Sobeys Slam confirmed

A couple of weeks ago, we suggested that Sobeys would become a new sponsor of the Asham World Curling Tour’s Grand Slam series.

Later today it will be confirmed that a new Slam – for women – will hit Halifax this coming fall.

We’ve discovered the news and a quote from WCPA prez Paul Boutilier, who says: “The Sobeys Slam is a perfect addition to the women’s series. Sobeys has a long heritage of supporting great curling events and we are thrilled to have Sobeys come aboard as a title sponsor.”

The Sobeys Slam, in support of regional food banks, will be held at the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia on November 29–December 2, 2007, and will boast a total prize purse of $54,000. A skins game for the “A” qualifiers will be held on December 1 with proceeds going to the food bank.

“Hosting the best women’s teams in the sport will be outstanding for curling fans in Nova Scotia,” said Jim Nix, chairman of the new Sobeys Slam. “We are really proud to be involved with this event.”

This, of course, means that there are now five Grand Slams for women. Next season’s calendar will look like this:

Grand Slam: Trail Appliances Autumn Gold (Calgary, AB – Oct 5-9, 2007)
Grand Slam: Casinos of Winnipeg Classic (Winnipeg, MB – Oct 19-22, 2007)
Grand Slam: Wayden Transportation Ladies Classic (Abbotsford, BC – Nov 16-19, 2007)
Grand Slam: Sobeys Slam (New Glasgow, NS – November 29 to December 2, 2007)
Grand Slam: The Players’ Championship (date and location TBA).

Betker sneaks in

The field is set for the 2007 Scotties TOH in Lethbridge, and Jan Betker's Regina squad (Regina Leader-Post photo) is the last team to qualify.

Betker won the Sask title yesterday on a major gasp of good fortune. After making a self-acknowledged bad call near the start of the ninth end, her squad could only watch as final-game opponent Stefanie Lawton lined up an easy hit for three and a 9-7 lead coming home. But the rock picked, Betker stole one and suddenly it was 8-6 for the eventual winners.

Yikes.

Tough to say who deserved this one, however. Lawton was lying five in the sixth when Betker made a critical hit for one, while the champs had scored deuces in the second and fourth ends to build a lead in the first place. Betker had also won the Sask round-robin at 6-1, which included a 7-4 win over Lawton.

So call it a coin flip, which is exactly what seemed to happen... in that fateful ninth end.

You can read all about the STOH field in the February issue of The Curling News, now in the mail and arriving to subscribers via first-class mail in the next 48 hours.

More on the new issue of TCN in the next blogpost. Followed by some newslinks (but of course).

Korea wins Asian Games

South Korea's Lee Je-ho needed an extra end to beat Japan in the finals of the men's curling tournament at the Asian Games, and later, Korea's Jeong Jin-sook beat Japan to win the women's title and a curling double (photo).

South Korea is battling Japan for second place overall: the Koreans have nine gold medals to Japan's eight. China leads with 15.

Chinese curling – their teams finished third – continues to turn heads, as this story points out.

Elsewhere:

• The final women's provincial wraps up this weekend in Saskatchewan, and the defending champ knows what Manitoba's Jennifer Jones has been going through ...

• Sweden's men's and women's nationals are also underway, and you can view lots of it live on this website ...

• The Canadian Juniors are underway tomorrow in St. Catherines, Ontario ...

• It's bittersweet times for Dean Moulding, who has our sympathies ...

• Here's the story of a guy in Kansas City advocating curling for St. Louis, MO ...

• Curling is on the upswing in this Michigan town ...

• Was this story a clumsy hack job on curling, or faint praise? Perhaps if it were written more skillfully, we might know for sure. You be the judge... and if you want to comment, here’s where to click ...

• Ben, Ben... Ben. Why, oh why, did you throw your brush head at that poor unsuspecting spectator in Winnipeg? Dean Gemmell talks to this violent thug (big wink) on The Curling Show...

• Ottawa's Joyce Potter and company won an Ottawa sports award last night ...

• Hey look, Merk almost made it ...

• And finally, Texas Dan has discovered Vikingland... and yes, that is a great name ...

Kapp tipped for Edmonton

Germany's two big men's teams – Andy Kapp and Sebastian Stock – are always beating the hell out of each other to go to Worlds, Olympics etc. And both teams are made up of great, funny guys – a treat for any event to have.

It's now the Kapp's turn. Andy, Uli and company have beaten Stock to win the German championship, and have qualified for the 2007 Ford Worlds in Edmonton.

This was the big one. Everybody around the world, and we mean everybody, knows Edmonton will be the biggest Worlds in history. And everybody wants to be there.

In Deutschland, the top eight teams thrashed it out in a single round-robin Page system (er, wot?). The four finalists were Kapp (Füssen), Stock (Oberstorf), Christopher Bartsch (Hamburg) and Severin Walter (Baden).

In the 1 vs 2 Stock beat Kapp 7-6, while the 3 vs 4 saw Walter defeat Bartsch 8-4. In the semi, the Kapps took Walter 7-4.

In the final, Kapp was up 5-2 and then a steal of two in the sixth end left things pretty comfortable. Stocky had to draw against five in the seventh and had a good chance to steal in the eighth, but misplaced guard, and Kapp got another deuce (7-3). Stock finally got a deuce in nine, but the Kapps cleared well coming home and left a steal for Stock, winning 7-6.

On to Edmonton!

Dordi hangs them up

Just days after 2002 Olympic champion Pål Trulsen made his retirement official – he and his team bade farewell in Winnipeg and received the Asham WCT Ambassador Award – comes word that Dordi Nordby (photo), Norway’s jovial queen of curling, has announced her retirement, after participating in three Olympic Games, 10 World Championships and 22 European Championships.

“It is time others show their mettle,” Nordby told Norway’s Aftenposten.

“I will always be a part of curling, but my time on the rink is over.”

The two-time global champion in 1990 and 1991, Nordby made a spirited run at the recent 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, losing the semi-final and the bronze-medal game to finish fourth.

At December’s 2006 Le Gruyére European Championships in Basel, Nordby’s Norwegian team finished near the bottom of the standings, failing to qualify her country for the upcoming World Women’s Curling Championships in Aomori, Japan.

“The high point of my career was when we won the World Championships in 1991 after extra rounds, in front of a (crowd of) 17,000 in Canada,” said Nordby.

The longtime skip – a member of Norway’s national team since the end of the 1980s – also dedicates her work life to the sport, managing the Snarøen Curling Club in Oslo, where she helps train future generations of Norwegian athletes.

