‘Old Bear’ prowling for curling glory

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This article was published 29/10/2010 (5684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINDSOR, Ont. — Kevin Martin, the Old Bear of Canadian curling, shares a similar nickname with golf’s Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, but he hopes to have more in common than that by the end of the season.

Martin has won 15 Grand Slam events as a skip, nearly twice as many as anyone else, and he’s made no secret he’d love to match or better Nicklaus’ golfing equivalent of 18 majors.

He’ll resume his quest Wednesday when the first stones of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling are thrown at Windsor’s WFCU Centre.

“I’ve talked about this for a number of years now because I think golf and curling are similar,” said Martin, who has more than $2 million in career earnings.

“They’re both event sports. I think the slams will mean a lot more in the future going forward. That’s why they mean so much to me.”

With a win over defending world champion Kevin Koe in the West Coast Classic earlier this month serving as a tune-up, the 2010 Olympic champion is hoping to start this season’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series the same way he ended it last April.

Martin edged Koe in the Players’ Championship to clinch the overall season’s points title and earn a $50,000 bonus for his Edmonton rink.

With his scheduled more packed than ever because of corporate appearances and speaking engagements across the country, Martin said his rink hasn’t really played much beyond the recent Vancouver tournament.

“The travel has been insane,” said Martin, who took only 10 days off for a family vacation in July. “I think the biggest challenge has been time management.

“We’re going to be playing the next three weeks, so we’ll get going now.”

However, Martin is starting his season in earnest at the one Grand Slam bonspiel where he’s had the least luck.

Martin last won the World Cup in 2002-2003 and hasn’t made it past the quarter-finals in the last three seasons.

The 44-year-old has won the other three slam events — the Players’ Championship, the Canadian Open and the National — at least three times each over the past decade.

“We’ve had trouble with that one and I really don’t know why,” said Martin, who was the first skip to ever win the career Grand Slam, a feat since matched by Glenn Howard.

“If I knew the answer to that one, I’d fix it. We’ve played well enough, but we haven’t finished off in that one. Hopefully, it’s something we can change next week.”

Martin said motivation this year won’t be so much event-focused as last year’s Olympic year.

Instead, it’s just getting those opportunities to battle with the likes of Howard, Koe and Brad Gushue in pressure-packed situations that will drive his team.

“I still love a hard-fought game,” Martin said.

— Postmedia News