The curling team that includes former Vikings star Jared Allen upset the team led by John Shuster, whose rink won the 2018 Olympic gold medal and finished fourth at the 2022 games, in the opening match of the U.S. Championships.
Allen, who played six seasons for the Vikings during his 12-year career, is on the team skippered by Minnesota native Jason Smith.
Team Smith won Sunday night's match 10-6 to start the week-long tournament in Denver. Team Shuster was ahead 6-5 after eight ends before Team Smith, which plays out of Nashville, scored two in the ninth and sealed the match with three in the 10th end.
The next round of men's matches, which includes team Smith, is set for 3 p.m. Central time today. The matches can be watched on U.S. Curling's YouTube channel, which is here.
The winning rink will represent the United States at the World Championships in Ottawa in April.