On a personal note, Dordi has been a blast to quote or chat with over the years. She’s quick with a quip and funny as all heck. A true character, the likes of which are few and far between in international women’s curling... and she will be missed.

Universiade curling champions

The Curling News is everywhere. But you already knew that.

Italy's 2007 World Winter Universiade is over, and Canada's Team Brittany Gregor (photo by Nadine Saager) defeated the streaking Russians, led by recent European champion Ludmila Privivkova, 6-5 in the women's final on a last-rock draw to the four-foot. Japan won the bronze.

On the men's side, disappointment for Canada as Steve Laycock dropped the semi to the USA and then the bronze game, 9-4 to Sweden's remarkable three-man – and coachless – squad, skipped by Sebastian Kraupp.

John Shuster of the USA, the jettisoned lead on Pete Fenson's Olympic bronze team from a year ago, defeated Great Britain's John Hamilton 9-4 in the men's final, thanks largely to a big four-ender scored in the sixth end of play.

Big Curling Weekend

It's a big one indeed, but these two clowns (Johnny Mo and Benny Heebz, in photo) are having a ball. They're with Team Kevin Martin, of course, competing at Winnipeg's BDO Canadian Open Grand Slam right now (Sunday on CBC-TV). Thanks to the immortal CurlingZone for the foto.

Speaking of slamming, word has it that a couple of new sponsors are about to be announced for the Asham World Curling Tour's major series. One of them, apparently, adds a fourth women's Slam to the event family, and just might be hosted down east and labelled the "Sobeys Slam". But that's just a rumour. Of course.

Where's Dean? He might be in Winnipeg, or not, but The Curling Show is reaching out and touching the Slammers wherever they go. Dean just grabbed Pat Simmons for the latest installment.

And then, of course, there's the pile of provincial Scotties finishing this weekend; links to those websites on this here blog just to cap it off. Whew.

Stay tuned...

The Hunt Is On

... for the elusive red heart, the symbol of superiority in Canadian women's provincial curling. The big stop on the road to the national championship.

Team Canada is Kelly Scott; PEI is Suzanne Gaudet; and here's a linkfest for the other provincial championships up for grabs right now, with most ending this weekend:

– British Columbia
– Alberta
– Saskatchewan (er, next weekend, actually)
– Manitoba , with daily coverage from both the Winnipeg Sun and Free Press
– Ontario, with daily coverage from both the Toronto Star and Sun
– Quebec
– New Brunswick
– Nova Scotia, with a preview here ...
– Newfoundland
– The Territories: anyone? Bueller?

Elsewhere ...

• Canada’s youthful men’s team will meet the USA Thursday in one semi-final at the 2007 Winter Universiade, while Great Britain meets China in the other. On the women’s side, Canada lost their last three games but still made it into the playoffs, and will face Sweden in the semis. Defending champions Russia are into the other semi, and are awaiting the winner of an Italy/Japan tiebreaker.

Lots of press on the event – even from China – and what about Blogs? Lots of them in action from Italy: here’s the Canadian girls; Canada’s coach, the CCA’s Paul Webster; and even an excited local guy ...

• Speaking of Pinerolo, here’s an Italian computer curling game, inspired by Torino 2006; you can throw some wild-looking in-turns with this one ...

• DID YOU KNOW? ... that the second Grand Slam of the season, The BDO Classic Canadian Open, is underway today at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg? Don’t forget the nifty hotel and ticket package offered by the Winnipeg Fairmont, mentioned earlier this week ...

• Canadians in New Yawk City: you're wanted for a bonspiel this coming Jan. 28 ...

• No, of course it’s not ...

• Jennifer Jones and the Asham WCT’s Players’ Championship got some ink in this newser about funding cash coming down the pipe from Canadian Olympic sponsor HBC ...

• DID YOU KNOW II ... That the media liked the scoop revealed by The Curling News, right here on Friday, regarding the new Asham 8-Ender Award, which will hand out an $8,000 cash prize to one of 145 worldwide teams that scored an 8-ender last season? Tune in to CBC for the BDO final on Sunday, where they will announce the winning team ...

• U.S. skip Patti Lank will compete with her 15-year-old daughter in Japan next month. Canada’s entries, incidentally, are B.C.’s T.J. Peropolkin and Ontario’s Jo-Ann Rizzo, who will depart the day after the Ontario Scotties ends ...

• Former Canadian (and world) Seniors champ Bob Turcotte is back in the show, but unfortunately multiple Ontario women’s champ Anne Dunn couldn’t try to defend her 2006 title: this year’s World Seniors in Edmonton clash with the Canadian nationals ...

Crazed Human Curling

Not sure what's funnier... the fact that these Left Coast university whackos are soon to engage in human curling (on January 25) or that it's all themed around a distinctly Scottish/Canadian celebration of the Chinese new year.

Whatever... we love it.

Later tonight or tomorrow we'll give you a more professional blogpost. Promise.

PS: Suzanne Gaudet has won the PEI championship and will rep the Spuds in Lethbridge. So far it's her and Team Canada's Kelly Scott. More later.

$8,000 for a curling 8-ender

No, we are not making this up.

If you scored an eight-ender in 2006, you could win CDN $8,000.

And one team certainly will, on January 28.

Remember the days when a sponsor would award free stuff to a team that scored an eight-ender, that magical perfect end – all eight stones counting – which is curling's closest thing to golf's hole-in-one? We remember companies like Seagrams... Ford... even the now-defunct Cigar Institute of Canada, circa 1968 (and how did we know that one? Check out our next issue and the 50th anniversary retrospective section, of course).

Those days were long gone... until now.

Asham Curling Supplies, which markets the Furgale 8-ender brush, will soon be announcing the Asham 8-Ender Award, which will disburse an $8,000 cash prize to one of 145 teams – worldwide – that are listed as scoring an eight-ender during the previous 2005-06 curling season.

To find out which lucky team scores the big prize, tune in to CBC's coverage of the BDO Classic Canadian Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, live from Winnipeg on Jan. 28.

Asham, of course, is the title sponsor of the World Curling Tour, which features the four Grand Slam of Curling events as their crown jewels. And don't forget that CurlTV will be there throughout the round-robin and quarter-final action.

Speaking of the BDO, curling fans can count on a package deal from the Fairmont Winnipeg, where two room nights gets you two days of game tickets for a total of $150. Pretty sweet!

