Bob Weeks on Curling

Reflecting on the Slam and TV

2012-01-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

After a few days of reflection and a few chats with peoplearound the curling community, it’s difficult to figure out just where the wholeGrand Slam of Curling-TV debate sits. There are wildly different sides tothe story depending on whom you talk to.

The CBC says it hasn’t been paid and has gone as far as itcan go to keep the Slam on the air. Any live TV event is no small endeavour.There is a mobile truck to drive to the site, a massive setup of cables andcameras, a crew to bring out, house and feed, satellite concerns not to mentionMike, Joan and Bruce’s expense accounts. On the cheap end, I’d say it wouldprobably run at least a couple of hundred thousand bucks. No wonder the CBC wanted to cut its losses before Dawson Creek.

On the other side, there’s iSport, which has been the brainsbehind the Grand Slam for some time. Kevin Albrecht, who is really the guy whomanaged to organize the curlers and show them they had some power, leading themto the infamous boycott and the creation of the Slam series, heads up iSport. The elite curlersin this land have a lot to thank him for. Itwas Albrecht who signed Capital One as a title sponsor and Albrecht who managedto get the series on CBC in the first place. He says this dispute is not aboutfailure to pay but how much to pay. He believes the quality of the broadcastsslipped and so why should the bill be the same for less?

Who to believe?

In any case, CBC is done and gone. After 50 years, it won’t be back incurling any time soon, so it seems. But the future is not necessarily as brightas was first believed either. While this story was unfolding last week, it wasbelieved that a deal with Sportsnet was just around the corner. But as the daywent on, it became clear that wasn’t the case.

Originally, Sportsnet was going to start showing round-robingames of the Slam beginning with Dawson Creek. But that wasn’t happeningeither. I’m only guessing but without the CBC’s truck and technical crew,Sportsnet wasn’t willing to foot the entire bill itself and said, no thanks. (Inmost cases in deals such as this, resources are shared: it’s the same crew, same cameras, anddifferent hosts.) Perhaps it’s been scared off by the CBC’s stories of failureto get paid. Or maybe there wasn’t a rock-solid deal in place to begin with.

The curlers themselves obviously hadn’t been broughtinto the loop (they may have been since) because many were either calling ore-mailing me or when I called them, had no clue as to what was happening. Theonly thing they are assured of, apparently, is that the event is going to beheld. At this point, I doubt there will be any network TV. It’s just too shorta time period to pull something such as that together, unless the Sportnetnegotiations are much further along than I realize.

Not all is dark however. As Kevin Martin told me this week, there is a lot to bepositive about the Grand Slam. There is a rock-solid sponsor in place inCapital One, solid ratings for its broadcasts and cities and town lining up toplay host to future events.

In the end, I am left with the idea that the Grand Slam isimportant. That came through loud and clear in every conversation I had, nomatter what side of the issue the speaker was on.

“I just hope it continues,” Glenn Howard said.“It’s just too important for us to lose it. This is like one step forward andfour steps back if it dies.”

Greg Stremlaw, the CEO of the CCA, made a similar comment tome, saying that he hoped things could be worked out because the Slam is vitalto curling.

How true. The Grand Slam is necessary if curling is going toprogress. Television is a big part of that plan. The next week or so is goingto be very interesting.

The Slam's TV situation

2012-01-19T20:12:00.004-05:00

So at the end of the day what do we know about this GrandSlam situation?

Not a lot, actually. There’s a lot still in motion in thisstory but here’s what I’ve been able to glean through the day:

* The CBC is out as a curling broadcaster for the first timesince 1962, when it rolled its trucks down to Kitchener to cover the final gameof the Brier.

* Sportsnet has no plans to be in Dawson Creek to broadcastnext week’s Grand Slam.

* The CBC says its decision is based on the fact that iSportowes it money and hasn’t paid. It says the amount is not in dispute and itpulled the plug as a last resort.

* iSport says the amount is in dispute, based on the qualityof the broadcasts.

* iSport believes it is close to signing a deal with Sportsnetthat would be each Grand Slam 30 hours of coverage, up from the CBC’s six. Itwas hoping to announce that today but said the snowstorm cancelled a scheduledmeeting.

* The players haven’t received much information so far.

In any case, you can read my Globe story here:

SportsNet Stepping In

2012-01-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

Sources have told me that barring a last-minute hiccup, Sportsnetwill be picking up the broadcast of the final two Grand Slam events in theirentirety staring next week in Dawson Creek. Originally slated just to show theround-robin games, the broadcaster will nowair the semis and final too.

And the future looks even rosier. A long-term deal will becemented between the Grand Slam and Sportsnet for the coming years. Anannouncement was expected next week, but will likely come later today with allthe details. It means coverage of every Grand Slam event will go from six hours on CBC to 30 hours.

This does mean that for the first time since 1962, CBC will be without curling. Quite a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Players scrambling after CBC pulls out

2012-01-19T09:10:00.001-05:00

Big new this morning that the CBC has pulled out of theGrand Slam of Curling effective immediately.

Al Cameron broke the story that the broadcaster has toldiSport Media and Management, the organization that runs the Grand Slam series, that it won’t be inDawson Creek next week for the third leg, and won’t be travelling to PEI forthe Players Championship in April.

No word was given as to the reason for the cancellation. iSport is headed by Kevin Albrecht, who, in conjunction with several top curlers, created the Grand Slam when he worked forIMG Canada. It came out of the famous player boycott of the Brier, whichAlbrecht helped to organize.

The news, obviously, is devastating for elite curling. Wordspread like wildfire through the curling community late last night with most ofthe players left without many details. Several I spoke to early this morningdidn’t know much more than what had been reported in Cameron’s story. At riskis everything from Canadian Team Ranking Series points to the Captial OneMillion Dollar Draw to the Button.

For the players, it also means potential loss of sponsorshipdollars as television is a key component to a number of the corporate deals.

“This is huge for curling,” said Glenn Howard. “I would just hateto see this go down the drain. It’s like one step forward, four steps back.”

On Thursday morning, the top officials of the World CurlingTour and other stakeholders were meeting to determine the next steps for thenext two events, but specifically the Pomeroy Inn & Suites National, set tostart Jan. 25.

Word is the Tour was going to approach Sportsnet todetermine if it would be interested in picking up the broadcast, but trying toorganize something of that magnitude on such short notice would be difficult.

Stay tuned – this could be an interesting day of news.

On the Continental Cup

2012-01-13T11:52:00.002-05:00

Readers of this blog will know that I am no fan of theContinental Cup. I’ve criticized it almost from Day 1 and in my humble opinion,it’s not getting any better. In fact, it’s really become a joke.

I think the WCF missed the boat on what could be atremendous event. Right now, it seems to be nothing more than a big mixedbonspiel for really good curlers. Lots of giggles and good-natured cheering,both sides paling around, ad nauseam. Is there any more chip and dip? What time does the dance start again? Karaoke anyone?

Now that type of atmosphere is in part what makes curlinggreat. It just doesn’t make this event great. I’m all for having a fun eventinvolving top curlers but don’t try to pass it off as a Ryder Cup, us-vs-themstyle event to which the Continental Cup is always compared. It’s not.

You don’t hear players talking about bragging rights, or ofwanting to get back at the other side next time. You don’t hear teams gettingexcited about making the World team or the North American side. That's what happens in the Ryder Cup. Each side wants to win so badly, they'd sell their grandmother for a chance. There's excitement, pressure, pride and more on the line.

The Continental Cup? The fact that the World’s captain Peja Lindholm had to invoke a no-drinking rule shows you how seriously the curlers have taken thisevent in the past. The fact that TSN was interviewing curlers (Niklas Edin,Glenn Howard) in the middle of the competition on Friday tells you that this isabout as competitive as the Sunday morning Legion league, just without the kneesliders.

And then there’s the format: a points system that is far toocomplicated for the average TV viewer to follow (Team competition is worth 72points but Skins is worth 260? Wha?), that allows one side to win before the finalday’s play begins and competitions that boggle the mind. Mixed Skins? Barf.About the only enjoyable thing of yesterday’s play was watching Wayne Middaughhuff and puff up and down the ice, chasing after his rocks, looking like he wasabout to lose his lunch along the way.

At the risk of repeating myself as I do every year, the way you make thisbetter is simple. Don’t hold it every year because it loses significance. Makethe points system easier to understand with games worth single points. Add adouble-team event and get read of some of the silly competitions such asmixed skins and even doubles.

Right now this event is fun and different. But it’s just notimportant to anyone. Time for a change.

The Goldline

2012-01-10T09:29:00.000-05:00

We played the opening weekend of The Goldline TCA Championship, which, for the uninitiated, is a 117-year-old bonspiel that is effectively the club curler's championship of Toronto. Something like 1,200 curlers start off on Saturday with two games. They continue through the week but starting Monday, are out as soon as they lose. Stacked teams are not allowed and strict rules are in place to prevent them.

On Saturday at Leaside, both our games were largely determined by picks. In our first contest, our opposing skip was playing a relatively easy draw against five of our counters when his rock suddenly ground to a halt.

In the second game, we had something like seven picks on our rocks (the opposition had a few too) and we lost. Not that we really deserved to win that game in any event – I forgot to mention that I hogged my last rock guard attempt in the first to give up four -- but you hate so see so many picks.

We put another in our win column on Monday night at Dixie Curling Club where the curl was, um, rather large!

So, after three games in the (gulp!) Senior division, I have the following observations:

** I’m amazed at how many players don’t sweep in front of the rock.

** Having said that, two good sweepers in this event is a huge advantage.

** It seems most crucial draws among us hackers come up short while the top players seem to be heavy more often than not. Agree?

** Wow, are there ever a lot of old guys who colour their hair these days.

** There are some vastly different conditions at clubs across this city.

** If you are ever want to see a history of curling equipment, come out to the Goldine. Old brooms, sweaters, shoes that are at least 20 years old are being used in every draw.

** Lots of guys play in the Goldline but never bonspiel at any other time of the year. Why?

** I’d say only about 10 per cent of the curlers I saw do any kind of warm-up or pre-game stretch. Creak, groan.

Kevin Martin, CEO

2012-01-07T09:04:00.002-05:00

Here's my latest Globe and Mail entry. It's a feature on Kevin Martin ahead of the TSN Skins Game this weekend up at Casino Rama. It was an interesting angle pitched to me by the Globe's sports editor Tom Maloney, who suggested I look at how Martin runs his team, looking at it for comparison to a business. I found it an interesting one to write. Funny that when I tracked Kevin down, he was on a family vacation in Disneyland, which I used to start off the article:

For the four teams involved, it’s one of the most important weeks of the year, a potentially lucrative two-game set that could double their season’s earnings. The TSN Skins Game may be a made-for-TV event that uses unconventional rules in a wild setting at Casino Rama near Orillia, Ont., but it also offers the biggest payday in curling for the winner.With so much on the line, you’d think the combatants would be deep in preparation on the ice and in the gym. Not Kevin Martin. Where was he in the days leading up to the Skins?Disneyland.

You can read the full article here:

Garnet Campbell

2012-01-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

Sad news to start 2012 with the passing of 1955 Brier winner Garnet Campbell. Campbell played in 10 Briers, the first back in 1947 when he was just 16. Despite his tender age, he skipped the family team that included his father, Sandy as well as brothers Lloyd and Sam Campbell. The second trip came in 1954 with another brother, Don, taking the place of his father -- four brothers on one team, a Brier first, for sure. That 1955 win was significant for a couple of reasons. For starters, it was the first Brier win for Saskatchewan. Second, it was played before a home-province crowd in Regina. Third, the premier of the day, the remarkable Tommy Douglas, predicted the Campbells would win before the first rock was thrown, and finally, the team did it with a perfect 10-0 record.The closest Garnet Campbell got to another title was in 1971 when, as third for Bob "Pee Wee" Pickering, he lost a playoff to Don Duguid. In 10 Brier trips, Garnet's record was a stellar 66-21. Campbell might have won more Briers but he peaked at the same time as another giant of the game, Matt Baldwin, who is, by the way, the oldest-living Brier winning skip.

The 1947 Baldwin team (from left): Lloyd, Sandy, Sam and Garnet.

I love this shot of Matt Baldwin talking to Garnet. You just know the outgoing Baldwin is trying to have a little fun with his longtime pal and adversary. And in both pictures, don't you just love the pants and hats?

A look back at 2011

2011-12-29T10:02:00.001-05:00

Herewith are the highlights and lowlights of my year incurling:

Game of the year: An easy one, really. The Scottiesround-robin matchup between Cathy O and Jennifer Jones. Jones, of course,dropped Overton-Clapham at the end of the previous year after winning theScotties, following which Cathy O put together her own team and won Manitoba.The game didn’t really mean anything other than bragging rights but it wasclear who the fans were cheering for – the dumpee not the dumper.Overton-Clapham won the game and the fans loved it.

Fun-spoiler of the year: Every year for as long as I canremember, 79-year-old Jack Cox has run around Brier rinks and waved the Ontarioflag at the top of a ball retriever, shouting “ON-TAR-I-OOOOO.” But the cranksat the John Labatt Centre told he couldn’t do it because of liability issues.Boo!

Much Ado About Nothing: The cowbell controversy, it turnsout, was also about an over-zealous security guard. At the Canada Cup, AmberHolland’s cheering section was told to put away their cowbells or get puntedfrom the rink. Al Cameron unearthed the fact that the CCA had a Fan Code ofConduct that basically stated that everyone has a right to watch the game inpeace. But it turns out cowbells are OK; the facility in Cranbrook was theculprit, not the CCA.

Product of the Year: Developed out of the Olympic Games’research, the EQ brush head proved wildly successful for most elite teams andclub curlers everywhere. It made it easier to sweep, keep rocks straight andcarry them farther. How popular were they? The top three finishers at theScotties all used them. And by year’s end, several companies were offeringknock-offs of the product licensed exclusively by Balance Plus. Expect some legal undertakings soon.

Worst addition of the year: The CCA added bronze-medal gamesto both the Brier and Scotties, dragging out rinks that had just suffered theends to their dreams to play a meaningless game. With a straight face, CCAofficials emphatically stated that it wasn’t about adding another draw to theschedule and selling more tickets.

Best addition of the year: A number of fake curler Twitteraccounts popped up during the year, providing a few laughs for those who knowthe real players. While some of the comments were, um, not suitable for familyreading, here are a few examples:
Fake Kevin Martin: Practiseda bit last night. Good news; I'm still the best.
Fake Amy Nixon: Back from China with a piece of the Great Wall,possible case of typhoid and a child I smuggled in my suitcase.

Sad passages: Jim Sullivan left us too soon. Neil McCarl wasone of the great curling writers of his era.

Looking forward to in 2012: The five-rock rule debuted atthe Grand Slam in Kingston and was met with encouragement. Most of the topplayers are interested in trying it again. Most of the fans seemed to approvetoo as it meant exciting finishes.

Best curling headline of the year: In the Winnipeg FreePress on its relationships column: Is Curling Really Worth YourMarriage? Here's the story behind it.

Best use of curling in a commercial: No doubt about this one. . . it's Bic.

Best shot of the year by a guy weighing less than 110 pounds: Have to admit. . . this was pretty special. And he called it, right?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:01:00.003-05:00

May your Christmas be merry and may every shot in 2012 hit the broom with perfect weight! All the best to my readers and friends.

Five-rock feedback

2011-12-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

So what was the final result of the five-rock rule used last week at the Grand Slam in Kingston? For the most part, it seems the players liked it or at the very least understood it was good for the fans. However no one is quite willing to say adopt it full bore.

Winner Mike McEwen wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it, saying it made his head hurt thinking about the strategy in the early going, but conceded it was a positive in an interview with the CBC’s Scott Russell.

I contacted a couple of players from the competition via email and got support. First up was Brad Gushue:

“Even though we played horrible, I really enjoyed the rule,” said the gold medalist. “I think it provides a lot more interest for both players and fans. The teams have gotten so good that one mistake (three or four ender) in the four-rock rule and the game is essentially over or at least really boring. The five-rock rule allowed teams some hope if they got down three or four points.
“I would like to play it a few more times before deciding on whether I would like to see a permanent change. But I would definitely be in favour of playing a few events with the five-rock rule. It was really nice to have a change and see the varying ways teams tried to defend the rule. It was also nice to see the smoke coming from a few skips ears as they finally had to think with a three-point lead.”

Next, I wanted to speak to a front-ender to see how it changed things and reached Craig Savill of Team Howard. (Of course he was ecstatic that someone even asked for his opinion. Oh, the life of a lowly front-ender):

“It’s hard to get a full grasp of the new rule after one event but so far I love the five-rock rule,” he stated. “I think the rule promotes more rocks in play and keeps the team that is leading more aggressive. During the BDO Canadian Open, when we were down three or four it didn't seem like the game was over. With the hammer it seemed like twos and threes were wild. The five-rock rule certainly created some new situations, especially in the last couple ends. When up by two coming home without last rock you now have the mentality of just trying to hold the opposition to two and not give up three. That's certainly a different mentality that you have when playing the four-rock rule.”

In his column in the Toronto Sun, George Karrys had some comments from another Team Howard member, Wayne Middaugh and brought up the way the rule changes things for the front-enders.

“It really favours a team that has a strong lineup all the way through,” said Middaugh. “To quote John Kawaja 15 years ago, ‘You get a couple of plumbers to kick them down there for the first four rocks, then you have a great third and a great skip and win the Brier.’ Well, that sure won’t work anymore.”

MIddaugh added that the rule keeps things interesting throughout the contest.

“We gave up four in the first end; in a regular game, the game is over,” said Middaugh. “You just can’t (come back), Jeff is going to give us two every end and then score his one with the hammer, and we just can’t catch him. But with this rule, we felt the whole time that we had the chance to come back and right up until the last end, we did.”

Overall, it seems the players like the new rule but still want a little more time to digest the changes.

Full Contact Curling

2011-12-20T09:08:00.002-05:00

Have to love Rick Mercer. Here's his take on adding a little contact to the Roaring Game. If this was allowed, who would you want on your team?

