The angle-runback missed by a hair, ticking a front guard, and two of Koe’s team members react with obvious dismay.

The photo was shot the stands at the Hershey Centre by Allen Hofstetter of Paris, Ontario.

Allen and his wife Lynne Gawley-Hofstetter started a little curling supply business called Hit The Broom Curling Gear about four years ago. The Paris Curling Club, just outside of Brantford, had lost its informal “supply guy” so the Hofstetters starting displaying curling equipment on tables at the club.

“The response was amazing,” said Allen.

In a contra deal for the selling space, Allen built a large trophy case for the club’s basement. Now the company supplies Paris and also travels to surrounding clubs during popular bonspiels.

The squad also befriended the victorious Team Glenn Howard around the same time. The friendship is such that Howard lead Craig Savill even mailing one of his official Brier shirts to the couple’s 13-year-old son, Tucker, in 2007.

In addition, the squad was sent this photo, which soon made its way to The Curling News Blog, where is has been published here, with thanks to the Hofstetter clan.

A full-size version of the photo will appear in the upcoming December issue of The Curling News. Got your subscription yet?

Incidentally, Howard third Richard Hart has been corresponding with TCN writer Matt Hames this week, following Hames’ awesome blog and twitter posts during the World Cup final last Sunday.

Hames, who has blogged about the Hart discussions is correct to note that “Prior to the internet, this world class player would never have been able to get this kind of feedback about (his own) game.

“True, he could have watched the tape of the final on CBC and got the commentators’ take on the game, but that’s more an official take. Mine was kind of off-the-cuff riffs on the game in general.

“(Hart) may or may not find value in the feedback, but he’s at least taking the time to acknowledge that feedback can be valuable.”

On a final note, the World Cup feedback from television is quite good. Sunday’s final scored 441,000 viewers on CBC-TV, while Saturday’s quarter-final matchup between Koe and Brad Gushue earned 483,000 viewers, which is up 83 per cent over last year’s numbers.

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

Thanks to some promotion from this here TCN Blog and an appearance this morning on CTV’s Canada AM, “The Hacks” scored another $1,000+ today to leap over their goal of $10,000 in pledges for Oxfam Canada.

Now, the hiking squad featuring world champions Craig Savill and Brent Laing (whoop-whoop photo by TCN’s Anil Mungal) merely have to complete tomorrow’s gruelling 100km trek… and then recover in time for Monday’s Sandra Schmirler Golf Classic, which will be played at Thornhill Country Club.

Congrats and thanks to the slew of curlers and curling fans who helped The Hacks achieve their goals, which currently sees them ranked third overall in fundraising. But why stop now? If you haven’t yet made a pledge of support, please head over to the team’s Trailwalker webpage!

And don’t forget, for each $100 pledge received, Team Glenn Howard will mail you a set of four autographed player cards (just send an email to teamglennhoward@hotmail.com with your name and address).

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

It appears that Oxfam, the worthy international development charity, has wised up to the presence of a couple of curling celebrities in their midst.

As we first mentioned back in May, Team Glenn Howard front enders Brent Laing and Craig Savill (above) will be sweating through a four-man charity hike on July 24, this coming Friday. They will be accompanied by their former world junior champion teammate Andy Ormsby and curling’s master of the shirtless no-look eight-ender, Heath McCormick.

It’s all aimed at raising funds for Oxfam Canada, as this Laing/Savill promo video tells us.

The morning before, July 23, will see the twosome appear on CTV’s Canada AM (appearing anytime after 7:00am).

And why not donate to this cause? This all-curling Trailwalker team is nicknamed “The Hacks” and you can add to their team goal of $10,000 in donations ($2,500 each) via their Trailwalker page located here.

Anyone who donates $100 or more and then sends an email to Team Howard via teamglennhoward@hotmail.com will also receive four autographed Team Howard trading cards (include your name and full mailing address).

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

Our second posting in a series on summer curling camps focusses on the original “Fantasy” camp which has since dropped the moniker: the HOT SHOTS.

Now in it’s 15th year, the HOT SHOTS Curling Camp was the first camp to pioneer the “fantasy” concept of pairing high-performance elite competitors with the participants, who of course range anwhere from brand-new rookie to pretty accomplished competitive player (and all points in between).

The subtle name change has, in the words of veteran camp director David Gravelle, come about because “you the curlers, have demanded more from us. And, we’ve delivered.

“We’ve moved away from the celebrity participation to bring you more intense curriculum with highly qualified instructors and some of the top national and international coaches.

“This transformation has been a natural and gradual evolution of our sport with increased participation in the game but the lack of qualified instruction to keep our new curlers progressing on the path to increased enjoyment of this great game.”

There are three HOT SHOTS Curling Camps running this summer-slash-fall, and there are limited spaces available at all three.

First up is the traditional home of the HOT SHOTS, the Oakville Curling Club in Oakville, Ontario (one half-hour west of Toronto) on August 28-20. The second camp is on Ottawa, Ontario at the RA Centre on October 2-4, and the final camp is in the United States for the second consecutive year. The Utica Curling Club in Utica, New York is one of the oldest curling clubs in the USA and it hosts the HOT SHOTS from October 16-18.

