Random roundup

Portage event kicks off
I'll start with some of the interesting early results from the Meyers Norris Penny Prairie Classic (or the bonspiel with the longest name).

• Kevin Martin needed an extra end to get by Asham Major League club mate Sean Grassie this morning. If you can ever be happy about a loss, this would be the time.
• Jeff Stoughton edged Murray Woodward, 6-4.
• Glenn Howard broke a five in the seventh end against Dave Smith to take that contest.
• As predicted in my previous post, Randy Dutiaume was sharp in dismantling Wayne Middaugh 9-3 in seven ends.
• Bill Kuran upset Kerry Burtnyk 6-3 in seven ends... perhaps Kuran/Wickman will meet my early season expectations of awesomeness.
• Randy Ferbey edged another Asham Major League clubmate, James Kirkness, in 10 ends.

The next round gets cooking at 4:30 p.m. I'll keep an eye on those games and add my thoughts.


Life after Black Monday
It's been a few days since Dan left us to become the third for the Richard Muntain crew. While we had our ups and downs in the first few games of the season, we were by no means a bad team... I just think we needed a little more time together.

Of course, it was an opportunity for Dan to join his friends on an established team and make a run for the Selects.

I was bummed for a couple of days, but the situation embiggened my resolve to improve and practice hard to become a consistent player. I practised every day for the past two weeks, including an illuminating session last week with Bob Boughey at the High Performance Centre involving DartFish technology. We were able to spot some areas to be tweaked and I'm now throwing better than ever... or Better Than Ezra, for Norm McDonald fans out there.

We have a potential replacement for our skip in the wings. Rather than naming names, I will wait until things are official before blogging the details.

I seem to be cursed when it comes to sticking with the same line-up for more than a year... all I can do is maintain a positive attitude, seek out delivery analysis from experts, and practice religiously all season. I'm confident that success will come, I just need to be patient.

Dutiaume's on fire

For all of the slack-jawed yokels who have been taking cheap shots at Team Dutiaume on Curling Zone this off season, I offer this observation - all of you are morons.

Clearly, you've never played against them in a meaningful game, as they brought a level of precision to their shotmaking tonight that I have never before witnessed. They showed finesse and touch in schooling the three of us in six quick ends.

We weren't bad, but they were at an entirely different level out there.

It brought back memories of the Brier playoffs where Handle and the boys went toe to toe with the Ferbey 4 in one of my favourite Brier matches. It would only have been better if the right team won.

If they continue to execute at this level, they will do very well against Middaugh and the rest of the thoroughbreds at the Portage event in two weeks.

I know who I'm pulling for, that's for sure.

Did I mention they were also a heck of a lot of fun to play against? As I stumbled over a couple of rocks helping to drag a last-rock draw into the house, I played along with Randy's line: "I think you missed one" by kicking two more rocks for good measure. There was much laughter...

It's funny how different the atmosphere has been in the major league games, versus my league games from the last few years. Everyone is relaxed, no one has anything to prove, and we are out there to improve our games, enjoy the cameraderie and maybe win a bit of money.

It reminds me of why I love this game.

Portage draw posted

There are some very interesting match ups in the first round of the Meyers Norris Penny Prairie Classic, as posted on the MCT site.

MNPdraw

Asham Major League teams figure prominently:

Sean Grassie takes on Kevin Martin, Dave Smith plays Glen Howard, Randy Dutiaume faces Wayne Middaugh, and James Kirkness will take on Randy Ferbey.

Good luck to all of the teams from our league - it would be great to see several qualify by knocking off some of the other big dogs.

Speaking of Dutiaume, we play him tonight in our third major league contest in the late draw.

Leigh and I threw rocks at lunch, as I worked on release mechanics and consistent draw weight. The ice at the Granite was lightning fast and swingy, which was great.

Mixed Bag

This weekend's Agricore United MCT bonspiel in Beausejour was a mixed bag in all respects.
I have been a member of the Beausejour Curling Club for about 15 years now and I always look forward to the advantage of curling on home ice every year when the MCT comes to town. Unfortunately, the ice was just installed with only two days of league curling prior to the MCT bonspeil and as such, the ice was more than a little strange. Our first game, the ice started out sluggish with very little curl from the outside in. As the weekend wore on, the ice did get fairly keen and some sheets seemed to have more curl in spots but the four foot lines still seemed to be a ditch of no return.
On the results aspect, it was a little disappointing to finish at 2 wins and 2 losses and not qualify. I felt that despite the score in our final loss to Lukowich/Galbraith, we were very much in the game until things went ugly fast in the last two ends. On the positive side, our second win was against my former teammate Wayne Ewasko. I would be lying if said that I did not take particular joy in this win but Wayne and I are still good friends and I will enjoy the bragging rights this will bring if we meet them again on the bonspiel circuit, not to mention some good trash talk ammunition when I beat his ass at golf too.

Modern Technology At It's Best!

