– Kevin Koe is now 5-and-2 at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Beijing. Koe dropped a 9-5 decision to Norway in a first-place showdown Tuesday morning and is now part of a three-way tie for second-place with Japan and Switzerland. Norway leads the standings at 6-and-1. Earlier, Canada had downed the United States 7-4. The Canadian champions include Brandon product Nolan Thiessen at lead.
– The Winnipeg Jets blew a 4-0, second period lead and dropped a 5-4 decision to the Anaheim Ducks Monday night. Stephane Robidas scored the overtime winner for the Ducks after Anaheim had scored three third period goals to tie the contest. The Jets have lost 11 of their last 14 games, and are eight points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with six games to play.
– The Brandon Wheat Kings could have some extra support in the stands when they open their second round playoff series in Edmonton this week. The club has four players that are from Edmonton in goaltenders Jordan Papirny and Curtis Honey and brothers Peter and John Quenneville. In addition, Colton Waltz and Kord Pankewicz hail from Northern Alberta communities within 200 kilometres of Edmonton. The Wheat Kings visit the Oil Kings Thursday night and Saturday afternoon in the first two games of their Best-of-Seven Eastern Conference semifinal. For more on the Wheat Kings’ preparations for round two, check out CKLQ’s Bruce Luebke’s blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/
– The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Monday that they have reached a two year agreement with the University of Saskatchewan to hold 2014 and 2015 training camp at Griffith’s Stadium in Saskatoon. This will mark three consecutive seasons the team will travel to the U of S campus to hold training camp after the Green and White held practice sessions there in 2013.
– The Toronto Blue Jays dropped their season opener 9-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays Monday, but more importantly lost star shortstop Jose Reyes in the process. The 30-year-old was placed on the 15-day disabled list after feeling hamstring tightness in his first at bat.
– On this day (April 1) in 1919, the final game of the Stanley Cup was canceled due to the worldwide epidemic of influenza. No winner was declared in the series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans. Four days later (April 5, 1919), sports fans were stunned by the news that Canadiens defenseman and Brandon product Joe Hall had succumbed to the disease.
