A Curling Farewell

A fond farewell to InTheHack, the clear leader in independent online curling news and gossip from the late 1990s throught the early years of this century. Custodian Mike Potter has closed the doors, and his final farewell posting, which is located here, includes some cool memories.

And a smorgasbord of stuff for you follows. We are on a short semi-vacation for a couple of weeks, but don’t drift too far away; you may see us post something along the way ...


• First came this jesty posting, Canadian Brothers Pissed That Fantasy Curling Is Cancelled. Well, guess what... the real deal is indeed online, as CurlingZone has jumped in with, believe it or not, a fantasy curling league ...

• Canada’s Globe & Mail has now picked up on Wonder Bread’s fab commercial spots ...

• Team Adelboden in Switzerland – now skipped once again by an out-of-retirement Björn Zryd, after former skip and World Mixed Doubles champ Toni Müller split to join Team Andi Schwaller – are a fun bunch, as evidenced by their website. Look down in the bottom left corner for a very cool poll, asking: who is the greatest male Swiss curler at each position?

The actual language of the ask is: Wähle deine Spieler für die “Hall of Fame?”

So far, the top vote-getters are, generally, a mix between the legendary Attinger clan – generations of brothers, cousins and so on – and members of Patrick Hürlimann’s 1998 Olympic champion team.

Voting closes on August 30, so get on it ...

• The Brier trophy is coming to Moosomin, Sask ...

• Speaking of Sask, Team Michelle Englot – akak Team Saturn – has hit the blogosphere, and here’s their “Meet the Team” posting.

Love the tagline:

Regina; Saskatchewan; Canada; Earth. In that order.

• John Morris has spoken out regarding the Canadian Curling Association’s volunteer fee, which has caused some recent controversy, as this CTV piece shows ...

• The Winnipeg Sun has revealed the name of Manitoba’s new curling chief, Shane Ray ...

• Have you checked out Vera Pezer’s Smart Curling yet? Well, why not?

• Scotland’s great Munro Caper will get an official investigation (lots more on the details are here) ...

• It took Phil a while to get the Grand Forks pix out of the camera and posted online. Oh well ...

• According to one story, curling still “remains an enigma” at the Olympic host site of six years ago. Sigh ...

• A Colorado video curling feature for you ...

• WE GET MAIL: Craig Brown, skip of the 2008 U.S. men’s team, sent us an interesting note...

Hi TCN, This video is a U.S. ad for Molson beer. I think this might be a short version of the commercial, but it was the only link I could find on YouTube.

Check the TVs in the background. It’s tough to see on the small YouTube screen, but I’ve seen it on a real TV and I’m pretty sure it is none other than my brother-in-law, Ian Tetley, along with Scott Bailey sweeping a Wayne Middaugh shot.

My girlfriend thought I was a little crazy rewinding this ad over and over again with the TiVo... until she realized what I was looking at.

For the record, we endorse Craig’s sharp eyes: that is the famed former (and also recent) world champion front end for Middaugh. Thanks Craig!

• WE GET MAIL II: And finally, Team Glenn Howard coach Scott Taylor wraps up his trip to Beijing...

The weather is outstanding today. Clear dry air and blue skies. Jet-lag enabled me to get up early enough to watch people in the local park doing their daily martial arts exercises, including sword routines.

We had a breakfast meeting with members of the COC.

Then we travelled to BC Canada Place. They have an amazing exhibit of Canadiana that is open to everyone. One of the goals is to convince people to visit our country, while the second floor is dedicated to fostering opportunities between Canadian and Chinese businesses.

We spent our lunch break walking around Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. More security – armed forces and police – than I have ever seen.

We spent the afternoon in Shinyi talking with the leaders of our Canoe and Rowing teams. It was great to hear their thoughts about being based at a satellite venue, and not staying at the Athletes’ Village.

We finished off the afternoon back in Beijing at the Performance Centre discussing what we learned and how the information can be used by all sports – including curling – in future Olympics.

We said our goodbyes to our fellow coaches, excursion organisers and team leaders at our group dinner.

The trip was very worthwhile. Tomorrow is travel day. Everyone is looking forward to getting home, but not the long flight.

No one in our group will ever forget the great people of China and their friendlliness, the beauty of Beijing and the surrounding area, and last but certainly not least, their first Olympic Experience.

Rocking the boat

What an interesting Canadian women’s championship that was.

One year ago, a curling journalist summed up the women’s game by tearing an unexpected strip off virtually the entire gender. This was most surprising given the writer wasn’t really a writer... he was a competitor, a peer beloved by virtually all who play this roaring game. And he’s the last person we would expect to see “rock the boat.”

He said:

Ladies teams have coaches, psychologists, nutritionists et cetera. Fire them all and take responsibility for your own results and nothing is better than throwing a ton of granite.

I am sick of hearing that the men have better sweeping and are more powerful at clearing the guards out front. That is a fact, but you ladies have great deliveries and flexibility. You don’t have to be able to make triples and have your rocks swept 12 feet to win at this game. You should, however, be willing and able to make the simple shots with confidence.