Curling Etc. on sale

2011-12-19T12:34:00.001-05:00

I received some good news and some bad news this week in regard to my books. My publisher, John Wiley & Sons, called to say they were remaindering my last book, Curling Etc. That's the bad news. It's always a sad day for an author as it means the sales in stores have effectively dried up and the book is being put out to pasture.
The good news is that I was allowed to buy a bunch of copies at a discounted rate and they're now for sale here. For $25 you get the book, signed by me (personalized if you'd like) and sent to you. That's for North American orders, by the way. European orders need to add $10.
Curling Etc. is a fun-filled collection of facts and stories about curling. Think of it as the Uncle John's Bathroom reader for the roaring game.
I wish I'd been able to get this done a little earlier so you'd have them for Christmas, but I promise to send the books out as soon as humanely possible if you're interested.
Here's the link for Curling Etc.
Of course I still have copies of The Brier as well which go for the same price.

Monday Morning Observer

2011-12-12T09:35:00.002-05:00

***

It’s all about Eve. At least it is as far as Scottish curling is concerned. Eve Muirhead led her team to the European women’s title and the Scots are raving about it. It’s the first time since 1975 for a Scottish team. Muirhead told The Scotsman she built this team with an eye on the Olympics:

“I put together this young team looking forward to Sochi, and so far this season we couldn’t have done much better,” she explained. “I played with a lot of these girls in juniors and I know what good players they are. They all played fantastic in Moscow.”

Even the good old Beeb noticed.

***

The St. Albert Gazette has a nice piece on local boy Marc Kennedy after he won the Canada Cup. And he has a full admission about his play there:

“At the Canada Cup I was probably the weakest link. I didn’t play awful but I can definitely play a little better,” Kennedy said. “We’ve all had our ups and downs this year. We haven’t had all four of us playing our best at the same time, but that was probably Kevin and John’s best weekend of the year, which is nice to see."

***

I’m not sure about the headline in this piece. Sounds as if Randy Dutiaume was shot after losing the game or something. In any case, seems as if the Manitoba veteran missed out on a chance to get to the provincial finals. He has another shot in regional qualifying this weekend. If he’s still breathing that is.

***

Monty Mosher has the rundown of teams qualified for the Nova Scota Scotties playdowns led by last year’s bronze medalists Heather Smith-Dacey. There's one particular 15-time champ who hasn't made it yet.

***

And in Saskatchewan Steve Laycock has qualified for the men’s provincials by winning the Sask Curling Tour.

101 Curling Excuses

2011-12-11T13:50:00.001-05:00

If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift for that curleron your list, Frank McCourt, Canada’s Curling Cartoonist, has put out 101Curling Excuses.

It’s a fun book filled with his cartoons and situations thatwe’ve all been in on the curling ice. Some of the drawings feature people youmight recognize too.

Frank is a bit of a crazy man, as you might expect fromreading the cartoons. He’s also a pretty darned good curler who has won theCanadian Firefighters in the past.

To get your copy, you can send an email here: excuses@101curlingexcuses.com or you can go to Amazon.com and use this link although I think this might only be for the U.S.

Don't put those cowbells away

2011-12-10T08:53:00.001-05:00

According to the boss guy of the Canadian Curling Association,there really isn’t a cowbell controversy. At least, not one that’s of the CCA’sdoing.

Reached yesterday in Moscow where he was attending the WorldCurling Federation’s semi-annual meeting, Greg Stremlaw, the CCA’s chiefexecutive officer, said that while the CCA does have general guidelines, itdoesn’t prohibit folks from making noise and having fun at the association’sevents.

“Quite honestly, it’s a lot to do about nothing,” he saiddown the line from Moscow. “I’ve been away but it sounds like there’s someitems that don’t have facts behind them.”

Stremlaw said that in most cases when it comes tonoisemakers, the CCA has to abide by the regulations of the venue. Each one hasdifferent rules and as renters, the CCA must follow those.

He used last year’s Tim Hortons Brier as an example. The JohnLabatt Centre in London, Ont., was quite strict in its rules. Not only does itban items such as laser pointers and air horns, but it doesn’t even wantrunning in the halls. That led to the unpopular move to restrict Jack Cox, theolder fellow with the Ontario flag who traditionally runs around the rinkshouting encouragement to his team, to his seat.

As for what happened at the Canada Cup, he said that theincident reportedly revolved around one by-the-book arena employee, who tookthe rules too far.

“In relation to the Canada Cup my understanding is that therewas potentially an overzealous security official that interpreted thenoisemaker restriction which is specific to most venues,” he stated. “All havevenue restrictions, specific about laser pointers, weapons and noisemakers,specifically mechanically operated or enhanced noisemakers. Therefore I thinkthe security officially interpreted it to mean everything and anythingincluding cowbells.

“That’s a security official that’s venue-employed that askedsomebody to put their cowbell away. There’s no intention to take away someone’scowbell. The only reason we would is if the venue we went to wouldn’t allowit.”

Stremlaw added that the last thing the CCA wants is to havequiet venues. He said the noisier, the better, within reason of course. Thebottom line is the enjoyment of everyone in attendance.

“We have an obligation to ensure we create a safe,comfortable and enjoyable experience.”

But he said that anyone who wants to ring a cowbell at theBrier or the Scotties this year (attention: Team Holland supporters) can ringaway.

Gunner Down

2011-12-07T14:04:00.001-05:00

As many of the top rock-tossers in the land battled it outat the Canada Cup with a trials berth on line, one guy from the last trials issitting at home and, for all intents and purposes, taking a break from theOlympic hunt.

Jason Gunnlaugson skipped an upstart team at the lastquadrennial, making it to the pre-trials and then the trials. And he wasimpressive enough that many pegged him as a player for the future. Of course sodid the Russians, who hired him on to play for them, asking him to take out citizenship.

As most of us know by now, that was a short-lived adventureafter the Ruskies pulled a fast one and dumped J-Gunn and hit compatriots earlyon.

No worries. They would re-group and make another run atgetting to the Olympic Trials, using much the same methodology as last time.That was to play a heavy schedule and pick up point after point, no matter howsmall, hoping that in the end it would be enough.

But that’s all ended now. Gunner and his squad of JustinRichter, Jason Ackerman and David Kraichy had a horrible start to the season,collecting just $300 in five starts. Needless to say, the team wasn’t livingthe high live as it had in the previous few years and it just splintered.

“We never came back to the same level we played at before wewent to Russia,” Gunnlaugson told me. “It just really wasn’t working out.”

Adding to the conflicts was the fact that Richter gotengaged and had to keep up with the demands of the upcoming wedding.

Gunnlaugson said the Russian experience was one he would doover again in a minute, despite having it cut short.

“It was tough,” he admitted. “One minute you’re 99 per centsure you’re going to be in the Olympics and the next you’re back home.”

The skip called playing for Team Russia one of the coolestthings in his life and felt there were absolutely no negatives to it. But it’sclear the team returned without the popular underdogs of the last trials.

Since returning and with the splintering of his team, he’sjoined forces with the Bohn brothers and is playing a more regional schedulefor the time being.

He’s also helping out Curl Manitoba at some clinics aroundthe province.

But, he said, a run to the Trials isn’t in the cards.

“You have to curl full time or close to it to have a chance,”he stated. “Right now, that run is geared towards about 10 or 12 teams.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means we’ll have agood team at the Olympics. It’s just the way things are.”

There is not one iota of remorse or regret in Gunnlaugson’svoice concerning Russia or the breakup of his team. He seems content with where he is and where the game is heading. It’sjust too bad that top talent such he is, will be on the sidelines.

Cow Bell Controversy, First Hand

2011-12-06T08:15:00.001-05:00

I know not everyone reads the comments that are posted after I spout off, but I think one from yesterday is particularly interesting. It came from a fan who was told to put his cow bell away during the Canada Cup. I reprint it here in its entirety as it shows, first hand, the fan's perspective of this nonsense the CCA is enforcing. Here it is:

At this year’s Canada Cup, I was asked to put my cowbell away or get tossed. Yes all because of a CCA policy. What have we become: the PGA where camera shutter noises distract the field of prima donnas? Although the Canada Cup in Cranbrook showed the real depth of Canada’s curling talent; it was one of the most boring events I have been to. Curling needs to attract greater interest and new fans to support its long term viability and growth potential. How ironic that the CCA’s newest slogan is “you gotta be there” yet they are doing nothing to ensure their events are memorable or fun for the fans. Why do I “gotta be there”?
Ask yourself, why do these teams play and why do they earn money? It’s because of the fans that support the events and the sponsors. Fans have choices. They need a reason to show up at the arena otherwise they can sit at home and watch it on TV or watch something else altogether. The CCA must remember who supports curling and more importantly, who supports the sponsors. It isn’t the CCA and it isn’t the players. It’s the fans.
When you speak to the players; couldn’t care less about the noise. In fact many of the teams actually like their fans cheering them on using their voices, clappers or cowbells. The experience of these curlers and their ability to focus on the game and their shot make them oblivious to the noise makers or chants from the stands. These athletes are able to set aside the noise; why can’t the CCA?
When you attend a World Championship or an Olympics, the noise level is constant and significant, yet the teams play and play well. If our National champions can play under these conditions why can’t all of the slam, provincial and national events embrace the spirit of the fans and allow our athletes to get use to these so-called distractions before they compete on the world stage.
We need to continue to put fun back into this game or we risk players and fans moving down the road and supporting other activities that permit the fans to feel part of the event.

On the Canada Cup

2011-12-05T09:52:00.001-05:00

Thoughts on the Canada Cup:

***

It’s hard to make any money betting on curling these days.If, at the start of the week, you’d had to put down a bob on which two teamswould win the Canada Cup, I’d bet the favourites would have been the Martin andJones rinks. No long shots here. And while it’s still early, you’d have tothink they’ll be among the favourites to go to Sochi, too.

***

On that same topic, isn’t it about time to start talkingabout the Kevin Martin rink as the best? Ever? It would be pretty hard to comeup with a team that has won more big games and big events than these guys.Olympics, Briers, Worlds, cash. . . and they just seem to have a knack ofplaying their best when the games mean the most. Certainly you can argue thispoint but it’s a good discussion topic.

***

Is it just me or did 10 ends seem really long? Wow, it feltas if the men’s final really dragged on. The women’s dragged but more becauseit was so lopsided. I’m really starting to like those eight-end, Grand Slamgames. Neat, clean, tidy and quick. I know the CCA feels that an eight-end gamedoesn’t give a team as much of a chance to come back if it gets behind early,but I think 10 ends goes too far the other way. I can’t imagine what it waslike in those first few Briers where they played 14 ends!

***

Not sure what the teams felt about it but the Think Time,timing used over the weekend was refreshing and logical. The original systemseems quite unfair if you get into a hit-vs-draw type game. This one doesn’tcount the time used to play the shot, just the time in between. If it’sadopted, it will likely take some time for the players to know when they have alot of time left or not so much. You could see a few teams wondering if twominutes was a lot to play and end or not. Nothing will happen in the nearfuture regarding this – the Canada Cup was being used as a test. Of course whenit comes to rule changes in curling, nothing ever happens quickly.

***

Speaking of rules, I’ve never heard of this one (probablybecause it’s not really in the rule book), but Eve Muirhead was told by anofficial at the European Championships that she had to play her rocks innumerical order, from one to eight. Really. Sometimes I wonder where they get theseofficials from but it wouldn't surprise me if a few like this were in Sochi.

***

I wonder if there’s any movement afoot to change the qualifyingfor the Canada Cup? It seems that basing the entire field on results from ayear ago and leaving out current hot teams is a bit silly. To not have SherryMiddaugh’s rink in the spiel after her remarkable start is ridiculous. At leastone spot should be opened up for the leader in CTRS points for the first partof the WCT season.

***

I haven’t actually counted yet, but there seem to be morefake curler Twitter accounts than real ones. It started with Fake Kevin Martin,but now there’s Fake Jeff Stoughton, Fake Glenn Howard, Fake Amy Nixon, FakeJohn Morris, Fake Steve Gould, even a Fake Vic Rauter, known as Make The Final.Not sure who is behind them all but there are a few Tweets that are have melaughing.

Fan code?

2011-12-03T17:15:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't see this, Al Cameron has a great piece on the CCA's Fan Code of Conduct.

You can read the story here but apparently the CCA has been telling fans to leave their cow bells and air horns at home. Over the past few years, the Gang in Red Jackets has had complaints from fans who sit near the noisemakers, in some cases having to move them or refund tickets.

Wouldn't it just be easier to tell the complainers to turn their hearing aids down?

Is the CCA trying to turn curling into golf? And will it even ban those cool moose call cans?

This is a very, very, very silly move.

More on the Canada Cup

2011-12-02T07:19:00.001-05:00

I've started my 23rd year of writing on curling for the Globe and Mail with today's column on the Canada Cup.

The 2014 Olympics are still a long way off, but an important first step toward reaching that event is being played out in Cranbrook, B.C., this week at the Capital One Canada Cup of Curling.
The rest is here:

On the Canada Cup

2011-11-29T19:31:00.001-05:00

I’ve never been a big fan of the Canada Cup, (which goes tomorrow in Cranbrook) primarily because I don’t think the Canadian Curling Associationshould be in the business of running cashspiels.

It’s a great event with great curling but it crosses theline as far as I’m concerned.

Years ago, the CCA said it would leave events with cash tothe World Curling Tour while it concentrated on national championships. It’sone reason the CCA still won’t refer to the money it ponies up for the Brierand Scotties winners as prize money.

But when the Boys of Brooms decided to boycott the Brierback at the turn of the century, the CCA figured it would stick it to them byoffering up a bucket full of money for play, perhaps hoping a few would crackand take a run at the cash. The first Canada Cup went in 2003 and Randy Ferbeycollected.

It’s interesting that the purse for that first shootout wasa whopping $220,000 or $110,000 per gender. It’s continued to drop since theinaugural run and this year, there’s $70,000 each for the men and the women.

That’s still a big purse but it’s not up there with the Slams which offer up$100,000. There are even a few regular Tour events with bigger purses.

There’s also the Incredible Shrinking Field this year. It’sdropped to seven rinks from 10. I’m assuming that’s to cut down on expenses.Fewer teams means fewer games, less ice rental time, not as many lovely partinggifts and less Timbits in the locker room. And while all seven are talented,they aren’t necessarily the teams that have played the best up to this point ofthe 2011 campaign.

No Sherry MIddaugh, the leading women’s money winner as Itap this out. No, Cathy O, who is one of the hottest team in the land. On themen’s side there’s no Ferbey, ranked fourth in earnings, or John Epping, whosits ninth.

All this is not to say it won’t be a heck of a curlingevent. The 14 teams there are all very talented and the purse is stillsignificant. All the Olympic gongs that come with winning this make it a hugespiel. Just wonder if it wouldn’t be better if it was the Tour running it.

Monday Morning Observations

2011-11-28T10:07:00.001-05:00

Monday Morning Observations:

***

Talk about both ends of the age spectrum. Young gun BraedenMoskowy won the Dekalb Superspiel over the weekend while in Switzerland,ageless wonder Andrea Schopp won an international event. Schopp won her firstworld championship two years before Moskowy was born.

***

Speaking of young guns, Moskowy wasn’t the only one to win.Brett Gallant of Charlottetown knocked off Brad Gushue to capture the ChallengeCasino de Charlevoix and a $12,000 payday. Great to see this young team play sowell. Quick question: when was the last time a team from PEI won a significantWCT stop? Anyone?

***

Apparently the Kiwi men’s curling team is pleased about its runner-up result at the Pacific Curling Championships. At least, that’s what I conclude from this quote from skip Peter de Boer:

“So we're really chuffed about New Zealand curling being back on the world stage."

Chuffed? That's good, right? The finish means the New Zealand team has qualified for the world championships this year and possible Olympic points.

China won both the men’s and women’s titles – no surprise there – with Korea taking silver in the women’s. Looking over the finish, though, there were only four nations entered in the women's competition: China, Japan, New Zealand and Korea. What happened to that big Olympic push?

One final note: speaking of ageless, Australia’s Hugh Milliken finished fourth. Here's the full report.

***

Next election, the voters in Toronto should make curlingexperience a ballot question. Two city councilors will play an exhibition matchagainst each other as part of the High Park Curling Club’s 100^thanniversary celebration. Turns out neither Sarah Doucette nor Gord Perks haveever thrown a rock. This should be interesting.

***

Seems those McCuskers can do more than just slide rocks.Christina is a round-baller with some hops according to this.

Where would you take the Brier next?

2011-11-25T08:45:00.001-05:00

So after Edmonton, what’s next?

That’s the question I’m sure a lot of folks in the CanadianCurling Association’s bunker in Ottawa are asking these days as curling’s deepthinkers look for locations that will support a major curling event such as the TimHortons Brier. Of course Edmonton was announced as site for the 2013 edition.

The problem is actually a success story. The Brier hasbecome so big that those small arenas of days gone by just don’t cut itanymore. At least, not with any regularity. Couple that with the need to take over amajor arena for some 11 days and the sites willing to welcome the event are fewand far between. Hockey teams don't like those long road trips.

So you have Edmonton and Winnipeg, two sure things. There’sSaskatoon, Regina and Calgary, which are also sure bets. And then? Well Halifaxhas been pretty good.

Hmmm. . . .

Ottawa? Hamilton? London? Victoria?

If you want to really walk a tightrope, what about Vancouveror Toronto? I used to think they were possibilities, but I’m less inclinedthese days.

The problem is you can only go back to the same wateringholes so many times. The CCA has shown its willingness to go to smaller centressuch as London even if the profits are quite as bountiful as say, Edmonton. Butit can’t keep doing that and continue to operate in the black. The Brier (aswell as the Olympic Trials) is the cash cow that keeps events such as the Mixedand the Senior alive.

So if you were in charge, to what city would you deliver theBrier? Where should it go? Where can it go?

Surprise! Edmonton gets the Brier

2011-11-24T08:32:00.001-05:00

To the surprise of no one, the Brier is going back toEdmonton. And the Canadian Curling Association is already preparing anexpansion to its vault to handle all the profits.

