Feed: The Curling News - AggScore: 49.8
It’s all things Swiss in today’s The Curling News Blogpost.
Why?
Well... why not?
1. Team Mirjam Ott made some waves at the end of the 2008-09 season by replacing second Valeria Spaelty with team alternate Carmen Kueng. Spaelty was the last remaining member of Ott’s 2006 Olympic silver medallist foursome, and Kung had been the squad’s dedicated alternate the last couple of seasons.
A photo of the new Team Ott, who are pretty much confirmed to represent Switzerland at Vancouver 2010, is located here. The accompanying update states the squad will be taking a full six-month leave of absence from work to focus on the drive to Vancouver, which will include six weeks of training/touring in Canada.
2. Team Ralph Stoeckli, fourth-place finishers at the Ford Worlds in Moncton, need to win a special best-of-seven playoff against 2008 European rep Stefan Karnusian to book their tickets to Vancouver. But should they win, they will not be heading to the Games with team coach Russ Howard.
Russ has confirmed his gig with the CTV Olympic broadcast consortium – which of course features the TSN curling crew – and will be doing the suit and tie thing in Vancouver. Howard might still be jetting to Switzerland in September to do some work with the squad – this is still TBD – but he definitely won’t be wearing the white cross in February.
Here’s a photo of Howard in his Swiss duds, consulting with Stoeckli and lead Simon Struebin, who just happens to be Europe’s representative on the board of the new World Curling Players’ Association (as we revealed last month).
Back in November, you may recall that TCN scored the first photo of Russ in his new coaching career.
Speaking of photos, the CCA image above (shot by Michael Burns) shows Stoeckli in a huge fist pump just as his final throw settles into the button for a big win in Moncton.
3. But there’s another Canadian coaching saga in Switzerland... two, in fact. The husband and wife team of Lorne and Chris Hamblin have been hired as Swiss Curling’s new national team coaches.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press story, Hamblin said he and his wife only wanted a chance to coach at a high level and the Swiss opportunity came along before any other. “If there had been similar opportunities in Canada," said Hamblin, “we would have pursued that. But there weren’t.”
4. Andreas “Andi” Schwaller has hung up his boots... for now. The man who rivalled Stoeckli for Swiss skipping honours throughout this decade – winning world silver in 2001 and Olympic bronze in 2002 – has retired from competition... but perhaps only for a year, as this story would indicate.
You can also listen to a radio interview with Schwaller – in German, of course – on this page.
So, there you go. Anything else for the rest of this North American holiday week?
• CTV’s retrospective Olympic features titled “Where Are They Now?” includes Joan McCusker, and that famed 1998 Olympic championship squad ...
• Sudbury, Ontario is currently hosting its annual Dominion Amethyst Curling Camp, which is previewed here and also featured here ...
• Three-quarters of Team Jennifer Jones made an appearance last weekend in Blackfalds, Alberta ...
• Kansas City, USA curling action takes place on Monday nights through August 31 ...
• And finally, the New Zealand curling championships started today, with the finals set to wrap up on Sunday ...
Why?
Well... why not?
1. Team Mirjam Ott made some waves at the end of the 2008-09 season by replacing second Valeria Spaelty with team alternate Carmen Kueng. Spaelty was the last remaining member of Ott’s 2006 Olympic silver medallist foursome, and Kung had been the squad’s dedicated alternate the last couple of seasons.
A photo of the new Team Ott, who are pretty much confirmed to represent Switzerland at Vancouver 2010, is located here. The accompanying update states the squad will be taking a full six-month leave of absence from work to focus on the drive to Vancouver, which will include six weeks of training/touring in Canada.
2. Team Ralph Stoeckli, fourth-place finishers at the Ford Worlds in Moncton, need to win a special best-of-seven playoff against 2008 European rep Stefan Karnusian to book their tickets to Vancouver. But should they win, they will not be heading to the Games with team coach Russ Howard.
Russ has confirmed his gig with the CTV Olympic broadcast consortium – which of course features the TSN curling crew – and will be doing the suit and tie thing in Vancouver. Howard might still be jetting to Switzerland in September to do some work with the squad – this is still TBD – but he definitely won’t be wearing the white cross in February.
Here’s a photo of Howard in his Swiss duds, consulting with Stoeckli and lead Simon Struebin, who just happens to be Europe’s representative on the board of the new World Curling Players’ Association (as we revealed last month).
Back in November, you may recall that TCN scored the first photo of Russ in his new coaching career.
Speaking of photos, the CCA image above (shot by Michael Burns) shows Stoeckli in a huge fist pump just as his final throw settles into the button for a big win in Moncton.
3. But there’s another Canadian coaching saga in Switzerland... two, in fact. The husband and wife team of Lorne and Chris Hamblin have been hired as Swiss Curling’s new national team coaches.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press story, Hamblin said he and his wife only wanted a chance to coach at a high level and the Swiss opportunity came along before any other. “If there had been similar opportunities in Canada," said Hamblin, “we would have pursued that. But there weren’t.”
4. Andreas “Andi” Schwaller has hung up his boots... for now. The man who rivalled Stoeckli for Swiss skipping honours throughout this decade – winning world silver in 2001 and Olympic bronze in 2002 – has retired from competition... but perhaps only for a year, as this story would indicate.
You can also listen to a radio interview with Schwaller – in German, of course – on this page.
So, there you go. Anything else for the rest of this North American holiday week?
• CTV’s retrospective Olympic features titled “Where Are They Now?” includes Joan McCusker, and that famed 1998 Olympic championship squad ...
• Sudbury, Ontario is currently hosting its annual Dominion Amethyst Curling Camp, which is previewed here and also featured here ...
• Three-quarters of Team Jennifer Jones made an appearance last weekend in Blackfalds, Alberta ...
• Kansas City, USA curling action takes place on Monday nights through August 31 ...
• And finally, the New Zealand curling championships started today, with the finals set to wrap up on Sunday ...
Date Published: Jul 02, 2009 - 6:07 am
Exactly one year ago today, we posted this story on the first Canadian Curling Association NCC (National Curling Congress) helmed by new CEO Greg Stremlaw.
Another Congress has now come and gone, and today’s news release reveals that another $880,000 surplus has been committed to the long-term reserve fund.
“Financial performance is the item that stands out,” said Stremlaw, in an interview with The Curling News.
“This puts us at $1.7 million in accumulated surplus.”
Indeed, as the CCA newser mentions, a Senior Program Officer with Sport Canada noted that the CCA’s financial performance has been particularly outstanding and that some of the results are hard to believe, given where the organization was only a few short years ago.
There were tons of interesting presentations, workshops, breakout sessions, discussions and notices of motion throughout the week. Items catching our keen TCN eye include:
• a new “Curling For Life” document, which closely examines the “paradigm shift” between curling as a lifetime recreational sport and curling as a high-performance athletic endeavour;
• an embracing of new social marketing efforts, from Facebook to Blogger to Twitter and whatever techno-stuff is still to come;
• plans to “Leverage 2010” and thus ensure that curling clubs are prepared for an expected avalanche of phone calls, walk-ins and other outreach from the general public during February’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games;
• an “investigation of the possibility of establishing” a Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship;
• implementation of a single competitor’s fee, starting in 2010-11, that will allow competitors to enter all disciplines which require the payment of a fee;
• a Member Association code of conduct, that will be developed for presentation and approval at the 2010 National Curling Congress.
In terms of elections, 2008-09 volunteer boss Fran Todd of Ontario (CCA photo above) has been replaced by her former Vice-Chair, Graham Prouse of Grande Prairie, Alberta, who now serves as Chair of the Board of Governors. Jack Bowman (Victoria, B.C.) is the new Vice-Chair.
