SELKIRK, Man. - Hes been close but it feels good to finally win one, Brad Gushue of St. Johns, N.L. said after he ran Winnipegs Mike McEwen out of rocks in eight ends to take the Masters Grand Slam of Curling 8-6 Sunday.This year weve been playing well in the round robins and the qualifying rounds but we get to the playoffs and weve been kind of stinking the bed, said the veteran.Hes also glad to be reunited with third Mark Nichols, who returned to his home province after the breakup of the Winnipeg rink led by Jeff Stoughton.It was something I missed over the last couple of years and no disrespect to the guys I played with, said Gushue.We got our lumps and bruises over the last 15 years playing and weve had the same experiences, so were kind of on the same level.It feels great, agreed Nichols, both of the win and the renewed partnership.We started off slow this season. It always seemed like we had someone struggling.They curled together from 1999 to 2011, including a Canadian Junior Championship in 2001 and an Olympic gold medal in 2006.Some big shots set the stage but it was a well-swept draw for two in the seventh end that made the difference, letting Gushue come home with a cushion.Earlier, it looked like he was sure of the prize after a big four in the fifth end broke open a close game.But McEwen came back in six with a four of his own on a spectacular triple-raise takeout, after Gushue hogged his attempt at a final guard, that sent them to seven tied 6-6.McEwen didnt even pretend he thought he had a good chance of making it.Its a bit of a hope, he said with a laugh.The difference when youre running such a high rock onto a second guard, the difference is an eighth of an inch (that) can sink you.With his 8-6 cushion from seven, and a big hit that cleared McEwen from the house, Gushue ran McEwen out of rocks and they shook in eight.They had blanked the first and McEwen stole one in the second. Gushue had a deuce in the third end to go ahead 2-1 and McEwen had to settle for a single in four to tie it up going into five.Gushue took home $23,500 and 12 Rogers Cup points. McEwen had to settle for $14,500 and nineMcEwen has been hard to beat this season with four World Curling Tour wins and an overall record of 33-2 before Sunday.McEwen demolished Olympic gold-medal winner Brad Jacobs 7-2 in five ends Saturday night to get to the final while Gushue needed an extra end to edge Torontos John Epping 6-5.McEwens only loss during the week was to Calgarys John Morris, who took over Kevin Koes Brier-winning rink after Koe struck out on his own with a new team. Gushues only loss was to Manitobas Jeff Stoughton.Earlier, Valerie Sweeting of Edmonton claimed the womens title when she defeated Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson 5-4.Her odds were tough when she lost her newest recruit just before the event and she made them longer when, once again, she let her clock run down, but this time Sweeting had a time out in her pocket.I wanted to take it (the time out) on my last so Id have lots of time to throw, she said after the win, her first ever at a Slam. Yesterday we almost ran out of time and we didnt have a time out.It was a tight game but Swedish fourth stone Maria Prytz flashed on a couple of hits and Sigfridsson, who throws lead, said mistakes like that are costly.It went back and forth and we missed too many key shots, she said. You cant afford that.To get to the final, Sweeting had to knock off reigning Scotties champ Rachel Homan on Saturday night.Cathy Overton-Clapham, who threw third stones for Sweeting, was a last minute recruit after Andrea Crawford unexpectedly left to return to her native New Brunswick. She only joined this year as a replacement for second Joanne Courtney, who joined Homans rink.I did say seriously? I havent thrown a rock in three weeks, are you sure you still want me? said Overton-Clapham, third for current Olympic champ Jennifer Jones until she was dumped in favour of Kaitlyn Lawes in 2010.She went on to successfully skip her own rink but most recently played third for the Crystal Webster rink in Calgary.She was so great, we learned so much from her this week, said Sweeting, who has already replaced Crawford with Lori Olson Johns, who played second for Calgarys Cheryl Bernard.To get to the final Sigfridsson had to go through Jones, who beat her in the womens curling final to claim Olympic gold in Sochi.With the win, Sweeting picked up $23,500 in cash and 12 Rogers Cup points and second place earned Sigfridsson $13,500.Sigfridsson was down 4-2 in seven when Prytz at least partially made up for those flashes with a deuce on a long raise takeout to tie the game.The eighth end was a nail biter down to the last rock as Sweeting tried to keep the house open so she could use the hammer and Sigfridsson capitalized on misses.Sweeting had just 15 seconds left on her clock as she used her last time out to throw her last rock.We burnt a lot more earlier in the game than we needed to but it all worked out in the end. 