Briefly:

• The provincial Scotties are underway soon, so check this blog early next week for a handy list of all the event websites across the land. Another service we provide; aren't we nice!

• The Tim Hortons Brier Tankard usually goes on tour in late February, visiting the home club of each men's provincial champion before heading off to the big event. This year, a wee tour of the Hamilton area is on tap to drum up interest.

Just one question: is it really a tankard? Or just a trophy?

It is, of course, the original MacDonald Tobacco Brier Trophy (19-whatever through 1979), and wasn’t the tankard reference specific to the big gold beer mug Labatt built for that Brier era (1980-2000)?

Just asking ...

• DID YOU KNOW: That a one-day charity spiel in Midland, supported by the Middaughs, has raised $18,000? ...

• Mark Olson?

Did you say Mark OLSON?

Goodness, we haven’t seen him since... since... okay, since this ...

The Hack Came Back

Here’s a great story about the upcoming World Seniors, and, of course, Canadian men’s rep Al Hackner (far right, beside Rick Lang). That’s right, sing along now...

The Hack came back
the very next day
The Hack came back
they thought he was a goner
but The Hack came back
he just couldn’t stay away ...

• Say goodbye to Manitoba’s Safeway Select, folks. But don’t panic: as Jim Bender tells us, it’s just a name change to the men’s provincial trophy, effective immediately. And, they also have a new trophy, with all the previous champ’s names on it, dating back a while, although it's a bit of a train wreck right now. And, Safeway is on board for another three years of sponsorship. Hoo-wah ...

• The 22nd World Winter University Games, or Universiade, is underway today at the site of the recent 2006 Olympic Winter Games – Pinerolo, Italy. The curling discipline will no doubt be a major hit, and fans can follow the action here. To set it up, here’s a preview ...

• The last couple of junior teams – in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia (men and women) – have qualified for the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors in St. Catherines next month ...

• Ever seen SO curlers? They’re a hoot and their enthusiasm is infectious. Here’s a story from Saskatoon...

• Toronto’s big city club spiel has a new champion, and Manitoba’s version – the venerable MCA Bonspiel – gets underway tomorrow ...

• DID YOU KNOW?... that Ontario whistle-blowing skip Bryan Cochrane will compete in his 10th consecutive Ontario men’s provincial next month in Sarnia? Now we feel really old, too ...

• Finally, this spiel in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, is celebrating the same golden anniversary as this here publication, The Curling News ...

Too Much Curling News

Yup, there’s just too much going on. So we’ll get right to the links...

• Who are these guys (photo)? Located in the ‘Mission Control’ bunker at the Tarnby Curling Club in Denmark, this gaggle of techno-wizards are the heart and soul of the 2007 European Junior Challenge competition. Their event – recently concluded – declared the last few teams into March’s World Junior shootout in Eveleth, Minnesota, and these fellows can often be found glued to their screens in support of our favourite sport.
WCF technical guy/development guy/official/man-about-town Keith Wendorf is a fan of the boys and their bunker; he brings along his laptop and, presto, it is magically souped-up for another year ...

• Pfeifdawg is a blogger? Not Team Ferbey’s Scott Pfeifer, but his brother, who is coaching a squad at this weekend's Alberta Junior championships ...

• Speaking of juniors, remember this guy? We do, for it was one of the great curling stories of 2006 ...

• And how about this guy? We remember him too... and also one of his front-enders, from an even older era ...

• JJJ – none other than Jennifer J. Jones – certainly has her share of armchair enemies these days. But she also has a new friend: former Jenn Hanna second (and all-star shooter) Dawn Askin is throwing lead stones this weekend in Switzerland; other big names in that one include fellow Canuck Kelly Scott, Swiss thrower Mirjam Ott, Russia’s Euro champion Ludmila Privivkova, Germany’s Andrea Schoepp, Scotland’s Kelly Wood and, of course, Sweden’s Anette Norberg ...

• DID YOU KNOW?... That Ontario curling fans can enjoy no less than four competitions on local channel Rogers Television this month ...

• DID YOU KNOW II?... that another ticket package – the Day Pass – is on sale today for the Tim Hortons Brier in Hamilton? Here’s a media story to boot ...

• Cathy “Blood” King is the latest name to cough it up on The Curling Show ...

• A hearty congrats and thanks to Ray Pavlove of Parry Sound, Ontario, a lifeling curling dynamo who was recently honoured by his community ...

• And here’s another “Mann” who deserves applause ...

• Vic Peters is out for the season, leaving son Daley to skip at this weekend’s Manitoba men’s playdowns. “I’m the water boy,” Vic told the Winnipeg Free Press, and here’s the scoop via Jim Bender at the Sun ...

• So... picked up the latest (ninth!) curling book of the season yet? It’s called The Ferbey Four: The Kings Of Canadian Curling and all week the Edmonton Sun has been running excerpts. In addition to Monday’s delicious first entry (see previous blogpost), the full week of offerings are: Tuesday’s Oh, The Fun They’ve Had; Wednesday’s The Pros And Cons Of Being Pros; Thursday’s My Wife Understands Me; and today’s Forward To The Future ...

• Here’s a look at Eastern Ontario's Navan club ...

• Yup, they’re curling in the Cameroon, believe it or not. Bring on The Indomitable Lions ...

• Finally, any knitters out there looking for a curling pattern? Here you go... and no, we have no idea how we find this stuff, either ...

The curling landscape: 2007 and beyond

Hi folks. Welcome back.

We are refreshed and recharged. We are The Curling News, a rather well-known and reputable authority on the Roaring Game, and we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary this year.

Subscribe today. Or give a gift, if you’re already gettin’. Because what you see in the printed version of TCN differs from this here public-service Blog, and you don’t want to miss a single issue.

Particularly when we lovingly present an archived look at the last 50 years of our sport, as seen through our eyes, which we do in every issue.

So get cracking... while we disburse yet another engorgement of fantabulous freebie curling info for you.

Bob Weeks has an interesting piece in today’s Globe and Mail, and perhaps a hint of what’s to come for our sport can be found on the new CBC comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie, which debuts tomorrow evening.

Check out the promo commercial that was shot at Ontario’s York CC in Newmarket early last month; with some images of the shoot (including above) also located here.

Back to the Weeks story and the comment about Toronto ice: the numbers are actually 62 – the number of sheets of ice the city has lost in the last 15 years – and 30 (percentage drop in that time). As a result, the Toronto Curling Association has now formed a Committee for Ice Expansion, and they want bodies to come out and help build a plan of action. Come to St. George’s on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2:30pm.

