The Bronze Battle

by Kevin Palmer

The Curling News® photos by Anil Mungal – click on images to increase viewing size

I recall an article that showcased the relationship between football stars Peyton and Eli Manning when they were growing up.

Peyton, the older brother, would always beat Eli, the younger, at virtually every sport or game. They both remember the moment when Eli finally beat Peyton – in a basketball one-on-one – with a huge dunk on the very last play. Legend has it that Peyton wouldn’t speak to Eli for days after that.

For some reason, such a degree of sibling rivalry doesn’t easily reveal itself in curling. The closest thing we’ve seen in a while may be Manitoba’s Lyburn brothers – fiery Scotsmen, both – who played on different teams this season. As we know, they reunited once Team Rob Fowler qualified for the Brier; eldest Allan throwing third and the youngest, Willie, now along as the fifth man.

Watching the Koe brothers trade shots in Saturday’s entertaining Page playoff 3 versus 4 battle, however, made it easy to picture the two of them, age 16 and 14, throwing rocks – possibly in a game of skins – to see who buys the french fries. I wonder about the first time kid brother Jamie ever won (assuming he did) and how that must have felt (for each of them)… and whether or not eldest Kevin spoke to his brother afterwards.

Of course, there were other players on the ice Saturday, and eventually, the more talented and seasoned team won. The disappointing thing about underdog is that eventually, and more often they not, they lose. Everyone is congratulating the Territories for their great week, the playoffs, and the bronze medal game. It was a great showing and I cheered them on with every step, as most fans would. We should also be impressed with the play of Team Alberta and Kevin himself – that team had/has more expectations on their shoulders, ie. everything to lose. Anyone who’s curled enough has memories of playing games like that one, and being on the wrong end of an upset. The Albertans gutted out a fine performance and got their job done… but for Jamie, it still must still sting a little.

Brier Championship action

Ontario certainly deserves their berth in the final, but the outcome didn’t happen as easily as the Page 1 versus 2 game appeared. They played five extra-end games during the week (it could easily have been six), they had a lead on intravenous for part of the tournament, and they battled through several on-ice situations that could have gone the other way.

The semifinal between Manitoba and Alberta had plenty of drama, including some key misses at the wrong times. After the seventh end it still seemed like anyone’s game, though Alberta had stepped up their play following the break. Several MB attempts at runbacks in the sixth and seventh ends led to a key steal and a force of one. Then, in the eighth end, Alberta cracked a huge four points and it was all but decided; a key pick on Fowler’s first throw allowed Koe to split the rings and lay three, then Fowler was a little heavy and and straight on his freeze attempt – boom, an Alberta hit for four. A couple of double-takeout options had been discussed; in hindsight, perhaps that would have been the better call.

When the first Brier bronze medal game was played last year, I don’t recall if I actually watched. This year I found a reason to watch, even if it was only to shirk some husbandly duties. I agreed with those last year who suggested the game wasn’t necessary, but perhaps I was wrong. I still don’t think it’s required, I always found these events during the Olympics to seem unnecessary. Why not just give out two bronze medals? It always seems disappointing when a team gets that close then doesn’t share the podium. But on Sunday, I did enjoy the game and it appeared the MB and TER players did also. On Thursday, when many thought they would fold and miss the playoffs, the Territories squad came through with two great efforts and earned their playoff spot with an impressive 7-4 record. The Territories also handed Ontario their only loss in the competition.

The final was an obvious rematch of the 2010 Brier final in Halifax, with a lineup change for both combatants: Ontario’s Richard Hart and Alberta’s Blake McDonald replaced by Wayne Middaugh and Pat Simmons, respectively. And as this blogpost from March 15, 2010 shows, the Albertans were victorious despite being in the same Page 3 versus 4 hole that they were at the start of the 2012 playoff weekend.

