JASTER’S JABBERINGS: Curling trickle-down coming after teams lose at Roar of Rings

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/12/2017 (3096 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just a few random thoughts this week:

• It seems like high school volleyball season just ended, which mean basketball is just starting to find its groove. Crocus Plains hosted a varsity girls’ tournament last weekend and from Thursday to Saturday it’s the varsity boys’ time to shine at the 14th annual Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational. Once again, the event will feature 32 teams, with Neelin playing in the Victoria Inn (Tier I) Division and Vincent Massey and Crocus Plains in the Tri-Star (Tier 2) Division. There will be 80 games played during the three days at six different gyms, which means there’s lots of entertainment out there.

• If basketball isn’t your thing, consider heading down to the Keystone Centre’s Amphitheatre on Saturday. The Brandon Boxing Club is hosting a card — doors open at 6 p.m., with the first bout starting at 7 o’clock — and there will be lots of local fighters stepping into the ring.

• Kudos to the Brandon Wheat Kings. By all accounts, Star Wars night was a success. The organization went all out with people dressed as characters from the movie franchise, special jerseys and Star Wars-themed game-day operations. It made for a fun night that everyone seemed to enjoy.

• Don’t forget to bring a teddy bear to toss on the ice after the Wheat Kings’ first goal in Friday’s home game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

• Who do you think was the top athlete and team from southwest Manitoba this year? If any names pop into your head, please let us know by sending an email to sports@brandonsun.com or calling 204-571-7402 so we can add them to our list of nominees for the Krug and Jones awards.

• There isn’t much doubt that Canada will be represented well at the Olympics for curling in February. Rachel Homan’s and Kevin Koe’s teams have championship pedigrees and will push hard for a spot on top of the podium. Although it would have been nice to see Manitoba foursomes heading to PyeongChang — Jennifer Jones reached the Olympic Trials women’s semifinal while Mike McEwen fell in the men’s final — the local organizing committees for this year’s provincial Scotties and Viterra Championship must be happy to have those teams coming to their towns.

• Jones’ foursome may still have a different look at the provincial Scotties in Killarney if one of the team members is heading to the Olympics in mixed doubles. Jones is looking for a new partner for those Trials — set for Jan. 2-7 in Portage la Prairie —as her husband Brent Laing is on Koe’s team, Dawn McEwen will play in the Trials with her husband Mike and Jill Officer has been picked up to join Reid Carruthers. All four members of Homan’s team leave their partners looking for new players, so John Morris, Tyrel Griffith or John Epping may be interested in picking up Kaitlyn Lawes as well.

• There will be one unexpected absence from Killarney’s Scotties in Michelle Englot. Since Homan, the defending national Scotties champion, is heading to the Olympics, Englot’s Winnipeg-based foursome will replace them as Team Canada.

• For the first time in history, the MLS Cup resides north of the border after Toronto FC defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in Saturday’s Major League Soccer final. Although the team isn’t entirely made up of Canadian players, it’s great to see a men’s soccer team from this country be quite successful.

• Who is more devastated, fans of American League East teams excluding the New York Yankees or fans of the Philadelphia Eagles? The Eagles looked poised for a deep playoff run, but quarterback Carson Wentz, an MVP candidate, is done of the year with a torn ACL. Meanwhile the Yankees have traded for National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, which will give them a middle of the lineup that will either crush the ball or miss it entirely.

• Fans of a lot of CFL teams may be disappointed that the Toronto Argonauts have traded for James Franklin. Many people may have had him pegged as their squad’s quarterback of the future. However, Franklin becomes a free agent in February, so there’s no guarantee he signs a contract with the defending Grey Cup champions and could test the market if he doesn’t like their offer.