Canadian Wrestling's Elite has become the hottest Canadian destination for the hottest professional wrestlers on the planet and that trend continues with the official signing of Ring Of Honor Star The Beer City Bruiser! The Beer City Bruiser is one of ROH's hottest stars right now and arguably the most unique in the history of the storied promotion breaking all molds of what an ROH star is envisioned by most to be. At 300lbs The Beer City Bruiser not only displays incredible strength and power but breath taking athletic feats never seen before from a man his size. Sept 22nd-October 2nd The Beer City Bruiser makes his CWE debut on The Destined For Greatness Tour joining fellow ROH Stars Lio Rush and Jason Kincaid as well as 2x TNA World Champion & WWE NXT Alumni Ethan Carter III. Trained by the legendary Harley Race, The Bruiser has developed a reputation much like his trainer as one of the toughest men in the business and has used that toughness to become a semi finalist in the 2015 ROH Top Prospect Tournament and just over a week ago winning the 2016 ROH Tag Wars with partner and CWE star Silas Young ensuring the duo an upcoming ROH World Tag Team Championship match against fellow CWE Alumni, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian, The Addiction. The Beer City Bruiser can be seen on the following dates, Sept 22nd- Yorkton, SK Sept 23rd- Prince Albert, SK Sept 24th- St. Albert, AB Sept 25th- Calgary, AB Sept 26th- Regina, SK Sept 27th- Reston, MB Sept 28th- Brandon, MB Sept 29th- Gladstone, MB Sept 30th- Winnipeg, MB Oct 1st- Thunder Bay, ON Oct 2nd- Fort William First Nation, ON For more information and upcoming tour announcements visit www.cwecanada.ca  

The Weekender (July 1, 2016) By: Bruce Luebke, Sports Director, 880 CKLQ Happy Canada Day everyone.  Despite some of our issues, this is the annual reminder that this is still a great country to live in.  Enjoy the Canada Day celebrations and the rest of the weekend!! The Wheat Kings released their full 2016-2017 schedule and participated in the CHL Import Draft this week.  The club managed to snag 24 of their 36 home dates on Friday and Saturday nights, which are the two best days for drawing spectators to Westman Communications Group Place.  Some of the key games: the home opener September 24 vs. Moose Jaw; November 4 vs. Seattle in a rematch of last year’s WHL Championship Series; post-Christmas games December 28 and 30 vs. Regina and Moose Jaw respectively and the last game of the regular season March 18 against the Pats.  Brandon’s schedule also includes just one 3-in-3 weekend, occurring during the club’s excursion through the B.C. Division in late November and early December. On Tuesday, Brandon selected a pair of defensemen in the CHL Import Draft.  Linus Nassen is a 6-foot-0, 175 pound Swede who was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2016 NHL Draft.  One scout says Nassen uses his quickness and smarts to control play in the defensive zone while helping generate offense via his speed and slick passes.  Daniel Bukac of the Czech Republic is a 17-year old blueliner who is eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft who some scouts project could be a Top-100 pick next June.  Nassen would be the second Swedish defenceman to suit up for the Wheat Kings (Alexander Urbom) while Bukac would be the team’s first-ever blueliner from the Czech Republic. Isabela Onyshko, a Minnedosa product that now calls Brandon home, is off to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.  She’s the first Manitoba gymnast since 1984 to be a competing member of the Canadian Olympic team.  Onyshko seemed a lock to make the team after winning 2016 Elite Canada Competition in February but still needed a strong showing at the Gymnastics Canada Rio Selection Camp, which is exactly what happened.  Onyshko will have plenty of company in Rio as her coach with the Brandon Eagles, Lorie Henderson, was named one of the coaches of the Canadian women’s team earlier this week. Onyshko is likely one of two Western Manitobans headed to the games.  Rivers’ product Toon Van Lankvelt is expected to be a member of the Canadian men’s volleyball team after helping the squad qualify in early June at the last chance Olympics qualifying event.  The roster for the Olympics likely won’t be officially set for a couple of weeks.  Onyshko and Van Lankvelt would be two of ten Manitobans on the summer Olympics squad, the most from our province in recent memory. The Rio Olympics will begin on August 5th. I thought there might be a third Westman athlete headed to the Olympics. I inquired about the status of Brandon product Dustin Schneider, who has been a member of the National Men’s Volleyball team for several years.  However, Schneider will not be off to Rio and, in fact, has decided to retire from the sport of volleyball.  I wanted to send my best to Dustin and thank him for how he represented our country and our city on the international stage for the last few years.  All the best in your future endeavors. Brandon product Leah Hextall was one of the causalities when Rogers re-shuffled the deck for its NHL coverage for next season.  Hextall had been an NHL studio host on Sportsnet in Canada since they landed the NHL contract two years ago.  Hextall quickly landed on her feet though, landing a gig to do on-ice ice level reports and interviews for ESPN during the World Cup of Hockey. Quick hits...Brandon University has applied to host the 2019 CIS Men’s Volleyball Championship, and expect to hear whether that bid will be successful in the next couple of weeks...the Provincial Lawn Bowling Championship is taking place at the Wheat City Lawn Bowling Club at Rideau Park in Brandon this weekend...  MHSAA Executive Director Morris Glimcher officially retired from his post as the school year came to a close this week, spending 40 years in the role.  I had occasion to interact with Glimcher many times over the years, and his love of high school sports and athletes was a key thing in his role with the MHSAA.  Enjoy your retirement Mo!