Ontario – 2012 champions

Unlike the previous contest – as Jim Nantz would say, “one for the ages” – this one is soon to be forgotten. I’m certain that Glenn, Brent Laing and Craig Savill will remember it for years to come. After losing four of five Brier finals in the past six years, and an Olympic berth as well, this win must feel very special. It would have been easy to start to feel jinxed, like it’s never going to happen again, and lose your passion.  But Team Howard has continued their steady play and never wavered from the top level of the game, even after injecting new third Wayne Middaugh into the mix (okay, a pretty good third, but you never know how that’s going to turn out).

The final game showed what happens when one team is a little off and the other is simply not missing. I can’t even comment on strategy, other than to suggest the Albertans may have wanted to try food-poisoning Wayne earlier in the day; he shot 98 per cent and was awarded the Hec Gervais award as playoff MVP.

Well done Ontario and Team Howard, and good luck at the worlds in Basel, Switzerland.

Quebec skip Brier Bob prays for coffee

by Kevin Palmer

The Curling News® photos by Anil Mungal – Click on images to increase viewing size

SASKATOON – If you watch a TSN morning game during the Brier, it always appears that the live arena attendance is smaller than for a night draw.

I’ll pass on a little known secret: the attendance is just as big, however, the spectators are all lined up at the concession stands for their wake-up coffee. The hardest part is deciding which line you are actually standing in, since said line reaches around the entire oval of the arena.

As you already know, Thursday morning featured must-win games for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with hometown Saskatchewan attempting to play spoiler against Manitoba. If you were betting on the underdog, you lost in every single case. The playoff-bound powerhouses – Ontario, Manitoba and, um, er, the Territories – all came through with impressive wins.

And it was a great job by Team Jamie Koe. After a 5-1 start they had dropped three games in a row, and they had also lost control of the hammer by the fourth end of their NB match. A steal of two in five put them in control, but then they surrendered a three in the sixth.

Calmly, Jamie led his squad to a rebound deuce in seven and another steal of two in the eighth frame (after back-to-back raise attempt field goals by Terry Odishaw) on their way to a tiebreaker clinching win.

Separated at birth? Howser (left) and Fowler

Meanwhile, Rob “Doogie Howser” Fowler clinched at least a tiebreaker with his convincing win over Scott Manners. A three-count in the first end gave the Manitobans full control and they never looked to be in much danger.

Rob enjoys his takeouts so much, he often follows them down the ice to the end of the sheet. It hurts my groin to even watch as he slides the length of the ice at nearly the same speed as the stone he just fired. Myself, I prefer more of the Jamie Koe-style of throwing; starting to stand up even before the rock has been released.

The afternoon draw saw Alberta defeat Nova Scotia to set up their battle with Ontario in the evening. Manitoba continued its hot streak and moved Northern Ontario aside 10-4, and secured at least the number three playoff spot. New Brunswick upset B.C. 7-5 and Team Jacobs would then need a disappointed Jim Cotter team to win over J Koe to gain their tiebreak in the evening draw. That outcome was not to be, as The Other Koe swept the day with a convincing 8-3 win over B.C. and a lock on the fourth and final playoff spot – no tiebreakers.

See you real soon, bro!

It marked a historic event; the first time the Territories had made the playoffs since that format began in 1980. It was also a historic event for gamblers, as it marked the first TERR game to go under the 12 ½ point total all week.

The featured TSN night game was the annual Thursday night tilt between Alberta and Ontario. There was more at stake than just first place here: an Alberta loss would push Kevin Koe down to the Page playoff 3 vs 4 game – a rematch with his brother – and a loss for me against Steve Lobel in the annual Brier Bet for our respective provinces. Clearly Glenn Howard knew that Steve needed a victory after a decade of Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin dominating this wager.

There are 160 stones thrown in a full 10-end curling game, and Koe versus Howard showed how important just a few shots can be. Kevin had a possible chance to score two early, but rolled out by a few inches on a hit attempt, resulted in a blank.  A missed draw in the fourthby Koe led to a Howard steal. In the next end, a hit and stick on the blank attempt by Kevin and at the break Howard now had the hammer, tied 1-1.