Elsewhere:

• Jennifer Jones made a quick change to her team over the holidays and it would seem this has John Q. Public in quite a tizzy. Nothing personal, says Jonesy ...

• What did some of the big men’s teams do recently? They were in Scotland, of course, for the Perth Masters, and here’s a wee summary from TCN reporter Mike Haggerty, who recently blackberried this to us at some Godforsaken hour of the morning:

Randy Ferbey made his New Year trip to Scotland worthwhile when he won the Ramada Perth Masters with a 6-4 win over Toronto’s Glenn Howard in the final.
Earlier, Ferbey had extinguished the Scottish challenge when he swept aside Perth’s Warwick Smith by 7-2 in a one-sided semi-final. To reach the final Howard beat Olympic champion Brad Gushue, by 6-4 in the other semi-final. The fifth was the key end in the final, when Ferbey scored three shots (points, dammit, POINTS Mike! – Ed) This gave him a 4-1 lead and left Howard with too much to do to catch up, particuarly in an eight-end game as this was.
Ferbey then added to his score with a single steal in the sixth before Howard fought back to score a three of his own in the seventh and close the gap to 5-4. However, Ferbey then used the last stone advantage in the eighth and final end to hit and lie and score one for his 6-4 victory.
Ferbey and his team picked up £5,000 for their efforts.

And speaking of Scots, 20 of them are shortly en route to America for a tour, doing battle for the Herries Maxwell trophy ...

• There be a bunch of provincial junior championships wrapping up these days, but can someone tell us why Manitoba’s championships are scheduled for today, and not on a Sunday? Is this a cashspiel wrap-up or a provincial final? Hello?

• The first of five excerpts from Terry Jones’ new book The Ferbey Four: Kings of Curling appears in today’s Edmonton Sun, and it’s a doozy: “Who ‘detests’ Kevin Martin most? And who ‘despised’ him first?” Great stuff; check it out and then go buy the book ...

• What’s up with Walnut? Martin’s ex-third is doing fine, thank you very much, and we agree with the Conman that he has been through quite a ride recently. Edmonton readers can see a similar story by Vicki Hall in today’s Journal ...

• A Detroit paper covering wee little local bonspiels (here and here)? Not bad ...

• Yet another U.S. spotlight story, this time from Appleton, Wisconsin ...

• Missouri curling fans can get their freak on this coming Saturday, at a rare open house in Kansas City ...

• DID YOU KNOW?... that Cathy King bleeds for curling?

• Heard about the power-outage curling shot? Wonder what rules geeks have to say about that one ...

• John Base is swinging the bat on The Curling Show ...

• Wrapping up 2006, there were a few nifty summary stories written – hello Bob and Bender –
and Team Gushue captured CP's Canadian Team of the Year honours ...

• Last but not least, yet another tragedy (sigh) at the tail end of 2006 as Katie Beck, former 2002 world junior champion with the USA’s Johnson sisters, passed away after a struggle with cancer. She was only 24 years old.

The U.S. national teams – skipped by Pete Fenson and Deb McCormick – are planning a “Curl-A-Thon” the weekend of March 3 in Bemidji, Minnesota to celebrate Katie’s life, and all proceeds from the event will go to Katie’s family to help offset the cost of medical bills. Well done, and farewell to a young curling star.

The Curling News: Jan 2007 issue

White Christmas? Green Christmas?

How about pink?

The January 2007 issue of The Curling News is off to the mailhouse, and with it comes the official start of our 50th Anniversary Year. Founded in Calgary in 1957, TCN – previously known as CCN, or Canadian Curling News – has been here, there and everywhere in the sport, giving you all the news, rumours and professional sports journalism that can be found amid sticks and stones.

As regular subscribers know, the 50th Anniversary season has already started, with every issue thus far also including a retrospective section dedicated to our archives. Don’t miss this very special publishing season: subscribe today, or give the gift of TCN to a loved one.

In this issue:

• December’s Masters Grand Slam and European Championships provided a great finish to the traditional "first-half" of the season, and there’s more to come in 07

• A stunning action photograph from a rookie curling shooter, and more photo awards

• Inside Basel: Rodger Schmidt asks What Happened?

• Mixed Doubles? It’s coming to a signup sheet near you

• This month’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations: the previous Masters (in 1963); a very young Kerry Burtnyk provides a Labatt Curling Tip; Larry Wood on the World Challenge and more

• TSN Broadband... whither CurlTV?

• Is Team Gushue becoming Team Turmoil?

• They Said It, our popular collection of interesting and outrageous commentary

• The Curling News TV Guide: where to get your TV curling fix in Janaury

• Teri Lake on why you should be seeking next year’s sponsors right now

• Jill Officer with an inside peek at the movers and shakers on the Women’s Tour

... and more!

The Curling News Blog is now on vacation through January 5 (or so), so here’s a pile of clickables to tide you through the turkey. Have a great 2007 celebration, everyone!

• Canuck Elliot Hicks lives and breathes curling way out in San Diego ...

• Bender loves his calendar (who wouldn’t?) ...

• Notes from Ottawa’s CCup East: of note is Team Kleibrink’s full end replay, and a witty reference to a classic British TV comedy; plus a look at surprise Kamloops qualifier Karen Porritt, and still more Cup East media ...

• 2006 will be a year remembered for tragedy. Just a couple of months after the loss of Ontario curler/journalist Derek Whitehill, Manitoba’s Kyle Flett was also tragically killed last weekend (story here and also here).

And there’s still more. Brandon has honoured a sport – and curling – pioneer who is suffering from rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and just before the January press deadline, word came of the death of Don Turner, the tireless curling booster and proprieter (along with his wife Elva) of Turner’s Curling Museum in tiny Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Read the January issue for more ...

• Ford Worlds tix are going great, and now the nations have been decided (if not the athletes themselves) for the big shootout at Edmonton’s Rexall Place ...

• DID YOU KNOW: that Russ Howard is feeling a bit blue about his gold-edged Olympic experience? There’s a teaser here, and surely more to come, when his book Hurry Hard comes out in March ...

• And here’s Russ’ brother Glenn, in a snapshot at his other life at The Beer Store ...

• Here’s a TV report from Bismark, North Dakota, site of the 2002 Ford Worlds ...