I am so tired of hearing the pet phrases “risk and reward.” You are going to be in games where if you miss a certain shot, you are going to lose and if you make a certain shot, you are going to win. It can be that simple.

You ladies have to toughen up. How many times do you hear after a complete miss... “That’s okay.” “Nice try.” Geez Louise! It is not okay!

I am not advocating dirty looks and broom slamming, but quit celebrating misses. When players miss, they should be less than happy with themselves and the way to show it is by bearing down and making their next shot.

This year, if Neil “Harry” Harrison were still scribbing for SWEEP!, we suspect he would now be nodding his head in some satisfaction. Generally speaking, the bulk of the field seemed to play a better game of curling this time around. More rocks in play, a little more killer instinct, a style based more on winning than the fear of losing.

And that meant a better show, whether you were yelling in person from the Brandt Centre seats, crouched over your computer screen at work, or settled into the sofa watching plasma.

That’s a very general comment. Of course there were episodes of sheer madness – one writer shook his head all week over some suspect Quebec strategy – and over a nine-day rockfest everybody has an opinion. Winnipeg’s Jim Bender mused Saturday about eventual champ Jennifer Jones (Kruger Products photo by Andrew Klaver, above) possibly scaling things back, and, well, look where she is today (coming in to land right about now, actually). As for quantification, we certainly did not bother to look up CurlingZone’s in-depth numbers to analyze the differences between Lethbridge 07 and Regina 08.

But overall, we think Harry would be happy. Perhaps we’ll ring him up and find out..?

Some final Scotties thoughts – at least until you read the March issue of TCN:

– Is there a more up-and-down Canadian women’s skip than Suzanne Gaudet?

– News Talk 980’s Mitchell Blair was a busy fellow, but still wonders “Why didn’t I?”

– It looks like Regina organizers can relax for a while, but Victoria dare not ...

– Did you know that the closing Scotties banquet, the “social event of the curling season”, didn’t happen?

– And here’s a blog devoted to Michelle Englot, who made it through a rolling sea of emotions at the STOH.

And furthermore ...


• Something new for the debate about curling’s TV commentators. A Canadian amateur sport bigwig, Diana Davis Duerkop, was thoroughly unimpressed with CBC’s Mike Harris during Saturday’s semifinal telecast, and likewise during the final.

After accusing Harris of favouring Ontario in the semi, she herself shows favouratism to Joan McCusker. Meanwhile, the majority of curling fans we regularly hear from – including Bob Weeks – seem to prefer, or at least tend to agree with, Mr. Harris.

So does sports media observer Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star, the fellow who broke the reality-TV curling hullaballoo. Zelko seems to like everything that both commentators have to offer, and believes they both hush up at the right times.

Interesting.

Davis Duerkop also takes CBC to task for ignoring the Albertans once the final rock was thrown. And we agree with that criticism.

• Townie Bastard isn’t strong on the Scotties Newfoundland skip, but he is himself a curling champion this morning. Now is that the legitimately big curling news, or is there more to come?

• Speaking of the hullaballoo, Jef Spaleta is begging for a Rockstar Curling audition in Fairbanks, Alaska ...

• The Montreal Gazette came out with a strong review for Doug Clark’s book, The Roaring Game ...

• Six other international champions were declared over the weekend. In the United States, Craig Brown won his first American men’s title in eight years while Deb McCormick made history by capturing her third women’s crown in a row.

In Scotland, it was Euroking David Murdoch over defending champ Warwick Smith in men’s play but the women’s side produced a surprise in new champion Gail Munroe. Who is Gail, you might ask? Well, apart from riding a grand streak of wins over the past month or so – including a 4-0 record over the vanquished Kelly Wood in recent times – she happens to be Hammy McMillan’s sister!

And in Switzerland, Mirjam Ott clubbed former Olympic skip Luzia Ebnoether 12-5 in the women’s final, while the brand-new pairing of Claudio Pescia and 1998 Olympic champ Patrick Huerlimann – playing third – shocked Ralph Stoeckli 7-6 in the men’s final. To see a video report, click here and again on the blue “News” box.

Watch for an unusual photo of the Swiss champs in the March issue of The Curling News!

• Outdoor curling gets a third feature treatment in the aforementioned March issue (subscribe today!). Today’s Rochester Democrat & Chronicle throws a spotlight on 200 happy outdoor rockers, and there’s this video, too ...

• Amanda went ...

• We, too salute this curling hero, Jack Lockhart of North Bay, Ontario ...

• And finally, the memory of Sandra Schmirler – very topical given the recent 10th anniversary of the first women’s Olympic gold – is often disconnected from her husband and their children... who are now old enough to ask questions about mom and her legacy. Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post goes in depth with widower Shannon England, and it results in a lengthy but facinating read ...

10 years ago today: Nagano 1998

Ten years ago today, IOC kingpin Juan Antonio Samaranch himself hung gold medals around the necks of Switzerland’s Patrick Hürlimann and his team from Lausanne Olympique, the curling club named after the IOC headquarters in that same Swiss city.

It happened in tiny Karuizawa, a resort town near Nagano, Japan, which usually closes down for winter but was reopened for a very special thing called Olympic Curling. Nagano, of course, was the official host city of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games and the first time the real-deal heavy metal was dished out to those who play The Roaring Game.

