Curlers getting in shape

Here is a link to today's Globe column. It's on the fitness levels of the curlers.
I've been impressed with how hard the curlers are working at this and of course Dean Gemmell's book with John Morris, Fit To Curl, is proof that this isn't just a flash in the pan.
I sort of liken it to when Tiger Woods came into golf and sent everyone running for their personal trainers. Can you play good golf without being in great shape? Sure, but you can play even better if you are. Same thing, it seems, is going on in curling.

Grand Slam TV Numbers

According to Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star, the Grand Slam of Curling drew some decent numbers for the recent broadcast from the Hershey Centre.

The quarter-final on Saturday drew 483,000 viewers while Sunday’s final was watched by 441,000.

Considering it was up against the NFL, the CFL and MLB playoffs, I think those numbers are respectable.

Who will have a tougher time winning gold?

So a few of us knee-sliders were sitting around yesterday talking about the Olympics and curling. A question was posed: do you think the Canadian men or Canadian women will face stiffer opposition in Vancouver?


Interesting question, don’t you think?
In three Olympics, Canadian curlers have never failed to medal but only won gold twice, once for the men, once for the women.

My answer was that I think the women’s field is deeper and therefore they will have a tougher time winning a gold medal. I think there is a higher quality of teams on the women’s side and more returning top players. I would say that I think there’s more of a gap between the most talented team and the least talented, but still, it will be difficult to win a medal no matter who you are.

That doesn’t mean the Canadian women won’t win or that the Canadian men won’t have a tough time winning, but just the margin is tighter on the women’s side.
Thoughts anyone?

Brier Books for Sale!

So over the weekend I was helping my parents clean out the homestead where they've lived for the past 35+ years and I made an interesting discovery -- About seven boxes of my first curling book, The Brier: The History of Canada's Most Celebrated Curling Championship.
This book was my real baby, a labour of love that took me two years to write. It's a comprehensive history of the Canadian championship that examines how the event was started up through the 1995 championship. In addition to some great history, there are lots of great tales from some of the best in the game and (IMHO) loads of behind-the-scenes stories about the top players of the era.
So I'm going to clear these out for $25 which includes tax and shipping. If you look at the top right corner of the blog, I've set up a Pay Pal Buy Now button that will allow you to use Pay Pal or a credit card to pay. You can also send me a cheque if you'd prefer. Address is Ontario Curling Report, P.O. Box 143, Stn. D, Etobicoke, Ont., M9A 4X1. And if you want it personalized, I'll do that too, for free!!! Just send me a note with what you want me to write.
These are, by the way, in brand new condition. Never been opened, never been out of the box.

Howard wins Grey Power

Here's a link to my report of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling final in today's Globe. And here are some thoughts about the final. Note the picture -- it's of the cheque that never got handed out.
:
• Glenn Howard’s team may one of the best at mid-game adjustments. After getting off to a slow start, they really turned the game around yesterday with some second-half improvements. They didn’t miss very much from the fourth end on. That’s harder to do that it might seem, especially mentally.

• Although they didn’t look that good in the last half of the game – especially Blake MacDonald – I think Koe’s team will be tough come the Trials. They are a pretty solid squad.

• You could see the exasperation on Koe’s face after the loss. Part of it was no doubt due to the fact it was the sixth consecutive loss in a Grand Slam final. The other part was that this was a game the team could have won if it had showed up in the second half.

• Spotted up in the rafters behind the game sheet: a member of the Chinese delegation with a video camera recording the game.

• The crowd was decent yesterday, but not jam-packed as I expected it would be. The fact that it was an absolutely perfect day outside might have had something to do with that. Still, there were about 3,700 people there and 41,701 fans came through for the week, which should end any doubts of whether Toronto can host a Brier.


• The Toronto Curling Association earned more than $80,000 in revenue from ticket sales which will go back into the group’s pot to promote the game in the big city.

• Speaking of the crowd, I can’t say is was the most knowledgeable group of fans I’ve seen in a curling rink. Too often they cheered half-shots and some misses, thinking they were good. Oh well, at least they showed up.

• I like CBC’s move to interview more than just the skips. Scott Russell’s chat with Howard lead Craig Savill before the start of the seventh end was revealing when Savill said the team had been getting tricked on the ice early on but now seemed to have it figured out.

Finals thoughts and a crazy video

Today we get a final at the Grey Power World Cup that should be quite interesting. Either Glenn Howard will get his first win of the year or Kevin Koe will finally get a Grand Slam victory.

In the quarters, to take nothing away from Brad Gushue's team, but I can't remember when I've seen Kevin Martin's team play such a mediocre game throughout the lineup. The top end was certainly not their best in that match.

Gushue then didn't have his best stuff in the evening against Koe, who looks really solid. I liked it when he threw two great doubles in one end and you could hear one team member say: "I like curling on your team."

On the other side, I continue to be impressed by Thomas Ulsrud, but the Howard rink is clearly not quite at their best but is still in the final so what does that say?

It sets up for an interesting day at the Hershey Centre.

****

I was directed to this video of the men’s final of the U.S. Olympic Trials by a friend while out at the Hershey Centre and if you’ve never seen it, you have to take a look. I’ve seen a lot of crazy games in my day but in terms of wild games with a lot on the line, this almost takes the cake.

Globe Column: Howard vs. Martin

Here’s my Globe and Mail column for Saturday. It’s a feature on Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin, and how those two may be the favourites heading to the Trials, but strange things have happened at that event in the past.