CCA Governors Lew Andrews (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) and Beth Sullivan (Bathurst, New Brunswick) have retired from the Board, while three newcomers are on board: Elaine de Ryk of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Ron Hutton of Saint John, New Brunswick and Georgina Granchelli of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
For his part, Stremlaw seems pumped about just how smoothly the curling landscape is rolling out before him.
“I am personally witnessing a collaborative spirit with the stakeholders,” said Stremlaw.
“Truth be told, it hasn’t always been this way. At times the sport can become political.
“We’ve got 14 member associations and they’re all diverse, all different, but there seems to be a genuine interest in working together, getting ourselves to where we want to go.”
Anything else, you ask?
• CCA Governor and longtime curling leader Bernadette McIntyre does have other interests besides the Roaring Game... such as her very cool job ...
• Monsanto Canada has renewed its sponsorship agreements with CCA through to 2013. The news release indicates that the Continental Cup, which will not be contested in the upcoming Olympic season, will return for another run of events from 2011, 2012 and 2013 ...
• Monsanto, of course, also supports western-based curling clubs through the “A Better House” grant program, which disbursed some $80,000 in funding directly to prairie clubs this past season ...
• Another curling mover and shaker has taken a step back from the sport. Fast Eddie Lukowich, the former Brier and world champion skip, has resigned his position with the United States Curling Association after nearly 10 years, and just eight months prior to Vancouver 2010. Canwest has the story here ...
• Winnipeg’s Jill Officer made a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ont. on behalf of Olympic sponsor RBC ...
• World Senior men’s champion skip Eugene Hritzuk is on the air via The Curling Show ...
• And finally, this brief YouTube video asks the question “What’s curling all about?”
Well, gee, didn’t you know the answer...?
Another Congress has now come and gone, and today’s news release reveals that another $880,000 surplus has been committed to the long-term reserve fund.
“Financial performance is the item that stands out,” said Stremlaw, in an interview with The Curling News.
“This puts us at $1.7 million in accumulated surplus.”
Indeed, as the CCA newser mentions, a Senior Program Officer with Sport Canada noted that the CCA’s financial performance has been particularly outstanding and that some of the results are hard to believe, given where the organization was only a few short years ago.
There were tons of interesting presentations, workshops, breakout sessions, discussions and notices of motion throughout the week. Items catching our keen TCN eye include:
• a new “Curling For Life” document, which closely examines the “paradigm shift” between curling as a lifetime recreational sport and curling as a high-performance athletic endeavour;
• an embracing of new social marketing efforts, from Facebook to Blogger to Twitter and whatever techno-stuff is still to come;
• plans to “Leverage 2010” and thus ensure that curling clubs are prepared for an expected avalanche of phone calls, walk-ins and other outreach from the general public during February’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games;
• an “investigation of the possibility of establishing” a Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship;
• implementation of a single competitor’s fee, starting in 2010-11, that will allow competitors to enter all disciplines which require the payment of a fee;
• a Member Association code of conduct, that will be developed for presentation and approval at the 2010 National Curling Congress.
In terms of elections, 2008-09 volunteer boss Fran Todd of Ontario (CCA photo above) has been replaced by her former Vice-Chair, Graham Prouse of Grande Prairie, Alberta, who now serves as Chair of the Board of Governors. Jack Bowman (Victoria, B.C.) is the new Vice-Chair.
CCA Governors Lew Andrews (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) and Beth Sullivan (Bathurst, New Brunswick) have retired from the Board, while three newcomers are on board: Elaine de Ryk of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Ron Hutton of Saint John, New Brunswick and Georgina Granchelli of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
For his part, Stremlaw seems pumped about just how smoothly the curling landscape is rolling out before him.
“I am personally witnessing a collaborative spirit with the stakeholders,” said Stremlaw.
“Truth be told, it hasn’t always been this way. At times the sport can become political.
“We’ve got 14 member associations and they’re all diverse, all different, but there seems to be a genuine interest in working together, getting ourselves to where we want to go.”
Anything else, you ask?
• CCA Governor and longtime curling leader Bernadette McIntyre does have other interests besides the Roaring Game... such as her very cool job ...
• Monsanto Canada has renewed its sponsorship agreements with CCA through to 2013. The news release indicates that the Continental Cup, which will not be contested in the upcoming Olympic season, will return for another run of events from 2011, 2012 and 2013 ...
• Monsanto, of course, also supports western-based curling clubs through the “A Better House” grant program, which disbursed some $80,000 in funding directly to prairie clubs this past season ...
• Another curling mover and shaker has taken a step back from the sport. Fast Eddie Lukowich, the former Brier and world champion skip, has resigned his position with the United States Curling Association after nearly 10 years, and just eight months prior to Vancouver 2010. Canwest has the story here ...
• Winnipeg’s Jill Officer made a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ont. on behalf of Olympic sponsor RBC ...
• World Senior men’s champion skip Eugene Hritzuk is on the air via The Curling Show ...
• And finally, this brief YouTube video asks the question “What’s curling all about?”
Well, gee, didn’t you know the answer...?
Date Published: Jun 25, 2009 - 8:08 am
Remember those loveable Curling Zombies?
They took to the streets, which is what zombies do.
They hung out at The Beer Store, which was something new.
They infatuated the Rogers TV folks during last February’s Ontario Tankard.
And believe it or not, they are still groaning their way around the country.
Fresh off this past Saturday’s screening at the CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto, our favourite undead curlers are off to St. John’s in Newfoundland. Deadspiel will make its Eastern Canadian premier at the Nickel Independent Film Festival (June 23-27) with a show date of Thursday June 25, part of the 10:00pm Late Night Horror Show.
The film is also appearing at this week’s Detroit Windsor Film Fest, on Friday, June 26, and then in west-end Toronto at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival in early July.
Another showing will take place at Montreal’s famed Fantasia Festival next month.
We’ve got a recent feature from Independent Scene right here, and a brief trailer teaser was also recently released, which you can see here.
For more on the film, consult the Deadspiel website.
Other stuff...
• Some news from Norway. First, the country has produced its first DVD on curling, a 29-minute how-to which features Pal Trulsen and Thomas Ulsrud. Second, coach Thoralf Hognestad is stepping down from the Norwegian wheelchair curling team, which he guided to two world championships in 2007 and 2008 ...
• Sweden has confirmed Team Anette Norberg as their women’s Olympic rep for Vancouver 2010. Meanwhile, young hopeful Niklas Edin is still in limbo, but feels his men’s team will get the nod sometime during or after December. You can see the formal announcements here ...
• According to the Vernon Morning Star, the B.C. town will host a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling men’s event in December of 2010 ...
• Saskatchewan curling legends Sam Richardson and Jan Betker both make appearances in this short (1:23) video promoting Saskatchewan curling, part of the federal government’s Travel Canada promotion ...
• For those of you who are suspicious of clicking on game links that we provide here – and we don’t necessarily blame you for your caution – the developers of the infamous “Brown Cow Curing” videogame (a web-based freebie) have posted some video of their effort ...
• And finally, 2008 world champion Jennifer Jones teamed with new Edmonton Oliers hockey coach Pat Quinn for a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ontario ...
They took to the streets, which is what zombies do.
They hung out at The Beer Store, which was something new.
They infatuated the Rogers TV folks during last February’s Ontario Tankard.
And believe it or not, they are still groaning their way around the country.
Fresh off this past Saturday’s screening at the CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto, our favourite undead curlers are off to St. John’s in Newfoundland. Deadspiel will make its Eastern Canadian premier at the Nickel Independent Film Festival (June 23-27) with a show date of Thursday June 25, part of the 10:00pm Late Night Horror Show.