• DID YOU KNOW II: that Ontario’s Waterloo region is becoming a hotbed for big curling events? Yesterday it was announced that the local K-W Granite and Westmount clubs will co-host the 2008 Ontario men’s championship – the TSC Stores Tankard – at the Waterloo Rec Complex. In the last three years this region has been busy, hosting the national Tournament of Hearts (2003), the $100,000 M&M Skins (2004), the Canadian Mixed (November), and the Masters of Curling Grand Slam... which is coming back again next season, by the way ...

• Some Bear Mountain qualifiers were decided last weekend:

• Edmonton reporter Cam Tait is miffed when curlers don’t put up the score on their sheet of ice quickly enough. Gadzooks... is he aware of the tens of thousands of angry fans who snap when those scores aren’t posted online within seconds?

• In an echo of June’s Canadian curling TV deal between the CCA and TSN, which shut out CBC, the Canadian Football League has now done a similar deal, taking effect in 2008, exclusively with TSN ...

• DID YOU KNOW III: who made it all the way to the final of the Canada Cup West in Edmonton? Yeah, Kevin Martin won it, but who did he beat? Gushue? Burtnyk? Stoughton? Middaugh?

Nope. John Base.

Fresh off his surprise semi-final appearance at the Masters, Base once again did things the hard way. He down to his last life in the C-side and had to win six consecutive games to reach the final. Included was a steal of four points in the seventh end of an 11-5 win over rival Wayne Middaugh in the quarters, and an 8-7 decision over Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton in the semi.

“We’re a little tired, playing 11 games since we got here – but we’re happy with ending up in the final,” Base told the Edmonton Journal. “We’re a new team and just in our fourth event of the year.”

Remember what we said after the Masters, folks?

• And finally, don't forget the 2006 Rutabaga Curling Championships going on this weekend in Ithaca, New York (Wikipedia's entry here, and 2005 event photos here and here). Seriously.

Well, okay, not too seriously.

Model Curling

Well, this is certainly different.

Looks like The Look magazine, Canada's Fashion and Beauty Quarterly, has featured curling in their recent fall issue, with a photo spread titled Bonspiel Knits. The shoot was held at the Guelph Curling Club in Ontario during late summer's Trillium Curling Camp, with chief camper and CCA National Team Leader (and occasional TCN writer) Jim Waite lending a hand.

Some new calendar talent, perhaps?

Swiss men end 20-year Euro curling drought

BASEL, Switzerland – It was going to take a special performance to upend defending world champion Scotland in the final of the 2006 Le Gruyère European Curling Championship (WCF photo by Urs Räber).

To the joy of a boisterous home crowd at St. Jakob Arena, Switzerland's new – and now disbanded – all-star team did just that, beating Scotland's David Murdoch 7-6 to win the championship (WCF photo by Urs Raeber).

Skip Andreas Schwaller and new temporary teammate Ralph Stöckli rode their experimental lineup right through the eight-day event, ably supported by front-enders Thomas Lips and Damien Grichting, in winning their country's first European title in 20 years.

Now Stöckli returns to his regular team, and will challenge Schwaller for the Swiss championship in January, for the right to compete in the Ford World Curling Championship in March.

"Yes, he goes back to his team and we will actually play each other in the first game next month," said Schwaller. "It's funny how it goes. We will be opponents as always, except for this one event, this one time, and that makes it special."

Murdoch's men fell behind 3-1 and 5-2 before roaring back with a three-ender in the seventh frame. With the Swiss clinging to a nervous 6-5 lead in the 10th, the Scots maneuvered well to lurk for the deuce, but an uncharacteristic miss on Murdoch's first stone forced him to take the tying single with his last rock.

Switzerland held the hammer in the extra-end, played it cool, and after a critical double-takeout on his first rock, Schwaller made a cool draw to the four-foot for the win.

After the top three placements - Per Carlsen's Swedish foursome claimed the bronze - an additional five teams claimed berths in the Worlds for their nations: Germany, Norway, Finland, France and Denmark, which held off a stubborn Czech Republic, the B-pool champions, in a challenge series.

Italy took the B-pool silver, and Russia the bronze.

It was a day of firsts in Basel as Russia's women, led by 20-year-old Ludmila Privivkova, won their first-ever major championship in a 9-4 victory over Italy in the women's final.

The Swiss men, well known for Olympic medals and decent showings at world events, last won the European Championship in 1986, when Felix Luchsinger defeated Sweden's Göran Roxin in Copenhagen.

At next year's Le Gruyère European Curling Championship in Fussen, Germany, B-pool qualifiers Italy and the Czech Republic graduate to the A-division, while Ireland and Wales both drop to the B-pool.

FINAL STANDINGS:

1. Switzerland, 9-2, Gold
2. Scotland, 8-4, Silver
3. Sweden, 7-5, Bronze
4. Germany, 6-4
5. Norway, 6-5
6. Finland, 5-5
7. France, 5-6
8. Denmark, 3-7
9. Ireland, 3-7
10. Wales, 1-8

A new era in world curling

BASEL, Switzerland – Russia defeated Italy 9-4 to win the women’s 2006 Le Gruyère European Curling Championship, the first major curling title for the country that made its international curling debut in 1994 (WCF photo by Urs Räber).

Skip Ludmila Privivkova, the defending world junior champion, added the prestigious European title to her growing trophy case by scoring three points in the third end and stealing the sixth and seventh ends. Italy’s Diana Gaspari scored three in the second end but could only muster a single point the rest of the way.

Privivkova and teammates Olga Jarkova, Nkeirouka Ezekh, Ekaterina Galkina and Margarita Fomina went undefeated in the round-robin with a 9-0 record before losing to the Italians in the first “Page” playoff game 7-5. The Russians then defeated Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott 7-5 in the semi-final before today’s final.

“It’s so very great, so amazing,” said the 20-year-old Privivkova, who is a student in Moscow. “I’m so very happy for the team.”

“We hope to win more medals but it will be difficult. All the teams at the events are strong.”

Privivkova will lead her team into the 2007 Winter Universiade in Pinerolo, Italy the same venue where her team finished fifth at last February’s Olympic Winter Games. Then, the squad will travel to Aomori, Japan in March for the World Women’s Curling Championships.

Privivkova believes the European Championship gold medal will increase curling interest in Russia.

“It is more popular back home after the Olympics and now it will be even bigger. It was shown on TV and it is very popular.”

For Italy’s Gaspari, the 2007 Euro titleshoot was sweet redemption following a disaapointing performance at the Olympics.

“In Pinerolo we thought we had a stronger team. Here we had two new players and we didn’t know how the team would come together. To win six games and then a playoff to be in the final is great.”