As Con Grikowsky states in his story, Edmonton is rightlythe curling capital of the world. And Warren Hansen offers up a reason why:

“Thefact teams from Edmonton, on the men’s side, have been very successful over thelast 10-15 years has had a huge impact on the sport in this area,” said WarrenHansen, director of event operations for the Canadian Curling Association.

True, but come on Warren, just 10 or 15 years? Edmonton's dominance has to goback all the way to 1974, doesn't it? That was when it all started to roll.

Seriously, there’s little doubt that when it comes tohosting big events, Edmonton is the centre of curling’s universe. It hosts the attendance record for the Brier, hosted a tremendous Olympic Trials and has has welcomed the world final too. But I might arguethat when it comes to curling seeping into the culture of the community,Winnipeg might still lay claim to top spot. Or certainly a tie.

But back to Edmonton, which has owned the provincial spot inthe Brier since back when Ed Lukowich was chewing on straw. With Ferbey, Martinand Koe all dominating for a period, it’s probably a good bet that the 2013Brier will feature an Edmonton rink. I know, I’m going out on a limb there,right Ferbey?

“I’llgo on record and say it’ll probably be an Edmonton team at that Brier,” saidFerbey. “There’s still two great teams here. Koe’s still playing competitively.Martin’s still playing competitively. They ain’t getting any weaker than theywere a couple of years ago."

It will also be the last Brier for one of the city’s own –if he makes it – Kevin Martin. He’s said he’ll retire after 2014 and theOlympics, should he make that again. That would put the date for hanging up hisslider February 2014, meaning he wouldn’t play the 2014 Brier in March. Now if he doesn't make the Olympics? Perhaps he might change his timing. But 2013 would certainly would be a great Brier farewell for probably the best to ever toss a rock.

With an Edmonton team in the fold, attendance records are possible. In Curtis Stock's piece in the Journal, Hansen even points to a number, saying he'd like to get to 300,000. The current record is 281,985. That really shouldn't be a problem.

Tips from Cheryl

2011-11-23T10:02:00.001-05:00

*** I will nowdominate the Thursday night men’s league thanks to the info from Cheryl Bernardin this radio interview.

*** A great story about the re-birth of the curling club in Corner Brook, NL. They'll be stepping on to the ice any day now in the new facility. George Spracklin, the club president, outlines just how happy he'll be not only with the new club, but to see the old one go.

“We no longerhave roof problems like we had in the old place and we no longer have adinosaur of a plant that you went into in October, turned it on and said aprayer and hoped that it would start and wouldn’t cost you $4,000 or $5,000,” he said.

Middaugh wins another one

2011-11-22T08:59:00.001-05:00

*** Who’s the hottest team in the land? It’s the Sherry Middaughrink, which captured the SunLife Classic yesterday for its fifth win of theseason (even though the Post says it’s only the third). You can read the details here. Can’t wait to see herteam in action at the Canada Cup. Oh wait a minute . . . .

*** The life of a drawmaster is never easy. Doug Graham in theKingston Whig-Standard outlines how Pierre Charette is juggling the draw for theBDO Canadian Open in Kingston.

*** The first line in this story says it all.

*** The answer to the trivia question that will be asked yearsfrom now is Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Yukon. Thoseare the first four teams to drop into the relegation that will take place nextyear ahead of the Canadian Mixed. That event and the Seniors are being testedto see if relegation will work at major curling events. It’s all because thecombined Territories team doesn’t sit well with the three separate territorieswhich each want its own entry. But 14 teams doesn’t work, hence the relegation.

Do you think this is good for curling or not? What's the best way to accommodate all the teams? Or should all the teams get in? Would you watch a Brier in which -- horror of horrors -- a team such as Manitoba, Alberta or Ontario was not playing due to relegation?

Do we really need the Mixed?

2011-11-16T11:07:00.001-05:00

In case you were busy picking the lint from between yourtoes or some other worthwhile endeavour, you may have missed the fact that theCanadian Mixed is on in Sudbury.

Didn’t realize that? I’m sure you’re not alone. The CanadianMixed is, in my humble opinion, the least important of our national curlingchampionships.

Why?

No one plays competitive mixed. There are no mixedcashspiels on the World Curling Tour. And I’d wager that most teams kind ofslap their squads together after their men’s and women’s competitive seasonsend.

While there are some talented curlers who are playing thisyear and have played in the past, it’s the sweep-and-giggle we all enjoy at ourclub on Friday night on a bigger scale.

Now there are some good things about this event for sure. Someof the northern territories get their own entry. That’s good. And it goes toareas that might not be able to host a Brier or Scotties.

But if you were going to save some money and lighten theload on the operations staff of the CCA, this might be the one event that getssnuffed out.

More on Jim Sullivan

2011-11-15T07:25:00.001-05:00

The curling fraternity is still stunned by the loss of JimSullivan if the comments, emails and posts on curling web sites are anyindication.

Sullivan passed away suddenly on Saturday and his funeralwill take place on Friday.

Here are a few more articles on Sullivan, all of themshowing the passion the skip had for curling and life.

Russ Howard weighs in with his thoughts in the Moncton Timesand Transcript:

"I am just devastated and shocked,"said Russ Howard of Moncton, an Olympic gold medallist and two-time worldcurling champion. "Jim was a wonderful guy with a great sense of humour,but a lot of people have forgotten how exceptional a curler he was.

A story on CBC.ca has the story of his career.

The Charlottetown Guardian offers up more perspective,including a comment from former teammate Paul Power.

“It’s a sadday for curling.”

And the Daily Gleaner makes the story its lead editorial

The sudden passing of Jim Sullivan

2011-11-14T09:43:00.001-05:00

Jim Sullivan, the 1987 Canadian Junior and 1988 World Juniorcurling champion, passed away suddenly on Saturday at his parents home in Fredericton. No cause of death has been released.

Sullivan, who lived in Saint John, was a marvelous curler inhis day, a joy to watch, sliding with a rock in his hand.

The second Brier I covered was in 1990, up in the Sault,when Jim and his rink managed to get past Al Harnden in the semi-final andreach a dominant Ed Werenich team in the final.

I remember talking to him after that semi-final and despitethe accomplishment, he was quiet in his enthusiasm, smiling but not exactlywhoop-whoop-whooping it up. That was Jim, as I came to learn. He never stopped smiling, was always friendly, but preferred actions to words.

They didn’t get past the Wrench that year, but for anunheralded New Brunswick team to reach the Brier final was quite an something. Bigthings were expected for the young squad and the skip who had a World Juniortitle to his credit as well.

The obituary is located here.

Brantford might try five

2011-11-11T23:52:00.001-05:00

The Sun Life Classic, slated for next week in Brantford, Ont., is close to becoming the first significant curling event to try out the five-rock free-guard zone. Apparently organizers have contacted all the teams and if there's unanimous consent, they'll bring it in for next week's stop on the World Curling Tour.
The five-rock rule will be in play at the next Grand Slam event, the BDO Canadian Open in Kingston in December. But very few teams have actually played it and the Sun Life may be their first chance.
Speaking at an engagement at the Granite Club in Toronto, Kevin Martin, who will be in the field in Brantford, said he was looking forward to giving the rule a test. But he wasn't sure how it would turn out.
"We won't know if we don't give it a try," the skip told the audience at the club's 55th annual men's invitational bonspiel.
UPDATE: Apparently the organizers are now leaning towards not using the five-rock rule.

Team Martin at the Granite Club

2011-11-11T07:09:00.001-05:00

Last night at the Granite Club, I was part of a tremendousevening with Team Kevin Martin. The club, which was the site of the first 13Briers and is one of the more remarkable sports complexes in Canada, broughtMartin, John Morris, Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy in for three days in whichthey participated in clinics, some meet and greets and last night, the first oftwo presentations about their Olympic experience. They’ll do that all overagain tonight for the first night of the men’s invitational bonspiel, whichstarts today.

The boys gave a great slide show of their Olympicexperience, taking the 150 or so folks in attendance behind the scenes inVancouver 2010.

Among the things the folks in attendance learned was thatthe team almost didn’t have a place to stay during the Olympics (outside of thevillage where they were before and after their competition), didn’t know quitewhat to do on that infamous night the fans spontaneously broke into Oh Canada,and the team’s coach, Jules Owchar may have infected the Russian hockey teamwith the flu

Oh we also found out that one of Ben’s nickname’s is FieldMouse.

It's amazing how, almost two years after the event, the memories still stir up strong emotions in Canadians, as evidenced in the standing ovation the boys received.

There aren’t many curling clubs that would have the abilityto bring in a team of this notoriety to their club but kudos to Gareth Watsonand his group for making it happen. For anyone who watched Team Martin at theOlympics, whether live or on TV, it was a wonderful evening,

CCA will sanction 5-rock rule but . . .

2011-11-10T14:36:00.001-05:00

Here's the statement from the CCA in regard to the Grand Slam's decision to use the five-rock rule in Kingston in December. Basically, as long as there is unanimous consent among the players, the points will count.

---

The Grand Slam scheduled inKingston this December, has been allocated and will therefore potentially contributea significant amount of points to the 2011-12 Canadian Team Ranking System(CTRS). In turn, the CTRS plays a critical role in, and contributes significantlyto the 2014 Olympic Qualification System. The CCA, as the sole recognizedgoverning body of curling within Canada, has the ultimate jurisdictional rolewithin the aforesaid qualification process. As the custodians of the OlympicQualification Process (OQP), the CCA is solely responsible for the accountabilityand overall integrity of the process and therefore all potential appeals wouldgo through us. With that in mind, we need to do our best to ensure the OQP isin fact risk adverse such that it can properly withstand any potentialchallenge. Any initiative to modify the rules of engagement, on the fieldof play, part way through the Olympic Quadrennial requires the pre-approval ofthe CCA.

Given the fact that this did notoccur in advance of going public with the proposed five (5) rock rule fieldtest at the Kingston Slam, the CCA was put in a difficult position.

That aside, the CCA does sincerely appreciate that the objective is toenhance the marketability of the 8-end game by potentially introducing moreoffence into what some stakeholders believe has become a defensive-oriented,lower scoring game. However, in doing so this may impact the final outcome ofthe event and the CTRS points that will be awarded accordingly. It should alsobe noted that since the inception of this quadrennial, and as posted on theCCA’s website, that the CTRS eligibility criteria states that the four (4) rockrule must be used.

Having said that, we are however prepared to continue to sanction the Kingstonevent, and ensure CTRS points are still eligible with the following conditions;

* All participating Canadian Teams in the Grand Slam in Kingston will need to signindividual player waivers indicating their unanimous support of this rulemodification initiative at the event.

* The CCA would be responsible todesign said waiver and would set a deadline date to have such returned to byeach participant athlete.

* As agreed between the President of the Players Association and the CCA’sDirector, High Performance, if unanimous support is not received then theproposed rule modification would be withdrawn to ensure the availability ofCTRS points and consistent athlete acceptance of the existing paramtres for theOQP.

* It is also understood that any and all events with CTRS status, that arecontemplating any rule modification, will require pre-approval from the CCA.

We believe the aforementioned isa very reasonable compromise.

Last call

2011-11-10T10:13:00.001-05:00

If you're in the GTA and you want to spend some time with Kevin Martin's gold medal winning team, hear about their Olympic exploits and get an autograph or photo, you can do so tonight at the Granite Club. A limited number of tickets are still available by calling 416-446-4462.

Officer set to deliver

2011-11-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

Paul Wiecek has a nice story on the very pregnant Jill Officer, who is just a few weeks away from giving birth to her first child. And, as he points out, in her absence, the Jennifer Jones team hasn't exactly been burning up the Tour.

With a combination of longtime fifth Jennifer Clark-Rouire and former Quebec champion Joelle Sabourin playing in place of Officer, the Jones juggernaut has left a lot of money on the table through six events. While they've qualified in four out of those six events, they've only won once -- way back in September at a European event in Oslo.

Meanwhile, the skipper is seeing nothing but blue sky, which isn't unusual for her.

"We're really happy with where we are," Jones said. "We didn't have any expectations -- we never do -- and we feel like we're getting better with each weekend and we're in a really good spot."

Right now, Officer is hoping to get back on the ice by the end of the year and re-join her squad in time for the playdowns. That won't be an easy route for the rink, considering the fine play of Cathy Overton-Clapham's squad.

Oh and just wondering . . . in the picture with the article, are those little curling rocks on the wall in the baby's room?

CCA documentary to appear on Biography

2011-11-10T08:24:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the folks in Ottawa were busy with this video and that's the reason we didn't get the release about the five-rock rule yesterday as promised. So the CCA says this is a coup, to get this documentary on Biography with Joan Lunden. For an audience that knows nothing about the game, I guess this is OK. It's definitely Curling 101. For anyone who has thrown a rock, however, it's a bit of a yawner. And is there any proof of this one million curlers number? We keep using it but I somehow think it's a bit high. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd love to see some proof.

CCA to clarify position on 5-rock rule Slam

2011-11-09T15:38:00.001-05:00

I'm told the CCA is going to make a statement on the use of the five-rock rule at the BDO Canadian Open Grand Slam event in Kingston later today. There were rumours that it might not allocate CTRS points for the event because of this change of rules but I'm told that's not going to happen.

However, there is going to be one hitch to what the CCA announcement. Not sure what that will be so we'll just have to wait and see. . .

Why video editors get paid so much

2011-11-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a very cool video from the Grand Slam of Curling. It features still from Anil Mungal and editing by Jesse Wachter.

Howard after his Slam victory

2011-11-08T09:11:00.002-05:00

I had a chance to chat with Glenn Howard yesterday. He wasback at work at the Beer Store after grabbing his first win of the season atthe GP Home and Car World Cup of Curling.

To say the team was ecstatic after the win would be anunderstatement.

“It’s awesome,”stated Howard, who won the event of for the fifth time. “It’s just what weneeded. We’ve been winning lots of games, some quarters and semis, but thisjust got us over that hump.

“And thefact it was in a Slam is great. I think these are the toughest events to win.”

It’s the first title for the team with Wayne Middaugh onboard. As most know by now, he replaced Richard Hart this year after Hartretired. I asked Howard the difference between the two players and he said thatMiddaugh brings the high hard one while Hart maybe has a better touch. But headded that the difference was so minimal it was almost negligible.

He also said that the adjustment period in bringing Middaugh in wasn’tthat long. That’s not only because Howard and Middaugh have played together inthe past, but also because they have a regular once-a-week game with theirwives in the local mixed league.

“I know how he throws, his tendencies and all from mixed,”Howard chuckled. (By the way, that’s a pretty stacked mixed team for club play!)

Middaugh seems pumped to be playing regularly once again. It's safe to say that while he never really stopped competing, his intensity probably waned over the past few years.

“Ihaven’t seen him this excited to play in 10 years," Howard stated. “He’s just 100 per cent into it. You can see he wants towin.”

Of course it was tough for Howard to play against his son, Scott,in the final. There were mixed emotions throughout.

“I wanted him to have a perfect game but for us to win,”Howard said.

By the way, Team Howard drove home from the Soo, but Scotttook the plane. Guess he didn’t want to listen to six hours of gloating.

And finally, he hasn’t yet played the five-rock free guardzone, which will be used at the next Grand Slam.

There was some discussion on the ride home about the tacticsthat might come into play, but he’s really unsure of how it will play out. Thegeneral consensus in the car was, he said, that no lead is going to be safe and the bestdefense might have to be offense.

Monday Morning Observer

2011-11-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

The local paper, the Sault Star, does a nice job wrapping up the coverage from the year’s first Grand Slam, the GP World Cup. And writer Peter Ruicci makes a good point acknowledging that the boys add more than money to their coffers:

Howard, with third Wayne Middaugh, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill, pocketed $22,500 in prize money Sunday and gained 40 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points.

****

I know people in glass houses and all that, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at this typo from the CP story on the GP World Cup:

"We seem to like the first clam of the year, again we seemed to play well enough to win," said Howard.

Ah yes, that first clam of the year. You can make up your own joke.

****

Here's Mike Harris talking to Wayne Middaugh after the win. Most interesting point? He hasn't thought yet about the five-rock rule coming to Kingston.

****

And while Wayne was cashing in over in the Soo, wife Sherry was doing the same in Ottawa, knocking off Jenn Hanna in the final of the Royal LePage OVCA Women’s Fall Classic. Here's the story. That was worth $5,000. Just one question – who was watching the kids? I guess they can afford a baby-sitter.

****

Hey. . . did you know they started curling at the University of Oklahoma? Yes, the Sooners took to the ice for the first time over the weekend. Check it out here.

****

Variety, that longstanding Hollywood publication, has a review of Kong Curling. Here’s a snippet of what they saw:

Screenplay utterly conforms to the traditional loser-to-winner story template, but as with a sonnet or a three-minute pop song, structural originality is never the point; it's all in the details, the running gags and the timing.

Howard vs. Howard

2011-11-06T11:49:00.002-05:00

This is why I love covering curling. Father and son having a good laugh.

Five-rock rule for Kingston

2011-11-05T21:43:00.002-04:00

First it was the three-rock rule, then the four-rock andnow, apparently it’s going to be the five-rock rule.

The Grand Slam of Curling will be the first significantorganization to experiment with a five-rock free guard zone. The organizationwill use it at the BDO Canadian Open in Kingston, Ont., in December.

Pierre Charette, president of the World Curling PlayersAssociation, reportedly polled all the skips this week and received unanimoussupport for putting it in play.

The five-rock rule has only recently been debated as apossible system and a way to add even more offense to the game. The reason someare anxious to try it is that it would give the advantage back to the team withthe last rock, much as the three-rock rule did when it was used during itsbrief life span.

I can’t really see a downside except if it creates a race tothe centre of the sheet in every end. Give the Slams credit for again taking the lead in innovation and trial. It's done the eight-end change, the thinking-time clock, and on and on. Will this be another coup for the players?

Is curling really worth your marriage?

2011-11-05T09:08:00.003-04:00

That was the headline on an article in the Winnipeg Free Press and it certainly is enough to make some folks stop and think. It's not like a lot of us hard-core curling lovers haven't asked ourselves this question oh, about 1,000 times over the years. And, of course, some have chosen curling over marriage.

