Frustrated Canadians, really frustrated Russians

Brad Jacobs is not having a good time in Victoria. At least not on the ice in the last few days. The Canadian skip and his team are struggling and it showed yesterday when the rink split games with a loss to Japan and a win over Russia. Here’s the skipper to Monte Stewart of the Canadian Press.

“It was another frustrating game,” said Jacobs after thevictory over Russia. “Today, I couldn’t buy a shot, it seemed like. A lot ofthe ones where we normally will make them on my last ones, we’re just not quitegetting them.

Still, third Ryan Fry had enough energy to trot out an apt cliché to describe the team’s situation.

“Our fate’s in our ownhands,” said Canadian third Ryan Fry. “If we win the morning game (againstDenmark), we give ourselves a pretty reasonable shot of being in the one-two (playoff) game, and being in the one-two game is gravy on top of making the playoffs.”

Gravy. That’s a great way to look at the 1-2 game.

Meanwhile, in Russia, a nation is disappointed with the performance of the men’s rink which has a firm grasp on last place. And there’s just a simple reason said the head of the Russian Curling Federation. Or is it association? I can never remember.

“In all the games, the difference is one or two stones and it isa good result for us,” Dmitry Svishchev told R-Sport on Wednesday.“We lack experience, some technical details, but it’s obvious that Russian curling team is ready to offer serious resistance to any opponent.”

Lack experience and some technical details . .. you know, minor stuff like that. Of course old worn out coach-for-hire Roger Schmidt, who is now running the Russian program, will have it figured out. However there is something to look forward to.

“We've got our own stadium in Sochi, thefinancing is provided, the guys are motivated, they receive win bonuses,” he said.

Win bonuses? Don’t tell Warren Hansen about that! K-Mart, Stoughty and Glenn will be lined up for that one!