The biggest event in Canadian curling has finally arrived.
The Tim Hortons Curling Trials get underway this Saturday from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon as nine of the best men’s and women’s rinks in the nation will battle it out over the next week (Nov. 20-28) to determine which teams will earn the right to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing this February.
With so many talented teams in the field, it won’t be easy to predict the winner, let alone the three teams that will make the playoffs.
Let’s take a closer look at the Tim Hortons Curling Trials from a betting perspective and see which squads might have the best value.
To Win Trials: -110 To Make Three-Team Playoff: -556
Brad Gushue and his rink from The Rock have arguably been the best men’s team in curling over the past quadrennial.
Brendan Bottcher’s team might have something to say about that, but the fact is Team Gushue has won three Brier Tankards since 2017, beating Bottcher in the final twice.
Team Gushue has won 16 of 17 games this season, most recently beating Olympic gold-medal contender Bruce Mouat of Scotland in the final of National on the Grand Slam circuit.
Gushue and third Mark Nichols won the Trials together in 2005 before capturing gold in Torino, Italy a few months later.
He was an underdog back then, but he’s the favourite now.
To Win Trials: +265 To Make Three-Team Playoff: -185
Up next is the only other Olympic champion skip in the men’s field.
Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., rink struck gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia after dominating at the Trials in Winnipeg.
Jacobs, 36, hasn’t returned to the top of the curling mountain since as he hasn’t won a Brier since his first in 2013 and went a disappointing 3-5 at the 2017 Trials in Ottawa.
Two-time Olympian Marc Kennedy has been with Jacobs and the “Brush Brothers” for the last couple of seasons and the foursome has had a strong Tour campaign with four appearances in the finals.
Will Kennedy make the difference for Team Jacobs in Saskatoon?
To Win Trials: +520 To Make Three-Team Playoff: +100
Kevin Koe didn’t earn his reputation as one of the most clutch skips in history for his strong play on Tour.
No, that was attained at events such as the Tim Hortons Curling Trials.
The four-time Brier champion will look to defend his Trials title from 2017, this time bringing along 2010 Olympic gold-medallist John Morris and BJ Neufeld.
This new-look foursome meshed quickly last year, reaching the Tim Hortons Brier final in their first season as a foursome.
If Koe can find his groove by week’s end, a repeat performance could be in store.
To Win Trials: +535 To Make Three-Team Playoff: +107
With its Brier burden gone, Team Brendan Bottcher can now focus on its next goal: Olympic glory.
Gushue and Bottcher are the only squads in the men’s field bringing back their same lineups from the 2017 Trials.
Team Bottcher wasn’t favoured to do too much damage four years ago in Ottawa, but impressed many with a 4-4 record, missing the playoff by just one game.
That won’t be the case this time around and it might have the best value from a betting perspective in this stacked field.
To Win Trials: +1700 To Make Three-Team Playoff: +265
Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen was a shot away from representing Canada at the Olympics four years ago.
That was until Kevin Koe made a draw to the four-foot for the win and the trip to South Korea. McEwen’s rink broke up shortly after the loss following a decade-long run together.
Now, the 41-year-old is back with a new lineup he’s skipped since the 2018-19 campaign.
McEwen is usually in the mix at big events, but if he’s going to get into another Trials final, he’ll need to play like the “Magic Mike” of four years ago.
Team Dunstone is in the middle-of-the-pack in terms of betting odds. It will need to rekindle that Brier form from the past two seasons to have a chance at the final three playoff teams.
The hometown Saskatoon crowd will be on Dunstone’s side in one of the first events to have fans in attendance since the start of the pandemic.
Will the crowd and the recent big-game experience propel underdog Team Dunstone to the Olympics?
To Win Trials: +6500 To Make Three-Team Playoff: +795
As one of the most veteran teams in the field, Team John Epping has a wealth of Trials experience.
The team won’t be rattled by the pressure; however, it has yet to find its form in the 2021-22 season.
The Toronto rink sits four games under .500 on the season and holds a 1-6 record at the Grand Slam event against strong competition. It will need to improve on those number greatly to have a shot in Saskatoon.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