Click here for the camp website and here for the registration page.

Anything else going on? But… of course…

• Those crazy Kiwis are working to launch another season of outdoor curling at Naseby, following a $200,000 rink upgrade …

• Here’s a report on the recent Rocky Top Bonspiel held in Knoxville, Tenessee …

• Joel Retournaz – that Italian Olympic hero from three-plus years ago – is back with a new youthful team, ie. an “ambitious project: …

• PEI’s world junior runner-up Brett Gallant has picked up two local awards …

• CTV News says the Banff curling rink is being torn down and a new facility is scheduled to open in late 2010 …

• Can you guess the name of the influential curling coach who dropped this zinger on us recently…?

“I must talk far too much. Dean Gemmel put my interview into two parts.”

It’s Quebec’s Dan Rafael, of course, who is the head coach of the Chinese national curling team program. Indeed, he has a two-part show posted to The Curling Show and the occasionally blunt Canadian is always a good interview. You can listen to part one here, and we can direct you to part two here.

Rafael, by the way, has been in China for a couple of weeks already, as this is officially the start of the 2010 competitive season (say what?). Fresh from Beijing and then Harbin, Rafael is now in Qinhuangdao and will train with the teams until the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games in August. After that, Teams China head to Canada for September, October and part of November until the Pacific Curing Championships in Karuizawa, Japan …

• And finally, there is movement within the foundations of the World Curling Players’ Association. At last.

Nominations for new board positions have closed and several new board members have been acclaimed. Now representing women on the WCPA are Calgary’s Heather Rankin and Ontario’s Sherry Middaugh, while Europe’s single position has gone to Switzerland’s Simon Struebin, who throws lead pucks for front-running Olympic hopeful Ralph Stoeckli.

Voting will decide the men’s reps. Vying for a seat at the table are the following:

• Quebec’s Pierre Charette (currently Interim President)
• Vancouver’s Brent Pierce (a former WCPA regional rep)
• Scott Pfeifer, second man for Team Randy Ferbey
• Craig Savill, the Team Glenn Howard lead
• Garth Smith, who is Kerry Burtnyk’s opening rocker
• Nolan Thiessen, yet another leadman who plays for Kevin Koe.

The United States’ position features a pair of nominees, with John Benton taking on Bill Todhunter.

The new WCPA Board will consist of eight elected members, with a minimum five positions reserved for Canadian representatives. The group of five Canadian representatives will feature three male and two female members.

Read all about the nominees, their positions and the URL to go to to vote at this link …

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

CALGARY – “It’s a curling game, not a fashion show,” says Mom.

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!

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

CALGARY – Fellow blogger Margo and I have been debating for the last few days over whether we are trashy enough to write a post about who our all star “HOT” team is.

We have decided that yes, we are that trashy. Hey, if Joan McCusker can blog about it for CBC last year, then why can’t we?

Here are our picks… which are surprisingly different. Note that our definition of “hot” goes beyond good looks and includes perceived personality, attitude, and in my case, resemblance to a Raging Bull.

Dalene’s All-Stars

Skip – Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey it is. There’s something to be said for the intense, bad boy vibe he’s got going on.

Third – sorry J Mo. I know other bloggers have previously commented on your “movie star” good looks, but I’ve got a huge star crush on Robert De Niro, which makes my choice for New Brunswick’s James Grattan the only logical one available. See composite image of Bob the Babe and Jimmy The Kid above, and discuss my logic at your whim.

Second – Tough choice between Alberta’s Marc Kennedy and Saskatchewan’s Aryn Schmidt. I think I’m going to have to give the edge to Schmidt because I’ve never been a fan of blondes.

Lead – Gotta go with Ontario’s Craig Savill. I know, I know… first a car, now this. Can you believe it’s only been a couple of years since he wiped out and fell on the Hamilton Brier ice, to much derisive laughter?

Margo’s All-Stars

Skip – Jean Michel Menard, Quebec. He seems like such a nice guy and I tend to like guys with no hair.

Third – John Morris, Alberta. This was a tough one. Honourable mentions go to Jon Solberg of the NWT (er, should that be Yukon?) and Mark Nichols from Newfoundland.

Second – Brent Laing, Ontario. Again, I like the short/no hair. I’m not totally sold on this one. I’d like to demote a few thirds down to second for a week.

Lead – Mark Olson, British Columbia. He’s curling up a storm, which is always kinda hot. And he’s a baby-faced cutie too.

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

When I weighed myself this morning I was three pounds lighter than I was yesterday morning. My intake for the day included one large malt, one piece of Hawaiian pizza and about 15 vodka and diet cokes.

Ugh.

So this is my post-patch update. I wish I could tell you I remembered it all. But I can’t… I started off the night playing “flips” with some friends. For those of you not familiar with this game, it’s a Brier Patch favorite.

Four people play odd-man-out coin flipping until there is only one person left. That person buys the round. I played five times and lost four. Do the math, people.

At $6.00 a drink that’s $96.00. My $80.00 budget for the night was no longer sufficient and I found myself at the Patch bank machine in no time. Needless to say, I stopped flipping and starting buying two drinks at a time for myself.

