Politicians' ritual slanging matches should not be allowed to distract Canadians from weightier battles, such as the bobsleigh, the giant slalom or round-robin curling.

ECONOMIST: Canada's Parliament: Harper goes prorogue | The

Soon after, Darren Fletcher saw his curling 25-yard drive superbly tipped round the post by Green as the Red Devils continued to press.

BBC: Manchester United 3-0 West Ham

In a rare attempt on goal for the remainder of the half, Caley Thistle's Esson produced a marvellous save, tipping a Marco Paixao curling effort from the edge of the box round the post.

BBC: Sport - Football - Inverness 0-1 Hamilton

Matt Phillips backheeled the ball on to Sylvestre and with the home defence backing away, the French midfielder mirrored LuaLua by curling into the far right corner to book a place in the next round.

BBC: Sheffield Wed 0-3 Blackpool