Vikings, Crusaders claim provincial crowns

The Vincent Massey Vikings left no doubt that the best volleyball program in the province still resides in Brandon.

More heartbreak for Dunstone

HALIFAX — It’s turning into a recurring nightmare for Matt Dunstone.

Make the final, lose in heartbreaking fashion, shed tears.

It happened at the 2023 Brier, again at 2025 nationals, and once more on Saturday in Halifax in the Canadian Curling Trials final.

Brad Jacobs outlasted the 30-year-old skip from Winnipeg 6-5 to sweep the best-of-three series to earn the right to wear the maple leaf at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

World champion curler, veteran broadcaster Colleen Jones dies at 65

Colleen Jones, a world champion curler whose effervescent personality made her a popular presence on the CBC over nearly four decades with the national broadcaster, has died. She was 65.

Jones was diagnosed with cancer in early 2023. Her son Luke Saunders announced she died Tuesday morning in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"Mom had been fighting and trying to beat back cancer over the last three years or so," Saunders said. "Late this morning, while looking out on the ocean from her favourite spot in Maders Cove, with my Dad, brother and myself beside her, Mom passed away.

"Please think of your favourite Colleen Jones moment, cherish it. Hurry and love hard."

After seven seasons, Winnipeg’s Valour FC is ceasing operations

Say goodbye to professional soccer in Winnipeg.

After seven challenging seasons marked by poor attendance and limited on-field success, Valour FC revealed Friday that they are folding.

The Winnipeg Football Club, who also run the Blue Bombers, were losing around a million dollars a year to operate Valour. The Canadian Premier League stepped in and covered the bills with a loan for the past two seasons but were not willing to continue doing that moving forward.

“We had invested and had significant losses over those years. We’re at the point where we’re not comfortable any further because we have an obligation to the Winnipeg Football Club and Princess Auto Stadium,” WFC president and CEO Wade Miller told the Free Press on Friday.

Former Bombers find more Grey Cup glory with Roughriders

When Jermarcus Hardrick left the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to sign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in February of 2024, his decision went beyond the numbers on the offer sheet.

The then-33-year-old coveted right tackle — who had grown accustomed to long playoff runs and appearances in the Grey Cup, playing in four straight with the Blue and Gold from 2019-2023 — had bought into the words of newly minted head coach Corey Mace and the culture he was trying to build within a franchise that hadn’t sniffed the big game in more than a decade.

“They said they were looking to start something new,” Hardrick said. “They wanted to play a physical brand of ball, and they wanted to have fun. Sounded like everything I wanted to do.”

On Sunday, approaching two years since he agreed on a pact to become the foundational pillar of another franchise, Hardrick and Mace’s plans delivered.

Botterill quick to salute all who made an impact on her storied career

TORONTO — Jennifer Botterill hit all of the right notes.

After the Winnipegger made her way to the podium on the night she was officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Botterill delivered an eloquent, 12-minute speech that perfectly expressed the gratitude she feels for the sport she loves and the people that made a remarkable impact on her journey.

Botterill was quick to salute and share her admiration for others in the class of 2025, which included fellow players: Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Alexander Mogilny and Winnipeg-born and Fort Frances, Ont., raised Duncan Keith, along with builders Jackie Parker and Danièlle Sauvageau — who was the head coach when Team Canada won the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Botterill’s long list of thank you’s began with her mother, Doreen, who represented Canada at the Olympics in speed skating back in 1964 and 1968.

Fan outcry needed to curb leagues banking blood money

What do the FA Cup, the NBA, the Tour de France and Sudan’s civil war have in common? They’re all being funded by the United Arab Emirates.