LAS VEGAS — Brad Gushue’s curling team started to find its groove Monday in a 10-4 win over Italy to stay unbeaten at the world men’s curling championship.
Canada was alone atop the standings at 5-0 after its lone game Monday. Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker out of St. John’s, N.L., take on Germany (3-2) on Tuesday.
Four wins on opening weekend plumped Canada’s record, but the skip felt they were white-knuckle affairs compared to Monday’s decisive victory over the Italians.
“Comfort-level, it’s growing,” Gushue said. “I thought the ice was a fair bit better than it was in the first four games. We had better control of draw weight which allowed us to set up and score some multiple points.”
Canada counted two in the second end and three in the fourth to lead 5-2. After Gushue stole a combined three points in the seventh and eighth ends, Joel Retornaz conceded.
The world championship stones in Las Vegas are the World Curling Federation’s and were formerly used on the World Curling Tour.
The granite isn’t as lively as stones at last month’s Canadian men’s curling championship in Lethbridge, Alta., where Gushue and company won a fourth national title.
Gushue, Gallant and Walker played as a three-man team on the final weekend because Nichols had COVID-19.
The Orleans Arena ice was built and is maintained by USA Curling’s icemaker Shawn Olesen, and Canadian teams are less familiar with his product.
“These ice conditions, we’re not going to be able to play at the level that we played in Lethbridge or in Saskatoon at the (Olympic) trials, just because it’s not conducive,” Gushue said.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get to a 10 out of 10. We’ve got to kind of accept that we’re going to have a few more misses. An 80 or 85 per cent game is pretty good out here, where in Lethbridge, you’re looking to curl 90 or 95 per cent.
“With those misses you want to try and limit the damage that you do. So far we’ve been doing a good job with that.”
The top six teams at the conclusion of the round robin Friday advance to the playoffs, with the top two earning semifinal byes.
Seeds three through six play off Saturday to join them in the semis that night. The medal games are Sunday.
Gushue and Retornaz skip two of three teams competing in the world championship on the heels of their participation in February’s Olympic Games.
Sweden’s Niklas Edin won gold, Gushue bronze and Retornaz went 3-6 in Beijing.
Five-time world champ Edin dropped two of his first four in Las Vegas. A 7-2 win over Finland in Monday’s late draw moved him into a five-team logjam for second at 3-2 with Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and the United States.
Scotland moved into the second-place group with a comeback 6-4 win over Germany in Monday’s late draw. Other late scores saw Switzerland beat the Czech Republic 9-5 and the U.S edge Norway 10-8.
Retornaz was the only skip in the field with shooting accuracy over 80 per cent heading into Monday’s game against Canada. His third Amos Mosaner won Olympic mixed doubles curling gold with Stefania Constantini.
But Nichols far outcurled Mosaner at the vice position 98 per cent to 73, which correspondingly gave Gushue easier shots and Retornaz low-percentage throws.
“The first four games, it felt like every shot I threw was down a new path and a tough shot,” Gushue said. “Today, they left me some easy ones and I was able to execute them, with the exception of one there in the fifth end.
“They’re an extremely talented team and they’ll be around at the end of the week. The first four games, all of them could have gone either way. We were fortunate to pull them out. Made some really nice shots in the last couple ends.
“I think that just comes through experience and the fact we’ve played in a bunch of big moments. We didn’t get caught up in kind of the nervousness you can get when you play in the 10th end of a world championship game. We executed well in those situations.”
Gushue won the 2017 world championship in Edmonton followed by a runner-up result the following year in Las Vegas.
His team was unable to compete in the 2020 world championship in Glasgow, Scotland, because it was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The Orleans Arena is adjacent to the hotel and casino with the site a kilometre and a half west of the Vegas strip.
Gushue felt his team didn’t get enough of a mental reprieve from the tournament environment four years ago staying at the Orleans, so he and his teammates are living off-site this time around.
“We got out of the fishbowl,” the skip said. “We’ve learned from that experience, and so far, it’s been a much better experience for us off the ice.
“I think we’re in a much better place, much more relaxed and can kind of get away from the game, which is nice, especially with the year that we’ve been through. It seems like we haven’t gotten away from the game in months.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2022.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
