Friday will mark a significant date in the lead-up to the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon, Man. Not only will it be exactly one year to the date that the 2019 Canadian men’s curling championship kicks off at Westoba Place in Brandon, it will also be the first day curling fans can purchase full-event passes for the world’s most famous national curling championship. Beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Friday, fans can lock in their same great seat for all 23 draws, including medal-round games, plus any necessary tiebreakers. Full-event packages will cost $519; all ticket packages are subject to standard facility and ticket service fees; mini packages will go on sale in the fall. Packages will be available online at curling.ca/tickets, at the Westoba Place box office, or by calling 204-726-3555. The action off the ice in Brandon next year will be just as hot, as the rollicking party known as the World Famous Patch will be a short indoor walk from the rink to the Manitoba Room at the Keystone Centre. Along with the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the athletes, the Patch will offer live music, dancing, drinks and food, as well as interactive activities for the entire family. All 14 Member Associations (10 provinces, three territories and Northern Ontario) will be represented in the main field in Brandon, along with the defending champion as Team Canada — the winner of the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, which begins Saturday in Regina. The 16th team will come out of the wild-card play-in game on March 1 between the top two teams from the Canadian Team Ranking System that didn’t qualify out of their provincial/territorial championships. The winning team at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier will represent Canada on home ice at the 2019 World Men’s Curling Championship (dates, location, TBC). The event website has now been launched. Keep checking  www.curling.ca/2019brier/ for all event updates, including volunteer signup (dates to be announced), new ticket offers, team announcements and the event schedule when it is set. Those wishing to volunteer can register at www.curling.ca/volunteer/ to stay up to date on volunteer opportunities. TSN/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of every draw at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier.

Canadian Wrestling's Elite is ecstatic to announce it will continue its legendary touring schedule yet another WWE Hall Of Fame Inductee & Former World Champion headlining in Ron "Faarooq" Simmons! Fresh off CWE's Legends Of Wrestling 2 where Ron Simmons announced he will personally be in Winnipeg on June 1st to corner Mr. Inkredible, Kevy Chevy, & DRAGNEEL vs. The Cannon Clan in attempt to burn the Confederate Flag once and for all that he has been signed on the ENTIRE 9th Anniversary Tour celebration! Ron Simmons broke barriers as a college football player and as the first African American World Champion and now he will help CWE break barriers as he appears on a record TWENTY FIVE event tour across FIVE Canadian provinces! DAMN! Catch 9 DAMN! Years: The 9th Anniversary Show featuring a special appearance by the iconic Ron Simmons on the following dates, May 10- Gimli, MB May 11- Stonewall, MB May 12- Gladstone, MB May 13- Brandon, MB May 14- Dauphin, MB May 15- Yorkton, SK May 16- Melfort, SK May 17- Prince Albert, SK May 18- Saskatoon, SK May 19- St. Albert, AB May 20- Grande Prairie, AB May 21- Springbrook, AB May 22- Vernon, BC May 23- Golden, BC May 24- Calgary, AB May 25- Medicine Hat, AB May 26- Assiniboia, SK May 27- Regina, SK May 28- Estevan, SK May 29- Virden, MB May 30- Souris, MB May 31- Morden, MB Jun 1- Winnipeg, MB Jun 2- Thunder Bay, ON Jun 3- Sault Ste. Marie, ON Stay posted to www.cwecanada.ca over the spring months for announcements and information regarding this major tour!

The Southeast Prairie Thunder will be looking to represent the region at the Allan Cup in 2018.  Like the team has done in previous years, they have once again dipped into Brandon and the Westman region to help fill their roster.   Among those on the Thunder roster with ties to the Brandon Wheat Kings are: Tyler Dittmner, Matt Lowry, Paul Ciarelli, Darren Bestland, and Reid Gow. Ian White, who suited up in over 500 NHL games, is also on the Thunder roster.  Former Swan River Stampeder, Ian Lowe is skating with the Thunder this year as well.  The Bradwardine, MB native spent the six last seasons playing professionally in the CHL and the ECHL. The Thunder are currently battling the Île-des-Chênes North Stars in a best of 5 series to see who will represent the West region at the Allan Cup. The Thunder took the first game of the series 4-2 on goals by Tim Plett, Tyler Dittmer, Matt Lowry and Matt Gingera. The winner of the series will travel to Rosetown, SK to compete in the Allan Cup, a trophy awarded annually to the national senior men's ice hockey champion.  This years tournament is being held from April 9th-14th. Manitoba Provincial Finals Mon Feb 19 Île-des-Chênes 2 at South East 4 Sun Mar 4 South East at Île-des-Chênes 2:00 PM Sun Mar 11  Île-des-Chênes at South East 4:00 PM Max Bell Game 4 TBA South East at Île-des-Chênes  If Nec Sat Mar 24  Île-des-Chênes at South East 4:00 PM Max Bell  If Nec

