Williams nominated for Sovereign Award

George Williams, who provides horse-racing coverage for the Free Press, has been nominated for a prestigious 2022 Sovereign Award in the writing category.

Cheer Board wraps up 2022 hamper campaign

The annual local holiday season miracle never ceases to amaze the executive director of the Christmas Cheer Board.

Dyed-in-the-wool Christmas elves

A close-knit group of Winnipeggers are once again putting their hands to good use for the Christmas Cheer Board.

McEwen’s Manitoba champs splitting up

The reigning Manitoba men’s curling champions are going their separate ways.

Mike McEwen’s team from West St. Paul, ranked ninth in Canada and 13th in the world, will split following the Players Championship, a Grand Slam of Curling tour event set for Toronto in mid-April.

Each of McEwen, third Reid Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson will be associated with new teams for the 2022-23 season, although none has divulged his intentions.

“We’re ending the four-year run… amicable, but we’re going our own ways and we all wish each other the best,” McEwen said Thursday. “We definitely had our ups and downs. But I had a ton of fun with these guys. The places we’ve been, the things that we’ve done, the camaraderie, it’s been special.”

Neufeld defends curling crown

The Randy Neufeld team was still savouring a third Manitoba senior men’s title when it was compelled to defend it just four months later.

And the La Salle foursome, set in stone for nearly a decade, got the job done, winning the 2022 provincial championship March 20 in Beausejour with a 9-4 defeat of Richard Muntain of Winnipeg’s Granite Club.

Neufeld and his teammates, Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls and Dale Michie, had captured the ‘21 title Nov. 9. The championship was originally slated for February but was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in one playdown on the heels of another.

“It was strange, that’s for sure. An interesting year. But still really exciting,” Nicholls said recently. “It never gets old winning the province.”

McEwen calls it a career

One of the finest front-end players in curling history is calling it a career.

Dawn McEwen, lead for the perennially successful Jennifer Jones team out of Winnipeg’s St. Vital Club, announced her retirement Saturday.

McEwen spent 15 years throwing first for Jones and won just about everything there is to win on the pebbled ice, capturing Olympic gold in 2014 in Sochi, a pair of world titles (2008, 2018) and five national Scotties crowns.

McEwen said it’s still difficult for her to fathom her long list of accomplishments.

Scotties participants test positive for COVID-19

Several curlers from the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home — but Manitoba athletes have, to date, avoided getting hit by the virus.

Speculation is swirling competitors from as many as five teams were affected, however, Curling Canada wouldn’t confirm numbers Tuesday.

“Individuals at the event have notified Curling Canada they tested positive after arriving home. Curling Canada cannot confirm the number of cases or the identities for privacy purposes, but can confirm there is more than one team impacted,” the federation said, in a statement. “We have contacted all the athletes, staff and the broadcaster to make them aware and requested they self-monitor for symptoms.”

Curling Canada said it is investigating the situation.

Manitoba rinks to face each other in must-win game after playoff losses

Tracy Fleury owned the hammer for seven consecutive ends Friday night. Never a good sign.

The East St. Paul team, still ranked No.1 on the global curling stage, was reduced without warning to a shell of itself at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national women’s championship in Thunder Bay.

Earning last-rock advantage to start a playoff game against home-town favourite Krista McCarville, Fleury posted a blank in the opening end — a solid start, in retrospect. After that, the squad (with Selena Njegovan at third, Liz Fyfe at second and lead Kristin MacCuish) surrendered steals of two, one, one, two and two over the next five ends before finally scoring a single in the seven for an 8-1 deficit.

Team Wild Card 1, as Fleury’s crew is labelled, stole singles in the eighth and ninth ends before calling it quits, falling 8-3.

Zacharias says inexperience not a factor in tiebreaker loss at Scotties

Mackenzie Zacharias is adamant a lack of execution and not inexperience proved to be her team’s undoing at the Canadian women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay.

The Altona team’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts journey came to a halt Friday morning after an 8-6 defeat to veteran Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories in a morning tie-breaker.

The 22-year-old skip, with third Karlee Burgess, sister and second Emily Zacharias, and lead Lauren Lenentine, gave up a count of three in the second end and two more in the fourth to fall into a 5-1 hole. They narrowed the gap and scored a three of their own in the ninth end but bowed out before Territories fourth player Jo-Ann Rizzo tossed her final rock.

Representing Manitoba, the Zacharias crew was in its second consecutive Scotties. A year ago, the 2020 world junior women’s champion earned a wild-card spot inside the Calgary bubble.

Gunnlaugson opts out of Manitoba playdowns

Jason Gunnlaugson has made consecutive Brier appearances but won’t pursue a third.

The veteran skip indicated Sunday he won’t play in the Manitoba men’s curling championship, set to begin in just over a week. On his personal Twitter account, the 37-year-old Winnipegger said he isn’t comfortable competing at the Viterra championship at the Selkirk Curling Club, owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Gunnlaugson,who guides a Morris-based team of third Adam Casey of Charlottetown, P.E.I., second Matt Wozniak and lead Connor Njegovan, said several of his family members and others in his “immediate circle” haven’t been able to receive timely medical treatment during the health crisis. With the current Omicron wave and a surge in hospitalizations in Canada, “I personally cannot reconcile playing non-bubbled and non-tested curling tournaments at his time,” he said.

The comments were in response to emails sent over the weekend by Curl Manitoba to the 28 competing teams. The federation noted it did its due diligence and made the decision to go forward with the event, with the support of Sport Manitoba.

Fleury to sit out start of Scotties

Tracy Fleury miss the start of the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts after testing positive for COVID-19.

Like all participants, Fleury — who lives in Sudbury, Ont., and skips a Manitoba-based team — was required to test before leaving for Thunder Bay for the national women’s curling championship.

She is self-isolating, but the team indicated on its Facebook page that enough time had passed that Fleury could join the team this weekend.

On its post, the team said: “The good news is she is feeling well…”

Scotties gets green light from Ontario health officials

A bubble-wrapped 2022 Canadian women’s curling championship — with a trio of Manitoba teams enthusiastically sealed inside — has been given a green light from Ontario health officials.

The 18-team Scotties Tournament of Hearts begins Friday, Jan. 28 at Fort Williams Gardens in Thunder Bay, featuring some modifications owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It’ll look a lot like the ‘20 event in Calgary, without fans in the stands and strict protocols in place to limit competitors to the rink and their hotel rooms.

But curlers say the adjustments are a small price to pay in order to challenge for a national title and the chance to represent Canada at the world women’s championship in Prince George, B.C., in late March.

Carruthers headed to Scotties

Reid Carruthers is going to the Scotties.

What’s that?

Yes, indeed, the Winnipegger, a former world men’s champion and six-time Manitoba champion, will make his way to Thunder Bay later this month for the Canadian women’s playdown.

Assuming it goes ahead as planned.

Moose D-man denied Olympic dream

Leon Gawanke has experienced an unexpected downside to being a top Winnipeg Jets prospect.

The 22-year-old Manitoba Moose defenceman is under contract with the NHL parent team and, as such, isn’t eligible to play for his native Germany at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Gawanke’s agent and the American Hockey League team confirmed Wednesday the 2017 fifth-round draft pick can't participate in the Beijing Games, although the news hadn’t filtered down to the Berlin product who admitted competing in the Olympics has been “a childhood dream.”

Instead, he’ll stick with the Moose — one of the top squads in the AHL’s Western Conference — while some of his German-born friends and former teammates and opponents lace up for the national team in February.

Mixed-doubles event cancellation disappoints Olympic curling hopefuls

Canada will hand-pick a team to defend its Olympic title in mixed-doubles curling at the upcoming Winter Games after this week's qualifying event in Portage la Prairie was taken out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rising number of cases among athletes heading to the Olympic Trials and steadily increasing cases across the country "made it impossible to stage the event in a safe, responsible manner for athletes, staff and volunteers," Curling Canada said Sunday, in a statement.

Sixteen teams were slated to compete Tuesday through Sunday at Stride Place, to represent Canada in early February in Beijing. Ticket refunds to spectators are still being arranged.

Instead, the federation will appoint a two-person mixed team to wear the Maple Leaf in China.

Former Ontario champ joins Team Lyburn for shot at provincial, national titles

Scott McDonald considers himself a bit of a curling historian. He knows, for example, Manitoba has won 27 Canadian men’s curling championships.

He’s hoping to help boost that to 28.

The former Ontario champion has agreed to join William Lyburn’s team out of the Granite Club and will play third for the rest of the 2021-21 season, including the Viterra provincial championship in January. He’s the designated import, as it were, as Curling Canada rules allow teams to blend one out-of-province player into their lineup.

Manitoba’s long history as a rock-tossing powerhouse isn’t lost on the 35-year-old from London, Ont.

Team Fleury prepares for wild ride

Tracy Fleury will go head to head with a mystery opponent — more than five weeks from now — just to get into the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

It might well be a one-night-only engagement.

So, how will the Sudbury, Ont., skip and her East St. Paul team start to lay the groundwork for success between now and the eve of the national women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay?