Gaspari’s run to the final captured the attention of major newspapers and TV networks in Italy. On Sunday she will travel to Milan for a TV interview with Sky Sports.

“This medal will help Italian curling for sure,” Gaspari said. “After Pinerolo, Italy needs something to continue the curling wave. Hopefully this is it.”

Italy also qualified with Russia for the World Championships in Aomori, along with the remaining top six finishers in Basel: Switzerland, Scotland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Czech Republic, which beat back a challenge from the women’s B-pool champion, Austria.

Finland earned the B-pool silver and England captured bronze.

Swiss joy, Russian flourish into Euro curling finals

BASEL, Switzerland – It was a truly and methodically grand display of high-performance curling for Andi Schwaller's newfangled Swiss team against Scotland's powerhouse David Murdoch squad in this morning's semi-final of the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships (WCF photo by Urs Raeber).

Switzerland are through to Saturday's final and the St. Jakob Arena will be throbbing for Eurosport's live TV coverage to some 100 million households. Hopp Suisse!

Now for the women's semi. Moments ago, Swiss second Valeria Spälty made a wicked come-around in the extra-end against Russia and somehow the Swiss managed to cling desperately to that steal stone through the next six rocks. On the final Russian stone of the game, skip Ludmila Privivkova was facing that stone – now double-guarded on the centre line – with only a Swiss guard tight to the rings, but a full three feet off to the side.

Bedlam ensues. Privivkova made the runback double on the side rock, removing both Swiss stones, to count her two biters for the 7-5 win.

Oh yeah... did we mention she had to spill the counter and the shooter amid two Russian stones in the rings?

Earlier, the Italian women had beaten the Swiss in the Page 3/4 game, so it's Russia and Italy, ranked first and second in the round-robin, in tomorrow's ECC 2006 finale.

Are you kidding me?

NOTES:

• Great run by Ott, who, as we've mentioned, was all over the place at this event. Alternate Manuela Kormann came in after their 0-3 start and seven wins and a last-gasp loss later, the Swiss had one helluva tournament. And through it all, as the WCF writes, Ott careened and lurched through her victories, surrendering late steals before prevailing, and even suffering a spectacular fall during a winning shot attempt on Wednesday.

• Austria's impossibly telegenic sister duo of Claudia and Karina Toth – both of them calendar girls, by the way – have won the Euro women's B-pool, and will compete in next year's Euro A-division along with Finland. They now compete in a best two-of-three challenge series against the Czech Republic to go to Aomori for the Worlds in March. Who is out of the Worlds and down to next year's B-pool? The Dutch and, wait for it... Dordi Nordby's Norway. Oops.

• In men's B-pool action, the Czechs have won the gold and will play in the "major league" along with Italy next year. They are battling Denmark in the challenge series for a spot at the Ford Worlds in Edmonton in March. Gonzo from Edmonton and down to B are Ireland and Wales, both of whom might have deserved better.

• A surprise howdy (Hallo dort) to TCN in the arena from Mike Reid, a fine Toronto shooter now living in Suisse, who is married to a delightful curler, speaks great Swiss-German and is making ice in Biel. Mike's mom is former CCA President/Sherry Middaugh coach/COC curling rep and still a fine shooter herself, Pat "A." Reid. Small world (kleine Welt).

Elsewhere:

• There's still time, we think, to check out CBC Calgary's recent feature on the curling calendar, it's posted at the Absolutely Canadian webpage located here (look for Sunday Edition), but you'd better hurry hard, we think they'll change the content by Saturday at noon ...

• Kelley Law and her (pre-Olympic) ex-teammate Marla Mallett are into February’s B.C. Scotties provincial, and speaking of Law, she’s in action this weekend in Ottawa at the humungeous Canada Cup East, while most of the best Canadian men’s teams are in Edmonton at Cup West ...

• And, Ontario curling fans can watch tape-delayed Cup East action across the province via Rogers Cable on Monday, where all three of that day's quarters, semis and final will be broadcast. There’s also a curling theme to the Big Bad Sports Show, which kicks things off at 2:00pm ET ...

• More relieved Sackville, N.S. curlers speak out about their club’s near-closure:

• Seen this Gushue spotlight in a recent issue of the Toronto Star? Interesting ...

• Oh, the pain...

• More stat geek musings from outside the sport, concerning the recent Black Book of Curling story...

• Finally, this is just beautiful. Click here, then go find the name Ian MacPherson ... and consider condemning someone you know to eternal damnation ...

World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships!

BASEL, Switzerland – There's another world championship event starting up, and soon: the 2008 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships.

It's no lie. The 46 WCF member associations voted yea to the concept whilst meeting here in Switzerland, and it's Game On. Mixed Doubles (photo at left). We're serious.

And a world championship event means a national championship program must be built from the ground-up, right now, although details on when and where these playdowns will start are unknown. That's because the world venue and exact format won't be confirmed until the WCF Annual Meetings in Aomori, Japan, in March.

In fact member assocations, including the CCA, are jetting home from Europe right about now and probably wondering:

a) how to rush about to get this thing rolling, and;
b) where the heck to find a budget for it.

Read the news here at the WCF website or on Eurosport, and start thinking about partnering up with a buddy – or buddette – this coming fall.

As well:

• Newsflash in Nova Scotia: a variety of campaigns and pressures have forced politicos to back off from their plan to shut down the newish Lakeshore Curling Club facility in Sackville at the end of this season. Stories here and here, and a summary editorial here. Way to go, folks, the squeaky wheel strikes again ...

• Wayne Middaugh does the latest Q & A on The Curling Show, but Dean didn't get the scoop on who he'll be playing with at the Perth Masters in Scotland next month (it won't be his regular squad)... hrrmmm ...

• Canada is shipping the Jo-Ann Rizzo (Ontario) and T.J. Perepolkin (B.C.) squads to Japan next month ...

• Tiebreaker madness at the ECC 2006 can be found here, with the latest story here, and last night's result story posted here and here ...

The Russians are coming

BASEL, Switzerland – OK, they're not coming, they're already here. And we kinda knew that.

But even with a 5th place finish in Turin, and the recent world junior title win by the skipper – the telegenic and only-20-years-old Ludmila Privivkova – we're not sure that many would have predicted the Russian gals to be 8-0 at the ECC 2006.

BTW, this site rocks – the official stats site of the event.

Italy is looking great, too. Nice to see.

