Thursday 31 January 2013

Barrie is a great spot for Ontario Dominion Tankard

Ontario Tankard--Barrie is perfect

 


This is the first time that the Dominion Tankard men's provincial curling championships will be held in Barrie. Action runs from Feb. 4-10.

They are hosting the Tankard at the Barrie Molson Centre, which is a beautiful and modern venue. It's home of the OHL's Barrie Colts.

I think Barrie will be a great host for a number of reasons.

The last time the Tankard was held in a large venue was 2007, when the provincial championship was held at Sarnia's Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre (now called RBC Centre).

I presume it must be a tough decision for the Ontario Curling Association whether to go big or go small for venues. If you go big it could look a bit empty on television. If you go small, you might have the same problem that the Kitchener-Waterloo Curling Club when hosting the Ontario Scotties last week. From people I talked to, they said it was packed and seats (especially VIP seats) were hard to come by.

Hopefully the Dominion Tankard is a success. I would love to see a crowd of 3,000-4,000 at the final.

Barrie is a perfect host for a number of reasons.

One: Close to Toronto: In case you haven't heard, Toronto is the centre of the universe. It's also the media capital of Canada. Mid-sized newspapers and radio do a good job covering curling in the province. Kudos to London Free Press and Kitchener Record and other medium sized daily and weekly papers such as Woodstock, Mississauga, Stratford and Wallaceburg that do a good job covering curling.
I've found the large Toronto newspapers and radio stations are hit and miss when it comes to curling. It's not their fault, they have to report on important issues like the Toronto Maple Leafs morning skate and the status of Colton Orr.

Two: Junior A hockey rink: Being in a large venue where they play OHL hockey makes it look like a professional event. I've chided the OCA this week for their duct tape follies, but with television coverage, and a good organization in place, the provincial finals has the opportunity to be a premier event.

Three: Central location: A lot of people are coming from all over the province. Ottawa is only about five hours. Hamilton is an hour and a half, same with Guelph/Kitchener and Waterloo. London is two hours away.
With a central location it makes it fun to load up the car, see a couple draws of curling and still be home before midnight.

Four: Howard factor: When you've won the past seven titles you can call the shots. Midland, Meaford and Port Carling are all close by and for Team Howard it's like a homecoming. After years of being the New York Yankees of the Ontario curling scene, Team Howard plays in Barrie and will have a large number of friends, family and fans on hand.
Cheering for Team Howard is like going to Casino Rama and cheering for the blackjack dealers. However, Barrie will be different. It will be Howardpalooza, and that's okay. They deserve it.

I thought Stratford did a great job of hosting the provincials last year and deserve to be in the rotation to host the event every 10 years.

Smith Falls is scheduled to host the Tankard in 2014.

If Barrie is a success, I would go as far to say that they should host it at least every five years. It has a lot going for it.
In the past the OCA has held the event in smaller cities and venues. Stratford (2012), Grimsby (2011), Napanee (2010), Woodstock (2009), Waterloo (2008).

It would be nice to see 10,000 people fill the Molson Centre during the week. It would be awesome if the draws brought in about 500 fans, the playoffs games around 1,500-2,000 fans and the final brought in close to a full house. That would bring in about 15-16,000 people.

Ticket packages are already on sale at the Barrie Molson Centre box office, by phoning TicketPro at 1-888-655-9090 or by e-mail at barrietankardtickets2013@gmail.com. Individual tickets will go on sale Saturday.

I will preview the field this weekend.

For more information, visit www.thedominiontankard2013.ca.

For a television schedule, go here:




Wednesday 30 January 2013

Ontario curling and duct tape

Duct tape those nasty bits


As I watched the Ontario Scotties this past weekend I kept getting distracted.

It wasn't by the great curling, it wasn't by the athletes, it was by the duct tape on the curler's jackets that covered up sponsors.

The duct tape was almost screaming: "look at me!"

