Today in curling news: Kevin Martin wins Canadian Olympic trials

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Sunday marked the conclusion of the Roar of the Rings, the men's and women's Canadian Olympic curling trials held in Edmonton. (Curling is huge in Canada, by the way.) With the top-eight men's and women's teams from across the country, each having qualified for the tournament, the talent level was even higher than at the national championships held each spring.

The men's final on Sunday featured the two best teams of the past few years by far, one from Alberta skipped by Kevin Martin, the reigning Canadian champion (and my favourite curler), and one from Ontario skipped by Glenn Howard. They are both fantastic curlers, two of the best I've ever seen, and their incredibly tight battles at the championships (called "The Briar") earlier this year were simply awesome. (Yes, I just used the word awesome to describe curling. I used it and I meant it.)

Martin won again yesterday, and by a significant margin this time, 7-3. He and his team will represent Canada in Vancouver.

Alberta's Cheryl Bernard won the women's final on Saturday.

Does this interest any of you? Well, a few of you, perhaps, but not many -- mostly Canadians, of course. But I had to blog about it. And if you've never given curling a chance, whether playing it or just watching it (as I do), you really ought to. Here's one of Martin's finest shots from this year's Briar. If you think it looks easy... think again.