A restful holiday season sounds like a good place to start.

Jones looks to make name for herself

Kaitlyn and Jones are household names when it comes to Manitoba curling. Kaitlyn Lawes owns a couple of shiny Olympic gold medals, while Jennifer Jones has built an incomparable resume in the sport.

But Kaitlyn Jones? Around these parts, not so much.

That could change this week as the relative newcomer to Winnipeg curls with a young, talented team out of Assiniboine Memorial at the 2022 Scotties provincial women's championship in Carberry. She's tossing fourth stones, Abby Ackland calls the game and throws third, while Robyn Njegovan and Sara Oliver partner on the front end.

Jones, a former world junior champion out of Nova Scotia, is competing in her inaugural provincial women's championship — in the province of her birth.

Gushue going to Olympics

SASKATOON — Brad Gushue had a curling legend by his side the last time he won gold at the Winter Olympics. Sixteen years later, the St. John's, N.L., product will return as an icon in his own right.

The 41-year-old skip edged Brad Jacobs from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 4-3 Sunday night in the men's final of the Canadian Olympic Trials at SaskTel Centre.

Jacobs had a hit for a game-tying deuce in the 10th end but his shooter rolled out, sealing the win for Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker, who celebrated his 36th birthday Sunday.

They'll head to Beijing for the Olympic curling tournament, Feb. 9-19.

Jones bound for Winter Olympics

SASKATOON -- Jennifer Jones will return to the scene of, undoubtedly, the most spectacular achievement of the living legend's extraordinary curling career.

The Manitoban is headed back to the Winter Olympics.

Jones, 47, guided her St. Vital team to a 6-5 extra-end victory over Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul in the women's final of the Canadian Olympic Trials.

"What does it mean to be an Olympian again? How do you even explain that? Holy, smokes," said the emotional skip, who now lives near Barrie, Ont. "I started curling because I loved the game and I thought if I could just compete in one Scotties my dream would come true. And here we are going to the Olympics twice. Like, how lucky are we.

Manitoba guaranteed Olympic spot

SASKATOON — Add an alert to your phone calendar for Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., curling fans, because either Tracy Fleury or Jennifer Jones will don their finest Team Canada duds in the opener at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Manitoba will be representing in China.

Fleury's crew from East St. Paul and the Jones squad from St. Vital go head-to-head in the Canadian Olympic Trials women's final Sunday at 11 a.m. (TSN) at SaskTel Centre.

One goes to the Games in February. The other goes home lamenting what might have been.

McEwen two wins short at trials

SASKATOON — The smart money was on Brad Gushue, Brad Jacobs and Kevin Koe — the sultans of the Canadian Team Ranking System standings — to endure here.

The gods of rocks and rings made it so.

The trio of Canadian Olympians qualified Friday for the men's playoffs at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Gushue and Jacobs, gold medallists in 2006 and 2014, respectively, finished with identical 7-1 records but the curling crew from St. John's, N.L., earned a spot in Sunday's 7 p.m. final (TSN) by way of its round-robin win over the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., squad.

Jacobs and Calgary's Koe (6-2) play in Saturday's semifinal, moved up to 2 p.m. (TSN).

Einarson needs tiebreaker success for shot at Olys

SASKATOON — The Manitoba trifecta will have to wait.

Kerri Einarson squandered an opportunity Friday to take a short, smooth path to the Canadian Olympic Trials playoffs.

Tracy Fleury (8-0) and Jennifer Jones (5-3) safely arrived at their destinations. But a costly slip, in the form of an 8-4 loss to Kelsey Rocque of Edmonton, dumped Einarson on winding road with potholes around every turn.

The Gimli squad (4-4) must go the tie-breaker route — not just one but two on Saturday — to reach the semifinal against Jones. Fleury is already booked into Sunday's final.

Jacobs focused on return to Olys

SASKATOON — Brad Jacobs has the eye of the tiger — or timber wolf, for a guy from Northern Ontario — at the Canadian Olympic Trials this week.

His teammates recognized it early, and now opponents and spectators are noticing the fierce glint.

"Brad's got it in his eyes right now and we just kind of stay out of his way and let him go," Ryan Harnden said Friday morning. "The preparation is there… the commitment is there."

Jacobs is shooting the lights out at SaskTel Centre, posting a 92 per cent cumulative percentage prior to the final men's draw of the round-robin Friday night.

Fleury and East St. Paul rink one win away from Olympics

SASKATOON — Tracy Fleury has been a stealth bomber the last few seasons but can no longer soar undetected, now that she's armed with a glorious opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.

Fleury and her East St. Paul teammates — third Selena Njegovan, second Liz Fyfe and lead Kristin MacCuish — will play Sunday morning for right to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Games.

The Fleury foursome took down a pair of enemies Thursday at SaskTel Centre to raise its record to a perfect 7-0 at the Canadian Olympic Trials and, in doing so, landed a spot in Sunday's 11 a.m final.

"It's a big goal accomplished, getting into the playoffs, and knowing we're in the final. It's really exciting," Fleury, 35, said Thursday night. She lives in Sudbury, Ont., but connected with the Manitoba crew in 2018. "A lot of excitement for us but a lot of nervousness as well, so we're just happy for the outcome."

Fleury’s front-end first rate

SASKATOON — Tracy Fleury knew before she took over the wheel that her curling team had a properly aligned, high-performing front end.

Nearly four years later, the skip's confidence level in the duo of Liz Fyfe and Kristin MacCuish is in overdrive.

"They're just so strong, they make a lot of shots and they are amazing sweepers. They help us make a lot of shots just with their sweeping, so we're grateful to have them," Fleury said Thursday, after yet another triumph at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

"I had competed against them for several years and just thought it would be a good match, skill-wise and also personality-wise, so it just seemed like a good fit."

McEwen controls own fate

SASKATOON — Mike McEwen has a roadmap in hand to the Canadian Olympic Trials playoffs and needs no outside help to get him there.

McEwen's curling team from West St. Paul has carved out a 4-2 record, good for a third-place tie in the standings after Thursday's lone men's draw at SaskTel Centre.

Full marks to the official drawmaster for randomly dealing McEwen a pair of Brads on Friday to wrap up the round robin. The Brandon-born skip and his teammates, third Reid Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson, meet Brad Gushue (6-1) and Brad Jacobs (5-1), the teams they're chasing.

It's come down to one of those win-and-you're-in situations athletes totally prefer.

Familiar faces crowd top of men’s draw at Oly trials

SASKATOON — Three teams that have 'been there, done that' are positioned atop the men's standings at the Canadian Olympic Trials with just three draws to go.

Mike McEwen of East St. Paul, an almost-was, is still in the playoff mix. But he has giants to slay to remain there.

Brad Gushue (5-1), Kevin Koe (4-1) and Brad Jacobs (4-1), who've all been to the Olympics by way of the Trials, are the front-runners, while McEwen (3-2), who lost the 2017 Trials final to Koe, and John Epping (3-2) are in the chase group.

McEwen lost a 7-6 squeaker to Koe on Wednesday's late draw, forcing the Calgary skip to draw the full four-foot. The men on the brush, Winnipeg's B.J. Neufeld — a former McEwen teammate — and Ben Hiebert dragged their skip's final yellow stone to its intended destination.

Undefeated Fleury comes through in the clutch

SASKATOON — Tracy Fleury looked pretty chill on the hot seat Wednesday afternoon.

The Sudbury, Ont., curler, skipping a squad out of East St. Paul, crouched in the hack — with all eyes pasted to her and the game on the line — and came through in the clutch.

Firing her final rock, Fleury slipped by a guard and removed an opposition stone in the four-foot to count three in the extra end and defeat Jacqueline Harrison of Dundas, Ont., 9-6 to stay unbeaten in the women's round-robin of the Canadian Olympic Trials.

Fleury, now 5-0, said getting pushed to the brink by Harrison's plucky squad and surviving should pay off as the Trials draw closer to crunch time.

Gushue takes battle of the Brads

SASKATOON — Whenever Brad and Mark and their sturdy sweepers collide with Brad and Marc and their bulky brushers, the force of the impact is pulverizing.

Yet, there are moments of intricacy and finesse as well.

A Tuesday afternoon match between Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs — ranked first and second, respectively, in Canadian men's curling — featured just about everything and had the look and feel of a Sunday night finale.

A harbinger of things to come, perhaps, at the Canadian Olympic Trials? It was downright entertaining stuff for about 7,500 fans at SaskTel Centre and a big TV audience.

Flu symptoms have Manitoba curler on sidelines

SASKATOON — Kate Cameron has tolerated several PCR nasal swabs this year, but Tuesday's test was the only one that has caused some genuine angst for the Manitoba curler.

There's a strong likelihood the flu bug she's been fighting since Sunday morning is not related to the COVID-19 virus. She's already had a pair of negative rapid-test results since Friday.

Cameron wasn't in the lineup Monday night and was replaced by alternate Erin Pincott as the squad fell 9-5 to Gimli's Kerri Einarson to drop to 1-3, dangerously close to being swept from playoff contention at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

While Cameron's health slowly improves, she's still anxious to get the official word.

