Okay. Not that we wish to correct TSN, The Sports Network, when they declare that Scotland’s David Murdoch will become the first international team to compete in the third annual Casino Rama Curling Skins Game in January, 2010.

Because they’re right. In the three-year history of this event, only Canadian teams have featured. So let’s call today’s story a… clarification.

Because when we look back at the last three decades of TV skins curling, there have actually been a few international skirmishes. Before Casino Rama’s time, of course.

The first is pictured above, from the cover of the December 1993/January 1994 edition of Canadian Curling News (click on image to zoom in).

Do you remember this edition of the old McCain/TSN Skins Game? The 1993 event, hosted in Ottawa, was a doozy.

Russ Howard – with brother Glenn and the front-end tandem of Wayne Middaugh and Peter Corner – had just won the Brier and Worlds, and looked very good early on in their semifinal against unheralded Milt Sinclair of Abbotsford, B.C. Howard won the first three skins over the first five ends.

But it began to unravel and the left coasters then took the lead. It was only on the last stone of the match that Howard pulled it out, grabbing a $3,000 skin for a narrow $9,000 to $7,000 victory.

In the final, Howard met up with the first international team to ever be invited to the Skins: David Smith of Scotland, who had upended Ottawa’s Bill Walsh in the other semi (Walsh won $7,750 in another tight match).

Curling fans may remember the very public and vitriolic reaction from Eddie “The Wrench” Werenich, who of course missed out on the chance to compete because of the invitation given to Team Smith. The Wrench was, er, not very happy.

And it was all-Scotland through much of the final. In fact, as the photo shows, the Howards were blanked through the first eight ends, down $15,000 to zero, and Russ was clearly reeling. One wonders if Smitty was actually beginning to feel sorry for him. If so, big mistake.

Russ and Co. had blanked the seventh and Smith had blanked the eighth, leaving an $11,000 skin on the table in the ninth. Howard finally cashed in, making a tap-back to score the skin and make the 10th end meaningful, as it almost always is/was (Casino Rama Skins Games are now eight ends in length, of course).

And lo and behold, the Wounded Moose pulled it off in the final end too, stealing the final $6,000 skin and the victory when Smith missed a last-ditch runback for the win.

The champs took home $37,000, which also included the $10,000 winner’s bonus and another $1,000 for winning the pre-event draw to the button.

This was also the first Skins Game in which all three games went down to the last stone.

And there are two more international skins appearances to remind you of.

We are pretty darned sure – and please correct us if you think we’re wrong – that Norway’s Pal Trulsen appeared in the McCain/TSN shootout soon after his Olympic triumph in 2002.

And another Scottish team, skipped by Tom Brewster, appeared in one of the short-lived M&M Meat Shops Skins events – and made it all the way to the final of the six-team event – televised by rival broadcaster Rogers Sportsnet. Remember that one, folks?

Anything else going on, you ask?

• Wednesday is “Camp Day” at all Tim Hortons stores across Canada, a special day where every penny earned in coffee sales goes to a worthy cause: the Brier sponsor’s Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. Don’t be surprised to see some of Canada’s top curling stars slinging coffee and donuts at various store locations tomorrow …

• The twin sons of TSN curling colour man Ray Turnbull – affectionately labelled “in-turn” and “out-turn” – were in the news last weekend…

• Brad Gushue’s hometown St. John’s Telegram recently published a look back at his squad’s – er, sorry, Russ’ squad’s – 2006 Olympic triumph …

• SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION 101: For some reason, Canwest News recently recycled this online story from March’s Brier frenzy, in which The Curling News boss George Karrys was quoted on the rarely-discussed question of curling songs …

• Speaking of curling songs, Skip Cottage liked our recent highlight of the bizarro Jamie Jay Singh song, reposted here… and this here video tribute to Seattle’s Granite Curling Club boasts its own original curling song…

• Less than two months after the successful Ford Worlds came to New Brunswick, that province’s Interscholastic Athletic Association will vote today on whether or not to throw five sports – including curling – off the provincial high school athletic roster …

• Finally, would anyone care to guess why these apartments for rent in Hoboken, NJ have been called Curling Club apartments?

In Hoboken, New Joisey?

Somebody help us understand. Please.

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Glenn Howard. Jennifer Jones. Pat Ryan. Hart-Laing-Savill. Ed Werenich. Joan McCusker. Sherry Middaugh. Mike Harris. Cathy Overton-Clapham.

Not a bad list of celebrity curling stars, who arrive in Thornhill, Ontario tonight for Saturday’s 18th annual Dominion of Canada Spinal Tap Mixed Bonspiel.

The little bonspiel that could has very quietly raised $250,000 for spinal injury research – until now, entirely without celebrities – since 1991, the year after a young curler named Ryan Durham broke his neck in a swimming accident and became confined to a wheelchair.

Nearly two decades later, Durham is still a fundraising dynamo for the Canadian Spinal Research Organization and its impressive Shoot For A Cure fundraising campaign, which has become very big in pro hockey (it’s also got a curling division, located here). And Durham is also the Business Development Director for The Curling News (ahem)… and, of course, he’s still running the Spinal Tap.

Last July, Thornhill Golf & Country Club hosted the Sandra Schmirler Golf Classic. You may even recall a great series of pics, shot by Anil Mungal, which showed Jennifer Jones agonizing over a missed putt.

Ryan Durham showed up later for cocktails, and did a whole bunch of convincing.