Canada’s Sandra Schmirler, tragically felled by cancer less than two years later, won the much-publicized women’s gold.

Silver went to Canada’s Mike Harris and Denmark’s Helena Blach-Lavrsen. The Danes were so pumped they had royal family members in the stands and a couple of curling clubs were built (and now thrive) in the post-Games excitement.

Bronze went to a couple of very highly decorated veterans with multiple world championships to their names: Sweden’s Elisabet Gustafson and Norway’s Eigil Ramsfjell.

Karuizawa celebrates every year with an international tournament, which is going on right now. This year, special 10th anniversary celebrations are planned for the city of Nagano itself.

The World Curling Federation has formally recognized the date, as has the fine weblog Curling Today, the online partner to The Scottish Curler.

Where were you, 10 years ago today? Did you awaken – or stay up – to all hours of the night to see the TV images from the other side of the world? Did anyone really comprehend what a frenzy the pursuit of Olympic dreams would be like today?

Rodger Schmidt, European columnist for The Curling News, has a fascinating viewpoint in the upcoming March issue: take note, as you won’t want to miss it.

And happy anniversary.

To all of us; curling fans... and curling friends.


Elsewhere:

• Speaking of Patrick Hürlimann, the Executive Board member of the World Curling Federation is back on the ice this weekend as the Swiss Championships begin, playing third for Claudio Pescia. That’s potentially bigger news than Russ Howard offering some coaching consultations to Pescia’s former skip, Ralph Stöckli... which is true, by the way ...

• Holy smokes! Did you hear about the Greatest Shot Of All Time (TM) that Kevin Martin made against Randy Ferbey last night in the Alberta provincial?! Well, now you can read all about it courtesy of Terry Jones... and Al Cameron (in both print and online)... and also from Vicki Hall.

The real winners here are CurlTV subscribers; there were no TV cameras at the event except for those belonging to the all-curling webchannel. And now that shot has been archived so that everybody who owns a CurlTV membership can see it.

Lo and behold, the February issue of The Curling News features an advert with a special promotional code for a seriously discounted (50 per cent off!) annual membership to CurlTV. It’s located on page five, by the way ...

• The Scotties, the Canadian Women’s Championship, starts tomorrow – on TSN TV, on CBC Sports Online daily (morning draws, plus semi and final) and also online via CCA scoring – and when a major curling championship comes to Saskatchewan, the prairie stories spill forth. The surviving members of Team Schmirler, incidentally, are all Honourary Chairpersons of the event ...

• Here’s a look at all the teams, including some with a Saskatchewan angle... and you can always place your bets here ...

• And speaking of Sask, Murray McCormick has been profiling Michelle Englot and her home team this week. Today he throws the spotlight on Darlene Kidd, a former junior champ who had been spending a lot of time in Ontario up until recently ...

• OK, skipper Englot is not featured until tomorrow, but here’s another scribe’s recollection of the media-savvy skip who “gets it” ...

• Oh God, it’s Hillcrest again ...

• The ultimate curling online auction continues, as we promoted a few days ago. Items up for grabs, which raise funds for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, feature some great curling memorabilia from a top competitor: MacDonald Brier montages (1970), MacDonald Brier competitor silverware (1973), Labatt Brier collector pin sets (1988), and even some European Championship pins (1985 and 1995) . Click here for the current lot, and check back often ...

• Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard is back in the Brier... but sadly for Martin Ferland, there is nothing but... deception ...

• Here’s a quick update on the Manitoba men’s provincials from Paul Wiecek, and Sun guy Paul Friesen sums up the time clock boo-boo that gifted Kerry Burtnyk a key victory ...

• We hadn’t heard of this U.S. hotbed before: Casper, Wyoming ...

• Here’s a little squib on curling in The Waltonian, the student pub for Eastern U in St. Davids, PA ...

• Let’s not forget Munster, Indiana ...

• And here’s some outdoor curling vids – don’t forget, part two of our outdoor feature is in the current Feb. issue of TCN and part three arrives next month – from Gun Lake, BC (4 vids) and also some yee-haw action from the heartland of Minnesota...

• Scotland’s men’s championship is underway next week ...

• Dan Dunleavy commentated for last week’s Ontario Men’s Tankard on Rogers TV, and explains the thrill of working with his curling hero ...

• There’s another Capital One Curlers Corner webisode online... you are remembering to check these weekly things out, right? ...

• We are just loving the self-portrait of Orange Girl – the third of three photos in this blogpost ...

• And finally, Johnada has been celebrating Curling Week at his blog – very nice! – but today’s post sees him disagreeing, somewhat, with his Minnesota mate over curling’s status as a good fitness workout.

He quotes a fitness website and its “curling coefficient of .066 calories burnt per minute per kg of body weight” as proof curlers get only a minor workout... inferior, in fact, to fishing in a stream.

We’ll be sure to mail him a copy of the upcoming March issue of TCN, in which some top high-performance coaches break down some real curling “coefficients” and prove that curlers sweat it up much, much more than the casual observer would ever expect ...