Manitoba

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Nearing the end of his legal fight for the Colts name, Baltimore CFLs owner Jim Speros said he will have 180 days upon the signing of settlement documents to remove "Colts" from merchandise now in storage.Minus the name Colts, that merchandise then can be sold, Speros said. Any items that haven't been altered after 180 days will be destroyed.Speros effectively lost the trademark rights case to the NFL over use of the name. He said settlement terms were awaiting signatures.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Baltimore's defense left little to chance in yesterday's 14-12 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."We did everything we said we had to," said CFLs nose tackle Jearld Baylis. "We had to score on defense, and we had to keep them out of the end zone."Not only did Baltimore keep the CFL's No. 2 scoring offense from scoring a touchdown, but it also produced the only touchdown of the game, a first-quarter fumble recovery and 10-yard run by cornerback Karl Anthony.The Blue Bombers averaged 36 points and 352 yards in total offense this season, but quarterback Matt Dunigan could generate only three field goals and 171 yards yesterday.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- There is no mistaking a feeling of resentment in Canada toward Baltimore's highly successful first-year CFL team.A week ago, the Toronto Argonauts openly accused Baltimore coach Don Matthews of falsifying his injury list.This week, Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach/general manager Cal Murphy has referred to Baltimore as "God's gift to the CFL."And when Matthews declined hotel reservations made by the Blue Bombers, a Winnipeg official complained about it on radio. (Matthews opted not to return to the same hotel that housed the CFLs when they lost here in July.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The weather is turning nasty, snow is in the forecast and the ground crunches with every step.It's exactly the way the Winnipeg Blue Bombers like it.The Bombers are about the only people in Manitoba who want to spend November in Winnipeg. They love the lousy weather, and they can't wait to welcome visitors.The Bombers are where they want to be, at home, and facing a challenge they want to meet, settling a score with the Baltimore CFLs.The score to be settled is that nasty 57-10 matter of Oct. 29. The Bombers have lived with the mental scars of that thrashing for the past three weeks.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The comeback went for naught, but Washington Capitals coach Terry Murray was not in the mood for complaining last night.The Capitals allowed the Winnipeg Jets to slip to a 3-0 lead early in the third period before a rousing comeback to tie the game. But 33 seconds after Kelly Miller had tied the score at three with a short-handed goal, the Jets struck for the winner on the same power play. The 4-3 victory extended their NHL-best unbeaten streak to 8-0-2."There isn't any team in the league where you can let yourself off the hook mentally," Murray said after his team fell to 20-9-0, still tied for first overall with the Montreal Canadiens.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Encased by iron bars and hidden behind frosted windows of what looks like an abandoned storefront, one of Canada's most successful Internet pharmacies is quietly thriving on a street known for a different kind of drug traffic. Like a speakeasy from the U.S. Prohibition era, the company, CanadaMeds.com, ushers employees and visitors into the building through a secret, guarded side entrance. "We don't want the neighbors to get any ideas about what's behind these walls," chief executive Mike Hicks said.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The 1958 Colts won the greatest game ever played to become part of NFL lore. Their no-name descendants won the weirdest game ever played to make CFL history.The Cold War is back, in more ways than one. The CFLs' 14-12 victory in yesterday's Eastern Division final is bound to set off a fresh round of anti-American hysteria in Canada. Bring Ollie North to the Grey Cup. It's time to wave the flag.Those wacky CFLs became the first U.S. team to reach the Grey Cup, and they did it in the most hostile environment imaginable, fighting off freezing temperatures, 35-mph winds and dozens of snowballs thrown at their bench.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Ever since the Baltimore CFLs arrived here Thursday, they had been under siege.Criticized in the local news media for everything from their etiquette to their choice of hotel, the CFLs had the last word yesterday.It belonged to Don Matthews."Let's blow this burg," the Baltimore coach said as players filed out of the locker room after a giddy 14-12 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. "You know what? Those other guys have to live here."When the CFLs awoke yesterday, they were greeted with a banner headline in the Winnipeg Free Press that said, "Baltimore ain't got no couth."

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Matt Goodwin wanted to be a lawyer, not a linebacker.He wanted to make his rebuttals in a courtroom, not on the goal line.So, what's a bright guy like Goodwin doing chasing down receivers and running backs in the pass-crazy Canadian Football League?It's what he likes to do best, the Baltimore CFLs linebacker says."Before, I never thought about playing football for a career," Goodwin, 24, said. "The idea was absurd."But now, I want to play football as long as I can."His is a career on the rise.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Washington Capitals defenseman Kevin Hatcher stood in the hotel gift shop yesterday afternoon, staring."Look at this," he said, pointing to the magazine rack. "Teemu Selanne is on the cover of every hockey magazine here."His picture is on the cover of magazines. His name on the lips of National Hockey League fans. His ability on the mind of every NHL defenseman in the league.And it is only October."It's not just one thing about him -- though I think his speed is the most important," said Hatcher, who, with his Capitals teammates, will see Selanne tonight in the NHL season opener for both teams.