He convinced Glenn Howard to allow himself to be auctioned off as a celebrity skip some seven months later, at the Spinal Tap.

He convinced tournament sponsor The Dominion of Canada to allow a live auction item to suddenly join the proceedings, in fact as the last item of a long dinner/presentation agenda.

He convinced tournament host and emcee Mike Harris to be the auctioneer.

And some 45 minutes later, much Durham’s surprise and glee, no less than nine superstar curlers had been auctioned off for many thousands of dollars, with Capital One curling impresario Ian Cunningham agreeing to fly in the out-of-towners and put everybody up at nearby hotels.

The big day is tomorrow, with the celebs hitting the ice with their various teams at 10:45 am and again at 4:00pm. In between, at 12:30pm, they will gather for a four-end Skins Game rematch – Howard versus Jones – with a few twists thrown in, namely:

• two of the ends will be played from wheelchairs, with the official rules of Paralympic and world wheelchair curling in effect;

• Howard will play for Shoot For A Cure and Jones will play for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, with a $4,000 pot up for grabs.

The details of this new celebfest have come together nicely. Thornhill is setting up bleacher seating to accommodate extra fans (no jeans, please). There’s a mammoth silent auction table ready to go, and special menu items are available in the adjacent cafe.

When Overton-Clapham had a cortisone shot earlier this week – she’s now been knocked off the ice, although she’s still attending – the combination of Pat Ryan and Peter Steski quickly stepped in. Rogers Sportsnet broadcaster – and ace Oshawa curler – Rob Faulds will emcee the dinner.

And there’s also some teams chock full of celebrity-worthy status, like the squad featuring recently-departed Alison Goring third Cathy Auld, Team Wayne Middaugh second John Epping and Team Julie Reddick member Leigh Armstrong… not that we would ever mention the name of the skip who blatantly stacked this formidable squad… right, mister President-of-The Dominion-George Cooke?

Congrats and thanks to the celebs, the participating teams, Thornhill G & CC and the sponsors for what will no doubt be a memorable day.

Oh…. and congrats and thanks to Ryan Durham, too.

It’s Friday, folks. And that means there’s still more going on in the wonderful world of curling…

• As of Friday morning Russ Howard was 1-1 in his drive to get back to Brier and, following that, his hometown worlds in Moncton …

• Last night’s anticipated Alberta A-side matchup of Kevin Martin versus Randy Ferbey was, um, rather forgettable. Here’s the view from Calgary and another story from Edmonton.

Speaking of these two, is it possible that Martin and Ferbey are becoming buddies? Heavens, we should hope not.

And in our last bit on Alberta, did you know that ex-Martin lead Don Bartlett is back, with a great new back, and competing in the provincial?

• It was Mark Dacey over Shawn Adams in Nova Scotia last night; and here’s some more on the Bluenoser provincial …

• In Quebec, Martin Ferland has qualified for the big A1 vs B1 game, while famed comeback kid Guy Hemmings is also at 7-1 …

• Sean Geall is in contention out in British Columbia …

• And let’s not forget the Moose Callers up in Northern Ontario …

• Kerry Burtnyk is the top seed at next week’s Manitoba Safeway Select, and here’s a look back at his fateful win in 2001 …

• DID YOU KNOW: that the 2009 Swiss Championships start Saturday? Here’s a brief preview ….

• Here’s a feature on curling in Brookline, MA, starring some high school students …

• Students from francophone schools across Saskatchewan recently descended on Nipawin for some curling fun …

• DID YOU KNOW II: that Saskatchewan’s Players’ Championship is underway?

• Paul Weicek says: extend the curling season …

• Hmm… according to the Burlington Post, the lead for Team Peter Corner is Paul Moffatt. We actually thought it’s Brad Savage …

• Speaking of errant writing: did you say… Furbey?

• That’s right, Charles and Ken… the joke is on you!

• Will Eugene Hritzuk’s last-minute Ashams do the job of 16-year-old Dacks?

• Curlers and officials in BC are both saying they would support the idea of a BC Curling Tour. But wasn’t something like that attempted last season?

• Brantford’s 63-year-old Johnson Wax bonspiel is fading, with only 16 teams entered this year…

• We have a science-curling crisis, folks. Apparently, outgoing Washington climatologist Phil Mote has “picked on curling” as an analogy for planet Earth’s climate sensitivity …

• DID YOU KNOW III: that tre curlinghåp til ungdoms-OL? Er… now you do!

• This Brit skiier thinks curling is brill, man …

• And finally, the winner of USA Curling’s eBay auction – where the winning bidder’s photo-of-their choice will cover the on-ice buttons at the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials championship – has apparently gone to the dogs …

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A roundup of event results, and more, starting with the Ontario men.

In Woodstock it was pretty much all Glenn Howard, all the time. His one loss in the round-robin came on a sweeping error, and then – slightly miffed – he proceeded to win his next two matches by a combined score of 18-0.

Peter Corner’s gang of impressive part-timers kept things interesting in the Page 1-2 game, taking Cliffy down to last stone, but the championship final was a debacle – 3-nil out of the gate, 6-nil and then 7-nil. It mercifully ended well in advance of the requested TV minimum number of ends… actually in five, we think.

