CALGARY - This could be the year Mike McEwens curling team shakes the label as the best team never to play in a Brier.McEwen, third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld won six of eight events in the first half of the season, including wins over Olympic champion Brad Jacobs in the finals of both The National in November and the Canada Cup in December.McEwens Fort Rouge Curling Club rink from Winnipeg is running away with the No. 1 ranking on the World Curling Tour with $114,000 in prize money so far.A team at a crossroads in February after losing its fourth provincial final in five years — and falling one win short again of a trip to the Canadian mens championship — decided to remain intact for an eighth season and reinvent itself.Very slowly we kind of gathered our thoughts and decided what we had together as a foursome was still very strong and important, but we had kind of lost our way as far as growing as teammates and as athletes, McEwen said Thursday at the Continental Cup.We made a commitment to find how to do that again.The four men began working with the Canadian Curling Associations sports psychologist Kyle Paquette to heal the trouble spots in their game. They stepped up their physical fitness with a personal trainer.Theyve been a solid team on the WCT since their formation in 2007 and were among the eight Canadian mens teams who qualified for the 2013 recent Olympic trials.But winning Manitoba and representing the province at the Brier means beating world and Canadian championship Jeff Stoughton to get there.Stoughton eliminated McEwen from contention in four of the last five Manitoba provincials.We had too many weaknesses, McEwen said. We were good before but we had some things in certain situations that were cutting us off at the knees when we really needed to be our best.We had gotten really good and then kind of stopped getting better. Other teams are obviously pushing the limits and we hadnt figured out how to keep growing as a team.Under Paquettes guidance, McEwen says he and his teammates have forged a stronger team chemistry. Theyre committed to sticking to their plan, win or lose.His approach has made us really change how we think and how we operate as a team, McEwen explained. Hes really challenged us to be more accountable. Its really hard to re-wire the brain, but thats what weve been attempting to do.Were very much more supportive and understanding than we ever have been. Were more of a team now than we ever have been. We got a little individualistic at times and it hurt us.Youve got to look at your fitness, health, eating, physical training, mental focus and how you practise. Its like any other sport. Curling has grown into having a really high degree of professionalism. Just like hockey or anything else, if you leave holes you will get bit when maybe it really matters.The Manitoba provincial mens championship is Feb. 4-8 in Brandon. The winner advances to the Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. 28 to March 8 in Calgary at Scotiabank Saddledome.I dont want to just play in it. If Im going to the Brier, Im going there to win, McEwen said.Stoughton, a two-time world and three-time Canadian champion, will be in the field again in Brandon.There was a time when oh man, we have to play this guy or that guy but now I get more excited than ever to play a top team, McEwen said. Whether its Glenn Howard, or Brad Jacobs or Jeff Stoughton, now Im excited for the challenge more than I ever have been.McEwens team is part of the Canadian side at this weeks World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling in Calgary. Theyve substituted Ben Hebert in at lead as Denni Neufeld and his wife were expecting a baby this week.The Continental Cup is a chance for McEwen to have his wife Dawn as a Canadian teammate. She plays lead for Olympic champion Jennifer Jones.The tournament features Canada against Europe in a four-day competition of team, mixed doubles, hot-shots and skins games.Canada took an early five-point lead over Europe after three draws Thursday.In the third draw, McEwen edged Scotlands David Murdoch 5-4 in mens play, while John Morris led his rink past Norways Thomas Ulsrud 6-3. In womens competition, Jones and Scotlands Eve Muirhead tied 4-4. In Draw 2, Canadians Carter Rycroft and Lori-Olson Johns hammered Swedens Oskar Eriksson and Russias Ekaterina Galkina 10-3 in mixed doubles.Ryan Fry and Emma Miskew downed Swedens Niklas Edin and Russias Anna Sidorova 9-6. Rachel Homan and E.J. Harnden split a point tying 5-5 with Norways Torger Nergaard and Swedens Maria Pryz.In the morning team competition, Jacobs beat Edin 4-1, Homan picked up another point for Canada with a 7-2 win over Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson. Sidorova saved a point for Europe with a 7-2 win over Val Sweeting.The day after losing yet another provincial mens final to Stoughton on Feb. 2, McEwen flew to Sochi, Russia, to cheer on his wife and teammates en route to their gold medal. The couple were married in July of 2013.Dawn McEwen has noticed a change in her husbands body language at the rink this season.Hes definitely more confident, Dawn said. I can see it in him. Just the way he carries himself and how hes playing out there, hes definitely stepped up the confidence on the ice and off the ice as well.I think its amazing. Theyre a great team and theyre finally getting . . . in the curling world, their competitors know theyre a good team. Now the fans of the curling game are starting to see and recognize the team more.Note to readers: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. Torger Nergaard and Thomas Ulsrud are both from Norway, not Sweden as previously stated. 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Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys .S.-Portugal game on June 22 in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus. FIFPro, the international soccer players union, had pressed FIFA to avoid the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida States Heisman Trophy quarterback Jameis Winston was issued a civil citation after sheriffs deputies said he walked out of a supermarket without paying for $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish. The 20-year-old said he forgot to pay for the food. The offence was relatively minor but drew attention both because of his stature and because it was his latest brush with the law. Winston had been the subject of a much more serious, monthslong investigation into allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman in December 2013. A prosecutor declined to charge him, citing a lack of evidence and gaps in the accusers story. Leon County Sheriffs Maj. Michael Wood said Wednesday that Publix employees called deputies, who went to Winstons apartment about three hours later. Winston was co-operative and told the deputies he forgot to pay for the food, but he did not contact the store or return there to pay for the items, Wood said. "The facts are not in dispute," Wood said. "He left without paying." Winston issued a statement through his lawyer saying he had intended to pay, "but made a terrible mistake for which Im taking full responsibility. In a moment of youthful ignorance, I walked out of the store without paying for one of my items. "I realize that I am in the public spotlight and my conduct needs to be above reproach." The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Winston led Florida State to an undefeated season and national football championship. For the season, he passed for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowwns, completing nearly 67 per cent of his throws.dddddddddddd Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin suspended Winston, a relief pitcher, indefinitely until he completes community service. Football coach Jimbo Fisher said in a statement that he supports Martins decision. Although Winston was cleared in the sexual assault case, the university is facing a federal investigation into how it handled the womans accusations. The investigation lagged for months after Tallahassee Police Department officials said they were told the accuser wanted to drop the case, but the womans lawyer denied that. The accusers lawyers have said the police department botched the investigation because detectives didnt quickly identify possible witnesses or obtain surveillance tape from the bar where the victim says she was first approached by Florida State football players. Winston also has had two other run-ins with police, though he was not charged in either case. In November 2012, police were called to an apartment complex in which 13 windows had been damaged by BB guns. Winston and his roommate at the time said Florida State players were engaged in a series of "battles" with each other, although they denied shooting BB guns themselves. In another incident, police records show Winston came into a Burger King with three men but did not order food, instead asking for a water cup he repeatedly filled with soda over an employees objections. The report says Winston was never interviewed about the incident because the restaurant declined to prosecute. ' ' '