About James Shewaga:

James Shewaga is the Brandon Sun’s sports editor.

• Macpherson has prime picks in WHL bantam draft

  Al Macpherson had to patiently wait through 64 agonizing picks before finally being able to step up at the 2010 WHL bantam draft and call Colton Waltz's name. With Brandon hosting the 2010 Memorial Cup, the Wheat Kings sacrificed their first- and second-round picks to bolster the blue-line by dealing for all-star Travis Hamonic -- already a regular in the NHL as a 20-year-old this season.

  View Full Column | 04/29/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Souris girls chasing national team dreams

  Talk about a small-town success story. It may have a population of under 1,800, but the town of Souris is quickly becoming a big part of Canada's national women's rugby program.

  View Full Column | 04/23/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Schenn sets sights on AHL

  In the end, Brayden Schenn won exactly two more playoff games than the Brandon Wheat Kings did this spring. If you saw that coming, you probably also picked Charl Schwartzel to win the Masters.

  View Full Column | 04/15/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Shew's Views - Demarce facing crucial test

  For every young fighter, there comes a night that can change their entire career. For Brandon's Curtis (The Demon) Demarce, tonight is that night.

  View Full Column | 04/10/2011 2:26 PM | 0

• Wheat Kings could pull this series out of the Hat

  If the past two months are any indication, it would not be a monumental upset if the Brandon Wheat Kings make it to Round 2 of the WHL playoffs. But don't bet the mortgage on Brandon knocking off the Medicine Hat Tigers in their opening-round series.

  View Full Column | 03/25/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Batson aims to follow father as professional

  Some news, notes and quotes while still shaking my head at the NHL's ridiculous decision to not suspend Zdeno Chara ... LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Eighteen years ago, Brandon's Roddy Batson fought for a Canadian title. Now, son Rodman Batson is hoping to follow in his father's footsteps.

  View Full Column | 03/18/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Paddock's Bobcats put Brandon on the map

  NFLer Israel Idonije was handed the first key to the city Wednesday, but the locksmith might want to make a duplicate for Russ Paddock one day. Idonije was the toast of the town this week in the Chicago Bears star's celebrated return to his home city, a fitting tribute to a man whose impressive performance as a player is matched by his off-field commitment to charity and community work.

  View Full Column | 03/11/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Wheat Kings have turned their season around

  Six weeks ago, the Brandon Wheat Kings looked like anything but a playoff team. Now they look like a team nobody will want to face in the post-season.

  View Full Column | 03/4/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• DeMarce, Harding face crucial battles

  Admittedly, the fight game isn't for everybody. But for the ever-growing legion of fans of mixed martial arts and followers of the sweet science -- traditional boxing, that is -- there is big news this week for Brandon's professional fighters, Curtis (The Demon) DeMarce and Noel Harding.

  View Full Column | 02/25/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Pulock turning heads

  Forty-eight defencemen were picked before Ryan Pulock in the 2009 WHL bantam draft. But none of them have racked up more points than the Brandon Wheat Kings' remarkable rookie.

  View Full Column | 02/18/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Shew's Views - City's stance could be bad news for local venues

  Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst didn't have a lot of good news for the local sports community this week. As the city prepares for the possibility of the flood of the century this spring, Decter Hirst has drawn the ire of local golfers after admitting that protecting the Wheat City Golf Course isn't a priority.

  View Full Column | 02/11/2011 1:00 AM | 3

• Brandon sports community mourns loss of great booster

  Colleen DeGagne may not have garnered many headlines or highlights over the years in Brandon. But behind every great athlete is a great support system -- the parents behind the scenes. The soccer mom, the hockey dad, the foundation for a young athlete to build on. Along with her husband Rick DeGagne, Colleen was one of those amazing parents -- always supportive, never negative -- filling an integral role as the matriarch of one of the Wheat City's most successful sports families.

  View Full Column | 02/4/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Virden skaters on the rise

  It's 1,105 days until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and a trio of Virden skaters hope to be there. Virden native Kaleigh Hole and Virden-based pairs skaters Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers have set their sights on Russia following their breakthrough performances at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Victoria last week.

  View Full Column | 01/28/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Shootouts, Schenn and other musings

  Some notes and quotes while wondering how rough the next flood of the century will be on the Wheat City Golf Course this spring ... Considering that the Brandon Wheat Kings rarely work on the shootout in practice, is it any surprise they are the worst shootout team in the Western Hockey League?

