Cubs manager Ross positive for virus, Chicago tops Pirates

Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Provencher Park may be the next site for a new aquatic centre.

Chefs gather in St. Boniface to see whose version of jollof is best

Chef Alex Bockarie is bringing an age-old African culinary battle to Winnipeg.

On Saturday, five local chefs hailing from Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria will go head-to-head to determine who makes the best jollof — a rice dish simmered in a savoury tomato-based stew.

“Jollof rice originated from Senegal but it has spread throughout West Africa and every country has its own method of cooking it,” Bockarie says. “It’s a long-standing fight; even among the communities here in Winnipeg, everybody’s always saying that Sierra Leone’s (jollof) is the best, Ghana’s is the best, Nigeria’s is the best.

“It’s a friendly competition; friendly, but very serious too.”

‘Where are they going to go?’: encampment policy blamed for homeless people sleeping outside thrift store

The owner of a Portage Avenue thrift shop says the city’s encampment ban has pushed dozens of homeless people from tent communities to spaces near her store.

Susan Lockhart, who runs Just Like New to You at 635 Portage Ave., says anywhere from 25 to 50 people can be found at any given time behind the store and along the back lane stretching between Sherbrook and Furby streets.

“Where are they going to go?” she said Wednesday from her shop. “I was just here on the weekend and I couldn’t get to our back door. There were people everywhere. Mattresses.”

Earlier this week, the city reported 275 people were known to be living in 72 encampments across Winnipeg — down from 100 encampments housing about 700 people last September. The report also noted that 141 sites have been remediated since the city’s encampment policy came into effect in November.

Woman who saved child, father from Red River uncomfortable with hero label

A Winnipeg woman who’s been hailed as a hero by police for saving a father and his young child from the Red River says she doesn’t feel like one.

“I’m a mom… and I would do it again,” said Jayclyn Morrissette, who was walking with her neighbour through St. John’s Park on Aug. 24 when they spotted a young girl flailing in the nearby river. “I was meant to be there and that was supposed to happen.”

Morrissette, who spoke to the Free Press Wednesday after police released details about the rescue, said she and her neighbour began looking for the child’s parents and found them at the nearby playground searching for her.

Morrissette waved them over. The father, who she said could not swim, jumped into the river first and immediately began to sink.

Work ethic pays off for Bombers special teams demon

Tanner Cadwallader was trying to simplify a process that is anything but simple.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers special-teams ace found himself in the spotlight this week after his blocked punt played a pivotal role in a 44-28 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.

“It’s something you’ve got to be eyes wide open on,” said Cadwallader, whose Bombers face the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Labour Day Classic on Sunday in Regina.

“You really want to take the ball off the punter’s foot. You don’t want to be reaching for it when it’s in flight or anything like that. It’s just hitting your target. Knowing where your target is, knowing where that foot is going to be and then going out and finding it and trying to be on time.”

Goldeyes back in playoffs and attendance on the rise

Tip your cap to the Winnipeg Goldeyes — they’re having a fantastic season, both on and off the field.

From a pure baseball perspective, the Fish are flying high. Wednesday’s 6-2 victory in Fargo was the latest in a second-half surge that has helped punch their ticket to the American Association playoffs.

Winnipeg has officially locked up a post-season spot, meaning it will play for keeps for the 22nd time in 32 seasons.

The final five games of the regular season — including Thursday’s finale against the RedHawks in North Dakota, followed by four dates in Kansas City from Friday through Monday — will determine the final seeding and the Goldeyes’ first-round opponent.