Glenn Howard is shooting for an unprecendented third straight Masters of Curling title. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)The 2008-09 Grand Slam of Curling series gets rolling Wednesday night with the start of the Masters of Curling in Waterloo, Ont.
Top-ranked Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., figures to be a crowd favourite as he shoots for an unprecedented third consecutive Masters title in the first of the season's four Slam events.
CBC Sports will broadcast Saturday's quarter-finals (CBC, 3 p.m. ET) and semifinals (Bold, 7 p.m. ET), and Sunday's championship final (CBC, 1 p.m. ET).
Live streaming of each playoff round will be available on CBCSports.ca.
Howard, the 2007 world champion, will be in action in Wednesday night's opening draw as he takes on American skip Craig Brown.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg's Kerry Burtnyk faces Edmonton's Randy Ferbey, Shawn Adams of Halifax meets Norway's Thomas Ulsrud, Edmonton's Kevin Martin takes on Joel Jordison of Moose Jaw, Sask., and Switzerland's Ralph Stockli plays Edmonton's Kevin Koe.
Rounding out the 18-team field are skips Wayne Middaugh (Midland, Ont.), Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg), Greg McAulay (Richmond, B.C.), Brad Gushue (St. John's), Mike McEwen (Winnipeg), Bob Ursell (Kelowna, B.C.), Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) and Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg).
The top 15 Canadian teams on the World Curling Tour's Order of Merit standings as of Oct. 13 automatically qualified for the Masters, while three international rinks were added to complete the field.
The Grand Slams are part of the Canadian Curling Association's qualifying process for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Based on their performances at the Slams, teams can earn points toward a berth at the 2009 Canadian Olympic trials.
The Grand Slam season continues with the National (beginning Dec. 3 in Quebec City), the Canadian Open (Jan. 21, Winnipeg) and the Players' Championship (April 14, Grande Prairie, Alta.).
The events can be held in a different order each season. Last season, Martin started off by winning the Canadian Open and the National before Howard took the Masters and the Players' Championship.
