Rivalries, ratings and rule tweaks on curling's Grand Slam circuit

A budding rivalry in The Roaring Game will see a fresh chapter this week at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters.

Danny Casper's American rink is scheduled to play reigning Canadian champion Matt Dunstone's side in round-robin play in Medicine Hat, Alta. The matchup comes after the two sides engaged in a lively game last month at the Co-op Invitational in Victoria.

Casper's foursome was quite demonstrative at times and Dunstone took notice. The Canadian skip had words for his opponents after making a game-winning shot in an 8-7 win.

Teammates Mark Nichols, Ryan Harnden and Colton Lott pumped their fists and voiced their excitement after scoring a pair for the victory. Dunstone was just as joyous as he slid down the ice to join them.

After the teams shook hands, Dunstone delivered a parting shot while looking at the American players.

"That's when you celebrate, boys, that's when you celebrate," he said as players cleared rocks from the house.

Team Casper third Luc Violette said with the game picked up by ESPN for linear broadcast in the United States via ESPNU, the players wanted to "generate as much excitement" around the matchup as possible.

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"Our teams, when we play, we have different philosophies of how we show our emotion and enjoy the game," Violette said in a recent interview. "Those kind of came to a head there a little bit."

Dunstone's team helped deliver another blow to Casper's side in the round-robin finale against Brendan Bottcher's rink. When that game went to a shootout, it ensured both teams would advance to the playoffs while leaving the American rink outside the cutline.

"At the end of the day, the scoreboard dictated that