Curling

When they broke up, it was as though The Beatles had split or, worse, Great Big Sea.

People on the Rock were crushed. Their four lads from the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club in St. John's (with an assist from outside veteran Russ Howard) had gone from history-making 2006 Olympic gold medalists to a team with a bad case of the splits.

Mike Adam left via a mutual decision. Jamie Korab was asked to leave and did so angrily. It all blew apart at the seams with most of the rancour directed toward skip Brad Gushue for dropping an ace curler and a good friend, to boot.

That was in April of 2007. Friday, if you happened to take in the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier practice rounds at the Pengrowth Saddledome, you would have seen Gushue grinning and Korab kibitzing, the two of them together again as running mates.

"We patched it up. We're friends," Korab said.

"He no longer takes for granted he's on one of the top teams," added Gushue, "and we no longer take for granted he's one of the top leads."

That Newfoundland team boasts a lineup with newcomer Ryan Fry, third Mark Nichols and a patched-up partnership between Gushue and Korab is serious news for their provincial rivals at the 2009 Brier.

Gushue, just 28, is making his sixth Brier appearance. Fry, 30, played in his first Brier as a second for Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton. As for Korab, who sports a frosted 'do with some nifty side cuts, he's still a man in search of a fun time. But he understands now what his friends and teammates have evolved into.

"I think we got a little complacent after the Olympics," the 29-year-old marketing co-ordinator said. "The year apart [following the split] we all hit the gym harder because it was like we had something to prove. We wanted to be on our game again. Looking back, I believe it was good for us."

You would think being buds and Olympic champions would have been the best of all. When the team returned from Turin, it was treated like a conquering horde. Each member had a street named after him in a new subdivision. The entire squad was honoured when a St. John's road was dubbed Team Gushue Highway.

Premier Danny Williams announced plans to set up an annual scholarship in the team's name. There was talk of nominating the boys for the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. The only thing missing was a guest spot with Letterman.

And then one day, Gushue decided Korab wasn't pulling his weight, had become a little too "lackey daisy," as Korab described it, and simply had to be canned. Korab responded by saying he was going to form his own rink with one goal in mind: beat the stones out of his former pal. Islanders erupted.

"I was surprised [by the reaction]," Gushue admitted. "I knew it wouldn't go over real well but the fact was most people didn't know what was going on. Not to be harsh, but it was between friends. If you and a friend got into an argument and people began complaining without knowledge of what was going on, you probably wouldn't like it. We didn't."

Korab said people often talked to him about the situation as though it were "a family break-up. They took it personal."

What brought the two sides back together was the knowledge they needed one another. Gushue needed Korab's shot making and energy. Korab needed a team that brought out the best in him. After a meeting at Gushue's home, everything was put on the table, all the concerns and grievances. A truce was reached and a plan established.

"We said, 'If our goal is to go back to the Olympics, this is what needs to happen,' " Korab said.

"At this level, chemistry is the most important thing," Gushue explained. "Take all the curlers here [at the Brier]: Everyone can make all the shots. The deciding factor is each team working to get the most out of each other. Some teams are just better together than they are individually."

The Gushue squad appears to have learned that lesson the hard way. While it would very much love to win this Brier, the bigger pursuit is to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and strike gold again. To accomplish that, the boys from down east are keenly aware they'll have to play well collectively.

No more lackey daisy for this bunch.

No more splits, either.