Speaking of Rogers TV, they continue to improve each year on what is a comprehensive level of event coverage. There are still some shocking mistakes, of course… such as immediately after the Page playoff, when host Matt McCooey explained that Corner would go on to face “the Lobels” in the semifinal (it was actually Joe Frans) and then Marilyn Bodogh opened her winner’s interview by calling Glenn “Russ Howard” at point-blank range. Sadly for Glenn, he must be used to it by now, because he carried on like a trooper, without even a blink.

Of note is the record Howard set: his 11th provincial title (fourth as a skip), breaking the record he had previously tied with Ed Werenich. It was also the fourth straight title for his squad of Richard Hart, Brent Laing and Craig Savill, tying a record for the most consecutive titles by a foursome.

That’s right, Richie… that’s actually four, not two (TCN photo by Anil Mungal).

Howard set that original mark with his older brother Russ, Wayne Middaugh and – of course – Corner, from 1991-94.

There’s some rocky editing involved, but here’s some audio – plus pics – from Howard, Hart and Corner… and here’s some thoughts on Woodstock’s hosting job, crowd numbers etc.

Finally, here’s a nifty innovation: an online write-in poll asking “What Dream Team of any curlers could beat Team Howard?” …

Elsewhere:

• Brad Gushue is back into the Brier, and this piece from mid-competition has some, er, interesting public comments posted below the story …

• Pat Simmons couldn’t make it five in a row, and accomplished rookie Joel Jordison is off to the Brier. Saskatchewan scribe Murray McCormick dubbed it a strange Tankard …

• The Kirkness sisters are back in the Scotties representing Manitoba, and this completes the field for Victoria …

• PEI’s Brett Gallant and Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes are off to Vancouver for the World Juniors… and so is Scotland’s Eve Muirhead, the two-time and defending world junior women’s champ. Graeme Black will represent the Scottish men. Scot story and pics here and more pics here, and here’s a bit more on Lawes, who won world bronze last year …

• CTV’s Olympic website went live today, which includes a curling page …

• The B.C. men’s provincial starts today, and here’s a preview …

• Likewise for Quebec, which starts today, too …

• Bob Weeks has some weekend thoughts plus a new column today …

• This story on Saskatoon’s application to host another Brier might be interesting 10-15 years ago. The truth these days is that the Brier rotates among only seven Canadian cities anyway, and Saskatoon is one of them …

• DID YOU KNOW: the Hope Classic in Thunder Bay raised more money in its first five or six years than the Heart to Heart Bonspiel ever did?

• First Guelph, then Welland, as the Jennifer Jones tour of Ontario continued …

• Last year Laurier’s men and women swept the Ontario University Athletics curling championship; this year it was the Stangs, whose coach was named top gun of the year before the championships had even finished …

• For a moment, we thought the “Camp Trillium” that received $10,000 in this bonspiel fundraiser was the famed Trillium Junior Curling Camp…

• Krista McCarville is the latest to appear on The Curling Show …

• And finally… to the most awesome background music of Journey’s classic Caddyshack song, some really cute Little Rockers took to the ice between the Canadian Junior semifinals …

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Lots today. There’s a big Ontario player meeting tomorrow; some Seinfeld mischief; Jennifer Jones in Guelph; many hugs in Moncton; a Polish flame; Soo tickets already; the death of Gordie Weber and more.

But first – this nice photo of proud papas Neil Harrison (far left) and Paul Savage (far right) and their sons, Sean Harrison (inside left) and Brad Savage.

Sean toils for Team Chris Gardner, a fine young squad competing at the 2009 Ontario Tankard which is also off to China very shortly, for the 2009 Winter Universiade, otherwise known as the World University Games.

Brad throws lead for Team Peter Corner, currently in second place and confirmed for the Tankard playoffs this weekend.

The original Harrison and Savage, of course, are curling legends… and their old skipper, Eddie “The Wrench” Werenich was also at Woodstock yesterday.

You can read this story and much more by downloading the various editions of the daily event newsletter, the Bull Roar, from this webpage.

And don’t forget the first of our huge, multi-part interviews with The Wrench which is in the current February print edition of The Curling News. It’s typically controversial stuff, and you can’t read it online, so why not subscribe?

Believe us, you’ll be glad you did.

Anyway, this continues yesterday’s father/daughter theme starring Russ and Ashley Howard. And, although we’ve told you this already – come on, people – we are compelled to point out that still yet another Howard, Scott Howard, lost the Ontario junior men’s championship final on the same day his dad – Glenn Howard – lost the Casino Rama skins final to Randy Ferbey. You can see a photo of Scott Howard in action in the story link, too.

And now for the hard news.

The Ontario Curling Association will be present – with no less than six high-powered suits in attendance – at an Open Forum meeting with athletes Saturday morning in Woodstock.

The goal is to attempt to thrash out long-discussed changes to Ontario’s archaic playdown system.

The meeting is no surprise. The usually disorganized athletes have been united in recent weeks, and from the OCA perspective, the absence of a fellow like Wayne Middaugh – who wilfully chose to compete in a Grand Slam event instead of his last chance provincial playdown – tends to get people’s attention. As in fans, sponsors, et cetera.

“Let’s not do (zones and regional qualifying) in curling clubs in January on crappy ice with nobody watching,” says a rather blunt Richard Hart in today’s Toronto Star. “Bring all the best teams to one location at the provincial and then bring the fans in to watch it. It’s a great show.”

“Love him or hate him, Wayne should be here,” said Peter Steski. “Everybody wins if you have the best teams here – the curlers win, the OCA wins, the host committee wins, the fans win.

“I don’t see how anyone can lose.”

