Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in the town of Pinerolo, Italy from February 13 to February 24. It proved to be the sleeper hit in terms of television ratings in Italy. According to a CBC feature, curling at the 2006 Winter Games drew 5 million viewers, eclipsing ice hockey and figure skating. This, and the success of the Italian men's curling team created a surge of interest in curling within Italy, where there was no previous tradition of the sport and only a few hundred players.
Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland 10–4. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal. In addition to the Olympics, Gushue won the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship with teammates Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker. He is a record six-time Brier champion skip, having won in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 all with Nichols, Gallant and Walker, except for 2023 and 2024 with E. J. Harnden replacing Gallant. Their win in 2017 was Newfoundland and Labrador's first Brier title in 41 years. At the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Gushue set a new record for Brier game wins as a skip, breaking a three-way tie with previous record-holders Russ Howard and Kevin Martin.
Glenn William Howard is a Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight, from 2006 to 2013. Through 2017, he has played in 218 games at the Brier, more than any other curler in history. He has also won the 2001 TSN Skins Game.
Marc Kennedy is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta.
The TSN All-Star Curling Skins Game is an annual curling bonspiel hosted by The Sports Network. "Skins" curling had been developed as a way to make curling more interesting on TV during the time before the free guard zone rule was implemented. The bonspiel was held annually from 1986 to 2004 before being revived as the Casino Rama Curling Skins Game in 2007. In 2013, Dominion of Canada took over naming rights to the event, which also shifted into an all-star format featuring teams of top Canadian curling players, but the format reverted to the original format in 2015, when Pinty's acquired the naming rights to the event.
The 2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 10 and 11 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$ 100,000.
The 2010 The National was the second Grand Slam event of the men's 2009-10 curling season. It was held January 6–10 at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ontario.
The 2010 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 16 and 17 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2010–11 curling season began in September 2010 and ended in April 2011.
The 2011 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 22 and 23 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2012 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 3 to March 11 at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This Brier marked the sixth time that Saskatoon hosted the Brier; the last time that the Brier was hosted in Saskatoon was in 2004. The winner of the Brier, Glenn Howard, represented Canada at the 2012 Capital One World Men's Curling Championship in Basel, Switzerland.
The 2012 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 7 and 8 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$75,000.
The 2013 Dominion All-Star Curling Skins Game was held from January 19 to 20 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2014 Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game was held on January 11 and 12 at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alberta. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2016 Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game was held from January 8 to 10 at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alberta.
The 2019 TSN All-Star Curling Skins Game was held from February 1 to 3 at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alberta. Brendan Bottcher defeated Kevin Koe in the men's final and Jennifer Jones defeated Tracy Fleury in the women's final.
The 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from February 29 to March 8 at the Leon's Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The winning Brad Gushue rink was scheduled to represent Canada at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4 to 13 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta. In the final, the defending Olympic bronze medallist Brad Gushue Wild Card #1 team, which also include Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker from Newfoundland and Labrador defeated Alberta, skipped by Kevin Koe. It was Gushue's fourth career Brier title, and the team did it shorthanded, as Nichols missed the playoffs due to testing positive for COVID-19. According to Curling Canada, it was the first time a three-player team won a Brier final. Gushue's four Brier wins ties the record with Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Koe for most Brier championships as a skip, and his rink tied the "Ferbey Four" for most Brier championships as a foursome with four titles. Gushue played as a Wild Card team as they missed the Newfoundland and Labrador provincials due to their participation in the Olympics, and were the first team to ever play at the Brier and the Olympics in the same year. They were also the first Wild Card team to win the Brier. The Gushue rink represented Canada at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, United States, where they won the silver medal.
2004 The National, the third annual edition of The National Grand Slam curling event was held January 22–25, 2004 at the Prince Albert Communiplex in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The total purse of the event was $100,000. It was the third of four (men's) PharmAssist Grand Slam events of the 2003-04 curling season.
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and will go on to represent Canada at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship on home soil at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It was a record fifth Brier title as a skip for Gushue.