I will once again get distracted next week when I watch the action in Barrie when the Ontario Dominion Tankard teams hit the ice. The duct tape covering sponsors in just dumb. Fans know it. Curlers know it. It just seems silly for the Ontario Curling Association to force curlers to cover up sponsors.

Rules stipulate that only a certain number of sponsors (four or five) are allowed to be worn by curlers.

Let's be frank. Curling is not a large revenue sport. Sponsors are needed to help fund curlers. Except for Glenn Howard, almost all curling teams have local sponsors. They are mostly tasteful and are less of a distraction than duct tape. If it wasn't for sponsors a lot of teams couldn't afford to be in elite curling.

It's time for the OCA to come up with a solution. As a fan I don't want to see duct tape on curler's uniforms. It looks bush-league.

Curling star signs with CFL

William Dion

 


When you think of two sports, it's not often that you link curling and football.

Curling has come a long way over the years. Fitness is a key component and due to the increased athleticism in curling, a lot of curlers are or were multi-sport athletes.

Case in point: William Dion.

Dion is a former Canadian junior curling champion (2008). He competed at the Quebec men's curling championship last week, finishing with a 2-7 record. He has also competed in the Canadian mixed curling championships in the past.

He can also boot a football. After a stellar five-year career at University of Sherbrooke, Dion recently signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Aloutettes.

From montrealalouettes.com:

The Montreal Alouettes announced on Wednesday the signing of non-import kicker William Dion to a three-year deal.

Dion (5’11’’, 210 lbs.) played five seasons with the Sherbrooke University Vert et Or from 2008 to 2012, where he set a new CIS record for most career field goals with 82.

Last season, the 25-year-old from Drummondville, QC became the all-time CIS leader when he split the uprights for a 72nd time on October 6, one more than the mark set by the Calgary Dinos' Aaron Ifield in 2010.

“We have been impressed with William as he has continued to raise his level to one that is deserving of a chance to compete in a CFL training camp,” said Alouettes General Manager Jim Popp.

The fifth-year senior successfully connected on 16 of his 24 field goal attempts during his final year at Sherbrooke, good for 66%, including one from 40 yards out. The former Champlain-Lennoxville Cougar also handled all the kicking duties for Sherbrooke in 2012, averaging 52.6 yards on kickoffs and 39.2 yards on punts.

Dion ended his stellar university career ranked fourth on the CIS all-time scoring list with 374 career points.

Not too shabby. I know Dion is a kicker, but he's built like a linebacker.

Another football and curling connection is San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis. Davis is a big supporter of curling. Any friend of curling is a friend of ours.

I could see a number of curlers doing well on the gridiron.

Steve Gould: Imagine with a little weight training how big Gould could be? I imagine the former Team Stoughten lead as a pass-blocking offensive tackle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harden: The members of Team Jacobs are all pretty buff. I could see these guys as defensive ends at the college level. Of course, they would roll up their sleeves so people could see the guns.

Glenn Howard: A pretty good athlete. I could see Howard as a quarterback with his golden locks flowing out of his helmet some 30 years ago.

John Morris: I've heard that the Team Martin vice was a good baseball player in his day. I could see Morris patrolling the middle linebacker position for the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Marc Kennedy: Apparently he was a decent junior football player in Alberta. Could see him lining up at free safety.

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Vic Rauter is Canada's Mr. Curling

Reason I like curling reason #214


Vic Rauter

 


Ok, let's get one thing straight. If you don't like curling broadcaster Vic Rauter, I don't think we can be friends.

Rauter has his critics. He gets mocked for his somewhat corny melodramatic style but it just endears me more towards him.
 
I like his hackneyed phrases.
 
I get goosebumps when he does the countdown after a big shot after a big final shot of an end.

"Count'em up, one, two, three, four, five." I'm tellin' ya, goose-bump city.
 
I love his signature line at the end of broadcasts. "Make the final ____." I know all is right in my world when I hear "make the final."
 
My grandpa had Foster Hewitt, Americans have Vin Scully, curling fans have Vic Rauter.
 
