With his sights set on the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Kevin Martin has enlisted the help of a one-time rival. (Canadian Press)

The Brier and Tournament of Hearts are still three months away, but as any fan knows, the curling season heats up well before the first day of winter. As rinks from coast-to-coast (and overseas) begin preparing in earnest for the national championship season, the calendar is full of upcoming marquee events.

This week a star-studded international field hits the ice in Chilliwack, B.C., for the always-intense Continental Cup. Next week the men's Grand Slam season gets underway with The Masters of Curling in Waterloo, Ont. And the stakes are higher than ever: under a new system introduced by the Canadian Curling Association, teams have already begun accumulating points toward qualifying for a chance to compete in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

CBC television is your home for championship curling this season, beginning with coverage of the Continental Cup on Nov. 25 (1 p.m. ET) and Nov. 26 (12:30 p.m. ET).

To preview the action in Chilliwack and beyond, Sports Online spoke with CBC curling analyst Joan McCusker and Mike Harris about the Canadian storylines to watch.

The M&M boys

A year ago, the curling world was abuzz over a newly formed partnership between a seasoned veteran and a young shotmaker. As you may have heard, the double bill of Russ Howard and Brad Gushue turned out to be a hit at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Now Alberta's Kevin Martin and John Morris are hoping the sequel is also a smash. Morris, 28, a two-time world junior champion skip and a finalist at the 2002 Brier, has signed up to play third for Martin, 40, a two-time Brier winner. Along with teammates Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert, Martin and Morris have committed to a four-year partnership with an eye toward representing Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

So far the arrangement is an unqualified success: the rink won three of its first six cash spiels of the season. But many are waiting to see what happens when the team hits its first speed bump.

"You can put up with each other a tremendous amount when you're winning. The test is when you're losing," says McCusker, who played second on the 1998 Olympic champion team that featured skip Sandra Schmirler and future skip Jan Betker. "How will they handle that? Nobody knows."

Randy Ferbey's rink is still searching for a way to recapture its top form, but CBC's curling analysts say don't fret about the four-time Brier champs. (Canadian Press)

The fall from grace

The dominant force in men's curling in the 21st century (they won four Briers and three world championships from 2001-05), Randy Ferbey's Alberta-based rink didn't even make it to the Canadian championship spiel last season, losing out to rival Martin in the provincial playdowns. Combine that with their shocking 4-5 record at the Olympic trials, and a lot of people are asking, what's wrong with Team Ferbey?

McCusker and Harris, however, caution against buying into reports of the demise of the finest curling squad of the 21st century, a unit that finished third on the World Curling Tour money list last season.

"They're still one of the most dangerous teams in the world," Harris says. "People have adjusted their games to learn how to beat them, and they may have to redefine themselves a little bit, but they're far from done."

The break-up

Forget Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. The most publicized recent split in the curling world was between six-time Canadian champion skip Colleen Jones and her old teammates. After limping to a 3-6 record at last year’s Olympic trials and failing to reach the final at the Tournament of Hearts, Jones’s rink told her they wanted to get more active on the cash spiel circuit. The skip balked and the team parted ways.

Jones has since latched on with the like-minded Kay Zinck rink out of Halifax, for which Jones's sister, Monica Moriarty, plays lead. The team is content with Jones's approach of spending more time on the practice ice than the cash circuit, and Jones is fine with taking a backseat of sorts: she'll throw third rocks and act as vice-skip, but final game-calling authority belongs to Zinck.

You won't see much of them until February, but consider the new rink a threat to capture the 2007 Hearts.

"She doesn't play a lot, but Colleen Jones has made a career of winning that one event," says McCusker.

The comeback

Talk about a resurrection. Kerry Burtnyk, the 1981 Brier and 1995 world champ, went into retirement last season but is now back and doing his best Lazarus impression. The 48-year-old Winnipeger and his talented new team of lead Cory Naharnie, second Richard Daneault and third Dan Kammerlock won its first four WCT events and reached the final in five of six to start the seasons. That's a run Bertnyk has said he never matched even in his heyday.

"The young guys are playing great and Kerry can win games by himself," says Harris. "There are a half dozen skips in the country that can just decide they're going to win, and Kerry is one of those guys."

The lords of the rings

Skip Shannon Kleibrink, left, and third Amy Nixon hope their rink can keep the good times rolling this season. (Canadian Press)

Relative unknowns before qualifying for the 2006 Olympics, Brad Gushue (who won gold in Turin) and Shannon Kleibrink (bronze) were expected by some to head back into obscurity. But the hard-working Kleibrink is again enjoying a typically steady season on the cash circuit, earning four top-four finishes in her first six events.

"Shannon is so consistent," McCusker says. "She's a great club curler, not just a great arena curler. She can adjust to any ice conditions so she's always going to be in the mix."

Canada's first-ever Olympic men's curling champion, meanwhile, has hardly missed a beat despite the departure of master strategist Russ Howard. With new second Chris Schille replacing Howard, the reconstituted Team Gushue picked up a win and two finals appearances in its first five WCT events.

"They learned a lot from Russ and they're definitely a better team than they were," says Harris. "They're Olympic champions and they're still improving. Pretty scary."

The year after

Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec and B.C.'s Kelly Scott are both coming off breakthrough campaigns in which they captured their first national championships. Scott was particularly impressive last season, coming within an end of making it to the Olympics before earning impressive playoff victories over Colleen Jones and defending champ Jennifer Jones to win the Tournament of Hearts.

Scott got off to a decent start this season, winning once in four events, good for sixth in the women's cash circuit standings. Menard, meanwhile, has struggled, picking up just one top-four in his first five events to sit in 33rd place on the World Curling Tour.

The summit spiel

It's only four years old, but the Continental Cup is becoming one of the more anticipated dates on the international curling calendar. Similar to golf's Ryder Cup, the event pits an all-star team of Europeans against an all-star team of North Americans in four disciplines – mixed doubles, traditional foursomes, skins and a singles skills competition. The side that accumulates the most overall points wins.

Part of the beauty of the event is that it gives fans a chance to see top skips join forces. This year, Canadians Kleibrink, Scott, Gushue and Menard will all be part of Team North America.

"It's a really fun event. You have big rivals suddenly on the same team, and they're really cheering for each other," McCusker says. "It's interesting with the European teams too. There's no love lost between Sweden and Norway, but at the Continental Cup they're together and pulling for each other."