CCA photos by Michael Burns (click to zoom in)

See ya later, asterisk. Hello Team Canada!

It’s the morning after Team Alberta’s big win at the Brier and I’m still rewinding tape. I am an insomniatic (is that a word?) curling-obsessed lunatic. Ha.

That was the best Brier finish I’ve seen in my lifetime, and it should go down with the very best finishes of any curling game ever. It gave me the chills and STILL gets my heart racing when I think about how hard I screamed at the TV and waited for Carter Rycroft’s little head to move so I could really see who was shot rock.

And what a reaction. The team went ballistic, and I love that. Amid the bedlam, Carter grabbed his skip Kevin Koe by his bald head and screamed “What a boy!” Blake MacDonald and Nolan Thiessen went bonkers. The wives jumped up and down in disbelief. Jamie Koe hugged his brother’s wife Carla in the stands with tears streaming down his face.

And I’ll tell you right now the last person on anyone’s mind watching or playing that game… was Kevin Martin.

As far as I’m concerned, any talk about an ‘asterisk’ beside this Brier winner’s name just because Team Martin did not compete, can be shoved where the sun don’t shine. In fact I didn’t even think once about K-Mart and team until after breakfast this morning. Not to take anything away from their amazing Olympic gold medal, which was indeed amazing. But to me, as I’ve said before, that gold was not surprising. It was almost expected.

This win by Kevin Koe was something people have hoped for, but did not expect. Prior to Sunday night this team has had too many last-stone, last-gasp disappointments hit them at the last second, again and again, and no one seemed willing to put money on them. Their huge Brier victory was dramatic, and it was historic. It was a win against a previously undefeated (12-0) team of Ontario robocurlers, skipped by Glenn Howard (left). It was the first win for a rookie Brier skip since Vic Peters of Manitoba in 1992… just one year after that Martin guy, with a moustache and a head full of hair, did it too. TCN curling Tweep @pjames said this after the first end: So if 90 per cent of teams who score a deuce in the first end go on to win, is there any reason to keep watching the Brier tonight?

Heck, it was the first time a team in the 3-4 Page playoff game has ever gone on to win the Brier.

When a rookie skip draws the button in an extra end to win the world’s most storied curling trophy, it becomes something curling fans will not forget. Was it on the same stage as the Olympic win was in Vancouver? No. This was different. But Kevin Koe and Co. have won a Brier and it was unbelievable.

This Alberta team is colourful, almost too much as times. Midweek I thought a few of them were going to bite each other’s ears off. These guys say things to each other that women’s teams could never get away with. But they settled down mid-week. They picked up play, they picked up each other in their own weird way. And now they are Team Canada and will be off to Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy at the beginning of April for the Capital One World Men’s Curling Championships. They can also book their trips to the Canada Cup in Medicine Hat and the Continental Cup in St. Albert. Both in Alberta. Cool.

In Kevin Koe’s post-game interview with TSN, he was unsurprisingly humble and gave credit to his team and his sweepers for making that shot. When discussing that incredible light-weight hit and roll in the 10th end that killed Howard’s chances to throw for the win, Koe once again used words like ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.

Being from Alberta, I’m kind of forced to state the obvious here. Once again a Team from Alberta has come through and won the Brier, the province’s seventh title in the last nine years. Not to mention also fielding both Olympic teams this year (we’re gonna work this for a while, peeps!)

This was an amazing finish for a Brier that was… let’s face it… mediocre.  It wasn’t like last year, where we had so many returning champions you lost count. We didn’t have The Shot… which was followed by The Other Shot. The Gushues didn’t do a goofy TSN game intro video (boooo!) We didn’t have those Dader and Madge chicks running amok with media credentials.

But this Brier was filled with new faces. While I do like that, I also see changes coming. People are always concocting new format suggestions to fix what isn’t necessarily broke, but to make an exciting week even more so. With the success of Team Northern Ontario at this Brier, folks have been once again chatting about the purpose of such a team. (I, for one, understand why Northern Ontario was brought in. It’s a massive province, difficult travel thing. Got it.) But should there be a returning Team Canada?

After this particular Brier win, the concept of a Team Canada makes a lot of sense, considering it’s highly possible that Kevin Martin will just go out and represent Alberta again next year. If so, next year’s fans in London, ON will be asking: where’s Koe? So having something like a Tour winner, a Team Canada, a CTRS points winner, and then a playoff against bottom-ranked provinces is starting to look like a pretty good solution.