I don't do drugs, but the closest thing I get to nirvana is being in the family room on a cold winter night, hearing the TSN violin intros and bumpers, and the soothing sounds of Vic on the mic, along with Russ and Linda. My curling knowledge always jumps up a bit after watching them in the booth. Overall, the whole production makes my blood pressure drop a bit. With Rauter in control, watching curling on TSN is like heaven on earth. I like his style.
 
He is so good. When he retires, whether that's in five years or 20 years, curling fans are going to miss him. That's why I appreciate him and what he brings to curling telecasts.
 
Rauter is knowledgeable about curling, probably due to his 20-years or so of calling the sport, but I remember when I first started watching and playing curling I thought Rauter did a good job of explaining what is happening for the novice viewer.
 
Of course there are die-hards that watch, but a lot of viewers have never slid out of a hack before. Rauter balances a fine line between speaking to the curling aficionados and also speaking to those who are new to the sport.
 
I also have a personal reason for liking Rauter.
 
I volunteered at the Tim Hortons Brier in London in 2011. I assumed that Rauter would be a bit of a diva, just due to his position. Part of my job was running stats and other information up to him in the broadcast booth. All week I would run it up and he would politely say thank you and I would go on my way.
About an hour before the final I ran up some information that he needed. Rauter was studying all of his notes and was all alone. I gave Rauter his information. As I was walking away all I heard was, “hey, wait a minute.” I thought he was getting ready for a rant and act like a big-shot. Maybe I didn't give him the right information or I didn't give it to him fast enough.
 
I misread him. Rauter addressed me by name (how did he know my name?) looked me in the eyes and said, “I really appreciate all the work you did for me this week. You really helped me out.”
 
Pure class. Rauter is the gold standard.


Monday 28 January 2013

Why do curlers sacrifice so much?

Why do curlers sacrifice so much?


Why do elite curlers sacrifice so much?
Why do they work through the summer so they can take vacations in the winter?
Why do they practice every day?
Why do they miss family events?
Why do they miss their own kids' curling events?
Why do they travel across the country, just to return to work blurry-eyed on Monday morning.
Why do they jam themselves into minivans?
Why do they make sacrifices in their career. Passing up promotions and other moves that would get them further ahead both professionally and financially?
Why do they push themselves physically, just so they can get in good enough shape to sweep 100 ends in a span of six days?
Why do they keep up with the young guns?
Why go to a cold rink, when you can stay at home?
Why do they pay money out of their own pocket to compete?
Why put up with all the sacrifices?

Here's why: (h/t to CBC)

...watch this video of the Nova Scotia women's curling championships from this weekend. This is why it's all worth it. Those 10 seconds when you realize that it was all worth it. Feel the emotion. They are just as excited now as they were the first time they qualified for the Scotties.
It's a grind and it's a large sacrifice, but it's worth it.


http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NS/ID/2329547296/

Sunday 27 January 2013

Super Sunday

College basketball has March Madness, curling has Super Sunday.


The road to the Scottie's Tournament of Hearts will become much clearer tomorrow, as the majority of provinces host their women's curling championships tomorrow.

Curling fanatics can follow the action across the internet. What did curling fans do before the internet?

Here is a quick preview of tomorrow's finals:

Ontario
Rachel Homan versus the Cathy Auld-Sherry Middaugh winner. Homan is undefeated in the tournament and frankly looks unbeatable. She shutout Auld 9-0 in their page game.
It's deja vu all over again as Homan cruised to the finals before losing to Horgan in the finals. Is this the start of a curling dynasty, or is it another year of heartbreak and figuring out what went wrong for Horman?

Manitoba
Jennifer Jones is in the final. She will be able to rest on Sunday and take on the winner of Colleen Kilgallen-Barb Spencer.
Jones beat Kilgallen 11-2 in the page 1-2 game. Other than one blip in pool play, the Jones rink looks in top-shape, which is remarkable considering skip Jennifer Jones had a baby just over a month ago.

