Next event: Thistle Integrity Stakes

My next event will be the Thistle Integrity Stakes at the Asham Arena, where I will be covering select games from the A side of the draw.

Speaking of the draw, it hasn't been posted yet. When it is, I will link to it here.

A short video from the Asham Arena as I'm testing the lighting and upload speeds.

Highlights from playoffs in Stonewall

Here are my collected highlights from the final day of competition in Stonewall.


Kerry Burtnyk's hit and roll in 10 against Kirkness in the final to all but cinch the title.


Jennifer Jones makes a freeze in the 10th end against Spencer, but it isn't square and Spencer later blasts it out for the win.


Cory Nahernie makes the perfect tick against Kirkness.


Dan Kammerlock makes an inpressive in-off against Sigurdson in the semi.


Burtnyk makes the perfect split for two against Sigurdson in the semi.


Richard Muntain makes a double against James Kirkness in the semi.


Bob Sigurdson makes a hit and roll against Burtnyk in the semi.


Here Bob Sigurdson makes a delicate double takeout in the second end of the semi-final, forcing Burtnyk to draw for one against four.


Barb Spencer makes a bump-freeze early in the final against Jennifer Jones.

Video highlight of Spencer's winning shot

The final highlight of the night (with many more to be posted tomorrow afternoon) features Barb Spencer's winning shot against Jennifer Jones.

It's been a tremendous event, with fantastic hospitality and huge local crowds. I hope next one I cover is as memorable.

Cheers, and thanks for taking part!

P.S. - It's only going to get more interesting...

Spencer wins it with perfect last end

Barb Spencer captured the women's crown in Stonewall with a perfectly executed 10th end. She kept it to the wings, and Jones only had a freeze left to play, but it was a hair heavy and left Spencer with a hit and rollout for the win.

Spencer setting up for the winning two

Barb Spencer is setting up well for the winning deuce in 10, with a rock on either side of the T-line, one half-buried behind cover.

Burtnyk wins again

Kerry Burtnyk has done it again, winning his sixth bonspiel in eight tries, downing a game James Kirkness 7-5 in 10 ends. That's another $10,000 for the Burtnyk war chest... Congrats, Kerry... I mean, Bubba.

Braemer buries one tee line

Brent Braemer just buried one on the tee line... is there hope for a steal?

Jones steals one in nine

Jones stole one in nine thanks to a very messy house, and leads 7-6 without.

Kirkness took one in nine when Burtnyk forced him to hit and sit on the four foot, so Burtnyk is up two with hammer coming home.

Video highlight of Kirkness making a defensive double in eight

Here's the clip of Kirkness making the clean double in eight, leaving Burtnyk a steal of one.

Momentum clearly on Burtnyk's side

Despite a well-thrown draw in six for two:



Kirkness has lost momentum as Burtnyk is upping the level of play. Kirkness was forced to throw a defensive double with his last rock in eight, leaving Burtnyk a steal of one. It's 7-4 Burtnyk playing nine.

All tied - 6-6 after eight - on the women's side.

MCB turning point

We may have just witnessed the Manitoba Curling Blog turning point, as Kirkness made a rare whiff on his last takeout attempt, leaving Burtnyk a free draw for three, which he made. It's now 6-4 Burtnyk playing eight.

Tremendous throw results in steal of one

Despite a tremendous throw, sweep and line call, Jennifer Jones last rock draw in seven, which skinnied a guard and came on top of a Spencer rock on the pin, Spencer stole one.

Burtnyk is set up well for his deuce in seven, with a biter on the edge of the twelve behind semi-cover. Kirkness leads 4-3.

They shook hands on four, as Gauthier takes the consolation event.

Kirkness gets two

James Kirkness drew for two after Burtnyk's last hit drifted a bit and his shooter rolled out on a hit.

It's 5-5 after six in the women's final. Spencer just glued one onto the edge of the button, on top of two other of her red stones, but it may have set up a triple.

Braemer earns his stripes

Kirkness made a great pickup for third in Brent Braemer, who just made a brilliant hit and roll to freeze on the eight foot. Dan Kammerlock threw an up-weight hit attempt that didn't quite work as planned, spilling most of the rocks, including his own.

Minor hubbub after Jones hit

Jones threw a tricky angle raise hit with her last stone in six, which rattled them around, but a rock bounced off of the boards and came back into play. After a short "discussion" everything was where it should have been, and Spencer delivered a routine open hit to score two, making it 5-4 after six.

Spencer counters with sweet bumpback

Spencer is playing outside of the house, and she bumps the Jones shot rock back to sit two. Great effort...

Overton makes clutch double

Cathy Overton just made a clutch double at the back of the house in the sixth.

