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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. "The one game . . . over all the years that Id like to have back is that bronze game in 1992," he added. Terrell Owens Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. Mike White Jersey . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. http://www.cowboysproshopauthentic.com/W...thentic-Jersey/. On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys .com) - Driphus Jackson had three touchdown passes, including two in a 19-second span in the opening quarter, to guide Rice to a 30-6 rout of Fresno State at the Hawaii Bowl. Allen Hurns Jersey . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Habs at 7:30pm et/8:30pm at. JEREZ, Spain -- Jenson Button steered his repaired McLaren to the fastest lap on Wednesday, and Nico Rosberg helped Mercedes rebound from Lewis Hamiltons crash with the longest run on the second day of Formula One preseason testing. Otherwise, most teams continued to struggle with their new cars following a massive rulebook overhaul that includes a shift to a turbo engine and more sophisticated energy recovery systems. Four-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel only managed eight laps around the Jerez track before Red Bulls engine maker, Renault, reported a malfunction and the team decided to call it quits. That gave Vettel a total of 11 laps to start the preseason. "Obviously weve not had a lot of running and have a few problems to sort out, but with such big rule changes it is usual to have some teething problems. Thats what tests are for, to sort those issues out," said Vettel, who now hands the wheel to new teammate Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining two days in southern Spain. An electrical problem had kept Button in the garage on Tuesday, but he was the first out on wet tires in the morning and after the asphalt had dried he set the benchmark lap time with 1 minute, 24.165 seconds. The former world champion is aiming to help McLaren bounce back from its worst season since 1980 after it didnt reach the podium last year. Rosberg led the eight-car field with 97 laps, a day after a front wing problem sent Hamiltons Mercedes flying into the barrier. Rosberg said the new Mercedes F1 W05 has little in common with its predecessor and compared its steering wheel to a "smartphone with all the information on it." After overnight rain, the sessions 9 a..ddddddddddddm. start was delayed as a tractor worked its way around the track spraying more water on the already damp asphalt so teams could test Pirellis tires for wet surfaces. But by noon the sun had come out and the track was dry as forecasts of showers never materialized, leaving teams to run under normal conditions. All the teams are struggling to get their cars race ready in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16. They will have two more tests in Bahrain before heading to Melbourne. So far, they have combined for 424 laps across two days of testing. Last year, with the preseason starting after far fewer tweaks to the rules governing car design, drivers combined for more than 1,500 laps over the first two days here. Ferrari appears to be handling the new regulations the best. Kimi Raikkonen followed up his fastest lap time from Tuesday with the second-fastest lap on Wednesday, 0.647 seconds behind Button. Local favourite Fernando Alonso will drive for Ferrari on Thursday and Friday. McLarens promising recovery from Tuesdays no-show coincided with its hiring of Eric Boullier as its new racing director. Boullier joins a week after leaving rival Lotus, in a restructuring at McLaren that recently included luring back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. F1 newcomer Marcus Ericsson came to a stop in his Caterham for the days third and final red flag. Sergio Perezs Force India had spouted smoke earlier after Esteban Gutierrez ended up in the gravel in his Sauber. F1s new rules include a shift to a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine from last years 2.4-litre V8. They also affect the cars fuel limits, weight and body design. 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