Saskatchewan
Stefanie Lawton is in the final, and she will play the winner of Amber Holland versus Jill Shumay.
Holland is the third-seed and blew up her team after a Scottie's championship and a run as Team Canada.

Alberta
Two-time provincial champion Renee Sonnenberg is in the Alberta Scotties final after a 10-3 rout over Edmonton's Laura Crocker in the Page 1-2 game.
It would be a nice win for Sonnenberg, the pride of Grande Prairie  who won provincial titles over 10 years ago (1999, 2001).

Crocker will face Calgary's Kristie Moore in the semifinal. Moore beat Shannon Kleibrink from Calgary 8-2 in the other page playoff.

Quebec
Ontario import Allisson Ross has been dominant, going undefeated. She will play the Julie Hamel-Eve Belisle winner. 
Six-time Quebec champion Marie-France Larouche didn't make it to the playoffs, which is a bit of a surprise.

Nova Scotia
Mary-Anne Arsenault versus Jocelyn Nix in the final. Arsenault's vice is Colleen Jones. The media will go gaga if Jones is back at the Scotties. She has made 20 Scotties appearances. Her first trip was in 1979 and her last was in 2006. She has six Canadian titles. She can also tells me the weather every  morning with a gleam in her eye. So she has that going for her too.

PEI
Suzanne Birt has one of the final berths locked up.

The Ontario semi-finals and finals will be on Sportsnet, as will the Alberta and Manitoba finals. Check listings for exact times and channels.

Here in Ontario, the semifinals will start at 9:30 a.m. They will then be followed the Grand Slam of Curling: The National final at 1 p.m. and the Ontario final at 4 p.m. A lot of curling jampacked into one day. I've got the nachos and chilli already started.

The 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will take place in Kingston, February 16-24 in the K-Rock Centre

Saturday 26 January 2013

Guy Hemmings last hurrah

Guy Hemmings just wrapped up his competitive curling career, finishing with a 4-5 record at the Quebec Tankard championships this past week.
Hemmings confirmed on Tweeter this morning that it was his last provincial run.
Count me in as a big fan. He deserves the title of Clown Prince of Curling.
Who can forget the 1998 Brier when the lights went out during his final against Ontario's Wayne Middaugh. In the dark, Hemmings changed the scoreboard to show that he was winning, not losing.
Hemmings has done a lot to promote curling, not only in Quebec but across the country.
When Hemmings made his four Brier appearances (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003) he gave curling a jolt that it needed. Heck, it could still need a jolt today. That's why I was secretly cheering for Hemmings this week. Imagine the media hype if Hemmings made it to the Brier one last time, especially since he's on the wrong side of 50.
This won't be the end of Hemmings curling involvement. He will be one of those guys who will be kicking around, doing broadcasting and will be a guest speaker at curling clubs for as long as he wants. He has the market on charisma. So much so that the Canadian Curling Association created the Guy Hemmings Rockin' the House Tour to help promote the game across the country.

Friday 25 January 2013

Ontario Bantam Curler

Curling is my passion



The Brantford Expositor has a great profile on Ontario Bantam curler Tucker Hofstetter. It details his passion for the game and how that passion is spurred by the loss of his father a couple years ago.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/01/24/curling-is-my-passion

Hofstetter will be playing in the upcoming Ontario Bantam provincials. His coach is Howard's former vice Richard Hart.

The Expositor's Brian Smiley writes about the theme of father-son bonding in curling.

I just read it. It's getting a little dusty in here.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

The zen of curling begins now


If you like curling, and I assume you do because you clicked here, then this is the time of year that you love. (If you clicked here based on the title Hurry Hard and were expecting porn, you're in the wrong spot.)
Right now we're in the zen of curling. From now until the end of March they really pack in the curling. Provincials, Scotties, Briers, juniors, worlds...a lot is going on.
This is what I call the zen of curling. Everything comes together and curling is on television just about every weekend. Life is good.
Provincial finals will take place this weekend for women's curling in a handful of provinces, including Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, PEI.
There is also a Grand Slam of Curling event as The National takes place at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. Action starts tonight (Wednesday).
Eighteen of the best men's teams will be taking part. It will be on Sportsnet starting on Thursday.
A lot of the provincial women's finals will be on television this weekend as well.
The zen lasts about 11 weeks. Enjoy the zen while it lasts.

