Modern Brier tries to strike tricky balance between its roots and changing game
Global News
Both the Brier and the Canadian women's curling championship, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, must walk a competitive and marketing tightrope.
The Brier is no longer your father’s Brier.
What was a provincial and territorial men’s curling championship embodying Canadian Confederation for most of its almost 100 years is now a hybrid including multiple teams from one province and widely differing ways for teams to get in it.
Former Canadian and world curling champion Nolan Thiessen, Curling Canada’s new chief executive officer, says both the Brier and the Canadian women’s curling championship, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, must walk a competitive and marketing tightrope.
“The way I always describe it with the Scotties and the Brier, is that is has to serve a few people and masters,” Thiessen said. “It can’t be a hundred per cent marketing and entertainment. It can’t be a hundred per cent high performance.
“We have to find that middle ground. If it tips too far on either side, then we can have issues.”
Wild-card entries that increased from one to three in 2021 are referred to by their province or territory starting in 2024.
Other than the traditional purple heart crests that provincial and territorial champions earn, there is little in Regina to visually differentiate this year’s Alberta provincial champion Aaron Sluchinski from Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher, whose team was one of two gaining early entry based on their ranking last year.
Including Kevin Koe, there are three teams with “AB” on their backs in Regina. Thiessen says the athletes wanted to do away with the wild-card designation.
Rodriguez's leadership campaign has been under scrutiny, with allegations people may have received cash rewards in exchange for votes and that donors had their money reimbursed.
A Toronto man has been charged following a threats investigation at King’s University College in London after allegedly compiling a list of people he said he wanted to kill.
Two deer hunted in British Columbia's Kootenay region has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, also known as "zombie deer disease," the province says.
The addictions crisis is seeping into every corner of the province, including in remote and isolated communities in northern Manitoba.
Toronto will host six matches at Exhibition Place's BMO Field between June and July, with fans of teams like Germany, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire set to descend upon the city.
Turning Points Collaborative Society operates Trailside, which opened in May 2024 and was created for people 55 and up and those with disabilities.
The Ontario Hospital Association issued a statement Tuesday, saying there was an alarming increase in cases, which have now hit a three-year high.
Experts said the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney showed the persistence of the ISIS threat.
Approval of the Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney is 15 points ahead of the party overall, according to the new Ipsos poll conducted for Global News.
The latest round of sanctions has been imposed under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.
A 19-year-old employee at a Toronto business has suffered life-altering injuries after getting her hand stuck in a meat grinder on Monday night.
Ontario hospitals saw a 127 per cent spike in intensive care unit admissions stemming from influenza in just a week, the Ontario Hospital Association says.
The NHL says it's honouring Leafs announcer Joe Bowen with a special tribute night on Tuesday when the team faces the Chicago Blackhawks, the same matchup as his first night.