Linebacker Clinton making strong case to be kept on Bombers roster

Ja’Kobe Clinton’s path to the pros hasn’t been anywhere near as glamorous as his brother’s.

The aspiring Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker had to scratch and claw just to continue playing after high school. Then there’s his well-known sibling, former Pro Bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix — a two-time national champion at Alabama who was chosen in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

He went on to play eight NFL seasons and made approximately US$20 million in career earnings.

“That set the bar way tremendously high for me. But like I tell everybody, we got two different roads and I kind of took the harder route,” Clinton told the Free Press after Bombers practice on Tuesday.

A tale of third trips (to the Stanley Cup final)

The pinnacle of the NHL season has arrived.

Puck drops on the Stanley Cup final Tuesday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., as the Carolina Hurricanes host the Vegas Golden Knights in the best-of-seven series.

With that in mind, here’s a special edition of Dump & Chase to tee up the chase for Lord Stanley’s mug.

Fly-ing high in RaleighThe departure of Nikolaj Ehlers from the Jets was a development that simply wouldn’t go away and seeing him advance to the final for the first time in his 11 NHL seasons is bringing mixed feelings for some of the fan base.

Bruno Van Bewer dribble vers les Bisons

Depuis l’âge de sept ans, la vie de Bruno Van Bewer tourne autour du basketball.

“Ma mère m’a inscrit dans un camp, et je suis tombé en amour avec le sport,” explique-t-il. Capitaine des Olympiens du Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, c’est alors qu’il évoluait au sein de l’équipe manitobaine aux Jeux du Canada l’été dernier qu’il a été approché par l’entraîneur des Bisons.

Il a donc commencé à assister à plusieurs entraînements de la formation de basketball avant que l’offre lui soit confirmée.

“Ils m’ont vu jouer et ils ont vraiment aimé. Après un bout de temps, ils m’ont dit qu’ils aimaient mon style et avaient une place pour moi dans leur équipe. C’est comme ça que ça s’est déroulé.”

What feathered creatures signify for the health of the herd

Usually, Winnipeg snowbirds are known for going no further south than Florida.

But one migratory bird, the lesser yellowlegs, can go all the way to the southern tip of South America from Alaska and back, with midway stops in the prairies.

Most yellowlegs, like “Cholao 2,” don’t go quite that far.

That’s the name given to a specimen tracked as travelling from Cali, Colombia, to near North Battleford, Sask., and which will likely summer in the subarctic or Arctic.

Little things to make June joyous

We can all agree that everything feels dire right now. The Earth is on fire. Warmongers are in charge. AI slop is replacing art. The second season of Heated Rivalry isn’t due until 2027.

Local fatboy challenge gives customers 30 minutes to devour behemoth burger

It’s just noon on what’s turning out to be the hottest day of the year and Curtis Kalmakoff, 40, takes a swig from the bottle of water next to him before taking his 11th bite of the world’s largest — and likely most expensive — fatboy burger.

Weighing as much as a three-month-old child, the burger comprises a seven-pound meat patty topped with: 10 slices of Bothwell cheddar cheese, half a pound of chopped white onions, one pound of tomatoes and half a pound of Elman’s sliced dill pickles, all smothered in 1½ pounds of chili and sandwiched between two made-to-order buns from Food Fare measuring 38 centimetres wide and approximately five centimetres tall.

As Kalmakoff wraps his lips around the 12½-pound beast in the outdoor seating area of St. James Burger & Chip Co., owner Kevin Ramberran and restaurant manager Les Bartle cheer him on.

Ramberran is the mastermind behind today’s contest.

Volleyball bench boss named to coaching staff for men’s national squad tourney

Chris Voth is getting bumped into the starting lineup.

The Winnipeg Wesmen men’s volleyball head coach was named to the Canadian senior men’s national team’s coaching staff for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League tournament this summer.

Voth spent five years on the staff of the senior men’s extended roster that trains in Gatineau, Que. That time was spent with Team Canada’s reserve crop, who were young professionals or up-and-coming university athletes.

Now, he’ll help the main roster as it begins its push for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Raise a glass to My Kinda Delite

While the big guns were racking up wins at Assiniboia Downs this week with their expensive purchases, 83-year-old trainer Doug Mustard and his $3,000 Manitoba Yearling Sale purchase stole a little thunder with their own particular brand of wackiness.

