Grand Slam Curling on Global

Global TV will broadcast the Grand Slam finales

The announcement came today that the men’s and women’s finals of the Players’ Championship will be broadcast live on Global Television, April 21-22.

Shaw Media owns Global Television as well as 18 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, History Television and Showcase. The Players’ Championship is the fourth and final event in the annual Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series.

The Players’ Championship gets underway at the Credit Union Centre in Summerside, Prince Edward Island on April 17.

Who will commentate? How about this odd couple: 2010 Olympic Silver Medallist skip Cheryl Bernard of Calgary, and old CBC/NBC warhorse Don Duguid?

“I’m really excited about this opportunity”, said Bernard, whose team missed qualifying for the Players’. “I have always wanted to try commentating but since I am always playing, there was never a chance. So when this became available, I jumped at it, and then to find out I will be sitting beside the master, Don Duguid, well that’s just icing on the cake.”

“I’m looking forward to being back on Canadian television,” said Duguid, who won the Brier and worlds in 1970 and 1971. “To be able to team up with a great champion like Cheryl will enable us to provide a new perspective on this event. The Grand Slam fans are going to see a very innovative broadcast as we will be committed to interacting with the fans and also taking them behind the scenes.”

“The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is an outstanding addition to our lineup,” said Shaw SVP Barbara Williams. “As the crown jewel of the Grand Slam series with an elite field of competitors, it’s the perfect addition to our extensive PGA Tour coverage, adding up to a great weekend for Canadian sports fans.”

Each Slam event boasts a line-up featuring the world’s best teams competing for the Capital One Cup, awarded to the one men’s team and one women’s team that accumulate the most points throughout the season based on their performance in selected Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events. As such, the combined purse for Summerside will be $370,000.

The 16 top-ranked teams in the world that have qualified for the Players’ Championship are:

MEN

Team Mike McEwen, Manitoba
Team Glenn Howard, Ontario
Team Kevin Martin, Alberta
Team Niklas Edin, Sweden
Team Jeff Stoughton, Manitoba
Team Kevin Koe, Alberta
Team Brad Gushue, Newfoundland/Labrador
Team John Epping, Ontario

WOMEN:

Team Jennifer Jones, Manitoba
Team Sherry Middaugh, Ontario
Team Heather Nedohin, Alberta
Team Cathy Overton-Clapham, Manitoba
Team Eve Muirhead, Scotland
Team Silvana Tirinzoni, Switzerland
Team Chelsea Carey, Manitoba
Team Stefanie Lawton, Saskatchewan

Taking place during the Players’ Championship will be the semi-final event for the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest. Seven lucky participants from across Canada will be given one chance to draw to the button, with the participant who’s rock lands closest to the button declared the winner of the semi-final. On Sunday April 22, one finalist will throw one rock in an attempt to draw to the button for a chance at $1 million.

Four of the semifinalists qualify onsite at each of the four  Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events throughout the season, and an additional three semifinalists will be randomly selected from online entries.

 

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March 26, 2012 · Filed under Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, curling, players' championship

Martin’s Battle of the Blades

We must admit, we were having fun with this headline.
“How about: Martin traded to Storm… for Goldline brush and and bag of Chee-tos?”
You know, that sort of thing.
But on to the story.

In advance of his appearance at The National in January, the second Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, Kevin Martin made a series of promotional appearances in the Guelph, Ontario area earlier this week.

Martin started with a Monday morning trip to a curling club he has visited before. It was the KW Granite Club in Waterloo, the host venue of two TV Skins Games held earlier this decade.
Martin stepped into a club game to call an end and throw a couple of stones (he stole a point). He then answered an unending stream of questions from club members and autographed pictures and brooms.

According to the Waterloo Record, his best story was on the eccentricities of third John Morris. Morris once showed up for a Brier morning draw with an incredibly wrinkled, squashed team jacket. Fearing Morris’s dishevelled appearance was due a late night, the Alberta skip was relieved and amused to hear that Morris had this particular jacket rush-mailed to him from home in an superstitious effort to snap a shooting slump. It worked.
On Tuesday morning, “The Old Bear” dropped by the June Avenue Public School in Guelph, meeting approximately 60 Grade 5 and 6 students to discuss the importance of hard work, and staying focused to achieving goals.
Later that afternoon, Martin laced up his skates to become a Guelph Storm hockey “Player for a Day.”
The 2008 world champion met with Storm players at the Sleeman Centre, site of The National, to provide a motivational address. Afterward, Martin hit the ice with the team and took part in the club’s preliminary practice drills… and even scored a goal (TCN photo by Anil Mungal).
“It was an absolute blast,” Martin told The Curling News. “The guys were real friendly. It was fun to get hockey equipment on for the first time since 1982.