Olympic curling kit celebrates Indigenous spirit

SASKATOON — Business is business but Colin Hodgson's latest clothing deal was, indeed, a labour of love.

Hodgson, lead for Mike McEwen's West St. Paul men's team competing at the Canadian Olympic Trials, is co-founder of the Indigenous-owned and Winnipeg-based apparel company, Dynasty Curling.

On Tuesday, Curling Canada unveiled Team Canada's new curling jerseys — developed by Dynasty, celebrating the Indigenous spirit of these lands — for the 2022 Winter and Paralympic Games in Beijing, in addition to a few other international events next year.

The uniforms feature the work of Anishinaabe artist Patrick Hunter, originally from Red Lake, Ont., where Hodgson now resides. Hunter created motifs drawn from his home territory and culture. Winnipeg designer Kevin Hurrie ensured the images would shine within the uniforms' iconic red, white and black colour scheme.

Jones, Fleury flying high at Olympic trials

SASKATOON — Tracy Fleury is revealing no vulnerabilities at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

The gang from East St. Paul with an import skip from Sudbury, Ont., has yet to lose in three outings at SaskTel Centre. Ranked No. 1 in women's play by the World Curling Federation, the event's top seed cruised to a 9-2 triumph in eight ends over Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., on Monday's late draw.

Fleury posted an el-perfecto, receiving full marks in each of her 16 deliveries. Did she know she was mistake-free during the contest?

"I didn't notice. I actually thought I had a couple of misses," she said, with a smile. "A little generous."

Morris goes all-in with Koe

SASKATOON — It was the only request for his services John Morris was willing to consider.

When his old friend and former teammate, Kevin Koe, called to recruit him 20 months ago, Morris didn’t need much convincing.

“I played with him in the past. I think it’s very unfortunate that he didn’t win a medal at the (2018) Olympics, because (Koe) deserved that,” Morris said Monday afternoon, at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. “I know that they’re hungry for that, and that’s why I felt it was a good fit. So, that would probably have been the only call I’d have taken.”

While Koe’s crew returned from the Winter Games in Pyeongchang with nothing to show for its effort, Morris captured gold with Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg in mixed doubles curling.

Jones a comfortable 3-0

SASKATOON — A leisurely Saturday had an adverse effect on Jason Gunnlaugson and his teammates 24 hours later at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.

But a hectic Sunday proved quite beneficial for the Jennifer Jones fivesome from Winnipeg’s St. Vital Club, still unbeaten at the marquee event.

Gunnlaugson’s squad from Morris, arbitrarily given a bye on Day 1, had a sluggish start in its first Trials test at SaskTel Centre. Failing to earn the hammer during pre-game tosses to the button, the team immediately surrendered a big three in the first end to John Epping and eventually shook hands in eight ends following a 10-5 defeat to the Toronto foursome.

The 37-year-old skip, with Adam Casey at third, Matt Wozniak at second and Connor Njegovan at lead, has an opportunity to rebound on today’s 2 p.m. draw against Manitoba rival Mike McEwen of West St. Paul.

Dare to dream about Olympics

SASKATOON — Kaitlyn Lawes doesn’t pull out her matching set of Olympic gold medals often but gets recurring reminders of her extraordinary achievements on the frozen pebble.

The Winnipegger throws third rocks with the internationally acclaimed Jennifer Jones team based out of the St. Vital Club, and has spent years sharing her expertise and passion for the sport with the next generation of stone throwers, at camps and clinics here and abroad.

Lawes, the only Canadian to claim curling titles in back-to-back Winter Games, says daring others to dream like she did is the most cherished spinoff of her Olympic pursuit.

“It is so special to hear that from the next generation of athletes and inspires me to want to continue to push harder. If I can do it, others can do it, too,” maintains Lawes. “If I can help someone follow their dreams, that’s the gold medal to me. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

No stopping Fleury

SASKATOON — Tracy Fleury has extended her sensational string of success against Manitoba rival Kerri Einarson in the 2021-22 curling season.

Exactly where it happened is of considerable consequence.

The 35-year-old skip and her East St. Paul team downed Einarson's Gimli squad 7-4 Saturday afternoon on the opening women's draw of the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, in front of 4,558 spectators at SaskTel Centre.

Remarkably, the two-time reigning Scotties national champions have yet to beat Fleury in five tries since early September. Then again, the world's No.1-ranked foursome has seemingly dispatched of just about every challenger it's faced.

Homan not worried about opening draw loss

SASKATOON — Is Rachel Homan taking the same road to another Winter Olympics?

Perhaps, a defeat on Day 1 of the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials isn't that distressing for her Ottawa women's team.

Four years ago, Homan fell to Chelsea Carey of Calgary in the Trials opener and then ran the table, posting nine consecutive victories — including the rematch with Carey in the final — to earn a trip to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

The 32-year-old skip appeared unfazed Saturday after falling 6-5 to fellow Ontarian Jacqueline Harrison in the first major upset on the women's draw.

‘His word was his bond’

Bob Mart was always the first through the door.

The longtime chief of the Altona Police Service made that abundantly clear to officers under his command, even though there was no such policy at the department.

Actions considered contrary to Mart’s edict would not be tolerated. Then again, no one dared defy those orders during the four years Norm Carter wore a badge in Altona.

Don’t believe for a moment no perilous scenarios lurked on the other side of the door in the tight-knit community in southern Manitoba.

Curlers welcome return fans

SASKATOON — Curlers who had the air sucked out of them inside the Calgary bubble expect to get a mighty boost from near-normal conditions at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

Sure, there's still the testing, mask-wearing and social distancing which have become ways of life for these athletes, all to ensure a safe environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But thousands of spectators will join them at SaskTel Centre, a novelty for teams that competed in front of nothing but empty seats last spring at Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary. It hosted the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Brier, world men’s and women's championships and Canadian mixed doubles championship for the interrupted 2020-21 season, plus a pair of Grand Slam of Curling tour events.

The home of the city's beloved junior squad, the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League, has a capacity of 15,000, although most of the marquee Trials draws, such as Saturday's opener 2 p.m., are expected to attract 5,000 to 6,000 people.

Lott didn't hesitate when asked to be last-minute replacement on Team Dunstone

SASKATOON — Matt Dunstone needed a spare in a pinch, so he made a call to an old friend.

He wasn't trying to coax Colton Lott to fill in at a Granite fun 'spiel. In fact, he had a pretty tall ask of his former junior teammate.

Dunstone's team was forced to make a change to its lineup just days before the start of the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials after third Braeden Moskowy stepped away due to personal reasons.

Lott was immediately targetted as the replacement, and the Gimli resident required no time to ponder the request this past Wednesday night.

Winnipeg goalie hits a homer in NHL debut

Joel Hofer got another reminder Tuesday morning an NHL goalie gig is tough stuff.

While gaining some precious memories and mementoes during his introduction to life in the big league, the Winnipegger came away from the St. Louis Blues' morning skate with a dented mask and smarting chin.

A sizzler from forward Jordan Kyrou caught him high. And it wasn't the only time one of his teammates inadvertently went head hunting.

"That one definitely hurt. I got another one later that hit the cage. But that's what it's there for, right?" Hofer said, during a chat with the Free Press. "It's kind of a shock when it first happens, but I'm fine now."

Gunnlaugson going to Olympic Trials

Jason Gunnlaugson’s curling team is finally in the position it intended to be in all along.

Taking advantage of a crucial second chance, the crew from Morris earned the right to join a collection of the country’s finest men’s teams at the upcoming Canadian Olympic Trials.

Gunnlaugson upended Tanner Horgan of Kingston, Ont., 9-8 on Sunday morning in Liverpool, N.S., to qualify for the Trials, set for Saskatoon Nov. 20-28.

Just nine men’s teams, including Mike McEwen of West St. Paul, will fight to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Manitoba teams into playoffs at Oly Pre-Trials

The outlook for the Mackenzie Zacharias team was wildly promising after victories at the Canadian and world junior women’s curling championships in early 2020.

Evidence suggests the future has arrived sooner than expected.

The Altona skip and her teammates — third Karlee Burgess, second Emily Zacharias and lead Lauren Lenentine — advanced to the weekend playoffs of the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials in Liverpool, N.S.

The early 20-somethings are just two wins away from qualifying for the Olympic Trials next months in Saskatoon. They face Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (TSN)

Team Gunnlaugson controls own fate at pre-Oly curling trials

Four lads in Liverpool need nobody's help at the Canadian Olympic pre-trials.

Jason Gunnlaugson's curling team from Morris controls its own destiny over the next three days as it competes to join a starry field at the upcoming Olympic trials in Saskatoon, Nov. 20-28.

Gunnlaugson, third Adam Casey, second Matt Wozniak and lead Connor Njegovan have compiled a 4-1 record at the pre-Trials this week in Liverpool, N.S., and have just one round-robin game remaining.