The film is also appearing at this week’s Detroit Windsor Film Fest, on Friday, June 26, and then in west-end Toronto at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival in early July.
Another showing will take place at Montreal’s famed Fantasia Festival next month.
We’ve got a recent feature from Independent Scene right here, and a brief trailer teaser was also recently released, which you can see here.
For more on the film, consult the Deadspiel website.
Other stuff...
• Some news from Norway. First, the country has produced its first DVD on curling, a 29-minute how-to which features Pal Trulsen and Thomas Ulsrud. Second, coach Thoralf Hognestad is stepping down from the Norwegian wheelchair curling team, which he guided to two world championships in 2007 and 2008 ...
• Sweden has confirmed Team Anette Norberg as their women’s Olympic rep for Vancouver 2010. Meanwhile, young hopeful Niklas Edin is still in limbo, but feels his men’s team will get the nod sometime during or after December. You can see the formal announcements here ...
• According to the Vernon Morning Star, the B.C. town will host a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling men’s event in December of 2010 ...
• Saskatchewan curling legends Sam Richardson and Jan Betker both make appearances in this short (1:23) video promoting Saskatchewan curling, part of the federal government’s Travel Canada promotion ...
• For those of you who are suspicious of clicking on game links that we provide here – and we don’t necessarily blame you for your caution – the developers of the infamous “Brown Cow Curing” videogame (a web-based freebie) have posted some video of their effort ...
• And finally, 2008 world champion Jennifer Jones teamed with new Edmonton Oliers hockey coach Pat Quinn for a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ontario ...
Date Published: Jun 22, 2009 - 7:40 am
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 ...
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 ...
Date Published: Jun 15, 2009 - 8:36 am
Everybody’s favourite movie-star curler, Paul Gross, isn’t resting on his Passchendaele laurels. The man who once had a slide delivery more solid than that of many TCN readers has not one, but two new projects coming soon... and an award is headed his way this weekend.
CTV and ABC (in the U.S.) have both picked up “Eastwick”, a TV adaption of the 1987 film “The Witches of Eastwick”. Gross plays the part of The Devil, in a very juicy role made famous by none other than... Jack Nicholson.
Gross will also appear in the comedy western “Gunless”, as a nasty American gunfighter nicknamed The Montana Kid (photo above).
In addition, the Men With Brooms maven will receive the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at this year’s 30th anniversary Banff World Television Festival, now underway in Calgary... where delegates will also have the opportunity to be “In conversation with Paul Gross”.
A preview of the famed festival can be found here and a Calgary Herald story summarizing all these Gross adventures can be found here.
And in a more hardcore curling vein...
• Bachelorette Jillian Harris told the media a few things about the “curling date”, from this one:
“I really love the curling date. Curling is – and I hate to say it because curlers are going to hate me – that quintessential, Canadian, nerdy sport. I find it really nostalgic. I did it a lot as a kid, hanging out in lounges. The guys really got into it.”
... to this one:
“This was such a nostalgic date for me. I remember curling bonspiels when I was just a kid — so much fun! To my delight … the guys loved it too!”
Nah, we don’t hate you Jill... after all, since the episode has turned out to be such a hit for tourism in Vancouver, we expect local curling clubs to have their voicemail systems jammed full with messages over the summer.
A note to the curious: Harris’ current hometown may be Vancouver but she’s really an Alberta gal, from Peace River, and that’s where her young curling memories come from ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that curling columnist, editor and book writer Bob Weeks made an early appearance in this leadership convention video for Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff?
• CITY GOOD: PEI’s Charlottetown Curling Club was recently honoured at the Mayor’s Citizen and Recognition Awards night. As the citation reads, “Founded in 1887, the Charlottetown Curling Club has remained a source of recreation, entertainment and camaraderie for the City of Charlottetown and its surrounding communities for 122 years.” Boo-yah!
• CITY BAD: A big boo to the town of Cochrane, Alberta. City councillors have stomped all over the curling club’s request to add two sheets of ice to their facility ...
• Luber’s Lounge has posted the tentative Manitoba Curling Tour schedule for the 2009-10 season ...
• DID YOU KNOW II: that the Ontario Curling Association van in which ED Doug Bakes zips around the province each season is now for sale? Well, giddyap ...
• Toronto’s 13th Annual East York Summerspiel gets underway tomorrow and finishes Saturday. The bonspiel theme is based on the movie Grease, and the club is heavily decorated and awaits the 36 teams that have entered. The curling starts on Friday night at 6:00pm and there will be a live band that night at the club ...
• And finally, we were planning to reveal the incredibly bizarre curling posting from a blogger named Bliss, but Skip Cottage beat us to it. Here is Bob’s take on the eccentricity, which of course simply must lead you to click through and see it for yourself ...
CTV and ABC (in the U.S.) have both picked up “Eastwick”, a TV adaption of the 1987 film “The Witches of Eastwick”. Gross plays the part of The Devil, in a very juicy role made famous by none other than... Jack Nicholson.
Gross will also appear in the comedy western “Gunless”, as a nasty American gunfighter nicknamed The Montana Kid (photo above).
In addition, the Men With Brooms maven will receive the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at this year’s 30th anniversary Banff World Television Festival, now underway in Calgary... where delegates will also have the opportunity to be “In conversation with Paul Gross”.
A preview of the famed festival can be found here and a Calgary Herald story summarizing all these Gross adventures can be found here.
And in a more hardcore curling vein...
• Bachelorette Jillian Harris told the media a few things about the “curling date”, from this one:
“I really love the curling date. Curling is – and I hate to say it because curlers are going to hate me – that quintessential, Canadian, nerdy sport. I find it really nostalgic. I did it a lot as a kid, hanging out in lounges. The guys really got into it.”
... to this one:
“This was such a nostalgic date for me. I remember curling bonspiels when I was just a kid — so much fun! To my delight … the guys loved it too!”
Nah, we don’t hate you Jill... after all, since the episode has turned out to be such a hit for tourism in Vancouver, we expect local curling clubs to have their voicemail systems jammed full with messages over the summer.
A note to the curious: Harris’ current hometown may be Vancouver but she’s really an Alberta gal, from Peace River, and that’s where her young curling memories come from ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that curling columnist, editor and book writer Bob Weeks made an early appearance in this leadership convention video for Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff?
• CITY GOOD: PEI’s Charlottetown Curling Club was recently honoured at the Mayor’s Citizen and Recognition Awards night. As the citation reads, “Founded in 1887, the Charlottetown Curling Club has remained a source of recreation, entertainment and camaraderie for the City of Charlottetown and its surrounding communities for 122 years.” Boo-yah!
• CITY BAD: A big boo to the town of Cochrane, Alberta. City councillors have stomped all over the curling club’s request to add two sheets of ice to their facility ...
• Luber’s Lounge has posted the tentative Manitoba Curling Tour schedule for the 2009-10 season ...
• DID YOU KNOW II: that the Ontario Curling Association van in which ED Doug Bakes zips around the province each season is now for sale? Well, giddyap ...
• Toronto’s 13th Annual East York Summerspiel gets underway tomorrow and finishes Saturday. The bonspiel theme is based on the movie Grease, and the club is heavily decorated and awaits the 36 teams that have entered. The curling starts on Friday night at 6:00pm and there will be a live band that night at the club ...
• And finally, we were planning to reveal the incredibly bizarre curling posting from a blogger named Bliss, but Skip Cottage beat us to it. Here is Bob’s take on the eccentricity, which of course simply must lead you to click through and see it for yourself ...
Date Published: Jun 11, 2009 - 8:03 am
TSN’s Kraft Celebration Tour will give no less than 10 lucky Canadian communities a $25,000 grant, aka “community refresh”, plus an onsite hosting of TSN’s live SportsCentre broadcast.
This is all in celebration of TSN’s 25th anniversary.
Nominations come from the public via this special website, and nominations close at 5:00pm eastern time this coming Friday, June 12.
We’ve noticed that one community has made an all-curling application.
The East Hants Curling Association in Lantz, Nova Scotia has been looking to build a four-sheet curling facility since 1988 (!) and geez, for pure stubborness alone, we think Lantz should make it into the top 10!
Don’t you?
Brier competitor (with Team Shawn Adams) and EHCA Director Kelly Mittelstadt is heavily involved in the drive for a curling club.
“We’ve secured government funding sufficient to allow conceptual drawings to be completed,” Mittelstadt told The Curling News.
“Once these drawings are finalized our next, and largest, hurdle will be getting funding from all three levels of government to build this facility.”
Here’s the EHCA nomination under which TCN readers are invited to comment – positively, of course!
What else for a Tuesday?
• There’s not much to say about the the appearance of curling on last night’s TV episode of The Bachelorette. The skill level was, of course, abysmal. One of the bachelors – who had clearly never stepped on ice before – declared the sport “terrifying.”
And to some surprise, the Canadian Curling Association sent out an email urging people to tune in to watch, prompting this blogger to wonder how the organization got her email address ...
• Marie-France Larouche: skip et professeure?
• Yeah, yeah, yeah... everyone knows about the spoof story re. an IBM Supercomputer competing at the 2010 Worlds... but here’s the link in case you missed it ...
• And finally, Eric Deckers is the latest newbie to utter the obvious: Curling is Harder Than It Looks ...
Date Published: Jun 09, 2009 - 6:51 am
Tomorrow morning some 200,000 “new” tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will go on sale... for Canadians-only, we believe. Curling tickets are included.
This story from the Vancouver Sun tells the tale... and also includes news of the ticket design, which was released yesterday. In this Canadian Press photo shown above, mascot Qatchi (left) holds the ticket designs for Curling and Ice Hockey.
That’s mascot Sumi on the right, in case you didn’t know.
Here’s the official VANOC release regarding the ticket designs.
More for a Friday:
• Do you watch the U.S. reality TV show The Bachelorette? The current wanting woman is a Canadian, Jillian Harris, and in this coming Monday night’s episode (June 8 on ABC) she takes her wanting womanizers back home to Vancouver, and an appearance on the ice at the Marpole Curling Club.
Here’s the show website, where you can view a sneak preview of the expected on-ice ridiculousness. You can also see the two-minute preview here, and a story on the Vancouver episode, plus a photo of Harris, is located here.
In addition, there’s this Vancouver Sun blogpost telling how the producers couldn’t use the Olympic curling facility for the show, although they tried ...
• As reported earlier this week, five high-school sports – including curling – were on the chopping block yesterday, but all five have been since been spared the axe ...
• Also reported recently, the Cactus Pheasant Classic WCT event in Brooks, Alberta may have lost their title sponsor... but the city of Brooks just voted to kick in a $20,000 grant to support this fall’s event ...
• 2006 U.S. Olympic bronze-winning curler Joe Polo will be marching alongside those Kalamazoo, Michigan curling fanatics at the annual Doo-Dah parade today.
You remember this Doo-Dah story from Ohio last year, right?
• One representative from each of the 32 teams competing in either this fall’s pre-Olympic Trials qualifier or the Trials themselves are on their way to Vancouver this weekend for a CCA-hosted orientation.
The reps will be advised on what to expect in terms of the competitions, the media, and how to prepare now to represent Canada at Vancouver 2010.
Word is that most teams are sending their coaches, but we have heard of a couple of skips who are attending on behalf of their teams: Manitoba young gunners Jason Gunnlaugson and Mike McEwen.
The full list of 32 teams can be found here ...
• The 2009 Australian Championships are underway in Dunedin, New Zealand today with the finals slated for Sunday. You can follow results via the Aussie Curling Blog ...
• The Huntsville Curling Club, located in the prime cottage country north of Toronto, wants a new building (who doesn’t?) ...
• The Moncton Coliseum, host of the recent Ford Worlds, has been ripped in the local media – again – for its inadequacies ...
• And final, thanks to C. Fraser and the Canadian Fermentation blog for using amoebas to explain curling for the uninitiated. In other words, thanks for providing a serious head-shake on a Friday morning!
This story from the Vancouver Sun tells the tale... and also includes news of the ticket design, which was released yesterday. In this Canadian Press photo shown above, mascot Qatchi (left) holds the ticket designs for Curling and Ice Hockey.
That’s mascot Sumi on the right, in case you didn’t know.
Here’s the official VANOC release regarding the ticket designs.
More for a Friday:
• Do you watch the U.S. reality TV show The Bachelorette? The current wanting woman is a Canadian, Jillian Harris, and in this coming Monday night’s episode (June 8 on ABC) she takes her wanting womanizers back home to Vancouver, and an appearance on the ice at the Marpole Curling Club.
Here’s the show website, where you can view a sneak preview of the expected on-ice ridiculousness. You can also see the two-minute preview here, and a story on the Vancouver episode, plus a photo of Harris, is located here.
In addition, there’s this Vancouver Sun blogpost telling how the producers couldn’t use the Olympic curling facility for the show, although they tried ...
• As reported earlier this week, five high-school sports – including curling – were on the chopping block yesterday, but all five have been since been spared the axe ...
• Also reported recently, the Cactus Pheasant Classic WCT event in Brooks, Alberta may have lost their title sponsor... but the city of Brooks just voted to kick in a $20,000 grant to support this fall’s event ...
• 2006 U.S. Olympic bronze-winning curler Joe Polo will be marching alongside those Kalamazoo, Michigan curling fanatics at the annual Doo-Dah parade today.
You remember this Doo-Dah story from Ohio last year, right?
• One representative from each of the 32 teams competing in either this fall’s pre-Olympic Trials qualifier or the Trials themselves are on their way to Vancouver this weekend for a CCA-hosted orientation.
The reps will be advised on what to expect in terms of the competitions, the media, and how to prepare now to represent Canada at Vancouver 2010.
Word is that most teams are sending their coaches, but we have heard of a couple of skips who are attending on behalf of their teams: Manitoba young gunners Jason Gunnlaugson and Mike McEwen.
The full list of 32 teams can be found here ...
• The 2009 Australian Championships are underway in Dunedin, New Zealand today with the finals slated for Sunday. You can follow results via the Aussie Curling Blog ...
• The Huntsville Curling Club, located in the prime cottage country north of Toronto, wants a new building (who doesn’t?) ...
• The Moncton Coliseum, host of the recent Ford Worlds, has been ripped in the local media – again – for its inadequacies ...
• And final, thanks to C. Fraser and the Canadian Fermentation blog for using amoebas to explain curling for the uninitiated. In other words, thanks for providing a serious head-shake on a Friday morning!
Date Published: Jun 05, 2009 - 7:18 am
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.
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.
Date Published: Jun 02, 2009 - 6:24 am
In today’s post: the first in a camp series, Kelly Scott’s new lead, Kevin Martin writes his own press and the weirdest curling music video EVER.
So... here’s a first in a series of posts on some of the various “curling camps” available in the off-season. Today, we spotlight the last such camp on the calendar before the “start” of the 2010 Olympic season: the Team Glenn Howard Fantasy Camp.
The second-annual camp takes place in Guelph, Ontario from September 11-13. By all reports, last year’s inaugural camp was a smash hit, complete with a special appearance from 2007 world champion women’s skip Jennifer Jones. The camp even attracted the attention of Team Brazil (photo above), who of course went on to challenge the United States for a spot in April’s Ford Worlds in Moncton.
The 2009 edition promises more for curlers of every skill level. The registration form is available from this page and there’s a special offer available from team sponsor BalancePlus.
Register by June 15 and your name will be entered in a draw to win a new pair of BP 500 Series curling shoes!
Still with the Howards, front-enders Brent Laing and Craig Savill will be teaming up with former teammates Heath McCormick and Andy Ormsby for a four-man charity hike from July 24-26.
Here’s the catch (there are two). First, the entire distance must be covered on foot and all four team members must reach the checkpoints and the finish line together, and within 48 hours.
The second challenge, and the most important part, is for each team to raise a minimum of $2,500 for designated charity Oxfam Canada. But this team, named The Hacks, wants to raise double that amount.
To contribute, head to the Oxfam Trailwalker page and click on “sponsor a hiker”, type in The Hacks, and then choose on of the four team member names to make your donation.
In other news...
• Kelly Scott has announced the name of her new lead player. If you missed the news of the dismissal of former teammate Renee Simons, here’s two links to catch up on: the first and the second. Note the 22 comments posted from readers ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that Brooks may lose the Pheasant Classic, the two-year-old Tour event that has been declared the best event on said Tour?
• The final pieces of the 2009-2010 Season of Champions calendar have fallen into place, with the news that the Canadian Seniors will be in Ottawa; the CIS/CCA University Championships, presented by The Dominion, will take place at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton; and that the 2010 TSX Canadian Wheelchairs will be hosted by Kelowna ...
• Did you catch the final CBC Sports curling blogpost of the season from Grand Slam host Scott Russell? Well, there you go ...
• DID YOU KNOW II: that Winnipeg heat-thrower Jason Gunnlaugson has found a player for next season? The young team is into the Road to the Roar, aka the Olympic Pre-Trials qualifying spiel in Prince George, but contrary to public expectations, the Gunner did not pick up an experienced skip ...
• Who loves curling? Alfaj0r loves curling ...
• And so does new fan Hannah, a grade eight student in Moncton ...
• And so does Jamie Jay Singh, who asks, “Say do you like curling?” And we ask: “Uh, say what?”
• Have you voted for the Curling emoticon yet?
• And finally, DID YOU KNOW III: that Kevin Martin is now a journalist? It’s true. He wrote a story about himself in the Mississauga News, check out the byline ...
So... here’s a first in a series of posts on some of the various “curling camps” available in the off-season. Today, we spotlight the last such camp on the calendar before the “start” of the 2010 Olympic season: the Team Glenn Howard Fantasy Camp.
The second-annual camp takes place in Guelph, Ontario from September 11-13. By all reports, last year’s inaugural camp was a smash hit, complete with a special appearance from 2007 world champion women’s skip Jennifer Jones. The camp even attracted the attention of Team Brazil (photo above), who of course went on to challenge the United States for a spot in April’s Ford Worlds in Moncton.
The 2009 edition promises more for curlers of every skill level. The registration form is available from this page and there’s a special offer available from team sponsor BalancePlus.
Register by June 15 and your name will be entered in a draw to win a new pair of BP 500 Series curling shoes!
Still with the Howards, front-enders Brent Laing and Craig Savill will be teaming up with former teammates Heath McCormick and Andy Ormsby for a four-man charity hike from July 24-26.
Here’s the catch (there are two). First, the entire distance must be covered on foot and all four team members must reach the checkpoints and the finish line together, and within 48 hours.
The second challenge, and the most important part, is for each team to raise a minimum of $2,500 for designated charity Oxfam Canada. But this team, named The Hacks, wants to raise double that amount.
To contribute, head to the Oxfam Trailwalker page and click on “sponsor a hiker”, type in The Hacks, and then choose on of the four team member names to make your donation.
In other news...
• Kelly Scott has announced the name of her new lead player. If you missed the news of the dismissal of former teammate Renee Simons, here’s two links to catch up on: the first and the second. Note the 22 comments posted from readers ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that Brooks may lose the Pheasant Classic, the two-year-old Tour event that has been declared the best event on said Tour?
• The final pieces of the 2009-2010 Season of Champions calendar have fallen into place, with the news that the Canadian Seniors will be in Ottawa; the CIS/CCA University Championships, presented by The Dominion, will take place at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton; and that the 2010 TSX Canadian Wheelchairs will be hosted by Kelowna ...
• Did you catch the final CBC Sports curling blogpost of the season from Grand Slam host Scott Russell? Well, there you go ...
• DID YOU KNOW II: that Winnipeg heat-thrower Jason Gunnlaugson has found a player for next season? The young team is into the Road to the Roar, aka the Olympic Pre-Trials qualifying spiel in Prince George, but contrary to public expectations, the Gunner did not pick up an experienced skip ...
• Who loves curling? Alfaj0r loves curling ...
• And so does new fan Hannah, a grade eight student in Moncton ...
• And so does Jamie Jay Singh, who asks, “Say do you like curling?” And we ask: “Uh, say what?”
• Have you voted for the Curling emoticon yet?
• And finally, DID YOU KNOW III: that Kevin Martin is now a journalist? It’s true. He wrote a story about himself in the Mississauga News, check out the byline ...
Date Published: May 28, 2009 - 7:05 am
TORONTO – Curling superstar Kevin Martin missed a live radio appearance in Toronto on Wednesday due to the Tamil protests rocking Canada’s largest city.
Martin and cohorts, including third John Morris, are in Toronto for appearances with team sponsor Uncle Ben’s, which will see the curlers attend tonight’s Blue Jays baseball game at the Rogers Centre.
Yesterday, Martin was to appear alongside former pro hockey GM and current Rogers Sportsnet personality Doug MacLean for the last half hour of the Prime Time Sports show on FAN 590 all-sports radio, which is also broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.
But the latest in a series of metro Tamil protests – which saw some 12,000 people marching along downtown streets while police barricaded all connecting sideroads – jammed up traffic to the point that Martin finally arrived at the FAN studios with just seconds left in the program.
Globe and Mail columnist Steve Brunt was called in to replace Martin, and he offered his opinion that Canadian curling has the most difficult qualifying procedure of all the Olympic sports, due mostly to the sheer number of elite-level teams that hail from from Canada.
What about hockey, asked host Bob “Bobcat” McCown?
No, replied Brunt, that team is selected and besides, there is still a much higher percentage of Canadian elite players in curling than in hockey.
In case you are wondering, Brunt doesn’t talk or write much about curling, but he has scripted the occasional gem, such as this one from 2007.
MacLean was then introduced and both McCown and Brunt guffawed that “MacLean hates curling anyways”.
MacLean, of course, immediately protested. “No, I love curling,” he said, and the Sportsnet guy then proceeded to declare that he knows “Canadian junior champion Susan Gallant, who is from Summerside, PEI.”
Uh... did MacLean mean Canadian junior men’s champion skip Brett Gallant, who is from Charlottetown?
Whatever.
The show then moved on to hockey, which is at least 80 per cent of the show’s content at any given time.
Martin finally arrived and was rushed into the studio.
“So were back, and we’ve got about sixty seconds,” said McCown. “Kevin Martin is here. Hi Kevin. Bye Kevin.” Laughs all around.
“Welcome to Toronto.” Indeed!
Brunt noted KMart is a “pro curler” and the Old Bear promptly denied this, saying “Nope, there’s no such thing.” Everyone promptly agreed there wasn’t enough time to start debating that issue... which could lead, of course, to this issue.
The only real question for Martin concerned his summer plans. “You take an hour off in the summer and then you’re back at it?” asked McCown.
Martin replied, to some surprise, that he is on vacation now and gets back into training on August 4. And that was that, show over.
Hi Kevin. Bye Kevin.
Martin photo by Anil Mungal/Capital One.
Protest photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters.
Date Published: May 14, 2009 - 2:13 pm
So, Randy Ferbey and his troops went back to the future with their absolutely enormous win over Glenn Howard in the final of the Grey Power Players’ Championship.
Actually, it’s been quite a season for the Ferbs.
Their increasingly desperate search for that elusive spot in December’s Olympic Trials saw them travel the country at a frenetic pace, with Ferbey and lead Rocque Marcel competing, at one point, for 10 weekends in a row prior to Christmas.
Then there was the big win at the Casino Rama Skins Game in January, which featured the Ferb’s first win over arch rival Kevin Martin in some 10 or so attempts.
Then came their second straight series of three losses, all to KMart, to lose the Alberta Tankard championship. Off Martin went, to his fourth consecutive Brier.
After licking their wounds, the squad travelled to Bear Mountain – played some golf, threw some rocks – and started gearing up for the Players’ Championship.
And the rest, they say, is history. Or in the case of the Ferbey Four, the chance to rewrite history, come December.
All of this adds value to a special collectible artwork print the Ferbs have for sale, by artist Janet Deane (above, click to zoom in). Yes indeed, the Olympic Dream is alive and well.
Fans can select a limited edition Giclee framed print in two sizes, either 22x35 or 14x22.
Order through this website.
Elsewhere in this world of curling... which is still very much active, by the way...
• The World Mixed Doubles are into the playoffs in gorgeous Cortina D’Ampezzo in the mountains of Italy, and there is tons of stories and pics available front and centre at the WCF website.
. At this time of writing, Hungary has emerged through two sets of tiebreakers to take on Finland, and the winner plays undefeated Canada in one semifinal. China and defending champions Switzerland are in the other semi.
Canadian competitor Sean Grassie is a budding journalist – as we explained during the Canadian Mixed – and Grassie is once again writing a column on his experiences for his hometown Winnipeg Sun. You can find his thoughts, in order, located here, then here, then here, and from today ...
• And let’s not forget the World Seniors, underway tomorrow in equally gorgeous New Zealand ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that a car blog – of all things – got in on the Ford Worlds excitement in Moncton, with two postings, here and here? Well, okay, now you do.
• Speaking of Moncton, Swiss third Jan Hauser, who ranked in the top 5 of the TCN Blog’s “Ford World Hotties” competition, seems to have his very own, er, dedicated fan ...
• Seems that after saying something rather forceful about Scotland, Cary was forced to eat some crow ...
• And Canadians should eat crow. Not only did the Lockerbie four win three in a row against the red and white, the hosts then proceeded to play the wrong national anthem... a point we have previously noted, and which gets some (fortunately) good-natured Scottish griping here ...
• Yes, it was a victorious return for the Scots, and good ol’ Bob was there, too ...
• WCF President Les Harrison sent in this letter of thanks to his hometown newspaper ...
• It’s finally happened. Osama Bin Laden has appeared in a curling spoof.
Funny yes, or funny no?
• DID YOU KNOW II: that amid the hullaballoo over KMart throwing his world championship away, the Old Bear did it again, at the Players’ Championship?
• Curling has got Jackie going ARRGGHH. We know the feeling ...
• And finally, poor Aaron. His curling debut was total FUBAR ...
Actually, it’s been quite a season for the Ferbs.
Their increasingly desperate search for that elusive spot in December’s Olympic Trials saw them travel the country at a frenetic pace, with Ferbey and lead Rocque Marcel competing, at one point, for 10 weekends in a row prior to Christmas.
Then there was the big win at the Casino Rama Skins Game in January, which featured the Ferb’s first win over arch rival Kevin Martin in some 10 or so attempts.
Then came their second straight series of three losses, all to KMart, to lose the Alberta Tankard championship. Off Martin went, to his fourth consecutive Brier.
After licking their wounds, the squad travelled to Bear Mountain – played some golf, threw some rocks – and started gearing up for the Players’ Championship.
And the rest, they say, is history. Or in the case of the Ferbey Four, the chance to rewrite history, come December.
All of this adds value to a special collectible artwork print the Ferbs have for sale, by artist Janet Deane (above, click to zoom in). Yes indeed, the Olympic Dream is alive and well.
Fans can select a limited edition Giclee framed print in two sizes, either 22x35 or 14x22.
Order through this website.
Elsewhere in this world of curling... which is still very much active, by the way...
• The World Mixed Doubles are into the playoffs in gorgeous Cortina D’Ampezzo in the mountains of Italy, and there is tons of stories and pics available front and centre at the WCF website.
. At this time of writing, Hungary has emerged through two sets of tiebreakers to take on Finland, and the winner plays undefeated Canada in one semifinal. China and defending champions Switzerland are in the other semi.
Canadian competitor Sean Grassie is a budding journalist – as we explained during the Canadian Mixed – and Grassie is once again writing a column on his experiences for his hometown Winnipeg Sun. You can find his thoughts, in order, located here, then here, then here, and from today ...
• And let’s not forget the World Seniors, underway tomorrow in equally gorgeous New Zealand ...
• DID YOU KNOW: that a car blog – of all things – got in on the Ford Worlds excitement in Moncton, with two postings, here and here? Well, okay, now you do.
• Speaking of Moncton, Swiss third Jan Hauser, who ranked in the top 5 of the TCN Blog’s “Ford World Hotties” competition, seems to have his very own, er, dedicated fan ...
• Seems that after saying something rather forceful about Scotland, Cary was forced to eat some crow ...
• And Canadians should eat crow. Not only did the Lockerbie four win three in a row against the red and white, the hosts then proceeded to play the wrong national anthem... a point we have previously noted, and which gets some (fortunately) good-natured Scottish griping here ...
• Yes, it was a victorious return for the Scots, and good ol’ Bob was there, too ...
• WCF President Les Harrison sent in this letter of thanks to his hometown newspaper ...
• It’s finally happened. Osama Bin Laden has appeared in a curling spoof.
Funny yes, or funny no?
• DID YOU KNOW II: that amid the hullaballoo over KMart throwing his world championship away, the Old Bear did it again, at the Players’ Championship?
• Curling has got Jackie going ARRGGHH. We know the feeling ...
• And finally, poor Aaron. His curling debut was total FUBAR ...
Date Published: Apr 23, 2009 - 11:57 am
Here’s Glenn Howard in action at the Grey Power Players’ Championship in Grande Prairie, whihc wraps up this weekend on CBC Sports (Capital One photo by Anil Mungal).
What is Glenn indicating...?
a) Uh, Richie... you left something here in the hack
b) Follow my finger. This is the Grand Slam, people
c) Hi there, excuse me. Remember me? I’m Glenn Howard. That means I’m not Kevin Martin.
True dat, Cliffy.
KMart’s boondoggle in the 10th end of Sunday’s Ford Worlds finale is still being talked about. Again and again.
It may end up being the most talked-about world final since that memorable hoof by Boots Labonte.
Here’s a rundown of some of the stuff that is out there:
• This awesome CurlingZone thread has discussion galore, including image graphics of the 10th end scenario with Martin’s teammates’ telestrated thoughts of what they would have preferred to throw! Coolio.
• 42 comments posted to this Glob & Flail story ...
