DeFoort almost pulls it off

Team DeFoort was down one without coming home in 10 against Stoughton and were unable to tie. Still, it's a great run and a valiant effort against one of the top teams in the province. Kudos.

Update of City Zone play

Here's the first major shocker of the City Zones... Kerry Burtnyk losing the B-side semi-final in Zone 15 to Eugene Desjarlais! While Kerry still has a leg in the final by winning the A-side, it's still a stunner. And their final score was something else... 12-11!

My former Team Gromnisky mates are currently playing Jeff Stoughton in the Zone 16 B-Side semi... Go Team DeFoort!

My other former team, Bob Sigurdson, has a berth in the A-B final, and is playing in the B-side semi as we speak.

I'll update as results come in.

Cheers!

Woody had our number

After going 4-0 against Murray Woodward since 2001, we ran up against a brick wall this weekend.

He clobbered us 9-4 in our first game of the Zone 2 Play Downs in Ste. Anne Friday night, and then finished us off this morning 6-0 in eight ends after we couldn't get rid of the hammer. (We blanked 1, 5, 6 and 7, and couldn't set up a big score all game.)

We managed to win our second game Friday night against Gary Barkman, 8-2, with a strong showing. We just couldn't recapture that grasp of the ice this morning. After giving up a steal of three in the second end, we killed ourselves again in the third end, and it was over... We were killed by a thousand cuts after that, playing eight excruciating ends to no avail. It was one of the most frustrating games in my curling career.

The ice in Ste. Anne was fantastic as promised by organizers, so that was no excuse.

I played in a mixed game at West Kildonan after getting home from Ste. Anne, and the ice was VERY good! (Hard to believe, given the conditions in recent years). Joe's got it dialed up for the MCA Bonspiel which starts Thursday night.

We play at West St. Paul Thursday at 9 p.m. and then at Charleswood at noon Friday.

Following the City Zones

Having a look at the results from the City Zones, and we see some interesting story lines developing.

Zone 15
Kerry Burtnyk advances by downing Carl German/Doug Harrison 8-4. They should walk through this Zone, given their level of play of late.

Zone 16
My buddies from Team Gromnisky, now playing with Jay DeFoort, ran into a hot Mike Mahon squad last night and find themselves waiting for the winner of Dave Smith and Joel Newbury in the B-side to see who will play Jeff Stoughton in the crossover game. It's Mahon and Stoughton in the marquee game of the A-side at sheet 1 of West St. Paul tonight at 9:15 p.m. Jeff's played the end sheet at Elmwood, the end sheet at West St. Paul, and he gets another end sheet tonight. It doesn't seem to be bothering him, though, as he's dominated so far. The big story of last night was Team Stoughton scoring a big seven ender in the seventh end against Troy Hamilton. I wonder how close they got to an eight-ender?

Zone 17
After a squeaker of a win in their first game against Arnold Asham, Randy Dutiaume's squad is on a roll. They blanked a talented Craig Strand team 8-0 last night to advance. They have to be the favourites here.

Zone 18
This one's wide open, with Vic Peters dropping out because of injury, it's anyone's Zone to win. And there are several game contenders. The other seed, David Bohn, is certainly capable, as are Rob Cosens and Jim Kirkness. I'd like to see Cosens make a run here.

Zone 19
The key match-up tonight is James Kirkness vs. William Kuran. Can Kuran finally shake the monkey off of his back and win a Select spot? With the way the draw was made, this could still be a preview of the final. It would be great to see.

Zone 20
It's a similar situation in this zone, with Mike McEwen and Dean Dunstone facing off tonight in a possible final preview. Hard to know how it will go, but I'm picking Dunstone to edge out a victory.

Zone 21
With Chris Galbraith getting bumped into the B-side last night by Jamie Hay, it's wide open for my pal from the Granite, Bob Sigurdson. Don't count Galbraith out just yet, though, as he's been known to find another gear in the B-side rush.

Good curling, everyone!

It's Zone 2 Eve

Here we are, hours before our first game in Zone 2 as we will face Murray Woodward in our quest to ride the underdog title all the way to Dauphin.

It's been two years since I've played in a Zone play down. My last game was the A-B Final with Team Gromnisky vs. Bob Sigurdson. We got our lunches handed to us on a hospital cafeteria tray after we didn't respond well to the ice breaking down quicker than.... uhm... Vanilla Ice's career. (It's the only other ice reference I could think of.)