Sometimes more than once.

Now this article wasn't in the sports section -- it was from the advice section. You know, like Ann Landers or Dear Abbey. The Free Pree version is Ms Lonelyhearts. Only in Winnipeg. Seems a woman loved curling. Her husband hated it. When she went out to play, so did he, only his game wasn't on the sheets, but in between them.

You can read the rest here.

Who's a club curler?

2011-10-30T20:56:00.000-04:00

The Ontario rep for the Dominion championship was declaredover the weekend and it’s a name you might recognize – Greg Balsdon, the sameguy who lost the Ontario men’s final to Glenn Howard last February.

Understandably, that’s created some uproar. How can a guyget to the Ontario final and still play in the Dominion, a competition that’ssupposed to be for the club curler?

The answer might be contained in a post on curlingzone.com by oneof the players on Balsdon’s team, Jordon Keon. He points out that the team easilymeets the rules of the competition which state that no more than one player onthe team can have been to a provincial final or played in a Grand Slam in thelast four years. Yes, Balsdon plays at a higher level but the other three areclub curlers, albeit very good club curlers. They also won the Energizer, thebig city of Toronto event for club curlers.

But as Keon points out, a year earlier, the same team lostout early on in the zone playdown (we happened to be one of the teams that beatthem). I was in the zone playdowns again this year and I heard somegrumbling from other players in the playdowns about Balsdon being there (actually Sunday morning he was only half there -- he slept in and missed the first few ends of his game!). Onechap suggested that Balsdon should “know better” and should never have entered.Hmmmm. I think there was a full vine of sour grapes in the Granite Club bySunday for some folks.

But it’s hard to fault him (or any of the other competitiveplayers who entered; Balsdon wasn’t the only notable competitive curler in theevent in Ontario) when his team meets the qualifications. I had no problem withthem being there.

So really, if there’s an issue here, it’s in the Dominion’sdefinition of a club curler as Keon also points out. I don’t know how you makea rule that clearly defines the difference between a club curler and an elitecurler as long as a player such as Balsdon plays in a club. Do you want to ruleout every competitive curler instead of making an allowance for one? That mightbe the only alternative.

For now, some people really need to relax. It’s just a game. Balsdon met the rules of the competition, he and his team won the playdown. Good luck to Team Balsdon at the Canadian final.

More on the rules

2011-10-28T10:10:00.002-04:00

I heard back from Doug Bakes, the head of the Ontario Curling Association, in response to the blog I posted last week about the Rules problem we experienced playing The Dominion. You can read about the problems here.

Here's what Bakes told me:

" . .. . . let's quickly visit the rule that you have made mention of that states " . . . teams will conduct a coin toss to determine choice of stone colour or first practice." The OCA Rules Committee meets annually to consider all the rule suggestions that we get over the course of a curling season. This particular section was put into place for the coming season as a result of a number of requests from players of all skill levels that preferred the skill based opportunity to decide last stone advantage as opposed to the traditional coin flip. As the OCA does not have on ice officials at zone, region and some provincial events, the OCA Executive passed the guidelines mentioned in # 3 under Pre-Game Team Meeting & Practice section in the OCA Rules Supplement that would have the players do the measuring. "If the Rules Committee considers the guidelines currently in place to be a wording error, then they can quickly make a recommendation to the OCA Board and Executive to consider approval of an adjustment such as " . . . choice of stone colour or choice of practice." A change could potentially be in place prior to the start of zone playdowns for a number of events in November. The Dominion Curling Club Provincial event to be played this weekend is not effected as colour is pre-determined for the round robin pool games."

As I mentioned, it wasn't that big a deal with us knee-sliders in the zones, but it's obviously an error, one the OCA should deal with quickly in the manner Bakes describes.

Anyone have any similar wacky Rules experiences out there? And what rule would you change if you could?

Slam heads to PEI for rich finale

2011-10-27T12:04:00.002-04:00

The official announcement of the Grand Slam’s PlayersChampionship heading to Summerside, PEI, was made yesterday, with the cityputting up $100,000 to get the event.

In the Summerside Journal-Pioneer (the story is here), Kevin Albrecht, the president and CEO of iSport Mediaand Management which operates the event, and a guy who has done a lot forcurling over the years, says this will be the largest cash haul in in the game.

“This is thelargest prize purse in the history of curling. This is $370,000 on the line,”added Albrecht.

OK, sotechnically he’s right (as far as my memory serves me), but then his argumentkind of falls away with the next line in the story.

Prize moneyincludes a $100,000 purse for the men, a $100,000 purse for the women pluse$170,000 for the season-ending Capital One Cup.

OK, so Iquibble a bit with the math and whether it’s a record but in any event, it’sstill a boot full of money. And all the lobster you could want to eat! Woot, woot!

*****

Another year and another calendar with the girls of curling.

Paul Wiecek has a nice story on Kaitlyn Lawes and herdecision to pose.

"This isdefinitely out of my comfort zone," said Lawes, who was photographedwearing a cocktail dress. "But I like how you can choose your own photosand how you want to be represented. And it's all for a good cause."

Nice that they're all classy these days and everything, but is it just me or does it seem as if the calendar has JumpedThe Shark? Yawn.

Oh, and have we ever seen a number that's been raised for charity through the calendar sales? Just asking.

*****

Wiecek also has a great story on the logjam that’s building up in Manitoba women’s curling.Three great teams, one berth in the nationals.

There hasperhaps never been the kind of depth in Manitoba women's curling that we seetoday, and the current situation is reminiscent of the days when Manitoba men'scurling was dominated by the Big Three of Kerry Burtnyk, Jeff Stoughton and VicPeters.

The provincial final might be as good as the Scotties. Heck, it might be better. Cathy O, Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey are all playing well, with Cathy's team really in high speed at the moment.

****

The Cactus Pheasant spiel starts today in Brooks, Alta.Break out the nose plugs. A story on the field from the local bugle.

Team Martin: Up Against The Wall

2011-10-26T08:05:00.001-04:00

In the old days when someone told you your picture was on awall, it used to mean you were wanted, as in your pic on the post office wall.

But Kevin Martin’s team has been immortalized on the wallsof the Avonair Curling Club in murals commissioned by the city of Edmonton. It’sa very nice honour for the boys, and for Martin especially as this CTV storypoints out:

Martin said it was especially touching because he gothis start at the curling club."I made ice here. My dad made ice here. My greatgrandfather made ice here," he said, "It's pretty cool."

You can see the murals by clicking here. And maybe I’mcrazy, but in the one with the medal presentation, doesn’t Johnny Mo look alittle like Pauly D?

Who's No. 1?

2011-10-25T10:44:00.001-04:00

So which is the best curling team in all the land? It's the Mike McEwen rink, according to the the World Curling Tour money list and the Canadian Team Ranking System. McEwen passed Kevin Martin for top spot with a win at the Canad Inns Prairie Classic. The Winnipeg Free Press eventually gets around to talking about this achievement.

"We were talking after and this is our fifth year as a team. We've had some big mountains to climb but we just realized that we're now the No. 1 ranked team in the world," McEwen said, noting the Portage win put the team at the top of the World Curling Tour money list, the Order of Merit list and the Canadian Team Ranking System. "We've come a long way and, even though we still haven't been able to get that Manitoba championship, we're pretty happy with the direction the team is going."

So how long do you think the team can stay there?

****

In case you hadn't heard (OK, I think everyone has already heard) Wayne Middaugh is playing third for Glenn Howard this year. Turns out he hasn't spent much time at third. I simply can't believe that he never let Sherry skip in any of those mixed events they played in!

"For me, I've only played four spiels at third in my life, so I'm still going through a learning curve and trying to catch up to where these guys already are."

****

Wow. Renee Sonnenberg is 40? I feel really old this morning (Sorry, Renee). The veteran skip won a biggie and is feeling sharp once again, she says.

Sonnenberg won the 1999 and 2001 Alberta titles, but had lost five finals since then.“That’s a long time now and it’s time to go back,” said Sonnenberg, 40. “So, this was a good thing for us to feel like we might break through and give us the confidence that we can play with all the big teams again.”

Team Martin at the Granite Club

2011-10-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

So this is pretty cool. The Granite Club, the home of the first 13 Briers and 14 in all, is going all out for its Men's invitational spiel. It's bringing in Team Martin for the event.

Now all you who regularly play in that shouldn't worry -- they're not playing, they're just doing an up close and personal session one night. I say just, but really, how many men's spiels would go to this extent and, presumably, expense to bring them in. Last year, they brought in Ray Turnbull, Terry Braunstein and had Vic Rauter serve as MC and host. It was a huge success. This has the makings of another great evening.

And it's actually open to anyone who wants to attend. The details are on the poster below but realizing it's a bit small, the event is Nov. 10 at the Granite Club starting at 6:15. Dress code is smart casual and tickets are $35 which includes parking and a drink. Call 416-446-4462 for details.

Rules and how to interpret them

2011-10-22T16:16:00.003-04:00

OK a short blog here and for which I’m looking for feedback.This weekend, I’ve been playing in the Dominion Regional playdowns (yes, yourhumble servant is a club champion!). One of the new rules introduced this yearfor any competition leading to a national championship is that you flip a coinbefore the game with the winner of the flip getting choice of rocks orpractice.

At least, that’s what I’m sure it was supposed to be.

Here’s what the rule reads: “. . . teams will conduct a cointoss to determine choice of stone colour or first practice.”

Now what we were told was that the winner of the toss gets apick of either rock colour or first practice. And the loser gets what’s left.

So let’s say Team A wins the toss. It chooses red rocks andtherefore automatically gets second practice (which I believe is preferable).The loser of the toss, Team B, gets no say in anything (unless, of course, thewinner of the toss picks first practice) and has to take first practice. Whoeverwins the toss also can’t select second practice.

Does that seem right? Shouldn’t the scenario be winner ofthe toss gets choice of rocks or practice the loser gets choice of what thewinner doesn’t select.

I tried to argue this with the volunteer official but shesaid, no, the loser of the toss gets no selection.

What do you think? Is this a misinterpretation of the rule? Or is the rule just stupid?

Middaugh on a roll

2011-10-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

Sherry Middaugh and her team are on a roll like no other squad -- men or women -- in the land. The rink already has three big wins this young year, with the third coming at the Southwestern Ontario Women's Spiel.

Longtime curling reporter Steve Green of the London Free Press asked Middaugh the obvious question about her early success in this article:

"Never," she said if she'd ever started a season this well. "But then again, I've never played this much so early before, either. To have five events midway through October is something else; most clubs have only just got their ice in."

One of those clubs that has yet to put its ice in is the Charlottetown Curling Club, home of the runner-up rink of Suzanne Birt. Her team was 17 days between throwing rocks before it arrived in London. That's tough.

Meanwhile, over on the men's side, there are a couple of big events coming this weekend. In Kamloops, the Crown of Curling gets underway Friday and the chairman told the local media thinks his event might be the oldest going.

“This event is the longest-running curling event, we think, in Canada,” said bonspiel chairman Len Bosch.
“This is a longtime event and we want it to get better and continue.”

I'm assuming he means longest-running cash/competitive event. Anyone know any different?

No surprises for Overton-Clapham

2011-10-12T09:11:00.001-04:00

I caught up with Cathy Overton-Clapham yesterday just before shehopped on a plane to head home to Winnipeg with the hardware and cheque fromthe year’s first Grand Slam.

I asked Cathy O if she was surprised that her young teammanaged to wade through the elite field of the Curlers Corner Autumn GoldCurling Classic in Calgary.

“I don’t want to say we were surprised,” she stated. “Ithink we’re really pleased. Winning any Slam is a great achievement.”

Overton-Clapham has suited up this year with the youthfulsquad of Breanne Meakin, Jenna Loder and Ashley Howard. If nothing else, theteam has good curling genes with both Meakin and Howard being the daughters ofworld champions Rob and Russ respectively.

But clearly they’ve found a bond early in the year that’sallowed them to win one of the biggest titles in curling.

“We made good shots all weekend,” said the veteran skip, whoknocked off Shannon Kleibrink’s team in the final. (It was sans Kleibrink, whois rehabbing after kidney surgery – third Amy Nixon was calling the shots andthrowing last rocks.)

Overton-Clapham was clearly reveling in the results, andbeating the top teams in the world, but also in the excitement she saw in her frontend.

“Everything is new to them,” she chuckled. “Ashley is in aweevery time she steps on the ice and sees all these curlers she grew up watching.

“They’re going through this all for the first time so it’sfun to watch.”

Overton-Clapham, 42, said it reminded her of being on theice with Connie Laliberte when she was starting out her competitive career. Likethem, she was wide-eyed but still focused on execution. And she added thatthere aren’t any problems with the age difference, either on the ice or off(that was after pointing out to me that she wasn’t “that old.”)

They’re on the same page when it comes to commitment to thegame and they don’t have to fight over what music is playing in the car on theway to the rink.

You can't help but like Cathy O's enthusiasm for the game and her delight for how her new team has come together so quickly. She is effervescent when she talks about their performance and of how she's excited for the year ahead.

The team is coached by Rob Meakin and when he’s unavailable,Russ Howard steps in as he did on the weekend at the Slam. Overton-Clapham saysthey help build confidence with the girls, providing assistance with everythingfrom matching rocks to post-game debriefs.

And, she added with a smile, she only had to tell thetalkative Russ to stifle it once over the weekend.

Overton-Clapham is hoping to add another Manitoba title toher list of laurels – she is the defending champion, after all – and spent thesummer working out as part of her goal. She stated that she is feeling no achesor pains and avoided the traditional cortisone shot that usually accompaniesthe start of a season.

The campaign is still young and there’s more cash on theline, but for her and her young charges, this year is all about getting back tothe Scotties and a shot at another national title. So far, they’re off to agreat start.

TSN the right spot for curling

2011-10-10T10:09:00.002-04:00

At the risk of showing some obvious bias, I thought it wasgreat news for everyone that the Canadian Curling Association and TSN signed along-term deal for curling coverage in Canada.

The two inked a deal that will see the major curling eventson TSN through the 2019-2020 season.

Now you may say what’s the big news about that? After all,we’ve come to expect curling on TSN. It goes together like pebble and ice. Itwould be sacrilegious to see it somewhere else.

But these days, the landscape in sports broadcasting haschanged. Right now there is a battle between Sportsnet (Rogers) and TSN (Bell)as the two try to lock up rights to various sporting championships, not onlyfor television but all media – digital, mobile and more.

Why the big battle? These days, sports broadcasting isappointment broadcasting. With the advent of DVRs, sports is one of the fewthings people will sit down and watch live or when it’s first aired. So sportsmakes money.

As far as curlinggoes, the guy heading up Rogers Media these days is Keith Pelley, a formerproducer of curling on TSN. You can be sure he knew the value of curling as asports property. While I doubt that Sportsnet made any serious play forcurling, I’m sure there was interest.

So now you canexpect to see TSN roll out lots of extras in its curling coverage. First is abig beef up of the French broadcasting, with Guy Hemmings providing theanalysis alongside Michel Lacroix. And look for lots more in the mobile and webareas. You’ll be able to watch the Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties Tournament ofHearts on your cel phone and on your computer. And is it possible curling play-by-playmay return to the radio? TSN has radio stations in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montrealwhich might be good places to air a national final.

There’s lots on thisdeal to be finalized, I’m told, in terms of specifics of coverage but it seemsthat both parties – the CCA and TSN – are pretty happy with it all.

How early is too early?

2011-09-28T09:20:00.002-04:00

Last night I played my first curling game of the year. Sept. 27th. That’s early for me and probably about the earliest I’ve ever thrown a rock.

I was sparing in the last round of the Oakville CC’s summer league, which, to my surprise, is jammed to the rafters.

Of course the competitive players are three or four spiels into the season already, a season which seems to start earlier and earlier. Most have been on the ice through the summer months as well, either for a week or two at a camp or in a league such as the one they run in Oakville.

I’m not sure about you, but I think that a good break in the summer is needed, not only for knee-sliders such as me, but just about everyone. I remember my son playing hockey 12 months – a regular league in the winter and then three-on-three in the summer – and it led to burnout. Same thing in golf. I did a feature for TSN this year on a school in Orlando that allows Canadian kids to come down, go to school, either on-line or in the local community, and work on their games while it’s snowing up north.

Too much, but that’s just me. I enjoyed last night’s contest because it’s close enough to the start of the season that it felt like the beginning of the year (we begin for real just after Thanksgiving), but I’m not sure I’d want to play all summer.

Richard Hart on retirement

2011-09-20T11:12:00.002-04:00

The timing of our lunch was rather appropriate. Last Thursday, when he would normally be making the trek down the 401 to Brockville for the Shorty Jenkins Classic, Richard Hart was saddling up to a table in a pub near Pearson Airport.

For the first time in ages, Hart isn’t suiting up along side longtime teammates Glenn Howard, Brent Laing and Craig Savill. As most fans know by now, he’s retiring from the competitive part of the game to spend more time with his family and at his job.

Most of our interview will appear in the Globe and Mail and Ontario Curling Report in the coming weeks, but safe to say that an hour with Richard is never enough for all the stories, all his sharp observations about the game and his funny stories that usually left me trying not to snort the Diet Coke out my nose.

Hart is one of those genuine people in curling. Honest, forthright and extremely likable. He’s a go-to guy for us scribes who want a good quote.

And he really, truly loves the game. That’s so obvious whenever you’re around him and what must have made his decision to quit agonizingly hard.

He told me that the idea of parting with the pebbled ice was on his mind for about four months and he had long conversations with his wife, who ended up encouraging him to keep playing. But in the end, it was clear to him that the drive and desire weren’t at the top of his priority list any more.

He’ll still likely spare here and there and he’s also going to coach his two sons in Bantam curling. Of course thanks to the draconian coaching standards put in place these days, this past Olympic medalist, world and Canadian champion was slated to attend a two-day coaching course so he would be allowed to do that. (That’s a rant for a different day.)