So there I am, sitting in my van ready to leave work at 4:15pm on Oct. 12/06, just as planned. But wouldn't you know that my 2003 Pontiac Montana had other plans. With our first game in Beausejour at 6:00pm and the first snow/rain of the season, who wouldn't want to leave work a little early to insure a safe and pleasant start to the spiel.

You see, my lovely wife (the primary operator of the vehicle) has been telling me for 6 mths or more now the the van sometimes decides not to start. No problem with the battery or anything like that. Just won't start, leaving her sitting there for 5 - 10 mins. frustrated as all get go. Then of course after many of F-sharps and other words to unpleasant to repeat, the van decides to fire up as if nothing happened. Turns out that yesterday was my turn to experience this very thing.

We had a Command Start installed a few years back (purchased with curling winnings of course) which was to make both my wife and I very happy with the convenience of starting the van from anywhere. Little did we know that the installation would interfere with the security feature that comes standard with the vehicle. So every so often, we have to take the Command Start back to where we purchased it and get it recalibrated so it will work again. Well lately, not only would the Command Start not work, but now the van won't even fire up using the key at times! Of course the mechanic says it because of the Command Start and they can do anything about it. Isn't that just lovely!

So that's why I sat in my van, behind my office, for 40 mins as I tried and retried to start my stupid van. I ended up being late for out first game, getting there just in time for the start of the second end. So much for trying to leave work early. And so much for the convenience of modern technology!

Curling weather

If there was any lingering doubt that curling season has arrived, it was erased tonight with our first winter storm of the season.

As you can see from the view out my front door, the white stuff was whirling down fast and furious. Hopefully, it melts away before we drive to Beausejour for game one of our MCT season tomorrow night.

Another excellent practice at noon today with Leigh, and we are raring to hit the ice in a tour event.

Keep your eyes on the MCT site in case they post live updates tomorrow.

Cheers!

Burtnyk vs. Stoughton

It's old-time curling at its best tomorrow night as Jeff Stoughton faces off against Kerry Burtnyk in the final of the Asham 8 Ender Open at Asham Arena.

What's doubly interesting from a Team Bender perspective is that we are scheduled to play against Reid Carruthers tomorrow at the same club, so we'll be right in the thick of things as these two war vets go head to head with their new line ups.

It's a great time to be a part of the Manitoba curling scene!

Off-ice training

In preparation for the Agricore United event in Beausejour this week, I opted for some aggressive off-ice training over the long weekend.

My wife and I drove up to Swan River to help my mother-in-law move from the farm house in Kenville to a condo in town.

I went up and down the stairs to the basement 300 times, ripping the quads to shreds. I also helped move appliances up and down stairs, in the rain and sleet, over a two-day period. It was a tremendous, old-fashioned workout that will surely reap riches by the end of the week.

Leigh and I will return to noon-hour practice tomorrow as we prep for our match against Reid Carruthers at the Asham Major League tomorrow night.

Speaking of oldee-fashionedee, Rosanne is currently taking the thimble and thread to the badge and jacket... It's the first of what I hope will be many badges on our flashy new Champion gear.

The Return of Leigh!

After a short lived "retirement" from curling, which was required for me to pursue my career, I have been fortunate enough to land the position of Lead for Team Bender. During my so called "retirement", I still managed to get some games in and make a little money at it. Just enough to keep those competitive juices flowing which eventually got me back on the ice as a team member again.
I must say, my return so far has been very enjoyable. Always helps when your teammates are great guys and are willing to put up with your stupid sense of humor. Thanks to Dan, John and Lorne for that. Luckily, Chris and I had been teammates before when playing with Rob Egilson. So he already knew what to expect of my manorisims and thanks to him as well.

With five games under our belt as Team Bender, I think we are jelling pretty well. Dan calls a style of game that is enjoyable to play and he makes every effort to ask his front end what they think, even if it is just to make us feel good. John and I have thrown rocks during lunch three days this past week. The slide and deliver are almost back to norm and with a little more work, the pain in the hip will disapear and make the game even more enjoyable for me.

As we have this weekend off, Dan and I will try and find some ice somewhere and do a little more throwing. As they say, practice makes prefect. And who wouldn't want to be prefect?

Happy Thanks Giving Day to all!

Elder Statesman?

Well, the season is underway with the Pembina bonspiel serving as a cheap warm up for our fledgling crew. I refer to the team as fledgling only because we are curling together for the first time which was fairly evident in our first game, but I think that we all bring a level of experience in the accomplishments that we have had from previous teams.

We have a wide range of ages and as the most veteran (not a senior yet) member on this team I hope to provide the seasoned viewpoint when needed. So far we all seem to have similar strategy and good communication. While it is too early to determine if that all elusive successful team chemistry will emerge, the boys have been fun to curl with and I look forward to the rest of the season's competitions.

I see, the boys won our first game in the Asham Superleague in my absence. My schedule has been rearranged so I can make the future early draws, hopefully with similar success.

Rock on.