Slips and falls

The most interesting news of the Scotties last night came in the game between Jennifer Jones and Amber Holland, specifically the unfortunate fall by Jill Officer.

Al Cameron has the interesting angle of whether or not Amber Holland should have let the burned rock stand, i.e., say that it would have hit and stuck, or do what she did and remove it, taking the two-point steal. We know now that she chose to remove the burned rock from play. I have to admit, I would have done the same and I'd guess that Jennifer Jones would have too if the situation were reversed.

I still have trouble remembering that there are two options. I grew up playing that whenever you burned a rock, it came off and so most of the time, I don't even think about the second option. I know the rule was put in there to protect against intentional burning, but I'd say whenever there's a burned stone, I'm going to remove it. Also, you never really know how the burned rock would have finished, although in this specific case it appears it would have stayed for shot.

Paul Wiecek has the details of the game but this incident got me to thinking about the most notable slips and falls in curling.

Of course the biggest is undoubtedly the one by Bob Labonte, the American player who, thinking his side had won the world championship, jumped in celebration and booted a stone. That led to an extra end and Orest Meleschuk of Canada ended up wininng (what’s often overlooked is the incorrect ruling provided by the official, one Doug Maxwell!).

There was also a slip by Dan Petryk at the (I believe) 1991 Brier in Hamilton. I remember he cleared out about four rocks but to be honest, I can’t recall if he actually burned the stone. But the next morning in the Tankard Times, the shot of the day featured a chalk-type outline of Petryk’s sprawled body on the ice.

Anyone else have any others that spring to mind?

 ***

This is the best video of the week so far and shows why Donna “Spinner” Spencer is one of the best. She put together this great piece on the Scotties skips and how they try to maintain their voices throughout the loud week. It’s quite interesting to hear the extent they go to – humidifiers, lozenges. Hey, they should talk to Russ!

***

How about this? ESPN did a piece on the recent U.S. championships and bought into the lure of the game, although they did throw in a few cute shots. 

About 1,000 of those fans, plus a few curious neophytes, showed up over the weekend for the USA Nationals, which took place in the bustling metropolis of Aston, Pa., population 16,000. (Apparently Indianapolis was still busy cleaning up from the Super Bowl.)