Canada’s Brad Jacobs takes gold in men’s curling

by Sean Fitz-Gerald [Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry,  EJ Harnden and Ryan Harnden]
SOCHI, Russia — Brad Jacobs is a 28-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who sold television sets at Future Shop before landing a job as an account manager at the Royal Bank of Canada and, more recently, a place at the Sochi Olympics. Asked for his dream dinner guests, he once replied: “Charlie Sheen and two of his goddesses.”
He has been tagged as the vanguard in a new breed of curlers: cocky bordering on brash, his muscles and temper clashing with a sport layered in etiquette. Some also wonder if he might become the leader of the next great dynasty in Canadian curling, emotions and all.
“Banging your broom now and then, that’s OK,” Swedish men’s coach Eva Lund said. “I mean, it’s tense out there in the field of play. But maybe a little bit too much. I love to watch them play … they are great, and I think they can be even more if they could control that emotion and their energy.”
On Friday, on the biggest stage of his life, Jacobs betrayed no hint of emotion until it was clear it was time to show emotion. He decimated an older, more worldly opponent, David Murdoch, to earn a 9-3 win over Great Britain. Murdoch shook hands after eight ends...Continue reading...