But we've just got to say that Switzerland's Mirjam Ott is all over the place! 0-3 to start, then suddenly 5-3... but still not playing that great, IOHO. Her squad dropped three consecutive steals a fortnight ago and had to play an extra before winning; and this morning was just bedlam.

Situation: the Dutch are lying three but Suisse are up three, and with the hammer. Just make one go away, right? Guess what: Ott actually falls on her last rock of the game, sprawls all over the ice, and gasses the hit. The shocked Netherlands foursome are suddenly into an extra end.

Yes, Ott won it in the extra frame, and nice recovery given what happened. But, wow. Maybe lending her team brushes to David Murdoch's woe-begotten Scots on the opening weekend was bad karma...?

More on the men later...

Masters/Euros score in Waterloo/Basel

A recap of the first Grand Slam of the season, The Home Hardware Masters of Curling, before we spend a lot of time in Europe ...

ICE – Muy bueno. Scotland's Tom Brewster called it "the best he's ever played on". That's good praise, coming from a Slam veteran who benn known to make a keen sheet of ice himself.

TEAMS – Great lineup, and a lot of snickering was abruptly shushed when Oakville's John Base made it all the way to the semi-finals – after an 0-2 start – before blowing out his leg in a blowout loss to eventual champion Glenn Howard. Come on, people, this is curling and you're supposed to know the basic rule – anyone beating anyone on any given day blah blah – plus the team's basic personnel bios, so there's no surprise at the Baseman's performance. Smarten up.

TV – The return of CBC Country Canada (!!) and then the main CBC network debuting its Slam coverage was something that old goats (like us) once doubted we would ever see. But it was a great show, and it scored 360,000 viewers for the Sunday final (average) with a peak of 450,000. And speaking of the show...

FORMAT – The eight-end debate is back in a big way, and the reactions are mixed; see this thread on CurlingZone for a variety of interesting thoughts. And this has spawned two other big discussions (here and here) on first-end hammer value, and the caveat that a change to eight ends may require adopting the draw-the-button-for-hammer rule. Could be the way of the future, folks, and the near-future at that...

EXTRAS – Inducting Eddie The Wrench and both sets of 1983 and 1990 teammates into the Asham WCT Ambassador Award club (see the autograph card above) was a brilliant idea, and a great evening was had by all. The Ambassdor Award banners hanging from the arena rafters, which will travel to each and every Slam moving forward, is another great touch. Volunteers: top-notch, and a special congrats for pulling it all together in three months. Venue: somewhere between good and perfect, the display booths (well, hello there TCN) along the upper "running track" were a great touch. Prize money and Olympic qualifying points: lots were up for grabs, and Team G Howard are loving both of them. As Slam chief Paul Boutilier told the K-W Record: "You would have to win the Ontario title three-and-half times to get the same points." Indeed.

Elsewhere:

• This big Globe & Flail story by Bob Weeks on CurlingZone's fantabulous Black Book of Curling has piqued the interest of some Sabremetrics disciples; could be the beginning of a fascinating mathematical relationship ...

• In Basel, the Le Gruyère European Championships are in full roar, and in no particular order:
- Mighty Uusis is still winning late after losing early;
- Andrea Schöpp is actually smiling;
- and Scotland’s David Murdoch was having a really, really, REALLY bad day – also explained here – but his 5-0 record must be cheering him up by now.

And if anyone’s wondering, we weren’t at the arena (er, whoops) to see Murdoch’s big shot against the French on Tuesday, which means we can’t quite help you decipher this Times writers’ delightfully inexplicable description of it. However, TCN's own Mike Haggerty did a wee better job, and we give him props for great use of the word "outrageous" ...

Also, a few pieces of luggage are still apparently outstanding; a member of the women’s team is running short (and dry) of contact lenses, which could pose quite the problem. And the coaching staff are, en masse, S.O.L. regarding their bags, and are probably washing their sole set of clothing in the bathtub at night. Welcome to your new job, Delboy ...

Harris returns to Toronto

BASEL, Switzerland – Wir sind hier in der Schweiz und bereiten vor, um zu schreiben, but first, an announcement: The Curling News has the exclusive news that Mike Harris will abruptly return to Toronto, as of mid-January.

Just seven months after relocating his family to Banff, Alberta for the job of head golf professional at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, the CBC curling commentator has resigned his new post to take the head pro job at the Donalda Club in Toronto.

Donalda was Harris' first club, where he worked as an assistant pro from approximately 1989 through 1995.

"They were surprised," said Harris, regarding his employers in Banff.

Harris went on to describe the Donalda gig as "irresistible" and assured TCN that he enjoyed his time in Alberta, but he also allowed that his wife and three children will be pleased with the return home.

It goes without saying that Harris hopes this move will be his last one for a while. His new Calgary team will have one final fling next weekend at the Canada Cup West in Edmonton, but there will be "no playdowns", either in Alberta or Ontario.

Elsewhere:

• European sports behemoth Eurosport is right into this weekend's Le Gruyere European Curling Championships (ending Dec. 16), and have launched a new all-curling page. They were also quick to hop onto the story concerning the host Swiss men's team and its lineup controversy, which can also be read here ...

• Meanwhile, the World Curling Federation has released a new World Curling Rankings system, which sees Canada first among men and Sweden atop the women’s rankings. Read the full story here and the rankings themselves are listed here ...

• Who dis? Funny. We like her ...

• Just a few days after reading about doom and gloom in Ingerlund curling, here comes this jolly website, and good on them ...

• Here's a story on Halifax's Team Jill Mouzar, which of course stars TCN’s own Teri Lake at second stone ...

• Check back often over the next 10 days, as we blog live and on site from the ECC in Basel ...

December 2007 issue: The Curling News

The December 2007 issue of The Curling News is in the mail – are you getting yours? – and it's jam-packed with all the latest and greatest from our sport, namely:

• The rundown from Chillywhack: what was great, not so great, and the future of the Continental Cup

• Calling all curling contributors: Matt Hames has been browsing curling on Wikipedia, and he's issued a call to arms... er, keyboards...

• Book madness: there are nine – that's right, NINE – curling books out there; TCN provides the lowdown on each and every one

• Euro 2006: European curling's biggest show is ready to start in Basel, Switzerland, and Rodger Schmidt has the preview

• 50th Anniversary Celebration: our season-long birthday party continues, with incredible archived content republished from 1958, and 1967, and more

• PCC 2006: Who did what at the Pacific Curling Championships in Tokyo

• The Curling News TV Guide: where to get your curling TV fix this month

• Larry Wood, but of course

• The Curling Newsdesk: NBC's Korbel weekend; a look at China's disappointed men's team the Canadian Mixed; and more

• Mary-Anne Arsenault dishes the inside scoop on her new team – versus the previous skip

• Calendar Offer: a 2007 women's curling calendar update, plus a special holiday offer!

