For the first time in 23+ years fans of the Brandon Wheat Kings will have a new play by play announcer to listen to as earlier today the Wheat Kings released a brief photo statement from Kelly McCrimmon saying they are sorry to see Bruce Luebke move on. It went on to say that Bruce had been a great voice of the Wheat Kings and that he had served as a real ambassador for the organization. Bruce had been the “voice” of the Wheat Kings since 1993 when he replaced outgoing play by play man Darren Dreger who moved from CKLQ radio over to CKX-TV. Prior to joining the Wheat Kings Luebke had spent time as the voice of the Weyburn Red Wings of the SJHL. In other Wheat Kings, it was reported yesterday that Josh Guenther, the Wheat King trainer of the past 3 seasons, has accepted a job to become the new Athletic Therapist for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL.  

If someone said to me a year ago I would be doing a story on Pokemon and Roller Derby I would have said that is a billion to one chance of happening. Well it did happen this past Saturday night. To my surprise on a warm Saturday night at the Kinsmen Arena, inside the Keystone Centre, the place was jammed or as we like to say in the hockey business “a sold out barn”. My thoughts walking in were that this would be kind of like WWE and well I was dead wrong. Pictured:  Team Gang Green BDNMB – So Jessica what is your real job? Jessica – Vigi Salon and Spa. BDNMB – I am a hockey guy why do you have 6 refs? Jessica – Instead of a puck their are two skaters that get points, the jammers we have stars on our helmet and one jammer per team, and one ref per jammer. The blockers try to stop us and if we get by them we get more points. So it takes lots of eyeballs to watch everything going on for points and penalties. BDNMB – Would your team play anywhere else? Jessica – Our games get booked and we have to travel. There are almost 200 Flat Track teams in Canada and we are ranked in the 20’s. So we need to travel so we can rank higher. We went to Boise, Idaho and came in 2nd place. BDNMB - Financially when these events happen does it help finance you and the team? Jessica – We have to pay all the time, we practice 4 hours a week, and these games basically pay for themselves. We are always looking for sponsors. BDNMB - How would sponsors and new players find you? Jessica – Facebook and our website. BDNMB – Any final plugs or mentions? Jessica – Roller Derby is awesome and it now a legit sport and not like wrestling. Contact the Wheat City Roller Derby League http://wcrdl.com/ https://www.facebook.com/WheatCityRollerDerbyLeague Www.flattrackstats.com Pictured:  Team Gang Green Extreme Fan

