Brandon’s Brent Campbell has a vision for bringing to the people of Brandon and Western Manitoba a life like F1 driving experience. Introducing The Focus located on 10th Street. People are always looking for something different to do and Campbell’s business www.focus.ca offers adults and parents looking for new birthday party ideas. Sitting in the F1 simulator is as close as it gets to driving a car on a F1 track. Advanced Sim Racing features virtual reality that is endorsed by F1A. This will be as close as you will come to being in an actual F1 car. The system is set up for the beginners to the advanced drivers. Campbell is working on getting a second car for head to head racing. To book a time for you and your friends check out. http://thefocus.ca/ Or see them at 126th – 10th Street

Matt McCarty without a doubt is a true Toronto Maple Leafs fan. But, it’s not until you arrive inside his house and you’ll know his love is much deeper. "I have thought about reducing my collection but that has yet to happen" McCarty told BDNMB.CA. He gets calls all the time from people that spot Maple Leaf odds and ends and he gets in his truck and brings it home. His prize possession is the Darryl Sittler game sheet when he scored 10 points in a single game in1976. McCarty will alter many of his personal plans and will always watch every Leaf game unless it is blacked out. Friends want to go to Houston's and I will say "ummmmm the Leafs are on at 7 pm". BDNMB.CA asked Matt what is his Leafs highlight. "Well I saw three Stanley Cups except those were all in black and white lol".

Before you think this is the end of the world as we know it (REM) the owners of Kam Lung Asian Cuisine thought they would experiment with a concept that would increase customer service plus help their staff. Meet the new Robot Serving Devices at Kam Lung.   Kam Lung managers said finding staff for any type of business is very difficult and these robots will not replace jobs but rather increase customer service and assist staff with also cleaning tables. Should be noted only 4 or 5 locations in the entire Province are using these robots to serve and clean tables. BDNMB asked a few customers what they thought "I think it is fine nothing was spilled and everything arrived hot" Kam Lung Asian Cuisine - Mano's Pizza and Beavertails are all located at 1650 Park Ave. beside Wendy's.

Sometimes, random thoughts and questions stick in my head and percolate for a while. Recently, I was driving around and was passed by a car being driven erratically. When I looked over, I saw a German shepherd in the driver’s seat, sitting on the lap of what I have to assume was a driver. Either that, or the guy didn’t have license and figured the dog was better qualified. I have no idea how the driver could see where they were going, but I hope the dog at least could find its way home.  Later, I encountered another car, this time packed to the point where all the windows were blocked as someone was on the move to a new residence. It cut me off as it was changing lanes. I looked over, and wouldn’t you know it. Another dog in the driver’s seat, happy as can be. All I can say is I’m glad it was a dog driving, because a cat would deliberately have written-off my vehicle in a hit and run.  Other thoughts:  ·      I want the company that built the Kemnay railway bridge to construct my next house. That bridge takes a beating and still handles a full slate of money trains every day. ·      The Winnipeg Jets are clear winners in trading a second rounder in 2024 for Nashville’s Nino Niederreiter. Winnipeg adds depth scoring with term, without giving up a lot. However, there is a real need to bring in a defenceman nobody wants to play against. The last time the Jets were relevant in the playoffs, they had both Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba. Logan Stanley may cast a long shadow on a sunny day, but I’m not sure he helps make the Jets a tough team to play against.   ·      To answer that need, would Vancouver’s Luke Schenn be a fit in Winnipeg? ·      Another reason for the Jets to go all-in this year? Connor Hellebuyck is going to get paid big time on his next contract. He’d be worth at least $11 million per season. Can the Jets afford to keep him and the rest of the lineup needed to win? The West is open this year, and the Eastern Conference winner will have navigated an absolute meat grinder list of opponents to get to the Final. ·      Watching the modern-day NHLers play, with repeated breakouts which often result in passing back to defencemen once the rush hits the centre line, I have to wonder if the 1972 Summit Series taught Canadian hockey to play more like the Anatoli Tarasov-coached Soviets. ·      Renovations at the Rogers Centre may be intended to create more of a baseball feel to the building once known as Skydome, but will the renovations actually pay for themselves if Vladimir Guerrero Jr., hits 80 home runs? It’s going to take a lot of hot dogs to pay that salary. Mind you, if beer reaches $20 per cup, you’ll know where those profits are going. ·      Nobody asked me, but if the Wheat Kings are looking for a new head coach, they might want to look at Steinbach Pistons assistant coach Calvin Bugyik. Aside from a 93-28-11 head coaching record in Manitoba AAA U-18 games, and two provincial AAA U-18 titles as an assistant coach, he’s done pretty well with the Pistons, a perennial contender in the MJHL. ·      If you needed any more examples of how ineptly run the Arizona Coyotes are run, look at the Jacob Chychrun situation. I realize the franchise knows it has a valuable defenceman and wants to maximize value coming back to the team in a trade. But this player has noted durability issues. At some point, Arizona should take the best, reasonable offer it can, and look to five years from now, when the Houston Aeros will be ready to contend in the NHL. ·      This year’s Scotties has offered some new faces a chance to shine. It will be interesting to see how the Nova Scotia team led by Christina Black are a one-hit wonder, or incoming contenders. The fact they are based on the east coast makes travel to the elite tournaments in central and western Canada a lot harder. Black made elite-level shots this past week, put a lot of crooked numbers on the board, and didn’t wilt under the TV lights. ·      Last, but certainly not least, Manitoba RCMP recently reported a woman called 911 to report an emergency. Apparently, the drive thru at a new restaurant had a rather long lineup and she really needed a burger and fries. There are some seriously good burgers to be had out there, but is ordering and receiving one through a drive thru window a life-threatening emergency?

