by Dalene Heck
Oh Dougie! Your hard work and determination to get onto this blog did not go unnoticed. Nice to see that you took “Argyle Friday” to a whole new level …
by Dalene Heck
They call themselves “The Argyle Turtle Band” and were the opening act for Streetheart. At least, that’s their version of last night’s events …
by Dalene Heck
Click to zoom in. How many sigs do you recognize?
The question is, will she ever wash her chest again?
by Dalene Heck
“Double-Double” – a coffee with double cream and double sugar added
“Hurry” – the curling term meaning “sweep”
I have a new challenge. If the intent of the Canadian dictionary is to accurately include staples of Canadian culture, then there currently is a glaring omission that needs to be corrected.
The dictionary includes a few definitions of the verb “patch” or “patching”, most of them having to do with repairing or mending. Applied to curling, these existing definitions would suffice to describe what most people need the morning after a good night out at the Keith’s Brier Patch at the Tim Hortons Brier.
Headaches being repaired with a bottle of Tylenol. Relationships being mended with a quick conversation: “You know I was really loaded when I said that about you last night, right? I’m sorry…”
However, the current definition obviously needs to be expanded to include the actual art of enjoying the Keith’s Brier Patch itself. The art of heading to the biggest party in Canada with 3,000 or so of your closest friends and enjoying a few cold Keith’s with your favourite curlers while being entertained by some of Canada’s best musical acts.
Some examples of the use of the word “patch” in this form are:
“Are you going patching tonight?”
“Sorry, I patched it up too good last night. Going to have to take a night off so that I can continue to patch the rest of the weekend.”
Assuming I will have to submit an official definition for consideration, I have started to make some drafts:
v. patch, patch-ing, patched
1. To partake in the extra-curricular activities offered at the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship, as sponsored by Mr. Alexander Keith at the Brier Patch.
2. To consume ridiculous amounts of alcohol and stalk favourite curlers for autographs, pictures, or to offer strategies for future games.
3. To rush the stage for Streetheart.
Perhaps #3 isn’t quite appropriate, but it is what I personally plan on doing while I “patch” it up tonight. Those boys? I’m Under Their Thumb (2:20 into the video, and it’s awesome).
For a lot of curling fans, the Brier Patch is as important to the tournament as the actual competition. Thus, I will endeavour to find out how to correct this gross oversight in the authority of our Canadian language. And until I make the official submission for review, I will continue to do as much research as possible to ensure I get the definition right. This will be a tough sacrifice, but somebody has to do it.
See you tonight…?
by Margo Weber
But Quebec’s late round robin surge has more than made up for the disappointing showing by the Saskatchewan team skipped by Joel Jordison (CCA photo by Michael Burns).
Jean-Michel Ménard and crew have rattled off five wins in a row, including a biggie over Ontario’s Glenn Howard.
Menard is a previous Brier champion but hey – so was everyone else. Now he plays Jeff Stoughton’s Manitoba team in a tiebreaker this afternoon.
START, stupid game! I’m going through withdrawl! Ah, perhaps I can get something outside of curling accomplished this morning. BTW, my husband is looking forward to having me back next week.
This from today’s Calgary Sun:
Saskatchewan coach Ron Meyers and fifth man Rod Montgomery showed up for last night’s game against Newfoundland/Labrador wearing paper bags over their heads.
Other than Sask (otherwise known as Saskatch) have there been any other surprises at this year’s Tim Horton’s Brier?… I mean other than the fact that I apparently can consume three drinks at once?… Yawnsies…
However, I will be watching the TSN telecast this afternoon while my two- year-old chants “Manitoba!”. NO idea why he’s doing that. I need to start brainwashing him to chant “Let’s Go Grey Slacks!” or at least “Let’s Go White Belts!”
by Dalene Heck
CALGARY – Thursday night at the Brier. A weird buzz overall. Craziness. Last-minute wrestling for a playoff spot. Standing ovations from the crowd (CCA photo by Michael Burns) to those who are headed home. It’s electric.
And, of course, there is beer.
Every day, the event daily Tankard Times churns out profiles on different players. I can’t help but question whether some of the players allow their friends to complete their forms for fun, or perhaps they have ingested a few wobbly pops before putting pen to paper?
Here are a few that have gotten me wondering…
• Nova Scotia third Bruce Lohnes’ nickname is apparently Juicy Brucey. I’m not sure I’d be advertising that little fun fact myself.
• New Brunswick third James Grattan described himself as “sexy”. While I can’t disagree with him (Hello? All star HOT third!) I never pegged him as the narcissistic type.
• The British Columbia team obviously had fun with their profiles. Skip Sean Geall’s profile stated that he loves curling because “there is beer”. Second Kevin Reckseidler described himself as “classy, gassy and sassy”, while lead Mark Olson is “huggable and kissable”. However, third Brent Pierce apparently wasn’t a part of this game as his profile is lacking some pizzazz!
