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Sportsnet set to announce broadcast deal and possibly more with Grand Slam events (Calgary Herald)

(by Al Cameron)

So, here’s the news curling fans have been waiting for since the fiasco of last season: the Grand Slam circuit, or some facsimile of it, is returning for the 2012-13 curling season.

And we can confirm through sources that after much speculation, the news conference that Sportsnet is staging tomorrow in Toronto will be to announce that the Rogers-owned network has taken over the broadcasting rights (and possibly control/ownership; we’ll find out more tomorrow) of the Slam series, which comprises the highest-profile men’s events in the country outside of the Brier, Canada Cup and Olympic Trials.

Photo: After a few months of uncertainty, it appears high-profile skips such as Kevin Martin, left, and Glenn Howard will be playing their Grand Slam curling events again in 2012-13, with Sportsnet coming back aboard as the broadcaster.

You’ll remember that the 2011-12 Slam season ended with an air of uncertainty. First came the shocking announcement midway through the season that CBC was cancelling its broadcasting agreement over a non-payment of fees from iSport Media and Management, the Kevin Albrecht-run firm that owned and operated the Slam events.

That was followed by news upon the completion of the season-ending Players’ Championships in Summerside, P.E.I., that prize-payout cheques to the teams were bouncing higher than a Pee Wee Pickering (old-school reference there) backswing.

Having the series back for 2012-13 and, presumably, beyond will be a relief for the Canadian Curling Association, which uses the events (a minimum of four per year) as a major qualifying factor to determine teams for the 2013 Trials in Winnipeg.

Click for full story in the Calgary Herald.

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