,539th in the Female 18-to-39 age group.
– Three of the four Stanley Cup playoff games Monday night ended in shutouts. Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves as the Dallas Stars downed Anaheim 3-0, Corey Crawford made 34 saves in Chicago’s 2-0 win over St. Louis while Darcy Kuemper stopped all 22 shots his way in Minnesota’s 1-0 overtime win over Colorado. All three winners still trails their Western Conference Quarter-Finals 2-1. The other game Monday saw Pittsburgh overcome a 3-1 deficit to beat Columbus 4-3 and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final.
– The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Monday the club have signed import defensive back Stephon Morris and import wide receiver Jason Barnes. Both players attended the club’s mini-camp in Florida earlier this month. Morris spent four seasons at Penn State and spent time with the New England Patriots in 2013 while Barnes played parts of five seasons with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
– The Toronto Blue Jays open a six-game homestand Tuesday night as they welcome the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto is coming off a 5-and-4 road swing that included two victories in Baltimore. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey gets the start for Toronto, looking to improve on his 1-and-3 record.
– Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has been fined 25-thousand dollars by the NBA for using obscene language in a public setting. Ujiri dropped an F-bomb on Saturday prior to Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets in an effort to pump up the Raptors fans. The former executive of the year already apologized for his remarks.
