French singer Patrick Bruel in police custody over alleged rape and sexual assault

Special teams woes hurt Bombers in loss to Argos

They’ve been the most consistent of the three phases in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers arsenal this season.

A port in the proverbial storm, throughout this topsy-turvy campaign of ups-and-downs, the special-teams units have been supplying strength to a group that is still searching for consistency with only four games left in the regular season.

That’s what made this momentary lapse so costly in a 30-28 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at Princess Auto Stadium.

“We didn’t keep up our end of the bargain. And that hurts our football team, hurts our chances of winning games,” said Blue Bombers special teams ace Tanner Cadwallader. “And if we want to win close games. we’ve got to be a whole lot better than that. And we will. We’re going to come in (on Saturday for the film session) and go through it with a fine-tooth comb and just work a little bit harder.”

Restaurants ‘under pressure’

Happy hour outings are on Jackie Piggott’s calendar — but even those are fewer.

She and her husband might visit a restaurant once a month. It’s a change over the past year: earlier, they may go twice, thrice or weekly.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about, my husband and myself, just because the pricing is so expensive,” Piggott said, stopping during a grocery run in St. Vital. “It’s also better for our health.”

She’s in the majority: a new Restaurants Canada report found 80 per cent of Canadians are eating out less frequently because of higher living costs, up from 75 per cent in 2025.

Winnipeg a character all its own onscreen

Watch something shot in Winnipeg with a Winnipegger, and you will be treated to a live running commentary. We can’t help playing “spot the location.”

When we recognize that field/statue/mall/intersection/theatre, we have to say it. It’s practically civically mandated.

A friend told me she was at a film screening at which people literally applauded footage of the Mint. (That likely would have been 2005’s The Constant Gardener.)

Being excited about seeing Portage Place Mall at Christmastime in the trailer for Violent Night 2 — and then exclaiming, to your husband, “Oh, look, it’s Portage Place Mall at Christmastime!” — is not, I will admit, particularly cosmopolitan behaviour. In fact, I could be accused of suffering from a mild case of Podunkitis.

Gordon Bell students relish — ‘of all things’ — new pickleball courts

Manitoba’s newest public school sports facility is bringing the pickleball craze to an inner-city campus.

Gordon Bell High School unveiled four custom-made courts for the popular paddle sport this fall as part of a multi-faceted makeover.

Grade 12 student Matea Thiessen Unger called the courts “the cherry on top,” of a multi-year construction project that consumed much of her high school career.

“It was happening for so long — it felt like it was never going to end,” the 16-year-old said.

WSO season kicks off with two fateful fifths

Saturday night’s Masterworks program, titled Beethoven 5 and Tchaikovsky 5 and led by Daniel Raiskin, also officially introduced the WSO’s new composer-in-residence, Kelly-Marie Murphy, to the weekend crowd of 1,720. She was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers upon taking the stage.

Nuit Blanche ready to wow in city’s core

For one night each September, downtown Winnipeg becomes an art gallery — an amusement park, even.

During Nuit Blanche, which takes place tonight, 3D projections spill across the Exchange District, The Forks and St. Boniface, and thousands flood the city core to take in live music, DJs and installations.

“There really isn’t anything like it. I know every promoter probably tells you that, but we are the only event that works at this scale in the fall,” says Nuit Blanche general manager Kurt Tittlemier.

“Culture Days Manitoba is run with the mission statement to make free, accessible artistic programming to all,” he adds, referring to the multi-week national festival, “and Nuit Blanche is our flagship event.”