Brad Gushue and his Team Canada foursome won the men's Tim Horton's Brier last weekend, repeating as national champions and earning the right to represent Canada at the World Curling Championships being held in Las Vegas at the end of this month.
Gushue and his rink were almost flawless throughout the week with their percentages consistently in the 90 per cent range, even higher in the playoffs. Their main opposition should come from Niklas Edin from Sweden, the two-time Olympic medallist, two-time world champion and six-time European champion. Impressive figures! Look for these two teams to be in the gold medal game, Canada wins 5-4.
Meanwhile the Ford Women's World Championships begin tomorrow with six-time Canadian champion Jennifer Jones back to try and win her second title, last winning it way back in 2008. This is her sixth appearance at the World's and her toughest opponents will be Olympic champion Anna Hasselborg from Sweden and Hannah Fleming from Scotland, who mysteriously is here instead of the perennial favourite Eve Miurhead.
You would think the gold medal final has to be between Jones and Hasselborg, right? But then again, Rachel Homan might have a different opinion on Canada's chances of reaching the playoffs. Somehow I still can't wrap my head around that one.
It was good to see that Canada's curling future is in pretty good hands as both of our junior teams (Kaitlyn Jones and Tyler Tardi) won gold at this year's world championships over in the U.K.
Golf
Judging by the off-the-charts TV ratings, not to mention the gigantic crowds, at the Valspar Open (PGA) last weekend, it looks like Tiger's "Roar" (many calling it the "Tiger Effect") is back, big time.
Although he came up one stroke short of forcing a playoff, there's no question he provided plenty of quality shots to keep his "army" (and it certainly was an army), thrilled and on their toes, reminiscent of Arnie's Army from the '60s.
NFL
If you plan on watching the NFL next season, you better buy a program because free agency has started and many players, some superstars, are changing zip codes.
The other big news is that some players are now signing for less total money but getting more of it guaranteed, such as QB Kurt Cousins who signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings, but it's fully guaranteed. Watch for more of this.
Hockey
The Winnipeg Jets are currently playing good hockey and if they continue along this path they should easily be able to establish a new franchise record for points in a season. The third highest scoring team in the league is now sitting on 92 points, and with about a dozen games left on their schedule the old record of 99 should bite the dust.
Karrisa Kirkup, in her fifth and final year of eligibility, gets her last kick at the cat when she and her U of M teammates go into this weekend's U-Sports Hockey Nationals as the tournament’s number 1 seed, and we wish her well.
Round 1 of the MJ playoffs are underway and our Oil Caps are in a do-or-die battle with the Selkirk Steelers with the "good guys" holding a 2-1 series lead so far. Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday night at TOGP and if the first three games are any indication, it should/will be good one, don't miss it.
Provincial minor hockey
Virden Minor Hockey hosted a very successful Bantam A provincial championship last weekend and the local team came within one goal of making the playoff round. Congratulations to all the many volunteers who offered their time and efforts, they should be highly commended for doing such an outstanding job.
It is not an easy task with numerous details to be taken care of. All teams were impressed with all aspects of the tournament, won easily by Swan River, and very much appreciated the host committee’s organization, work efforts and hospitality.
A personal thank you
On a personal note, I would like to offer my deep appreciation and gratitude to VMH for the recognition and gift certificate they bestowed upon me at the opening ceremonies for my years of refereeing and coaching in the Virden Minor Hockey system. Looking back over the last 35 years, (man I'm getting old), it has been a very worthwhile, fulfilling and enjoyable experience and I want to thank each and every person who made it so.
Until next time....