They swapped deuces. In the ninth end, tied 3-3 without last rock, Koe is attempting to either steal or force Howard to one. Alberta second Carter Rycroft rubs a guard in the attempt to set up the inning, and the end result is a score of three by Howard and the win for Ontario. Steve, your Kaptain Koe T-shirt will arrive next week.

The first round of playoffs are set: ON vs MB in the 1-2 playoff tonight, and Koe vs Koe in the 3-4 on Saturday afternoon…

Manitoba skip Rob Fowler (far right) slides into play

by Kevin Palmer

The Curling News® photos by Anil Mungal – Click on images to increase viewing size

SASKATOON – There was plenty at stake Wednesday night at the 2012 Brier as every game had possible playoff implications. Ontario’s Glenn Howard, the leader in the clubhouse, had the evening off, and that left the rest of the field to do battle heading into Big Thursday.

I, too, was “rested” for that draw… although I did use the stairs on two occasions (and it felt great).

Mike Gaudet of Prince Edward Island comes in at 2-6, playing for pride and trying to play spoiler. Their opponents are the Jim Cotter team from B.C., who are 4-4 after their morning loss to Ontario. PEI opens with a deuce. B.C. is held to one but then steals two in the fourth end and another in the fifth. They appear to be in control at the break, but a sixth-end PEI deuce precedes a big a steal of two in the eighth and the Kelowna squad sits at five losses, hoping for help from others.

Newfoundland came in with five losses and battles the Terry Odishaw rink from New Brunswick in the battle of “New” provinces. A tight battle which included only one critical deuce, scored by Odishaw in the seventh end. Trailing one with hammer in the last end, Brad Gushue is unable to score two to win or even the single to tie and they drop to six losses and no chance for a tiebreaker berth.

NONT skip Brad Jacobs has a big day today

Northern Ontario, at 4-4, pummels Nova Scotia 11-4 to stay at four losses. Okay, it was actually a lot closer until POW! – a four-ender in the ninth had them shaking hands and left anyone who bet on the under (total of 12 ½ points) crying in their Original 16 beer. Northern Ontario still has destiny in their own control of their fate, or something like that – anyway, it’s in their hands.

Original 16 beer. This sounds different. Wait a minute… whatever happened to Labatt, ie. Canada’s official Beer Of Curling since the first Labatt Brier in 1980?

Just asking.

The TSN game was the traditional Wednesday night contest, Manitoba versus Alberta. Quite non-traditional was the game airing on TSN2 as opposed to the main channel, which covered a Maple Leaf hockey game. Readers ie. subscribers of The Curling News knew this, as the Curling TV Guide (in the subscribers-only section of every issue) was accurate in its listing.

Key steals in the fourth and fifth ends gave Brandon’s Rob Fowler control, 5-2 at the break. And despite a rebound deuce from Calgary skip Kevin Koe, Manitoba was able to pull out an 8-5 win and keep their hopes for the first Page playoff 1 vs 2 game alive.

It was a huge loss for Alberta – only their second of the tournament – as they could have secured that Friday night playoff spot with a win.

AB third Pat Simmons missed the team photo

An interesting decision by Koe in the fourth end led to a key point: trailing 3-2 with hammer, Kevin chose a raise attempt for two rather than a draw for one. He managed to make contact with Fowler’s shot stone but jammed it onto his own in the back twelve, and surrendered the steal. This was an unfortunate break and a justifiable decision, at least mathematically. If Kevin expects to make contact at least 70 per cent of the time (and I suspect the reality is closer to 80 per cent) – even if he only gets a deuce 20 per cent of the time, his chances to win are the same as a draw for one, assuming he makes the draw  – we’ve seen a few of those missed this week.