A victory Friday over Michael Fournier of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., set for the 6 a.m. (CT) draw, assures the Manitobans second place in seven-team Pool A, and leaves them just two playoff wins away from booking a spot to Saskatoon.

Moose slip past Griffins 1-0 in home opener

Just one puck found mesh Friday night, although the hard-charging Manitoba Moose produced more than enough Grade-A scoring opportunities to register a blowout.

Calvin Pickard, a Winnipeg product between the pipes for the Grand Rapids Griffins, constructed a wall to prevent that from happening.

Still, that lone tally, coming off the stick of Manitoba's alternate captain, Cole Maier, meant everything to the American Hockey League squad and its legion of fans at Canada Life Centre.

Maier's even-strength, unassisted marker at 14:31 of the second period -- coming on a shot from well out that appeared to deceive the Griffins' starter -- propelled the Moose to a 1-0 shutout victory in their 2021-22 season home-opener.

Gustafsson hungers for success

David Gustafsson possesses many of the characteristics of an everyday NHL player, yet the Swedish-born forward's name is often missing from a list of the Winnipeg Jets' highly regarded youngsters.

Cole Perfetti, Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg and even 2021 first-rounder Chaz Lucius get no shortage of attention.

Yet, it's an overflowing toolbox that heightens Gustafsson's allure as a blue-chip prospect, maintains the PR firm of Nelson Nogier and Associates.

"If you ask me, personally, I think he's a really underrated prospect, league-wide. You look at him and he has all the attributes that a full-time NHLer has," Nogier, who suits up with Gustafsson on behalf of the Manitoba Moose, said Friday morning from the Iceplex.

Crunch time for Calvert

The Braden Calvert crew charted a course in 2018 and has since avoided a sideways slide.

Formed in time for the current four-year cycle, Calvert’s team from Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Memorial Club needs to take one final stride toward its intended destination — the upcoming Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.

Calvert guides his foursome of third Kyle Kurz, second Ian McMillan and lead Rob Gordon into battle at the pre-Trials in Liverpool, N.S., starting Monday, Oct. 25 at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool, N.S.

“When we created our team, we had our sights set on the pre-Trials (and) Trials, and get our feet wet in some (Grand) Slams and see how we’d make out. So, these next three weeks are a full quadrennial’s worth of work, definitely,” Calvert, a world junior champion now firmly established on the men’s stage, said this week.

No mixed feelings for Forrest

The Forrests stood tall Monday afternoon, casting a large shadow at the Manitoba mixed curling championship.

Alex Forrest skipped his Assiniboine Memorial foursome to a convincing 9-3 triumph over Sean Grassie of Deer Lodge in the provincial final to book a spot at the national championship next month in Canmore, Alta.

Indeed, it was a fabulous holiday gathering at the Granite Club for Forrest and his wife, D’Arcy, his brother, Tyler, and Tyler’s wife, Brandi.

“It’s an awesome Thanksgiving. We kind of threw the team together for something to do, thinking we’d have a chance, but didn’t have huge hopes or anything,” said. Forrest. “We got a few practices in and went for it.

Brazilian striker continues to impress, fill net for Bison women

Bianca Cavalcanti made a dazzling first impression that will, most assuredly, stick with University of Manitoba Bisons head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas forever.

Just a day into a new Canadian adventure, Cavalcanti was immediately thrust into the lineup of the Junior Bisons squad for the university's 2019 Spring Tournament and booted a goal Cirque du Soleil style against the Bisons alumni team, igniting the crowd at MSF North in Garden City.

"She scored one of the best goals I've ever seen from a young player," Martinez Lagunas recalled Friday. "There was a beautiful cross (pass) and she goes into the air, does a bicycle kick and scores an amazing goal. That was her presentation here, the first time anyone got to see her. That's a special way to score a goal.

"That's a hard manoeuvre… with your back to the net and you kick it over your head and land on our back. I was like, 'What did I just see happen?'"

Fleury ready to challenge for Olympic spot

Tracy Fleury has a calm heart and peace of mind as she embarks on the most significant season of her curling career.

Her one-year-old daughter, Nina, is thriving.

“She’s doing good. Her first year was a tough one and she was on medications for a long time. But she’s off them now and she’s seizure-free, so she’s doing well,” said the 35-year-old skip from Sudbury, Ont.

Born last July, Nina was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy, called infantile spasms, that necessitated hospitalization in November. Fleury chose to forgo the 2021 national Scotties women’s championship in February in Calgary to be with her baby.

On your marks, Manitoba Marathon returns Sunday

The long wait is nearly over for runners of all ages and all walks of life.

Cancelled in 2020 and then pushed back in 2021 from the traditional Father's Day in June to early September, the Manitoba Marathon is set to go Sunday near IG Field, with a rather irregular but entirely welcomed start.

Just a quarter of the usual 12,000 participants will take to the streets; however, the enthusiasm level could well be at an all-time high.

The itch to stride alongside others will finally get scratched, and that goes for the folks in charge of staging the event, who have experienced withdrawal symptoms of their own.

Crucial curling matches to be livestreamed

Several of Canadian curling's most crucial games this fall will be live-streamed later this month.

Fans will be able to watch many of the country's premier women's and men's team keep their Olympic dreams alive as they compete in Ottawa (Sept. 22-26) for direct entry into the national Olympic Trials in late November.

Spectators won't be allowed into the RA Centre in the nation's capital, however, Curling Canada will produce three live-stream broadcasts each day on its YouTube channel.

Five men’s teams, including the Jason Gunnlaugson and Mike McEwen crews from Winnipeg, will challenge for two berths into the trials (Nov. 20-28 in Saskatoon). McEwen and Gunnlaugson will be joined in the field by former Winnipegger Matt Dunstone and his Saskatchewan team, along with Glenn Howard of Ontario and Colton Flash of Saskatchewan.

Einarson wraps memorable season with fourth-place finish

Kerri Einarson is eager to return to routine house work — and not the skipping kind.

"I'll be back in mom mode as soon as I get home. Just being with my family, cooking and cleaning, all the normal stuff," she told the Free Press on Sunday. "I'm so excited to get home. My girls have been counting the days until mom's home, and I have, too."

Indeed, after three months on the road, it's finally time for the sensational curler from Camp Morton to return to the Interlake.

"I'm ready to see different walls other than my hotel rooms," joked the 33-year-old married mom of twin daughters. "I'm back to work (at the Betel care home) after my quarantine is over June 8 and I'm super excited to see my residents and co-workers.

Run for the gold ends for Einarson/Gushue

Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue won't return home with Canada's first gold medal at the world mixed doubles curling championship.

But the new partnership made considerable noise in 2021 — inside the Calgary bubble and in Aberdeen, Scotland — and will definitely be heard from again.

The talented tandem suffered a 7-4 defeat to Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat of Scotland in one of two semifinals Saturday. Earlier in the day, Einarson executed an astounding shot — one for the highlight reels for years to come — in a qualification game that helped vault Canada into the semifinal.

Scotland meets Norway on Sunday at 9 a.m. CT, as Mouat plays in his second world final of the season. His four-player team lost the men's final in Calgary to Niklas Edin of Sweden.

Canada clinches Olympic mixed doubles curling berth, advances to playoffs

Show of hands. Who believes Kerri Einarson deserves to compete at the next Winter Olympics?

If there’s any justice in curling, the Gimli health-care professional will be in Beijing — some way, some how. She's been instrumental in ensuring Canadian athletes will participate in both the women's four-player and mixed-doubles competitions in February 2022.

Einarson and her playing partner, Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., defeated the Czech Republic 7-6 in Aberdeen, Scotland to secure a spot in the championship playoffs and earn an Olympic berth for their homeland.

Only two weeks ago, she guided her crew — with third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur — over a similar hurdle at the world women's championship in the Calgary bubble.

Team Canada off to sensational start at mixed-doubles curling championship

The Einarson-Gushue Experiment is like some kind of super-cool science project — a blend of elements that produces an explosive reaction and astonishes everyone in the lab.

Combining a pair of world-class skips in four-player curling has worked wonders in mixed-doubles, as Kerri Einarson of Camp Morton, Man., and Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., continue to show remarkable chemistry on the ice.

Winners of the national title in late March in the Calgary bubble, the duo has won its first three contests at the world championship in Aberdeen, Scotland. Team Canada knocked off Germany 9-6 on Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning (Central Time) and then rolled past Hungary 7-5 on a later draw.

Einarson and Gushue are off to a sensational start, tied atop the 10-team Pool A standings with unbeaten Czech Republic and Scotland.

Canada wins despite Einarson errors

Kerri Einarson wasn't satisfied with the numbers from Canada's opener at the world mixed doubles curling championship Monday in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Except for the ones on the scoreboard.

While the Gimli curler's shooting statistics were uncharacteristically low, she and partner Brad Gushue from St. John's, N.L., combined to produce enough quality deliveries to post an 8-6 come-from-behind triumph over Spain.

It was the lone contest of the day for the Canadians, who stole two points in the eighth end against the team of Oihane Otaegi and Mikel Unanue.

