About James Shewaga:

James Shewaga is the Brandon Sun’s sports editor.

• Tough times for Bobcats athletics and NHL fans

  The longest strike in Brandon University history has already had a negative effect on Bobcat athletics. While the Bobcats men’s and women’s volleyball teams are both off to 0-3 starts to the season while playing without head coaches Russ Paddock and Lee Carter, BU’s women’s basketball team took a huge hit when top American recruit Kate Helgeson quit the team and left school to transfer to Minot State. She cited the strike as the primary reason for her departure.

  View Full Column | 11/4/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• League punishment fails to make proper statement

  The Manitoba Junior Hockey League had an opportunity — most would say an obligation — to send a public message this week that hazing rituals will absolutely not be tolerated anymore. Their actions, however, came up woefully short.

  View Full Column | 10/28/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• McCrimmon's moves bolster Brandon's chances

  Kelly McCrimmon’s prowess as one of the Western Hockey League’s top deal-makers has once again paid immediate dividends. The Brandon Wheat Kings general manager addressed two key areas of concern with Sunday night’s major moves to acquire 20-year-old winger Darian Dziurzynski and 19-year-old goaltender Brandon Anderson.

  View Full Column | 10/21/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• BU faculty strike puts pressure on student-athletes

  While the workload for any student can be demanding, for many student-athletes, it can be overwhelming trying to juggle studies and daily practice schedules. Having your professors go on strike — for the second time in only three years — makes it even worse for Brandon University Bobcats student-athletes.

  View Full Column | 10/14/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• WHL policy fails concussion test

  Five weeks ago, Brodie Melnychuk suffered a broken wrist in Brandon Wheat Kings training camp. On Saturday night, Wheat Kings defenceman Rene Hunter had to be helped off the ice after getting his bell rung on an unpenalized check to the head. (For the record, WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen did look at that play on video and determined that it was not illegal since the primary point of contact was to the body and because the hit came from the front, not from the side or behind).

  View Full Column | 10/7/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Wheat King, Bobcat Hall of Famers well deserving

  They are an integral part of the proud history of the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball team. And Saturday in Winnipeg, when Don Dietrich, Bob Cornell, Glen Lawson and Jayson More of the Wheat Kings organization and former Bobcat all-Canadians Whitney Dabney and Keith Vassell are enshrined, it will be a richly deserved honour.

  View Full Column | 09/30/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Shew's Views: Clouston era begins

  The Cory Clouston era of the Brandon Wheat Kings is officially underway. So what can we expect?

  View Full Column | 09/23/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Wheat Kings have plenty of work to do

  The Brandon Wheat Kings’ 0-3 pre-season performance heading into tonight’s finale hasn’t exactly bolstered season ticket sales and may have raised a few eyebrows among the club’s most ardent supporters. However, it shouldn’t be a huge cause for concern — at least not at this point. With players away at NHL camps and young prospects getting extended looks, WHL pre-season records rarely are a true measure of a team.

  View Full Column | 09/16/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Tragedy hits hockey world once again

  The hockey world was already reeling from the shocking summer deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak when tragedy struck once again Wednesday. This time, the devastating blow hit painfully close to home. In the worst disaster in hockey history, 43 lives were lost — including former Brandon Wheat Kings great Brad McCrimmon — when a Russian jet carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team to their Kontinental Hockey League season-opener in Minsk crashed shortly after takeoff. It was a catastrophic loss — former NHLers from 10 countries including McCrimmon, the club’s head coach and the greatest defenceman in Wheat Kings history.

  View Full Column | 09/9/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Clouston looking for rookies to make their mark

  It’s been a crash course of cramming for Cory Clouston for the past two days as the Brandon Wheat Kings’ new head coach gets familiar with the prospects on the WHL club’s 50-player protected list. Today, the real fun begins as main camp opens and competition for a precious few open roster spots heats up. Main camp wraps up in two days with Sunday’s intrasquad game, with the Wheat Kings likely to cut down to 30 players or less that evening, magnifying the importance of every shift for every rookie candidate.

  View Full Column | 09/2/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Successful Murray always makes time for the kids

  He has coached at the highest levels of hockey, from the NHL to world championships and even the Olympics over a remarkable 35-year coaching career that has earned him millions of dollars and plenty of accolades. He was financially set for life even before signing a lucrative five-year contract in July to coach Western Michigan University and probably should be enjoying his last precious few days of summer at his place in Clear Lake before embarking on his first season of NCAA hockey.