Alberta women's curling championship

Field is so deep


Looking at the roster of the Alberta women's curling championship, one thing that stands out is how deep the field is this year. I thought a similar thing about Ontario's field where there are 4-5 strong contenders and even a couple teams after that could make a run.


The favourites in Alberta will have to include Shannon Kleibrink, Laura Crocker, Crystal Webster, Val Sweeting, Renee Sonnenberg, Casey Scheidegger, Jessie Kaufman and Lisa Eyamie. Really, it's anyone's game.

Also remember, Cheryl Bernard and Amy Nixon lost out in qualifiers. Heather Nedohin will receive an automatic berth due to her Scotties win last year. This shows that Alberta is so deep with curling talent.

Parity is a good thing. Sometimes in men's curling it seems that it's dominated by just a handful. Martin, Stoughton, Koe and Howard dominate the men's side.

Women's curling is more balanced. Some team will rise to the top. Whoever gets out of Alberta will be well-tested and have to be considered a favourite for the Scotties.

The Alberta women's championship starts today in the windy city of Lethbridge.

Here's the Alberta Scotties website: http://www.2013albertascotties.com/

Norm Cowley of the Edmonton Journal has a preview here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/curling/Kaufman+feels+confident+heading+into+Alberta+women/7857023/story.html

Shot of the week so far at Ontario Scotties


Even though it's only Wednesday, everyone at the Ontario Scotties being held in Waterloo is still buzzing about the amazing shot Cathy Auld made to defeat Team Mouzar last night.

Our good friends over at www.curlinggeek.com are doing a great job following the Ontario Scotties. Here's a link they have that shows an illustration of the triple raise that Auld made to win it.

When you see a shot like that you almost expect circus music to play in the background.

https://twitter.com/curlinggeek/status/294072761570177024/photo/1



Monday 21 January 2013

Ontario Scotties preview

The Ontario  Scotties Tournament of Hearts opens Monday (tonight) at the Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club. Here is a quick preview of the teams. I've ranked them from top to bottom.
These are just my opionons. Feel free to mock me now, or next Sunday at hurryhardblog@gmail.com. I have thick skin.

1. Rachel Homan Ottawa Curling Club
The 2011 champs looked unbeatable last year during pool play, before losing in the final to Tracy Horgan.
They are the favourties, as they have looked good on the bonspiel circuit this fall.
The road to the  Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Olympic trials starts right here right now.

2. Krista McCarville, Thunder Bay Fort William
This is the 10th consecutive year that McCarville has made it to the Ontario women's curling championship. Experience will help grind through pool play. Having Kari Lavoie back will help as well.

3.  Jill Mouzar of Toronto Donalda
My dark horse favourtie. Mouzar is a great shooter. She has represented Nova Scotia at the Scotties. Vice Stephanie LeDrew has experience going to Scotties representing the great provinice of New foundland. They looked good in the challenge round.
Also don't discount the fact that the front end (Danielle Inglis and Hollie Nicol) know the ice and facility really well.

4. Sherry Middaugh, Coldwater
Looking for her firth trip to the Scotties. Another team with a ton of experience to draw on. Do Middaugh and Rizzo have enough for one last shot?

5. Tracy Horgan Sudbury Idlwylde
This team must be getting tired of hearing the f-work. Out to prove that last year was not a fluke. Or the year before, or the year before that when they got to the final.  If they get to the final let's agree never to call last year's win a fluke. This team is talented. They will be in the hunt.

6. Cathy Auld, Mississauga
Another darkhorse. Has a lot of experience. Qualified through challenge round.

7. Kendra Lilly, North Bay Granite
First time at provincials. Talented enough that she should be back many more times. Will probably need some experience before she makes a run for a title.

