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STOH TeriBlog v.2

LETHBRIDGE – The much anticipated first game flew by at warp speed. Still 10 ends (and we used every one of our 73 minutes) but it seemed like a blur. Certainly wasn’t our best game as we lost 6-3 to Kerry Koe’s Yukon/NWT team, but a starting point to adjust to the ice.

This is definitely no curling club ice! Don’t get me wrong, it's great – lots of curl, lightning fast and great for sweeping. I spent most of my season trying to bring up my weight for the ice we usually play on that’s straight as an arrow, and heavy for the first few ends! Not helping me so much this week.

But the kinks are getting worked out and we played much better in our second game. And I vow that never again will Jill have to give my sweepers a message for me saying “Tell She-Ra to bring her weight down.”

Getting back to that second game of ours…man, is Jan Betker on fire or what?!?! Clearly she had to play well to handily beat the tough Manitoba team but she was unstoppable against us too. Skinny picks here, run-back doubles there, she was solid and despite a couple of ends that appeared to be set up well for us, she stepped up end after end with the big shot.

So, we learned a lot on day one and are adjusting well to the playing conditions here in Lethbridge... and looking forward to continuing the incline in performance and enjoying every second of this experience.

– Teri Lake, Team Nova Scotia (photo by CurlingZone)

Curling Telethon and live TeriBlog!

It's an all-Canadian post today, because The Scotties are here. Well, it actually starts tomorrow – and can be viewed for a full nine days on TSN and then CBC.

A nice preview story by Donna Spencer here.

Check out info on Sunday’s big Sandra Schmirler Foundation Telethon on TSN below (and pin image at left), one of the sport’s great causes and one which The Curling News is proud to support. But for now...

Live blogging from Lethbridge! Oh yes!

Here’s TCN scribe – and Team Nova Scotia second – Teri Lake, from first thing this morning:

Good Lord I’m tired. But we made it and that’s all that’s important!

Yesterday was a marathon. From checking our online flight status every thirty seconds due to the pending storm for us out East (and the current storm happening in Toronto) we got airborne just in time to miss the bad weather on both ends! The seven-hour flight to Calgary ended with a four-hour wait at the airport for the shuttle to Lethbridge. A very late 12:30 arrival in the ‘Bridge (count it…3:30am Halifax time!) saw these five ladies hitting the hay, and rather quickly. But who can sleep when you’ve just arrived at the Scotties? I mean really!!!

We finally settled in with enough time for a great sleep and early wake up for spa day. A lovely local woman named Angie welcomed us into her home and we took her offer to make ourselves at home very seriously, very quickly. Skipper Jill dumped out the massive bag of pin card goodies and off we went to work. A massage and manicure for five, and pin cards for 70!
Then rush, rush, rush to get our uniforms (I’ll get to that shortly), surrender our TSN head shots, practice, a tour of the Enmax Centre, and now a short rest en route to a reception.
So, I’ve got to get ready now but I’ll be back soon and it will be that much closer to when the real fun begins…

Now, for all the fabulous Schmirler stuff that is going on Sunday, this Scotties week and generally around the curling world:

The second annual Curling Club Challenge takes place during the Sandra Schmirler Foundation Telethon, Sunday February 18.

The telethon is an integral part of The Sports Network’s live TV coverage that day and comes live from Lethbridge, during the afternoon draw of the 2007 STOH.

In the last two years, a total of $324,000 has been committed to the six hospitals in the various Season of Champions cities toward the purchase of vital neonatal equipment.

The curling club that donates the most funds will receive three pairs of tickets to the 2008 major curling events – a pair each to the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Regina), the Tim Hortons Brier (Winnipeg) and the Ford World Women’s Championships in Vernon, B.C., courtesy of the Canadian Curling Association. The second ranked club will receive two Reactor2 Carbon Fibre brooms and two autographed Olympic T-shirts, courtesy of Olson Curling Supplies and Team Shannon Kleibrink.

The telethon hotline – which can only receive donations on February 18 – is 1-866-9SANDRA (1-866-972-6372). Rules and details can be found on the Foundation website, in the “How You Can Help” section.

Also, a new limited-edition Sandra Schmirler Foundation lapel pin – featuring the new “Champions Start Small” slogan – is now available. In the center of the pin is the logo of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, which has forearms clasped together around a heart, showing the strength that a united effort can bring to any challenge.