Museum diorama detailing marshland, rye farm decommissioned owing to pest infestation

What was designed as a triumph of taxidermy has instead become a buffet for pests.

Manitoba Museum has been forced to decommission the Delta Marsh and Rye Farm two-part diorama in the Parklands Gallery after discovering the extent of the devastation wrought by mice, clothes moths and beetle larvae. The open-air exhibition, completed in 2003, represents the province’s most important wetlands and the challenges faced by early farmers, including Ukrainian immigrants in the 1920s.

“Pests are a major issue,” says Amelia Fay, the museum’s director of research, collections and exhibitions. “All museums have pests and use discreet pest-management systems, but this specific diorama was particularly vulnerable because of how authentically it was constructed, using real plant materials and organic elements that various types of critters like to consume.”

Pests can enter the museum when the doors open; clothes moths drift in with foot traffic, mice can get in through tiny gaps and dermestid beetles can hitch a ride with visitors or via tiny cracks, laying eggs in areas close to food sources for future larvae.

Klaschka first Winnipegger in decades to compete in cross-country skiing World Cup

Taschi Klaschka has emerged as one of Manitoba’s top Nordic skiers.

Gallery sees new location as blank canvas, celebrating with auction, exhibition

It’s the end of an era for Mayberry Fine Art, but partner and gallery director Shaun Mayberry prefers to think of it as a new beginning.

After spending 23 years of its more than 50-year existence at 212 McDermot Ave., the family business will be moving to its new — and much larger — location at 661 Wall St. next month.

“It’s bittersweet. We made our home in the Exchange,” he says. “We bought the building 24 years ago and it was a big move for us and our family. We moved out of St. Boniface into the downtown, a conscientious choice to be a part of the downtown Winnipeg arts community. The building has certainly served us well and has become a major part of our identity.”

But Mayberry Fine Art has outgrown the space. The Exchange District building wasn’t designed to be a gallery space; it was an office building that the Mayberry family constantly adapted to meet the needs of an evolving business.

After quitting hockey twice, Oakbank’s Tabin flying high as Walter Cup champ

Kati Tabin was in the midst of hugging her teammates and soaking in the moment when a stark reminder of the magnitude of the long and winding road that brought her to the pinnacle of this remarkable journey was brought to her attention yet again.

“That was just it — it was like a pinch-me moment, like Holy (crap), we did it,” Tabin said in a telephone interview over the weekend. “It was so crazy, because one of my teammates came up to me after the game and she said ‘hey, remember when you quit hockey?’

“It was just kind of funny to think about that and to think about where we are now. I’m just super grateful that I stuck with it.”

The Oakbank product has been a little busy since Wednesday night, when the Montreal Victoire became the first Canadian team to capture the Walter Cup as champions of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Sea Bears feast on River Lions

It was a magical night at Canada Life Centre — both as the theme night, and for the roaring crowd of 6,700. Fans had much to cheer about as the Sea Bears recorded their third win of the season, downing the Niagara River Lions 97-71.

The club remains unbeaten at home this season.

A three-pointer from Winnipeg’s own Simon Hildebrandt opened the first quarter.

From the tip-off, the Sea Bears’ physicality seemed to overwhelm the defending CEBL champions, earning five steals and holding the River Lions to under 30 per cent shooting from the field in the first quarter.

La grande histoire d’un petit village

Le village de Sainte-Agathe, qui borde les rives de la rivière Rouge et de la rivière aux Rats, à près de 40 kilomètres au sud de Winnipeg, fêtera ce 28 mai son 150e anniversaire.

Alors 150 ans, ça fait beaucoup de bougies, certainement trop pour toutes les faire tenir sur un gâteau, mais ça ne veut pas dire qu’on laisse tomber les célébrations.

Ce 28 mai, l’évènement se tiendra près du quai de Sainte-Agathe, où un bateau transportait les voitures d’un côté à l’autre de la rivière, à l’époque où il n’existait pas de pont.

Joel Lemoine, conseiller municipal pour Sainte-Agathe détaille la nature des célébrations.

Downtown Winnipeg church invites married couples to repledge their love

A Winnipeg church is celebrating 100 years of weddings by inviting married couples of all beliefs to reaffirm their commitment at a “mass vow renewal” service on June 20.