You've heard the chant: don't delay, subscribe today ...

In addition:

• OK, so we didn't blog very much from the Masters. Quite busy. Quite busy having fun, actually. So here's a nifty roundup of stuff for you, from the CP story to the host broadcaster's story to the TorStar story; and it's always nice to see Brian McAndrew on the scene, may we say. Finally, the event – and the Grand Slam series as a whole – got a plug from the Globe's Bob Weeks on Saturday ...

• Anyone know of any other curling scribe who spends a weekend covering junior city zones? Other than Bender, that is ...

• DID YOU KNOW: This is a Canada Games curling year? Didn’t think so. Here’s a look at the NS playdown and here’s the website for the Games themselves, out in Whitehorse in February ...

• The club closure in Nova Scotia isn't happening without a fight. Over 1,500 signatures have been collected thus far to peitition against the city-mandated closure of the Lakeshore Curling Club, and you can sign it online here ...

• DID YOU KNOW II: That Calgary club ice is apparently (still) lousy? Heather Rankin thinks so. She gets the quote(s) of the day award(s) for her utterances in today’s Calgary Herald, after winning a spot in the Alta Southerns on the weekend. Apparently, Rankin used to call a colourful aggressive draw game, but due to Cowtown ice conditions, she’s given up:

If you want to get out of Southern Alberta, you have to hit. I've played nine years (here) and I've got there (provincials) once (a second-place finish in 2001), so obviously my style of game is not working. So I have to change it. And we're gonna hit right through to the provincials.

It's bad for the fans and all of that, but it's all about winning. I apologize, but that's what you're going to see: bang, bang, bang. I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid.

You go, girl. And maybe, just maybe, some ice techs will start listening, eh?

IOC denies Mixed Doubles bid

WATERLOO – Here in this part of Ontario, curling fans are in rapture. Just weeks after both the Asham World Curling Tour (Brantford) and Canadian Mixed (Kitchener) blazed through town, the Tour is back with the first of the marquee Grand Slam of Curling events, the Home Hardware Masters of Curling.

But first, big news.

As some have expected, the International Olympic Committee has said no to curling's bid for another discipline at the Olympic Games: Mixed Doubles. The interesting sight from last week's Continental Cup (CCA/Michael Burns photo) will not make its debut at Vancouver in 2010, but it could show up at Wherever (South Korea, perhaps?) in 2014.

Here's the scoop, courtesy of The Curling News:

KUWAIT CITY – The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee, the body responsible for deciding on events and disciplines – the composition of sports within the Olympic Programme – released the results of the IOC Programme Commission report on November 28.

Mixed Doubles curling, a new discipline submitted for inclusion into the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, was rejected, as were five other sports (Bobsleigh and Skeleton Team Competition, Luge Team Competition, Alpine Skiing Nation Team Event, Biathalon Mixed Relay and Women’s Ski Jumping.

The IOC comment regarding Women’s Ski Jumping and Curling Mixed Doubles was that “their development is still in the early stage thus lacking the international spread of participation and technical standard required for an event to be included in the programme.”

The only sport accepted into medal-status competition for 2010 was Ski Cross, a sport similar to snowboard-cross, which made its debut at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and was an instant hit with spectators.

More on this in the days to come.

CurlTV is also here in Waterloo, and CBC is in for the semis on Saturday (the Country Canada digital channel) and the main net on Sunday. The Wrench, Eddie Werenich, is in town Saturday with both sets of his 1983 and 1990 Brier and world champion teammates, to receive the Asham WCT Ambassador Award... and, in fact, Saturday has been declared “Wrench Day”. So haul out those old carboard & tinfoil wrenches and head on down.

After all, you can buy this hotel and game ticket package.

Want more? Sunday's finale will live band on the ice, along with a disc jockey, and the ever-present mascot, “Slammer”.

And they're not done yet. Don't forget, all games at all four Slams this year are eight ends in length.

“Curling has to take the next step to attracting not just the core fan but the sports fan,” WCPA honcho Paul Boutilier told The Record. “It becomes for the sports fan two hours and 15 minutes, not three hours, of entertainment even if they don't understand the game. It's a whole different model from what we're used to.”

The shorter games allow the Slams to fit into a 2-1/2-hour window that would seem to accommodate the NBA, Formula One and the NHL. Eight-end games are common in clubs and have been talked about for a long time – and were almost adopted globally in 1999. The Slams are the first big event to move to the shorter games.

“I would think everyone on the Tour will be going to this in the next year or two,” Boutilier said. “There isn't any need for 10 ends with the ice conditions we have now. The game is on right from the start.”

On ice, the forgotten man, Don “Walnut” Walchuk beat Stoughton and Ferbey yesterday... not bad. And look who’s playing with him, allegedly this week only.

Stay tuned to the blog through the weekend, as we post the latest and greatest.

Oh... and we almost forgot. Stop on by and visit! That's right, The Curling News has a gargantuan display booth set up on the concourse, or "running track", located beside Asham Ontario and the 2007 Tom Hortons Brier. We're offering a special subscription deal (on-site only) and we're also selling the 2007 women's curling calendar, which saves customers $8.95 in shipping costs. This weekend only!

Elsewhere:

• Williams Lake CC in B.C. is getting well-deserved kudos for their off-ice performance in hosting the 2006 B.C. Scott, won by B.C.’s Scott, as in Kelly, of course ...

• Meanwhile, Parksville CC is growing, bucking the current provincial club trend ...

• It’s true there are real fears of curling’s demise in England, but can Manchesterians really claim to be hosts to curling’s “spiritual home”? Due to an event in 1877, it seems they can ...

• The folks at Alberta Curling are happy with with the way the Alberta Tour is progressing... just one question: is Ontario listening?

• The feedback on the imminent closure of the fairly-new curling facility in Lower Sackville, NS is not at all good ...

• OUCH: Hamilton Spectatorcolumnist Steve Buist isn't a fan of the Continental Cup; just check this zinger out:

Memo to the CCA: pull the plug on the Continental Cup and don't even give it a second thought.

It will be missed about as much as Battle of the Network Stars or Beat the Champ.

Canada joining forces with the U.S. to take on Europe in curling makes about as much sense as England joining up with Malta to take on the West Indies in cricket.