8. Marlo Dahl, Thunder Bay Port Arthur
Was second at Northern Ontarios in a strong field. That says a lot. Also looked good last year, just finishing out of the playoffs.

9. Jacqueline Harrison, Brant
Don't really know what to say.

10. Julie Hastings, Thornhill Bayview
Played Homan tough at regionals.

The final will be shown on Sportsnet. It will be one of three provincial finals being shown live, along with Alberta and Manitoba.
The final is set for Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. but could change time due to television requirements.
The winner advances to the Canadian Scotties Tournament of Hearts Feb. 16-24 in Kingston .
Brush heads

Ok, strange question but due to our awesome sweeping skills one of our broom heads is all fuzzy like felt. Our other broom head feels like silk.
We're cheap, but we have to admit that the time has come where we have to buy new curling brush heads.

This is where we need help Hurry Hard Nation.

What do you recommend? We've heard good things about both the Balance Plus Equalizer head and we've lately heard good things about the Norway Pad broom head from Goldline.

Any thoughts? What works best for you?

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Casino Rama TSN skins preview

aka Should've been Randy Ferby's swan song


My curling bucket list includes heading to Casino Rama and make it a weekend with Mrs. Hurry Hard to check out the The Dominion All Stars Curling Skins Game presented by Pinty's (aka TSN skins game).

Two reasons why I don't:
1. I usually have a bonspiel that weekend
2. I am afraid that I will be trapped in Orillia for six weeks because of a snow storm.

I live about five hours from Casino Rama. One of these days I intend to to make the trek. Maybe I can rent out some sled dogs if I get stuck on Highway 400.

From what I hear, from friends who have gone before, the event is usually sold out and is entertaining because unlike arena venues, Casino Rama is a bit more intimate and cozy, as there is only one sheet and the stands are close to the action.

According to my TSN moles, this event produces strong ratings numbers year-after-year.

Looking to give the made-for-television event a boost, this year fans voted on the teams taking part. Over half a million votes were cast.

I can't argue with the voting, but have to admit that I am a bit disappointed that Randy Ferby did not make the cut.

It would've been the perfect swansong for Ferby, who earlier this year announced his retirement. It would've been perfect for him to play third for his good buddy Kevin Martin. That's what I call reality television.

(As I type this I look up to see a picture of Ferby and Brad Gushue on my wall. The picture features the two of them, side-by-side, smiling and oh yes, it's autographed. The bidding starts at $500. I also have the picture below on my wall. Bidding starts at $3).


Glenn Howard topped the voting at the skip position with 24,284 votes. Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton was second with 23,684 votes, followed by Alberta's Kevin Martin and Kevin Koe in third and fourth, respectively.

As part of the new format, the team rosters will be determined by the skips drafting their teams during a live broadcast tonight (Thursday Jan. 17) on TSN. I hope to live tweet and live blog the draft, which will feature the four skips picking the names to fill out their teams. It will be must-see tv.

Teammates cannot play on the same team, which organizers will hope will lead to some strange teams and match-ups.

I think it will be a bit surreal.

Imagine the scenarios. Imagine if the made up teams play for a couple games and find out that they have good chemistry. Could John Morris end up playing with Howard? Imagine if Morris moves back to his home province and join's Howard's team next season. 

Kevin Martin returns from his hernia operation and realizes that his front end would be much better with Carter Rycroft.

Steve Gould and Jeff Stoughton making up and getting back together?

Oh the possibilities. This weekend could change the men's curling landscape forever...or it could just be a fun time.

Here is the voting shake down:

Skip:
Glenn Howard   24,248
Jeff Stoughton   23,684
Kevin Martin   22,596
Kevin Koe   19,181

Third:
John Morris   29,677
Jon Mead   28,436
Pat Simmons   18,010
B.J. Neufeld   13,993

Second:
Marc Kennedy   29,482
Carter Rycroft   21,672
Brent Laing   21,032
Reid Carruthers   19,665

Lead:
Ben Hebert 28,751
Craig Savill   23,815
Steve Gould   20,005
Nolan Thiessen   18,555

No matter what happens in the draft, the last person picked will hear about it for a long, long time. Don't believe me? Ask Phil Kessel.