And what is the OCA attitude heading into the meeting?

“We don’t really care what the format is as long as the host committee’s needs are met and the sponsors’ needs are met,” said OCA exec Doug Bakes.

Okay, then… that certainly sounds promising.

Incidentally, the original version of this story, located here, concludes with more Steski hijinks – make that George Costanza of Seinfeld fame – and a washroom incident starring the event mascot.

Must be a Friday.

And on that note, here’s your Friday linkfest …

• Moncton celebrated 60 “sweeps” before the Ford Worlds yesterday. The event included an outdoor rink set up right in front of city hall and the World Curling Federation mascot, Skip, engaged in a massive hug-a-thon …

• Speaking of outdoor curling, you can do that tomorrow at Winterfest in Surrey, British Columbia …

• Jennifer Jones did her corporate/charity thing yesterday in Guelph, Ontario …

• Chelsea Carey is 4-0 in Manitoba STOH play, and we like the cool “downtown” squad photos on her team website …

• Pat Simmons and Joel Jordison are headed for an A-side showdown at the Saskatchewan men’s Tankard …

• Given the Canadian Juniors currently going on, you might expect that a new website which focusses on junior and university curling would be very active this week. You would be correct …

• Speaking of youths, Trent University is hosting OUA curling action this weekend… and here are last year’s award winners …

• Still with young people, the big flame in Poland has been lit for the 2009 European Youth Olympic festival. Yes, it will feature curling, but more on that later …

• Early bird tickets are on sale for the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario… and while CCA’s Warren Hansen notes that “Right now, people in the Sault are the only ones aware of it,”… uh, whoops, it looks like we’ve just taken the news around the world!

Anyway, be sure to note the early bird event dates, due to the Vancouver Olympics: January 30 to February 7 …

• DID YOU KNOW: that just a few days after dumping two-time world junior champ Charley Thomas from his men’s team, Calgary’s Chris Schille won a WCT-E event at Prague, in the Czech Republic? Well, now you do …

• In this nice piece by Cookie Gilchrist, we discover that legendary Labatt sponsor liaison Gord Weber has passed away. Weber was instrumental in delivering Labatt Beweries into the Brier sponsorship in 1980, and was also a big booster of other sport and community endeavours …

• The Associated Press has picked up on Pete Fenson’s defeat in the race for the U.S. 2010 Olympic berth, and scored some quotes from the disappointed skip …

• Awright you Slave Lakers! Lots of pics and a video accompany this story on their men’s bonspiel …

• Spain has their national mixed and mixed doubles playdowns this weekend …

• Come on Robert, your pal Arnold expects more than this …

• And finally, more images of Bob’s Birthday Cake, posted to a different blog. Geez, this guy is pretty popular. Or perhaps it’s the cake …

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We’ve got stuff on the Ontario men’s Tankard, Brazil, Teams of the Year nods, the Jolly Grain Giant and more, but first …

The new school curling program Rocks and Rings was launched Monday morning at Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park, merely the largest elementary school in North America with a stunning 1,900 students.

Attendees included Ontario Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne, chief sponsor Ian Cunningham of Capital One, Greg Stremlaw and Fran Todd of the Canadian Curling Association, Leigh Armstrong from associate sponsor The Dominion of Canada, representatives from the Ontario Curling Association, various media (including The Curling News), ace curling photog Anil Mungal (image above) and even a film crew from TSN.

But the real stars of the show were the kids… but of course. The program instructors had them bouncing off the walls with excitement, even standing in a special circle to do their “happy dance” when they managed to draw the rings. We particularly liked the session where a small army of kids, each clutching a pint-sized brush, responded to green (“Hurry”) and red (“Whoa”) flashcards shaped like a stop sign.

It was wild, and noisy, and the purpose is crystal clear: get kids moving, and give them an introduction to curling they might not otherwise receive.

“For years, curling has been under-represented in large urban markets and inner-city jurisdictions,” said Stremlaw.

“This program goes after the root of this problem by allowing the sport of curling to be exposed to school children throughout the Greater Toronto Area and, in due course, other major urban centres.”

It was great fun to see all the formal speakers address the children, who sat cross-legged in front of the podium before they engaged in their “gym floor” curling sessions.

“There’s a guy who works in our office who loves to curl,” Minister Wynn quipped to the kids. “I think he would rather curl than come to work.”

That fellow, who was present, is Ken Thurston, a Senior Policy Advisor to the minister who has curled for no less than 40 years.

“Watching the students made it evident that Rocks and Rings is a fun and motivational way to build physical activity into daily routines,” said Thurston.

“The equipment is fairly simple, but the potential is great. I see this as a great way to get more volunteers into our schools – including parents, grandparents and community members who are fellow curling enthusiasts.”

Rocks and Rings maestro Chad McMullan was there too – of course – and said there has been great response to the program, which targets 30 schools in the greater Toronto area (GTA) through the remainder of the curling season.

“The kids and teachers absolutely love it and all the while we help address several of the challenges the sport faces,” said McMullan.

“We’ve had requests from schools and instructors in Vancouver, Kelowna, London, Halifax, Ottawa, the list goes on.”

After the launch, McMullan drove straight to Woodstock in time for his first match at the Ontario TSC Stores Tankard. And speaking of Woodstock, here cometh the links …

• Here’s Tankard competitor Peter Steski with a zinger about his Brier-competitor grandfather, the legendary Rudy Steski. And we thought Peteski saves his best stuff for TSN’s Off The Record!