I think Hart will miss the game, but I suspect curlers and curling will miss him more.

Di Iorio, Harrison to work with Russian curlers

2011-08-22T14:25:00.000-04:00

News will be released officially in the next couple of days, but it appears that Neil Harrison and Lino Di Iorio will be hired by the Russian Curling Federation to work with the national teams in that country.

I spoke with both men on Monday from Russia where they’ve been working with the men’s teams at a clinic. While they haven’t signed their names on the contact yet, they expect to in the next 24 to 48 hours. Harrison will handle the strategic aspect of the game while Di Iorio will take over the technical side. This comes after a plan to bring Randy Ferbey over fell away.

Di Iorio told me that he was contacted by a Russian official, who asked for the names of some possible coaches for their team as it prepares for the Olympics. Di Iorio, who developed a innovative and logical delivery method that has been met by rave reviews among those who to whom he’s taught it, offered up Harrison’s name on strategy and said the only person he could recommend for the technical side was himself because all the rest were teaching the CCA’s methods, which he believes are not scientifically beneficial for any player.

After submitting a proposal that was met with positive reaction, he told the Russians that he and Harrison would travel to Russia on their own dime and show them just what he was capable of. That’s the trip they’re on right now and it’s paid off.

Despite admitting they were not ready to win a gold medal right now, Di Iorio was full of optimism for the Russian curlers.
“They are exceptional athletes,” he stated. “They can slide, they can sweep but right now they’re having trouble hitting the broom. That’s what we’ll correct. I’m confident we can get them throwing consistently.”

Harrison was equally positive. “Once they start hitting the broom, the strategy becomes a lot easier,” said the former world champion who will travel with the team to B.C. next month as they play some events.

Asked if there was any trepidation over the sudden change of heart shown Jason Gunnlaugson, Harrison said he wasn’t certain of all that went on with that deal but that both sides have out clauses that can be exercised.

“Right now, it’s a three-year deal with the aim of the Olympics,” Harrison said.

This and that from the Brier

2011-03-13T15:54:00.000-04:00

Some thoughts after the London Brier:

* The bronze medal game certainly isn’t a popular contest as far as the curlers are concerned. All four teams that made the playoffs spoke out against the game, calling it dumb. The CCA handed out a seven-point memo saying why it was brought in and this paragraph caught my attention: “Contrary to the popular belief of some, it will make little or no difference to ticket revenue, even though a person can still purchase a single game ticket, but it does make the weekend ticket package more attractive.” Not sure I understand the logic there. It would seem there’s a value attached to every ticket and so the 7,000 people who attended obviously paid something towards their seat.

* Congrats to Jim Henderson of Sweep, the late, great curling magazine. He won his third Scotty Harper Award at the Brier. Not bad for a photographer.

* So who was that guy in the patch last night who had people lined up to have their picture taken with him? Why none other than Jack Cox, the Ontario flag-waver who was put into a harness this week. He was as popular as most of the curlers and there were even T-shirts made up with his likeness on it.

* Speaking of the Patch, Chairman Peter Inch told me today there were just under 3,000 there last night. In what may be the only criticism I had of this event, the lineups to get a beer were ridiculous, taking about 20-30 minutes. A guy can get thirsty in that time.

* London won’t break any attendance records but it certainly did have a great atmosphere all week. And it will finish in the black, which is always a good way to end things. I don’t suspect the CCA will be getting rich from its take, but it’s better than the last time the big shootout was in Ontario. I’m thinking we’ll be back here within the next decade.

* Finally a Mea Culpa on my last post on the CCA directing the Olympic Trials to Toronto (which shows why I need to review my Journalism 101 texts). So it seems the CCA DID approach the Toronto Curling Association and ask them to put in a bid. And it seems the TCA DID get together to try and put in a bid. So kudos to both. But the real Bad Guys in all of this were the folks at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Seems they weren’t willing to move the Leafs or the Marlies from the Air Canada Centre or the Ricoh Centre for the Trials and they weren’t willing to punt the Royal Winter Fair from the Direct Energy complex where it’s been a fixture and would be held at the same time as the Trials. Apparently no other facilities were appropriate for the event.

CCA makes the wrong choice for Trials

2011-03-09T16:51:00.002-05:00

Winnipeg.

Really?

You’re kidding, right?

The next Canadian Curing Trials will be held in Winnipeg, the CCA announced on Wednesday to just about no one’s surprise. Winnipeg is a safe curling centre. Just like Edmonton and Regina and Brandon. To some extent, even Halifax. Those cities hosted the previous Trials.

By choosing Winnipeg to hold the biggest event in curling – the fourth Western city in five events, surprise, surprise -- the CCA took the sure and safe route. There’s little doubt this will be a huge success. Winnipeg has an almost spotless record with big curling events (there was that little blip in 1998 let’s not forget) and will likely put on a good show.

But this decision also showed just how myopic the CCA is in its vision for the game.

Either that, or how secure it wants to be at the bank.

To be sure, the Canadian Curling Trials, which will determine the two teams that will represent Canada at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, is a cash cow for the CCA, an event with which it can generate funds to operate the many other programs it runs. The association asked for a minimum fee of $750,000 for hosting the big bonspiel. And it gets half of any profits after that too. So it makes sense to put this shootout into a corral where it’s a sure thing. But this event – and only this event – is a sure thing no matter where you hold it.

And that’s the point the governing body has clearly missed -- you could hold this in just about any centre in Canada (OK maybe not Quebec) and fill the building up to the rafters.

So why not take a chance? This was an opportunity, a genuine door opening to have really impacted the game. Instead of trying the double-takout and roll for five, it elected the open draw for one. With five sweepers on a 12-foot sheet of ice.

Since the bottom line for this is just about guaranteed, why not get creative and drop this into Toronto? You want to grow the game? You want to move up to the big time? You want to attract culturally diverse audiences?

That would happen in Toronto. Ain’t going to happen in Winnipeg. The fact that this is tied to the Olympics makes it work. Folks would come out in droves, maybe only for one draw or two but that’s all you need. And by the way, there are more curling clubs and more curlers in Toronto than any city in Canada. You’re already starting from a pretty good base.

The CCA has dreamed about hitting the Toronto market for years with the Brier but has always been a little shy. While the Brier might still not work, there’s little doubt the Trials would be a success. It’s that Olympics thing. And then you have, finally, the roaring game on display at its finest, in the largest media market in the country.

Now maybe Toronto has to get off its duff and be proactive and get a bid committee together to make this happen, but the CCA could have at least encouraged that.

Instead we have Winnipeg, which will be a success, no doubt. But to me it says the CCA is more interested in making money than growing the game of curling.

Scotties wrap up, Brier preview

2011-03-04T09:55:00.002-05:00

So some notes on the wrap up of the Scotties and the upcoming Timmies Brier:

* The Scotties final was a wonderful game filled with all sorts of stuff: great shots, misses and a dramatic ending. That resulted in a huge television audience of around 1.2 million. Not a huge surprise there, really considering the high-profile Team Canada and a prime time start. But don’t forget this was up against the Academy Awards. The bigger surprise, to me, was the 870,000 that the bronze medal game drew. I have to admit to being stunned at that, although having an Ontario team is always a help because of the huge population base in that region.

* Charlottetown proved to be a tough place to leave. I’ve said that often when I’ve been there in the summer, but not so much in winter. A major winter storm hit late Monday, cancelling all the flights and forcing a major rebooking that meant some folks didn’t get home until three days after their scheduled departure. Amber Holland’s team, that was to fly out of Moncton, ended up spending an extra day at Chez Howard, sleeping on various beds and couches in Russ and Wendy’s suddenly converted Bed and Breakfast. I had a couple of extra days in PEI, which wasn’t awful considering there was great chowder at the Olde Dublin and great accommodation at Rodd’s Charlotttetown.

* Speaking of travel, Jennifer Jones didn’t stay home for long. She’s going to be in Toronto on Sunday conducting a clinic at the Bayvew Country Club and will likely head down to London after that.

* By the way, it was a One-Two-Three finish for Equalizer broom heads at the Scotties. Just sayin’.

* I really liked Kelly Scott’s words on the ice conditions in Charlottetown. She agreed that it was some of the trickiest ice she’d played on in all her Scotties, but then said, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means teams have to work harder and smarter. More team should understand that.

* I was in London last night conducting some interviews that will appear on the TSN Tim Hortons Brier preview show on Saturday at 7 p.m. One of the best stories I got was from Brad Gushue. I asked him where he keeps his gold medal and he said he has no one resting place for it and admitted that one time, for about a week, he couldn’t find it. Turns out it was in his wife’s bedside table.

* There will be a Weeks in the Brier this year, but won’t be me (obviously). My distant cousin Blair Weeks will be the coach of the PEI team. I understand that the four guys on this team may not exactly be the best of friends. They spent much of last week practicing on the arena ice at the Scotties.

* So the Twitter account of the Imposter Kevin Martin (@fakekevinmartin) has reached the MSM with this fine story by Mario Annicchiarico.If you haven’t seen it yet, log on and follow as it can be pretty funny. This is one of my favourite Tweets: Thought about using Ferbey's number system for weight calls; realized it won't work for us because Ferbey's a bit of a knob

* I've been chuckling about this NDP-inspired petition to Keep Northern Ontario in the Brier. Actually, aside from some idle chatter, there's no official talk about removing the NONT entry. So the petition is sort of like on to Keep the CN Tower in Toronto.

Finally, the picks for the Brier:
Favourites
Alberta: Kevin Martin admits his team hasn’t played as much this season as most but did ramp it up in the last month. Hard to bet against them.
Ontario: Glenn Howard always plays well at Ontario Briers – two of his three wins have been in his home province – and he said he loves the support he gets.
Manitoba: Jeff Stoughton has had a pretty solid year and his toughest game so far may have been to get out of his province where he had to beat Mike McEwen. I like this team, especially with Jon Mead in the lineup.
Next Tier
Newfoundland and Labrador: Brad Gushe admitted to me that his team has struggled somewhat this year and he’ll be opting for a defensive style this week.
Northern Ontario: Brad Jacobs may be hard pressed to repeat his great performance of last year, but it won’t be due to a lack of hard work.
B.C.: To me, the sleeper in this field. Overlook them at your own peril.
The Rest:
Sorry gang, I don’t see anyone else from this field making a run.

At the Scotties

2011-02-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

Thoughts through the opening weekend of the Scotties:

* Rachel Homan’s rink is the real deal and while some may disagree that they play a different game, I do think they play a very confident and bold strategy. They aren’t afraid to play freezes when other teams play hits, and they are the absolute best in this field at throwing big weight with consistency. It would also be hard to find a better prepared team than this one. They have really laid out a plan and, so far, stuck to it. Having said all that, however, it’s important to note that three of her four games so far have been against Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI, not exactly the powerhouses of the field (with all due respect to those teams). The Ontario foursome did look pretty solid against a shaky Alberta rink and overall I love their chances of being around on Sunday, but I think I’ll wait a bit before crowning them champs.

* The ice continues to be a question mark for many of the teams, especially trying to find consistent draw weight. That seems to be a tough task because, as the curlers will tell you, it’s streaky – it’s not the same speed across the sheet. The result is some shots that look rather embarrassing, coming way short or way long. In a lot of cases they’re guessing and guessing wrong. Doesn’t seem to be any frustration setting in. Yet.

* I had a flood of emails (OK, seven) about the relegation system the CCA is testing out at the Seniors and Mixed next year. I mentioned the subject on my TSN piece last night. I guess if the game had been on the main TSN channel instead of the deuce, I would have had, say eight or nine emails. In any case, the proposal would see the CCA move to a 14-team system. Team Canada, Northern Ontario and separate Yukon and Northwest Territories entries. The field would still be 12 teams with the 12th-place finisher from the previous year dropping into a pool with two other teams which didn’t make it in playing a relegation round just before the start of the national event (probably at a curling club in the same locale). On the plus side you get a better entry with a Team Canada and a battle for 12th place late in the week between teams that would otherwise by out of it. On the minus side, two teams don’t get in at all. And if you think that would always be the Territories, think again. In the last decade of the Scotties, the following teams have finished 12th: Territories (3 and 1 tie); New Brunswick (2); N.S. (1 and 1 tie); Manitoba (1 tie); Newfoundland and Labrador (1); and Saskatchewan (1 tie).

* One of the craziest things going on this week are the substitutions. Games in which players normally would shake hands are being extended to allow subs to play an end or two. Why? Because in order to qualify to receive jewelry from Scotties a sub must play one end in two different games. So this morning, for example, Trisha Affleck entered the PEI-ONT tilt with the score 8-1. It’s really sort of a silly rule that just makes a mockery of things. Just give them the damn ring and let them go home.

* Great to see this event in Charlottetown. While the rink here is a bit tight for all that needs to get done (all right, really it’s a selfish note because the interview area is awkward), the city is awash in Scotties paraphernalia. On Queen Street, the main drag, every store window is dressed up, all the restaurants are calling out to the fans to come in an imbibe, and a local told me this is a huge shot in the financial arm for the local economy. Nice to see, although I hope my next visit will be when things are a little greener and the golf courses are open.

Should Team Canada be at the Brier?

2011-02-17T08:21:00.002-05:00

It's a simple question without a solid answer: Should there be a Team Canada at the Tim Hortons Brier?

I wrote a column on the topic in this morning's Globe and even I don't have a real solid take on what I'd do if the choice was mine. On one side, I love the tradition of the Brier and part of that great tradition is that every team that wins has to earn its way back to the national championships. Now the days of the Brier winner starting out in his or her club are, for the most part, gone. These days provincial champions often get byes to their respective finals, such as Ontario does.

Another part of that tradition is that every province and territory gets into the championship. Well, they used to until we started creating more territories. Now I'm not sure that both the Yukon and Northwest Territories deserve separate entries, but I'm sure if I curled up there I'd feel differently.

And finally, there's always been a Northern Ontario and an Ontario and I see no reason to change that. It's one of the quirky things about the Brier that makes it great.

As for the relegation system that Warren Hansen outlined to me in the column, I think it can be a little scary in that I think the same three or four teams will continue to sit out. Sure, the odd time a Have province might miss, but I'm not so sure. I like the fact that all provinces play and I like the fact that there are opportunities for a Jack MacDuff story.

To me what this is all coming down to is a big separation between the teams that are essentially professional and those that are part-timers. For about that past seven or eight Briers, maybe more, the number of teams that have a legitimate chance of winning is small and predictable. You can look over this field and see that there are five maybe six teams that have a legitimate shot at winning. The others will be out by Tuesday. So isn't it better to try and expand that group to include another possible winning team at the expense of a bottom-feeder?

If you're trying to sell tickets, you'd answer yes in a heartbeat. And folks, there aren't enough tickets being sold to these events these days.

In the end, it all comes down to the realities of the bottom line.

Bernard team calls it a day

2011-02-10T09:04:00.001-05:00

My column in the Globe this morning is on the breakup of the Bernard rink, slated for the end of this season.

Al Cameron of the Calgary Herald broke this story earlier this week and since then, there’ve been lots of great takes from different writers on this squad.

In reflecting on the team, I really had a hard time trying to place their spot in the history books. As an Olympic team, they are
something special for sure. And in winning the 2009 Trials, I really think they altered the game in terms of what teams must bring physically and mentally to the biggest games. They were just so prepared for that event and you could see it in their faces and their play.

But are they one of the great teams? Not in my opinion. Not that they aren’t very, very good, but I wouldn’t put them in the same spot at Sandra Schmirler or Colleen Jones or even Jennifer Jones. That’s because those in that latter group all have multiple national and international wins.

The one thing I will really admire about the Bernard team, however is their personality both on and off the ice. All four were professional and fun. I don’t think they ever took themselves too seriously. As a media person, Cheryl was exceptional to deal with, easily one of the best in the business. I think she had a great respect for what journalists have to do and how the press could benefit her rink. I think she’d make a great television commentator by the way (hello TSN?).

But I also expect you’ll see Cheryl back on the ice before too long. I think she’s got a lot left as far as curling goes. We’ll see.

Cathy O vs. The Jones Gang

2011-02-03T10:36:00.003-05:00

Here's my latest Globe column (it will be appearing every Thursday through the Season of Champions) on the looming game between Cathy Overton-Clapham and Jennifer Jones.

I had a chance to speak with Cathy yesterday and she really tried to say that she's over the chop from last April. I suspect that she's not entirely over it and beating Jones might be sweet.

While writing the story, I was thinking that in curling, when someone gets cut, it's so personal. IN other sports, when a player is let go, it's often hard but it's accepted that it's going to happen. I was trying to reason in my head why. I think part of it is because we think of the four players on the curling team as equals. There's no GM to do the firing/trading. And in curling, generally we think about friendships before performance, at least to a certain extent.

Of course this dismissal was truly a shocker because the Jones team had won the Canadian title a few weeks earlier and Cathy O was the all-star. Timing was bad. But I don't really fault Jones for anything. She's a pretty focused and intense person who gets that at the very top level, you're going to have to make some hard decisions to reach the top rung. She did that and we'll see if it's the right choice.

I'm looking forward to that game in Charlottetown, for sure.

The Battle of the Sexes at the Skins

2011-01-20T10:07:00.004-05:00

The TSN Curling Skins gets underway this weekend with the matchup between Cheryl Bernard and Kevin Martin providing most of the hype so far. Here's my Globe column on the topic.

I'm no fan of the Continental Cup

2011-01-14T16:31:00.002-05:00

Call me a curmudgeon, but I’m not a big fan of the Continental Cup. For an event that is continually compared to golf’s Ryder Cup, this has all the intensity of a church rummage sale.

The problems with this event are numerous, in my humble opinion. First, the prize pool is a paltry $91,000, with the winning side getting $52,000 split between the all the players. That works out to $2,000 per player (the coaches get paid too so Harry can look after his Greyhound bill).

OK, maybe we can live with that. But I just abhor the format. The regular games? Fine. The skins? OK, but the Mixed Doubles and the Singles?

I understand the reason behind the Mixed Doubles. The curling powers have been trying to find another discipline to put into the Olympics and so this was the testing ground. It’s an inexpensive format for something like the Olympics since there are only two players per team.