Gauthier stole three more to make it 8-3 after five ends.

Jones steals three after great hit and roll

Jennifer Jones stole three in the fifth end after making a perfect hit and roll behind cover, and Barb Spencer crashes on a rock in front of the house with her last draw attempt. It's 5-3 Jones playing six.

Gauthier leads consolation final

Ron Gauthier leads Mark Lukowich 5-3 playing six in the consolation final, with lots of rocks in play.

Kirkness leads after three

James Kirkness leads Burtnyk 3-2 after three, and Kerry's keeping it clean playing four.

Jones draws for one thanks to Allerton's gutsy play

Jones draws for one to make it 3-2 Spencer after four, largely thanks to the gutsy play by lead Dana Allerton, who fell while sweeping but bounced back up to finish the job.

Spencer runs one back

Barb Spencer made a perfect runback on her front guard to spill a Jones' rock buried on the eight foot.

Carey takes a spill

Spencer's third Chelsey Carey took a hard spill while sweeping in the fourth end, but she seems to be OK.

Burtnyk crashes in attempt to draw for two

Burtnyk wrecked out front when he attempted to draw for two in the second end, settling for one.



Meanwhile, Jennifer Jones drew for one into a collection of Spencer rocks in and around the button... more clutch shooting from Jen.

Video highlight of Dan Kammerlock's double in 10

Check out Dan Kammerlock's clutch double in the 10th end against Sigurdson.

Spencer strikes back

Barb Spencer bounced back in the seconds end with a great last shot to score two.

Kirkness is setting up strong again in the second end with one guard out front and another near the button.

Spencer strikes back

Barb Spencer bounced back in the seconds end with a great last shot to score two.

Kirkness is setting up strong again in the second end with one guard out front and another near the button.

Kirkness steals one to open the final

James Kirkness stole one in the final against Kerry Burtnyk as Kerry's last rock hit and roll attempt stayed straight and stuck, leaving Kirkness one on the pot.

Video highlight of Burtnyk's winning hit in the semi

Here's the clip of Burtnyk's winning hit in the 10th end against Sigurdson in the semi-final.

Remember, if you cannot hear the audio, make sure to run the fix that I posted in the header.

Jones up one after the first end

Jennifer Jones stole one in the first end as Barb Spencer's last rock hit attempt through a port rubbed a guard out front.

Kirkness is set up nicely in the first end against Burtnyk, lying two behind cover, into skips rocks.

I think I'm back

Never counting chickens, but I'm back online after technical horror.

Burtnyk eeked out the win against Sigurdson with a last rock peel-weight hit, while Kirkness fininshed off Muntain in nine ends.

Jennifer Jones and Barb Spencer advanced on the women's side.

Wide open playing five

Sigurdson is keeping it wide open playing five. Burtnyk leads 3-2.

In the other men's semi, James Kirkness has blanked Richard Muntain 4-0 after four.

Jennifer Jones leads Janet Harvey 2-1 playing six.

Barb Spencer leads Karen Porritt 4-3 playing six.

Burtnyk draws against four

Burtnyk drew against four to prevent a major momentum shift.

Blogger went bye bye

Wow... that'll teach me to rely on third-party servers.

Blogger went belly up for 30 minutes... update coming right away.

Stonewall Interlake Pharmacy Classic seminfinals

I'm sitting inside the ice shed (it's a wee nippy) for the semi-finals, sitting beside sheet 1, where Kerry Burtnyk is playing Bob Sigurdson.

Sigurdson took one in the first end after Burtnyk put several rocks in play.

On sheet 2, James Kirkness took one against Richard Muntain in the other semi.

In the women's side, Janet Harvey took one against Jennifer Jones, while Karen Porritt is one up against Barb Spencer.

The Sun gives a shout-out

Thanks to Jim Bender at the Winnipeg Sun for the shout-out in today's paper.

November 27, 2006

A birds-eye view

Stonewall ceiling-cam setup a first

By JIM BENDER, STAFF REPORTER

Curling TV lights, cameras, action!

For those enjoying the play at the World/Manitoba Curling Tour's event in Stonewall, the curling club now has a closed-circuit TV setup where fans behind the glass can view the action from overhead cameras whether the play is at the home or away end on each sheet -- a first for Manitoba.

The setup -- plus the security cameras around the complex, which includes a hockey rink, and the software involved -- costs about $28,000, said Andy Stewart, the event's organizer who also plays third for Stonewall's Mark Lukowich.

"It's great for events like this," Stewart said.

You can bet a provincial championship of some sort won't be far behind. The MCA has already made inquiries.

And competitive curler John White introduced a blog of live Internet coverage, complete with video highlights, on feature games during the event through manitobacurling.blogspot.com.

