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.

Rough and tumble

Our first outing Wednesday night was a glorified practice session, as it was our first time on the ice this year and our first game together.

It took time to get our sea legs, and to recognize tendencies, so we had some trouble on the scoresheet.

However, last night was a different story. We were able to get on track and put some solid ends together. We are by no means in mid-season form, but we managed to play pretty well.

I felt a lot better in my delivery last night. Obviously, it will take time to redevelop those sliding muscles.

Even though we've only played two games in a warm-up spiel, I can tell it is going to be a fun year. While I was always confident that our team had the skill needed to compete, I now know that we also have the needed chemistry. We are all on the same wavelength and it makes play relaxed and enjoyable, and we are able to focus on technique instead of ego.

We are back at it tonight at 9:30 p.m.

Cheers!

Game 1

It's fun to Google your opponents before a game...

Based on my extensive (30 seconds) research, we face long-time Manitoba curler Robert Baldwinson tonight in our first game of the year at the Labatt's Tour event at the Pembina.

Mr. Baldwinson most recently won the Investors Group trophy at the 2006 MCA Bonspiel (ironic perhaps, considering I am leaving IG at the end of the week). He also made it to the Winnipeg Zone A finals last year, losing to Ryan Fry. He went 4-3 at the 2004 Strathcona Senior Men's playdowns, and he qualified for the Selects in 2003. Clearly, a game veteran.

I've played him many times over the years, in zones, MCA and the Club Champions Championships, believe it or not.

Of course, continuing the streak of the past two years, we start off on an end sheet tonight... although it will be nice to have a built-in crutch to lean on if I struggle.

Here's hoping I regain my mastery of coin tosses tonight utilizing my secret Jedi mind tricks.

See you at the rink!

We're ready to rock!

After a summer of repeated roster changes and a seemingly endless search for players, we have finally set our roster for the coming season, which starts next week.

Our line up consists of Dan Bender, myself, Lorne Ryall, Leigh Solomon and Chris Girling.

I am pumped at the potential of this group, and I'm itching to hit the ice to throw the first practice rocks of the year as we prepare for the Pembina event, and the start of the Asham Superleague.

Once we get rolling, I hope to prod the rest of the boys into posting their thoughts on this blog after games and practices.

It's going to be an interesting season!