Forums » Suggestions

• khm1997 khm1997

  

  • 764 posts
   

  November 22, 2018 5:00 AM EET

  When Kevin Martin decided to retire this year, he thought hed have plenty of company. The dean of Canadian curlers -- with four national titles, a world championship, both a gold and silver at the Olympics and a record 18 Grand Slams on the World Curling Tour -- looked around and saw plenty his age or older holding brooms. "I thought this year there would be a lot of guys retiring," Martin, 47, said Tuesday. "I thought I would just be one of the many. As it turns out, Im the only one. Theres nobody else, Im the only guy!" Instead of retiring, other senior skips have played a game of musical chairs as teams have reformed and players have moved about the country. And Martin says the desire to secure that all-important Olympic berth is the reason. "The shuffling I think is completely because of the Olympics and that curling has become a four-year sport," he said. Younger teams are looking at skips at or near 50-plus and wondering whether they have what it takes to compete, not just next season but also down the road. And those skips who have never won that Olympic berth (as Martin did three times, failing to earn a medal in 1992) are reluctant to give up while they think theres still a chance. Manitobas Jeff Stoughton, 50, who has parted ways with his former team and formed a new one and Ontarios Glenn Howard, 51, who has seen his squad fragment as well, are cases in point. "Its hard I think for young guys to be with a 50, 51, 52 or whatever age guy and think four years down the road," Martin said. "Thats not easy. "Jeff and Glenn still play brilliantly but will they in four years? I dont think they can answer that." The result has been a lot of movement. "Its really exciting. Its probably the most excitement Ive seen in our sport in a long time," said Martin. "I think the young guys that are coming up are dealing with it really well by doing all of these shakeups and trying to figure out how they can get the very, very best team." The latest move was Kevin Koes former Alberta team, which is the reigning national champion, picking up former B.C. skip John Morris on Tuesday to take them into key events next season, including a return trip to the Tim Hortons Brier. Its the first time the current mens champion will get an automatic ticket without having to win a provincial title. Two younger teams at the elite level remain intact: Olympic gold-medallist Brad Jacobs, 28, and his team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Mike McEwen, 33, from Winnipeg. Former Olympic champ Brad Gushue, 33, from Newfoundland and Labrador has made only one move, returning former teammate Mark Nichols, who had been curling with Stoughton. After finishing out of the medals at the world championships, Koe, 39, announced a new team that includes Marc Kennedy at third, Ben Hebert at lead and Brent Laing at second. Kennedy and Hebert won Olympic gold with Martin and Laing was a two-time world champion with Howard. "Those are your top four I think going forward," said Martin of those four teams. After watching all the moves, though, does Martin have any second thoughts about his decision to quit the game? "I am so ready. To be honest with you, I think I was ready after Vancouver," he insists. But Martin recognizes that had he pulled the plug then, at the age of 43, he might have come out of retirement. Theres no chance of that now. "Im in a real good spot, Im busy outside the ice," he said. "Theres tons of stuff going on." First, hes got a new job as a broadcaster and curling ambassador with Rogers Sportsnet. Then theres his curling store in Edmonton, part interest in a golf-course development in Phoenix and his curling academies to run. For Martin, the icing on the cake this year was going out a winner after being disappointed at the Olympic curling trials. He beat Jacobs 4-3 in the mens final Sunday to win the Players Championship in the final tournament of his career, his 18th Grand Slam win on the professional tour he played a role in developing. "To have the 18th Slam work out . . . it makes it all that much easier," he said. As for the only thing he regrets in a lifetime of curling, it was that failure to medal in 1992, when curling was still an Olympic demonstration sport. He knew he wasnt good enough to win gold that year. "But then we played the U.S. in the bronze game and thats a game I think we should have won," Martin said. For one thing, it would have given him one of each medal. "The one game . . . over all the years that Id like to have back is that bronze game in 1992," he added. White Sox Avisail Garcia Jersey . -- League scoring leader Anthony Mantha had two goals and two assists to lead the Val-dOr Foreurs over the Blainville-Boisbriand Phoenix 6-3 on Wednesay in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Wednesday. White Sox Micker Adolfo Jersey . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. http://www.cheapwhitesoxjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=white-sox-danny-farquhar-jersey. Horford is out 3-to-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six games. Atlanta improved to 2-0 on the residency with Saturdays 93-91 triumph over Minnesota, as Ivan Johnson scored his teams final four points, including the game-winning free throw with 4. White Sox Hector Santiago Jersey . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. White Sox Juan Minaya Jersey . The roster changes have been constant and continuous since late last year, but even with their 46-man roster set for the start of the season, the banged-up Bombers will be kicking off Week 1 with a handful of fresh faces and back-ups in the starting lineup.HOUSTON -- Aaron Brooks had played just 15 minutes in his last six games and acknowledged he was a little shaky when he entered Houstons game against Minnesota late in the first quarter. It didnt take him long to settle down. Brooks scored a season-high 26 points to pick up the slack for the injured James Harden, and the Rockets beat the Timberwolves 112-101 on Saturday night. "When your All-Star goes out it takes a collective group to get it done," Brooks said. "Thats what we did -- everybody. Dwight (Howard) gave up a little bit of himself in scoring, passed it to others and we got the job done." Brooks, who entered the game averaging 2.8 points, had a big second quarter, making four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points. He finished with six 3-pointers. It was his most points since scoring 28 for the Rockets against Utah in April of 2010. Coach Kevin McHale talked about the challenge of Brooks stepping in when he hadnt been getting a lot of playing time. "Its very difficult," McHale said. "His second quarter was special. He really had it going. He was making shots. Aaron did a great job tonight." The Rockets led throughout, and Omri Casspi, Jeremy Lin and Brooks made consecutive 3-pointers in a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter and extend the lead to 91-74. Harden, who leads the Rockets with 24.2 points per game, sat out with a sore left foot. Lin started in his place and scored 19, but it was Brooks who shined. "(Brooks) was amazing," Howard said. "Shot the ball well, played great defence ... (he) was a big reason why we won the game." Kevin Love had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and Corey Brewer scored 22 for the Timberwolves. "When you try to make runs they kept hitting 3s," Love said. "We showed fight, but in the end its really tough when the first three shots of the fourth quarter are from 3 and they hit three in a row." Brooks, whos in his second stint with the Rockets, is a crowd favourite and the home fans cheered wildly every time he entered the game. Brooks also had five assists, four rebounds and a steal. "Well, I coached him, so Ive seen him do that a lot,&" said Minnesota coach Rick Adelman, who coached Brooks in Houston from 2008-11.dddddddddddd "It doesnt surprise me." Patrick Beverley had 17 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers, and Terrence Jones added 18 points and had 10 rebounds for Houston. Howard had 11 points and led the team with 13 rebounds. McHale loved the balanced scoring effort with Harden out, but was unhappy that his team had 23 turnovers to just 10 by the Timberwolves. "I told our guys we have to play more efficiently and a little bit smarter," McHale said. "Weve got to create more space for each other on the floor so we can attack." The Rockets led 82-74 entering the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves used a 15-4 spurt in the third quarter, fueled by three 3-pointers, to cut Houstons lead to 65-57. Love made a 3-pointer before a turnover by Chandler Parsons that led to a dunk by Brewer capped the run. An exasperated McHale put his hands on his head as he watched Brewers dunk and quickly called a timeout. McHales short pep talk must have gotten Houstons attention. The Rockets responded with a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 75-62 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Rockets led by eight points late in the second quarter before using a 9-2 run thanks to three straight 3-pointers, including two by Brooks, to stretch the lead to 52-37. Minnesota scored five quick points on a dunk by Kevin Martin and a 3-pointer from Brewer to close the gap. But Lin sunk a 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend Houstons lead to 55-42 at halftime. NOTES: McHale said Harden visited a doctor on Saturday and they are going to change his treatment plan. He said Harden will likely miss Mondays game as well. ... Lin had a bump on his forehead and was holding ice on it after the game. It was unclear how he was injured and he wasnt available to reporters after the game because he was seeing a doctor. ... Also out for the Rockets on Saturday were Ronnie Brewer, who has a strained right calf, and Greg Smith, who has a sprained right knee. ... It was Howards ninth double-double of the season. ... Ricky Rubio had eight assists for Minnesota. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '