Host Saskatchewan winning early at Canadian men’s championship
REGINA — Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen emerged from the Canadian men’s curling championship’s opening weekend as a front-runner.
A 3-0 start, which included wins over four-time champion Kevin Koe and fivetime winner Brad Gushue, gave the host province a head start on earning an advantageous playoff seed at the Montana’s Brier in Regina.
“I think it shows what we’re capable of,” McEwen said Sunday following a 6-5 win over Koe.
“We can definitely hang with these teams. It’s still a long week ahead of us. We saw P.E.I. take us right to a last-shot victory on Friday night, so I’m not taking anybody for granted.
“I would have taken two and one out of this opening weekend, so three and oh even better.”
The last Saskatchewan team to win a Brier was Rick Folk’s in 1980.
McEwen, third Colton Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Daniel Marsh out of Saskatoon’s Nutana Curling Club look to extend their streak into Monday when they meet Nova Scotia’s Matthew Manuel.
The top three teams in each pool of nine at the end of pool play Thursday advance to Friday’s six-team playoff, which determines Saturday’s four Page playoff teams.
Teams that finish first and second in their pools aren’t eliminated if they lose their first playoff game.
Sunday’s Brier winner represents Canada at the world championship March 30 to April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and returns to the 2025 Brier in Kelowna, as defending champion.
The victor also gets a berth in the 2025 Olympic curling trials, pending a top-six result at the world championship.
Gushue and Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories improved to 2-1 and Alberta’s Aaron Sluchinski to 2-0 with Pool B victories Sunday afternoon.
Heading into Sunday evening’s Pool A draw, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher, Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers and Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot were tied at 2-0 ahead of Ontario’s Scott Howard and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone at 1-1.
Flasch is the lone Saskatchewan player to have previously hoisted the Tankard trophy. He played second for Kevin Koe’s team that ran the table in 2019 with a 13-0 record in Brandon, Man.
Flasch thought Sunday’s win was his first over his former skip since they were teammates.
“Thank god we did it today,” Flasch said. “That was a huge win. I wouldn’t call it a must-win, but it was up there. Beating Koe and Gushue gives us a good chance to get that number one seed now.”
Kevin Koe felt the heat of a 1-2 start in Regina. He’s playing a second season with third Tyler Tardi and lead Karrick Martin, and his first with second Jacques Gauthier.
“We’re not where we want to be,” the skip said. “We feel we should be competing here and we feel like we’re a playoff team. Right now, we’re not.”
Gushue rebounded from a loss to McEwen to beat Quebec’s Julien Tremblay 9-7. Jamie Koe, who is Kevin’s younger brother, defeated Nova Scotia 8-7 in an extra end.
Sluchinski clawed back from an early four-point deficit to score four in the 10th end and win 12-10 over Nunavut’s Shane Latimer.
“Definitely an adventure. Not exactly how we drew it up,” Sluchinski said. “They played well, especially early, and we were just a little bit off. We found our way a bit later in the game and we were able to pull it off.”
Gushue rebounded from a loss to McEwen by drawing the button against a Quebec counter for the win.
DEAR DR. ROACH: My mom was just admitted to the hospital with chest pressure. She had just lost her husband of 62 years last week, and she initially thought this was just stress. They said she might have a blockage because her troponin level was 142 ng/mL. Her cardiologist recommended an angiogram. Is that a good idea?
– D.S.W. ANSWER: A troponin level above 0.4 ng/mL suggests damage to the heart. A troponin I level of 142 ng/ mL says that she has had significant damage, almost always from a heart attack. The vast majority of these are caused by blockages in one of the major arteries that supply the heart muscle, which causes damage and cell death to the heart.
An angiogram is usually performed in these situations, which will allow her cardiologist to identify which vessel is blocked and determine whether opening up the blood vessel with an angioplasty and a stent is appropriate. This can help prevent another heart attack, so I absolutely agree with her cardiologist.
An unusual condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy is worth discussing. It is found more frequently in women by far, often around the time of intense emotional or physical stress, such as the death of a family member.
Chest discomfort is the most common symptom, and high levels of troponin are universal, although her level is much higher than usual.
An echocardiogram can provide support for the diagnosis, but an angiogram is still essential. Fifteen percent of people with takotsubo also had blockages in their heart arteries.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column on Mohs surgery for skin cancer, but I recently saw a commercial for a radiation-type treatment that does not leave scars. It supposedly has 99% effectiveness. What do you think?
– B.T.
ANSWER: A controlled trial of surgery against radiation treatment showed that surgery led to higher cure rates (99.3% with surgery versus 92.5% with radiation after a four-year follow-up) and higher cosmetic-satisfaction rates than radiation did.
A more recent review of all trials found similar cure rates (both 96.2%) and similar cosmetic results in the Mohs surgery group and the radiation group.
Newer radiation techniques may be better, but the 99% you mention is for a study where only half of the participants had a follow-up after a year. It’s not clear how many people might have recurrence after this newer type of radiation treatment. Finally, radiation treatment is considerably more expensive than Mohs surgery.
There are situations where radiation is clearly better than surgery, but this needs to be determined individually.
DEAR DR. ROACH: Years ago, I was bitten by an outdoor cat and was given the rabies vaccine, based on the theory that the cat might have shared a food dish with a raccoon.
There are many feral cats where I live. Avoiding them and their feces is difficult. Do I still have protection from my old rabies shot?
– F.W. ANSWER: Bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes are the leading causes of human rabies, but cats and dogs still occasionally transmit the deadly disease. However, feces do not transmit rabies – it is the bite that does so.
If a cat or dog bites you and seems well, it can be confined by its owner for 10 days, and if the animal remains well, no treatment is needed. If the cat is unwell, get vaccinated. If it is feral or can’t be found, you need to consult local health officials. A rabies vaccine provides protection for three years, so you are no longer considered protected.
Readers may email questions to: toyourgoodhealth@med.cornell.edu