"It's a work in progress, but I think you can see the potential," White wrote on his blog site.

Without Shaw Cable televising the final, you can check out today's playoffs at his site. For free.

ANOTHER FIRST: Assiniboine Memorial's Kerry Burtnyk qualified on the A-side, then lost a shootout which could have earned him a bye to the semifinal.

Burtnyk's third, Dan Kammerlock, left during the match due to illness and was unavailable for the shootout, which requires four throwers. One of the front enders was allowed to throw twice, apparently the first time this has happened. Didn't matter, as Burtnyk's own draw attempt failed to hit paint.

Warren's Richard Muntain and Granite's Bob Sigurdson won the shootout, advancing to today's semifinals and are guaranteed at least $3,000 each.

Asham Arena's James Kirkness, Granite's Kyle Werenich and St. Vital's Doug Riach also qualified.

On the women's side, Jennifer Jones and Karen Porritt, both of St. Vital, and Janet Harvey and Barb Spencer, both of Fort Rouge qualified, which is worth at least $1,500 each.

GRAHAM OUT: Brent Braemer replaced third Travis Graham for Kirkness this weekend. Graham recently suffered some painful injuries when he rolled his vehicle though he's apparently planning to play when Kirkness competes at a WCT event in Saskatoon this weekend.

NORTHERN BERTH: In The Pas, Brandon's Terry McNamee, who recently finished third at the national mixed championship, advanced to this morning's semifinals of the MCA's Safeway Select Northern Berth Bonspiel. Also advancing to the semifinals were La Salle's Randy Neufeld, Carberry's Kelly Marnoch and Neepawa's Kelly Robertson.

TRIALS SEEDS: Winnipeg's Breanne Meakin (Rob's daughter who also plays lead for St. Vital's Calleen Neufeld) has been named one of the top-four seeds for the Canada Games Curling Trials, to be played at the Granite Curling Club, Dec. 15-17.

The others named by the MCA were Jackelynn Payne and Alyssa Vandepoele, both of Eastman, and Central's Lisa Bartley.

On the boys' side, the top four seeds were: Central's Alex Forrest, Steen Sigurdson and Jared Kolomaya, both of Interlake, and Winnipeg's Brian Thomson.

Video highlights from Sunday A side action

Burtnyk makes a delicate wick-draw-freeze thing that's not in the traditional curling dictionary...



Burtnyk draws gasps from the fans as he draws one in perfectly against Carruthers... amazing.



Carruthers attempts a draw against Burtnyk.



Burtnyk draws top four, demonstrating a strong grasp of perfect weight.



Richard Muntain throws a second consecutive guard in the extra end against Riach.



Muntain throws his first rock of the extra end, a perfect guard making it tough on Riach.



A quick scan of the scoreboards in early action.

Daneault makes a bump

Rich Daneault makes a nice bump against Carruthers in the eighth end Sunday in Stonewall.

Jennifer Jones video clip

Jennifer Jones attempts a draw for two against Spencer earlier. It rubs a guard and comes up short.

Riach needs a Hail Mary

Riach's throwing a last-gasp attempt to get Muntain off of the button... but it sails just wide and Muntain steals out for the win, and he advances.

Muntain in a good position into third stones

Muntain is sitting on the button, frozen on top of a Riach stone, with two guards out front. Riach is looking to clear the track on his first stone of the end.

Muntain draws the pin

Muntain covered the pin, coming tight to the guard out front, and forced an extra end... pressure shot.

Muntain opens it up

Muntain came in a little heavy as well, bumping and rolling to the outside edge of the four foot.

Riach followed him down by drawing to the back of the button. Muntain needs two to win as Riach stole one in eight. Doesn't look like he has any option but to draw for the tie and force the extra end.

Highlight of Burtnyk's draw for two

Here's the clip of Burtnyk drawing for two to close it out against Carruthers. You may need to be patient as YouTube is loading slow today.

Riach a little heavy with the draw

Doug Riach was a touch heavy with his draw, bumping his own on the button and sliding over to cover the Muntain stone on the back four. Muntain is looking at the double, or the triple on all three.

Two more final scores

Karen Porritt defeated Janet Harvey 8-4, while Jennifer Jones finished off Barb Spencer with a double takeout in nine, to run away with that game.

Riach and Muntain are battling in nine, their last end. Riach is sitting edge button in front of a Muntain stone, with three more rocks surrounding the four foot, plus there are two guards in front.

Bender is trying a tight takeout, which he made, but he left Riach back button with a chance to pin another one on top.

Sigurdson is through to the next round

Bob Sigurdson defeated Jim Winfield and they are now throwing shootout rocks to determine the playoff draw. They are looking solid heading into their next match.