Some of you reading may remember me as the ‘sports guy’ on CKX TV. Lots has changed since that time.  I moved away in 2001, accepting a job as a morning radio guy in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.  While I still live in Yorkton, my love for the media industry went downhill and if I’m ever in a situation again where I have to rely on a radio or television station in order to make ends meet, then I have failed myself. I have learned since leaving the industry that broadcast employers rank amongst the worst that one can ever have.  I mean what better way to insult a faithful long term employee of more than 20-years than to produce a radio spot and NOT use the person’s voice who’s been associated with the customer for those 20-years?  May as well just hold a public meeting and call the announcer up on stage and slap him across the face. I’m not a union guy.  For the most part, I want no part of them.  My experience was always that they help slackers more than the person who puts in an honest day’s effort.  But, shortly after my tenure at CKX started I was in need of a union.  My photographer and I had gone to Shoal Lake to shoot video of the Midget AAA Yellowhead Chiefs game.  In addition to grabbing highlights, the photographer was also supposed to get special, up close footage that would better reflect a 30-second tv ad.  I have no proof, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the customer was charged some sort of additional production fee even though we were going to be there anyway. That’s not the important part of the story.  After the game, I was helping the photographer put his equipment away and I, carelessly, left the beta tapes on top of the CKX station wagon.  We drove away and the tapes flew off the roof, only I didn’t know this until we got back into Brandon and I was searching for them in order to cut up the highlights for Monday’s sportscast.  I, immediately, called my News Director and she chalked it up to being an accident and told me not to worry.  Well, I did worry.  I got in my own vehicle and drove back to Shoal Lake to try and find these three tapes (it was midnight).  I recovered one, but it was not usable.  I left a note for the staff in the morning and went home.  By Monday afternoon the union rep called me and said I better get into the station because the sales representative wanted me fired and sales trumps on-air 110% of the time.  His precious footage was gone.  The union rep said it wasn’t like the photographer and I were being unprofessional with these tapes.  We, simply, made a mistake.  Furthermore, me driving back in the middle of the night to try and salvage something was proof my heart was in the right place.  That meant diddly squat to the sales man (email me and I’ll tell you who it was).  To make a long story short, the union won and I ended up with a written reprimand instead of getting gassed.  But that should have been my first warning that the employer doesn’t have your back. It’s a cut throat industry.  I have seen many, many people give their heart and soul to a station only to be escorted out the door at some point down the road because the bottom line meant a bit more than an individual trying to put supper on the table.  I used to joke to a few people that the CKX sales staff would sell bars and tone to their customers if they could pass it with the CRTC.  On-air people meant nothing.  Unless, of course, it was ratings.  Then you are everything.  You can’t ake a holiday or a sick day.  It’s crucial you be there and be on your game so that ratings go up and sales staff can charge more for ads.  Once the ratings period is over, you can be fired and replaced by someone who will work cheaper.  Harsh.  But, true.  I’ve seen announcers who refuse to give one second of their spare time get criticized and, eventually, just let-go because they weren’t good employees.  I’ve seen announcers spend all of their waking hours (even some sleeping ones) at the station and also get let-go and a blind eye given to the dedication. I used to love ratings.  It was the only time the company would pay for overtime.  I can recall being at a zone curling play down one time and the photographer started packing up his gear in a 5-5 game in the middle of the 9th end.  I asked him what he was doing and he said if he worked any longer it would be overtime and we weren’t allowed to put any in.  But, I was the clown on TV the next night showing highlights without the 10th end. I’m not sure how often you will see my writings appear on this website, but if you ever have any questions and want me to answer them through a similar article, please don’t hesitate. I’ll be as candid and as honest as I can.  In the meantime, I may saturate you with some of my political beliefs. I still like sports, but when you aren’t involved on a day to day basis anymore, you learn there is a lot more to life than being depressed over some game where your favorite team didn’t win because they got screwed over by a referee.  Big deal. I think pro sports may actually be rigged anyway, but that’s for another day.  

    Million golf tournaments that exist in Brandon and Western Manitoba however only a few in my opinion that go the extra mile.  Some tournaments you can buy a "mulligan" or win the long drive etc.  However the Birt Cup has come up with fresh ideas that will make most golfers interested. The Birt Cup is a local charity that will assist with funding for the Ashley Neufeld Complex plus assist the Brandon AAA Midget Wheat Kings and others. One unique feature is the Celebrity Auction that was hosted by former CKX TV member Leah Hextall.  Of course Leah has gone on to bigger and better things with Rogers and HNIC and now with ESPN.  Leah actually surprised me with the " hot stove session " with Bryn Chyzyk ( UND ) - Jayce Hawryluk ( Wheat Kings ) - Joel Edmundson ( St Louis Blues ) and Ryan Pulock ( Islanders ).  In total the auction raised about $4,000.00 alone. Click here for the interview with Chewy - Rob Greenwood and Scooter https://soundcloud.com/darryl-wolski/birt-cup-2016  

A new men's hockey league will hit the ice this winter in Manitoba in the newly formed North West Senior Hockey League. The seven-team league is set to play a 24 game schedule, starting in late September, and will feature teams from Peguis, The Pas, Cross Lake, Norway House, Sandy Bay, Lake Manitoba and Fisher River. Former Wheat King, Chris Constant, who is managing the team from The Pas said that the league will provide an opportunity for young men from the respective communities with a place to play following their junior careers. Teams will be primarily community based and may draw the odd player from neighboring communities to complete rosters. The league will be sanctioned by Hockey Manitoba and the eventual champion will go on to compete in the Male SR A Hockey Championships played in Winnipeg each winter as part of the Hockey Manitoba Cup. Pictured: Norway House Bruins after capturing the championship at this years Dakatoa Nation Winterfest held in Brandon at the Keystone Centre.   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});