Speaking of Steski, the team that is actually now skipped by Heath McCormick held a 6-2 lead over Rob Lobel in Monday night’s seventh end… whereupon the Lobel brothers scored two, stole four in the eighth, dropped a deuce in the ninth and then scored another four coming home. That’s a surrender of 10 points in three of the last four ends for an epic 12-8 loss and an 0-2 start (McCormick is now 1-2). Yoinks.

Meanwhile, Glenn Howard ran into a Joe Frans roadblock last night but, hey, all is not lost… Howard is still leading his local Midland Major League, and if we remember correctly, that’s the one where he plays with his wife and both Wayne and Sherry Middaugh …

Hey… where’s Pat Ryan? Well, given the initial flurry of excitement over a possible Ryan appearance this week, we must point out that this chance is now remote, seeing that Peter Corner welcomed his second child into the world last week.

By the way, you can also follow the Tankard action via this blog and also a photo gallery… geez, nice broom bag, Savs …

• Speaking of Sherry, it’s bad enough she made an early exit at last week’s Ontario STOH… but couldn’t her own hometown newspaper find a better photo of her? Sheesh …

• New Brunswick youngster Andrea Kelly is back in the Scotties show, after a 5-4 win over an even younger Mary Jane McGuire in the provincial final… and play is finally underway in Manitoba to declare the final STOH team for Victoria …

• All we’ve seen from Brazilian media so far is this columnist’s blog page, which does have 14 comments posted to it. The World Curling Federation has a summary report here, plus a photo from the action. The story goes on to tell the tale of the teams that have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Colorado in a couple of weeks, and one big name that’s missing is Pete Fenson …

• Speaking of the WCF, a couple of weeks after their story on the death of legendary curling builder Elizabeth Paterson-Brown, this piece has now appeared in Edinburgh’s Evening News …

• Here’s another fellow – U.S. sports marketing pundit Joe Favorito – who approves of USA Curling’s recent promotional efforts …

• DID YOU KNOW: that the Saskatchewan men start today, and the Jolly Grain Giant is trying to turn back the clock? And that Newfoundland and Labrador, featuring Brad Gushue, started yesterday …?

• Remember the Yukon’s Orest Peech? Well, his 0-11 record at the 1999 Brier actually did him some good, once …

• In this story on the Vancouver 2010 curling legacy, the CCA’s Warren Hansen grumps about the 10,000-seat permanent venue that eventually became a 6,000-seat “multi-purpose community recreation centre” …

• Canada’s double world champions – Kevin Martin and Jennifer Jones – are both up for Team of the Year honours at the upcoming Canadian Sport Awards …

• mandy is raving about the illustrious language of curling, which includes her own impressive linguistics on the sport’s “enthusiastic stick-to-it-ive verve” and, of course, “the icy cool in your loins” …

• And finally… Happy Birthday Bob!

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Rick Mercer is probably Canada’s most successful political TV funnyman. His previous show, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, has had some fun with curling over the years… from spoofing a widely-panned CCA commercial to Raj Binder’s brilliant appearance at the 2005 Olympic Trials… which featured a flummoxed Wayne Middaugh, Jeff Stoughton, Shawn Adams and Russ Howard.

Now, the Rick Mercer Report has produced a curling item… a mock commercial spot for the mock CBC-TV show Full Contact Curling, which we now present for your viewing pleasure.

And there’s more. There’s always more…

• This poor fellow from Massachusetts looks like he was the victim of Full Contact Curling… and the debacle ocurred on his second stone of two back-to-back games! We love his opening line: “Let it never be said I’m not completely honest, even when it involves my total humiliation.”

• Well, looks like the Mississauga News figured out that Ontario provincial competitor Chrissy Cadorin is a calendar girl …

• Meanwhile, the Ontario STOH blog has some funny stuff posted. First, a good zinger was dropped by one of the competitors at the team meeting. Second, they’ve posted a request for info on Jenn Hanna’s choice of pants. Finally, one match from Tuesday night was interrupted by a “Beer Time Out”, we kid you not. Okay, the writer actually called it a “bar” time out (look under “9th end”) but all we can think about is… KEGGER! …

• Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink is fuelled by the fire and Al Cameron handicaps the Alberta STOH field …

• Here’s a preview of the Sask women’s titleshoot now underway – new format and all – in Swift Current. Clearly, the “Miller” sisters have a lot on their minds these days …

• And here we have a preview of Team Rob Lobel, set to begin play at Monday’s TSC Stores Tankard Ontario men’s championship …

• DID YOU KNOW: that an Ottawa heart attack victim was saved at the RCMP curling club? …

• Speaking of Ottawa curling, we see that Joe Pavia now has his very own mugshot… woot!

• They’ll be Jam Pail Curling in Smithers, B.C. next month …

• Damned snow… no backyard curling for you!

• Riverview, NB will buy a corporate package for the massive Ford Worlds in Moncton (good choice, guys) …

• Here’s a cute kiddie curling pic… with the requesite helmet, of course …

• The story of Scotland’s Fife Curling Trust and it’s million-pound plan for a new rink in Cupar has hit the mainstream news, but of course curling fans have long been informed, courtesy of Curling Today …

• Clubs across PEI are going hard with The Dominion Curling Club Championship… is your club involved?

• Team Vic Peters is done for the year, in a mild blow-up fashion …

• Geez guys, that house is a mess… and we LOVE IT …

• And finally, congrats to Zach, an avowed “LifeGetter” from Binghamton, New York.