Muntain and Riach are tied at five playing eight. The bell has just sounded, so they are only getting nine ends in today. There have been a lot of rocks in play all game, so it's not surprising.

Kerry Burtnyk also advances with a strong finish against Carruthers. He drew for two to close it out at 9-5, and now they are participating in the playoff draw shootout.

Other scores

A quick summary of the other games...

Sigurdson is up 8-5 after eight, with Winfield battling back to take two to get back into the game.

Jennifer Jones is up 8-5 over Spencer playing eight.

Muntain and Riach are tied 5-5 playing eight.

Network woes continue

My wifi connection dropped out again, so after another reboot we're back in action.

After a tumultuous end that appeared to be the unravelling of the Carruthers squad, Burtnyk jammed on a frozen shot and left Carruthers with an easy hit and stick for two.

Just like that, it's 7-5 Burtnyk after seven, and Carruthers has life.

Burtnyk surrounds the button

Apologies for the slow loading videos... YouTube's servers are slow today. Keep refreshing and when you see a screen grab you know it's ready.

Burtnyk surrounded the button with three stones, and Carruthers couldn't penetrate the garbage out front... Burtnyk tried a back four draw for four but was heavy. He takes three and goes up 6-3 after five.

Carruthers takes two

After both teams had trouble negotiating ports up front, Carruthers successfully managed to come through and hit and stick for two, making the score 3-3 after four ends.



In other games... Sigurdson leads Winfield 5-3 after five... Jennifer Jones leads Barb Spencer 7-3 after four... Richard Muntain leads Doug Riach 4-2 playing five.

More video highlights

Here's another shot...

Burtnyk steals one

Despite a valiant in-off attempt by Carruthers, Burtnyk's rock was glued to the button, and it wasn't going anywhere.

They're keeping it fairly clean early in the fourth.

Video clip number 2

Here's the second clip... Daneault makes a nice freeze early in the third end.

In-off attempt just misses

Burtnyk's in-off attempt to get to the button just missed, leaving Carruthers a long look... he has three rocks surrounding Burtnyk's lone rock on the button.

Shot for shot

Carruthers and Burtnyk are going shot for shot in the third end. Burtnyk just made a sweet back-four weight bump to cover the button behind cover. Carruthers must try to follow him down.

First video clip of action

Here's my first video clip of action from the second end, as Carruthers plays a nice bump and roll.

Angles are setting up

Carruthers is in decent position playing in the third. He has one top eight, one edge of button, with a Burtnyk rock corner frozen on top. Burtnyk is having a long look at the set up before Kammerlock's first rock of the end.

Jennifer Jones scored three in the first, and Barb Spencer just made a nice shot for two.

Burtnyk takes two

After Reid plays a tricky outside edge raise takeout, leaving Burtnyk lying one and to throw the last rock of the end, Burtnyk successfully draws for two.

Stonewall Interlake Pharmacy Classic 11:30 a.m. Sunday draw

I made it back to the rink in one piece despite some icy roads.

First observation is that the ice is straighter than it was yesterday. Both teams in my feature game (Burtnyk vs. Carruthers) were fooled by yesterday's conditions.

See you Sunday morning

I'll be back for Sunday's 11:30 a.m. draw... should be some good games.

Ciao!

That's all, folks

Beavis overcurled with his raise attempt, and it's over. Sigurdson wins 9-7.

It's also over on two, as Robertson's raise attempt didn't curl enough, and that goes into the books as a 9-7 win for Harvey.

Another tough decision

Beavis is now having to decide between a touchy, back-12 bump for the win, or an angle-raise takeout, also for the win.

Robertson is playing a raise and roll to stay alive.

Down to last rock

Beavis is down to his last rock, and he has a chance. Sigurdson's guard over-curled and left him a path to the four foot.

Harvey is trying to peel a front guard.

Through the port?

Beavis has a shot through a tight port with his first of the 10th. Weight looks good... but it hangs a touch and clips a rock out front, now Sigurdson must seal the deal.

It's pretty much in the books on sheet 2 as Robertson has one behind cover on the top 12, but Harvey has two out-counting it.

Tough one

Beavis just clipped a guard as he tries to play on the shot stone. If Bob can place another perfect guard, it could be over.

Robertson has one on the top four, but it's wide open.

Now Sigurdson's guarding for his life

Oryniak just placed two strong guards, so Beavis must decide whether he wants to peel or make a play on the button now. He's taking a lot of time with this decision as it could be the difference between a W or an L.

Harvey's squad peels very effectively early in the 10th and it's down to third stones.

Harvey looking to win

Harvey stole one in nine to go up 9-7 after nine.

Sigurdson is set up well coming home without hammer - one on the top of the button with a Beavis rock frozen to it and three guards in front.

