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Nobody asked me, but…
Michael Bridges should not be given a shot at early parole. As you may know, I covered the justice beat for a couple decades before shifting over to sports in 2016. Of the thousands of local cases I covered, including several hundred homicides, the Erin Chorney murder stands out for its brutality on multiple levels. The 18-year-old Brandon girl vanished without a trace in 2002, only to be found two years later buried in someone else’s grave.
CPErin Chorney is shown in this undated file photo. (CP PHOTO / Brandon Sun files)
Bridges, her violent ex-boyfriend, led RCMP to her following an elaborate undercover “Mr. Big” sting in which he confessed to the crime. I covered the original trial in Brandon, then wrote my third true crime book about the case in 2006 (To The Grave: Inside A Spectacular RCMP Sting). I got to know Erin’s family and friends well, and to say this had a devastating impact on them would be an understatement. It wasn’t just the crime itself, but the cover-up, including two years of unfounded rumours and speculation about what happened to her. Bridges is now making a “faint hope” application before a Brandon jury, citing the fact he’s apparently been a well-behaved inmate.
Even if that’s true, it doesn’t undo the horrific damage he caused (including a complete lack of remorse, even through his trial in which he fought for his proclaimed innocence every step of the way). He should have to wait until his 25-year eligibility in 2029, I say. And not one day earlier.
Nobody asked me, but…
The weather fanatic in me has absolutely loved the roller-coaster we’ve been on this week. To a blast furnace that felt like summer on Monday to a blast of winter on Tuesday to spring being sprung once again by Wednesday, this has been one wild ride. According to one of my favourite Twitter follows, @robsobs, Winnipeg experienced its 3rd-most dramatic temperature drop within a 24-hour period (+19.9 to -10.8). That 30.7C shift just missed out on 31.1 from 1985 (+29.3 to -1.8) and 31.7C from 1976 (+1.1 to -30.6). Cool, eh?
Nobody asked me, but….
Dylan DeMelo? Really?! I ran a Twitter poll the other day, asking followers which of four Jets defencemen you’d leave unprotected for the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft. The choices were DeMelo, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Logan Stanley.
NHL teams can only protect 3 defencemen and 7 forwards, OR 8 total skaters (no limit on how many F/D). For the Jets, the 3/7 is a slam dunk, considering they won’t want to leave any of forwards Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler or Andrew Copp exposed. (I suspect either Mason Appleton, or a re-signed UFA Adam Lowry, is the 7th).
To my surprise, 52.9% of the 2,431 people who voted picked DeMelo. 22.3% said Stanley, which would be my choice, despite how impressive the big rookie has been. 21.1% said Morrissey. And 3.7% presumably misunderstood the question and/or hit the wrong button by choosing Pionk, who has been the best blue-liner this season. 
Losing Stanley would sting, sure. But with Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg both in the pipeline, I say he can be replaced a lot easier than the likes of Pionk, Morrissey and DeMelo, who are cornerstone pieces around here.
Nobody asked me, but…
Disneyland created a buzz this week when they announced their latest food creation – a hot dog stuffed inside a dill pickle that is deep fried and served with a side of peanut butter. I’m not gonna lie – I would totally eat that. Although I might prefer mustard. How about you? 
TWITTER
A hot dog, a pickle and peanut butter – what’s not to like?
Nobody asked me, but…Seeing the above food reminded me of an interesting gastric experience I had on a Winnipeg Jets road trip last season. I was in Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the press box eats included this monstrosity. Yes, I tried it. No, it wasn’t very good. And no, I have no regrets!
YOLO, right?
Nobody asked me, but…
I have absolutely no issue with NHL stars such as Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon channeling their inner bad boys and going rogue on the ice. In fact, I kind of love it.
In case you missed it, McDavid threw an extremely dirty hit on Montreal’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi the other night, one which netted him a minor penalty (he was lucky it wasn’t a major) along with a $5,000 fine (the maximum allowed by the CBA).
On Wednesday night, MacKinnon did his best bowling imitation when he launched Connor Garland’s helmet – which he’d ripped off – straight into the mug of the Arizona forward. He was given a 10-minute misconduct and also slapped with a fine.
Both these star players take plenty of nightly abuse, the bulk of which usually goes uncalled because of the NHL’s absurd “game management” principle, which recently came to light due to a referee’s hot mic.
And so a little push back is not only warranted, but welcome. Although, I suspect MacKinnon just cost himself a shot at a second straight Lady Byng award for his most unsportsmanlike act.
Nobody asked me, but…
I’m irrationally excited about the return of one of my all-time favourite TV characters tonight. That would be Elliot Stabler, played by Chris Meloni, who makes his long-awaited return to Law & Order: SVU, then branches off into his own weekly show, Law & Order: Organized Crime, immediately after. And for a double dose of fictional thrills comes word of a CSI reboot set for this fall, in which William Petersen and Jorja Fox will reprise their roles of Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle in CSI: Vegas.
Mariska Hargitay, left, and Ian McShane in a scene from “Law & Order: SVU. (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)
Nobody asked me, but…
I have no ability to cast a “jinx” on a player or team, despite what some people think. I get this often, especially if I use the word “shutout” at any point during a game. It also happened on Wednesday night, when I noted that the Jets fourth line of Mathieu Perreault, Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis haven’t been scored on five-on-five all season. Impressive, right? And the kind of thing worth sharing with readers. Except a few didn’t agree, accusing me of casting some kind of hex on the whole thing. That’s just silly. For what it’s worth, that trio had another clean sheet despite the 3-1 loss to the Leafs.
Nobody asked me, but…
MLB opening day is one of my favourites of the year, and today is no exception. Next to hockey, baseball is my favourite sport in the world. I was a die-hard Expos fan as a kid, and shifted my allegiances over to the Blue Jays once Montreal moved to Washington. The Yankees are going to be a force, but I believe Toronto will give them a good run this season. I’m calling for an 89-73 season which nets them a wildcard playoff spot. I’m still holding out hope that my family will be able to take our planned vacation to New York in early September, which includes seeing the Jays play a couple games at Yankee Stadium. I’m also ordering the MLB audio package, which gets you every game in every market (home and away broadcast) for the bargain-basement price of just US $19.99. It’s a great companion for long drives, walks or runs, which I will use often this spring, summer and fall.
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