Latest news with #Gushue
CBC
09-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Jacobs beats Gushue to advance to Brier final against Dunstone
There will be a new champion at the Montana's Brier this year in Kelowna, B.C. Alberta's Brad Jacobs defeated Canada's Brad Gushue 7-5 in semifinal play today at Prospera Place. Gushue had a chance to win with his final throw but his tap attempt was heavy. The loss ended Gushue's bid to win a record fourth straight Canadian men's curling championship. Jacobs will advance to the evening final against top-ranked Matt Dunstone of Manitoba. Jacobs won his lone Brier crown in 2013 while Dunstone is looking to win it for the first time.
CBC
05-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Defending Brier champion Gushue beats Kevin Koe in extra end to secure playoff berth
Social Sharing Three-time defending champion Brad Gushue is picking up where he left off at the Montana's Brier. His St. John's-based team was the first to secure a playoff berth with a 7-6 victory over Alberta's Kevin Koe on Wednesday at Prospera Place. Koe pushed him hard, taking advantage of a Gushue miss in the 10th end to score a deuce and force an extra end. The Calgary skip was a little wide with his final draw into a crowded house and the teams shook hands. "We kept our composure," Gushue said. "When rocks didn't turn out, we didn't get negative." Gushue led the nine-team Pool A standings at 6-0 with two round-robin games left to play. He's trying to win the national men's curling championship for a record seventh time. "Now the focus is on trying to get first place and trying to get hammer in the playoffs," Gushue said. It's the second straight year that Koe (2-4), a four-time Brier champion, will miss the playoff cut. "It's frustrating," he said. "Last year, we were just brutal and we lost. This year, we played quite well and we could have won a few [more] games. Any time you lose at the Brier it's [tough]." Manitoba's Reid Carruthers was in second place at 6-1 ahead of Manitoba's Matt Dunstone (5-1) and idle Northern Ontario skip John Epping (4-2). Top 3 teams in each pool advance Carruthers defeated Nunavut's Shane Latimer 7-3 and Dunstone dumped New Brunswick's James Grattan 9-3. British Columbia's Cameron de Jong posted an 8-3 win over Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello in the other early game. Koe was in a fifth-place tie with Grattan ahead of de Jong (2-5), Dilello (2-6) and Latimer (0-6). The top three teams from each pool at the end of round-robin play Thursday night will advance to the qualification games Friday. "We feel like we should be a playoff team but there's going to be two good teams in our pool that don't get there," Koe said. "Not to disrespect anyone else, but we're one of them. "We actually played well but it's a fine line when you're playing the best teams and we have just been slightly off." Pool B leader Mike McEwen (6-0) of Saskatchewan and Alberta's Brad Jacobs (5-0) have a chance to secure playoff berths later in the day depending on Draw 14 results. Ontario's Sam Mooibroek, Saskatchewan's Rylan Kleiter and Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard started the day tied for third place at 3-2. The Page playoffs are on tap this weekend with the final set for Sunday night. Gushue vice Mark Nichols and lead Geoff Walker also have six career Brier titles. Second Brendan Bottcher, who joined the team mid-season, is looking for his second career national crown. The Brier winner will represent Canada at the BKT world men's curling championship starting March 29 in Moose Jaw, Sask. Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in Thunder Bay, Ont. Her Ottawa-based team will wear the Maple Leaf at the women's world playdowns starting March 15 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
CBC
01-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Defending champion Brad Gushue opens with victory at Montana's Brier
Social Sharing Defending champion Brad Gushue opened the Montana's Brier with a 9-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello on Friday night. Gushue opened with a deuce and never trailed in the eight-end win at Canada's annual men's curling championship at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C. The St. John's, N.L.-based skip is looking to win the curling championship for a record fourth time in a row and seventh time overall. Dilello is making his Brier debut. His team plays out of the same St. John's club as Gushue's rink. Round-robin play continues through Thursday night. The Page playoffs are set for next weekend ahead of the final on March 9. Teams from 10 provinces and three territories, along with a few additional teams, will compete for the title of Canada's best men's curling team. The winning team will also go on to represent Canada at the World Curling Championships, which will be played on home ice this year in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Defending champion Brad Gushue opens with victory at Montana's Brier