BRANDON – Bobcat men’s basketball standout Tyvon Cooper has been chosen as a Canada West second-team all-star. The Middletown, N.Y. product put on a solid offensive show while leading the Bobcats back to the playoffs for a second straight year. He reached double digits in all 20-conference games and scored 20 or more points in 10 of those contests. “It is a team sport, it is never just me out there,” said Cooper. “My teammates put me in a good position to be effective on the court and they deserve a ton of credit. They always find ways to help me improve as a player and the coaching staff also deserves a big pat on the back.” Cooper’s 2017-18 conference award is one step up from last year when he was named a third-team all-star. Brandon coach Gil Cheung says Cooper never ceases to amaze him. “Tyvon is the hardest worker we have and being selected to his second straight all-star team is a testament to the hours he puts in,” added Cheung. “I know he is more proud of leading us to back-to-back playoff appearances more than any individual accomplishment, but he definitely was a standout in Canada West. Cooper’s most dominating performance came against the Manitoba Bisons on November 24 when he recorded a rare triple-double in BU’s 88-85 overtime win. He nailed a buzzer-beat three-pointer in the extra frame to power the Bobcats to victory. Cooper also collected another three double-doubles during the season. Canada West has Cooper’s name listed among the league leaders in a host of categories including sixth in scoring at 20.2 points per-game. He also had a league-leading 94 free throws and his 84.2 percentage was eighth best in the conference. The Bobcats leaned on Cooper a ton in clutch situations and his total minutes played were sixth most in Canada West. Bobcats pumped for playoffs BRANDON – Provincial rivals are on a collision course and the Canada West playoffs will be their battleground. The Brandon University men's volleyball team will welcome the Winnipeg Wesmen for a best-of-three quarter-final series at the Healthy Living Centre this coming weekend. Match 1 – Friday, February 23 at 7:00 pm Match 2 – Saturday, February 24 at 7:00 pm Match 3 – Sunday, February 25 at 4:00 pm (if necessary) Tickets can be purchased at the front desk of the Healthy Living Centre or online through AuthentiGATE. Playoff tickets are $10 for adults; seniors, BU staff, faculty and alumni pay $7 while youth (age 14-17) are $5. Kids 13-and-under can catch the playoff games for free, as can all current BU students. Brandon clinched home court advantage in the opening round thanks to a fourth-place finish in the conference with a 17-and-7 record. Home court was huge for BU during the regular season as they posted a near perfect record of 10-and-1. The Bobcats split their home-and-home series with the Wesmen during the regular season. Brandon fell in five sets in Winnipeg on November 28, but rebounded with a five-set victory of their own on December 1 at the HLC. Brandon also came out on top in their two exhibition meetings with Winnipeg. The Bobcats won a four-set showdown at the end of September as part of BU's pre-season tournament. They later eliminated Winnipeg from the Wesmen Classic during the Christmas break. The Bobcats swept Winnipeg in the semifinals en route to winning the tournament title. BU and Winnipeg have a long history and it includes a previous showdown in the post-season. The last time the Bobcats hosted in the playoffs was 2014-15 when BU earned a hard-fought quarter-final series win over the Wesmen.

The annual Sports For Youth registration event will take place at the Brandon Shoppers Mall on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4.  With over ten different organizations represented, the 2-day event serves as a perfect one-stop location for parents to register their children for spring sporting activities in Brandon. As an added bonus, those who complete a registration at the event will have an opportunity to win their registration fee free or a $100 Shoppers Mall gift card. Participating sport organizations include: Brandon Minor Baseball Brandon Youth Soccer Association Golf Brandon Kidsport – Westman Peak Performance & Athletics Prairie Breeze Stables Prairie Football League Special Olympics Westman Softball Association Westman Softball Umpires’ Association Westman Youth Basketball Westman Youth Football Association Event Dates: March 3, 2018 – 9:30 am to 6:00 pm March 4, 2018 – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm