– Three members of the Brandon Wheat Kings were included in the NHL Central Scouting Service’s mid-term rankings that were released Monday. John Quenneville is #34, Jayce Hawryluk is #42 and Richard Nejezchleb is #114 among North American Skaters. Quenneville leads Brandon in scoring with 43 points, Hawryluk is second with 41 points while Nejezchleb leads the team with 23 goals. Others in Central Scouting mid-term rankings include former Brandon Wheat King Taylor Cooper of the Lethbridge Hurricanes at #148, Elkhorn product Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen at #167 while former Virden Oil Capital Ty Edmonds of the Prince George Cougars is #8 among North American goaltenders.
– Paul Maurice was a winner in his Winnipeg Jets’ coaching debut. The Jets snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes Monday night. Olli Jokinen, Eric O’Dell, Blake Wheeler, Michael Frolik and Devin Setoguchi scored for the Jets while Ondrej Pavelec made 18 saves in the Winnipeg net.
– There was rare Monday night action in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Zach Rakochy made 28 saves as the Steinbach Pistons blanked the Waywayseecappo Wolverines 5-0. Despite the loss, the Wolverines are 4-4-0-0 in their last eight games and hold down fifth-place and the final playoff spot in the Sherwood Division. Meanwhile, the Dauphin Kings took over sole possession of first-place in the Sherwood with a 6-1 victory over the Swan Valley Stampeders.
– Selkirk Steelers’ forward Parker Thomas is the MJHL’s Player of the Week. Thomas had one goal and seven assists for eight points in three games last week. Thomas currently leads the league in scoring with 71 points, 18 more than his nearest rival.
– The Western Hockey League Player of the Week is Todd Fiddler of the Prince George Cougars. Fiddler had five goals anf four assists for nine points in four games last week.
– Brandon product Garth German will be among the 11 inductees into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame this year. German won 20 Provincial Championships during his career and represented Manitoba or Canada more than 30 times. Among the others to be enshrined are pitching great Greg Bouchard and the 1994-1996 Smitty’s Terminators that won three straight Canadian Midget titles.
– Chris Wytinck was crowned champion of the Turtle Mountain Competitive Curling League on Saturday. Wytinck defeated Lyall Hudson 7-3 in the Championship Final. Wytinck defeated Blair Goethals 8-7 in one semifinal while Hudson upended Kevin Kakela 9-5 in the other. Russell Shackle won the Consolation Final.
– Tim Leiweke called it "financial suicide,” but he doesn’t mind. The CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was on hand to unveil Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, Toronto FC’s new costly signings. Leiweke acknowledges that MLSE paid a premium for the players, but TFC needed a jolt after seven years finishing outside of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
– Milos Raonic began his Australian Open with a four set victory over Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver to reach the second round in sweltering temperatures. Raonic, the 11th seed, was tested for nearly two and a half hours in the demanding heat that hovered just above 40-Celsius. Qualifier Frank Dancevic became the fist Canadian victim of the week as he lost to France’s Benoit Paire in straight sets.
– The Chicago Cubs are introducing a mascot for the first time in the team’s long history. Drawings released by the Cubs show a young bear wearing a Cubs jersey and a backward blue baseball cap. The mascot is named Clark, after one of the streets that borders Wrigley Field in north Chicago.