No doubtin’ Stoughton

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2011 (5486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — The best men’s curling team in the world lives in Winnipeg.

It has been 15 long years since anyone was able to write that, but it is an undeniable fact once again this morning.

Jeff Stoughton, at the age of 47 and just three years removed from being able to curl seniors, won his second world curling title here Sunday night, defeating Scotland’s Tommy Brewster 6-5 in the final of the World Men’s Curling Championship.

It is the longest span ever between world championships for a Canadian male curler and Stoughton did it with a team that included a third in Jon Mead who had all but retired from the sport just a few years ago, a worlds rookie in Reid Carruthers who had to overcome a knee operation, a completely transformed delivery and a move from skip to second this sea, and a lead in Steve Gould who was there the last time Stoughton won the worlds in 1996 and was by his side again last night.

“This is such a tough thing to win,” Gould said. “Your mind plays many tricks on you throughout the day. You think about how you’ll react if you lose, how you got so far and how hard it would be to lose. And then you think: ‘But we’re not going to lose. Stop thinking that way.’

“You mind is just all over the planet.”

But it was never more focused than by day’s end as the Canadians, led by a 93 per cent outing by their skip, simply refused to be beaten by a Scottish team who for four ends threw the game of their lives.

“It’s such a rush,” said Stoughton. “The adrenaline pumps. You get emotional at the start of the game when they announce Team Canada. It’s a feeling we don’t get very often, because we’re just curlers.

“This is something we’re going to cherish for quite awhile.”

While it was the first world championship for both Mead and Carruthers. Stoughton and Gould now join the rarest ranks of all in Manitoba curling with their second world title.

Only the men of Don Duguid’s 1970-71 curling team — Duguid, Rod Hunter, Jim Pettapiece and Bryan Wood — have won two men’s world curling championships playing out of Manitoba.

Still, it was an especially poignant win for Mead, who lost his mother, Penny, two years ago and became very emotional when it became clear last night that he had won a world title without her — and on his 44th birthday, no less.

“She’s the best part of me. She always has been,” Mead said. “She worked so hard for us and she would have enjoyed this so much once it was all over. I don’t think she would’ve enjoyed it so much while it was on.”

Penny Mead’s son won his world title in heart-stopping fashion, beating back a relentless onslaught of Scottish volleys.

Consider: Brewster made a raised double-takeout in the first end to lie five and turn what was looking like a Canadian three-ender into just one. A double takeout by Scottish third Greg Drummond in the second emptied the house and extinguished a steal opportunity. A runback triple-takeout by Drummond in the third end set up a Scotland deuce. And a perfect draw to the button by Drummond in the fourth gave Scotland a steal, a 3-1 lead and anxiety to a capacity crowd of 5.854 fans at the Brandt Centre.

But a three-ender in the fifth end for Stoughton seemed to extinguish the fight in Scotland and the final result — while contested until Brewster came up light with his final rock of the tenth end — never seemed in doubt again as Canada outshot the Scots 89-79.

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“That was the hardest game of my life,” Mead said. “I’m tired, I want a beer and I love the guys I play with.”

Carruthers said his head was spinning and he was most looking forward to some time to finally savour the whole wild ride.

Brewster was asked if silver was a consolation for a worlds rookie team that outperformed even their own expectations. “In two weeks time, maybe” said the Scottish skip.

LOOSEHAIRS: Sweden won the bronze medal game 7-6 over Norway…Green Team Canada jackets that Canada wore on Tuesday raised $17,000 at auction for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation…Total attendance was 99,445…The Stoughton team will play at The Players Championship in Grande Prairie this week.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca