Toronto Brier

Toronto Brier

With the Player's Championship being held in Toronto next week, expect the curling media to jump on the story of curling in Toronto and more specifically, whether Toronto should host a Brier or Scotties championship.

There is a lot of pros, but there is a lot of cons as well. It will be interesting to see whether Toronto could host a major curling championship.

 I am not exactly breaking new ground, as Don Landry has gone here before.

Toronto is a big-league town. People won't bat an eye at paying outrageous prices for Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays and especially Toronto Maple Leaf tickets.

However, fans don't flock to junior hockey in Toronto, as the St. Mikes, Mississauga and Brampton franchises will tell you, as two of the three Toronto franchises have left town for North Bay and Niagara, and if rumours are to be believed, expect the third OHL team to head out to heaven-on-earth, or as I call it, Chatham.

Even the CFL's Argos have attendance issues, as they can only fill up the Stadium Formerly Known as Skydome to less than half capacity. The Buffalo Bills however, despite being a horrible team and having little ties to Toronto, can just about fill up the Skydome/Rogers Centre.

The difference is that the NFL, along with the NBA and NHL are considered A-list products.
The CFL and junior hockey and (sigh) yes, curling, are considered B-level products. A Brier, from an attendance standpoint, would probably be a disaster, which would be a shame.

Saying that, it will be interesting to see how Toronto treats next week's Players Championships being held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

I hope the curling die-hards, and there are tons in Toronto, make their way downtown to watch some curling.

It will be interesting to see how the Toronto media treat having a major curling event in their own backyard. I assume most of the major players will ignore the Players Championship, other than a small story at the beginning of the week, with the Brier speculation, and then ignore it the rest of the week. If TSN shows highlights in minute 57 of Sportscentre I will be impressed.

I also expect the morning talk show types to do a preview-type segment. If you've seen them once you've seen them a million times,--morning host comes down, gives curling a try, yuk it up for a bit and then says "this is much harder than it looks."

Would they do that with baseball or hockey? Nah, it's an A-list event. Can't make fun of that.

Ryan Fry...he's okay in my books

Ryan Fry...he's okay in my books

I don't know Ryan Fry. Met the guy once and he gave me and my kids an autographed picture with him and Brad Gushue and Randy Ferbey. It's hanging up on my office wall.

Judging from this story, it seems that what he thought was a small gesture, meant the world to a little girl and her dad.

From the Victoria Times-Colonist:

He may not be a true world champion, suffering a loss with his Canadian teammates to Sweden on Sunday, but Ryan Fry will always be one in the eyes of two B.C. curling fans.

Fry will be forever be remembered for his generosity by Brad Sheridan and his five-year-old daughter, Georgia, who ventured over from the Lower Mainland during the 2013 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship in Victoria.
“She had never been to a sporting event before, let alone a curling match, but she was excited to cheer for Canada and we watched some games on television together before heading over,” Sheridan said in an email to the Times Colonist.
“We got to the arena a little early and I took her down to ice level. I pointed out the various teams including, of course, the Canadian group. We talked at the railing for a few minutes and had just turned away to go and find our seats when I heard, ‘Here, sweetheart, this is for you.’ ”
That’s when Sheridan turned around, with Georgia in his arms, and saw Fry was giving his daughter his broom.
“She was more astute than I was and was able to say thank you,” Sheridan said. “I was too stunned to do anything.”
Fry then rejoined his team in the warmup.
“It was an incredible gesture and had a profound impact on both of us,” Sheridan added of the encounter that took place prior to Canada’s win over Russia. “Georgia carried the broom with her everywhere that day, being careful that it didn’t touch the floor while she carried it.
“She absolutely could not wait to show it to her mom, running into the house when she got home,” he said. “She has spoken about it every day since.
“I will try and find an address for Mr. Fry so that I can contact him to say thank you, but this amazing act of kindness and thoughtfulness will stay with both of us forever,” Sheridan said. “This was a class act by a Canadian champion.”

Wow.
It's gestures like this that make a youngster a curling fan for life. I know part of the reason why my son likes curling is was because a junior curler (who later represented Canada at a junior world championship) spent some time with him at Little Rocks and went above and beyond in encouraging him on.

Little things mean a lot.

Like I said, I don't know Ryan Fry, but he seems like a classy guy. The reason I am a curling fan is because of stories like this.

Getting hot at the right time

Getting hot at the right time

I read somewhere, and I forget now where I read it, where they compare the Brad Jacobs rink with a hockey team getting on a roll during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It' a pretty adept analogy, as Jacobs' team kinda stumbled into the playoffs, but they look like they're hitting their stride now.

It's important for a curling team to peak at the right time. It looks like this team is peaking.

Final is tonight at 7pm (EST).

For a detailed game summary, read this story from Victoria Times-Colonist.

UPDATE: Should also mention game is on TV. I will also try and live blog or tweet (@hurryhardblog) if my kids don't steal the TV or if the dog continues to drive me nuts wanting outside every 10 minutes.

Ferbey's Jacket

Ferbey's Jacket

If you're like me and you browse Kiijii or eBay for curling memorabilia, make sure you keep on the lookout for Randy Ferby's jacket.

Here's the Edmonton Sun story about Ferby's stolen jacket.

Mounties in Strathcona County need help tracking down a thief who stole a sentimental jacket that belongs to a Sherwood Park curling star.

Someone broke into a vehicle that was parked in the Clarkdale Meadows neighbourhood of Sherwood Park March 11 and stole a blue Team Alberta Curling jacket that belongs to Edmonton-area curler Randy Ferbey.

The jacket is blue in colour with yellow trim and it has eight purple hearts sewn on the left sleeve.
The purple hearts represent the eight appearances the curler has been in the Brier.

The jacket also has “FERBEY” embroidered across the back.

Jeez, I guess if the thief is stupid enough to steal it, he would be stupid enough to wear it around.


“The jacket is extremely valuable to the owner as it holds sentimental value from his experiences representing Alberta and Canada at major curling events,” said Strathcona County RCMP spokesman Wally Henry in a release.

Ferbey, who is now retired, has played in eight Briers, six world championships, four Continental Cups.

He is a six-time Canadian champ and a four-time world champ.

Just a question, and in no way am I trying to judge, but why leave something so valuable in your car? Does Ferbey still wear it around?

Either way, let's hope the person who stole this does the right thing and bring it back and quietly leaves the jacket on his porch overnight.

Curling scholarships

Curling scholarships

I was hanging out with some friends from south-of-the-border last year and just like most guys when they get together, the conversation drifted to sports.

They were talking about college football and how one of their nephews had scooped up a baseball scholarship to an American college in the south.

They then tried to joke with me about Canadian colleges and asked if they gave out curling scholarships. I sheepishly admitted that yes, there are post-secondary institutions that do give out curling athletic scholarships. They thought I was telling a whopper, like the time I told them I let my kids ride the polar bears when they come into our front yard.

I know for a fact that here in Ontario Wilfred Laurier University gives out athletic scholarships to curlers.

There are other scholarship programs offered by Canadian colleges and universities, you just have to search them out.

This crossed my desk and I thought I would pass it on.

Spirit of Sandra Junior Curling Scholarship
There is six scholarships being awarded each year. Scholarships are worth $5,000.

Spirit of Sandra Junior Curling Scholarships are funded through crowd sweeps at Season of Champion Events. These scholarships are intended for young athletes who participate in curling in their graduating year from high school or while pursuing a post-secondary education on a full-time basis. The scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school students entering a post-secondary institution and to students in their first or second year in a post-secondary institution. Recipients must be under the age of 21 years as of March 31, 2014. The aim is to give talented junior curlers the opportunity of combining their competitive curling pursuits with a year of academic study (i.e. September through April) in a Canadian University/College setting.

In recognition of Sandra Schmirler, the three-time Canadian and World Curling Champion and first gold medalist for curling in the Olympics, Scholarships will be awarded in the "Spirit of Sandra" and in the name of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.

You can find out more information here.

Crazy curling parents

Crazy curling parents

This week a pair of outrageous hockey fights involving minor hockey players and parents made front-page news across Canada.

Without going into all the gruesome details, there was a fight between parents of a Tweed Ontario Bantam team and a Six Nations Bantam team and it was captured on video here.

There was also a fight and video of a brawl between Midget teams in PEI, which occurred during the post-game medal ceremony, according to reports.

When I saw those two incidents I thought about when my son was younger. I steered him away from hockey and towards curling, mostly because of the minor hockey politics and baloney. There are some great people in minor hockey, but it has its share of bozos too.

The worst parent behaviour I have seen in junior curling is a couple overzealous parents who coached behind the glass and a couple catty comments. Otherwise, the difference from curling parents and hockey parents, at least from my observation, has been night and day in difference. Curling parents are fairly laid-back compared to hockey parents.

However, at least one person thinks differently. Here's an article in the Sudbury Star from Alan Arkilander who says that takes the behaviour of curling parents to task.

You can read it here.

I am not saying that curling parents are innocent, but I'm not really sure what Arkilander has seen to make his observation:

Even in curling, I have seen poor behaviour by parents, which led the Idylwylde Junior Section to publish a one-page letter about how to behave while their child is curling. Yes folks, even in curling I have seen parents living vicariously through their children, pushing them, spending whatever it takes to get them to the next level, and dwelling on each "bad shot" or loss.

I have seen these children being taught that a win is everything to be gained at any cost, never mind development and having fun.

Anyone have any comments? Has anyone else seen some crazy parent behaviour at curling rinks from parents?

Don't worry, she's got this

Don't worry, she's got this

I haven't checked Curling Zone and it's curling forums in the last little while, but I can almost guarantee that there was a lot of hand-wringing and people worried about Rachel Homan and her team when she started the Women's curling championships 4-3.

Me, I saw it coming a mile away. I didn't lose faith in Team Homan, --I still give them 50-50 odds of winning it all. I said that at the beginning of the worlds they might struggle a bit. Even when they were 4-3 I wasn't too concerned (although I wouldn't have bet my first-born or my house, but I still had confidence).

Here's some reasons why I thought Team Canada might struggle.

1. New...everything
The World's are a different animal. Different teams, different crowds (all 100 fans) and different ice. It takes a while to get used to the set up and get your bearings.

2. Different country
It has to be tough mentally, with jet lag, different food and different toilet paper. You might snicker, but I would be discombobulated if I didn't have my Scotties toilet paper. (Free sponsor plug)

3. Whirlwind
Since winning the Scotties it must have been hard for the team to know up from down. Media appearances, promotional appearances and just dealing with being the curling darlings. People don't realize what a whirlwind the past 2-3 weeks it has been as they juggling curling and life.

4. Unlucky
Team Homan didn't play all that bad in a few of their losses. I watched a couple of the losses and other than a few bad shots, Team Homan looked very Homan-like.
They just happened to be unlucky and the breaks didn't go there way. It happens in hockey, football and basketball. It doesn't mean you're a bad team, it just means you're unlucky.

I don't want to defend the team, just explain to people why they might not have been world-beaters right out of the gate.

Since the shaky start, Team Homan has won five straight  to earn a spot into the playoffs at the world women's curling championship in Riga, Latvia.

Homan will play in the Page playoff 3-4 game, against Russia or the United States.
Scotland (10-1) and Sweden (9-1) will play in the Page playoff 1-2 game. Both countries beat Homan in the round robin.

Even with the hiccups, Team Homan is in good shape. Would I bet my house they will win? Well, I feel very confident that they are now in control. They're just three wins away from gold, so who knows what can happen, but as I've said before, this team gets better through adversity. I would feel more confident with this team with an 8-3 record than a 11-0 or 10-1 record.

Anything can happen, but Canada has just as good a shot as anyone to win the worlds.

I think they have this.

Mixed doubles--don't knock it until you try it

Mixed doubles curling

The inaugural Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials kicked off today and will be held from March 14-17, 2013 at the Leduc Recreation Centre and Leduc Curling Club in lovely Leduc, Alberta.

What's the consensus on mixed curling? From what I've heard it's mixed. (See what I did there?)

Personally, I don't really have an opinion yet. It might be one of those things that grows on me.

I've talked to some curlers and they hate it. Many of the curlers I've talked to call it a novelty. They hate the chasing up to the rock and sweeping.  They hate the fact that curling associations are pushing mixed curling as the next big thing, even going as far as to suggest that mixed curling will be part of the Olympics in by 2018.

In the spirit of openness and honesty, I've never given mixed doubles a shot. Maybe I should play it a few times before I make my opinion.

Saying that, the more that I've thought about it, there is some things I like about mixed doubles curling.

Here's a list of things that intrigue me about the discipline of mixed doubles:

One: It gets more women involved. Curling is largely a male domain. Heck, the other night at my curling club's mixed league, of the 32 players on the ice, only six were women.

Anything that can get more women involved is a good thing.

Two: Different strategy. With more rocks in play it looks like a fun game. Additionally, with only two players, it gets both players involved in strategy and forces you to make different shots. At the very least it's good practice for regular curling.

Three: Helps people make the leap from a novice curler to a more experienced curler. In mixed doubles curling you have to be a good all-around player. I see a lot of curlers who have become one-dimensional over the years because all the do is play lead or skip. Mixed doubles will help you step up your game the more you play.

Four: My men's team will end up only going in two bonspiels this year. Know why? With four guys with different family and work schedules it's just too hard to get us all together at the same time. It would be easier with just two teammates.

Five: Offence. The mixed doubles curling offers a lot of offence. Who doesn't like offence?

Six: Fast. With only five rocks for each team an end I will assume that mixed doubles can get a game in in about 90 minutes, which is good for curlers and for television.

Seven: More curling. Are you going to argue against more curling?

Saying that, mixed doubles has a lot of room to grow. It will be interesting to see if any curling clubs start up mixed doubles leagues in the future or offer up mixed doubles bonspiels. People have to try it before they knock it.

Team building exercise

Team building exercise

What do Team Homan and Team Jacobs have in common?

They're the women's and men's Canadian curling champions?

They're both fit and athletic?

They're both young?

They're both from Ontario?

They both never been in my kitchen?

Um, yeah okay, you're correct, but the best answer is that the teams, with a couple of minor additions and changes, both Brad Jacobs' team and Rachel Homan's team has basically stayed intact since they were pre-teenagers.

I find that remarkable.

It could just be a coincidence, but it must help to play with the same team for over half of your life and you're not even close to 30 yet. It must help with team chemistry, team bonding and I am no psychologist, but it must help with team dynamics.

Perfection is being able to look your friends in the eye and know you did everything you could not to let them down. Whether it's a practice, game or workout, do you think a member of the Homan or Jacobs team can look at each other and not let the other one down? Imagine the connection that the members of Team Homan and Team Jacobs have. They've seen each other at their worst, they've seen each other at their best.

I can't speak for other provinces, but in Ontario at the Bantam and Junior level, teams are slapped together from across the province.

Take a skip from London, a vice from Brampton, a second from Brantford and a lead from Guelph, put them together and you have...well, nobody knows.

A lot of teams drive a lot of miles hoping that they can catch lightning in the bottle with four spare pieces. The funny thing is; a great team might be right under your nose. The best teammates are the people that you hang out with, go to school with and who you know their parents. It's hard to go to the wall for someone you just started playing for last month and frankly you don't really like. It's different when you've grown up with someone your whole life.

Team Homan, for the most part, grew up together in the Ottawa area. They curled together since Little Rocks. Their coach Earle Morris has coached them since back when they were into the Backstreet Boys.

Team Jacobs has been together for just as long. Tom Coulterman, junior curling coordinator at Soo Curlers Association, has coached them since they were young and was touting them back when they were just 12 years-old.

The bulk of the team has been together since high school. In matter of fact, E. J. Harnden was the skip, Ryan Harnden was the second and Brad Jacobs was the lead when they led Sir James Dunn Collegiate out of Sault Ste. Marie to an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association title in Thunder Bay in 2002. Former teammate Caleb Flaxey was vice.

Fast-forward 11 years and the majority of the team (in different positions) won the Brier.

(Yeah, I know Ryan Fry is an addition this year and he is from outside the province, but he was a good addition).

By the way, the Soo Crew beat Peterborough's John Epping 7-2 in the OFSAA final back in 2002. Whatever happened to that Epping guy?

In the next few months, curling teams from across Canada will let some players go, add some players and then try and make it work. Why not follow Team Homan and Team Jacobs' lead and play with your buddies from Little Rocks curling. It worked out pretty well for them. Sometimes sticking it out with the ones you grew up with is the best option and probably the funnest option.

Final Brier thoughts

Final Brier thoughts

As I type this Brad Jacobs and Jeff Stoughton and their teams are warming up for the final.

I planned on watching the heck out of this Brier, but my own curling, my kids curling and other factors led to me only watching a few games on television. I had hoped to watch about 20 hours of curling this week, but truth be told I probably watched half of that.

Even when I had an evening free, I feel asleep in the ninth end and woke up when the game was over. This old horse can rarely make it past 11 p.m. anymore, especially with the late draws being held an hour or two later because they're out in Alberta.

Anyways, here is a few thoughts on what I saw and heard during the past week of Brier action.

Friday night

If there is one memory that will Friday night. The crowd. The excitement. Friday night with the playoff chase and exciting games will be the highlight moment of Brier 2013.

With the crowds at the 2010 Olympics and this Brier crowd, it shows things are changing. This is no longer your grandparents Brier.

Almost makes it worth being there instead of watching on television....almost.

Rocks

Kudos for the Canadian Curling Association in using new stones, as they’re the same type of stones that will be used at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. It's good for players to get used to them before they make the trek to the Olympics.

However, while the stones were used at the Canadian junior curling championships, they threw everyone for a loop by making their debut at the Brier.

Curlers are a funny sort, change is okay, not just when it counts the most. The new curling stones threw everyone for a loop. It would've been nice if they had been used at a variety of events before the Brier so teams could compare notes.

Better planning could've made the rocks less of an issue during the first few days of the Brier.

Social media

Curling has a growing presence on social-media. If you're not following your favourite curlers or teams on Twitter or Facebook, do so now. You know in the future it will be come all corporate and it will not be as engaging or accessible as it is now.

Also kudos to Curling Zone and their curling forum. A great way for curling fans from across the country to talk about the game they love.

Alberta

Started the week looking horrible and then went on a magical run.

They started out at 1-4 and it seemed the world was collapsing on them. You have to give the team credit, as they bounced back and finished 7-4 including victories over Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue and Ontario’s Glenn Howard.

It was only the second time in 12 Briers that Martin hasn’t qualified for the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how Martin's crew bounces back and if they can put it together to try and qualify for another Olympic spot. They've already qualified for the 2013 Olympic Trials at Winnipeg in December.

Last kick at the can

Will this be the last Brier appearance for Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton or Kevin Martin? We hope not, but Howard and Stoughton are on the wrong side of 50 and Martin is 46 and is starting to show his age. How long can they keep it up?

Weak teams

I am not a big fan of relegation, but would British Columbia, PEI or Nova Scotia even qualify for the provincials in Ontario, Alberta or Manitoba? There is a huge chasm between the bottom three teams and the top 4-5 teams.

All three bottom-feeder teams looked over-matched all week.

Bronze medal game

I've been a lone wolf in showing some love and appreciation for the Bronze medal game. So I was a bit dismayed to come home Sunday afternoon and not be able to watch the Bronze medal match on TSN or TSN2. From what I hear the game was just available online. Either TSN is going to cover the Brier from beginning to end or they're not. It also shows to fans that the game means little if TSN2 is not showing it.

I like the Bronze medal game, but it's obvious that not only are the players not crazy about it, so are the broadcasters.

Also, since I am on a rant, would it kill TSN Sportscentre to show more than a minute of Brier highlights? It seems every hour has 33 minutes of NHL highlights, 7 minutes of NHL rumours, 6 minutes of soccer, 4 minutes of NBA highlights and then in minute 51, just after a live report from the Maple Leafs practice, we get a curling update. Is this as good as it is going to get?

Final prediction

I lost a $10 bet betting against Jeff Stoughton in 2011 at the Brier in London. Maybe I can get my money back this year—Manitoba 7, Northern Ontario 5.

Unofficial Brier all-star team

Unofficial Brier all-star team

What a week it was. Alberta struggled and then got it back on track. Newfoundland, Ontario and Manitoba looked good just about all week. Northern Ontario and Quebec also played well.

For some teams it was a struggle. Yeah, we're looking at you PEI and British Columbia.

Either way, kudos to the teams because Friday produced some exciting moments as Alberta came within a hair of making the playoff round and Jeff Stoughton made a nice draw to at least quiet the Rexall crowd and smash Alberta's hopes.

The all-stars used to be voted on by the media, but the system was changed a few years ago and the awards are now handed out on the basis of shooting percentage during the round robin. 

UPDATE: Nope. I am wrong. The media still votes on the all-stars. It's just the Scotties that goes by straight percentages.

Stats are a good way to judge how a player curled, but just like batting average or goals against average, it doesn't tell the whole story, as there are other variables that can come into play as well as other stats. Especially at the lead position. If you're team is losing, your shots are easier. If you're a lead on a team that has the lead in a lot of games, you're shots are a bit tougher.

Therefore, here is my all-star teams that I picked based on what I saw this week. The official all star list will be released probably tonight.

Lead

First-team: Ben Hebert, Alberta. In my mind the best lead and sweeper in the world. Also remember he also had to shot with all the bad rocks and he still had a 91 percentage.

Second-team: Craig Savill, Ontario. One of the best in the game. Kept Ontario in good shape.

Honourable Mention: Mark Nichols, Manitoba. Has settled into the lead position nicely after years at Third.

Seconds

First-team: Brent Laing, Ontario. Only had two games where he shot below 90 percent.

Second-team: Reid Carruthers, Manitoba. Got Manitoba out of trouble a lot of times.

Honourable mention: Marc Kennedy, Alberta. Had one bad game early, other than that he played well, especially when Alberta got on a roll.

Also mention E.J. Harden from Northern Ontario.

Thirds

First-team: Jon Mead, Manitoba. This guy has been so good for so long. Scary thing about Mead is that he performs at his best during the big games.

Second-team: Wayne Middaugh, Ontario. Mead and Middaugh are two of the best vices out there. Middaugh was a first-team lock until the last game when he faltered a bit.

Despite his age, Middaugh can still bring the heat.

Honourable mention: Martin Crete, Quebec. Helped Quebec grind out a few wins. Also should mention Northern Ontario's Ryan Fry.

Skips

First-team: Glenn Howard, Ontario. How come this guy gets better with age? A quick Glenn Howard story. We had a hankerin' for some chicken wings so we ordered some wings from a local joint. We get there to pick them up around supper time and the bar had curling on television. While we were waiting we saw Glenn Howard make a dandy shot. One of the bar flys who had probably been drinking at the bar since noon and looked like he hangs around with the Hell's Angels, looked up at the television and said, "jeez, that bald guy doesn't miss a shot."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Second-team: Brad Gushue, Newfoundland. Had a great week. Really patient and called a good game for the most part.

Honourable mention: Jeff Stoughton, Manitoba. We loved that little fist-pump towards the crowd on Friday night.

Bad boys

The Curling News had an interesting tidbit about the alleged behaviour of a Team Alberta player at the Brier:

From The Curling News:

According to sources, one of the Alberta competitors removed his player microphone and receiver and threw the equipment against a rink board, causing an estimated $4,000 in damage. Team Alberta has since paid TSN for the cost of the equipment, and a subsequent warning was issued to the entire field of athletes.

Anyone have anymore details they want to share? Feel free to email us at hurryhardblog@gmail.com.

Would love to have a few more details. In matter of fact, if you've seen any other bad behaviour at this year's Brier let us know. 

Brier attendance

Brier attendance

Judging by the crowds I see on television, attendance looks kinda sparse in Edmonton this year, which must concern the CCA honchos a bit because Edmonton is the flagship  venue for the Brier.

Through 10 draws, just over 70,000 fans had attended the Brier. Attendance will pick up this weekend and the final should be close to being sold out.

However, it will be doubtful that attendance will be over the 200,000 that organizers are shooting for, which is also a long ways off from the almost 282,000 that came in 2005.
(As an aside: you can bet that Brier organizers will pull out all stops to say they hit 200,000, even if it means a little creative accounting.)

Monday night it looked really empty in the building, as attendance dipped to under 6,000.

Why the low crowds?:

1. No Alberta. Well Alberta is here, but Kevin Martin and his team is struggling. It's no fun to watch a train wreck. This has to account for a loss of 20,000 tickets. If by all miracles Team Martin makes the playoffs or even a tie-breaker, all that praying by the CCA and organizers will have paid off.

2. I know I keep beating this horse, but watching curling on television is getting to be a lot better than in person. While attendance numbers are down, television numbers are strong. Old people like curling. Old people like to be in their house after 6 p.m.

3. NHL.If the lockout dragged on and closed down the season Edmonton sports fans would be desperate for big-time action. Instead, the NHL came back in January and took away the media and sporting spotlight from the Brier when organizers were out selling tickets and building momentum.
When the Brier was held in Edmonton last time the NHL season went kaput. That has to account for a loss of ticket sales.

The Brier will be played at the 6,400-seat Kamloops Interior Savings Centre next year. It will be interesting to see if smaller is better.

Top attendance at Brier

2005	Rexall Place (Edmonton)	281,985
2000	Saskatchewan Place (Saskatoon)	248,793
2009	Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary)	246,126
2002	Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary)	245,296
1999	Skyreach Centre (Edmonton)	242,887
2004	Saskatchewan Place (Saskatoon)	238,129
1997	CAI Saddledome (Calgary)	223,322
2008	MTS Centre (Winnipeg)	165,075
2003	Metro Centre (Halifax)	158,414
2001	Civic Centre (Ottawa)	154,136
1989	Saskatchewan Place (Saskatoon)	151,538
1998	Winnipeg Arena (Winnipeg)	147,017
1994	Centrium (Red Deer)	130,625
1993	Civic Centre (Ottawa)	130,076
1996	Riverside Coliseum (Kamloops)	127,746
2006	Brandt Centre (Regina)	125,971
1995	Metro Centre (Halifax)	121,896

Mid-week Brier thoughts

Mid-week Brier thoughts

Half-way through the Brier there is a few things that are now apparent on what is a beautiful sunny Wednesday morning here in Ontario.

Two out of three ain't bad.

Going into the Brier the general consensus of prognosticators was that there was a Big 3 of Stoughton, Howard and Martin and they would all take one step ahead of the field.

Well, two out of three aren't bad, as Stoughton (5-1) and Howard (6-0) are pretty well who we thought they would be.

Kevin Martin—not so much.

Where do you start? Martin has limped out to a 2-4 start, but it's how they've looked that has had people raising their eyebrows. I've never seen a Kevin Martin team struggle like this.

You can see by their body language that they're not in sync with each other and the game.

Other thoughts are that Newfoundland (6-0) and Quebec (5-1) are both contenders, with Northern Ontario (4-2) also in the hunt.

Future skips

Being a skip takes a lot of different qualities.

First, you have to be a leader.

Second, you have to be able to make shots consistently. If you shoot in the 70s your team will lose all the time.

Third, you have to have the right personality. I can't put my finger on it but either a curler has it or doesn't have it. I call it skipiness.

I don't think I have skipiness and will be a front-end player for the rest of my curling career, which is okay.

On my men's team I am a lead. On my mixed team I am a second and I think I do both of those roles well.

I was thinking of this the other night, as injuries and other factors led me to being promoted to skip in our mixed league. I did okay, but we ended up losing 9-4, as a couple missed guards by me led our team to giving up a big end.

Watching the Hotshots competition the other day at the start of the Brier led me to think about a couple things, including: in a couple years Alberta's Marc Kennedy is going to be a heck of a skip.

He can make just about every shot and after all of these years playing with Martin, you would hope that all of that experience should count for something.

Here is my list of players who are playing different positions now, but we will see in future Briers or Scotties as skips:

Men

Marc Kennedy, Alberta—Fantastic player who can make any shot.

Ryan Fry, Northern Ontario—One of the best third's out there. Can make a lot of shots.

Brett Gallant, Newfoundland (PEI)—Showed in juniors he is an elite skip, winning Canadian juniors in 2009. Just needs experience, as he is only 23.

Braeden Moskowy, Saskatchewan—Same as Gallant, except Moskowy won juniors in 2011.

Note: Didn't include John Morris and Wayne Midaugh, as they're former skips who have been to the Brier as skips.

Women

Kaitlyn Lawes (Manitoba)--Best young curler west of Ontario. I foresee here going head-to-head against Rachel Homan for the next decade after Jennifer Jones steps aside.

Prop bets

One thing I enjoy about watching the Super Bowl is prop bets.

Prop bets are bets that are not on the game, but things that happen in the game, such as which team will win the coin-flip, if a team will have a 100-yard rusher, who will score the first touchdown, etc.

I wish we could have prop bets on the Brier. Here is a few prop bets I would like to see and bet on:

-Will PEI win a game?

-Will British Columbia win more than one game?

-Who will break a broom over their knee first?

-Which team will give up five points first?

Feature game

This afternoon's feature game on TSN is between Northern Ontario and Quebec. Both teams have played well so far. This game is just about a must-win for Northern Ontario if they want to sniff the playoffs.

Even though TSN has not made it official, I assume the Manitoba-Newfoundland tilt will be the feature game tonight.

Good read about Bryan Mudryk

Good read about Bryan Mudryk

Regular readers of this blog know my feelings towards Vic Rauter. He's the king. No question.

Bryan Mudryk is the next great curling broadcaster and should take over as TSN's top curling announcer from Vic whenever Rauter decides to retire whenever that is. If Vic is king, then Mudryk, who has been TSN's secondary curling announcer since 2009, is the prince-in-waiting.

He's a little hyper, but you can tell he has a passion for curling.

Saying that, check out this story from Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones about Mudryk's battle(s) with cancer.

Jones doesn't break any new ground here, it's common knowledge that Mudryk has battled cancer in the past and has been a great fundraiser for the Cross Cancer Institute.

In the story Mudryk, an Alberta native, talks about the 1999 Brier, and watching it from his hospital bed while fighting cancer. Jones hits a home run with this story.

My quibble with the story is that Jones says that Mudryk watched the 1999 Brier from his hospital bed, but this story story from Mudryk's website says he battled cancer in March of 2000. Oh well, still a good story.

But the thing that got me in this story is Mudryk talking about leaving the hospital. It's a moment that is right out of the movie. 

From the Edmonton Sun:

Mudryk remembers the day he walked out of the Cross Cancer Institute after that 1999 Brier.

“When my mom pushed me out the hospital I said 'Mom, I'm going to raise a million dollars for the Cross Cancer Institute.' She laughed then but she loves to tell that story now.
“I started the Bryan Mudryk Golf Classic at the Skeleton Lake Golf Club where where I worked cutting greens and fairways when I was first taking chemo.
“We provide five scholarships each year for young people battling cancer.
“At this year's tournament we'll reach one million dollars.”

Damn right he's going to reach one million dollars. As someone who has a sibling that has gone into Cross Cancer Institute three times to battle cancer (and came out on top all three times), you know that I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure Mudryk hits his goal this summer.

WARNING: Saskatchewan curling language ahead.

Fuck you cancer.