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TSN Senior Reporter

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As the Home Hardware Canada Cup draws near, TSN's Bob Weeks decided it was time to get up close and personal with the workhorses of curling teams – the leads and seconds. Rather than the skips and thirds who get most of the attention, he chatted with the front-enders. This time, it's Dawn McEwen of Team Jones. 

WEEKS: Where does the Canada Cup fit in curling’s hierarchy?

MCEWEN: It’s a big event. It’s always been a big event. Now with a Trials spot being available it’s even bigger. I think my second event with the girls was the 2007 Canada Cup and it was super exciting. I just remember going there and thinking it was a pretty prestigious event to play in and it’s always been like that every year since then.

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WEEKS: What do you think about one week a year, all curling teams get referred to by the lead’s name. So instead of Team Jones, it becomes Team McEwen?

MCEWEN: Love it! That would be awesome. How do we make that happen?

WEEKS: What’s the most difficult part about being Team Canada?

MCEWEN: I think everyone gets up to play you and they always seem to play their best against us or whoever is Team Canada. We definitely have to amp up our game as well because we know we have that target on our backs. But regardless of whether we’re Team Canada or not, we just focus within ourselves and on what we need to do to perform well.

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WEEKS: So being the lead AND a ginger, is there ever any end to the abuse?

MCEWEN: No never! There’s no ginger abuse at all actually. I get lots of ginger love so it’s all good.

WEEKS: Being the lead is the same sort of thing isn’t it? Do you get the brunt of the jokes?

MCEWEN: It’s funny because I always joke that all I do is throw my two rocks and sweep, that I don’t do a whole lot for the team. So that’s how I describe to people what it’s like being the lead and how we’re a little lower on the hierarchy of the team. But I get a lot of love from my team so it’s all good.

WEEKS: Have you ever used your gold medal to get anything like jumping the line at a club or getting upgraded on a flight?

MCEWEN: We might have thrown it out to try and upgrade a flight at one point but I’m not good at doing that. I wish I had more guts to do it but I don’t. I don’t have many good stories about doing that.

WEEKS: What’s your can’t-miss TV show these days?

MCEWEN: I love reality TV so I’m a sucker for that. I actually really like “How To Get Away With Murder” – I love that show.

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WEEKS: What’s the reality show you like? The Bachelor...Survivor?

MCEWEN: I’ll be honest – it’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

WEEKS: You’re allowed to admit that.

MCEWEN: I get made fun for that a lot but I don’t care. It’s entertaining TV

WEEKS: Between your schedule and Mike’s have you ever left the house and said: Who’s looking after the baby?

MCEWEN: Ha! Not yet! It’s quite the logistical operation with Vienna in the mix now. I will admit that once I went to practice and I forgot my curling bag! I brought her. I brought her baby bag but forgot my curling gear. Now I have a little checklist to make sure I have everything. It’s amazing how much stuff you need with a baby.

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WEEKS: What’s playing on your iPod these days?

MCEWEN: I really like the singer called The Weekend. His stuff is great. I like the new Adele song – you know what? -- I’ll admit that I have a couple of Justin Bieber songs that I find quite catchy too.

WEEKS: Do you listen to music when you’re practicing or before a game to pump you up?

MCEWEN: No, I’ve never really done that before. I’m not that kind of person who needs that before a game, but I love music and all types of it. But I never really got into it before a game.

WEEKS: You guys had a big win in Oshawa. Do you think you and Mike can make a go of it in Mixed Doubles?

MCEWEN: I don’t know. It’s on the radar but we’ll see. It was fun but it would have to fit in with our teams. Both our four-person teams are our priority right now. We’ll see what we can fit in.

WEEKS: Who is the coolest person you’ve met through curling?

MCEWEN: I don’t know if this counts because I didn’t really meet him but I’m a huge Will Ferrell fan and I think when he was at the Trials, that was the coolest thing ever. The fact that he commentated our game was just amazing. He’s so funny. When I went back and watched it, I was in stitches – it was really entertaining.