Day 7: Candy Cane Brownie

Concrete doc befits brutalist Winnipeg

Moviegoers across North America are pounding the pavement and lining up around the block to see The History of Concrete, small-screen documentarian John Wilson’s feature-length debut.

Disgraced former law dean arrested, facing extradition to Canada

Jonathan Black-Branch, the disgraced former dean of law at the University of Manitoba, has been arrested in Europe and is awaiting extradition to Canada on fraud charges, Winnipeg police say.

Black-Branch, who failed to defend himself in a lawsuit filed by the U of M and his disbarment proceedings, was ordered in May 2025 to repay more than $682,000 in misspent expense funds.

Winnipeg police confirmed his arrest and pending extradition Wednesday morning. “The extradition process is ongoing,” police said.

Black-Branch left the university in 2020 amid allegations he had misspent public dollars and schemed to evade oversight while running Robson Hall from 2016 to 2020.

Jets land state-of-the-art dressing room after off-season of renovations

It’s not just the on-ice product that’s getting an overhaul this season for the Winnipeg Jets.

The hockey club has also undergone an extreme makeover when it comes to player facilities, including a new state-of-the-art dressing room that now rivals any around the league.

And if you don’t think that matters, you haven’t been paying attention.

“We’ve talked about doing everything first class,” head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We can’t do anything about the weather, but when people come here, we want them to know we look after them and we look after their families.”

Bluesman’s memoir focuses on life before music fame

He was born Colin Munn in Regina in 1964, but he’s best known by the name given to him onstage by his late friend Stevie Ray Vaughan in Ann Arbor, Mich., 20-plus years later — Colin James.

Oilers stymie Jets again

Were this a game that actually counted in the standings, the reaction from Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel probably wouldn’t have been nearly as composed.

The video evidence suggests the Edmonton Oilers had at least four players on the ice during a line change that turned into a two-on-one rush that finished with Zack Hyman setting up Viljami Marjala for a goal at 1:26 of overtime.

That left the Jets on the receiving end of a 2-1 overtime loss to sit with a pre-season record of 1-1-1.

“It was a pretty good jump,” said Arniel, who was more concerned about the shot from defenceman Dylan Samberg that helped spring the Oilers on the odd-man rush. “I’m not real keen on the slapper missing the net and going all the way down. I’m more concerned about that. It is what it is. Tough one for (Jets goaltender) Dom (DiVincentiis), because he was fantastic.”

Jets focus on power play and penalty kill as shortened pre-season winds down

You can point the finger of blame in a number of directions when it comes to finding fault with last season’s Winnipeg Jets.

A lineup that was too old and too slow. Injuries to key players. Regression from other core members. Inconsistent goaltending. The list goes on.

Well, here’s another culprit that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough: spotty special teams. More specifically, a power play that was anything but potent and a penalty kill that was far too porous.

That has to change — and fast — if this team is going anywhere.