KELOWNA, B.C. — Defending champion Brad Gushue opened the Montana's Brier with a 9-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello on Friday night. Gushue opened with a deuce and never trailed in the eight-end win at Prospera Place. The St. John's, N.L.-based skip is looking to win the Canadian men's curling championship for a record fourth time in a row and seventh time overall. Dilello is making his Brier debut. His team plays out of the same St. John's club as Gushue's rink. Round-robin play continues through Thursday night. The Page playoffs are set for next weekend ahead of the final on March 9. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
28-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Broomhead foam issues on hold for Brier, but curlers still fuming
The equipment technology tension that has engulfed the elite curling scene in recent weeks is expected to be put on hold at the Brier in Kelowna, B.C. All 18 teams in the field have decided they won't use new firmer foams in their broomheads even though the products are approved and within the scope of World Curling rules and regulations. Many top players are concerned that the new 'black foam' gives sweepers too much control of a delivered stone. With the national men's championship starting Friday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C., the subject was an unwelcome distraction for athletes ahead of one of the biggest events on the curling calendar. "We all realized that it would be really a blemish to the Brier if we bring these things out there and you put them in the hands of some of the best sweepers in the world," said Brad Jacobs, who will skip one of two Alberta entries. The 2014 Olympic champion has been quite vocal on social media in recent days, calling out the Scotland-based World Curling in a series of posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. "The entire men's field has collaborated to protect the event's integrity as best we can to prevent this equipment from entering the field of play - A win for all of us!," Jacobs posted in announcing the teams' handshake agreement. He tagged the sport's world governing body, formerly known as the World Curling Federation, in a followup post. "However, the equipment issue persists, and it is NOT [expletive] acceptable WCF. Athletes at the highest level are deeply concerned - we need to solve this issue ASAP!" Defending champion Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador, who won Olympic gold in 2006, also didn't mince words when asked about the foam issue on the eve of the Brier. "I'm disappointed and disgusted with the World Curling Federation for not handling this and leaving it to the players," he said. "I've been hard on them the last couple years and I think it's deserving. "I think there's a lack of leadership there that they didn't take this on and run with it." Curlers at the Brier have agreed to use white foam on their broomheads, which is not quite as firm. While unlikely, it remains possible that a team may switch to black foam at the 10-day competition. Such a change would be legal and not considered cheating. Like many teams, Gushue's squad has tested the new foam. The St. John's skip found the difference to be striking. Gushue estimated the black foam could give players 15 feet of extra carry, enough for a stone that would normally be a guard to be swept through the house. If a thrower was playing a hit, he said, the sweepers could make sure the rock didn't hit the target stone. "I guarantee you it would not be good for the game if those brooms are used because shotmaking becomes too easy," he said. "And then at the end of the game, the ice is going to deteriorate so much that it's going to be a (poop) show. WATCH | How experts make curling ice for the 2025 Brier: How experts make curling ice for the 2025 Montana's Brier 1 day ago Duration 2:24 At Kelowna's Prospera Place, what's usually a hockey rink is being turned into four separate curling sheets for the 2025 Montana's Brier. CBC's Kimberly Davidson spoke with Curling Canada's head ice technician to get the ins and outs of how good curling ice is made. "So it's not good for the game and it's just unfortunate that we as athletes have to police this at this point." World Curling issued a statement in mid-January when there was tension at the WFG Masters in Guelph, Ont. The federation said it was monitoring the situation and acknowledged the need for a "full review" of the specification of sweeping equipment. When asked for comment on the Jacobs call-out, a spokesperson said World Curling continues to hold "productive conversations" with curlers on the brushing situation via its athlete commission. "We also actively encourage our athletes to reach out to us through the athlete commission to continue to share examples of their sweeping tests. This allows us to gather more information and helps us to better understanding sweeping performance." Northern Ontario skip John Epping called the Brier solution a "Band-Aid," adding he feels the curlers need to be progressive ahead of next season with Olympic trials and the Milan Games approaching.
