TSN Skins Curling 2011 Part I

by George Karrys

RAMA, Ontario – Are we in Rama, or Orillia? Someone please tell directory assistance, because they can't seem to make their mind up.

Whatever – we are here, live on the media bench, for another year of this überfab event. If you're lucky enough to be Canadian – or, to be specific, presently located in Canada – you can watch this made-for-TV sporting extravaganza on TSN, The Sports Network, on regular cable or in High-Definition... complete with the army of cameras, the broadcast talent, and a truly amazing and intimate atmosphere.

If not, well, let us tell you the stories... and if you are watching on telly, follow us for the inside stories that won't get caught on television. We are posting content on his blog, at our Twitter feed and on our Facebook page, too.

Edmonton's Team Kevin Koe is now battling the defending champions from Scotland, captained by David Murdoch. Koe struck first, earlier today, and won the $1,000 for being closest to the pin. The Scots, however, have scored the first skin to lead the opening match by a score of $1,000 to nil.

Briefly, skins curling is a very cool format that has been around for some 25 years. When you have last rock advantage, or "the hammer", you need to score two or more points to win the "skin", which is worth a certain amount of money. When you don't have the hammer, you need to steal to win the skin.

Skins are available to be won in each of the eight ends of a game. Blank ends result in a carry-over, and the team which blanked the end loses the hammer (oops). But sometimes you want to blank the end on purpose. Or, if you are desperate and need to change your strategy. That's up to the players, of course – although we pundits will probably criticize, if we feel aggressive.

And that's the key to skins curling. It's an all-out assault of aggressive curling, end after end. And there is bonus cash available to the winner of each game, too.

Later tonight (7:00pm ET) it will the canadian Olympic Battle of The Sexes between Teams Kevin Martin and Cheryl Bernard. The two semifinal winners compete in the final on Sunday at 1:00pm ET.

Murdoch, by the way, rescued his team's shaky start with a brilliant throw on his first stone of the opening frame (see Anil Mungal photo at left) to set up his first paycheque. On skip stones of the second end, Murdoch and Koe exchanged a couple of great high-speed bullets before the Scotsman drew light on a freeze attempt, handing The Koes their first $1,000 skin.

Third end... the ice is perhaps a bit squirrely, which we've seen before at Casino Rama – after all, these guys are throwing stones on ice right smack in the middle of the Entertainment Centre, where live music usually "rocks" – and Murdoch just missed another heater for his deuce. The TSN crew are saying the stone "picked" a piece of debris, which is being contested on the media bench by Jim "Hollywood" Henderson. Whatever the reason, the Albertans now lead $2,500 to $1,000.

Okay boys... throw a little more, with more handle. You've all done this before.