The pin costs $6.00 (tax and shipping inclusive) and it is also available with the French slogan, “Petit champion deviendra grand”.

To order, contact the Foundation office at 1-866-210-6011 or send an e-mail here.

curlquebec.tv

Just two men’s provincials left, folks.

In Quebec, Pierre Charette “upset” Jean-Michel Menard in the Page 1/2 game and awaits the winner of the Menard/Robert Desjardins semi, which is played this morning. The final is tonight.

Did you know you can see tonight’s final on curlquebec.tv? Well, now you know.

In Ontario, the TSC Stores Tankard is underway with Glenn Howard and Wayne Middaugh pegged to clash in the final for the third consecutive year.

Yesterday, The Curling News watched veteran Jim Lyle outpoint former champ Bryan Cochrane live on Rogers Television (you can also see it on Cogeco) and the memories were already rushing around before we read today’s Morris Dalla Costa piece. Lyle’s team entered playdowns to get ready for seniors – same as Saskatchewan’s Eugene Hritzuk – and, well, now that Gene made it all the way to the Sask final before losing to Pat Simmons, one wonders if Lyle’s Geritol Gang can do the same.

Lyle has a rather tall slide that TCN remembers seeing before. “Nev” Breivik and Ted Smith have been to the Tankard a hundred times, losing the 1991 capper to Russ Howard. Ken Baute has been around and we remember him bringing down the house at a few Port Elgin SuperSpiels.

There were lots of Cochrane memories, too. This is his 10th Tankard, which is remarkable, and we don’t think his hair has moved one millimetre out of place in all that time. Chris Fulton has won this before – he was a charter member of the time-clock-challenged Rich Moffatt squad after arriving in Ottawa from Nova Scotia – and we still can’t believe a tall guy can get so low in his delivery. Jeff Henderson is a Northern Ontarian, and of course John Steski is, well, a Steski. ’Nuff said.

Congrats to Charley but, also, to PEIs silver medallists, who have a very bright future. Meanwhile, the junior women’s final has stirred up a mild case of controversy. Give it a rest, folks.

Kicking Peja’s Ass

Norberg versus Lindholm.

Curlingtjejerna versus Peja.

It all goes down tomorrow afternoon in Sweden, live on local TV and also on the internet, in the latest curling battle of the sexes. Both Swedish giants have won their 2007 national titles – earlier this week, in fact – so it makes for a fascinating matchup.

Norberg, in an exclusive interview with The Curling News, had this to say:

“We are very excited about the game and for sure it’s going to be for a lot of prestige. Curlers think that we have nothing to lose, but if you ask non-curlers, they think we should win the game.

“I’m looking forward to a close and aggressive game, ending up with us kicking Peja’s ass. That would be awesome!”

You go, girls.

Coincidentally, AP’s Tim Dahlberg mentions the Norbergs in this fun story on athlete blogging at the Olympic Games. Apparently, the gals haven’t met Bode Miller, but they did whoop it up with U.S. speedskater Chad Hedrick on their golden night. Or so the story goes.

You’re about to get a big, big dose of Canadian provincial men’s info. First up, however, is a reminder of this weekend’s Canadian Juniors, which are on CBC-TV tomorrow and Sunday.

And now for the provs... 10 out of 12 will be decided by Sunday, and there’s two things you need, both from The Curling News: the list of event websites, located here, and also a hard copy of the February issue, in which our Curling TV Guide lists all the events that are available on the telly.

What? Don’t have the Feb issue? Silly you, you’re just not listening.

Here’s the latest from The Brier trail:

• Dean Joanisse and former world champ Greg MacAulay are on track in B.C. ...

• The Ferb is roaring (not in a good way) in Alberta, both in the Sun and in the Journal ...

• Murray M reports on Sask ...

• And Bender is on the scene in MB, of course ...

• A pleasant surprise: Martin Cleary is covering the Quebec shootout ...

• And here’s what’s up in Bluenose country ...

Elsewhere... well, there’s a lot going on. Extreme Grandpa scored just $18,000 on Deal Or No Deal Canada last night, but sure entertained in doing so. This looks like a curling-oriented audition for Jackass. And this guy is absolutely in love with Jennifer Jones. So there ya go... for now...

February on fire

Crazy month, this is.