Curling community loses the legendary Barry Fry

Ryan Fry remembers hopping the boards and climbing the steps to reach the guy he needed to hug the most after winning the Canadian men’s curling championship eight years ago in Edmonton.

His proud papa, Barry Fry, was eagerly waiting with open arms.

“Probably the fondest recollection is when we won in 2013. While the rest of the team was celebrating and taking pictures, my first reaction was that I wanted to go into the stands and see my dad and mom (Judy), just to be able to share in something that he once did, back so long ago,” Ryan said Sunday.

Barry Fry, who captured the 1979 Manitoba and Canadian men’s titles, died Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 81.

Rock-throwers land in ‘Granite City’

Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue are doing a lot of walking and talking in the striking Scottish city of Aberdeen as they prepare for the start of the 2021 world mixed doubles curling championship.

Regrettably, the talented rock-throwers are seeing almost none of the “Granite City,” known for its old stone buildings and stunning architecture. They won’t visit its vibrant parks and gardens, historic distilleries, busy harbourfront or golden beaches along the North Sea.

Instead, they take 25-minute strolls, three times a day, in an area akin to a basketball court near their hotel.

“Same view all the time ... we do circles but it’s nice. It’s fresh air,” the quarantining Einarson said with a giggle, during a Zoom chat with reporters Friday. The affable resident of Camp Morton — a lakeside community just north of Gimli — is making her first visit to Scotland, while Gushue, a former Olympic and world champion from St. John’s, N.L., has been here many times before.

Sports organizations finding ways to keep athletes active during pandemic

Infielders can run drills but players who patrol the outfield must stay away from the diamond. Forwards can blast away at the keeper but defenders and midfielders must steer clear of the soccer pitch. A setter and middle hitter could join forces and smash against a pair of blockers but no one else could join them on the outdoor volleyball court.

It’s athletic training trimmed into portions.

The province’s current health restrictions, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, make clear all outdoor sporting and recreational activities are limited to a maximum of five participants.

That makes it tough to get a game going. Actually, that’s a moot point, considering the rules prohibit all organized team games at outdoor facilities.

Einarson’s Canada team eliminated from world women’s curling championship

Kerri Einarson’s spectacular winter and spring run in Calgary’s curling bubble finally ended Saturday.

She and her Gimli teammates, representing Canada, fell 8-3 in eight ends to Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg in a morning playoff game and were eliminated from the world women’s championship.

The Swedes, the reigning Olympic champions, wielded the hammer with might, posting deuces in the third, fifth and seventh ends, while Canada struggled to generate offence.

Einarson trailed 5-2 at the fifth-end break.

Team Canada in playoffs after a little help from Swiss

Kerri Einarson got a much-needed massage Friday afternoon but that's not what relieved the immense pressure on the Gimli skip's shoulders.

Team Canada, guided by Einarson, with third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur also aboard, qualified for the playoffs of the world women's championship in the Calgary bubble.

Canada took care of its own business on the morning draw, downing China 6-4 to finish with a 7-6 round-robin record. Hours later, Einarson went for a massage while the afternoon games got going and then stopped by the rink for an update.

Switzerland had built a big lead on Germany — exactly what the two-time national Scotties champions needed.

Einarson’s Team Canada suffers third consecutive loss at Worlds

The struggles continue for skip Kerri Einarson and her Gimli curling team.

Team Canada posted its third consecutive defeat, falling 7-6 to Tabitha Peterson of the United States, at the world women's championship Sunday afternoon in Calgary.

Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur, who won a second straight national Scotties title in late February at WinSport Arena, dropped to 1-4 in the 14-team, round-robin event.

The top six teams make the playoffs next weekend.

Canada between rock and a hard place

Finish what you started.

That's the mantra going forward for Team Canada as it tries to rebound from a calamitous Saturday at the world women's curling championship in Calgary.

Kerri Einarson's squad from Gimli spontaneously combusted in the late stages of a pair of games at WinSport Arena, slumping to a 1-3 record through two days of the 14-team international rockfest.

Canada held a three-point cushion after four ends but stumbled down the stretch, falling 8-7 to Alina Kovaleva of the Russian Curling Federation (RCF) in the evening draw. Earlier in the day, Einarson was in total command through six ends before a considerable lapse, falling 8-5 to Silvana Tirinzoni of Switerzland.

Canada lets one slip away

Kerri Einarson's long-awaited and eagerly anticipated debut at the world women's curling championship didn't exactly go as hoped.

Team Canada was in total control of Sweden — until it wasn't on Friday afternoon.

Leading by three at the fifth-end break, the Gimli squad let the contest slip away. Einarson surrendered steals of one in each of the ninth and 10th ends to fall 6-5 to reigning Olympic gold medallist Anna Hasselborg from Stockholm in the opening game for both teams in Calgary.

"We definitely can't get down, because I thought we played really well and we had an opportunity to win and it just slid by," said Einarson. She needed a piece of the button with her last-rock draw but was heavy.

Canada key to Scottish skip’s success

Eve Muirhead's been everywhere, man — in Canada.

She's been to: Brantford, Lethbridge, Vernon, Truro, Selkirk, Yorkton, Edmonton, Oakville, Regina, Brockville, Calgary, Summerside, Portage la Prairie, Toronto, Lloydminster, North Bay, Winnipeg, Swift Current, Cornwall, Saskatoon, Okotoks, Sault Ste. Marie, Medicine Hat, Abbotsford.

Yep, just like Johnny Cash sang, she's been everywhere.

The sensational Scottish curler has made dozens of trips across the pond over the last decade, conceding she's likely more recognizable in the true north strong and free than she is in her home and native land.

Gimli rink on a roll heading into World Women's Curling Championship

Bubble life has certainly agreed with Kerri Einarson and her teammates from the Gimli Curling Club.

They just need another 10 solid days in Calgary to cap off one of the most sensational stretches in the history of women's curling.

Einarson, 33, will skip Team Canada — with third Val Sweeting of St. Paul, Alta., and second Shannon Birchard, lead Briane Meilleur and alternate Krysten Karwacki, all of Winnipeg — at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship, set to begin Friday.

After nearly two months in the bubble, there's a comfort level the two-time Canadian champions hope propels them to the world title.

Local boy making most of chance with the Maple Leafs

Adam Brooks is relishing the kind of on-the-job training any young NHL player would jump at the opportunity to receive.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has questions, he can turn to a guy with nearly 1,700 games and more than 1,500 points to his credit. Or, he can go with the guy who's suited up for 1,150 contests and collected nearly 1,000 points.

Not bad mentors and role models for the 24-year-old Winnipeg product, set to centre the fourth line — with Joe Thornton, 41, to his left and Jason Spezza, 37, to his right — in just the 12th game of his fledgling career.

The trio was together Thursday as the visiting Leafs upended the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 and is expected to remain intact when the clubs reconnect tonight.

McEwen lead bows out of Grand Slam events over COVID concerns

Colin Hodgson couldn't do the bubble again, simple as that.

One of curling's most recognizable and popular athletes, who plays lead for Mike McEwen's team out of West St. Paul, won't be competing in a pair of Grand Slam of Curling events in Calgary over the next weeks.

"It wasn't the right place for me, without a doubt," Hodgson told the Free Press Tuesday.

"I was thinking about the worst-case scenario. I live in a small community. I really care about the community. If I go there and contract COVID-19, who am I putting at risk?"

Calgary curling bubble hit by COVID

The COVID-19 virus has finally seeped into Calgary’s curling bubble.

Positive tests have been confirmed at the world men’s curling championship, and as a result playoff games set for Saturday at WinSport Arena have been postponed.

Athletes who tested positive were asymptomatic and didn't involve playoff teams, Curling Canada said in a statement late Friday night. Their names will remain confidential.

The U.S. was to play the Swiss at 10 a.m. CT, with the winner advancing to the semifinals later in the day -- both those contests are on hold.

Einarson earns second national curling title in four weeks

No one has found a pin sharp enough to burst Kerri Einarson's bubble.

Remarkably, the Gimli curler has earned two national titles in just four weeks at WinSport Arena in the hub city of Calgary.

Not too shabby during a 2020-21 competitive curling season that nearly wasn't.

Einarson, the recently crowned Scotties champion for a second straight year, and her partner, Olympic, world and Brier winner Brad Gushue, had never played together before but discovered a winning formula, capping off a terrific week-long Canadian mixed doubles championship with a victory in Thursday night's final. 

Sahaidak, Lott advance to mixed doubles championship game

Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott already have a pair of medals proving their elite capability in Canadian mixed doubles.

But it’s the trinket with the gold hue they crave most.

Sahaidak and Lott, the Interlake’s “it” couple when it comes to curling, ran the table Wednesday to book a spot in the national championship finale tonight at 8 p.m.

“It would mean everything to finally break through,” said Lott, 25. “We had such a close run there in 2018, and to be able to have a second go at it, we’ll be ready to go.”

Twosome a team on the ice and in the business world

Kim and Wayne Tuck are once again enjoying the fruits of their labour at the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship.