Nail-biting time

Beavis/Sigurdson are curling in Select-country right now, matching each other shot for shot in the early going of the 10th end. Sigurdson's Cory Wolchuk was 100% with his shots, as was Beavis' Mike Orchard.

Harvey's guarded for her life with one on the back of the button behind plenty of cover. Robertson is looking at a crazy in-off.

It's done on sheet 4

Galbraith just shook hands with Muntain, it was 7-2 after six... so I'm guessing Muntain scored in seven.

Sigurdson just made a spectacular double takeout and roll behind cover, and now Beavis must draw edge-four to score. Nope, his last rock draw was inches short, so Sigurdson has stolen in three straight ends, and he now leads 8-7 coming home without.

It's 8-7 Harvey playing nine, and Robertson has hammer.

Sweet double

Darren Oryniak just made a tremendous double around a guard, forcing Beavis to draw down to the back four foot. Oryniak is trying to draw on top now, which he does - right to the pin and frozen.

Galbraith/Muntain are only playing seven.

Something I rememberd I wanted to add in the first draw post... Tyler Forrest and Justin Richter are the best sweeping front end in Manitoba right now. Watching them tandem-power-sweep against Grassie was something to see. Gives them a huge plus against most teams.

Sigurdson just nipped a guard and Beavis has a shot to rattle the rocks around the button.

More handshakes

Porritt takes it over Stewart in eight ends.

Bender isn't sweeping... either he's also been bitten by the flu bug or he's nursing an injury.

It's getting interesting in our feature game. Down 7-6 playing nine, Sigurdson is looking at a full house without hammer. We're into third stones.

Back from technical abyss

Had a crash and had to reboot... sorry about that.

Robertson scored three to regain the lead 7-6 over Harvey. McEwen shook hands with Winfield after seven ends. Muntain's in a bit of woe with his last rock in six (yes, they're playing collectively slow). And, he makes a really sweet double and roll to the button to score one. Playing every week is paying dividends.

Sigurdson steals one as Beavis glides heavy with his last rock draw, and it's 7-6 after eight ends.

Time for another score update

7-5 Beavis, playing eight
6-4 Harvey playinh seven
6-2 Winfield playing seven
5-2 Muntain playing six
7-1 Porritt playing eight

Time for random musings

It would be hard to find a smoother delivery than the one Brendan Taylor (third/skip for Galbraith) brings to the game... I notice the female curlers like to gather up their legs in a crouch on the ice after throwing, where the men like to either stay in their slide or spring up to follow the rock. Meaningless observation, but interesting to me... Something else I noticed, after a tough loss, women's teams like to sit around the table and discuss goals, objectives and ways to improve, while men like to swear, throw their gear, and not talk to each other for 10 minutes... If my team mates are constantly broom-slamming and rock-kicking, I'm not impressed, not that that happens now. The odd show of anger here or there is fine, but chronic outbursts don't help the cause...

Looks to be some flu going around

Judging by the white faces on some of the players, it appears the flu bug is making the rounds. Hard enough to play with the flu, can't imagine being a front-ender with that about to puke feeling in your gut.

More on the overhead cameras, by request.

Like in broadcast games, the club has set up overhead video cameras over each house, with feeds to their in-house network. Go to channel 10, and you have sheet 1, far end. Channel 12, sheet 1 home end, etc. You can see exactly what teams are looking at when they are lining up their shots. Very smart, and I hope to see other clubs adopt the technology. Must have cost them upwards of $25,000 to install.

Score updates

Sheet 1:
Beavis over Sigurdson, 5-4 playing six

Sheet 2:
Harvey and Robertson tied 4-4 playing six

Sheet 3:
It's 5-2 Winfield over McEwen

Sheet 4:
Playing four, it's 4-1 Muntain over Galbraith

Sheet 5:
Stewart broke the goose egg, and it's 5-1 Porritt.

Who says Manitoba has no depth?

There are a lot of strong teams out here... something you don't truly appreciate when you are playing in a given event because you're only exposed to the teams you are playing against.

Sigurdson just made a cross-house hit and roll behind cover with his first shot of the fifth end. Harvey's up 4-2 playing five after drawing four foot for two.

McEwen is sitting three into third's rocks with hammer... he could get back into it here.

Sigurdson is now looking to split the house to score two. He does, making it 5-4 Beavis after five.

It's a mess of granite in the house on sheet four again, with Muntain trying to find a way in.

Here's a tip: if you bring your five year old boys to the curling club, maybe think twice about loading them up with Coke and chips... there's two "active" lads going insane behind me, making it difficult to think, and difficult to repress the urge to "stifle" the excitement.

Did I mention how cool the overhead cameras are?

I've got the downstairs remote to the monitor so I can switch back and forth between games...