Feeding off a rather interesting conclusion – namely, that “when it comes to a lot of cool things, America is lame and nobody participates” – Zach and his brother made the long trek to Rochester, NY for a day of open house curling.

Make sure you click on the link above. Nice story and pics, Zach. Welcome aboard.

And just like that, slowly but surely, curling’s gradual conquest of the United States continues its march …

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Today’s big news, that Capital One has joined the Canadian Curling Association family, is simply fabulous for the sport of curling in Canada. And for multiple reasons.

For those who have been living under a rock, Capital One is the title sponsor of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. To recap, the elite series of men’s and women’s cashspiels started off as a major thorn in the Canadian Curling Association’s side, but years of gradual discussions has paved the way to an informal relationship. Most recently, the Slams have been included in CCA high-performance strategy, as a valuable training and scouting ground for the association’s 2010 Olympic planning.

Now comes word that Capital One has joined the CCA sponsor family – as a supplier, officially – making them a formal member of the Season of Champions.

This is awesome on so many levels.

First, any possible notion that bitterness remains between the former foes – the CCA and the World Curling Tour and Players’ Association – simply cannot exist. The Grand Slam is the crown jewel of the Tour and Players’ Association (as owned and executed by Toronto’s Insight Sports) and Capital One now has its foot in the same door that welcomes Tim Hortons, Kruger Products (Scotties), M&M Meat Shops and more.

Second, the deal gives the CCA its first financial services partner since CIBC, which owned naming rights to the Canadian Mixed far too many years ago.

Third, Capital One’s tight relationship with the athletes – see the latest evidence of that here – will continue to rub off on the CCA, which has already made great strides in reconnecting with those who actually play the game on TV… the boob tube being, of course, the sport’s main revenue-generating vehicle and, historically, the strongest tie to the public.

Fourth, look carefully at the deal. Capital One will not sponsor a SoC championship – why would they, when they have have the Slams? – but, rather, is the host of the official credit card of Canadian curling. But there’s more… they’re also a CCA development partner, through the Rocks and Rings program.

This is very cool.

Development partners are hard to find. Because development is, in the eyes of marketers, not very sexy. Capital One, to their credit, already executes a development program, through the Slam’s “School of Rock”, in which athletes work with thrilled kids on the Slam ice surface at each event.

CCA development programs could use a shot in the arm, and perhaps Capital One is aiming to help deliver Rocks and Rings on a grander, national scale?

Fifth, allow yourself to imagine more and more rewards – starting next season, hopefully – for earning points on the Curling Platinum MasterCard…

Sixth, and possibly number one in the long run, is this. The successful negotiation and confirmation of any major sports sponsorship deal – given the current economic climate – makes curling stand tall and rather proud today, even as the rest of the sports world seems to be falling apart (see also this… and this… and this).

Finally, we note that the Rocks and Rings program – which brings the world of curling to a school for a full day, and for only $150 – is not owned by the CCA, but by a third party… namely Chad McMullan, the proprietor of Rock Solid Productions. Great to see McMullan add a second venture, in addition to the Toronto-based corporate outings, to his all-curling stable of properties.

Whew. Anything else… for now, anyway?

• Here’s Women of Curling Calendar girl Chrissy Cadorin in action at yesterday’s Ontario Scotties. Odd, that Cogeco TV coverage. The OCA considers it sponsored by Scotties; the main Cogeco website considers it to be sponsored by Scotties; but there is zero mention of the sponsor on the actual broadcasts of the “2009 Ontario Women’s Curling Championship” …

• Dean Ross defeated Dan “Hit Man” Petryk to grab the last spot into the Alberta provincial. The 2008 Mixed champ – who finished fifth with Susan Connor at the first World Mixed Doubles hosted in Finland last March – will make his third Alta men’s appearance. There’s more on Ross here …

• Let’s hear it for the front-enders! Former second stone Robyn MacPhee beat her former skip among others to take the PEI Scotties title …

• Will veteran Ontario front-ender Kim Moore – lately throwing second for Sherry Middaugh – be hanging them up after the current drive for Vancouver? Moore also talks about losing the 1997 STOH final to Sandra Schmirler, and how she still hasn’t watched the videotape of that game …

• Longtime curling bureaucrat – and high-performance competitor – Amber Holland now has the top curling job in Saskatchewan …

• Jay Peachey, Bryan Miki and Sean Geall are through to the BC men’s shootout… and we’ve got some rather Peachey memories, incidentally, in the February issue of The Curling News …

• We’ve got more on the story of Million Dollar Button competitor Ron Trottier, courtesy of CBC Sports host Scott Russell, who has a new blog entry online …

• And finally… Glow Curling isn’t really that new – we promoted its first appearance in Alberta a couple of years ago – but the photo recently taken by Troy Fleece of the Regina Leader-Post, shown here, deserves a highlight. We wanna play!

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We have lots of newslinks for you today, but first, the February 2009 issue of The Curling News is now in the mail.

Inside you will find a plethora of curling goodies not seen on this blog, which you would do well to seek out. All killer, no filler.

Stuff like:

• The Curling News TV Guide: only TCN gives you all the regional and national curling TV listings in one shot: provincials, Scotties, Super Leagues, you name it!

• The Wrench Speaks: in the first of a multi-part TCN exclusive, living legend Ed Werenich speaks to The Curling News about absolutely everything… growing up in small-town Manitoba, the problems with women’s curling, the Olympic weight fiasco, Marilyn Bodogh, his crowning achievements (and regrets), his brief stint in the TV booth, Sandra Schmirler… and more!

• Our humungous cover story on the race for berths into Canadian Olympic Trials – who has the inside track in qualifying; how the CTRS system works; and which curlers are sick and tired of the whole thing …

• Larry Wood opines that the previous Olympic qualifying system was just fine as it was, thank-you-very-much …

• Letters: readers spout off on the TSN commentators, the number of curlers in Scotland and why women can’t beat men …

• Battle of the Sexes Redux: inspired by a powerful Letter to the Editor, we examine criticism of the Casino Rama Skins experiment and explore the history of the Battle, which now sees the men tied with women at three wins apiece – yes, believe it or not – dating back to the first Battle in November 1973 …

• What’s in his wallet? Kevin Martin stars in a new Capital One TV commercial …

• The Dominion Club Corner: a tale of Trillium grant dollars in Mitchell, Ontario and a golden 50th anniversary in Comox, BC …

• Capital One Grand Slam Stars of the Future: Craig Savill is in the spotlight, although he’s pretty much a star right now …

• The Ultimate Curling Rankings Primer: not only do we list all the men’s and women’s Gold Trail, CTRS, AWCT and Order of Merit standings, we try and explain just what the heck it all means …

And more!

Trust us, you don’t want to miss this one, folks. Make sure you subscribe today.

What else is happening? Geez, what isn’t?

• Marla Mallett is the surprise 2009 B.C. STOH champion …

• It was standing-room only at the Nova Scotia Scotties as Nancy McConnery became the surprise Nova Scotia champion, upsetting TCN’s own Mary-Anne Arsenault in the final. TCN’s own Teri Lake lost the tiebreaker with Team Jill Mouzar.

• Newfoundland is no surprise as Heather Strong has captured another title, her fifth in a row …

• Also advancing to the Scotties in Victoria is Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche, who beat arch-rival Eve Belisle in the Quebec final …

• On Prince Edward Island, Kim Dolan is through to tonight’s final …

• Sherry Middaugh and Ontario – including calendar girl Chrissy Cadorin – are underway today through Sunday, as are a whack of other provincial Scotties championships this week …

• In men’s play, Glenn Howard beat Kevin Martin in a very interesting Canadian Open Slam finale yesterday. It was a game of great shots and stupefying misses – though not as stupefying as those in last year’s Brier final – which helped make it a thoroughly entertaining affair.

Capital One contest winner Ron Trottier almost won a million bucks, but 10 grand ain’t too shabby.

Almost as entertaining – not really – has been the major-league whingeing over foul language dished out by the athletes.

What-ever.

• Don Bartlett is back in the Alberta provincials, as is former two-time provincial finalist Jamie King. So is a fellow named Mike Hutchings, after winning the C-berth yesterday. As the story tells, the Peace district will be repped by Jeff Ginter and Kurt Balderston.

• In the south part of the province, Steve Petryk grabbed the A-berth, Rob Armitage took the B and the C-side finale goes tonight …

• In New Brunwick, names like Odishaw and Kennedy have made it through to the upcoming provincial finale …

• In nothern Sask, three pretty big names from the past are into the Tankard, while here’s the southern qualifiers …

• CurlBC is looking for a Team Leader for their squad at the Wheelchair nationals in late March. Deadline for applications is January 30 …

• Question of the day: is Idaho Statesman writer Bethann Stewart disdainful toward curling, or just a rookie? His story, located here, starts with the zinger “curling, a sport that requires little or no athletic ability. And that’s just part of the charm.”

• And finally, what have our pals at The Curling Show podcast been up to? Well, they’ve recently posted Q7As with Dave Nedohin and John Morris, that’s what …

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Which is more interesting – news that Pat Ryan is a competitor at next month’s Ontario men’s provincial, or news that Pat Ryan could be Canada’s next country music superstar?

Both newsbits fall within our sphere of interest – and yours – so we shall tell both tales.

Today, his curling.

After winning gold for Canada at the World Seniors in Finland last March (WCF photo above by Bob Cowan) the three-time Brier champion and two-time world champion turned his attention back to his job in Toronto, for which he has maintained a residence in the city for the past couple of years.

He soon discovered the Brampton Curling Club, the west-end facility which doubled for Long Bay in the curling movie Men With Brooms, and the place where Wayne Middaugh and cousin Peter Corner started their curling careers in the early 1980s.

And Ryan was soon discovered by Corner, the man who has won Briers, Worlds and provincial Tankards at both front end and skip positions.

After a few conversations Corner made further contact last fall, and Ryan became the alternate for the latest version of Team Corner… a squad which we revealed in yet another TCN exclusive last summer.

So why would Corner call on Ryan, you might ask?

Corner’s fiancee happens to be expecting a child very soon… specifically, at some point during the 2009 TSC Stores Tankard, for which he and teammates Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley and Brad Savage qualified during playdowns earlier this month.

So Ontario Brier hopefuls like Glenn Howard, Mike Harris, Rob Lobel and others may be shocked to see the slick tuck slide of the Alberta (and British Columbia) curling legend barrelling toward them sometime between February 2 and 8 at the Woodstock District Community Complex.

Well, not too shocked… after they read this posting at The Curling News Blog.

So, is this curling Hall of Famer ready to compete in another Brier, this time representing… Ontario?