It just doesn't look professional. Or even natural. There’s just something weird about someone jumping up and running after a rock to sweep. Reminds me of a game we'd play in junior curling where someone would throw a hit and we'd try to sprint past the rock on the next sheet, seeing if we could beat it down the ice.

I’ve always said that the format that's missing is double-rink, the old form where two teams from one side play two from the other with the total score of both games counting.

It’s exciting, it’s interesting and it has lots of possibilities with say, a men’s team and a women’s team joining forces.

Next, the points system. Does anyone understand it? If you do, does it really make sense? And has North America already won? 30-6 after one day is a big lead. I think. Or maybe it's just a two-possession lead. And if anyone can find a breakdown of the system on the web site, please send me a link. I sniffed around for a while and couldn’t find it.

Also, there’s no way this should take place ever year (excepting the Trials years). Once every other year or once every four years would be much better to make this somewhat special.

Finally, there just doesn’t seem to be any intensity in this at all. The players are all yucking it up and slapping each other on the backs and banging thunder sticks together and singing Kumbaya My Friend, Kumbaya.

Gag.

I pine for the days when Ed Werenich told Stefan Hasselborg that he was going to stick his broom so far up his ass he’d be pulling hog hair out his nose.

Tune me out, sorry.

Globe column on the EQ head

2011-01-12T22:36:00.002-05:00

Here's my Globe column on the new broom head that came out following the Olympics.

It certainly has generated a lot of buzz in the curling community. We had a story in the Ontario Curling Report and the Canadian Curling News also did a big spread. I've had a lot of people asking about it and yes, I use one. I find it makes a significant difference. So by reading the article, you'll know I obviously wasn't at my peak effectiveness before a la Hebert and Kennedy.

The Goldline . . . so far

2011-01-12T09:44:00.001-05:00

This week in Toronto, the massive Goldline Bonspiel is going on. This is the unofficial city championship, at least at a club level. The spiel has been going for more than 100 years and for those who’ve been tossing rocks for a while, it’s still known as the Canada Life. That company paid the freight for the first 100 years and since that time a number of other sponsors have come along – Energizer, The Brick and now Goldline, which does a fair bit to help out curling in and around Ontario.

There are roughly 1,200 curlers playing down here ranging from Brier champions to Sunday morning knee-sliders.

The best part about this event is that you can’t take a stacked team into it. There are tight rules about who can play front end and the result is that you get true club teams playing down for a big championship. And you get a lot more teams entering because they know there’s a chance they can go far. You also get to play at all sorts of different clubs as (if?) you progress.

The measuring sticks are the days of the week. You start with two games Saturday to determine your event and then keep playing through the week as long as you win.

This year, having reached the ripe old age of 50, we entered the Senior division and started at East York. We won our first game against Dixie’s Frank Schneider, surging in the late ends. The second game we played Terry Samuels of Thornhill and after getting out to a 6-1 lead, held on for a 7-6 win.

Monday night we got past a determined St. George’s rink skipped by the veteran Elgin Horton at the Cricket Club and Tuesday defeated Kurt Tamowski of Oakville in a game at Richmond Hill.

The Senior division doesn’t have as many rinks at the Open event so tonight we earned a well-deserved bye.

The Weeksy Awards

2010-12-29T09:37:00.001-05:00

My take on the last year, as it appeared in the Globe and Mail.
The Annual Weeksy Awards.

Curling Books Under The Tree

2010-12-22T10:30:00.001-05:00

This is the first year in a while that I haven’t had a new book released or one still on the market, and that was as much by my choice as anything as writing books really takes a lot out of you. It’s also the first time in a while that I can recall that there haven’t been any new curling books out. Colleen Jones’ book Curling Secrets was released last February and that appears to be the most recent.

In any case, if you’re trying to pick up a book for someone you know curls, here are my top picks, excluding my own handcrafted tomes and any instruction- or fitness-based books. You can probably find all of these somewhere through the internet.

1. Burned By The Rock – Jean Sonmor
In my humble opinion, the best curling book ever written. It’s a bit dated these days but it follows the lives of the top curlers of the day, which was the early ‘90s. Great stories about Hackner, Werenich and Howard really peeled the cover off what was going on in the competitive scene. A very entertaining read.

2. Open House: Canada and the Magic of Curling
Scott Russell crafted a great look at the game and why it’s so appealing to Canadians. I love how he tries to expose the attraction of the game, something tough to understand for an outsider.

3. The Roaring Game
Author Doug Clark rambles through some interesting topics of note in the game, covering off everything from Shorty Jenkins to the business of the sport. I like his style and approach in this one.

4. Canada Curls
The late, great Doug Maxwell probably knew more about the sport than anyone and put together a great opus on its history. It’s done in a light manner and tells some of the great tales of the game that only Doug could deliver.

5. Sandra Schmirler
The heart-wrenching story of the Olympic gold medalist who passed away far too early in life. Perry Lefko wrote a beautiful book here that will move you even if you never knew Schmirler the Curler.

6. Curling
Warren Hansen’s coffee table style book is one you can sit down with and flip pages getting engrossed in the pictures and words.

7. The Black Bonspiel
W.O. Mitchell’s great Faustian story of a curler. I’ve read this one so many times the pages are getting worn out. Great fun and truly a Canadian legend.

My take on the McEwen Rink

2010-12-17T14:47:00.003-05:00

Here's a story that took a little while to get into the paper -- you might notice a funny post-date reference near the end -- but is my take on the success of the McEwen rink.

these guys really seem to be enjoying themselves. Interesting, during the interview with Mike, I asked him with his financial success so far this year if he' treated himself to anything. He said no but it was going to be a very good Christmas for some people near to him. So if you're expecting a present from McEwen, expect a good one!

The Russia Affair: the coach's thoughts

2010-11-26T10:37:00.003-05:00

I had the chance to chat with Patti Wuthrich a few days ago to get a little more detail on the Jason Gunnlaugson episode. It will appear in a Globe column, likely early next week.

Wuthrich said the entire episode was a bit of a shocker as just days before, she’d been told to get the boys visas to make the trip back to Moscow so they could go through the citizenship process. She had to break the news to them and they were, in her words, “devastated.” Apparently the news came out of nowhere. She said they “spent a fair bit of time in the bar.” That’s easy to understand when you’ve essentially just lost your job. For Tyler Forrest and Justin Richter it’s especially tough since they left good jobs to embard on this journey.

Wuthrich added that one of the biggest problems in this entire Russian episode has been communication. She says it’s almost impossible to get answers to a lot of questions she sends over adding that she’s never officially received any missive saying the Manitoba boys were fired. She was simply told that there was no citizenship awaiting them and that she should prepare the Alexey Stukalsky and Alexnandr Kozyrev, the two native-born Russians, for the Europeans and to be in Switzerland on Dec. 1. When I talked to Wuthrich, she was getting ready to take to the ice for a practice session in Gimli (yes, the two Russians are still in Gimli where they'd set up shop in preparation for the season). She did say the Russians were aware of all the press here in Canada surrounding the incident.

I asked her about the possibility that the Russians weren’t blown away by the performance of the three hired guns in the national championships where they struggled somewhat in the round-robin before easing to the title with two playoff wins. She said she had no knowledge of that but added that clearly the boys weren’t at their best in that competition’s early going, saying that sometimes you play down to the level of the competition. And let's be honest here -- it's pretty hard to imagine there's any team in Russia that is as talented as the Gunnlaugson three.

All in all, she seemed to say the entire episode was frustrating and disappointing. It's really another black mark for Russian curling which always seems to be like a hose on full blast without anyone holding it. At the Olympics, the coaches of the women's team switched lineups as frequently as a kid in a Baskin-Robbins store changes his ice cream choice. It didn't seem to make much sense.

Neither does this latest move.

The Dominion Makes Dreams Come True

2010-11-25T14:54:00.002-05:00

Just like this article in the Guardian points out, what the Dominion has done is give a lot of avid curlers a chance to experience the highest of highs.
Methinks this could be just about the most important event on the CCA's docket these days, one that might help grow the game even more than the Brier or the Scotties.

The Dominion Underway

2010-11-24T10:11:00.003-05:00

I note, with a tinge of envy, that the Dominion Curling Club Championship is underway in Charlottetown.

I say envy because I was a participant in this event after winning my club championship last spring and had visions of being on the ice in my favourite city in the world. OK, so I dream big.

The Dominion, in just its second year of operation, has become one of the most enjoyable and successful events in Canadian curling. It tapped into a great vein of curler appreciation and when the first national championship went off with so much success, word spread quickly. Now according to the effervescent Leigh Armstrong, who administers the event (among the Dominion’s many other curling championships) on Dominion’s behalf, told me that entries were up slightly this year, but I’d bet awareness has grown exponentially.

In fact, if there is any problem with this event, that’s it: it’s so popular that the boundaries of who should be eligible are stretching because so many curlers want in. So who is supposed to play? Here’s what appears on the Ontario Curling Association web site about the rules and spirit of the event:

The Dominion Curling Club Championship gives grass roots curling teams from every corner of the country an opportunity to compete in provincial and national level competition. Club curlers are those who enjoy the sport recreationally, supporting club leagues on a regular basis from September to April.
The event is formulated for true club curlers, not elite, past or present. We want to support ordinary curlers and the development of curling across Canada.

The rules also state the following:

Each team will be allowed only one player who has played in a Men’s, Women’s or Seniors’ provincial event in the current or previous year, or participated in a Grand Slam event in the current or previous year.

The Dominion also has a provision to allow individual associations to adopt more restrictive policies if it sees fit.

There were no real problems in the zone playdown in which I competed. There was one notable curler who two weeks later played in the final of a Grand Slam event, but the rest of his team qualified under the rules as stated. (and we beat him anyway!)

At the provincial final though, there were teams that were regulars on the Ontario Curling Tour, which in my mind kind of goes against the spirit of what the Dominion is all about. I don’t know if they were true club curlers but it didn’t seem so. They were more elite curlers than club curlers. So under the rules, they qualified, but under the spirit?

And that’s the question: when does a really good club curler cross over to become a competitive or elite curler? And who is going to make that decision? Tough questions, for sure.

Now this fine line isn’t new by any means. Any Toronto curler who played in the big City of Toronto bonspiel, sponsored for a century by Canada Life and now by Goldline, is aware of it. For years that spiel tried to weed out or limit the top teams from entering. In many cases, what happened was the big players, such as Ed Werenich of Paul Savage, bought in and would skip teams of knee-sliders and it would be one fun week for all. But there will always be those with some sour grapes who think someone is over-qualified.

This probably isn’t a big enough concern to be worried about just yet. The Dominion is off to a great start and is a truly tremendous event. But it’s that way because it’s for the average curler out there, giving him and her a chance to play in a national championship. Here's hoping it stays that way.

Russians chop Gunnlaugson

2010-11-22T08:04:00.004-05:00

It was fun while it lasted.

Jason Gunnlaugson’s Russian adventure is apparently all but done after the Russian Curling Federation pulled the offer it made to the Winnipeg curler and his two mates, Justin Richter and Tyler Forrest.

The three, along with a couple of Russian curlers, won the national championship a few weeks ago and were set to represent the country at the Europeans next week. But on the weekend, rumours leaked out and I had a note from Jason late last night that the deal was pretty much dead. Apparently it all stemmed from the requirement that the three become Russian citizens before the European championships.

According to a story in the Winnipeg Sun, the arrangement fell apart when the three refused to renounce their Canadian citizenship, a move that would have made obtaining Russian citizenship quicker. They wanted dual citizenship but that couldn’t be arranged in the time frame. Hard to blame the guys, especially since they were merely hired guns.

Here’s Gunnlaugson quoted in the Sun:

"It’s disappointing,” Gunnlaugson said. “Most people, when they lose their job they think OK, well maybe now I’ll do what I really dreamed of doing. Well, that was what we dreamed of doing, going to the rink every day and working hard at getting better at the game.
“You couldn’t ask for a more fun job for the three of us. It’s obviously a big letdown, but s--- happens in life and I’m sure we’ll all make the best of it.”

You can read the full article here.

Tuckers won't die!

2010-11-17T11:58:00.001-05:00

One of the more interesting topics discussed last week with Ray Turnbull and Terry Braunstein was whether or not the tuck delivery was going to die out. Of course, Manitoba is just about the only place where it’s still used and according to the two Winnipeggers, there’s no chance it’s going away soon.

My favourite description of the slide was coined by former Toronto Star curling writer Tom Slater who called them “toe-sliding bottom feeders.”

Most of the top young teams are tuckers – McEwen, Gunnlaugson, et al – and Turnbull attributed it to the youngsters following in the footsteps of the now old(er) stars such as Burtnyk and Stoughton.

It’s sort of strange that Manitoba is pretty much the only place where people use this style of delivery. It’s almost as if there’s some tribe there and they speak a different language that no one else understands. No, wait, that would be Newfoundland and Labrador.

In any case, judging by the success over the years and of late, it shows the tuckers aren’t at any apparent disadvantage.

Curling with legends

2010-11-16T08:47:00.003-05:00

On Friday, I had the thrill of a lifetime. I spared two games in the Granite Men's Invitational playing with Alf Phillips Jr., Ray Turnbull and Terry Braunstein, all Brier winners, all legends, all with great stories. As I explained to a golfing friend of mine, this was like playing a round with Hogan, Snead and Nelson.
We split our two games, winning the first against Gareth Watson, the bonspiel's chairman, then losing in the second to John Francis and his Thornhill gang. We had lots of chances in the second, but curled pretty much like dogs, taking nothing away from Francis and his squad.
What was remarkable about these two games was just how competitive these three of these legends still are. All three are in their 70s and all want to make every shot. Now I wouldn't say they slip into the hack with the greatest of ease, nor is sweeping a priority with them. But they all still slide pretty well and you can see how they get mad when they miss shots. Of course it all stays on the ice and once the game is over, the stories started flying. And oh can these guys tell tales.
Turnbull and Braunstein, who have been curling together longer than I've been alive, can go on for hours. Alf also has his fair share too. For a loudmouth like me, it was tough to get a word in edgewise.
By the way, Turnbull says he hasn't yet started to miss the broadcasting. He thinks he might when it comes around to the Season of Champions time, but as he told me while we were nursing our beers, "It was time."
I couldn't stick around, but Vic Rauter came in later and served as emcee as the three entertained the crowd at the stag dinner on Friday night, part of what is a pretty remarkable bonspiel the Granite puts on. If you've never been to the Granite Club -- home of the very first Brier, then you're missing something.

New Globe Column: Cheryl Bernard and Sponsors

2010-11-09T08:35:00.003-05:00

I always like talking to Cheryl Bernard, one of the truly nice and genuine people in the sport. I chatted with her last week before she and her rink stepped on to the ice for the Red Deer spiel and penned this column in the Globe.

New Brooms: The Sky Is Falling

2010-11-08T11:00:00.003-05:00

Ever since The Calgary Herald's All Cameron broke the news of the Super Broom Head, there has been a general sense of The Sky Is Falling from various parts. In fact, it’s almost laughable what’s transpired from icemakers and equipment dealers. This entire story has been messed up since Day 1 with all sorts of incorrect facts.

Let’s back up just a minute. A year and a half ago, some researchers at the University of Western Ontario developed a broom head that was much more effective than previous models. The technology was somewhat simple: a piece of reflective material was put between the face and the head, which caused the heat generated by sweeping to reflect back. More heat means the rocks go further and curl less.

Now contrary to what has been written in several places (here and here, for example,) this technology was not developed using Own the Podium funds, the program that was created to help Canadian Olympic athletes gain an advantage heading into the Vancouver Games. The folks at Western had been doing curling-related testing prior to the OTP funding and this was developed as part of that. OTP funding was used later in other research that helped the Martin and Bernard rinks win gold and silver respectively.

The Canadian teams did get to try the new heads and found that while effective for the women (who used them in Vancouver), it wasn’t so for the men. Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy were so strong already, they found they would rip the pebble off the ice after three ends.

Earlier this year, Balance Plus signed an exclusive license on the patent for the broom heads with Western and is planning to bring them out very soon.

To the best of my knowledge, at the time of my writing, only two teams in Canada have these special heads: Bernard’s rink and that of Dale Matchett, who works for Balance Plus.

And that’s important to note because already there has been a remarkable amount of negative press surrounding these. Here’s a blog that’s on the Goldline web site that essentially says these brooms are going to be bad news for curling clubs and icemakers. Of course it’s important to note that Goldline is a competitor to Balance Plus so this is sort of crapping on the other guy, in my opinion. (Full disclosure: Balance Plus is an advertiser in the Ontario Curling Report of which I am a part owner, Goldline is not.)

I also spoke to a noted icemaker over the weekend who was similarly wary of the new brooms and wondered if it wasn’t time for something such as the Ontario Curling Association to establish some rules.

The general consensus of these folks is that the new brooms will flatten the ice by removing the pebble earlier in the game.
The point is that as of this moment, how these brooms affect the ice when being used by anyone not named Hebert and Kennedy or Laing and Savill is unknown. Matchett reported that when his rink used them, there was no noticeable ice deterioration. Now part of that was that the effectiveness of the brooms allowed them to use a less abrasive cloth on the face, which may be more of the problem than the heat retention.

In the limited testing that was done, elite men’s teams only managed an extra 30 per cent effectiveness with the new heads. I say only because the women saw a 100-per-cent increase.

Where this would seem to bring the most benefit would be to club curlers, men and women. And that to me, is a good thing. But the truth is no one really knows and until they do, everyone should just sit back and relax. This could turn out to be a huge benefit for average players. But until we know for sure, I’d say it’s tremendously unfair to be weighing in.

Broom technology

2010-09-10T14:22:00.004-04:00

Nice scoop by Al Cameron over at his blog about the release of the top secret broom technology from last year and the purchase of and exclusive license for the patent on that technology by Balance Plus.

You can read most of the info about the broom in Al's work but a few follow-up notes here that I gleaned after talking to Lino Di Iorio, the guy who started Balance Plus.