Galbraith made a hit and roll behind cover to lie two... very smooth.

It's now 5-0 on sheet five, with Porritt dominating. I see her almost daily at noon hour practices, so it's not surprising that her squad is solid.

Muntain just made a great angle raise in tight to take one, making it 4-1 after three.

Beavis got two back to take a 5-1 lead. It's 2-2 between Harvey and Robertson.

At least my crutch is getting action

The Schwab from Muntain's team snapped the rear slider on his crutch early in the game, so I volunteered my Lovehammers endorsed crutch that was sitting idle in the Cruiser. How's that for an ironic twist? Bottom line... my biggest fear in a curling game is forgetting a shoe or losing the crutch, so I could sympathize. Never want to see that...

He and Galbraith have a ton of rocks in play... just how I like it.

Porritt has gone up 4-0 after three quick ends... are they running late for dinner plans?

Beavis blanked a humdrum third end against Sigurdson. Looks like the fourth is setting up to be more interesting.
McEwen is down early, 4-0 after three against Winfield.

Sigurdson gets two back

Bob made a draw that held on for shot as they fought back for a deuce, making it 3-2 Beavis after two. He's playing it wide open in the third into third's rocks.

Harvey is up 2-1 after two, McEwen came back with a single to make it 2-1 Winfield. Galbraith is in a good position to get two back playing his last stone in two. His in-off attempt fell back and he only scored one.

Stonewall Interlake Pharmacy Classic 2:30 p.m. Saturday draw

We're back from lunch, and we're well into the second end of the draw.

Our feature game is on sheet 1, Bob Sigurdson vs. Ian Beavis. Beavis played a couple of nice touch shots in the first end to take three, after Sigurdson crashed on a guard with his last draw attempt of the end. I'll also keep an eye on the Muntain vs. Galbraith game.

Sheet 2:
Janet Harvey 0
Darcy Robertson 1

Sheet 3:
Jim Winfield 2
Mike McEwen

Sheet 4:
Richard Muntain 3
Chris Galbraith 0

Sheet 5:
Karen Porritt 3
Linda Stewart 0 after two ends (they're playing quickly)

Stonewall Interlake Pharmacy Classic 11:30 a.m. Saturday draw

Latest updates from the top, please refresh often:

Riach made a really nice thin hit and stick for the win... time for lunch.
***
Kyle just drew top four with his last rock, so Riach needs to have a look with his last stone. Go for the tie or the win?
***
Jen still gets a lot of attention coming off of the ice... several young girls came over with autograph books for signing, which she graciously accepted. We need more of that in curling to generate interest in the budding juniors.
***
Jones closed it out with steal in 10.
***
Werenich took one in nine to go up 6-5 coming home without hammer. Jones is looking good playing 10... Brown could have trouble getting her deuce.
***
Jones rebounded with (you guessed it) a two to make it 9-7 playing 10. Hmmm... gotta be an extra end coming if we're to believe precedent.
***
It's 5-5 in nine between Riach and Werenich.
***
Jones and Brown are tied 7-7 playing nine. (Yes, another two scored.) Werenich's up 5-4 playing eight.
***
Burtnyk wins after a nice touch bump... 8-3 final in eight.
***
Woody had T-line weight, but he may not be shot. Kerry can bump out for the win.
***
Burtnyk just drew edge button around cover... great touch. Woodward's only hope is to draw button.
***
Woody just crashed on a guard trying to draw around cover.
***
Woodward's in tough playing eight... Burtnyk's lined them up well behind cover. Dave Kraichy just threw a nice draw to the back of the four behind cover, but Kammerlock quietly bumped it out to sit four.
***
This time they're shaking and they really mean it... Carruthers wins in seven ends, 7-2.
***
Sean just suffered a really nasty pick on a freeze attempt... looked like a piece of gravel grabbed it.
***
The first final of the draw... Spencer wins 9-3.
***
It's a twofer festival in the Jones vs. Brown game, with Jones now up 7-5 playing eight. Werenich and Riach are tied 4-4 playing seven. Shepell is still battling Spencer, down 9-3 playing seven. Burtnyk's keeping it clean playing seven.
***
After Carruthers took one in six to go up 7-2, PattyMac and Dave Johnson started the handshakes... However, Sean wasn't ready to pull the pin, so they continued play after some discussion. Forgot the score after the Woodward update... it's 5-3 Burtnyk playing seven.
***
Richard Daneault just made a beauty pick-out up-weight takeout skinning a guard.
***
The Doctor's sporting the classic white headband today, for those keeping score at home.
***
Woody now has a free draw for two after Burtnyk's tricky double attempt over-curled. He looks good... and he's got it.
***
Barb Spencer is shooting lights out... not really giving Shepell a chance to get back into the game. Woody just made a nice bump and roll to the back of the button behind cover, giving Kerry another long look at the lay of the land.
***
Despite the lopsided score, Woodward has played well against Burtnyk. He's placed his rocks in good positions, leaving Kerry with long looks in the last three ends.
***
It's 4-2 Werenich after five.
***
At any given time in Manitoba, there's a Kirkness family member curling... kind of like at any given time there's a Simpsons episode on TV. One of the legendary curling families out there right now.
***
Grassie took a single in the fifth to get back into the game. Spencer all but ended her game by stealing four in the fifth. Jones took two to go up 5-3.
***
Burtnyk is brining workmanlike precision to his game today. Tight strategy, smooth shooting... easy to see why he's had success so far. He just stole another single as Woody rolled out on a last-rock hit. To show what a good sport he is, Woody just held the broom for The Doctor's first rock of the end as Kerry took a break.
***
In other games... Jones and Brown are tied at three after four, Spencer's stolen three consecutive times to go up 5-2, and Riach/Wrench haven't posted the score yet, so I can't update that one just yet.