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With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds.INDIANAPOLIS -- When Ed Carpenter, Carlos Munoz and Helio Castroneves were pushed to the edge Saturday, each remained calm and came up with their best-qualifying runs of the day. Now they have to do it again one more time Sunday. The American, Colombian and Brazilian who have celebrated some of their biggest career moments at Indianapolis each made daring runs over the final 80 minutes Saturday to take the top three seeds heading into Sundays Indianapolis 500 shootout. Carpenter finished first with a four-lap qualifying average of 230.661 mph. Munoz was second at 230.460. "I wasnt sure we were going to go 230 in our first run, so I was relieved when we did," Carpenter said. "But to be honest, I didnt think going into qualifying I was going to exceed 230." Others drivers thought Carpenter would, and it only took one practice lap and one qualifying lap to assuage any doubts. Carpenter, the fifth car on the track, averaged 230.114 then sat around all day as other drivers tried to knock him off the top rung. Nobody caught him until a rain delay ended at 4:18 p.m. Then in a flurry of speed, Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe knocked Carpenter off the pole, Munoz knocked Hinchcliffe, his teammate, off the pole, and Carpenter retook the pole. He finished the day waiting 65 minutes to see if it would stand. Normally, the reward for surviving such tension would be celebrating a pole win. Instead, under the new qualifying format, all Saturday did was assure Carpenter and the other eight top cars of a top-nine starting spot on Indys traditional 33-car starting grid. Each of the top nine will have one qualifying run Sunday with the fastest claiming the coveted No. 1 starting spot for the May 25 race. The success of Carpenter, Munoz and Castroneves was hardly a surprise. Carpenter, last years pole winner, had one of the fastest cars in practice Thursday and Friday. If he wins the pole again Sunday on the track his stepfather, Tony George, once ran, Carpenter would be the second driver since 1990 to earn consecutive poles at Indy. Castroneves also did it in 2009 and 2010. Munoz, meanwhile, drives for Michael Andretti, whose team has consistently put four or five drivers in the top 10 all week. In 2013, Munoz made his InndyCar debut here and responded by qualifying second, finishing second and walking away as the 500 rookie of the year.dddddddddddd "I was questioning myself, the team, everything before, but as soon as I hit the track I forgot everything," Munoz said. "The car was really fast, and its a shame we wasted that second outing. I think were looking strong, and well see what happens tomorrow." Castroneves owns three 500 wins and three pole wins at Indy -- all for team owner Roger Penske. But there was plenty of intrigue, too. Kurt Busch, the fourth driver to attempt "the double" by racing in Indy and Charlotte on the same day, May 25, nearly made it into the pole shootout, too. He was bumped with 39 minutes left in qualifying when 2000 Indy winner Juan Pablo Montoya surpassed Buschs speed of 229.960. Busch could have bumped his way back into the fast nine had he not already left for NASCARs All-Star race in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was scheduled to be back in Indy for Day 2 when the top 30 starting spots will be determined. Two other Andretti drivers, Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti, overcame unusual circumstances to reach the shootout. Hinchcliffe was fourth (230.407) despite spending most of this week recovering from a concussion. Andretti actually withdrew his original qualifying time to move into a shorter line, then waved off on another attempt before making it back to No. 6. Frances Simon Pagenaud, who won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis last weekend, was seventh. Carpenters teammate, JR Hildebrand, and Sarah Fishers driver, Josef Newgarden, also made the shootout, though Chip Ganassis four drivers were shut out. "I think we need to find a little more speed," Charlie Kimball said. "As a team, the fact that we arent in the top nine would prove that. We all work toward that goal, having four of our cars in the top nine. It was a lofty goal, but that was the expectation within the team." This time, theyll all be watching Carpenter and the rest of the gang. "We came in with a good car and a good package from last year," Carpenter said. "Like I said, with the second car here, weve been able to try some more things than what we did last year." ' ' '