Ballpark takes a shot

Woman pleads guilty to beating teens, injecting them with drugs

Two teens who thought they found temporary harbour in a stranger’s apartment after they missed their late-night bus home were instead terrorized, beaten and injected with methamphetamine against their will, a court has heard.

Simone Thomas, 22, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count each of forcible confinement, aggravated assault and administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger or cause bodily harm to a person.

Details of the bizarre, Feb. 17, 2025, incident were included in an agreed statement of facts read out in court.

Court heard a male and female victim, both 15, had been drinking cans of beer outside the New West Hotel around 1 a.m. when they realized they had missed their bus home. Thomas approached the teens and offered them a place to “hang out” while they waited for the next bus.

Lightning strikes again as Canada picks up second rugby win in Winnipeg in 33 years

The Canadian men’s rugby union touched down in Winnipeg for the first time in 33 years on Saturday and delivered a memory that will last a lifetime for its local supporters.

The world-ranked No. 25 Canadians earned a hard-fought 23-19 victory over No. 24 Zimbabwe in pool play of the inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup before 6,712 fans at Princess Auto Stadium, including a small but boisterous contingent of Zimbabwe supporters.

Canada’s last appearance in the provincial capital also brought a triumph over the United States in 1993, and if those in attendance made one thing clear on this evening, it’s that the city’s hunger for international rugby has only grown since then.

“A lovely bit of history,” said Canada’s head coach Stephen Meehan. “First time in 33 years, to come here to win, to beat Zimbabwe in our first-ever international between the two countries — so we’re on the right side of the history books.

Bombers battle back to beat Redblacks in OT

OTTAWA — For three and a half quarters, it looked like it was going to be a night Dru Brown would want to forget.

And in some ways, he still might want to erase Sunday from his memory because it wasn’t overly pretty.

But in the end, Brown got his revenge and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers recovered from a sloppy start to escape the nation’s capital with a 36-34 overtime victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.

The game literally went down to the wire as it remained tied after two overtime mini-games and had to be decided by alternating two-point conversion attempts from the 3-yard line — a first in CFL history as the new overtime format was introduced this season.

Big spike in catalytic converter thefts

Harvey Tschetter didn’t know someone was under his SUV when he was roused by the sounds of a power saw cutting metal and took a look around the vehicle outside his North Kildonan condo.

After finding nothing untoward and going back inside, he heard repeated hammer strikes and saw a vehicle idling next to his Mitsubishi RVR, which he’d purchased two days earlier. Someone was trying to steal the SUV’s catalytic converter.

“I ran out there and I screamed at them, ‘What the F do you think you’re doing?’ They crawled out from under my car, held the hammer up like, don’t come near me, and drove off,” Tschetter said of the June 8 incident. “It was 5 a.m. and completely light out. I can’t believe how brazen they were. They showed no fear.”

The incident happened amid a sharp year-over-year increase in reports of catalytic converter thefts or attempted thefts to Manitoba Public Insurance, after record highs in 2021 and 2022 led to increased enforcement, provincial anti-theft legislation and a period of significant decline.

Fringe reviews #11: Our princess is in another theatre

'80s Commercials, Alexander Mantia's Zucchini Club, The Ballad of Isobel Gunn, Fission, Flunked, Fringe Family Fun Show, One More Time, A Savage Love Story, Story Story Lie, The (Un)Official (Un)Researched History, Unresolved.