Carruthers is firing on all cylinders today... making all of the nice bump and rolls behind cover. All of the extra practice is clearly paying off. They just stole two to go up 6-1.
***
Woody tried a runback and just missed... Burtnyk didn't throw his last stone and took two.

Burtnyk made a touchy bump guard to make the raise tougher.
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Burtnyk's facing an interesting situation with his first stone of the fourth with hammer. He has two on the back of the four foot, and Woody has two on top of the four with plenty of junk in front.
***

A full slate of top teams on the ice right now, in women's and men's play.

I'm focusing on sheets 4 and 5 - Sean Grassie vs. Reid Carruthers and Murray Woodward vs. Kerry Burtnyk. Also playing are Doug Riach vs. Kyle Werenich on sheet 1, Jennifer Jones vs. Joelle Brown on sheet 2 and Barb Spencer vs. Connie Shepell on sheet 3.

This is my first time at this event in many years, and I'm remember why I rate it as one of the top events on the tour. The ice usually quick and consistent, the draw is fair and balanced, and the town rallies around the event.

Now, add free wi-fi access, LCD monitors updstairs focused on the away houses, and you have a first class operation.

Back to the action... after three ends:

Carruthers just popped a three in the third end to take a 4-1 lead over Grassie. Sean wrecked on a guard on a tight takeout attempt. Burtnyk leads 3-1 over Woodward. Shepell leads Spencer 4-2, Jones leads Brown 3-1 and Werenich leads Riach 2-1.

Trying to salvage competitive season

With less than two months to go before the City Zones and MCA Bonspiel are upon us, we find ourselves seeking a chance to compete.

As you likely know by now, Dan left to play third for Richard Muntain a while back. While we managed to lure Derek Campbell out of competitive "retirement" to skip our squad in the Asham Major League, we found he is not available for the Zones.

So, we turn to the free agent market to see if there are any Talented Mr. Skips out there waiting for a team to enter the key events in January.

Failing that, we are available individually as spares for teams needing a player to make a run.

Speaking for myself... I'll play any position, and I practice five times per week.

Feel free to send us an email and we'll get back to you quickly.

Cheers!

Major changes completed

Long-time surfers of our blog will have noticed that I've migrated all of the main content from the regular website over to this space on Blogger.

It's much easier to update the blog from anywhere, and I've added permanent HTML content on this main page to include our complete schedule and results for the year.

In short, I will only update the regular webpage on occasion, whereas this blog will be updated constantly.

I will also be taking a more broad approach to updates on the site, commenting on Manitoba curling news in general, and hopefully igniting a compelling discussion through the comment function.

Thanks again for drumming up the hits on the regular site. Please make sure to bookmark this blog or add it to your list of favourites, and sign up for the RSS feed, as we head into the meat and potatoes of the competitive season.

Practice 2006 photos

Sheet 1 at the Granite was fantastic! John gets ready to try out a tweaked release.

A funky action shot of Leigh throwing a takeout at the end of practice.

Leigh gets down low to throw a T-line draw. Thanks to Tony for great practice ice.

Labatt's Pembina 2006 photos

Michael Johnson lines up a tricky raise in the sixth end of our second, second-event game Saturday, September 30 2006. We managed to score three and win the game.

Our path to the quarterfinals in the second event, showing our next match-up against the Waterhouse squad.

Leigh's fan club... Not hard to see the family resemblance with the little one.

Leigh assumes the position as he tries to loosen up before our game with Waterhouse.

Agricore United 2006 photos

Saturday, October 14 Lorne gets in a token stretch before our B-side game against Ewasko.