  View Full Column | 08/26/2011 1:00 AM | 1

• Bevy of Brandon boys battling for NHL jobs

  It was a memorable night in Neepawa on Thursday as Shane Hnidy brought the Stanley Cup back home. And it might not be too long before one of the NHL's budding crop of Wheat City natives gets a chance to bring it back to Brandon one day.

  View Full Column | 08/19/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Hnidy hoping to bring Cup to Neepawa next week

  There have been plenty of highlights during Shane Hnidy's 11-year NHL career. From his first NHL game to his first NHL goal and finally his first Stanley Cup this spring with the Boston Bruins. Next week, Hnidy hopes to share that Cup experience with his supporters in Neepawa where it all began.

  View Full Column | 08/12/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Coach Clouston could use another scorer

  New coach Cory Clouston has four weeks to familiarize himself with the Brandon Wheat Kings roster before training camp. The question is, will general manager Kelly McCrimmon do any tinkering with that depth chart before then?

  View Full Column | 08/5/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Hiring the right move

  Kelly McCrimmon once said there was a very short list of people he would trust with his team. Cory Clouston was clearly at the top of that list.

  View Full Column | 08/4/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• From Ferland to flooded fairways

  Some news, notes and quotes while mastering the new sport of pothole dodging on Wheat City streets ... * In the heat of the summer, Brandon Wheat King Michael Ferland, 19, is getting plenty of ice this week.

  View Full Column | 07/8/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Plenty of sports to celebrate on Canada Day weekend

  We will leave it to others to debate whether we should be celebrating a "victory" in our flood fight in Brandon while many Westman communities are still struggling to save homes. But when it comes to sports, there certainly are plenty of reasons to celebrate this Canada Day weekend: RETURN OF THE JETS:

  View Full Column | 06/30/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• NHL dream wakes up for Edmundson

  A year ago, Brandon's Joel Edmundson was just hoping to show that be belonged in the Western Hockey League. By the end of the season, he had scouts believing he could play in the National Hockey League.

  View Full Column | 06/24/2011 1:00 AM | 1

• Water problems not par for the course

  You know it's a bad year for golf in the city when you could swap your putter for a paddle and fish on the first fairway. Such is the state of affairs at the water-logged Wheat City Golf Course where more than half the holes remain flooded a month after the first crest of the Assiniboine River.

  View Full Column | 06/17/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Wheat City workout smart move for Blue

  It's been more than 15 years since the likes of Matt Dunigan, Chris Walby and a young Milt Stegall made the annual trek to the Wheat City for Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp. For the first time since 1996, the Blue Bombers are back -- albeit for just one day. But hey, it's a start.

  View Full Column | 06/10/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• NHL's return has fans talking tickets

  Some news, notes and quotes while wondering why True North Sports and Entertainment is even toying with the idea of calling their National Hockey League team anything but the Jets. After all, Winnipeg fans weren't chanting 'Go Thrashers Go' at Portage and Main and the Forks this week ... While the deal to bring the Atlanta Thrashers still has to be approved by the NHL's board of governors on June 21, if True North meets its goal to sell 13,000 season tickets in just three weeks, approval won't be a problem. It's interesting to note, however, that tickets at the 15,015-seat MTS Centre will range from $39 to $129 with an average of $82 per game -- more than fans pay in more affluent cities like Vancouver ($65), Calgary ($60), Edmonton ($60) and Ottawa ($56) -- with season ticket prices running from $1,775 to a whopping $5,805 a year.

  View Full Column | 06/3/2011 1:00 AM | 1

• Wheat Kings stacked with defensive prospects

  Kelly McCrimmon has some shuffling to do at forward, but he is holding a stacked deck on defence. And with all those chips to play with on the blue-line, you can bet the head coach/general manager of the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings will look to ante up and deal for an ace up front for next season.

  View Full Column | 05/27/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• BU may look within for new athletic director

  Some news, notes and quotes while waiting to watch former Brandon Wheat Kings goalie Jacob DeSerres play in his second straight Memorial Cup tonight: BU SEARCH: It's been more than a month since Brandon University athletic director Kirk De Fazio tendered his resignation after four years on the job and there's still no word on who will replace him. But if you read between the lines, the school might fill the position internally, instead of with a nationwide search.

  View Full Column | 05/20/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Shew's Views will return

  James Shewaga's column, "Shew's Views" is on sabbatical this week, and will return soon. For complete archives, click here.

  View Full Column | 05/16/2011 12:53 PM | 0

• Will it be boom or bust for Brandon's bantam picks?

  There simply are no guarantees when you are drafting 14-year-old kids. And it will probably be two or three years before we have an idea of just how well -- or how poorly -- the Brandon Wheat Kings did in this year's WHL bantam draft.

  View Full Column | 05/6/2011 1:00 AM | 0

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