Sunday, June 29, 2014

Winnipeg loses another club

Jim Bender of the Winnipeg Sun has the story on the closing of Victoria Curling Club in what was once the centre of the curling universe. 

As the Sun first reported late Wednesday night, the Victoria Curling Club on William Avenue is shutting down after 95 years of operation, vice-president Bryce McEwen said. 
In the last three years, the club went from 26 men's teams spread over three nights and 10 women's teams to eight men's and zero women's squads last season. The Victoria also had 13 rental leagues. 
"It is kind of unfortunate but nothing else could be done," McEwen said Thursday.
Bender also noted that last year the Thistle club burned down meaning two fewer curling clubs in the home of Don Duguid, Jeff Stoughton and Jennifer Jones.

Unfortunately, this isn't the only city where the numbers are dropping off and where curling clubs are either closing or struggling. While there are some success stories there just seem to be more of these ones popping up over and over again.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Jacobs' Olympic ring stolen from Alberta hotel room

Brad Jacobs is a little lighter in the fingers today after the ring he was awarded for winning the Olympics was stolen from a hotel room in which he was staying. 

Jacobs was playing in a charity golf tournament in Boyle, Alta., and while he and pals were in the hotel bar. The Soo skip also lost his wallet, cel phone, watch and bracelet. 

“I hope that the idiot that stole it goes ahead and does something even dumber, which is try to get rid of the ring and hopefully it pops up, but I don’t know what anyone would do with that," Jacobs told CBC news. 

Jacobs has had trouble with rings before. 

This is not the first time a thief has stolen one of his championship rings. Jacobs said his Brier championship ring was taken from his home in an earlier break-in about a year ago. He later had it replaced.