There, we’ve covered it all. Amazing win, historic moments, Alberta rocks, Brier format change… what didn’t we talk about? Ah yes. Glenn Howard’s Team Ontario and their absolutely heartbreaking year. I thought Shannon Kleibrink would like to have her year back, but this… yeesh. Nah, I don’t want to think about it. Still too stoked.

This is why I love the Brier.

[Ed note: curling fans from around the world can watch highlights and/or the entire game on the TSN.ca Video-On-Demand service, located here – select VOD: Final: ON vs. AB to view the game]

It’s Koe Day in Halifax!

This morning, brothers Kevin Koe of Alberta and Jamie Koe of the Territories (CCA photo by Michael Burns) face off against each other in a much anticipated match at this year’s Tim Hortons Brier.

These two brothers haven’t curled together competitively in years, but grew up in Yellowknife where they both learned the game and made it a big part of their lives. In fact, the brothers lost a Canadian Junior final – to Alberta – on a last-shot, burned rock controversy which would have been, to this day, the only national title ever won by a Territories team.

And yes, at that time, they both had full heads of hair.

They have much in common, these two. They are both soft spoken… until they’ve had a few drinks. Neither shies away from ‘Patching it.’ And from what I can see, they both married waaaayyyy above the line. Proud parents Linda and Fred definitely taught them something right there.

But today they clash. And it’s the second big Brier brother battle in two years, following last year’s infamous Glenn Howard versus Russ Howard tilt in Calgary, which resulted in a shattered brush and much controversy.

For Kevin, this win could mean another step towards a second place finish in the round robin. Team Alberta plays Glenn Howard’s Ontario tonight, so a win against little bro Jamie is paramount in their efforts to get into that Page 1-2 playoff game.

For Jamie, it’s simply about pride. His 1-8 start could use improvement. A win here, although ‘mean’ for a little brother, would mean bragging rights for awhile. Sort of.

So in anticipation of this morning’s game, I’ve prepared some interview questions for the boys… and they have offered me their thoughtful answers.

According to Kevin:

Q: Who would play Jamie in the Jamie Koe movie?
A: Danny DeVito

Q: What characteristic did you receive from the gene pool that Jamie did not?
A: A brain

Q: What was the last book Jamie read?
A: Curling for Dummies

Q: If someone wrote an autobiography about Jamie, what would the title be?
A: ‘Living in the Shadow of my Great Brother’

Q: You play each other on the last day of the round robin. Who wins? And what is the score?
A: I will be surprised if they show up.

And now, according to Jamie:

Q: Who would play Kevin in the Kevin Koe movie?
A: Oscar the Grouch

Q: What characteristic did you receive from the gene pool that Kevin did not?
A: Draw weight

Q: What was the last book Kevin read?
A: Curling for Dummies

Q: If someone wrote an autobiography about Kevin, what would the title be?
A: ‘Missed it by a hair’

Q: You play each other on the last day of the round robin. Who wins? And what is the score?
A: Territories wins the game 8-7.

Awww. Brotherly tenderness. We’ll see in a few hours whatever the outcome is.

I assume Jamie will show up physically, but mentally? Something tells me it was a long night in the Patch. Jamie tossed himself out of last night’s game against Saskatchewan at the fifth end break, and his Facebook status – before even leaving the ice – was Just call me the Patchlington Bear.

I’d imagine he sticks around on the ice regardless of how this match goes, and it could be a fun to watch as it is indeed the TSN feature game. If we’re lucky, TSN may roll tape of that infamous last-stone Juniors loss all those years ago… an event which took place just up the road, in Truro, which I happened to be at, too!

Have a good one, boys.

HALIFAX – Meet Michael, Tyson, Nathan, Richard, Jamie, Jordan, Mike and Jacqui. You only get first names because printing the last names of this group of Calgary-based Ukrainian-Canadians would use up half my character count.

The group is visiting Halifax for the first time, specifically for the Brier, after catching the curling fever at last year’s Calgary Brier. At first I thought they must be students on a study break looking for a party… well almost, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Firstly, these aren’t students. They’re working professionals using hard-earned vacation time – a few even took short leaves of absence from their jobs to make it here. Why?

“We’re really into culture,” said Michael. “We are Canadians but do a lot to respect our Ukrainian heritage as well. At last year’s Brier, we were introduced to curling and the culture of the sport just captured us. And, we’ve always heard about east coast hospitality, so when we heard the Brier would be in Halifax this year, we got planning.”