  View Full Column | 01/21/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• WHL decision misses mark

  Ron Robison has always struck me as a reasonable, intelligent individual, presiding over a period of unprecedented growth over the past decade in the Western Hockey League. His unwavering support of traditional small-market franchises, for example, helped the Brandon Wheat Kings secure the successful 2010 Memorial Cup over more profit-based bids from the likes of Kelowna, B.C., and Everett, Wash.

  View Full Column | 01/14/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Seller's market favours McCrimmon

  The Brandon Wheat Kings marketing department might never get a chance to welcome back Brayden Schenn. While Canada's crushing defeat at the hands of the Russians still stings as much as the separated shoulder that he finished the world junior hockey championship with, Schenn's MVP performance has helped to raise the price for the potential prize of this year's WHL trade market.

  View Full Column | 01/7/2011 1:00 AM | 0

• Plenty for sports fans to celebrate in 2010

  In a year packed with spectacular sports moments, Brayden Schenn is showing he knows how to finish with a flourish. With back-to-back five-point performances and a piece of Canadian hockey history, the 19-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings centre is putting in a late bid to be included in the most memorable moments of 2010. Schenn's four-goal effort in Canada's 10-1 thrashing of Norway on Wednesday at the world junior hockey championship in Buffalo, N.Y., tied him with the likes of Mario Lemieux in 1983 and Simon Gagne in 1999 for Canada's single-game record.

  View Full Column | 12/31/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Bauman planning to tackle the free-agent market

  Chris Bauman delivered an early Christmas present to his fiancee and hopes to wrap one up for himself in the new year. The 26-year-old Brandon-born receiver with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats gave his fiancee Katie Mitchell an engagement ring last month in Florida, where he will be spending what promises to be an intriguing off-season for the former first overall pick in the 2007 CFL draft.

  View Full Column | 12/24/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Schenn, Rajala to meet in junior tune-up

  Some news, notes and quotes while getting into the holiday spirit in the most wonderful time of the year -- the world junior hockey championship, of course... Watch for former Brandon Wheat Kings teammates Brayden Schenn and Toni Rajala to go head-to-head when Canada faces Finland in world junior exhibition action next Thursday (6:30 p.m., TSN2) in Kitchener, Ont. While Schenn has cracked Canada's roster for the second straight season and could centre the No.1 line, Rajala is expected to play for Finland for the third time at the world juniors and could also be on their top line. The 19-year-old Rajala, who is playing pro back home this season after not returning to Brandon, is one 28 players battling for spots on Finland's team, which should be finalized shortly. Rajala has six goals and 12 points in 22 games with Ilves Tampere ...

  View Full Column | 12/17/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Wheat King losing skids leave lingering questions

  As the Brandon Wheat Kings stumble through their worst losing skid in 10 years, the question has to be asked: If the head coach wasn't named Kelly McCrimmon, would he be worried about keeping his job?

  View Full Column | 12/10/2010 1:00 AM | 1

• Skeleton star remains same old Monty

  Life will never be quite the same for Olympic gold- medallist Jon Montgomery. But it's refreshing to see that fame and fortune -- well, not exactly fortune -- hasn't changed him.

  View Full Column | 12/3/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Shew's Views - Popplestone improving

  It's at times like these that you find out who your friends are. A couple of weeks after heading to Mexico and undergoing the costly and controversial liberation therapy surgery on Nov. 3 to help treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis, Ron Popplestone enjoyed a night to remember when friends and family gathered in support of the former Brandon Wheat Kings' netminder.

  View Full Column | 11/26/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Schenn remains in limbo

  Some news, notes and quotes while trying to figure out what the heck the Los Angeles Kings are doing with Brayden Schenn. While 19-year-old Canadian junior players are not allowed to play full-time in the AHL, the Kings did receive approval from the NHL to send the former Brandon Wheat Kings centre down to their farm club in Manchester for a two-week conditioning stint. Of course, the reason Schenn needs that stint in the first place is because the Kings made him a healthy scratch for the last five games.

  View Full Column | 11/19/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Moffatt in a league of his own

  He was quite simply one of the greatest amateur baseball players in the province over the past 30 years. A man with a rubber arm and an iron will to win, Shane Moffatt will join the best of the best in this province when he is inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Winnipeg.

  View Full Column | 11/5/2010 1:00 AM | 0

• Big year for BU volleyball

  It has taken only six seasons for coaches Russ Paddock and Lee Carter to build programs from the ground up into nationally-ranked contenders. Paddock's Brandon University Bobcats men's volleyball team and Carter's women's squad are both rated fourth in the country in the CIS pre-season rankings as they prepare to open a 2010-11 Canada West regular season filled with great expectations on campus.

  View Full Column | 10/29/2010 1:00 AM | 0

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