June 29, 2016 For Immediate Release: Brandon, Manitoba The Westman Softball Umpires’ Association will, once again, be hosting the Softball Manitoba U14 ‘A’ Girls’ Championships early next month.  This will mark the fourth straight year the Association has hosted the U14 Provincials, with this year’s event taking place July 8-10 at Simplot Park. Eight teams will be competing for the provincial title, including the Westman Magic, with this year’s event serving as a precursor to the Softball Canada U14 Girls’ Jamboree at the John Blumberg Softball Complex in Winnipeg from August 17-21. In addition to the Magic, the defending champion Manitoba Thunder, Winnipeg Lightning, Eastman Wildcats, Central Energy, Manitoba Angels, South Interlake Phillies and Smitty’s Terminators will also be in Brandon to compete at the championship. This year’s event features a slight change from past years, with the eight teams playing a complete round-robin.  That means there will be 28+ games taking place over the three days of the event. Fans and media can follow the results at http://westmansoftballumpires.blogspot.ca/ or on twitter at @U14provsbrandon.   Meanwhile, the Brandon Minor Baseball Association is also hosting the Baseball Manitoba Mosquito A Championship that same weekend (July 8-10), also at Simplot Park. Ten teams will be competing in the Championship including the Brandon Reds and Brandon Dodgers. The competition features the teams playing in two five-team pools, with the Reds in Pool One with Portage, Interlake, Rock Lake and Seine River. The Dodgers are in Pool Two with Midwest, Souris, Grandview and Altona. The teams will play a round-robin within their pool, with the top two teams then moving on to the playoff round. There will be a minimum of 23 games played during the three days of the Mosquito A Championship.  Results are at http://www.baseballmanitoba.ca/provincial_championships_details.php?id=298 For more information, please contact: Bruce Luebke  Tournament Chair (Softball)                                                                                                                          204-721-0242                           luber@wcgwave.ca Glen Simard Tournament Chair (Baseball) 204-761-5478 glensimard@gmai.com                               

Courtesy: Brandon University Bobcats BRANDON - A colossal Calgary recruit has chosen to continue his basketball career at the next level with the Brandon University Bobcats. Kobyn Jopp, a 6-foot-7, 202-pound forward, was a highly sought-after prospect and coach Gil Cheung feels Jopp fits the mold of being a major piece to the Bobcats' future plans. "I think it is a big signing for us. He visited many other schools and we are excited to have him be a Bobcat," said Cheung. "He is very keen on wanting to be a pillar for what we are wanting to do at BU." "I am very eager," said Jopp. "One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Brandon was to be a part of their rebuild and get the team to where they want to be." Jopp was arguably one of the top big men in Alberta this past season and was a three-year starter at Sir Winston Churchill with the Bulldogs. He averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per-game in his senior year. He also led the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the city finals over the course of his high school career. The Bobcats believe there is no job that Jopp can't handle at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level. "The biggest thing is that he can play inside and out. He has the ability to rebound, change shots and he is very agile for a player his size. He likes the weight room and is going to get bigger and stronger," said Cheung. "Five years from now, our goal is to have him be a Canada West all-star, he has that type of potential." "I want to get a feel for what it is like to play at that level in my freshman year," added Jopp. "It is a different level from high school, but I expect to get some good minutes and some good playing time, if it all goes well for me." Jopp's size and stature is coupled with his high level playing credentials. In his under-16 season, he reached the national stage as he represented Basketball Alberta at the Canadian championship in 2014. He wants to make a steady climb up the player ranks in the conference and is ready for the challenge that lies ahead. "I think my experience is pretty good, but I know I need more, especially for the next level," said Jopp. "Playing high school and going to the CIS is a big difference, but by the end of summer I plan to be ready. That is my main goal right now." Jopp is the second off-season signing for the Bobcats, joining Crocus Plainsmen star Riley Schaus in the team's recruiting class for 2016-2017.