Games will take place on Saturday, 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and on Sunday at, 1 p.m. on TSN.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Backyard curling

I've always wanted to create my own backyard curling rink. The weather in southern Ontario is unpredictable, but with some extra time and effort it can be done.

Here's a news report out of Cleveland about a guy who has built a backyard curling rink for the past three years. Looks like a lot of fun.

http://fox8.com/2013/01/04/backyard-creation-helps-pass-winter-months/

I've heard of people building outdoor rinks before and have seen outdoor bonspiels such as the Ironman Outdoor Curling Bonspiel held annual in Winnipeg on the  on the Assininoine River.

There are a variety of outdoor bonspiels. Taking part in one is on my curling bucket list.



Here's a link on how to build an outdoor rink. A lot of good tips.

http://www.outdoorcurling.ca/Technical/Technical.html

If anyone has pictures of outdoor curling, pass them on our way and we will feature the best ones.

Email us at hurryhardblog@gmail.com



Incredible shot


Okay, it's fake, but still not a bad shot. Also gives me ideas when I am staring down a steal of three.




Like a boss.

Merv Bodnarchuk




If you're ever with a bunch of older curlers, say over 40, and if they're from west of Thunder Bay, just mention the name Merv Bodnarchuk and let the stories begin.

Merv has big dreams and he wanted to take curling to big places. Let's just sum up by saying he fell short—like, not over the hogline short.

When you get together a bunch of elite curlers, especially ones who competed in the Alberta and British Columbia bonspiel circuit in the 1990s, the Merv Bodnarchuk stories come out. Curlers then one-up each other with their best Merv stories. Some of the stories are too far-fetched to be believed, until someone verifies and vouches for them.

If you have a good Merv story, send it here. We will publish the best ones. We promise anonymity.
You can email us hurryhardblog@gmail.com

We know that there are a lot of great Merv stories out there.

The reason why Merv was on our mind was because of this column in Outside magazine. (Isn't it ironic that a magazine about outdoors pursuits has a column about an indoor sport like curling?).


Here's a link to the column. http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/sports/The-Coldest-Stone-Curlings-Most-Infamous-Madman.html


The column references the infamous longform piece by Guy Lawson that came out in 1999. It's a great piece of writing. http://longform.org/stories/merv-curls-lead

When you have some time, pour yourself some brandy, sit back and relax and read the stories about Merv's reign. Reminisce about Merv and send you're best Merv story to us. We know you have a good one. Bonus points if it involves a parking lot dustup.




Monday 14 January 2013

How did I get here? How do I work this?

Why did I start this blog?
First, I like curling. I like playing it. I like watching it.
I also like reading about it.
Curling will never catch up to the popularity of hockey when it comes to the number of people taking part in curling, as well as attendance and television ratings. However, it's apparent that curling has a solid foothold in Canada's sporting culture. Sure, it's not like hockey, taking up 50 minutes of SportsCentre's hour (and that's in July), but it's solid.

It's up there with the CFL, junior hockey and basketball.

Hockey has exploded with blogs over the past few years. However, curling has an information void.

It's not a desert, but it's more like a barren Saskatchewan scrub land.

Hockey has 700,000 sites featuring hockey content. Blogs, forums, rumours, twitter accounts... and that's just about hockey free-agency. Curling has about one percent of what hockey has when it comes for information for fans.

 I think curling fans need a place to go for their curling . The Hurry Hard Blog is written for curling fans by a curling fan.

I will be honest, I don't know what I am doing, but I will try and update daily with interesting news, opinion, thoughts and curling information.

It's time to put another curling blog on the fire.

About Me

southwestern Ontario, Canada
I am a curling junkie. Wanted to create one spot to bring fans of the roaring game together, for information, news and thoughts about curling.