• TCN’s own Matt Hames, from his own blog ...
• Comments from Martin himself, and more from some of his peers currently competing in Grande Prairie.
Finally, why not join the hundreds of thousands who have watched the replay of the 10th end on TSN’s Video On Demand Player? Click here and join in the speculation.
You can also check out the highlights here ...
What is Glenn indicating...?
a) Uh, Richie... you left something here in the hack
b) Follow my finger. This is the Grand Slam, people
c) Hi there, excuse me. Remember me? I’m Glenn Howard. That means I’m not Kevin Martin.
True dat, Cliffy.
KMart’s boondoggle in the 10th end of Sunday’s Ford Worlds finale is still being talked about. Again and again.
It may end up being the most talked-about world final since that memorable hoof by Boots Labonte.
Here’s a rundown of some of the stuff that is out there:
• This awesome CurlingZone thread has discussion galore, including image graphics of the 10th end scenario with Martin’s teammates’ telestrated thoughts of what they would have preferred to throw! Coolio.
• 42 comments posted to this Glob & Flail story ...
• TCN’s own Matt Hames, from his own blog ...
• Comments from Martin himself, and more from some of his peers currently competing in Grande Prairie.
Finally, why not join the hundreds of thousands who have watched the replay of the 10th end on TSN’s Video On Demand Player? Click here and join in the speculation.
You can also check out the highlights here ...
Date Published: Apr 17, 2009 - 9:25 am
MONCTON – The Moncton Coliseum was full to the rafters Sunday night, and I was able to witness a rather amazing 50th anniversary men’s world championship final.
From my part, I'd like to thank gk for the opportunity to blog from this event. It was a blast!
Kudos for Moncton for the organization: everyone here ensured that the event is a success. Even the nightlife of a relatively small city offered plenty of entertainment throughout the week and I must tell you, those long nights are starting to show.
To quote the three-year-old daughter of a Finnish curling legend: “Mommy... Daddy smells like curling again!”
Thankfully, I’ve got no spouse nor kids waiting at home.
In addition to sleep deprivation and liver poisoning, I will go home with plenty of memories and new friends. After seeing a major curling event in Canada, I’m definitely tempted to come and check out another... perhaps next year’s Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax?
While I was disappointed for my brother Kalle (with me in the photo) and the Finnish team, I know they enjoyed themselves, from the moment they started their training camp in nearby Amherst, Nova Scotia to the final round of drink tokens in Sunday night’s Keith’s Patch.
And now that the week is over, it is also time to announce the winner of our “Hottest Player of Worlds 2009” vote.
Although I felt like an utter and complete bimbo for organizing it, the people in Moncton seemed to enjoy a bit of cheeky fun... and even the local media was happy to feature it to emphasize a different aspect of these big curling events.
When choosing my list of candidates, I consulted the media guys who were happy to help, once they had gotten the “I’m not gay, don’t ask me!” out of their system.
In addition to the voting possibility here at the blog – check out the first six candidates (and comments) here, and the final six candidates here – there was a paper vote available at the arena, and hundreds of ballots were cast.
For starters, all 12 nominated players received votes so there truly is an abundance of hot men in this game!
Also, three other gentlemen outside of our vote had caught the eye of the female spectators, and are nited for the record: Switzerland’s Markus Eggler, French front-ender Jan Ducroz and Scottish third Ewan MacDonald.
The result of the balloting went down to the wire. The difference between the winner and the player who came second was only two votes and our top two hotties hogged more than half of all the votes for themselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Top 5:
1. Thomas Ulsrud (Norway)
2. John Morris (Canada)
3. David Murdoch (Scotland)
4. Andreas Lang (Germany)
5. Tied: Thomas Dufour (France), Jan Hauser (Switzerand) and Jiri Snitil (Czech Republic).
Thank you Moncton... and farewell!
From my part, I'd like to thank gk for the opportunity to blog from this event. It was a blast!
Kudos for Moncton for the organization: everyone here ensured that the event is a success. Even the nightlife of a relatively small city offered plenty of entertainment throughout the week and I must tell you, those long nights are starting to show.
To quote the three-year-old daughter of a Finnish curling legend: “Mommy... Daddy smells like curling again!”
Thankfully, I’ve got no spouse nor kids waiting at home.
In addition to sleep deprivation and liver poisoning, I will go home with plenty of memories and new friends. After seeing a major curling event in Canada, I’m definitely tempted to come and check out another... perhaps next year’s Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax?
While I was disappointed for my brother Kalle (with me in the photo) and the Finnish team, I know they enjoyed themselves, from the moment they started their training camp in nearby Amherst, Nova Scotia to the final round of drink tokens in Sunday night’s Keith’s Patch.
And now that the week is over, it is also time to announce the winner of our “Hottest Player of Worlds 2009” vote.
Although I felt like an utter and complete bimbo for organizing it, the people in Moncton seemed to enjoy a bit of cheeky fun... and even the local media was happy to feature it to emphasize a different aspect of these big curling events.
When choosing my list of candidates, I consulted the media guys who were happy to help, once they had gotten the “I’m not gay, don’t ask me!” out of their system.
In addition to the voting possibility here at the blog – check out the first six candidates (and comments) here, and the final six candidates here – there was a paper vote available at the arena, and hundreds of ballots were cast.
For starters, all 12 nominated players received votes so there truly is an abundance of hot men in this game!
Also, three other gentlemen outside of our vote had caught the eye of the female spectators, and are nited for the record: Switzerland’s Markus Eggler, French front-ender Jan Ducroz and Scottish third Ewan MacDonald.
The result of the balloting went down to the wire. The difference between the winner and the player who came second was only two votes and our top two hotties hogged more than half of all the votes for themselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Top 5:
1. Thomas Ulsrud (Norway)
2. John Morris (Canada)
3. David Murdoch (Scotland)
4. Andreas Lang (Germany)
5. Tied: Thomas Dufour (France), Jan Hauser (Switzerand) and Jiri Snitil (Czech Republic).
Thank you Moncton... and farewell!
Date Published: Apr 14, 2009 - 6:15 am
MONCTON – Some thoughts on the 50th anniversary Ford Worlds in Moncton, before we hand the last word(s) over to ace blogstress Katja Kiiskinen:
• We (The Curling News) printed a loud warning to Canadian curling fans on the front cover of the January 2009 issue, when we described David Murdoch as the “Neo” of curling and explained that his full-time curling duties are now focussed specifically on beating Canada for Olympic gold next year in Vancouver.
Three wins in a row over the hosts in Moncton, for his second trophy in four years, is a good start to his ultimate goal.
• Having said that, we note that the young Scots’ two major wins this season came on steals in the championship final: a heavy draw from Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud at the Europeans and Kevin Martin’s shanked raise takeout last night.
What does this mean? Like all the curling greats, these Scots can find a number of ways to win.
• Speaking of Martin, the questions will continue to come all this week as the Grey Power Players’ Championship gets underway tomorrow – yes, tomorrow – in Grande Prairie. Martin is in the hunt for big bucks, but will his head be in the hunt?
You can find many of these questions online, such as the 62 comments posted (at this time of writing) listed below this CBC Sports Online story.
Other queries come from Terry Jones, who is a big fan of John Morris’ “Gong Show” quote, and who gathered quotes from rival Randy Ferbey and even The Old Bear Cubs from the on-ice microphones for this interesting story.
Here’s another from Dan Barnes, another Edmonton writer who is joining in on the pile-on atop one of his town’s favourite sons.
There’s also this one here from Al Cameron, although we beg to differ that “not a soul” in the Coliseum could see Martin’s non-throw coming.