Unlike almost a quarter of the women’s field at the Tournament of Hearts, Alberta third Pat Simmons seems to be, thus far, the only Brier competitor to be really smacked by the flu. Just minutes after my exploration of Brier fifth men was published, it appears that Alberta alternate Blake MacDonald might be needed for more than the typical coaching and housekeeping chores. We shall watch and see.

Let’s look at the possibilities for today, Thursday, the big climax of the round-robin… and the potential tiebreakers…

• Ontario has qualified for the 1-2 game, making Howard the No. 1 or 2 guy in five of the last seven Brier RRs.
• Koe can secure top spot with two wins today or can drop to as far as a tiebreaker with two losses.
• Two wins by Manitoba today, combined with a loss by AB, will give MB second place. Two Ls could mean they’re out.
• Jamie Koe (TER) has had some recent problems. Two wins and he’s in, one loss and his squad need some help.
• Northern Ontario is currently tied with the Territories boys at 5-4. Two wins gets them into at least a tiebreaker.
• New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and B.C. (five losses) all need to win their games and also get some help from Manitoba.
• Saskatchewan can play spoiler. Their last games are against Manitoba and Northern Ontario.
• NL, Quebec and PEI will battle Sask to see who would be demoted next year – if they change the Brier format.

Could Team Canada – and the concept of relegation – be coming to the Brier?

That’s right – relegation. If you’re a Canadian curling follower you’ve been hearing about this since the fall, and if you read The Curling News you learned all about relegation in action at the Canadian Mixed, which was played at Sudbury back in November. There’s talk at this event of possible additions to the Brier field, which would require relegation for the bottom two provinces. A team from Nunavut would be added, plus the infamous Team Canada as found in the women’s Tournament of Hearts, while the Territories would be split into two teams, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

With 14 teams in play, speculation says there would be a new Brier pre-event or qualifier featuring a four-team playoff to see which two provinces/territories becomes part of the traditional 12-team round robin. The losers would then get to hang around and watch curling all week – what fun! Needless to say, this plan makes no sense for any number of reasons although, as a fair representation of the strange and politically correct Dominion of Canada, the concept seems to fit. Sort of, or somehow.

In my opinion, giving a berth to the defending champion, aka Team Canada, just plain stinks. It undermines the traditional concept of winning your province, it gives the winner an unfair advantage over their Brier competitors and, dammit, it just doesn’t feel right. Team Canada has won the women’s STOH 30 per cent of the time since they started this nonsense, and six times in the last 11 years. Somewhere, someone is looking at a marketing plan to ensure that an extra Kevin Martin, Howard or Jeff Stoughton gets on Brier TV every year, but at what point is the sport considered above the dollar? (Hasn’t curling’s soul already been sold to television? Might as well sell out straight to the green, they might make more money that way –Ed.)

Okay, rant over – back to this Brier.

Like any fan, I’m hoping for a few tiebreakers to make Friday interesting. I only hope they don’t use the classic technique deployed during the 1992 Tournament of Hearts. Some may recall that a three-way tie was broken by each skip pulling a number out of the buttocks bottom of a stuffed Scotties puppet (the mascot). Team Canada, skipped by British Columbia’s Julie Sutton, was awarded a bye to the final thanks to her adept veterinary skills… another great marketing idea from many years ago.

As the Brier tension mounts, my stomach is churning – from too many media donuts plus a lack of vegetables. Only two more days (for me) and it’s time for the Post-Brier Cleanse, with wine and fruit in replace of beer and poutine. I can already see the pounds falling off.

Guilty as charged

by Kevin Palmer

The Curling News® photos by Anil Mungal

Ryan’s Express photo by CCA/Michael Burns

(Click on images to increase viewing size)

SASKATOON – Monday was Green Day at the Brier, where patrons were encouraged to wear green clothing. To no one’s surprise, most wore Saskatchewan Roughrider jerseys, and I spotted one unfortunate fellow with a jersey that did not have Lancaster or Durant on the back, but instead read “Rider Fan by Marriage”.

