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Measuring system in curling comes into question after controversial finish at Brier – Winnipeg Sun

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KINGSTON, Ont. — What would a national curling championship be without a bit of controversy?

It came to the Tim Hortons Brier on Sunday night when Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson won a measurement in the 10th end to score a deuce and pull off a 6-5 upset of top seed Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs).

The Manitoba and Northern Ontario rocks had to be measured three times before it was officially determined that Gunnlaugson had won.

Northern Ontario third Marc Kennedy was not satisfied with the first measurement and asked for another official to step in.

Some TSN viewers and social media commentators thought Kennedy was being disrespectful but other curlers said they fully understood why he asked for another official.

“I just think in that instance, (the official) was moving the stick and obviously went a little too fast,” Team Wild Card third Reid Carruthers said. “She measured the first one and I thought she did a good job but as she went to do the second one she went a little bit quick and I think that’s what caused the controversy.

“If she would have went by slowly, it wouldn’t have changed the result of what the measurement was, but watching on TV, I didn’t even see the needle move.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened. I feel bad for the official, but, at the same time, it was huge for Team Jacobs. I would have been doing the same thing. I would have asked for another measurement.”

Controversy over measurements is nothing new to high-level curling.

On the World Curling Tour and Grand Slam circuits, curlers do measurements themselves in order to be sure of results.

At Curling Canada and World Curling Federation events, independent officials are used.

“I don’t think there’s a mistrust,” Carruthers said.

“It’s just one of those things. People are human and we have human error.

“The process here is we both watch. Thirds go over the shoulder and if we’re not happy we can ask for a second measurement. If you want to ask for another official to do it, if you’re sensing that you need to do that, then you do that.”

In the draw to the button contests that are conducted before each game at the Brier, laser measuring tools are used.

They could be used to measure rocks during games as well but Carruthers said curlers don’t want that.

“Going to a laser measurement system isn’t gonna be any better, because it’s not gonna be as accurate,” Carruthers said. “(The measuring stick) is the most accurate measurement tool that we have.

“It’s one of those things where, if they have to break a tie, they’ll bring the laser up.

“The thing with the laser is, what I’ve noticed, is in the pinhole, it actually can swivel a little bit, back and forth. So if a measurement is down to .01 and you’ve got a little movement in the pinhole, you’re not gonna get a true measurement. The lasers aren’t 100% accurate.”

DUNSTONE A COMEBACK KID

Matt Dunstone walked off the ice Monday morning, approached a group of reporters, and summed his Brier so far before the interview even started.

“Hanging on for dear life, boys,” the affable 24-year-old Saskatchewan skip said.

Moments earlier, Dunstone made a brilliant raise triple takeout to score four points in the 10th end and pull off an unlikely 9-8 win over British Columbia’s Steve Laycock.

Of all the expectations Dunstone had for his first Brier as a skip, scoring four in the 10th end of a game to erase a three-point deficit was not one of them.

“Not at the Brier … not anywhere, really,” Dunstone said. “Just to even have the chance for it. You rarely have a chance for even three in that situation. The curling gods definitely wanted us to win today.”

It was Dunstone’s second straight Houdini act.

On Sunday his team fell behind 5-1 against New Brunswick’s James Grattan but scored five points in the final two ends to win 10-6.

“I thought (Sunday) was a turning point and here we are,” Dunstone said. “I sure hope so. How many kicks in the butt do we need to learn?”

Monday’s comeback wouldn’t have been possible if B.C. fourth Jim Cotter hadn’t missed his last two shots. His first rock was heavy, his second short of the rings.

“As soon as Jimmy came up light, (the raise triple) was definitely there, not a doubt in my mind,” said Dunstone, who is from Winnipeg but curls out of Regina with Braeden Moskowy, Catlin Schneider and Dustin Kidby.

“You don’t expect two misses like that out of Jimmy, ever,. Wow. Whew. Four in the 10th.

“We’re definitely still alive and we’ve had nothing but chances to gain momentum from it so hopefully we take advantage of it now.”

Dunstone beat Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories 6-2 Monday afternoon to improve his record to 3-1.

MCEWEN’S KNEE HOLDING UP

Team Wild Card skip Mike McEwen didn’t even know if he was able to curl this year after he had off-season knee surgery.

When his team started playing in September he was still feeling some discomfort but he’s been pleasantly surprised with how well things have gone since then.

The 39-year-old from Winnipeg led his team to fourth place in the Canadian Team Ranking System standings and that got him into the Brier wild card game even through he lost the Manitoba final to Jason Gunnlaugson.

McEwen won the wild card game over Glenn Howard on Friday and is now cruising along at 4-0 through the first three days of the Brier.

“I was optimistic, but it was pretty concerning that I wasn’t even going to step on the ice in September,” McEwen said of his recovery from the knee scope. “You know, I managed to kind of force myself and to do it probably a little bit earlier than I should have.

“It was concerning because there’s a lot of unknowns.”

McEwen said he didn’t feel back to normal until early November.

“I was in a full brace for a month,” he said. “When they took it off, I almost cried how skinny my leg was. I was like, ‘Oh, no, I only had this thing on for four weeks!’

“I would say it took a good month to a month and a half before I felt at the point where it’s not in the back of your head every time you slide.

“Because there that thought process there at the start where it’s kind of distracts you. You don’t know that you can trust it for sure.”

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CN workers in Jasper face uncertainty as company plans to move rail ops an hour away

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MONTREAL – Canadian National Railway Co. told employees this week it plans to relocate its operations in Jasper to near Hinton, Alta., about 100 kilometres away.

In a memo sent to employees in the fire-ravaged town, the company said it’s aiming to increase efficiency by minimizing train stops between Edmonton and Blue River, B.C., which sits across the Rockies.

CN plans to close its Jasper bunkhouse and build a crew change facility east of Hinton, with workers slated to clock in at the new site starting in September 2025, according to the document obtained by The Canadian Press.

“CN has made the decision to implement operational changes to improve network fluidity,” regional vice-president Nicole James said in the memo.

The union representing rail workers criticized the relocation, which affects about 200 employees, though no layoffs are expected.

“This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper, after this year’s catastrophic wildfires. Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after tourism, and CN’s move will cripple this community even further,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.

“And for the workers who’ve already lost so much — some even their homes — this is a truly cruel blow.”

Union spokesman Christopher Monette noted that most residents or their spouses must work in town to qualify to live there under Jasper National Park’s residency rules. The company has told the union it will apply for an exception for the workers, he said.

CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says the railway is committed to supporting employees through the transition and keeping them updated.

“These types of changes take time to fully plan out and implement. That’s why one of our initial steps was to have this discussion with our employees as well as advising the town of Jasper,” she said in an email.

A wildfire ripped through Jasper in July, destroying a third of the mountain town and displacing many of its 4,800 residents.

The blaze also caused smoke damage to the CN bunkhouse, which the company says it has worked to restore since it was allowed to re-enter the community with contractors on Aug. 16.

Engineers and conductors have been reporting for work in Hinton, roughly an hour away, since the wildfire.

With roots as a fur trade outpost, Jasper launched as a railway town in the early 20th century after tracks built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway — CN’s predecessor — paved the way for the municipality.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

___

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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