CANADIAN PRESS
Canadian skip Jean-Michel Menard calls the sweep during the draw against Germany at the men’s world curling championships in Lowell, Mass., yesterday. Canada won the game 8-3, and went into last night’s game with a 2-2 record. (Right)
LOWELL, MASS. (Apr 4, 2006)
Canadian curling fans are angry over the absence of the men’s world curling championship games on their TV sets and have cast a wide net with their complaints.
The Canadian Curling Association, CBC, the host committee of the men’s world curling championship in Lowell and USA Curling have received queries and complaints on why round-robin games at the men’s world championship are not broadcast in Canada.
The Lowell organizing committee and USA curling have nothing to do with the CCA’s television contract with main rights holder CBC, but have borne some of the brunt of the dissatisfaction in Canada.
World championship event manager Bob Murdoch said yesterday that he had received about 100 e-mails from Canadians the previous day.
The sports cable network TSN carried the round-robin portion of this year’s men’s and women’s Canadian championship, the Olympic trials, and the world women’s championship in Grande Prairie, Alta., before rights holder CBC took over to broadcast the playoff games on the final weekend.
CBC sublicensed the rights to the round-robin to TSN for those events. A TSN spokesperson said the network did not make a pitch for the round robin at the men’s world championship.
“The reason we did not bid on them was because of our programming commitments to the Masters,” Andrea Goldstein said, adding that TSN’s schedule was also filled this week by NHL games and the opening week of baseball.
CBC is broadcasting Saturday’s semifinal and Sunday’s final of this year’s men’s world championship, but also doesn’t have room to carry the round robin games.
CANADA BEATS GERMANY
Canada’s Jean-Michel Menard thumped Germany’s Sebastian Stock 8-3 at the world men’s curling championship yesterday.
Canada (2-2) met Ireland (1-2) last night.
Menard’s team from the Victoria and Etchemin curling clubs in Quebec City scored two points in the sixth, stole a single point in the seventh and stole another pair in the eighth when Stock, the world silver medallist in 2004, decided he’d had enough and shook hands to end it.
Frontrunners Scotland and Switzerland were pulled back into the pack with losses yesterday morning to sit 3-1.
Ralph Stockli’s Swiss team lost 8-6 in an extra end to Australia’s Hugh Milliken, who had pulled out a victory in an extra end over Canada the previous day. Stockli was heavy with his final draw of the 11th end to give up a steal of two to the Aussies.
Scotland’s David Murdoch lost 9-8 to Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud, who joined Canada, Australia and Finland at 2-2.
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