The couple from Strathroy, Ont., one of 35 competing twosomes, is in the business of making curling rocks, and the sets of stones inside the Calgary bubble are their babies.

In fact, all of the round and polished, nearly 19-kilogram slabs of granite used by Curling Canada at its major championships — the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Brier, included — are manufactured by the aptly named Canada Curling Stone Co.

“It’s cool, for sure, to be using our rocks. They’re only about two years old. They were first used (at the 2019 national mixed doubles championship) in Fredericton,” said Wayne, in conversation with the Free Press over the weekend. “My expertise is the curling stones. They come off my table and then they go out to the curling clubs or the associations. I take a lot of pride in what I do.”

Jennifer Jones needs a mixed doubles title to complete the collection

Contrary to popular belief, Jennifer Jones doesn't own every conceivable curling title available to her.

The former Winnipegger is back in the protective confines of the Calgary bubble competing at the 2021 Canadian mixed doubles championship with her husband, Brent Laing.

It's their third national mixed doubles championship together, their best finish coming in 2017 in Saskatoon when they reached the semifinals but were bumped out by Rachel Homan and John Morris.

Jones is an Olympic women's champion, two-time world champion and six-time Scotties winner, while Laing boasts three world and Brier men's titles.

Watch it buddy, or he’ll tell his aunt

Connor Lawes certainly has the intimidation factor on his side at the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship.

He’s got Aunt Kaitlyn, a two-time Olympic champion, as a partner.

Connor, 24, is joining forces this week with his celebrity relative inside the fan-free bubble in Calgary. The Lawes duo, one of 35 teams participating in the eight-day event at WinSport Arena, is off to a tough 0-2 start.

Kaitlyn doesn’t need gold medals from the 2014 and ’18 Winter Games dangling from her neck to prove she’s got clout.

Curling Canada intent on bringing greater diversity to the Roarin' Game

The sport of curling in Canada is intent on providing an open house.

That means making everyone feel welcome and supported in clubs across the country, ensuring that progress continues to be made in the areas of diversity and inclusion.

Curling Canada has released a digital resource kit: Curling is a place for everyone. It will be sent to nearly 1,000 curling facilities, helping them create meaningful change toward greater diversity and inclusivity at the grassroots level.

The smiling face of Brittany Tran is on the cover of the kit.

Long arm of the Lawes

Connor Lawes certainly has the intimidation factor on his side at the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship.

He’s got Aunt Kaitlyn, a two-time Olympic champion, as a partner.

Connor, 24, is joining forces this week with his celebrity relative inside the fan-free bubble in Calgary. The Lawes duo, one of 35 teams participating in the eight-day event at WinSport Arena, is off to a tough 0-2 start.

Kaitlyn doesn’t need gold medals from the 2014 and ’18 Winter Games dangling from her neck to prove she’s got clout.

Dunstone crew could own the future

Kirk Muyres bolted from a team to join Matt Dunstone because he was convinced the young skip had the talent and poise beyond his years to make something special happen.

Nothing about a crushing defeat in the Brier semifinal Sunday afternoon made him regret his decision.

“When I decided to join, I thought (Dunstone) was the next big thing and we saw it (Sunday) and now he’s one of the best in the world. No moment is too big for him, and that’s what makes a great player,” said Muyres, a former skip who join the Regina-based team as second nearly a year ago. “When you see him wearing his heart on his sleeve like this, that’s a true leader and it’s just fun playing for him.”

Dunstone was, indeed, an open book when he spoke after Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher made a sensational long angle-raise takeout with his last stone to score two points and post a 6-5 triumph over Saskatchewan at WinSport Arena.

Bottcher rules the Brier

Elation, sure. Belief, indeed. But, perhaps, the best word to describe Brendan Bottcher’s 2021 Brier championship: finally.

After enduring the ache of defeat in three consecutive Canadian men’s curling finals, the 29-year-old skip steered his crew to its long-anticipated first championship on Sunday night in Calgary.

Bottcher and his team from the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton slipped past Kevin Koe’s Wild Card 2 team 4-2 in the battle of Alberta at WinSport Arena.

The skip, with third Darren Moulding, second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin, will represent Canada at the world men’s championship in the same Calgary bubble, April 2-11.

‘Papering’ causes wee kerfuffle in Calgary

Call it Granitegate, although most teams Saturday let it slide.

Curling rocks at the Canadian men’s championship in Calgary were freshly “papered,” or sanded down, prior to the afternoon draw of the eight-team championship round, catching at least one squad off-guard.

Clearly the most fired up about the Brier controversy was the Glenn Howard team, which tweeted out its dissatisfaction that teams hadn’t been warned technicians tinkered with the stones, even though it’s standard procedure during the course of the championship.

Papering rocks is a method of roughening up the sliding surface, increasing the amount of curl. A couple of teams found out on their own but most others didn’t know until they started tossing rocks in the pre-game practice.

Gunnlaugson goes down

Jason Gunnlaugson kept some heady company the last few days but was ousted from the party just before things got really interesting.

The 36-year-old skip’s campaign to win Manitoba’s first Brier in a decade ended Saturday afternoon at WinSport Arena in Calgary. His team from the Morris Curling Club settled on a 6-6 record at the Canadian men’s curling championship, losing its final two games.

Gunnlaugson was thumped 12-4 by four-time Brier champion Kevin Koe (Wild Card 2) in an afternoon matchup and then fell 9-6 to Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone, a 25-year-old Winnipeg product, in the late draw.

“When you lose, it’s very frustrating. On the other hand, you keep some balance and I think it’s a slight improvement or a decent step forward as far as last year goes,” said Gunnlaugson, who has represented the province in back-to-back Canadian championships.

Resounding loss to Gushue leaves Team Manitoba in dire straits

Jason Gunnlaugson is hoping to navigate his team to higher ground at its second Canadian men’s curling championship in as many years.

A freefall on Friday night won’t help matters.

Fresh off a stellar performance against Ontario in the afternoon, Team Manitoba was blasted by Team Canada on the evening draw in the Calgary bubble.

Defending champion Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., trounced the Morris-based crew 12-2 in just eight ends to wrap up Day 8 of the Brier at spectator-free WinSport Arena.

Playoffs??!! We talkin’ ’bout playoffs?!

BRAD Jacobs has owned the podium before and he did it again Friday, sort of, entertaining reporters on Zoom while sitting at a table, inhaling a donut.

The Northern Ontario skip was at his thoughtful, articulate and playful best after an impressive 7-2 victory over Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., the great defender of last year’s Brier title.

Jacobs even put his own spin on former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora’s legendary “Playoffs” rant, when asked to comment on the Canadian men’s curling championship’s upcoming Sunday spectacular inside the Calgary bubble.

“Playoffs? We talkin’ about playoffs? Playoffs?” said the 2014 Olympic champion, producing laughs from his third, Marc Kennedy, seated to his left. “Oh, man. We’re so far from that. We need to put together three more performances like that and see where we fall. That’s really where my mindset is at.

Gunnlaugson staggers into Brier playdowns

Team Manitoba has hit the skids at the Brier but can trigger a reversal of fortune Friday afternoon.

Jason Gunnlaugson's team staggered into the 'round of eight' after absorbing three consecutive losses at the Canadian men's curling championship at WinSport Arena in Calgary. 

The most recent setback was administered by living legend Wayne Middaugh, whose Wild Card 3 crew posted a 10th-end deuce to edge the Morris-based squad 5-4 on the late draw Thursday.

Gunnlaugson faced two opposition stones buried in the four-foot and tried unsuccessfully to glance off a corner guard and carom into the pile.

Bionic man Middaugh

The Brier’s bionic man keeps making million-dollar shots.

Wayne Middaugh, playing on a left tibia held together by a 15-inch titanium rod, is among the premier skips this week, guiding his crew from Penetanguishene, Ont., into the elite ‘final eight’.

The three-time Canadian and world champion just might be the best Plan B in latter-day Brier history. Initially, he agreed to tag along with his old pal’s team as the alternate but was pressed into duty as skip when Glenn Howard got hurt in a snowmobile crash just weeks before the event.

So far, he continues to produce crucial, game-breaking shots as crunch time approaches.

Fournier carves his way into sweeping party

Michael Fournier was behind the curve on directional sweeping.

Quebec’s jocular skip, 49, says he’s now a firm believer in the sweeping method but didn’t immediately grasp the concept of using just one brusher to help carve out a rock’s path.

“I think we were a little late to the party, honestly. I wasn’t playing with these guys when it started happening. I was with another team. We didn’t catch on as quick as anybody,” Fournier, playing in his second career Brier, said earlier this week. “It’s funny, we were using the Hardline brooms without knowing how to use them and people were accusing us of cheating and we were like, ‘Cheating? I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing.’ It was a weird experience.” 

The great “broomhaha” hit the news six years ago when teams were wielding brooms manufactured by with a head made with a rough-feeling fabric.

McEwen misses the mark

Mike McEwen was simply reacting to the moment at hand, although his words epitomized the kind of Brier it’s been for his West St. Paul crew.