By: Bruce Luebke, Sports Director, 880 CKLQ The final tally for the NHL Draft this past weekend was two members of the Wheat Kings, two Brandonites and four players on Brandon’s protected list.  Kale Clague (2nd Round, LA Kings) and Tanner Kaspick (4th Round, St. Louis Blues) were the two Wheat Kings selected, extending Brandon’s streak to 12 consecutive years – the second longest among WHL teams behind the Red Deer Rebels.  Kaspick and Jordy Stallard, who went in the 5th round to Winnipeg, were the two Brandonites chosen in the draft while Ryan Lindgren (2nd Round, Boston) Wade Allison (2nd Round, Philadelphia), Joey Anderson (3rd Round, New Jersey) and Rhett Gardner (4th round, Dallas) were the four players on the Wheat Kings protected roster that were chosen. Wheat Kings’ Reid Duke, who was a Minnesota Wild draft pick in 2014 but re-entered the draft after not being signed, was not chosen in the 2016 Draft.  Duke will likely receive multiple invitations to attend Development Camps this summer from NHL teams, but not being chosen greatly increases the chances that he’ll return to Brandon as a 20-year old next season.  For me, Duke, F Tyler Coulter and G Jordan Papirny are now the likely front-runners to fill Brandon’s 20-year old spots for the 2016-2017 season. With the NHL Draft in the rearview mirror, Wheat Kings’ fans can now look forward to the CHL Import Draft, which takes place on Tuesday (June 28).  Brandon has a chance to select two players in the draft, with Ivan Provorov still remaining on their protected list.  The Wheat Kings have the 59th (second-last) pick of the first round and the 59th pick (119th overall) in the second round.  Expect Brandon to select at least one defenceman but, considering the state of their defence core overall, it seems likely both picks would be used on blueliners. Still with hockey, Brandon’s Kevin Saurette is the new Director of Operations for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.  Saurette played three seasons in the WHL, mainly with the Regina Pats, and five years at the University of Manitoba before spending nine years playing professionally.  His last three pro seasons were with Belfast in the EIHL.  While there, he obtained Masters of Business Administration from the University of Ulster – Belfast.  Saurette will assume his new duties on August 4. Brandon product Nolan Thiessen has a new gig.  The three-time Brier champion and former world men’s championship has joined Curling Canada as a consultant, effective July 1.  Thiessen will be working with Curling Canada’s Event Model Review team, which is assessing all of Curling Canada’s championships and setting a future path for those events.  He’ll also provide an athletes’ perspective to many other Curling Canada initiatives.  Thiessen announced in April that he’s stepping away from competitive curling. Congrats to Brandon product Dayton Black on being the lone player from outside of Winnipeg to be selected to Team Manitoba for next month’s Football Canada Cup.  Black just complete his Grade 10 season at Neelin, and is one of three quarterbacks on the squad.  During the 2015 season, Black completed 83 of 162 passes for 1,297 yards and seven interceptions and nine touchdowns.  He also rushed 93 times for 391 yards and five touchdowns. Shameless plug warning!  Our Westman Softball Umpires’ Association will be hosting the Softball Manitoba U14 A Girls’ Championship on July 8-10 at Simplot Park.  The eight-team championship will include the hometown Westman Magic.  That same weekend, the Brandon Minor Baseball Association is hosting the Baseball Manitoba Mosquito A Championship.  It should be a great weekend, and is a great opportunity for everyone to see some young ball players in action.