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Brad Gushue in action at the 2016 Players’ Championship in Toronto. (Anil Mungal)

Stu Sells Toronto Notebook: Blue Jays fever sweeps through curling

TORONTO — Injured skip Brad Gushue is at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard to help support his St. John’s team, but he’s also on the lookout for a ticket to Game 3 of the ALDS between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers.

Canada has caught Blue Jays fever and the curling world is no exception as it has swept through the sport. Friday’s action at the High Park Club saw several players on the ice sporting Jays hats while fans behind the glass were relaying the score to the players on the other side via hand signals during Game 2’s action.

Even when the players stepped off the ice, their first thought wasn’t who their next opponent was but, “Did the Jays win?”

For Gushue, who’s nursing a nagging hip/groin issue, he might just have to ditch his team if he’s able to snag a seat at the Rogers Centre for Sunday’s game.

“If these guys are playing on Sunday and I can round up a ticket I’m going to be bailing on these guys really quick,” Gushue said with a laugh. “Hey, I can’t help them behind the glass, but I can go scream at [Rougned] Odor and [Adrian] Beltre and maybe help get them off their game a little bit.”

Gushue added: “I’ve been a Jays fan for a long time even through the dark late 90s and early 2000s so to see them playing the way they’re playing back with the big crowds like it was in the early 90s it’s exciting.”

Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen may have taken his fandom to the extreme sporting a Josh Donaldson-esque haircut, however, the new do didn’t make the trip. His wife Dawn wouldn’t let him leave the house with the sharp style. Fortunately, there’s photo evidence.

Gushue, a winner of six Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles, believes the whole nation has become captivated by the Blue Jays.

“Everybody is into it. I think it’s not just the curling world it’s Canada,” he said. “They’re Canada’s team, they’re the only team in the country.

“It certainly would be nice if we had an opportunity on Sunday or Monday to get down to a game or even downtown with the atmosphere before and after a game, that’s always fun. There is an excitement just when you’re around your buddies at home, everybody is pretty pumped for when the game comes on.”

Brad Jacobs, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., also expressed the same sentiments about the Blue Jays uniting Canada and is enjoying the fact this weekend’s World Curling Tour event in Toronto coincided with the Blue Jays playoff run.

“I think everyone in Canada, really, almost anyone and everyone in Canada has caught the Blue Jays fever,” said Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic gold medallist. “It’s great to see. It’s really cool to be down here in Toronto this weekend with them playing so well in the playoffs. We’re certainly living and dying on every pitch and every at-bat like a lot of people in Canada. It’s really exciting and hopefully they can pull it off on Sunday.”

Gushue’s teammate Mark Nichols is also pumped to be in town with the playoff atmosphere. Their team has the chance to qualify for the playoffs early and get Sunday off, which could also open up the opportunity for all of them to enjoy the game.

“It depends on how the draw goes but we don’t have tickets right now,” Nichols said. “It would just be unbelievable to get into that atmosphere in a playoff game at Rogers Centre. I get chills just thinking about it. I’d love to be there.”

Team McEwen’s Denni Neufeld & Matt Wozniak rocking #BlueJays hats on the ice at the #stusellstorontotankard #curling

A photo posted by Grand Slam of Curling (@grandslamofcurling) on

QUICK HITS

– Gushue is out of the lineup for the fourth event to start the season. Adam Spencer has jumped in at third with vice Nichols continuing to skip in the meantime.

– Team Gushue isn’t the only squad with a player on the IR. Patrick Janssen, second for Team Epping, fell face-first onto the ice during a curling clinic last weekend and will require surgery. Scott Hodgson from Mike Harris’s team is filling in.

– Meanwhile, the reigning Ontario Scotties champ is back. Jenn Hanna, who stepped back from competitive curling after last season, is subbing in on Danielle Inglis’s team this weekend.

– Draw 5 was the upset round with Mark Kean of Kitchener-Waterloo taking down four-time world champ Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene 5-3 in an all-Ontario battle, Pierre-Luc Morissette of Quebec downed defending champ Mike McEwen of Winnipeg 8-3 and Ottawa’s Jake Higgs scored four in the seventh to stun Toronto’s John Epping 7-3.

– Team Fleury is playing its classic lineup this weekend with Amanda Gates at lead, Jenna Walsh at second, Jennifer Wylie at third and Tracy Fleury skipping. Sisters Fleury and Wylie were playing side-by-side with their brothers Tanner and Jacob Horgan during Draw 6. Team Horgan earned a spot into the men’s side of the tournament by winning the Stu Sells junior championship.