The B-side draw showing our win against Ewasko and our match up with Lukowich.

Dan watches the 3 p.m. draw as we wait three hours for our last game Saturday.

A random action shot from the Mouck/Barkman game with Wickman skipping.

The elder statesman catches some ZZZs as he settles in for a pre-game nap.

Thursday, October 12 A desolate Highway 59 leads us through rugged country.

Lorne and Dan attempt to evade the johnorazzi.

John's parents enjoy a hot coffee and bring lots of enthusiasm.

Leigh gets ready to throw in the fifth end against Lauber.

Team profile

If you were wondering about the backgrounds of the individual members of Team Who Knows?, you have come to the right page. Here you will find curling highlights and successes dating back to the early '90s...

Name	Year	Event
Derek Campbell	TBC	TBC
John White	2006 2005	Semi-finalist, MCT Beausejour Finalist, MCA City Zone As third for Team Gromnisky
Lorne Ryall	TBC	TBC
Leigh Solomon	2003 2002 2000 1999 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992	Winner, MCT Fort Rouge with Bohn Finalist, MCT Thistle Competitor, MCT Championships, Dauphin Winner, Swan River, MCT/WCT with Boehmer Finalist, MCT Valour Road with Bohn Qualifier, MCT Thistle Qualifier, MCT Championships, Portage Winner, MCT/WCT Ste Rose Semi-Finalist, WCT St. Paul, Minnesota Qualifier, MCT Championships, Neepawa Competitor, Junior Provincials as skip Competitor, Junior Provincials as skip Competitor, Junior Provincials as third for Tibble Competitor, Junior Provincials as second for Campbell
Chris Girling	2005 2004	Safeway Select Safeway Select

Sponsorship opportunities

In order to excel as competitors in the Manitoba Curling Tour, we need a team of sponsor partners working with us to ensure that we can focus on team development and compete to our full potential.

In tune with the ultimate goal of representing Canada at the Olympic Games in Vancouver-Whistler in 2010, we have established Gold, Silver and Bronze level sponsorship packages that represent three ways to partner with us going forward.

We have firmly established our goals - both long and short term - and the groundwork and game plan to achieve them.

Along with the opportunity for exposure to the key demographic of people who follow competitive curling in Manitoba, you have the opportunity to become associated with a team striving for success with a professional and motivated work ethic.

Goals

Short term

• Qualify for the Safeway Select and make it to the Final Eight in 2006-2007

Long-Term

• Become a force within the competitive curling world and challenge at the major Slam and Canada Curling Association events

• Win Olympic Gold in 2010 (Vancouver)

Groundwork

We will be working with MCA High Performance Director Connie Laliberte-Salina with an early-season delivery analysis, followed by twice-weekly team practice sessions. We will also be throwing practice rocks four days per week to develop consistency.

Game Plan

We are analyzing entries into select Manitoba Curling Tour Canada Team Ranking Point qualifying events throughout the season. We will also be competing in the Safeway Select qualifying events leading up to the provincial championships in February.

We are tentatively scheduled to compete in the following events:

• Five Manitoba Curling Tour events (dates and events to be confirmed)

Sponsorship Details

Beyond the usual company logos sewn onto team jackets, we are offering an enhanced package of exposure and service for our sponsors to maximize value.

Media exposure will depend on our success in competitive events. If we qualify for the finals in major competitions, we may receive coverage from TV, radio and print news media. Obviously, the more sponsorship funding we have, the more we can concentrate on training and competing.

All sponsors will receive:

• Graphic ad and link to company website from TeamMcFadyen.ca main page

• Recurring mentions on our curling blog

• Mention in media coverage, where possible

Gold Medal Sponsor Enhancements

• Full-size company logo on prime location of team jacket (back panel)

• Free on-ice curling seminar hosted by Team McFadyen for your organization (plus cost of ice rental)

• Guest speaker availability for exposure at your company's functions

• Main page full-size graphic banner ad with link to your company's website

-- $5,000 commitment

Silver Medal Sponsor Enhancement

• Company logo on team jacket chest

-- $2,500 commitment

Bronze Medal Sponsor Enhancement

• Company logo on team jacket arm

-- $1,000 commitment

Season Budget

Item	Estimate	Total
Manitoba Curling Tour entry fees	$600 x5	$3,000
Hotels while competing in events	$1,000	$4,000
Meals while competing in events	$2,000	$6,000
Gas for travel to events	$500	$6,500
Manitoba Curling Association entry fees	$750	$7,250
Equipment (brooms, brush heads, gloves)	$850	$8,100
Team jackets with corporate logo cresting	$650	$8,750
Associate memberships at Asham Arena	$625	$9,375
Internet resources and software	$500	$9,875