I’ll say. And wait ‘til you hear how they got to Halifax. Most folks would arrive at the Calgary airport and head for the sunrise. Not this gang, they went west!

Flying from Calgary to Vancouver, the group wanted to be in the Olympic city to experience the vibe of being amid the excitement of Canada’s gold medal hockey finale against the United States. Then, and I swear I’m telling the truth here, they boarded a Via Rail train and spent five-and-a-half days making their way to Halifax; with the longest de-boarded break being about three hours.

“It was an adventure in itself,” Michael said. “There was no internet and very limited cell service so we made our own fun.”

(You know what this means, right? Canada just witnessed the return of the fabled Brier Train! – Ed.)

If there was an Olympic sport in making your own fun, these guys (plus one gal) would be golden shoe-ins. Just sitting in the stands cheering doesn’t work for them. They have matching costumes – a different getup every day, in fact. So far the Metro Centre has been treated to Scottish and lumberjack themes with a promise of bigger and better ideas later in the week.

Though the outfits may change, the pride stays the same. “We just really want the best team to win,” Michael said, when I asked him whether they were cheering for their hometown Alberta squad.

“We’re proud Canadians and we’re just cheering for the sport.”

As for the ‘Plus One Gal,’ Jacqui likens the experience to another kind of show. “They’re like a bunch of out-of-control muppets,” she said about her male cohorts. “You know, like those two old guys that sit in balcony at the Muppet Show and heckle the entire time.”

Join their Facebook page: “VIA Rail / Men’s (and 1 lady) Brier trip of AWESOMENESS!!!

[CCA photo by Michael Burns, click to increase size]

There is so much amazing curling info bouncing around. Did you know, for example, that new curling clubs are sprouting up again stateside – such as in Charlotte, North Carolina – and there are efforts underway in Las Vegas, St. Louis and… Atlanta?

(Hint: I got all this from The Curling News Twitter feed… including a funny story about the Chinese Olympic men’s curling skip getting in big trouble when he arrived home in China. So follow it, or lose out, people!)

What is also amazing is that really curious Americans, Europeans, South Americans and everybody else can watch the great Brier curling coverage we get in Canada, through the TSN Video On Demand service. That’s right… my editor tells me that the games which are thrown onto the website after each live broadcast are not being geoblocked outside of Canada. And this means that the worldwide curling obsession can continue! Marvellous!

Go here and look on the right for the list of VOD games you can watch. And you may want to start with this one here, Alberta vs Newfoundland. Just a suggestion.

There has also been much debate, and lots of it right here on this blog, about the TSN TV curling commentators. The feedback thus far suggests that the newfangled team of Russ Howard and Bryan Mudryk, which handles the morning games, is perhaps a breath of fresh air in comparison to Vic Rauter, Linda Moore and Ray Turnbull, a threesome that has been teamed up as the main crew for over twenty years.

I’m an avid curling watcher. I would looove to be one of those people that go to the Brier and watch it in person every year. But there are plusses to sometimes watching from home. You learn about the players, and hear different opinions on shot calls. Besides, it’s easy to get distracted in the stands when you have four simultaneous games to watch and a beer in your hand.

By now I kind of feel like I know the commentators. Is that crazy? Never met them… still I feel like I’ve gotten to know these folks on a semi-personal level. And I’ve even grown fond of Ray at times. This is his last year, mind you. So in my own review, herewith, I’m going to be nice…. haha! But nobody else is getting off that easy. Not even Russ Howard, who by the way tends to read this blog. Hey, Russ. Whutsup.

With Ray departing at the end of the season, this possibly opens up a spot on the commentating teams. Who would fill such a spot, you ask? Aha. I shall answer, at the end of this blogpost, about who I think it may be.

For now, let’s discuss the commentators.

Linda Moore – I like her, I don’t love her. She’s pretty serious and doesn’t have the pizzazz that perhaps curling needs to continue the youthful rap it got after the Olympics. She is knowledgeable, but I would love to see a bit more light-hearted scrapping about shot decisions. Perhaps with a change in broadcast members I’ll get my wish.

Vic Rauter – I don’t mind Vic. I think viewers feel that he’s predictable and a bit cheesy. I’m quite sure he knows more than he lets on. But he makes me chuckle and I’m okay with him for awhile. We do tend to hear the same things over and over with this crew. We know Vic’s favourite moment in life is when he gets to say ‘… and he backs it up!’

Ray Turnbull – Adios, Moosie. This guy picks his favorites. Hello, I GET the infatuations with Jill Officer and Susan O’Connor. But if he calls Susan ‘this lady’ one more time I’m going to encourage him to actually have a drink with her. Lady she is not. Love ya, Sue.