“I don’t know about that,” Ryan laughed.

“All I know is I’m throwing rocks like crazy. I haven’t done much curling this year.”

Paired with longtime Middaugh third McCarrel at the back end, Ryan isn’t sure what the squad’s no-Corner lineup would be. After all, despite all the pre-planning of Corner’s potential family requirements, Ryan might not end up seeing any action.

“We’ll have to see what the team, and Graeme, think about that,” said Ryan.

“Graeme might want to throw the brick. He might want me to call the game. We’ll have to see if we even get the opportunity.”

In recent years, Ryan called the game with Jim Cotter throwing final stones on a B.C. team which, you may recall, just missed the playoffs at the 2005 Olympic Trials in Halifax. Cotter now throws third stones for Kelowna skip Bob Ursel.

Ryan says he enjoyed his first-ever post-game table talk with Corner last year.

“We really enjoyed each other’s company,” recalled Ryan. “We talked about curling and life, all the time commitments.

“We’d never really had a chance to sit and talk before. We’d always been competitors.”

Longtime curling fans will recall the Brier battles of 1993 and 1994. Corner played lead for Ontario’s Russ and Glenn Howard (plus Middaugh) and Ryan played third for BC’s Rick Folk. The Howards beat Folk/Ryan in the 1993 Brier final in Ottawa and then the Folk/Ryan combo beat the Ontarians in the 1994 final at Red Deer. Both teams went on to capture the world titles.

The team relationships were tense. There were accusations of rock tampering before one Brier playoff game, and another story tells how an enthused B.C. fan – the “Bleacher Creature” – made the mistake of whooping his way into the Ontario dressing room shortly after the ’94 final. He got a cup of water doused over his head.

Ryan said that he and Corner didn’t bother to rehash those days.

“We mostly talked about where we are right now, and it’s really nice to be able to connect with really great players who are of the same mindset,” said Ryan.

“And Pete’s team has world champions on it, and they all want the same things we do. They’re not going crazy with the sport but they still want to keep their hand in it, and they still want to make it to the Brier.”

Ah, the Brier. And this brings us to Pat Ryan: budding country music star.

But more on that coming soon.

Do you like what you’ve read here? Please do support efforts like this by subscribing to The Curling News through this page, or by calling 1-800-605-CURL (or 905-887-1261 internationally). We print stories you cannot find on the blog, and we’ll soon tell you more about that, too …

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Some big-name curling champs – Kevin Martin, Randy Ferbey, Glenn Howard and Jennifer Jones – are headed to the 2009 Casino Rama Skins Game this weekend.

All four skips are now in Toronto and en route to TSN studios at the Rogers Centre for a taping of Off The Record, the sometimes-incendiary sports talk show with host Michael Landsberg.

The all-curling show airs tonight at 6:00pm eastern time.

It might be repeated overnight or tomorrow morning/afternoon, and it is sure to be available online tomorrow, as well – Canada only, we think?

Practice ice goes tomorrow in the casino entertainment centre and play begins Saturday with Martin versus Ferbey (1:00pm ET) and then Howard versus Jones (8:00pm ET). The final goes Sunday, at 1:00pm ET.

Many of you will remember our extensive 2007 event blog coverage, which told you about the ice, the ice temperature, the rock-star intros, the special-guest piper, the picks, the team from Newfoundland which perhaps woulda-coulda-shoulda been in the final, and much, much more.

(Search back to December 2007 in our blog archives for that much, much more)

Last year Off The Record – OTR – also hosted an all-curling Skins preview episode, and things got very interesting. Wayne Middaugh was on fire, first reminding Martin of his corn-broom incident at the 1991 Worlds and then stating, unequivocally, that “the Olympics have ruined curling.”

Wayner is always sure to be a hoot on that show.

Jill Officer, who plays second for Jones and who writes for The Curling News, was unimpressed enough to write a column in last year’s January issue asking Wayne just what the hell he meant by that.

Of course, if you subscribed to The Curling News, you will have read that story already. Hint, hint.

So what will tonight’s OTR reveal?

It should be fun with Martin and Ferbey in the same room. Maybe TSN will seat them side by side. Giggle.

Jones will get asked about competing against men, and Glenn will joke that while he’s a really nice guy he’s just going to have to kick Jen’s butt, because the skins format is too volatile to do anything but try and squash your opponent. No Mr. Nice Guy here.

Jones, as some have suggested, is like a lawyer in her interviews. Guarded, formulaic and cliched. Well, she is a lawyer, in fact. Host Landsberg, meanwhile, has been know to get under the skin of some guests, and he may feel he has to roll up his sleeves and do just that today. Anyone want to take that bet, Jones versus Landsberg? Who wins?

Finally, a word about tickets. Southern Ontarians are complaining that Ticketmaster won’t give them any options to buy, with the site listing the event tickets as “unavailable”. There are whispers that the event is “Sold Out”.

We have the scoop. And we’ll reveal it – along with the exclusive way to go and get what few tickets remain – later this afternoon. Stay tuned …

PS: Landsberg will be going back to his roots, at Vancouver in 2010. He is part of the massive consortium lineup of TV anchors, hosts and reporters who will be very busy at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. This story also reveals the names of the curling TV talent: Vic Rauter, Bryan Mudryk, Linda Moore, Ray Turnbull, Russ Howard, Cathy Gauthier, Dan Murphy, Michel Y. Lacroix and Guy Hemmings …

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