In Al's column it pointed out that the top men's teams weren't able to use the brush heads because they'd simply rip the ice up. But Balance Plus is already testing new materials that are less abrasive but will still be be more effective thanks to the technology. That will allow these elite men's teams to use the brooms. Of course the vast majority of players will be able to make use of the technology as it is presently.

Second, DiIorio said the testing that created this technology was not part of the Own the Podium program and didn't receive funds from that. It was actually a separate testing and development project undertaken by the University of Western Ontario. It was independent of the research the same group was asked to conduct for Own the Podium which was also on sweeping.

But no matter. . . the bottom line is that these brooms will make a significant difference for most curlers. Can't wait to test it out!

When Canada loses

2010-03-28T13:34:00.002-04:00

Whenever Canada loses a big curling match, the finger-pointing and the blame game goes full-speed. Despite the fact the world is no longer Canada's to conquer at ease in curling, fans in this country seem to think Canada should win every time, all the time. Canadians start to question strategy calls and the talents of certain players. The suggest this person be replaced or that person is overrated. Everyone seems to have the answer as to what happened.
It's what Canadians do, unfortunately.
But you know what? Last night, Jennifer Jones just got beat, plain and simple. They didn't play as well as the Scots. Same thing in the Olympics for Cheryl Bernard, who admittedly had a great chance to win. But probably not enough credit went to the Swedes, who did win.
Give credit where credit's due. Scotland played well. Sweden played well. Canada lost and will do so again.

Three 10s in a day -- never again!

2010-03-21T10:54:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I played in the zone playdowns for the Ontario Silver Tankard. This is one of the oldest competitions in Canadian curling, dating back to 1875.It's also a double-rink competition -- meaning two teams from one club play two teams from another and the total score of the two games decides the winner.
It's a really fun event in which to play, with the strategy changing from normal games.
There were only five teams entered in our zone, which was certainly disappointing. But it also created an awkward draw. And, as is the case in most of my curling career, I managed to get the bad end of the draw, meaning we needed to play three games to win. That's three 10-end games in one day.
We managed to win the first two, a victory over an entry from our own club and then one over a team from Oakville. We finished up with a match against a team from St. George's.
That contest was a wild one. In our match, we were up six playing the last end. Our teammates on the other sheet were down seven, meaning we were down one. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't even be playing the last ends of these games. As it turned out, we dropped one in our game, meaning our teammates needed to take two for an extra end. A last-shot, raise-double attempt failed and the St. George's team moved on.
OK, a couple of points. The last time I played three 10s in one day I was still sweeping with corn. Three 10-enders is way too much for anyone these days. I think the Ontario Curling Association should drop all competitions that don't lead to a national championship to eight ends. I can tell you my body this morning would gladly vote for that. I am sore from top to bottom and I am in pretty decent shape compared to the rest of the guys who were on the ice.
Second, playing in these competitions is great fun. It's too bad that more people don't go into them. I think curlers should experience this stuff and the fun of playing a competition like the Silver Tankard. But it would seem to make a lot more sense to move something like this to the start of the year rather than the end. By this time of year many people are a) tired of curling; b) playing in their club championships; and c) committed with March break and Easter.

p.s. -- a word of congrats to Bill Duck, who was skipping one of the St. George's teams in the competition. I've known Bill since junior days and he's a guy who's made his life all about curling, running the operations at St. G's both from an ice-making standpoint and a pro shop. For the last year and more, Bill grew his hair to great lengths so that it could be donated to make wigs for cancer patients. He also raised a ton of money along the way.
Curling needs more people like Bill Duck and charity does too. Congrats to Bill.

A Port As Wide As A Beaver

2010-03-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

OK, I had to laugh – very loudly – at this.

I received a release from the World Curling Federation via CP’s Bill Graveland, on the Paralympics. He noted this paragraph in it:

Italy shocked the host country Canada this evening by a score of 8-7. Canada looked to have taken control of a close game when they stole 2 points in the 5th end to take the lead until skip Andrea Tabanelli of Italy answered with 4 points in the 6th end. Canada tied the score going into the last end and things were looking good for before Tabanelli got a great take out with his last rock through a port as wide as a beaver to become shot rock and win the game.

I absolutely love that reference – as wide as a beaver! Make your own rude or not rude comment!

What's Next for the Brier?

2010-03-17T20:27:00.001-04:00

A lot of people bristle at the idea of changes to the Tim Hortons Brier. Despite what some may think, however, the Brier has been in a constant state of flux since it was first held back in 1927.

For instance, teams have been added and teams have been subtracted over the years. There were teams from Toronto and Montreal at the first five Briers. And at that inaugural event, there was no team from Manitoba, B.C., Alberta, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador (which wasn’t even part of Canada) or the Territories.

For the record, Northern Ontario was there at the first shootout.

The number of ends has dropped from 14 down to 10. Rules have been added and etiquette changed. In the early days of the Brier it was considered improper for the skips to walk down the centre of the sheet on their way to the far end to start the first end. Warm-ups weren’t allowed at all. There was no free-guard zone or electronic hog line sensors.

The point is that those who say the Brier should stay with tradition really should define what that tradition is.

Theses days there is talk – I stress talk – about all three Territories getting separate entries, about adding a Team Canada and about dropping Northern Ontario.

Warren Hansen told me he thinks what might end up happening is a relegation system where the last place teams drop down into a challenge for final two spots in the field. He also said Northern Ontario won’t be dropped.

I’m not a guy who supports Team Canada. I think one of the best parts of the Brier is that the defending champions have to earn their way to the final. Some get byes part of the way, which I understand, but I think you should have to play to get back to the Brier.

Right now, to me, the biggest problem with the Brier is the inequity of the top teams and the bottom teams. The haves and the have-nots are growing in separation although from time to time you get a have-not team turning into a have team – case in point this year is Northern Ontario. But Alberta and Ontario this year were really superior to the team from the Territories. And even PEI and NB and NS. Some of those, of course, have been haves in years gone by.

So how do you fix that? Maybe you don’t. Maybe you just accept it and hope that one of the have-nots becomes a have.

Are there any other problems that people see?

A Brier final for the ages

2010-03-15T20:12:00.002-04:00

It was easily one of the best Brier finals in the last 20 years, filled with great shot-making, momentum changes and two stories for the teams involved.

I’ve been to just about every Brier since the late 1980s and I’d put this third on my list of great games. I still think Dacey-Ferbey was the best and Hackner-Ryan was also something else. This fits right with those two and, in some ways was actually a better overall game. Hackner-Ryan in 1985 was actually a pretty boring game until The Shot.

And the television audience obviously thought so as it was the largest Brier audience on record with 1.6 million watching the game and the peak audience reaching 2.5 million.

Heading into the playoffs, I never thought anyone had a chance against Howard. But when I saw Koe play the semi, I knew it would be a really close game.

In Koe and his team, you have an amazing team that was just looking for a breakout.
The squad was far too good to keep posting second-place finishes and never making it to the Brier.

Kevin is also a very genuine person. He’s not the best quote in the business, but his honesty usually trumps his quiet tone. And as he gets more in front of the press, I’m sure he’ll improve.

What’s interesting in all of this is that, according to Koe, he’s still not certain this team will be together next year in the current lineup. I asked him after the semi-final match and he said that win or lose, they would talk about what they’d do next year after the season was over. There is some talk that one or more of the players are going to choose family time over curling time. If that’s true, what a way to go out.

As for Howard, I can’t imagine what’s going through their heads. Two big losses in one year and three Brier losses in five years. Howard himself is three for nine in finals.

Now getting to nine Brier finals is pretty remarkable, an amazing achievement. But it was clear the guys were hurting after and who wouldn’t be. I think losing a close one might be a bit easier to take than they way they lost the Trials’ final. They played really well and I’m sure if they had to do over again, they’d re-think the sixth end.

Howard, Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Savill, Steve Bice and coach Scott Taylor are all really classy guys.

Moments after losing the game, Howard came over to meet with the press – it’s always one of the toughest moments for the runner-up – and he was great, as always. He didn’t mince words, saying losing the two big ones this year was crappy.

Overall, this Brier was a good one on the ice. Off of it, I don’t think the fans showed up as the organizers would have liked. Just over 100,000 came through the turnstiles and we’ll have to see what the financials look like. Certainly the Olympic hangover was part of the problem but also it shows a number of problems for future Briers. The first is the great job TSN does which makes it easy to stay home and watch. The second is the aging fan base. The third is a nine-day event doesn’t really make a lot of sense from a sporting business standpoint.

Those are issues to be dealt with down the road. For now, curling can bask in glory of a sensational game that will be remembered for a long time.

***

I had a couple of e-mails asking why my story in the newspaper had no quotes in it. That’s because the game ended right on my deadline – past it, actually – and so as soon as the final rock stopped, I had to send in the story (and yes, I had a separate one written with Howard winning). The later version, with quotes, is on line and you can read it here.

1-2 Page Game

2010-03-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

The first question I asked Glenn Howard last night in the scrum after his 1-2 page win over Brad Jacobs was a simple one:

“Never in doubt?”

He laughed, knowing full well that it was anything but and probably that his Ontario rink got away with one. Despite the mis-match in experience, Brad Jacobs and his Northern Ontario foursome were very impressive in the first half of the game and Howard himself was not. Howard missed three shots over two ends – a missed raise takeout, a tick on a guard while trying a thin double and a draw that came short – to really stake the team from the Soo to a good lead.

But it seemed to me that the Northern Ontario boys became a little nervous (Jacobs said they weren’t) at just where they suddenly found themselves – a couple of ends away from a spot in the final.

I also think that Jacobs’ strategy was perhaps a little too much on the hitting side.
They chose run-backs over corner freezes a couple of times. But then again, I’m on the press bench and they’re on the ice.

In any event, they get a second berth tonight in the semi-final.

As for Howard, I think Richard Hart summed it up best when he said a bad game for Glenn is when he misses three shots. Which is true. You just always expect Glenn to make everything and when he doesn’t, you think he’s falling apart.

For me, the momentum changer in the whole game was in the sixth, when Richard Hart came through a port so narrow there was no daylight on either side of the rock. Howard was truly pumped at that shot and he and Hart high-fived – something you don’t often see from the normally cool and collected Howard.

Right now, you have to like their chances for the title. They’re playing well and when they’re not, they’re still winning. I haven’t seen anything from the other teams that makes me think they’re going to beat the Ontario foursome. We’ll see if that changes.

At the Brier, finally

2010-03-12T19:54:00.001-05:00

After doing some golf work down at Doral, I rolled into Halifax last night in time to catch the last five ends of the Ontario-Alberta match. Here are some early observations of this Brier:

• I was stunned at Manitoba’s fall. I figured they’d be right at the top of the standings. Looks like the skipper had a tough week, which is rare for Jeff Stoughton. I didn’t see all their games (although we did manage to convince the waitress at the sports bar in Florida to pop it up on to one of the many TVs, much to the delight of the locals) but I’m sure they expected more.
• Fan support hasn’t been great here. As I tap this out, the 1-2 page game is on and there are still some noticeable gaps in the stands. I spoke with a local woman here today who is not a curler but still wasn’t even aware the Brier was on. I’m thinking that the Olympic attention curling received may have worn out people’s desire to see more. But who knows? You can make any excuse you want to justify the lack of attendance. The bottom line is the people aren’t here as you might expect.
• I was shocked to see that Northern Ontario hasn’t been in the playoffs at the Brier since 1993. Wow. That’s stunning. But this Jacobs team is impressive. I know they’ve worked exceptionally hard over the last couple of years so it’s nice to see them play well here. They’re exciting to watch and certainly aren’t afraid to throw just about any shot.
• Jacobs fine run here has also brought more attention to dropping the dual entries for Ontario and turning one into a Team Canada. Kevin Martin stirred the pot by suggesting just that. But Jacobs has been defending the region, saying that tradition should be weighed in the argument. Warren Hansen said this week that Northern Ontario won’t be dropped but a Team Canada could be added along with rinks from Nunavut and separate entries for each of the territories. It’s possible a type of relegation system might be used where the bottom teams have to play off to stay back in the main event. Stay tuned.
• Have to love the story of these eight guys here, six from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan. The guys went to the Olympics and then jumped on a train to get to Halifax, apparently drinking the bar car dry several times along the way. Here, they show up every day with a different matching outfit. Tonight for example, they have yellow shirt on and bald wigs and fake gold medals around their necks. Their shirts read: Kevin Martin look-a-like contest. And about every second end, they hold up a big sign that reads “Sociable.” They’ve become the talk of the Brier and when they walk in to the arena –fashionably late – they get a big ovation.

Those secret studies

2010-03-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

While you enjoy the Tim Hortons Brier, a question: Now that the Olympics are over, how long before we get to see the results – and all those secrets – from the research conducted on those two studies. You remember, the one on sweeping and the one on delivery that were done at Western and Alberta respectively?

I believe the CCA said we’d find out after the Games were over.

Just asking because I could use some help with my sweeping.

Scottish championships drag on

2010-03-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

I never could figure out this schedule. The Scottish curling championships started before the Olympics and finished after.

So before they left for Vancouver, David Murdoch and his gang managed to make it into the 3-4 page games. They’ll play Hammy McMillan while Glen Muirhead and Warwick Smith meet in the 1-2 games.

I say games because also of note – each of these rounds it best two of three.

On the women’s side Eve Muirhead plays the 1-2 round while Sarah Reid and Kay Adams meet in the 3-4.

I’m sure the Muirhead (f) and Murdoch teams are only too anxious to get back on the ice and play some more. And for Muirhead, if she wins, jump on a plane and head all the way back to Swift Current for the worlds.

I’m also not sure what’s wackier – this before-and-after national championship or the fact the page system is best of three rounds. Talk about dragging something out.

The good and bad at the Olympics

2010-03-01T16:11:00.002-05:00

The Good and the Bad from the Olympics

Good: The ice at the Vancouver Olympic Centre. It was a little patchy at times, but otherwise held up well.

Bad: The number of seats at the VOC. Only 5,600, could have easily sold twice that.

Good: The Sky Train. What a great way to travel, especially after a few pops.

Bad: The food in the media centre. Chili and bad sandwiches. At least the diet was cheaper than Dr. Bernstein. Oh and the coffee was awful too.

Good: The Fans – loud and proud.

Bad: The National Anthem. Not the first time or the time in the final, but the 47 other times in between when people tried to sing it. Doesn’t work, sorry folks.

Good: The seven million people who watched Martin win gold. Largest curling audience in Canadian history.

Bad: The poor in-house announcers who were slated to read this long series of announcements long before anyone was in the building. What moron thought up that schedule.

Good: The amount of international attention the roaring game received.

Bad: It will probably be four years until we see a similar level of attention again.

Bad: Applauding on the press bench. A few folks from a number of different countries stood up and applauded when their teams won. That’s a no-no and makes us all look bad, medal or not.

Good: The curlers working with the media. These guys are absolute dreams compared to other sports. Lots and lots of access and great honest quotes too.

Bad: Crying kids and the red eye. Why is it whenever I decide to suck it up and take the red eye, I always sit next to a crying kid.

Good: Thomas Ulsrud, a classy guy in defeat.

Bad: The goof who blew the horn in Ulsrud’s delivery during the final game. Thank goodness the crowd let him know it was unacceptable.

Good: The number of celebs/dignitaries that came out to watch curling: Donald Sutherland, Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Mike Babcock, Kings of Norway and Sweden, former world champs John Kawaja, Rick Folk and Jon Mead.

Bad: To the best of my knowledge, not one other Team Canada athlete showed up.

Good: China fought through the nonsense to get a bronze in women’s play. When they won, they finally showed some emotion.

Bad: The U.S. finished last in both men’s and women’s. Curling needs them to be better and they should be better, plain and simple.

Good: The volunteers. They were really, genuinely friendly and helpful.

Bad: People Magazine reporter in the Team Canada press conference, moments after they’d lost the heartbreaking gold-medal game, asking Cheryl Bernard if she’d ever posed nude. Great timing for that question pal. Did you not notice she was crying?

Good: My own bed after 15 nights at a hotel.

The Golden Bear

2010-02-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

I’ve been to world championships, Briers and Scotties but I don’t think I’ve even seen such a dramatic moment as yesterday’s win by Kevin Martin.

Without being at the Games, it’s hard to understand just how much bigger everything is so when you see the gold medal won, it’s that much more impressive.

Earlier in the day, Markus Eggler and the Swiss won the bronze and to see them celebrate, you’d have thought they won gold. But that’s how these athletes feel about these medals, feel about what this is all about.

The game yesterday wasn’t Martin’s best in the first part, I didn’t think. He looked a little uptight, perhaps tense which is strange since you’d think, having been there before, that he’d be able to handle it.

But the three guys behind him were unbelievable, especially Morris who seemed to be so dialed in.

The other thing Martin had on his side was that Thomas Ulsrud and Toger Nergaard were not sharp at the start. So despite Martin’s slow start, the Norwegians were always under pressure.

I’ve covered Martin since his first Brier in 1991 and through all his wins, I’ve never seen him really overjoyed at winning, when the final shot is played. He always seems more satisfied than elated.

Not yesterday. He was letting it all out with some big yells and it was great to see.
Actually my first indication that the team had won the gold came from Marc Kennedy who stopped sweeping and started pumping his broom in the air. Ben Hebert kept sweeping right into the house and was met by John Morris who jumped into his arms.
It was a great scene.

A few other really nice moments that you didn’t see on TV. When Kennedy came into the media tribune (where the team meets us ink-stained wretches), he wanted to thank the regulars, shaking our hands. Amazing that he would think of us at such a time, I was really touched by that.

And when the Old Bear came through, the look on his face wearing that gold medal will stay with me forever. I’ve never seen him look more proud/relieved/thrilled all at once. He just looked really, really different than I’ve ever seen him.

A final note: I don’t think you could find a classier silver medal winner than Ulsrud. He was exceedingly gracious in defeat, giving the Martin team full props, almost as if he was in awe of just how good they were.

I think you’ll hear from this Norwegian team again, they are way talented.
More in the next post, but for now, it’s over to hockey.

