Compiling my Christmas wish list

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2016 (3195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lot of people have been making up Christmas wish lists hoping to get things they want on Sunday, and it’s time to get into that spirit as well.

Although the list I gave my family was quite short, my wish list for the region is quite a bit longer:

• First and foremost is for good health for both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Brandon University Bobcats women’s volleyball teams. The Wheat Kings have not dressed their full lineup yet this season and won’t be able to do so until early to mid-January at the earliest, pending Nolan Patrick’s return date from an injury that has kept him off the ice for the last few months and Kale Clague coming back from the Canadian junior hockey team. Having everyone back will go a long way to helping the team make the playoffs and a push in the post-season.

Meanwhile, it seems like it’s been a season and a half since the Bobcats have had their expected regular lineup on the court. The starting seven has been different more often than it has been repeated this season, which is part of the reason for the team’s 2-8 record. They’re only three matches out of a playoff spot, and getting everyone healthy will be good for the frame of mind for everyone on that team.

•For BU men’s and women’s basketball teams, securing a Canada West playoff berth. Women’s head coach Novell Thomas has done a great job rebuilding the program which was a disaster when he arrived to putting an entertaining and competitive product on the court. BU missed the post-season by one game last year. The hard work and dedication of Thomas as well as all of his players — including those from his first recruiting class like Kinsley Ransom, Stephanie Hunter, Amy Williams and Keegan Robinson — deserve to be rewarded. Hopefully they can hang on to their playoff positioning despite a tough schedule in the second semester.

The glory days of the men’s team are long behind us and the program has been on a downward slide for the last few years. It would be nice to see the program return to the playoffs to bring back some hope.

• For Grant Wilson, Russ Paddock and the men’s volleyball program, an announcement from U Sports that BU will host a future national championship. The original plan was 2019 and after the success of the women’s event back in March, it’s hard to imagine that U Sports wouldn’t want to come back. The men’s program is building for another run after missing the playoffs last season and could be highly competitive and showcase some local talent on the court as well in 2019.

• For Virden, a chance for redemption. Losing the 2018 Manitoba Games due to a shortage of volunteers was a tough pill for the community to swallow. However, it proved to be a great host community for the provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2014 and it would be great to see a Viterra Championship land there. Not as many volunteers would be needed for the provincial men’s curling championship and I have no doubt that it would be a huge success like the Scotties. Hopefully an announcement that Virden will land that event comes in February.

• For the Brandon curling community and Brandon First, an announcement that the Brier is returning here. After blowing the old attendance record for the Canada Cup of Curling out of the water in December, it’s clear that the Wheat City is ready for a big event. An announcement may not be made in 2017, but hopefully the city is in the running and Curling Canada will allow the Brier Patch to return home in the near future.

• For Noel Harding, a second belt. The 37-year-old won his first professional championship — the World Boxing Council’s Bajio championship — late Sunday in Mexico. The Brandon Boxing Club owner is now the champion of the southern portion of Mexico, including Mexico City, and has climbed the ranks back home as well. Hopefully he’ll get his shot at a Canadian championship and won’t have to travel as far to keep fighting.

• For all the local minor sports organizations building new facilities or complexes and for those who are renovating or improving on the current ones, I wish that the fundraising comes in place as planned and there aren’t any delays with the projects. These facilities make our community better and can help out financially by letting the city hosting big events in the future. Hopefully the goals for the next year can be met by all of the organizations working on their fields.

• For Westman athletes, to keep up the success stories. For the last few months we’ve been compiling a list of individuals and teams for this year’s Krug and Jones awards and there are some outstanding candidates. The nominees will be announced in Monday’s paper with the winners following in the Jan. 2 edition. I won’t spoil any surprises, but there were a lot of tough decisions to make regarding these awards and sometimes it takes making these lists to realize just how talented athletes are from this area.

• To our readers and subscribers, I want to say thank you for supporting us. We will try to continue to deliver the best local sports coverage we can in 2017 for you. I’d also like to wish everyone all the best during the holiday season and to treasure your time with family and friends as they truly make this time of year special. For those who are hitting the road, I wish you safe travels as well.