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.

Thanks for participating!

Back in action

It was nice to head back to the ice tonight and play in a meaningful game.

We were up against Dave Smith in our Asham Major League tilt, and we were in a great match. We were down one without coming home, and Smith had to make a tricky pick-out takeout to seal it with his last rock.

Derek was unable to make it, so we had to go with three, and we held up pretty well.

Lorne and I are working on lining up two players to enter the rural zones out of Beausejour, so we're hoping to secure our line up for that shortly.

We're both itchin' to play in zones and the MCA Bonspiel, so we'll do what we can to make it work.

RANDOM THOUGHTS TIME: The music was a bit loud on sheet 1 at Asham Arena tonight, as we were right by the right speaker, but it's still cool to have music going while you curl as it seems to take the edge off... Congrats to Team Carruthers for the excellent run in the Canada Cup qualifier. With a better draw, they would have qualified for sure, but running into a hot Martin was a tough break. It's inspiring to see a fellow Major League squad (admittedly, a much BETTER Asham Major League squad) break through in the Slam scene... Speaking of breakthroughs, hats off to the Karen Porritt team for qualifying for the Canada Cup - practice and hard work really do pay off... Here's a stat for you to consider: Don Spriggs is getting ready to play in his 20th provincial playdown! I'm scratching and biting to get to my first! Tremendous, tremendous career, and the only thing that would make it better would be a trip to the Brier... I've been throwing 42 to 50 rocks per practice session over the past two weeks, and it seems to make a difference with muscle memory and control. It also helps the confidence to throw 12 consecutive tee line draws in practice... Speaking of practice, I was chatting with Steve Gould last week before he headed west with Team Stoughton to make it to the semis of the Canada Cup qualifier. He was saying how he's probably thrown 50 rocks a day for 18 years! That's dedication, and it shows in his consistent play... I'm very impressed with the new president of the MCA, Mitch Tarapasky. As this is my first full year as a regional director for the MCA, it's my first time through the meeting and email loop. Mitch really cuts to the chase while understanding the need for clubs to secure a stable future. I'm looking forward to many positive changes in the months ahead.

Cheers, and thanks for reading!