“No, gone,” he uttered Wednesday afternoon, his final rock of the eighth end at WinSport Arena gliding into oblivion.

“It’s gone,” third Reid Carruthers concurred from the house on Sheet D, watching his skipper’s intended hit for three veer left and, ultimately, miss the mark.

The errant toss resulted in a steal of one for Brendan Bottcher, literally a moot point by then as the squad from Edmonton’s Saville Sports Centre posted a lopsided 9-3 victory over McEwen (Team Wild Card 1) on Day 6 of the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Curler keeps close eye on his cutout dad

JIM COTTER didn’t have the chance in eight previous Brier appearances to gaze up and find his father in the crowd.

But the British Columbia curler made sure dad was in Calgary this year — and not just in spirit.

Cotter had a cardboard cutout made of his late father, Rick, which is occupying a seat at WinSport Arena during the 2021 Canadian men’s curling championship.

He’s already locked eyes with the grinning image several times during the early stages of the Brier.

Deuces run wild for McEwen

Sometimes, it takes intricate work to get the job done; other times, it’s best to rear back and let the hammer fly.

Mike McEwen and his West St. Paul teammates were on carpentry duty Sunday afternoon, nailing down deuces on four consecutive opportunities to manufacture a 10-7 victory over Steve Laycock of British Columbia.

It was the lone assignment for Team Wild Card 1 on Day 3 of the Brier.

McEwen, third Reid Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson, competing together in a third consecutive Canadian men’s curling championship, have strung together a pair of victories after an opening defeat at fan-free WinSport Arena in Calgary.

Little town on the prairie welcomes Dunstone crew

Matt Dunstone is a proud Winnipegger now living in Kamloops, B.C., but is curling at the Brier on behalf of Saskatchewan for the third time in four years.

There’s definitely some green growing in that young heart of his now, if there wasn’t already. Credit the good folks of Wadena, Sask., for that.

Dunstone, third Braeden Moskowy, second Kirk Muyres and lead Dustin Kidby spent two weeks in the small town of about 1,300 residents, located along Highway 5 between Roblin and Saskatoon.

They threw rocks at least once a day at the local club, bunked down at a multi-bedroom home in the community and even had plenty of tasty meals delivered once word got around the athletes were in town preparing for the Canadian men’s championship.

Getting to know each other… from hotel balconies

Matt Wozniak didn’t know Casey from Adam.

Wozniak, the sensational second for Team Manitoba, still considers himself a relative newcomer to the group after his recruitment last March.

The two-time provincial men’s champion joined skip Jason Gunnlaugson’s Morris-based team for what was projected to be a hectic 2020-21 season. But in COVID-19’s year of abandoned sport, the foursome — Gunnlaugson, third Adam Casey (an import from Charlottetown, P.E.I.), Wozniak and lead Connor Njegovan — had no opportunity to unite.

Not until the current edition of the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Bottcher’s botch a gift for Gunner

Jason Gunnlaugson was aided by an unforeseen miss Saturday — courtesy of one of curling’s finest shooters — but to suggest the hard-throwing skip wasn’t worthy of a victory would be absurd.

Alberta skip Brendan Bottcher did, in fact, botch his final delivery in the 10th end that, by Brier standards, should have been executed with relative ease. Instead of picking out a Manitoba stone to sit one with his last rock, he threw inside and erased his own counter.

Gunnlaugson, trailing by one, calmly used the hammer to draw for a gift deuce and a 5-4 win over Bottcher and his Edmonton squad in its opening game of the 2021 Canadian men’s championship at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.

“That was pretty fortunate for us. One of the best players in the world missed a shot for us and we took advantage. We played a really great game and there was a couple of ends we could have had more, but it’s just the first game of the event. Overall, the play was pretty good,” Gunnlaugson, seated by his third, import Adam Casey of Charlottetown, said in a Zoom chat.

Middaugh returns to rink following extended break

Canadian curling icon Wayne Middaugh is about to put his Hall-of-Fame game back on display, five years after he tossed a rock of any consequence.

The three-time Canadian and world men’s champion is on board with Glenn Howard’s crew from Penetanguishene, Ont., as the alternate for the 2021 Brier.

But Middaugh isn’t just a backup plan. He is the plan.

With Howard still on the mend after a snowmobile crash earlier this winter, Middaugh, a former teammate and one of his best buddies, will skip Team Wild Card 3 in the Calgary bubble at WinSport Arena on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park.

Einarson and crew get a shot at Worlds

Kerri Einarson’s team demonstrated patience, persistence and resilience — along with a pattern of rock-solid performances — and will be justly rewarded.

The powerhouse Gimli crew will finally challenge for a world women’s curling championship, a much-deserved opportunity for the reigning two-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion.

The 33-year-old skip, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur will join 13 international squads inside the Calgary bubble, April 30 to May 9, at spectator-free WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park.

“I feel absolutely amazing. I’ve heard rumours about this, I just didn’t want to get my hopes up. To finally get the confirmation that it’s a go-ahead, it feels so unbelievable,” Einarson said Friday, as team members met with media on a Zoom call.

Brier without fans changes players’ mind games

Colin Hodgson is most himself when he's affectionately kibitzing with the crowd between deliveries.

The interaction with fans in the stands is a crucial element of the Brier experience for the 29-year-old curler, who tosses lead stones for Mike McEwen of West St. Paul.

He's grown accustomed to exchanging fist bumps with star-struck youngsters, playful barbs with hecklers who've had one too many at the Patch, and smiles and winks with his fiancé, Brittnie. Those are cherished memories from four previous appearances at the Canadian men's curling championship that can't be erased.

The 2021 rendition, set to begin in the Calgary bubble Friday night, will be a Brier like no other, and Hodgson's effort to monkey with anyone from the bleachers with so much as a pulse will, indeed, be futile. Only cardboard cutouts of spectators will occupy seats at Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gushue embraces uncertainty at unique Brier

Brad Gushue is a titan in Canadian curling.

No monument — a la Mount Rushmore — exists celebrating the greats of the men's game. If one did, strong consideration would be given to include his image among those carved from the granite.

But the brilliant athlete from St. John's N.L., a perennial winner, high-powered voice of curling in this country, successful entrepreneur and devoted family man also has his frailties.

Seems his daughters, Hayley, 13, and Marissa, 9, put up a far braver face than dad when it came to their first COVID-19 tests.

Gimli skip and crew win second consecutive Tournament of Hearts

Kerri Einarson barely had the opportunity to truly savour the pride and glory traditionally attached to the Team Canada moniker.

So, the top-flight skipper from Gimli found the ideal way to avenge the ripoff. She just kept the thing for another year.

And who knows, maybe more.

Einarson’s stacked squad of former skips captured its second consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship Sunday night at mostly deserted Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

Jones’ bid for record seventh Scotties crown comes to end

Jennifer Jones exited the Scotties about 10 hours earlier than she'd hoped but vowed afterward she's not ready for the curtain to come down on her legendary career.

The Manitoba skip came up short in her bid for a record seventh Canadian women's curling championship, losing a tie-breaker in astonishing fashion Sunday morning in Calgary.

Jones and her St. Vital team surrendered a three-ender to Alberta's Laura Walker, dropped a 9-8 decision and were eliminated on the 10th and final day of the event, staged in a competitive bubble — owing to the COVID-19 pandemic — at spectator-free Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.

Two of Manitoba's four losses since the Scotties kicked off Feb. 19 were administered by the Edmonton quartet.

Jones upsets Einarson’s applecart at Scotties

PROVINCIAL rivals Kerri Einarson and Jennifer Jones are part of what promises to be a spectacular Sunday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

However, neither of Manitoba’s world-class squads gained direct entry into the late finale. In fact, each has some serious work to do to seize the prize

Einarson was denied first place in the championship round after losing 10-9 in a gripping fashion to Jones late Saturday. The defending champions from Gimli (Team Canada) are in the semifinal, instead.

Jones, the six-time champion, facing two Einarson counters, calmly grabbed a hefty slice of the button with a last-rock draw in an extra end.

Carey acquits herself quite nicely as fill-in for Fleury

CHELSEA Carey’s term position with a curling team from Manitoba is up.

The 36-year-old skip filled in admirably for Tracy Fleury at the Scotties championship, guiding it to a 6-6 record after Saturday’s final championship-round draw.

The team from East St. Paul, competing as Wild Card 1, missed the playoffs.

Carey, with third Selena Njegovan, second Liz Fyfe and lead Kristin MacCuish, dropped 9-4 decision to Alberta’s Laura Walker in Saturday’s evening draw. The team was officially eliminated earlier in the day, despite posting a 6-5 win over Winnipeg’s Beth Peterson (Wild Card 3).

Scotties rookie Zacharias leaves with great memories

Bubble life for Mackenzie Zacharias had its ups and downs.

Curling on a neighbouring sheet to the Scotties feature game of the preliminary round — Einarson vs. Homan — on Thursday afternoon was a high point. The inability to pick the brains of the two world-class skips at any point during the championship was a total downer.