We did. And we told our media bench neighbours about it, and we were vindicated when it happened.
KMart is known for this kind of thing. Skins Games, in which he throws tens of thousands of dollars away just to keep the hammer coming home. Extreme corner guards, just off the carpet, when trying to steal... just to make the other skip pause and think a little.
We saw it coming. And we called it.
• This Cameron finale points a finger at Scottish second Peter Smith, who also had some struggles in earlier matches in Moncton ...
• Yet another Al Cam piece – this one from his blog – also points out the cringe-worthy anthem that was played at ice level during the closing ceremony. Ye Gods.
Scottish people do NOT like hearing Ingerlund’s national anthem in place of their own.
Ye Gods!
• As for the Scots, what do they think? Mike Haggerty’s words - which include the classic “mayhem” – are located here, while Bob Cowan wondered if it was all a dream ...
• Yes, the opening ceremony dragged on far too long but it was quite a thrill to see something so “big” and glitzy to start the week. The legends who were there – all four Richardsons, The Owl, Eigil Ramsfjell, The Ferb and more – were a fantastic addition. The ancient trophies – from the Scotch Cup to both Silver Brooms – were amazing to see.
• Funny stuff you TV viewers never get to see: veteran curling arena announcer Stuart Brown screaming KMart’s pre-game (semifinal) intro before a crazed crowd: “Kevin HOWARD!”
This on live television, beamed around the world.
Martin’s teammates collapse in gales of laughter.
Martin himself looks befuddled, then smiles, shaking his head.
Stu drops to his knees in disbelief.
Russ Howard is, of course, loving it.
“That was hilarious,” said Martin afterwards.
“You know what? The problem is I don’t hear very well. I actually didn’t hear it. Had to ask the boys what happened and they were killing themselves.
“That’s a good blooper. But I don’t think he (Brown) mixed me up with Russ (Howard). I’ll bet he mixed me up with Glenn (Howard).
“Glenn and I have the similar hairline.”
• What does Moncton think? Here’s not one but two pieces in today’s local blat. And we agree: great show, folks.
• A reminder that you can watch highlights and full-game rebroadcasts through TSN’s Video On Demand player, via this page.
CCA photo by Michael Burns
• We (The Curling News) printed a loud warning to Canadian curling fans on the front cover of the January 2009 issue, when we described David Murdoch as the “Neo” of curling and explained that his full-time curling duties are now focussed specifically on beating Canada for Olympic gold next year in Vancouver.
Three wins in a row over the hosts in Moncton, for his second trophy in four years, is a good start to his ultimate goal.
• Having said that, we note that the young Scots’ two major wins this season came on steals in the championship final: a heavy draw from Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud at the Europeans and Kevin Martin’s shanked raise takeout last night.
What does this mean? Like all the curling greats, these Scots can find a number of ways to win.
• Speaking of Martin, the questions will continue to come all this week as the Grey Power Players’ Championship gets underway tomorrow – yes, tomorrow – in Grande Prairie. Martin is in the hunt for big bucks, but will his head be in the hunt?
You can find many of these questions online, such as the 62 comments posted (at this time of writing) listed below this CBC Sports Online story.
Other queries come from Terry Jones, who is a big fan of John Morris’ “Gong Show” quote, and who gathered quotes from rival Randy Ferbey and even The Old Bear Cubs from the on-ice microphones for this interesting story.
Here’s another from Dan Barnes, another Edmonton writer who is joining in on the pile-on atop one of his town’s favourite sons.
There’s also this one here from Al Cameron, although we beg to differ that “not a soul” in the Coliseum could see Martin’s non-throw coming.
We did. And we told our media bench neighbours about it, and we were vindicated when it happened.
KMart is known for this kind of thing. Skins Games, in which he throws tens of thousands of dollars away just to keep the hammer coming home. Extreme corner guards, just off the carpet, when trying to steal... just to make the other skip pause and think a little.
We saw it coming. And we called it.
• This Cameron finale points a finger at Scottish second Peter Smith, who also had some struggles in earlier matches in Moncton ...
• Yet another Al Cam piece – this one from his blog – also points out the cringe-worthy anthem that was played at ice level during the closing ceremony. Ye Gods.
Scottish people do NOT like hearing Ingerlund’s national anthem in place of their own.
Ye Gods!
• As for the Scots, what do they think? Mike Haggerty’s words - which include the classic “mayhem” – are located here, while Bob Cowan wondered if it was all a dream ...
• Yes, the opening ceremony dragged on far too long but it was quite a thrill to see something so “big” and glitzy to start the week. The legends who were there – all four Richardsons, The Owl, Eigil Ramsfjell, The Ferb and more – were a fantastic addition. The ancient trophies – from the Scotch Cup to both Silver Brooms – were amazing to see.
• Funny stuff you TV viewers never get to see: veteran curling arena announcer Stuart Brown screaming KMart’s pre-game (semifinal) intro before a crazed crowd: “Kevin HOWARD!”
This on live television, beamed around the world.
Martin’s teammates collapse in gales of laughter.
Martin himself looks befuddled, then smiles, shaking his head.
Stu drops to his knees in disbelief.
Russ Howard is, of course, loving it.
“That was hilarious,” said Martin afterwards.
“You know what? The problem is I don’t hear very well. I actually didn’t hear it. Had to ask the boys what happened and they were killing themselves.
“That’s a good blooper. But I don’t think he (Brown) mixed me up with Russ (Howard). I’ll bet he mixed me up with Glenn (Howard).
“Glenn and I have the similar hairline.”
• What does Moncton think? Here’s not one but two pieces in today’s local blat. And we agree: great show, folks.
• A reminder that you can watch highlights and full-game rebroadcasts through TSN’s Video On Demand player, via this page.
CCA photo by Michael Burns
Date Published: Apr 13, 2009 - 7:08 am
by Katja Kiiskinen
MONCTON – gk told me about this story; I think it’s very cool. So here it is for you.
As the World Curling Federation website revealed yesterday, another milestone (after Burnsie’s 50th at the 50th) was reached by Switzerland’s Markus Eggler, the 1992 world champion who took over skip duties here in Moncton midway through the event.
Switzerland’s semifinal loss to Canada marked Eggler’s 125th career appearance in a Swiss uniform, which encompasses four competitions: World Juniors, European Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games. This is a Swiss record.
The black and white pic is taken from Dartmouth, way back in 1986. It was the first-ever World appearance for Eggler (crouching at right) and, lo and behold, another young stallion named Kevin Martin (top left).
Obviously, the colour pic was taken last night. Both images are credited to Michael Burns. Montage courtesy Anil Mungal. Click to zoom in.
The brief story about their friendship, which also extends between Eggler and Martin’s father, Ab, is really what curling is all about.
Congratulations Markus!
As the World Curling Federation website revealed yesterday, another milestone (after Burnsie’s 50th at the 50th) was reached by Switzerland’s Markus Eggler, the 1992 world champion who took over skip duties here in Moncton midway through the event.
Switzerland’s semifinal loss to Canada marked Eggler’s 125th career appearance in a Swiss uniform, which encompasses four competitions: World Juniors, European Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games. This is a Swiss record.
The black and white pic is taken from Dartmouth, way back in 1986. It was the first-ever World appearance for Eggler (crouching at right) and, lo and behold, another young stallion named Kevin Martin (top left).
Obviously, the colour pic was taken last night. Both images are credited to Michael Burns. Montage courtesy Anil Mungal. Click to zoom in.
The brief story about their friendship, which also extends between Eggler and Martin’s father, Ab, is really what curling is all about.
Congratulations Markus!
Date Published: Apr 12, 2009 - 4:52 pm