Russ Howard – I’m giving this one some time, although he definitely deserves the ‘most improved’ award. His Olympics coverage was more enjoyable and informative than at the Canadian Olympic Trials. He is good for the odd one-liner such as ‘That wasn’t plan B, that was plan Zed.’ Hahaha! He calls ’em as he sees ’em and we need more humour like that. Russ is always predicting the outcome of shots… ‘He’ll make this perfectly, here it comes. Oh… um… just a nose. Needed more ice.’ It’s actually kind of funny. At present time I would say Russ is my man.

Bryan Mudryk – Totally cool. I think he’ll get more comfortable with experience. I like how he’s interested in the personal aspect of the players. He also poses insightful questions to Russ. He ain’t no dummy.

Cathy Gauthier – Okay, she’s seriously professional and knows what she’s talking about without relying on stats. She comes off, however, too rehearsed. And perhaps a little boring.

So. With Ray’s departure, it’s widely believed that Russ moves up to the night time crew. Who replaces Russ? Surely we can’t have Cathy and Brian in the mornings? Someone else must come into the mix.

I know who. I would bet a dozen cupcakes on it that Cheryl Bernard will be asked to consider commentating for TSN. Will she say yes? No idea. She’s probably itching to winter down south and still has some curling left in her without a doubt. But will she be asked? Of course she will. TSN would be crazy not to at least try to capitalize on the hype she created at the Olympics.

That’s my TSN review. With a future talent prediction. Agree? Disagree?

[CCA photo by Michael Burns]

HALIFAX – Greetings from the Brier!

It’s Haliblogstress extraordinaire who normally writes for the paper version of this here Curling News thing but, when an event like the Brier makes its way to your hometown, the best ticket in town is right here, blogging to you guys. So here we go.

In case you’re wondering why the heck I’m just surfacing now, considering it’s already Day Two, it’s because I’ve been touring this city the last few days, and getting mobbed everywhere I go. The insanity, unfortunately, isn’t for me… but I’ve been happy to be along for the ride .

When the Brier host committee asked me to assist Team Kevin Martin – aka Team Canada, aka Olympic gold medallists – during their promo visit to Halifax, it’s not like I even had to think about it. At all.

Kevin, Johnny Mo, Marc and Benny landed Thursday night and Oh. My. God. It’s been a gong show, to say the least, and I’ve seen everything from well-wishing handshakes to trembling, tearful teenaged girls.

On the docket was a mammoth autograph session (CCA photo by Michael Burns, click to increase size), news conference, Brier Opening Ceremony and interview after interview, but one of the highlights was a visit to the IWK Children’s Hospital.

The guys first met Jennifer Butts at the Port Hawkesbury-hosted Grand Slam event some five years ago. At the time, Jennifer was a healthy young teen with an appetite for curling and she was also a temporary neighbor to the visiting Martin team’s rental house.

Unfortunately Jennifer got sick a few years ago, but has kept in touch with the team. Orchestrated by her mom, they guys were able to surprise Jennifer with a visit, right here in Halifax, and just prior to her 19th birthday.

Throughout it all, the guys have been fantastic. Their profile is so huge right now and previously mundane tasks, like grabbing a double-double from Tim’s, is a massive undertaking with the fan frenzy that occurs. What’s most impressive is how genuinely gracious they are, and how important it is to them to make sure every hand is shook, autograph signed, photo taken and medal passed around, as much as possible.

They want to share their gold medals with Canada in exchange for the overwhelming support they felt from an entire nation, And from what I’ve seen during this whirlwind visit, Halifax is very happy to share it back.

Stay tuned tomorrow for actual Brier updates!

Jigsaw Casting Ltd. is looking for male curlers who fit the following characteristics to be featured in an upcoming Tim Hortons Brier print campaign:

• Men between the ages of 30-45 of Caucasian ethnicity
• Must have some curling experience

Those who secure a role in the advertisement will be financially compensated with approximately CDN $750.

Must be available for these key dates:

• Friday, November 6 (20 minute committment only)
• Tuesday November 10

You must book an audition if interested, by emailing the following:

• PHOTOS – head shot and full body shot (candid snapshots will suffice, 100kb max per photo, please put “Curling” in the subject line)

• All primary and secondary contact info

• Brief description of your curling experience, years playing, tournament wins etc.

Questions or concerns: contact Erika at 416-360-0336 x230