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GRAND FORKS – In the opulence of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, Canada's Kevin Martin overcame more than two decades of frustration to become king. Martin, previously the bridesmaid but never the bride, rewrote his curling legacy with a 6-3 win over Scotland's David Murdoch in the final of the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship. The Canadians had beaten Murdoch in the round robin but lost a shocker to him in the Page playoff. All that was riding on the finale, played before some 4,211 screaming fans, was the world championship, a renewed legacy and a spot into Canada's Olympic Trials for late 2009. "These guys are great," a beaming Martin said of youthful teammates John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert. "The last two years have been fantastic." Martin referenced his two decades of teammates, too. "We just hadn't finished one off. It's great to finish one off." Murdoch was appearing in his third world final in four years. He also lost the 2005 tilt to Canada's Randy Ferbey but defeated Canada's Jean-Michel Menard in the 2006 final. "I'm a bit disappointed in the way we played, actually," said Murdoch. "I had chances early to get the boys in front and I didn't do it." After trading early singles Canada struck first with two in the fifth end for a 3-1 lead. The seventh end proved to be critical as Murdoch assembled two counters and Martin eyed a tight hit and roll to save the day. Martin made the shot perfectly, and when Murdoch missed a wild-angle runback by a fraction, the Canadians led 4-1. A Scottish deuce in the eighth made it 4-3 but Canada came right back with a deuce of their own in the ninth. Murdoch was supported by Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers. Norway won the bronze medal, with Thomas Ulsrud's outfit from Norway defeating China's Fengchun Wang, the surprise team of the tournament. The Chinese made their debut appearance at the Men's Worlds. Frech skip Thomas Dufour was named winner of the Collie Campbell Award as the athlete who best combined sportsmanship with playing ability. The award was voted on by Dufour's fellow competitors. The 2008 World Men's set a new record for curling championships hosted by the United States. 51,731 attendees came to the Ralph Engelstad Arena, beating the record of 35,544 from the 1976 World Men's Curling Championship held in Duluth, Minnesota. The 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championship will be hosted by Moncton, Canada, the official 50th anniversary celebration of the World Men's Curling Championship. FINAL STANDINGS Canada (Kevin Martin) 12-2 Gold Scotland (David Murdoch) 9-4 Silver Norway (Thomas Ulsrud) 9-5 Bronze China (Fengchun Wang) 7-6 France (Thomas Dufour) 6-5 Australia (Hugh Millikin) 5-6 United States (Craig Brown) 5-6 Germany (Andy Kapp) 5-6 Denmark (Johnny Frederiksen) 4-7 Sweden (Anders Kraupp) 4-7 Switzerland (Claudio Pescia) 3-8 Czech Republic (Jiri Snitil) 2-9 |
GRAND FORKS – Thomas Ulsrud of Norway repeated his 2006 success by capturing the bronze medal at the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
GRAND FORKS – It will be Scotland versus Canada for the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
GRAND FORKS – Scotland pulled off a shock victory, coming back from a 6-2 deficit to defeat mighty Canada and qualify for Sunday's final of the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
GRAND FORKS – Less than 24 hours after dodging a bullet versus Australia, Norway's Thomas Ulsrud packaged a near-flawless playoff victory over China at the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
GRAND FORKS – Australia snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a crushing finish to the round robin portion of the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
