Yuletide Die Hard debate is evergreen

Trailblazer Kati Tabin brings PWHL championship trophy home to share success, inspire next generation

Starstruck kids and fans zigzagged throughout the rink, anxiously waiting to get an autograph from Kati Tabin and to see their role model on the same side of the glass.

Tabin, Montreal Victoire defender and Team Canada silver medallist, on Saturday came home to the rink where it all began, the Oakbank Community Club. She brought the PWHL championship trophy, the Walter Cup, won in her third season with the club, as well as her 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic medal.

The arena was packed to the brim with fans from all over coming to see Tabin — the local player who made history in women’s hockey. Hundreds of enthusiasts of all ages lined up with their Victoire or Team Canada merchandise, some waiting over two hours to see their idol.

Eight-year-old Loxley Cierzan came with her mother, Ainsley, and other family members to meet the one and only Tabin. Cierzan has loved seeing other girls grace the ice and play the competitive sport she adores. When the PWHL takeover stopped in Winnipeg in March, she not only got to watch the game but also a practice beforehand where Tabin signed her Victoire hat.

‘Eight credible threats’ against Hydro employees: CEO

Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Allan Danroth took aim at critics and revealed he and staff members have been threatened while defending the Crown corporation’s plan for three new combustion turbines Monday.

Without identifying individuals, Danroth said “constant, uninformed criticism” of Hydro and misinformation has eroded public trust and contributed to hostilities and an unsafe workplace for employees.

“Manitoba Hydro is currently managing eight credible threats against our employees, five of them directed at me personally,” Danroth told a Public Utilities Board hearing in Winnipeg.

“More troubling is these threats are increasingly affecting our front-line workforce. In the last year, my employees have been threatened with weapons, including guns, while performing their duties, and in one recent incident a homeowner directed his dogs to attack one of our meter readers.”

Troubling photo worth a significant number of words for coach who refuses to speak

There’s nothing funny about violent hazing rituals in youth sport. Why then, you might ask, is Doug Kovacs laughing?

Lawsuit targets pontoon boat operator, Sea-Doo driver, owner in fatal Whitemud River crash

The father of a 39-year-old Portage la Prairie woman killed in a boat crash on the Whitemud River is suing the men who were operating the involved watercraft, claiming they were negligent when navigating the winding waterway.

Ashley Danielle Rodgers died Aug. 10, 2024, when the Sea-Doo on which she was a passenger rounded a curve in the river and collided with an oncoming pontoon boat. She suffered blunt injuries and died, leaving behind two children.

“She was a vulnerable passenger on the back of a Sea-Doo which had no protection,” said lawyer Martin Pollock.

“It’s a very interesting case because it addresses water safety, it addresses boating safety, it’s an absolute nightmare to parents and loved ones when people are out on waterways. Rules have to be respected, especially going around blind curves.”

Ref ‘dominates’ game in Sea Bears loss to Honey Badgers, says coach

Following a festive Christmas-in-July-themed Saturday afternoon inside Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Raimbault didn’t mince words about who he thought was the Grinch in a hard-fought 88-86 loss to the visiting Brampton Honey Badgers that ended in controversy.

As the Sea Bears owned a one-point lead in Target Score Time, Brampton guard Sean East II was awarded three free throws — all of which he converted — after a questionable foul called on Teddy Allen by official Perry Stothart.

Raimbault, who has been known to bite his tongue on such topics, left nothing to the imagination about where he stood on the game-deciding judgment made in a game that had major post-season implications.

“I just felt like it was a fitting ending to the game where Perry Stothart had dominated the flow of the game from the start,” he said. “For him to call a bit of a guess foul and end the game on the foul, I felt like it’s disappointing that he can come in and dictate how the game’s going to be played and flow, and (that) continues to be a bit of an M.O. for him. So I think we’re disappointed with the fact that the league continues to let that happen.”

Manitoba Hydro’s energy plan set to be scrutinized

Manitoba Hydro is set to face questions and concerns over its plan for the province’s future energy needs, which includes proposed natural gas-powered turbines in Brandon and Indigenous-owned wind farms.

The Public Utilities Board, an arm’s-length regulator, will begin six weeks of hearings Monday into the 10-year blueprint and potential ways to satisfy electricity demand, while Hydro grapples with a projected energy shortfall, debt of $25 billion and aging infrastructure.

“The development plan reflects the best available information and analysis of how Manitoba Hydro can meet growing energy demand, while balancing factors we know are important to our customers, including cost, reliability and the environment,” Peter Chura, a spokesman for the Crown corporation, told the Free Press.

“We are confident in our analysis and that we’ve appropriately balanced reliability, affordability, safety and risk.”