Men's provincial championships underway, a new issue of The Curling News, and don't forget curling's own "Extreme Grandpa" on Deal Or No Deal tomorrow (Thursday) night.

First up, the new TCN (cover photo left). It's a whopper – you should see the size of this month's Curling TV Guide – and you'll need to subscribe to get it fast. Also in this issue:

• The Scotties TOH preview
• the Trials of Jennifer Jones
• the return of Doug Maxwell; he's unimpressed with the modern-era Brier
• Larry Wood calls for a UEFA-style Champions League of curling
• Team Ferbey goes international in our monthly Newsdesk
• Teri Lake, en route to the Scotties, is praying her pants look good
• They Said It, our popular collection of curling quotables
• February is Sandra Schmirler Foundation month
• Grand Slam Winnipeg: we were there
• The Dominion of Canada 50th Anniversary Retrospective
• The Curling News Store is open
• Rodger Schmidt wants a few curling changes
• the return of Asham Club Corner

And what else, you ask?

• Here's the lineup of Canadian men's provs, some now underway and ending Sunday, others kicking it next week and wrapping up on Feb. 18:

– British Columbia
– Alberta
– Saskatchewan
– Manitoba
– Northern Ontario
– Ontario
– Quebec (with a webcam here)
– New Brunswick
– Nova Scotia
– PEI
– Newfoundland and Labrador

• DID YOU KNOW: there's a great poll on the front page of CurlingZone right now? (Look to the right.) It asks "Which (men's) team has the best chance of upsetting their provincial favourites?" Very coolio ...

• DID YOU KNOW II: that curling is a demonstration sport at the 16th annual Deafalympics, now underway in Salt Lake City? Five men's and four women's teams are vying for medals, with first-round scores seeing Canada's men defeat China 15-4, and the women whup Croatia 23-1 ...

• Peja Lindholm and his new Swedish team won their national championship last night, and are off to Edmonton for the Ford Worlds. But before that, they're involved in something special that's going down this Saturday, Feb. 10. Watch this blog on Friday for the scoop ...

Deal Or No Deal

Remember the story of the “Four Generations” curling team, appearing in a bonspiel in Paris, Ontario, in 2005... with 70 years of difference represented on the ice? No? Well, you must not be a subscriber to The Curling News, because this heartwarming tale appeared in the January 2006 issue.

Flash forward to early 2007, and the TV megahit Deal Or No Deal has set up shop in Canada for a small run of episodes. Guess who is appearing on the show this Thursday night?

It’s none other than Don Lucas (photo left), the patriarch of that Four Generations team. Don made the cut ahead of tens of thousands of hopeful applicants and his appearance with host Howie Mandel (photo right) goes down Thursday night on Global.

For the record, we are told that Mandel dubbed Lucas “Extreme Grandpa” after his video showed him skydiving, among other things (but not curling). We can’t wait to tune in.

Elsewhere:

• Anette Norberg defended her Swedish title yesterday and is headed to the Worlds in Japan. Later today its three-time men’s World champ Peja Lindholm, and his brand-new team (featuring a Scotsman!) versus either Per Carlsén or his brother Nils Carlsén, who will clash in the semifinal ...

• Next year’s Winnipeg Brier is officially off and running, with a cool rock tunes theme, tix on sale Thursday, and a neat fundraiser for clubs ...

• Also Thursday, in Toronto: an open casting call for senior curlers, aged 60 to 85, at Mississauga’s Dixie CC for a “union governement” TV commercial. If you eventually make the cut, they’ll pay you $1,400. The catch: you can’t just show up on Thursday, you have to telephone or email in advance to book your audition ...

• KIDS PART I: A charming tale of Toronto’s multicultural curling scene, with a shout-out to Al Hackner ...

• KIDS PART II: How about this Grade 7 kid throwing skip rocks at the national Juniors?

• KIDS PART III: In Portage, Wisconsin ...

• KIDS PART IV: Canada’s M&M Juniors continue to rock ...

• DID YOU KNOW? ... that it was Canada vs USA in Karuizawa, times two, with split results ...

• Here’s a spotlight on Det. Mark Johnson, who wants to capture a purple heart ...

• This fellow asks a good question: which loss would you rather have to tolerate, a last rock nailbiter or a blowout? And with a provincial title on the line?

• This poor fellah had a rough outing, but we love the chance to see Robin Williams’ golf sketch again ...

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.