After two consecutive years of daily practice and several delivery analysis sessions with High Performance Centre coaches, I feel a calmness going into our first day of war at Ste. Anne. In a strange bit of scheduling, all eight teams vying for the Zone spot will have to play back-to-back games Friday night... two 10-end tilts in a row. Whoever actually wins this thing will have earned it, that's certain.

I remember this time in 2005 like it was a few weeks ago. I was uptight going into the final game and over thinking the situation. Tonight, I'm thinking about showing up to the rink in Ste. Anne, stretching, and letting it all happen on the ice. Either way, I'm going to have a blast because I love to compete, and because I know I've worked hard to maximize our opportunities as a team.

For our competitors, I hope for excellent ice conditions and a pick-free match.

For Team Ryall, I wish for potential realized and hundreds of laughs.

Cheers!

Last ditch attempt for an angle raise just misses

Lorne's last-rock heroics are not to be as our angle raise attempt over curls and Ken Ans wins the Whitemouth Bonspiel 5-4. It was a great tune-up event.

Lorne covers the pin but we're wide open

Lorne brings beauty draw weight to his final shot in the sixth end against Ken Ans in the Whitemouth Bonspiel final, but it sits in the open allowing Ans to bump it out for two with his last rock.

First draw in eight crashes like a two-year-old on Red Bull

I have perfect draw weight but it catches the swoop and my first shot in the eighth end of the Whitemouth Final crashes and burns.

Steiner makes a great runback

Paul Steiner makes an excellent runback in the eighth end of the Whitemouth Final, giving us a chance for a steal.

My raise double in eight is a little light

I didn't bring enough mustard with this pivotal raise double attempt in the eighth end of the Whitemouth Final on Jan. 7, 2007.

Settling for the peel

I attempt a tight bumper-weight hit in the seventh end of the A Final in Whitemouth, and settle for a guard peel out front.

Whitemouth tune-up a success

We were unable to get into the La Salle spiel over the weekend, so we headed northeast to take part in the Whitemouth event.

The ice at this out-of-the-way three- sheeter was soft and flat for our first game Friday night, but was much better Saturday and very good Sunday.

We lost a tight one to Ken Ans in the A Final Sunday afternoon, 5-4 in eight ends, and learned a few things as we worked to prepare for the Zone 2 play downs this coming weekend in Ste. Anne.

Lorne and I got picked up by Paul Steiner, who we've played with in the past, and his pal Jerry, also from Whitemouth. We gelled quickly and put up respectable numbers.

I struggled a bit with the older-style flat hacks, as I've become spoiled by the Marco hacks that provide more of a starter's block feel. Nonetheless, we acquired valuable game experience together and we have our work defined for us as we practise this week.

Here's the first of several clips shot by my wife of action from Whitemouth. It's the TSN Turning Point, if you will: our attempt at a hit through a port for four in the seventh end that would have sealed the game. It over curls and we settle for one.

I feel like Eric Lindros

OK. When I say I feel like Eric Lindros, I'm referring to what he felt like after his face ran into Scott Stevens' shoulder a few years back.

Thanks to a wicked sinus flare up and the associative medication needed to quell the pain, I was not exactly "on" last night in our Asham Major League game against the Barb Spencer squad. While we managed a 6-6 draw, we were sloppier than Ozzy Osbourne at a song bird buffet. It was like I was hitting the ice for the first time, as I didn't find my frozen sea legs at all.

Speaking of the ice, it was straighter than the drive from Winnipeg to Brandon... negative ice for outside in draws on both sides! And, if you threw anything above control takeout weight, you were doomed to heck for all curling eternity (or at least until Zones).

Kristin Loder was dialed in, though, earning player of the game honours from our team. Barb Spencer was unable to make the contest because of poor road conditions which was a shame because she's been playing very well of late.

THIS AND THAT: I really miss my daily practice sessions, as the Granite is playing host to the Master's Men's Zone playdowns this week and the storied nine-sheeter was closed during the Christmas break... It appears Lorne has successfully rounded out our squad with two sharp-shooters, so we'll be entering the Rural Zone 2 playdowns which run Jan. 12 to 14 in Ste. Anne. It's going to be a very tough go this year with Reid Carruthers, Murray Woodward, Wilf Peters and Gary Barkman signed on so far... During an excellent practice session before the Christmas break, I made a cute half-rock raise double to score three against myself that caused me to perform a quick fist-pump. OK, that's mildly embarrassing but no one was there to see it and it was one of my better called shots of the year...Finally, watch this space for a piece I've been chewing on for some time: The 10 Commandments of Curling.

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