Fellow blogger Dalene Heck and I spent some time with Ontario’s classy Richard Hart (I think I’m coming around to cheering for Team Ontario, ha ha!) We also threw in a couple high fives with Craig Savill who looked like he was having a great time.

And we had a couple minutes to buy Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories a Bud Light or two… he needed it after yesterday’s 0-2.

I ditched the morning draw in favour of hanging out with my family, but am on site at today’s action. Might make another Patch appearance tonight, although I can pretty much guarantee it will not be a do-over. Ouch.

Patch entertainment tonight? The Ryans, aka three-time Brier champion skip Pat Ryan (photo above) and his hawtie daughter Lynsay Ryan, who is an orginal Women of Curling calendar girl, too.

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

Brier newbie and YT/NWT lead Marty Gavin’s slingshot successfully brought down giants Kevin Martin and John Morris of Alberta, but stopped short of beating Ontario lead Craig Savill (fuzzy photo) in the final round for the Ford Hot Shots competition.

Gavin was up two points on Savill going into the final and most difficult shot, the double takeout. Savill made it perfectly, and when Gavin failed to remove the second stone, he handed Savill the win.

Savill drives away with a two-year lease on a 2009 Ford F150 XLT 4X4, valued at over $20,000. For second place Gavin receives $2,000 and Martin secured a third-place cheque worth $1,000. That should help cover their respective Patch bar tabs this week!

Opening Draw Notes

• Gavin went from slaying giants to posting a 69 per cent shooting percentage in YT/NWT’s opening game against PEI, placing him at the bottom of all leads. Although Marty and the rest of the team made many more shots in the evening draw, it was not enough to sneak a win from two-time Brier champion Jeff Stoughton.

• Kevin Park, coming into the event, worried about being villainized for defecting from Alberta to Manitoba. He may not help his case if he continues to stand above the crowd with his shotmaking. K-Park ruled all thirds on the first day, posting a cumulative shooting percentage of 91 per cent, helping propel his team to the top of the standings with two solid wins.

• Concerns about attendance during these difficult economic times may be forgotten. Over 14,000 people were in the Saddledome to watch Saturday afternoon’s games, setting the Brier record for opening draw attendance. Is this Brier the “recession buster”?

• NL fans may not be the loudest in the Saddledome (that title is saved for the hometown crowd), but they definitely are the most enthusiastic thus far. Not sure if it made the telecast, but the crowd was treated to three mooseheads who observed some of the game with only their pants on. A loud “boo” arose from the crowd, however, when the fans were told by security to put their clothes back on! How lame is that?

• Did you see the story on Richard Hart? The Ontario third has a few things to say about popular opinion favouring Martin over his own Howard squad… and he even reveals that last year’s Brier ice crew has fessed up to “choking” on the ice conditions prior to that poor championship final. Wow! Here’s the story…

• Pros Pick ‘Em – well, our pros took a hit on the first day with none of them expecting a PEI win over YT/NWT. Let’s see how they fare on Sunday!

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

CALGARY – While curling fans across the country are resting up and getting ready for tomorrow’s opening draw, our Brier contestants were hard at work vying to bring home the bacon via the Ford Hot Shots competition. In this case, bacon = two year lease on a 2009 Ford F150!

All 12 teams were out in full force, none of them apparently subscribing to the Marla Mallet philosophy of skipping the Hot Shots in order to focus.

Several interesting things were seen and heard when hanging out at ice level for the preliminaries…

• When asked his strategy for the Hit and Roll shot, Yukon/NWT skip Jamie Koe responded with: “Well, I’m going to HIT that rock, and then ROLL to the four-foot.” Sheer genius! No wonder this is his third appearance at the Brier!

• It’s clear that Steve Howard inherited his dad’s lung capacity. Neither Steve nor dad Russ Howard seemed very concerned with saving their voices, as we were all treated to some vibrant bellowing. Steve showed some considerable on-ice skill, too, tying his Uncle Glenn (another Howard) with 23 points and was just shy of eligibility for tomorrow’s final.

• Referring to previously unsuccessful attempts at the Hot Shots competition, Alberta’s Kevin Martin turned to his teammates and said: “That might be my highest total ever already,” after he had made his third perfect Hot Shot in a row (scoring 15 points). Kevin did even better then that, finishing with a final tally of 25 points, qualifying him for tomorrow’s final.

• Ontario’s Craig Savill found himself on the right side of the inch. After it was determined there was a five-way tie for the last spot in the finals, the officials went to measurements taken during the Draw to the Button. Craig emerged victorious, beating out teammate Richard Hart and three others.

The eight finalists and their preliminary scores are:

Andrew Gibson (NS second) – 28
John Morris (AB third) – 26
Marty Gavin (Y/NWT lead) – 25
Joel Jordison (SK skip) – 25
Bruce Lohnes (NS third) – 25
Kevin Martin (AB skip) – 25
Jason Vaughan (NB second) – 25
Craig Savill (ON lead) – 24

Until tomorrow then. And hey… don’t forget that you can play the Hot Shots online, on your computer… and win a vehicle yourself!

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]