Delivering a couple of the week’s highlight-reel shots, including a raise triple-takeout to score a deuce in the sixth end of an eventual 8-6 defeat Wednesday night to Homan, won’t be soon forgotten. Neither will a trio of COVID-19 tests, particularly the incomparable sensation of a deep nasal swab (taken on Day 5) that felt like it poked the back of her eye socket.

Posting three victories at her inaugural national women’s championship a clear sign the Zacharias team from Altona has graduated with honours from the junior ranks — will remain cherished memories. Brooding alone in her hotel room over a pair of one-point defeats, the difference between leaving Calgary early and staying for more, will not.

Defending champ looks good at 9-1, Scotties playoff pressure is on for Team Manitoba

It’s impossible to know if Kerri Einarson and Jennifer Jones are being truthful when they claim they don’t scoreboard watch or analyze the standings.

The elite Manitoba curlers say their focus is solely shepherding their teams through the Scotties national women’s championship in Calgary, and prefer (you guessed it) to take things one game at a time.

Best to accept Einarson, the skip of Team Canada — the defending champion and top seed — at her word.

“To be honest, we don’t really focus too much on that. We just know we don’t want to lose any more games, so we just want to focus on our games and what we’re doing,” the pride of Gimli said Friday, after toppling Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson 10-6 on the opening draw of the eight-team championship round.

Four Manitoba rinks slide into Scotties playoffs

Count them up — one, two, three and four Manitoba teams have slid into the championship round of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

In fact, half the remaining squads in the next phase of the national women’s championship hail from these parts.

To no one’s great surprise, Team Canada’s Kerri Einarson, the defending Scotties champion, and six-time winner, Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones are in, while a pair of wild-card teams, Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul (skipped by Chelsea Carey) and Beth Peterson of Winnipeg join the party.

Only the top four teams in each pool advanced to the final eight.

Front-end duo a great get for Einarson

BRIANE Meilleur and Shannon Birchard were 20-something skips, just a few years removed from juniors, and looking for new opportunities on Manitoba’s ultra-competitive women’s curling scene.

Then, Kerri Einarson came calling with a radical proposal to assemble a squad comprised entirely of skips for the 2018-19 season.

Neither could resist the golden opportunity, particularly at the dawn of an Olympic cycle.

Since then, the accord to relinquish control of their own teams and unite with the Gimli-based skip and Alberta sharp-shooter Val Sweeting has paid huge dividends for the front-end duo.

New Brunswick win leaves Jones one game away from Scotties’ championship pool

Manitoba's Jennifer Jones is poised to advance to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship pool.

Jones, a six-time national women's curling champion and 2014 Olympic gold medallist, posted a lopsided 12-3 victory over Melissa Adams of New Brunswick this morning in Calgary to improve to 5-2 in Pool B round-robin play.

Only four teams from pools A and B will continue to compete Friday and Saturday, while 10 squads will be eliminated.

Jones meets winless Nunavut tonight.

Peterson rolls to third straight win

Beth Peterson controls her own destiny at the Scotties, but the Winnipeg curler’s short-term plan was escape to her Calgary hotel room Wednesday night and collapse in bed.

The skip of Team Wild Card 3, a Scotties Tournament of Hearts rookie, admitted her brain is fried.

Peterson’s crew is cruising right now, posting its third consecutive victory — a 9-5 decision over Northern Ontario’s Krysta Burns in the morning — to up its record to 4-3 in Pool A, and is one win away from securing a spot in the next phase of the Canadian women’s championship.

In theory, an immediate return to the pebble might well have been advantageous, rather than an extended break. Keep the rolling going, right Beth?

Weagle thrilled with new team

Not once has Lisa Weagle wondered how the old gang is doing without her, or whether or not there will be some awkwardness when they finally connect.

Then again, the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts draw is such that Manitoba and Ontario are in opposite pools and have yet to hit the ice at the same time at Markin MacPhail Centre.

Out of sight, out of mind — at least until the championship round.

Yet, Weagle maintains it wouldn't have mattered if the Rachel Homan squad was on a neighbouring sheet all week long.

Sister act smooth on ice

The Zacharias sisters rarely bicker — believe it or not.

Certainly never on the ice during many years of junior curling together that culminated with a world title a year ago, says the younger of the two siblings from Altona.

"It's funny because we've been playing together since I was probably less than 10 years old, so at the beginning there were definitely moments like that. But as we've grown as athletes and competitors on the ice, we've learned to just know what we need from each other and how to be there for each other, and we support each other 100 per cent," second Emily, who fires second stones for big sis, Mackenzie.

"There's never a moment where I'm really upset or think of her as my sister on my ice, because we're both there on the ice doing what we want to do and we're doing everything we can for our team. We look out for each other and we do what we can for each other.

Statistics are for losers…. and world champions

Sometimes, statistics lie. These don’t.

Team Manitoba fired a collective 65 per cent Saturday night and, deservedly, got creamed. Veteran curler Jennifer Jones’ own game was particularly ugly — 48 per cent — against provincial rival Tracy Fleury in Draw 4 of the Scotties national women’s championship.

A nearly three-hour stay in half-shot city.

Historically, it was the former Olympic gold medallist’s poorest shooting mark since 2010 when she registered only 46 per cent in an 8-4 round-robin defeat to Shelley Nichols of Newfoundland-Labrador.

Sweeting in awe of eight-year-old son's resilience, spirit

Val Sweeting has compiled an impressive curling resume, yet the Canadian champion insists her feats pale in comparison to the accomplishments of her son.

And her thoughts turn to eight-year-old Jaxen a dozen times a day at the Scotties.

"I've learned a lot about resilience from him. If anything, he's taught me way more than I've taught him," says the 33-year-old mom, who plays third for Gimli's Kerri Einarson, the defending Scotties champion.

Jaxen was born with a rare genetic disorder, SATB2 syndrome, which significantly affects many areas of his development, including speech, cognitive function and motor skills.

Childhood pals Carey, Fyfe back together for Scotties

Chelsea Carey and Liz Fyfe had a tight bond as kids and now find themselves joined at the hip at the Scotties.

Carey was recruited to skip Tracy Fleury's East St. Paul team, which includes Fyfe, at the national women's curling championship inside the Calgary bubble.

The former next-door neighbours used to play Barbies together and splash about in each other's swimming pools in North Kildonan. They were rink rats, too, scampering around local clubs, primarily the venerable Granite, oblivious to the success their fathers were having on the other side of the glass.

Fyfe's late father, Vic Peters, and Carey's dad, Dan, captured the 1992 Brier in Regina together, as skip and third, respectively, for Manitoba. Chris Neufeld and Don Rudd joined them on the front end.

Einarson game postponed

Kerri Einarson can't seem to get around postponements and cancellations.

The Team Canada skip and her teammates were preparing to meet Northwest Territories at the Scotties national women's championship in Calgary when Curling Canada informed them the Saturday afternoon game was off.

An unnamed player on Kerry Galusha's crew from Yellowknife fell ill inside the Scotties bubble, although medical staff believe it was food poisoning.

The rest of the N.W.T. team showed no similar symptoms, and all had tested negative on previous COVID-19 tests (as recently as Friday). The ill player receive another test for the virus Saturday.

Einarson off and running with win at Scotties

Mackenzie Zacharias and her teammates floated on Cloud 9 for weeks, barely able to wrap their heads around an invitation to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Provincial rival Kerri Einarson snapped them back to reality Friday night.

The returning champions registered a 7-3 victory over Zacharias (Wild Card 2) on the opening draw of the national women’s curling championship inside the Calgary bubble.

The Gimli crew, with Einarson skipping, Val Sweeting at third, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur, finally got to flash their finest red and whites as Team Canada, after being robbed of the chance when the 2020 world championship was scrapped owing to the pandemic.

Former Manitoban returns to the curling spotlight

Breanne Knapp moved away and dropped a last name infinitely tied to curling greatness in Manitoba but is still the same sharp-shooting southpaw.

A former Canadian junior champion and twice a fifth player at the Scotties, Knapp has returned to the spotlight after several years removed from the grind of competitive curling.

The Winnipeg product is throwing lead rocks for Team Saskatchewan, led by veteran skip Sherry Anderson, at the 2021 national women’s championship inside the Calgary bubble, amidst the backdrop of empty seats and cardboard-cutout spectators inside Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park. 

Knapp (nee Meakin) has lived in Regina for several years and is married to Kelly Knapp, a curler and physiotherapist. The two met 11 years ago at the junior nationals in Quebec.

A series of isolated incidents

Shannon Birchard admits she isn’t proud of herself.

The Winnipegger and second for Team Canada has already spent hours watching Netflix, far too much Summer House, in particular, since Tuesday as she kills time — and brain cells — inside her Calgary hotel room.

The premise of this abominable reality show? A group of stably employed New York millennials head to a summer pad in a tony part of Long Island each weekend for unrestrained debauchery.

Oh, Shannon... tsk, tsk. Intelligent programs such as The Queen’s Gambit, The Crown and Mindhunter are only a few clicks away.