When Kevin Martin decided to retire this year, he thought hed have plenty of company. The dean of Canadian curlers -- with four national titles, a world championship, both a gold and silver at the Olympics and a record 18 Grand Slams on the World Curling Tour -- looked around and saw plenty his age or older holding brooms. "I thought this year there would be a lot of guys retiring," Martin, 47, said Tuesday. "I thought I would just be one of the many. As it turns out, Im the only one. Theres nobody else, Im the only guy!" Instead of retiring, other senior skips have played a game of musical chairs as teams have reformed and players have moved about the country. And Martin says the desire to secure that all-important Olympic berth is the reason. "The shuffling I think is completely because of the Olympics and that curling has become a four-year sport," he said. Younger teams are looking at skips at or near 50-plus and wondering whether they have what it takes to compete, not just next season but also down the road. And those skips who have never won that Olympic berth (as Martin did three times, failing to earn a medal in 1992) are reluctant to give up while they think theres still a chance. Manitobas Jeff Stoughton, 50, who has parted ways with his former team and formed a new one and Ontarios Glenn Howard, 51, who has seen his squad fragment as well, are cases in point. "Its hard I think for young guys to be with a 50, 51, 52 or whatever age guy and think four years down the road," Martin said. "Thats not easy. "Jeff and Glenn still play brilliantly but will they in four years? I dont think they can answer that." The result has been a lot of movement. "Its really exciting. Its probably the most excitement Ive seen in our sport in a long time," said Martin. "I think the young guys that are coming up are dealing with it really well by doing all of these shakeups and trying to figure out how they can get the very, very best team." The latest move was Kevin Koes former Alberta team, which is the reigning national champion, picking up former B.C. skip John Morris on Tuesday to take them into key events next season, including a return trip to the Tim Hortons Brier. Its the first time the current mens champion will get an automatic ticket without having to win a provincial title. Two younger teams at the elite level remain intact: Olympic gold-medallist Brad Jacobs, 28, and his team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Mike McEwen, 33, from Winnipeg. Former Olympic champ Brad Gushue, 33, from Newfoundland and Labrador has made only one move, returning former teammate Mark Nichols, who had been curling with Stoughton. After finishing out of the medals at the world championships, Koe, 39, announced a new team that includes Marc Kennedy at third, Ben Hebert at lead and Brent Laing at second. Kennedy and Hebert won Olympic gold with Martin and Laing was a two-time world champion with Howard. "Those are your top four I think going forward," said Martin of those four teams. After watching all the moves, though, does Martin have any second thoughts about his decision to quit the game? "I am so ready. To be honest with you, I think I was ready after Vancouver," he insists. But Martin recognizes that had he pulled the plug then, at the age of 43, he might have come out of retirement. Theres no chance of that now. "Im in a real good spot, Im busy outside the ice," he said. "Theres tons of stuff going on." First, hes got a new job as a broadcaster and curling ambassador with Rogers Sportsnet. Then theres his curling store in Edmonton, part interest in a golf-course development in Phoenix and his curling academies to run. For Martin, the icing on the cake this year was going out a winner after being disappointed at the Olympic curling trials. He beat Jacobs 4-3 in the mens final Sunday to win the Players Championship in the final tournament of his career, his 18th Grand Slam win on the professional tour he played a role in developing. "To have the 18th Slam work out . . . it makes it all that much easier," he said. As for the only thing he regrets in a lifetime of curling, it was that failure to medal in 1992, when curling was still an Olympic demonstration sport. He knew he wasnt good enough to win gold that year. "But then we played the U.S. in the bronze game and thats a game I think we should have won," Martin said. For one thing, it would have given him one of each medal. 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Carlton Fisk Red Sox Throwback Jersey .com) - Four-time champion Novak Djokovic has been installed as the top seed at the Australian Open, which will begin Monday in Melbourne.LOS ANGELES -- Bubba Watson wasnt about to let another chance get away. Two weeks after Watson made a pair of late bogeys in the Phoenix Open, he delivered the best closing round at Riviera in some three decades. Watson played the final 39 holes without a bogey and shot a 7-under 64 on Sunday to win the Northern Trust Open. It was his first victory in 22 months and 41 tournaments worldwide dating to the 2012 Masters. Watson wound up with a two-shot victory over Dustin Johnson, who closed with a 66 for the second straight week and got the same result. This wasnt Bubba golf as much as it was simply great golf. Watson, who also shot 64 on Saturday to start the final round four shots behind William McGirt, made up ground so quickly that he broke out of a four-way tie for the lead with a birdie on the eighth hole and made the turn in 30. Equally critical were a pair of par saves with 7-foot putts on the 12th and 13th holes. Johnson, who was second at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week after a final-round 66, made birdie on the 15th hole to get within one shot. He didnt give himself good birdie chances on the last three holes. Watson made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th to cap off the best closing round in this tournament since Doug Tewell shot a 63 in 1986. Even sweeter was going up the steps toward the famous clubhouse to see his 2-year-old son, Caleb, whom Watson adopted just before his Masters victory. Watson finished at 15-under 269, and he wasnt the only big winner. Jason Allred, who went to college up the coast at Pepperdine, played bogey-free for a 68 and tied for third with Brian Harman, who also had a 68. Allred was a Monday qualifier, and this was his first regular PGA Tour event since he last had his card in 2008. The tie for third was a career-best for the 33-year-old Allred. He earned $388,600, which is more than he had made in his entire career, which included two full seasons on the PGA Tour. He now is exempt into the Honda Classic, which starts in two weeks -- about the time his wife is due with their third child. "Well have fun figuring out what that looks like," Allred said. Watson won for the fifth time in his career, and hee had to earn it.dddddddddddd With no margin for error over the closing holes, he managed to get out of a deep fairway bunker on the 15th hole to the front edge of the green. He smartly played to the middle of the green on the par-3 16th hole for a par. Facing the uphill tee shot on the 18th, he blasted his drive down the middle of the fairway and hit wedge into 15 feet to the right of the pin. And when it was over, he felt a lot better than he did two weeks ago in Phoenix, where he missed a short par putt on the last hole to lose by one to Kevin Stadler. Johnson, meanwhile, now has finished among the top six in all four tournaments this season -- including a win in Shanghai and consecutive runner-up finishes. His other start was at Kapalua, where he tied for sixth. "I had a chance there on the back nine, I just didnt have good looks on 16, 17 and 18 to give myself a chance," Johnson said. "I was still right there. Thats all you can ask for." McGirt, who had a two-shot lead to start the final round as he tried to win for the first time, opened with a birdie and stalled after that. And on yet another gorgeous day at Riviera, this was not a day to stall. The pack behind took aim and made birdies, particularly Watson. Watson hit a perfect tee shot on the par-3 fourth that rode the slope to 15 feet for birdie. He holed a bunker shot from left of the sixth green for birdie. And a 15-footer on the eighth gave Watson his fifth birdie of the round, and the outright lead. That allowed him to break out of a four-way lie among McGirt, Schwartzel and Harman, who made three straight birdies in the middle of the front nine. So many others were positioned just one shot behind, including Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Allred. The tournament was decided by birdies -- and not making bogeys. The pivotal stretch came on the back nine. The 12th through the 16th were the five toughest holes at Riviera in the final round. Johnson got through them in 1 under, despite hitting only one green. Watson made a pair of 7-foot par saves on the 12th and 13th holes, and he made a 4-foot par putt on the 14th. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., closed with a 73, and finished at 4-over 288. wholesale stitched jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '
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