PM puts bagels, beer against wine, chocolate in Raptors bet with Pelosi

Advertisement

Advertise with us

OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are betting on the NBA Finals, with the prime minister putting bagels and beer up against wine and chocolate.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/06/2019 (2675 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are betting on the NBA Finals, with the prime minister putting bagels and beer up against wine and chocolate.

The Toronto Raptors lead the Golden State Warriors in the best-of-seven championship series 3-1 with a chance to close out the franchise’s first NBA title tonight at home in Toronto.

Ahead of the game, Pelosi, who is from San Francisco and an ardent Warriors fan, says she’ll send Ghirardelli chocolate, California wine and a smattering of almonds and walnuts from her home state should Golden State fail to win yet another title.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. prior to their meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Justin Trudeau and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are placing a bet on the NBA Finals, with the prime minister putting bagels and beer up against wine and chocolate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Cliff Owen
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. prior to their meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Justin Trudeau and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are placing a bet on the NBA Finals, with the prime minister putting bagels and beer up against wine and chocolate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Cliff Owen

Trudeau says in a statement that the chocolate and a glass of California wine will “pair nicely with the Raptors’ first NBA title.”

But maybe Pelosi knows something the prime minister doesn’t by placing the bet with Golden State deep in a hole: Does the speaker have inside intelligence on whether Warriors superstar Kevin Durant is healthy after a leg injury and ready to make his series debut?

If the Warriors come back to win their third title in as many years, and fourth in five, Trudeau will have to send smoked Atlantic salmon, Peace by Chocolates chocolates, St-Viateur Bagels, Pansawan dry bison meat, Nanaimo bars, and Ontario craft beer.

Nowhere in the bet is the fate of the new North American free-trade agreement that requires Congressional approval, the timeline of which Pelosi dictates as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

The election of our discontent: City at a crumbling crossroads, grumbling residents say in poll

Matthew Frank 7 minute read Preview

The election of our discontent: City at a crumbling crossroads, grumbling residents say in poll

Matthew Frank 7 minute read Updated: 3:16 PM CDT

There’s an undercurrent of unhappiness running through the Winnipeg electorate as the municipal election day approaches.

One-half of Winnipeggers believe the city is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new Abacus Data poll, with nearly one-third unsure if Winnipeg is regressing or progressing.

Only 21 per cent of residents believe the city is on the right track, the Free Press-commissioned poll found.

That discontentment extends to how the city spends its tax dollars, with four in 10 Winnipeggers believing they receive poor value for what they pay in property taxes.

Read
Updated: 3:16 PM CDT

Residents who blame civic politicians for all that ails us should know it’s not entirely their fault

Dan Lett 5 minute read Preview

Residents who blame civic politicians for all that ails us should know it’s not entirely their fault

Dan Lett 5 minute read 3:24 PM CDT

Winnipeggers see dysfunction on city streets and assume it is a failure by the city; in fact, this failure is more fairly assigned to the senior levels of government.

Read
3:24 PM CDT

Bombers get ‘whopped’ in Montreal

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Bombers get ‘whopped’ in Montreal

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

MONTREAL — It’s hard to fathom that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers smacked these Montreal Alouettes five weeks ago.

The team that pulled off that 44-28 upset at Princess Auto Stadium was nowhere to be found in La Belle Province on Saturday night.

You can, however, now find them in the basement of the West Division at 7-8 after getting completely outmatched and outclassed by the Als in a 37-10 beatdown.

“This was bad,” left tackle Stanley Bryant told the Free Press postgame. “They basically had their way all around. They whopped our ass.”

Read
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Record participation, funds raised in 2026 breast cancer awareness race

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Record participation, funds raised in 2026 breast cancer awareness race

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

It’s become a tradition for the West End Legends to gather, get dressed up in hot pink and gab about their late girlfriend on the first Sunday of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Mary was a beauty, a brain, an athlete and a friend,” said Linda Opalko, a 67-year-old member of the fundraising team founded in honour of Mary Stawychny.

Stawychny’s last breath was taken the same day the group — made up of friends the career teacher maintained since she grew up on Ingersoll Street more than 50 years ago — got together for the 2022 CIBC Run for the Cure.

“We were walking as she was leaving us four years ago,” Opalko said as she and fellow fundraisers strolled down Wellington Crescent on Sunday morning.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

Six high school hockey programs ceased operations following new Hockey Manitoba policy

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Preview

Six high school hockey programs ceased operations following new Hockey Manitoba policy

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Friday, Oct. 2, 2026

She lived the best of both worlds.

For the last three years, the 17-year-old wore a sweater for two different hockey programs — her high school team and AAA club in the Manitoba Female Hockey League — and was preparing to flourish in both colours again this winter.

Recently, however, the blue-liner was disappointed to learn she is no longer eligible to play her Grade 12 season with her school owing to a new policy imposed by Hockey Manitoba that bans players from participating in the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League if they are rostered on a U18 AAA team.

The rule applies to all athletes who play for both Winnipeg-based and rural AAA teams.

Read
Friday, Oct. 2, 2026