At the annual awards and UDC appreciation lunch that took place in Portage La Prairie recently, Brandon’s Brad Degraeve was named the Home Run Sports Wayne Deschouwer Umpire of the Year for 2022. He has been a softball umpire since 2012 and estimated that he umpired approximately 60-65 games this season including league play, tournaments and Championships. "I coached in the Manitoba Ladies Super League with the Winnipeg Lightning from 2000 to 2008, but found that when I relocated to Brandon for work in 2007 that it was too much to commute back and forth to Winnipeg for games and practices. I have always loved the game and wanted a way to get involved again, so in 2012 a few of my buddies, local legends in the Brandon Umpire group, Earl Cheasley & Bruce Luebke asked if I wanted to umpire" said Degraeve when asked how he first got started as an umpire. "Never in my wildest thoughts would I ever imagined being able to get to the point I am in my umpiring career when I first started" added Degraeve. Some his 2022 achievements on the diamond include: - Umpired at the Women’s/Junior Women’s Canadian Championship in Regina - Deputy Umpire in Chief at the U15 Western Canadian Championship in Stonewall - Umpire in Chief at the U19A Provincials in Winnipeg - Deputy Umpire in Chief of the Westman Zone - Member of the Provincial Umpire Development Committee (UDC) - Selected as the Provincial Umpire of the Year For the 2023 season, Degraeve already has a busy season ahead. He plans to continue to be leader in the Westman Zone and Provincially with respect to mentoring fellow umpires and also help grow the softball game. He will be helping with the upcoming Canadian Championship in Brandon as the umpire liaison. He will continue to be a member of the Provincial UDC, as the Softball Canada Blue Convention is being hosted by their group in Winnipeg coming up in April 2023.  At this point, he is undecided if he will apply to travel to a National in 2023, or if he will take a year off travelling to prepare for 2024. "Umpiring has been a great experience, it allows you to develop confidence, leadership, and allows you to meet a great group of officials, Team Blue from across the Country.  I would recommend that if you wanted to start umpiring as an adult or a young person, it is a great community and the mentoring and confidence that you will have through your journey will help you grow as an ump and a person" ended Degraeve.