Thoughts on the women's final

2010-02-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

One final down and one to go. It’s been a long two weeks but the Olympic curling competition has provided some remarkable moments.

First, last night’s match between Canada and Sweden. What a crazy game and a wild finish.

It looked to me like they had things wrapped up in 10 but the team said after they hadn’t played down that spot all week. Someone sitting behind the sheet, who is a world-class curler, said she looked wide – I couldn’t tell from my angle – but the gals said after they just didn’t know the ice in that spot and were expecting more curl.

In the 11th, though, I was sort of surprised at Cheryl’s first rock. I might have played around the guard to the top 12, but that’s probably why I’m on the bench and not on the ice. If she makes the double for the win, no one is questioning any calls. And, as she admitted, it was a fairly routine shot.

Someone asked me if I’d ever seen a crazier finish to a big game and the only thing I could think of was the Bob Labonte Leap of Loss back in 1972.

From a media standpoint, most of us had our stories written about Canada winning. One writer told me he had his mouse on the send button and was just about to hit click.

Twice.

After the famous Mark Dacey comeback over Ferbey, however, most curling writers have two stories in the can, ready to send the right one.

Having covered the gals for some time, you can’t help but feel for them. They are all wonderful people. The normally strong-minded Bernard was understandably in tears after the game. And she was honest with her words, saying silver was nice but it stung being so close to the gold. I’m not sure if any athletes at these Games came so close to gold without winning.

What’s interesting is that in looking back at a lot of comments over the past few months, just about every one of them has talked about how the Olympics aren’t everything, that it’s just a game. That perspective should help them when they return to their normal lives next week.

And the best words I heard out of any of them were from Susan O’Connor who said the team didn’t lose the gold, they won silver. True, dat.

On to the men’s final.

P.S. – can there be anything worse than losing the bronze medal game in the Olympics?

The Outspoken Rafael and other thoughts

2010-02-23T12:47:00.002-05:00

* Chinese coach Dan Rafael is not a guy who holds back when there’s a microphone present. The Montrealer is usually quite direct in his comments and I used to think that it was a way of charging up his team but then, I don’t think his curlers read the Canadian newspapers. If the curlers aren’t reading, officials certainly are. Rafael has been muzzled for the rest of the Games after some strong – and accurate – comments yesterday about his team’s performance. Here’s what he told the press after the team lost last night:
"They have no passion for the game. It's their job. They just take everything for granted," Rafael said. "We didn't show up. You just have to look at the stats to know. We beat Canada, and we don't show up. They looked pretty amused. They think it's funny for whatever reason - you're at the Olympics. I'm furious."
Rafael said he’s not likely to return after his contract ends this summer which is no surprise. Another coach told me last night that the word on the street is that Rafael will be turfed shortly after the world championships in Swift Current, Sask.

* So maybe this thing will turn into the shoot-out everyone expected after all. Last night, the British team played its best game of the competition, especially the skip, David Murdoch. For me, however, the key to the team is second Peter Smith. When he plays well, which hasn’t been always in this competition, the team plays well. These guys appear to be on a roll and if that's the case, we could have a barn-burner of a gold-medal game.

* Had to love this Tweet from Rainn Wilson (even with the spelling mistake), who plays Dwight Schrute on The Office: “Is there such a thing as 'fantasy curling'? Cause if there is, I'm drafting Binyu Wang.”

* Speaking of Tweets, here’s a nasty one from Amy Nixon, third for Shannon Kleibrink’s rink: “is just about done with how "fit" the canadian women's curling team is. That whole team is far from fit.” Meow!

* Food Rant of the Day: So the folks here are the fine Vancouver Olympic Centre have a really nice media set up. There’s a massive work area behind the curling rink and a cafeteria where you can have anything you want to eat. . . as long as it’s chili. For the fifth day in a row, chili is what they’re serving up for lunch. And dinner. Last night, when I asked the woman serving up the slop what was on the menu, she said: “Shepherd’s Pie.” I was overjoyed at the change of menu and ordered up a plate only to learn that it was the same old chili with mashed potatoes on top. This may be the first curling event in history at which I lose weight.

Thoughts as we hit the home stretch

2010-02-22T13:12:00.004-05:00

Thoughts as we hit the home stretch:

* I’m sitting on the bench beside the delightful Terry Kolesar, communications director for the United States Curling Association. Every day, she gets to wade through the e-mails sent to the group’s general delivery web site. She always tells me the general themes and most are really positive such as people who just want to find out where they can try the sport.
But it never ceases to amaze me how many people think they can take up the sport and make it to the Olympics in oh, say, four years. Sure, I’ll just pick up the game and get myself to world-class in two years, then win the U.S. Trials and presto . . . I’m an Olympian.
Not that I want to be the one to crush their dreams, but folks. . . it ain’t happening. While John Shuster and his team are, for the most part, a) older and b) not in the best of shape, they have played the game at a very high level for a very long time. Yes, some of them are in their 40s and Russ Howard was 50 when he won gold in Torino, but they’ve been throwing rocks for 35 years. You’re not going to go out, take up golf and make it to the Masters in two years so why do you think you can do the same in curling?
Go out, take up the sport, enjoy the game, go to a bonspiel (the one in Chicago is a dandy) and watch the best play.

* What is it with the concessions here are the Olympics? They sell sandwiches but do you think you can get a turkey or ham and cheese or roast beef? Nope, last night my choice was cucumber dill and cream cheese or hummus on waki bread, whatever that is.

* Either it’s a slow day on the Olympic docket or it’s getting to the end. This morning, there are a number of basically nice but completely curling clueless American columnists in the house. During the game between Canada and the U.S., one said to me: “Smith’s having a good isn’t he? Of course I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at.” Give them points for honesty.

* As far as I can tell, not one other Canadian Olympian has shown up to watch a curling game.

* I’m always amazed at how technically sound the slides of the Chinese women curlers are but how awful their releases are. One of the Canadian women curlers (whose identity I’ll protect) said it was almost impossible to read the ice off them because of it. One thing you can say is that they are consistent and it works for them.

* Is it a sign of concession? Although they’re not technically out of it, the American coaches are sitting right below me as Canada and the U.S. tangle this morning and no one is taking any notes, or recording any shots.

One Amazing Game

2010-02-21T11:35:00.002-05:00

It’s hard to put last night into the proper words if you weren’t in the building. It was, quite simply, magical.

Now I’m not talking so much about the game itself, although it was an enjoyable one. But the building itself and the atmosphere was special.

After a couple of draws of ugly fans – who cheered during deliveries, roared when teams missed shots and essentially tried to distract certain teams – the crowd Saturday night was well behaved (with a few minor exceptions) and a ton of fun. In the humble opinion of this scribe, it was the best curling crowd I’ve seen in my 25-plus years of covering the game. The only complaint on the night came from one fan who wondered why there weren't any cupholders on the seats as it was tough holding a beer and a foam finger all night.

The best moment came in the 10th end when a group of well-oiled twentysomething shirtless guys, stood up and started singing the national anthem. At first it was just them crooning but it quickly grew and by the time they reached “With Glowing Hearts,” most of the arena had joined in, standing and waving flags at the same time. The game came to a stop and I can remember looking over at Kevin Martin who was in the house holding the broom for Marc Kennedy and seeing this huge smile across his face. It was one of those moments you’ll remember for a long, long time.

The game itself was almost weird. There were some amazing shots – especially from the thirds – some untimely picks and some flat out inexplicable misses. But it was definitely entertaining. I actually thought about half-way through that the Brits were going to win, but there were a few cringe-inducing misses. The two that stood out were Murdoch’s heavy draw in seven on his first, turning a potential two-point end into a single, and then Euan Byers first stone in nine, slipping into the rings and allowing Martin to get the blank.

As big as the win was in ending The Streak and all, it really had more significance in what it meant to both teams’ position in the standings. Martin is now guaranteed at least a tiebreaker and Murdoch can’t afford to lose.

One thing I think the loss did for the Brits/Scots was really fire them up. They’ve seemed a little lackluster thus far for some reason, but as Murdoch said last night, maybe it takes 6,000 people yelling at them to get them fired up.

We’ll find out.

US changes, Canadian photos

2010-02-19T15:54:00.004-05:00

The breaking news here this morning is that the American team has decided to bench skip John Shuster for their game against France. This is a pretty drastic move even with the team at 0-4, although you can understand it from the American standpoint.
Shuster has looked positively average here this week, missing some relatively (for this level) easy shots to win games. With a little better marksmanship, he could easily be 3-1. So this afternoon, Chris Plys, the first Olympian to Twitter during a competition albeit from the bench, will call the game and throw third stones, while Jason Smith hurls the last brick.
I’ve never been big proponent for changing the lineup during the course of a competition. First, the four guys on the American team earned its way into the competition and should finish it out. Second, they’re playing France . . . FRANCE! If they can beat these guys, then maybe they should put Bud Somerville in.
However, Shuster, being the good guy that he is, has agreed to support the team and not raise problems.

Speaking of lineup changes, the Russians altered theirs for the game against the U.S. women this morning. This isn’t a surprise – they seem to do this in every competition. The fact that Ludmila Privovkova was scored at four per cent through the first four ends of their previous game and ended up at 36 per cent may have something to do with the change.

OK, now back to what I was going to write about today. Thanks to the generosity of Super Media Attache Karen McDonald, I have some interesting pictures of the Canadian teams and some of their travels through the first few days of the Olympics.
So in this assortment are Morris, Kennedy and Hebert with MTV guy Daryn Jones, the same three with Maelle Ricker, then there’s one of Johnny Mo on the air with FAN 590, and him again with some local firefighters.

Olympics Day 2

2010-02-18T11:42:00.004-05:00

Day 2 at the Olympics:

• I’m not sure who made the draw for this big shootout, but did anyone not notice that Great Britain played its first two games on the same sheet with the same rocks? Even skip David Murdoch was shocked at that. The Canadian women played the same sheet twice in a row but with different rocks.

• Speaking of Murdoch, he was called for a rules violation that I’ve only seen once before. He wasn’t standing on the sheet when the first rock of the second end was thrown. That’s a violation as the person in charge of the house has to be on the sheet. Seems a little picky but it’s in the book. Then again, so is the rule about dumping and that never gets called.

• Is there a sadder story so far than the American teams here? And I don’t mean sad as in pathetic but as in you feel bad for them. Combined, the men’s and women’s rinks are 0-5 and they shouldn’t be. These guys and gals just find a way to lose when they seem to be in a position to win. Last night, John Shuster had a draw to the four to win his game but the sweepers missed the call and they ended up losing on a measure. That sent the game to an extra end where the skip missed a raise takeout for the win. To me, it just seems as if these teams are playing much better than their records although sometimes I scratch my head at the strategy. I like Shuster’s Tweet this morning though: “Not one ounce of quit in this team....and that's a promise.”

• By the way, U.S. fifth man Chris Plys, a prolific Tweeter himself, has been told to stop tweeting during the game. Seems they want him to focus on curling rather than Twitter, which sort of makes sense. If I’m not mistaken, he is the first athlete at the Olympics to Tweet during the competition. And likely the last.

• Despite all the promises, I have yet to see another Canadian athlete show up to watch curling .

• Oh and all these whining British writers/columnists who are saying these are the worst Games ever? Not one has shown up here either. I spoke with a couple of British curling media types here who are somewhat PO’ed at that, considering they have two very good medal shots here.

• Oh and those Norwegian curling pants? There’s now a Facebook Group on them that has more than 53,000 members.
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Day 1 at the Olympics

2010-02-17T03:16:00.003-05:00

First day of competition and here are some impressions:

* This is the loudest, most raucous crowd I’ve ever seen and heard at a curling competition. They scream, yell, bang the seats, wave flags and sometimes even at the right time. Yes, they aren’t the most knowledgeable folks. Sometimes they yell and scream when players are delivering rocks. Other times they yell and scream when players miss shots, but get a lot of stones moving. Still, it’s a fun atmosphere and the players seem to love it.

* I thought Kevin Matin was going to run Thomas Ulsrud out of the rink in his first game but the Norwegians battled back, especially with that three in the fifth. I don’t think they missed a shot after that and actually were set up for three in the 10th. Canada could have very easily lost that game. Instead, Martin made the clutch draw (which selfishly made writing my story with the 2002 last-rock miss very easy) with his last.

* I thought Bernard’s first game was good but there were quite a few key misses, I thought. And two really bad sweeping errors by the Canadians, one in the seventh and one in the ninth. On the first one, the TV microphones even picked up Cheryl asking Susan about it afterwards.

* Mirjam Ott’s delivery seemed to leave her a few times during the game. She was fishtailing so bad on a couple, she looked as if she was playing in the Friday Night Mixed at my club after a couple of cocktails.

* A thought: I think there are more Chinese media here covering the two Chinese teams than there are Chinese curlers.

* The weirdest tee shirt I saw today was worn by a 20ish guy who looked sort of normal. His shirt said: “Kevin Martin Makes Me Haaard.” That’s so wrong on so many levels.

* The Russian women’s team didn’t look very good. They made a few really strange calls and someone should tell them that four people sweeping a stone doesn’t really do anything more than two people sweeping.

* The novelty of the Norwegian men’s pants has worn off. Now they're just silly.

* Just in case you missed it last night, John Morris was named as one of Canada’s top 10 bachelors by Entertainment Tonight Canada.

* Craziest thing I’ve seen here so far. Well before the second draw, they start piping the teams in and I figured it was a rehersal of some sort. Nope. It’s the opening ceremonies for curling. But there’s about eight people in the stands. Seriously. Apparently they forgot to tell anyone. It became the silliest thing I’ve seen in curling. Every Olympic curling team out on the ice. John Furlong, the CEO of VANOC, there to give a speech and no fans. By the time they finished, a few had dribbled in for the evening round. But as they exited, David Murdoch looked up at me on the bench and just shook his head. I shook mine right back.

At The Olympics

2010-02-14T18:38:00.003-05:00

I arrived in Vancouver and spent my first day at the Olympic curling venue, which, in contrast to the rest of the venues, is freezing.

The place, officially called Vancouver Olympic Centre, is sort of tucked in beside a residential area and usually houses a neat little baseball complex.

The curling facility is a good looking, but small complex. There are seats for 5,600 and as for the media, I don’t know if I’ve ever been closer to the action. If Bob Pickering were still playing, he’d probably hit us with his backswing.

This was the first day the players have been on the ice and so far, it’s getting rave reviews. Kevin Martin said there’s about four and a half feet of swing and it’s weight sensitive, meaning if you’re heavy, it won’t move. He also said all the movement is late, good for those quiet weight hits.

I thought David Murdoch had the best line, though, when he said: Finally, the Olympic Games are going to have some curling ice.” There certainly hasn’t been much good ice in the past Games. This should be exciting if it stays like this.

Making a big impression during their session was Team Norway, who showed up wearing pants from a company called Loud Mouth Golf. You might have seen John Daly wearing this line on the PGA Tour. They definitely live up to their name, that’s for sure.

Apparently they have a second set that’s somewhat different. The pants were the idea of second Chris Svae who said there are no rules about what pants you can wear, but he added, “There might be after this.” By the way, he was the guy who brought out the pink belts last year.

Overall my experience here has been fantastic. I woke up early and headed downtown (I’m staying out by the airport) to the main media centre to get my accreditation and was in and out in about three minutes. No waiting. I then took a walk over to the flame and had to admit to being disappointed. The flame and structure are impressive but they’re behind a fence with a generator and some other junk in the way. I’ve posted a picture so you can see what I mean.

The Sky Train here is amazing and is free so that makes the transportation around the city easy. The curling venue is about a 10 minute walk from the station so as long as it’s not raining . . .as if, right?

Michael Burns Sr. RIP

2010-02-10T11:01:00.001-05:00

I was saddened to learn today of the passing of Michael Burns Sr., the foremost curling photographer in the game’s history. Many newbies will know his son, Mike Jr., who has carried on the tradition.

Mike Sr., shot Briers for as long as I can remember. When I did my book on the history of the Brier, I spent a day in Sr.’s archives, looking through some of the most remarkable shots from decades of covering the roaring game.

In addition to curling, Sr., handled photography at the racetrack and eventually moved his business out there to a trailer. He had been downtown for years.

And, something many may not know, but he also shot other sports such as hockey and has one of the greatest shots of the famous Bill Barilko goal that won the Stanley Cup.
There’s more in this fine obituary in the Toronto Star.

I will always remember Michael as being well-dressed and professional, no matter what the day or situation. He was truly an amazing guy.

Jones, Howard and Lino

2010-02-08T09:24:00.002-05:00

* Congrats to Jennifer Jones and her squad for another Scotties title. This one was well earned after getting off to a slow start, something that’s not unfamiliar for the foursome. I wonder if this will end any of the rumours of Cathy O-C getting the axe or moving on. After all, it’s hard to pass up another trip to the Canadian finals, especially since it’s in Charlottetown next year.
As impressive as the Jones team was, I have to guess many fans were hoping for that Cinderella story PEI team to pull it out. Kathy O’Rourke (whose haircut is probably closer to Cruella Deville than Cinderella) and her rink played solid except for that steal of two in eight. Ouch. But Erin Carmody was remarkable. My quads hurt just watching her stand in the hack and glare down at the broom for 30 seconds or whatever it was before she threw the rock. By the way, is she out of high school yet? She looks about 15.

* Glenn Howard went undefeated to win Ontario in Napanee. Brad Gushue takes Nfld/Lab. Yawn.

* Finally, here’s my story about Lino Di Iorio, the guy behind Balance Plus, who was rightfully fit to be tied when the CCA/COC started trumpeting all the top-secret results coming out of those two studies done at the University of Alberta and Wester using Own the Podium funds.
Lino’s been banging his head against the wall trying to get the folks up in Ottawa to buy in to his research with no luck. So he took his show to Scotland and other European countries, all of who have benefited. And many who were chuckling at how the Canadian media were reacting to the press conferences held to announce these revolutionary results. While we don’t know exactly what the Canadian studies came up with, a couple of people I talked to said they have a pretty good idea and they’ve known this type of stuff for, oh, almost a decade.