Defending champ Bottcher, wild card Gushue highlight 18-team Brier field

Bottcher, 30, of Edmonton, captured his first-ever Canadian men's curling title last year in Calgary. Gushue, currently representing Canada at the Beijing Winter Olympics, is going for his fourth Brier title in six years and is listed as Wild Card 1. Gushue is a St. John's, N.L., native.