And of course, the green men were back in form, donning their spandex suits; in case you are also interested in amusing friends and colleagues at work, or embarrassing your daughter during her junior high basketball game, you can get your own suit here. Other fans improvised their suits, with splattered green paint, wigs and extra large tighty-whitey underwear making fine and able substitutes (green handprints on the buttocks were a nice touch). The original green men are consummate professionals and came prepared, sporting fanny packs, whereas I spotted one of the painted amateurs sporting what appeared to be an iPhone in his trousers (insert your own joke here).

Brad Gushue reflects after the Koe loss

Tuesday morning saw me in my hotel room, staring out the window at a blizzard and simultaneously watching Brad Gushue battle Alberta on TV. The fifth end break of Draw 9, the exact middle point of the Brier, saw the 1-4 Team Newfoundland & Labrador trailing undefeated Alberta by a 3-1 score – and we all know how that one ended. First overall at last year’s Brier in London is a distant memory… but until they’re mathematically out of the playoffs, we’ll save the post-op on Team Gushue for another day.

Manitoba versus Nova Scotia was a sloppy game littered with strange misses. Ice, as always, can be tricky. As often as we talk about the challenges the ice technicians face during these events, I always wonder how bad the ice was in the 1960s and 70s when they didn’t have a team of technicians and computers to help. We can put a man on the moon, and caramel into a chocolate bar, but we can’t get curling ice to do what we want. There’s likely some poetic analogy of man’s attempt to control nature, but I’m not qualified to comment, so we’ll move on.

There are still thoughts of Northern Ontario’s loss to Ontario the other night. Moose skip Brad Jacobs made a great final shot to score two and force an extra end, a soft weight hit that spun his shooter to grab an edge of the button. In the extra end the steal looked likely, but Glenn Howard was able to make a long raise on a NONT stone and tap his own rock for the win, a big shot that drew big applause and big celebration from Team Howard. Glenn and third Wayne Middaugh even shared an awkward embrace during their handshake-chestbump-whatever. Kids, please don’t try this at home – you might break your on-ice microphone.

COMIN' ATCHA: Alberta skip Kevin Koe draws the line

We saw Kevin Koe finally lose a game, but he and his Alberta crew are still steady, boring and efficient. Kevin himself has the relaxed, methodical saunter of a professional golfer, his expression rarely changing from one of pleasant delight without actual enthusiasm – and its eerily intimidating. I expect Kevin wears the same face right before drawing to the button as he would while pushing a shopping cart at Safeway, or doing the laundry. It’s not premature to predict – as so many have already – that everyone other than Howard and (K) Koe are playing for bronze in this Brier. For more on the numbers between these two titans, check out this column.

Last night at the Brier showed why curlers stopped drinking (too much) beer and started working out. Everything felt a little flat, weary, and tired… like a Judd Apatow comedy that should have ended 20 minutes earlier. A long week of hotel to arena to patch to arena to patch to arena to patch to hotel, repeat, is going to take its toll on fans. I’m sure the players must start to feel it. Four blowouts were on display in one draw, and we hadn’t seen that all week. Of course, hosts Saskatchewan made a hit for three in the eighth end to arrest that blowout and the crowd went wild, but they were still down two, without hammer, with two ends remaining, so they were likely going to lose (97% of the time in fact) but at least the locals had a reason to cheer.

RYAN'S EXPRESS: The good old days, with no fifth in sight

If mid-week is tough on fans and players, imagine how the fifth men must feel. The unheralded alternate position player has to suck up his pride and join a team which likely beat him in the provincials. Then they make him their subordinate, helping to fetch drinks, carry jackets and broom bags and schedule meal plans for the team. He has to dress in uniform each day, sit behind the scoreboard, and hope he’s not caught on camera sleeping or stuffing his mouth with nachos. He talks to the team coach – a lot – and throws practice stones with said coach, too. He does get to play a few ends here and there so he is eligible for a medal, should it be forthcoming, at the end of the week. Then, if he’s lucky enough to be on the winning team, that uncomfortable scene happens where he’s not sure when and where to stand on the podium for what photograph. It’s like being the new boyfriend at the photo shoot during a family wedding.