• When asked why he loves curling, Jamie Koe of The Territories responded with: “Two words, The Patch”. I have to say that I believe my good friend JK completed his profile with all honesty. That is the JK we know and love.
PS: This will officially be my last mention of James Grattan. I can smell the restraining order…
by Dalene Heck
And we can add Newfoundland’s Mark Nichols to the official list of people that are probably creeped out by me!
I am told by my good friend’s four-year-old that this belt buckle is “Autobot” of Transformers fame.
PS: It is scary how good I am getting with the Crotch Cam… this picture was my first shot of the day. Curlers beware….
by Dalene Heck
Oatmeal, that’s what’s cooking. Plain, boring, blah oatmeal. Which pretty much describes the curling that has gone on at the Saddledome through Draw 14.
Thank goodness for Glenn Howard and The Shot (and Russ Howard and The Swing), or there would be very little to be excited about thus far. Let’s take another look at some event statistic to tell the story:
• The average points between winners and losers is still hovering around four.
• How about this for another stat: out of 54 total games, only eight have come down to last rock, and only one of those has gone an extra end.
I have high hopes for today, the final draw of the round robin. A lot of these games mean a lot of things to a lot of players battling it out for the playoffs.
While no one has seemed to be able to even test the dominance of Team Alberta (their average points over their opponents is almost five), at least we have seen some weakness in the armor of Ontario, via Quebec’s win yesterday along with close calls against Saskatchewan and the Territories.
No matter for Ontario as far as standings go – they are safe in their quest for the playoffs – but it gives a glimmer of hope to fans who are rooting for a little more drama in their Brier.
No one likes to be able to guess the ending of a movie when they are only three quarters of the way through!
And how do our Pros figure that the round robin will finish off? Click the graphic above to find out!
by Dalene Heck
I heard this a few times growing up. And she was right at the time – I mean, did it really matter if my hair scrunchy matched my curling jacket?
However, with the full exposure and the dozens of hours of TV time that the Brier gets, it is understandable that some of the boys are paying attention to what they are wearing on the ice… and, dare I say, even accessorizing!
I could write pages about fashion misses over the years. Dare I bring up Fred Maxie and his headband, circa 1994? Or what about the decades worth of national championships where Manitoba teams were required to wear the worst possible shade of brown from head to toe?
I’ll let the past be. This year’s Brier fashion has it’s own share of hits and misses to comment on…
• The time for the white belts has passed. Sorry Ontario – you made big waves a couple of years ago by breaking the standard and wearing white belts, kudos to you for that. However, you’ve pushed that fashion statement for long enough (photo above of Craig Savill). Please put those back in the closet after this week. Oh yeah, and toss the white shoes that you wore to the opening banquet in there with them.
• The time for jazzy belt buckles is here! Quebec and New Brunswick are leading the way with provincial flag (and superhero!) tributes.
• Fellas, please. You are going to be on national TV. Would it have killed you to get a haircut before getting on the plane to Calgary? You know who you are.
• Oh, Jamie Korab. When some of my friends knew I was going to be writing about fashion, they immediately attacked your hair. I jumped to your defense. While your current hairstyle isn’t entirely my thing, I understand you wanting to showcase your inner Kanye, and I’m okay with that. At least it’s actually a style that is current!
• The CCA and/or Mondetta must take a “hit” as well. I’m glad I was sitting at ice level for the New Brunswick versus Manitoba game otherwise I would have had no idea who was who. White letters on yellow shirts versus yellow letters on white shirts. Brilliant.
I should note that I am writing this post while relaxing on my couch in my giant-baby-one-piece-footed-pink-camouflage-fleece-pajamas. Now THAT is fashion, baby!
The rule came out in the fall – highlighting a three-step disciplinary process for said damage – and Scotland, for one, jumped on it immediately.
That’s right, folks. The final step in the process is heavy: player expulsion from the game!
There are also reports that the CCA has quietly spoken to certain athletes (and they have been doing so throughout the season) about their own chances – or likelihood, barring changes to personal tendencies – of being nabbed in this web.
It’s a web which gets spun very seriously a little over a week from now in Gangneung, Korea at the Mount Titlis World Women’s Championship and then next month at the 50th anniversary Ford World Men’s in Moncton.
The above funny photo (by Anil Mungal, of course, courtesy of Capital One) is from the fall Tour season, and is light in tone.
But John Morris took some serious flak at last year’s Brier – and the one before that – regarding knee and hand prints on the ice and to be perfectly fair, he “didn’t do anything different than (he’d) been doing all year.”
Check out some of the players in Calgary after they’ve released their stones, or as they sweep, particularly with dual grippers on their shoes.
As the worlds draw closer, have you noticed any differences?
