Good morning!
Your forecast: There’s going to be a whole lot of sunshine on Black Friday – and that trend continues well into next week. So says Environment Canada, which is calling for a clear, windy day today and a high of -4 C. But we’ll have to endure a morning wind chill of -25 first. For those attending the Santa Claus/Grey Cup Parade on Saturday, you’ll be pleased to hear the temperature should be around -4 C when the floats are passing you by, although the temperature will drop to -12 C late in the evening. And the weatherman is cooperating for Sunday’s Grey Cup, too, forecasting a clear sky and a high of -1 C, dropping to -7 C at night.
In case you missed it
Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESSSmilin’ Henry Burris poses for photographers after winning the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award and Tom Pate Memorial Award Thursday night.
Smilin’ Hank is outstanding: Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris, nicknamed Smilin’ Hank for his winning grin, was named the CFL’s outstanding player for the second time, and also received the Tom Pate award for community service, at the CFL awards banquet Thursday night. The 40-year-old Burris shared the spotlight at the Club Regent Event Centre with fellow Ottawa Redblacks coach Rick Campbell, who was named coach of the year, receiver Brad Sinopoli, who was named the top Canadian, and tackle Sir Vincent Rogers, who was named the top lineman. READ MORE
Mr. Speaker: Rookie Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette (Winnipeg Centre) wants to become the next Speaker of the House of Commons in Ottawa. Ouellette, 39, joins a list that currently includes four veteran Liberals: Mauril Belanger from Ottawa, Geoff Regan from Halifax, Yasmin Ratansi from Toronto and Denis Paradis from Quebec.The House of Commons will elect its new speaker Dec. 3. The job comes with several perks including another $80,100 in pay, an official residence in Gatineau Park, an apartment in Centreblock, and a car and driver. READ MORE
Something fishy: Donald Salkeld, president and CEO of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp., doesn’t believe the province’s walleye fisheries will suffer from a boycott he says is based on stale science. Earlier this month, California-based Seafood Watch urged consumers to avoid fish caught in Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis, claiming fisheries in the province’s three largest lakes are among the most poorly managed in the world. But Salkeld says a boycott won’t have a significant effect on Manitoba’s walleye exports — and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. READ MORE
Up next
Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free PressPremier Greg Selinger
2,000 pancakes: If you’re looking to step out for breakfast today, Premier Greg Selinger is among the volunteers flipping an estimated 2,000 pancakes at the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre, 45 Robinson St. The 19th Annual Wild Blueberry Pancake Breakfast helps fund employment opportunities for people breaking out of poverty in our inner city. Entertainers will include Buffalo Gals, Jason Lepine, Ali Fontaine, Norman Chief Memorial Dancers and Frannie Klein. The grill will be fired up from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m.
Horsing around: If the fun-loving partygoers of the Calgary Grey Cup committee are in town, you know a horse is not far behind. Although their team, the Calgary Stampeders, isn’t in the Grey Cup, these wacky Alberta fans attend every Grey Cup with a horse and ride it into swanky places where horses are never seen. Today, they plan to ride Tuffy into the Winnipeg Art Gallery at 4:30 p.m., and then into the Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown at 5 p.m. We don’t want to cast aspersions on the character of this equine interloper, but we Google searched “Tuffy Calgary horse” and we saw photographic evidence of Tuffy slurping pitchers of beer. Hmm. A beer-guzzling horse in the WAG? What could go wrong?
Jets back in St. Paul: Their last visit to the Xcel Energy Center went horribly awry, but the visiting Winnipeg Jets are looking for a much better performance this afternoon against the Minnesota Wild. The Jets have lost eight of their last 10 games, including a 5-3 defeat to the Wild on Nov. 10 when the hosts scored four goals in a little more than eight minutes in the second period. The rare Friday afternoon game begins at 3 p.m. and is on television on TSN3 and on TSN 1290 radio. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
Fans enjoy a ride in a hot tub before the Grey Cup Parade. Geez, remember old Tokyo Joe’s on Pioneer (now William Stephenson Way)? Also: does anyone else feel bad for the chilly-looking lady behind the hot tub? Make some room, dudes! November 23, 1991.Marc Gallant / Winnipeg Free Press
Grey Cup memories: Randy Turner takes us on a frozen walk down Grey Cup memory lane with a look back at the 79th Grey Cup game played in Winnipeg on Nov. 24, 1991 before a crowd of 51,985. The temperature was -16 C at opening kickoff, but the north wind that tore through Winnipeg Stadium that afternoon suggested s-s-s-something else. The Toronto Argonauts beat the Calgary Stampeders 36-21. The game featured the oft-replayed video of Toronto’s Raghib (Rocket) Ismail sealing the game with an 87-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. READ MORE
Machete man going to jail: He calls himself “The Butcher Of My Neighbourhood” and admits he’s always got a knife or machete at the ready. Tyler Roussin, 20, was given a two-year jail sentence after pleading guilty Thursday to a high-profile attack that happened on Canada Day and was caught on video. Roussin slashed a 17-year-old boy with a machete during a fight that started at the skateboard park at The Forks. There were dozens of witnesses to the incident, and several captured the violence on their smartphones. The victim suffered a deep cut to his neck and head but managed to avoid serious injury in what the Crown says was more about luck than anything. READ MORE
Holiday movies: If the continuing saga of Luke Skywalker, Leia and Han Solo doesn’t thrill you, there’s still plenty of other big films besides Star Wars set to open during the upcoming holiday season. Free Press arts and life writer Randall King has all the details about a Ron Howard-directed movie along the lines of the Moby Dick story, another wacky one from Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and a story about the concussion epidemic in the NFL featuring Will Smith in the lead role. READ MORE
Trending now
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSMembers of Rider nation party down in Riderville during the Grey Cup Festival Thursday evening at the RBC Convention Centre.
#GreyCup: It’s a popular hashtag in the host city of Winnipeg and across the nation. The party continues throughout the weekend, culminating with the CFL championship game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Ottawa Redblacks. Game time Sunday is 5 p.m. at Investors Group Field. READ MORE
#BlackFriday: No huge surprise here as the shopping craze on the day after U.S. Thanksgiving is now firmly entrenched north of the border. Already, shoppers have been spotted waiting outside some Winnipeg malls, ready for door-crasher sales. But the experts say Canadian consumers still get better deals on Boxing Day
On this date
Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press FilesNov. 27, 1990: Blue Bomber quarterback Tom Burgess does a victory dance as the Grey Cup returns to Winnipeg.
On Nov. 27, 1990: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Blue Bombers, victorious in the Grey Cup, brought the trophy back with them to Winnipeg. More than 8,000 fans cheered on the team as it displayed the Cup at the Winnipeg Arena. Fans “bashed metal garbage can lids and drums, blew plastic horns, sprayed fake snow, threw toilet paper rolls hoisted tin foil Cup replicas, and wildly waved neon banners.” Bombers head coach Mike Riley said, “We really appreciate all the support we get. I think we have the best fans in the country.” In non-Grey Cup news, Neechi Foods, an indigenous cooperative grocery store, opened on Dufferin Avenue. Seven Oaks Hospital was closed to the public after a mysterious rash was discovered. The United Nations Security Council agreed that Iraq should be forced out of Kuwait in January.
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