If you recall, Saskatchewan went on to steal the ninth end and trailed by just a single point coming home. Their chances just increased to 11%, but back to our regular column.

I spoke with a couple of the high profile alternates this week to see if my theories were right. They have much less bitterness and resentment than you might think. In fact, they seem to be having a great time.

Blake MacDonald tries to remember the in-turn

Blake MacDonald won a Brier and World Championship with Kevin Koe two years ago. He took a step away from curling this year and presto, his old team manages to win Alberta and return to the Brier. Despite only playing 10 games this year in a Thursday men’s league and playing one cashspiel with Jamie King, the Koes asked him to re-join as their Brier fifth man. Blake says it’s a strange feeling, and it’s tough being in a position where he can’t actually be on the ice to help the team. He’s committed to the role and constantly scouting rocks on all sheets during each draw, engaging with the officials over possible rock handle malfunctions, and trying to do what he can to help. Of course, arranging dinners is also part of the job, and making sure the team spends quality time in the Patch to grow its market brand is also an important task.

Manitoba’s Willie Lyburn is the brother of third Allan Lyburn.  Their father, Hugh Lyburn, brought them to Manitoba from Scotland during their teens. Hugh was able to leave Scotland only after escaping from an underground prison for rogue curlers, seen in the first photo on this page.

Willie skipped his own team this season and had an outstanding year, and made it to the semifinals of the Manitoba provincial last month, only to lose to brother Allan and then watch him win the whole damn thing and get his first Purple Heart. Then Allan did what any older brother would do, and asked Willie to come along and carry his bags. However, Willie doesn’t have an ounce of ill-will and is enjoying every part of the experience. He told me he couldn’t be happier for his brother and a smile never left his face, except when father Hugh was delayed in returning with our round.

Twitter fiend in action

Another famous fifth is Scott Howard for Ontario. Scott’s dad Glenn just happens to be the skip. I couldn’t reach Scott for comment but he’s been using Twitter to share his experience in Saskatoon, and his comments offer insight into the valuable strategic contributions he’s been able to provide to his teammates.

For example, during their Monday night game against Northern Ontario, Scott tweeted: “Taking advantage of the Tim Hortons supplies, munching on a chocolate donut…I’m a fatty.”

Yes, whoa… ahhh… oops. As we know, Scott Manners slid his final stone past three Nova Scotia rocks in the four foot and it ended, final score Bluenosers 10, Saskatchewan 7. The numbers, and the law of averages, win again.

Now it’s Thursday, the finale of the round robin, and our leaders are at 7-1, with the other Koe at 5-3, Manitoba and Nova Scotia at 4-3, B.C. and Northern Ontario at 4-4 and look here, Mr. Gushue has won again, and is now at 3-5. And not quite out of this thing yet.

Host skip Scott Manners basks in the adulation of a really weird group of Saskatchewan fans

by Kevin Palmer

The Curling News® photos by Anil Mungal – click on image to increase viewing size

SASKATOON – What other sport is as strange as this?

I was struck with that thought yesterday, watching Draw 4 of the 2012 Brier. By strange I don’t mean the game itself: I grew up in Winnipeg, watching grown men sweep with brooms while sliding on one foot. The odd part is that the event itself, the Brier, is still arguably (along with the Olympic Winter Games) the most important event in this old Scottish game.

Oh… and those fans in the all-green body suits, too. That was/is strange.

