The Kevin Martin Weight Loss Program

Over the course of one afternoon Canada's Kevin Martin managed to shed an incredible amount of excess weight. With his convincing 6-3 victory over Scotland in Sunday's World Curling Championship final game, a 500 pound gorilla was excised from Martin's back. The monkey is no more. The three time Brier champion is finally a winner on the world stage. It's been a long time in coming. Second at a world junior in '86, second and fourth in two previous world men's, and fourth and second in two Olympic appearances. Now he's on top of the world!
The recipe for success was simple. Team up with three of the best young curlers in the land and let them do what comes naturally, while repecting their input as equals. This season, Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and John Morris have consistently proven to be integral components in the Martin machine. It was no different in Sunday's finale.
Second Marc Kennedy had an outstanding game, outcurling his Scottish counterpart Peter Smith by almost 20 percentage points. Smith's miscues cost the Scots dearly, particularly in the second half of the game when they were attempting to mount a comeback. John Morris continued to curl with the steady consistency which Martin has come to rely upon. When your second and your third both curl 95% for the day, chances are good that you're last rock scenarios are going to be looking pretty attractive.
Murdoch and the Scots, with hammer after their 1/2 Page victory over the Canucks, kept things clean in the first end for the blank. In the second, the Scottish skip crashed a guard on his first shot and then jammed a raise takeout attempt on his second allowing Martin a steal of one.
In the third end, the Scots had a chance for a deuce, but Murdoch's last rock in-turn takeout rolled too far and they settled for one. The fourth end was blanked before Martin made a pretty last rock raise takeout for two in the fifth.
Trailing 3-1 and lacking the front end setup shots to mount any offensive attack, Murdoch blanked the sixth end. With his last rock in the seventh, Martin made a beautiful hit and roll to the button, which forced Murdoch to play an angle raise takeout with his final stone. With Murdoch's miss, Martin steals the point and the Canadians have complete control of their destiny.
The Scots manufacture a score of two in the eighth end to close the gap, but Smith takes them out of any steal situation with two complete dogs in the ninth. As the end concluded, Martin had a hit for two to go up 6-3, before the Albertans ran their opponents out of rocks in the tenth.
Game. Set. Match. Monkey off back.
Kudos to the Grand Forks organizing committee for a job well done. Their efforts drew a record 51,731 spectators to the Ralph Engelstad Arena over the course of the championship week.