“The biggest message I was trying to get across was believing in themselves. Everyone at this level is good enough to do it. Only the ones that believe deep down they can do it will succeed.”

The Edmonton skip concluded his Ontario spin with a trip to the Guelph Curling Club on Tuesday night. There was another on-ice tutorial session, this time with players from the local Guelph high school league, followed by a meet and greet autograph session with club members, and Guelph Mayor Karen Farbridge.

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November 19, 2009 · Filed under Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, curling, Guelph Storm, hockey, kevin martin, The Curling News

World Cup: Sweeping Rant

by Matt Hames

Capital One photo by Anil Mungal

MISSISSAUGA – The only sweeper on the sheet who sweeps with two grippers is Nolan Thiessen (at left).

This isn’t a knock on Nolan, but I think it’s better for the game if sweepers can use their slider. Just watch the motion of the sweeper using two grippers. It’s an almost slide with a gripper on the ice.

Inevitably, that sweeper will be down the center line dragging a foot on the slide path. Conditions matter in a game like this. And the conditions will be better with less dragging.

Okay, back to the game. Richard just sailed his top four draw to the back twelve giving Koe a shot to get out of the end. Koe makes it decently which causes a conversation about the next shot.

Howard tries a double from an outside rock. That’s the second end in a row that Glenn has had to try a double.

My first head scratch comes on Koe’s last shot. Why did he throw an out-turn and not an in-turn come around on his last? Seems he could have really chocked off the lid and made it real tough for Howard to score if he throws the inturn.

Of course, Glenn makes the inturn draw to the lid to make it 2-1.

Still, if Koe can keep Howard throwing big weight hits on his first rock, then he might be able to break the goose egg in Grand Slam finals. As good as Howard is, I think most teams would love to see Glenn having to throw big weight hits.

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October 25, 2009 · Filed under Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, curling, glenn howard, Kevin Koe

World Cup: End 1

by Matt Hames
Capital One photo by Anil Mungal

At this level, it’s really hard to pick the right spot for a center guard. Koe starts end #1 with a half way guard.

Any higher, and you can get rid of a rock that’s buried with back line weight. Any tighter, and Howard just runs back the guard.

The real value in the guard comes late in the end. The half way guard ensures something at the end that Koe can use to force the play.

Indeed, the end really gets fun when Richard quite accidentally makes a great hit and roll to the back button. Koe manages a couple of complete pistols and steals two.

But this is the thing about Howard: they are tough to rattle. They’ve always seemed supremely confident in their ability to hang points.

But you can beat that Koe starts end #2 with a rock in the top of the rings, preferable biting the top four foot. This could be a fun game, especially since I’ll stick to my score.

BTW, Arsenal are up 2-0 in what is being written up as quite a boring match.

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October 25, 2009 · Filed under Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, curling, glenn howard, Kevin Koe

Grey Power World Cup: The Preamble


by Matt Hames

MISSISSAUGA – So here we are, in the wild west of the Greater Toronto Area, for Act III. I’ll be your live blogger for what is the third year in a row that Glenn Howard takes on Kevin Koe in the final of the World Cup of Curling.

Here are some stats that I’m sure CBC will mention:

1. It’s the third year in a row that these two teams are playing in the World Cup final. Howard has won the last 2. But that was when the event was called the Masters of Curling. Now that it’s called the World Cup, will Koe win? (We’ll take your predictions in comments, but I’ll throw out Howard winning 6-5.)

2. Head to head since 2006, they’ve played 6 times. Koe is 1-5.

3. Yesterday we watched Gushue beat Martin on CBC. My wife, a reluctant curling fan, opined the following: “Aren’t people tired of Kevin Martin and Brad Gushue? Don’t they always play each other?” Well, I responded, they’re kind of the best. If you had of made the bet that it was Koe v Howard in the final, you weren’t really going out on a limb. These guys can play. It’s up to the rest of curling to catch Howard, Martin, Koe and Gushue.

4. If Howard wins, the team will tie Wayne Middaugh for second place on the all-time Capital One Grand Slam list.

5. If Koe wins, it will be his first Grand Slam win.

6. This is Team Koe’s sixth Grand Slam final. See #5 for his record in finals.

7. Liverpool beat Manchester United today 2-0. I tell you that because there’s a nice argument to be made that Liverpool is Koe and Man U are Howard. I won’t make the argument. I’ll also be updating West Ham Arsenal (Arsenal lead 1-0).

If you have questions, want to say hello, you can catch me here in comments or on Twitter at twitter.com/curling and also twitter.com/mhames.

Enjoy the game.

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October 25, 2009 · Filed under Brad Gushue, Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, glenn howard, Kevin Koe, kevin martin, sports, Wayne Middaugh, world cup