For Sunday afternoon, the 15,500 seat arena was well-stocked with Saskatchewanians and other visitors who came from all across this vast country. In what other sport do three or four of the elite teams in the world compete against eight or so average teams? In many cases, these elite squads do fierce battle in their respective province to gain entry, hopefully every few years, while some average teams with average players show up year after year, almost as if this is an annual bonspiel, travel plans made in August. It’s as if the Lakers, Heat, Celtics and Bulls played a basketball tournament against Canadian University teams, and attendance was 10 times that of the NBA finals.

I’m not complaining, I’m just observing.

WHAT THE...? Is Glenn Howard getting heckled by the green spacemen? His aunt? Who knows?

It’s the 30th Anniversary of the Brier Patch. I know this because it’s available on a T-Shirt. This led me to wonder if beer was consumed at these events before 1982 – and I’d suspect it was. The logo for Brier Bear adorns the T-shirts that are available for children. But the Bear, in the logo, is wearing skates. So far, no one has been able to explain the reason why, but it will be a quest for this week to find the answer.  Another quest-like question: what is the maximum number of logos that can appear on the ice surface? (I lost count at 74).

In other logo-related news, Saskatchewan third Tyler Lang, was seen photographed wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap after his team’s come-from-behind win in the provincial final (steals in both 10 and 11 against Bruce Korte). I know this because it was a widely-circulated photo, with the four guys clutching the Sask trophy, and it also appeared on the cover of the March issue of The Curling News, owner of this here website blog. Thanks to this widely-circulated photo, Tyler has apparently received a plethora of Jays-related SWAG from the baseball team itself, which he unfortunately cannot wear at the Brier due to even rules on logos (he’s now sporting a nifty green cap adorned with “SASK”, see bottom photo). His is one of five caps I counted on the heads of curling athletes during the Sunday evening draw – of seven in total, I believe. Tyler gets my vote for “Best Cap” award at this year’s Brier, with BC’s Jim Cotter and his plain, ordinary blue cap clearly in last place.

In actual curling news, Newfoundland skip Brad Gushue starts out 0-3 and their locker room cannot be a happy place. They can take solace that these losses came at the hands of other contenders and, of the heavy favourites, only Alberta and Kevin Koe remains on their schedule. In 2007, Gushue started 1-3 and then came within one brain-fart call in the ninth end of the final to possibly leaving Ontario’s Glenn Howard with an 0-5 mark on their Brier finals resume, instead of 1-4.

Koe looks strong so far, and not just Kevin. The Territories’ Jamie Koe, Kevin’s kid brother, sits at 2-1 after an upset win over Ontario.  The favourite coming in, Howard and new/old teammate Wayne Middaugh haven’t looked sharp (photo above) and were lucky that Gushue threw a draw against them on his ninth-end hit on Sunday night. The steal of two helped Ontario to an extra-end win and the avoidance of a 1-2 start. Nova Scotia started 3-0 but they dropped a game to New Brunswick in the evening draw and have yet to play Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland or Ontario.

Ladies and gentlemen: your Best Cap award winner

Sask skip Scott Manners (top photo), the “tweener” from Lloydminster who’s spent most of his curling days battling in Alberta, has looked calm and relaxed, as has his rookie squad. The crowd is clearly behind them, though I expect come Sunday’s final they’ll be cheering for another Saskatchewan native, playing in the blue and yellow of Alberta. Pat Simmons represented Saskatchewan five times at the Brier and now throws third stones for Kevin Koe. Pat will be looking for history to repeat this week: the last Saskatoon Brier was won by Mark Dacey, a Saskatchewan guy wearing a different uniform (Nova Scotia).

Saskatoon appears to be a great host so far, as I would expect. I’m not sure if it’s been made public, but we appear to have a Brier “rotation” similar to the way the Royal & Ancient manages the (British) Open Golf Championship. A five-city tour: Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg combines with  two or three other locations (Halifax, Ottawa and London in recent years) to round out a seven-year cycle. This makes economic sense, I expect, but I’d love to see them attempt a Toronto or Montreal Brier. Perhaps one day, but for now, I’ll celebrate with Saskatoon.

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!