Slam heads to PEI for rich finale

The official announcement of the Grand Slam’s Players Championship heading to Summerside, PEI, was made yesterday, with the city putting up $100,000 to get the event.

In the Summerside Journal-Pioneer (the story is here), Kevin Albrecht, the  president and CEO of iSport Media and Management which operates the event, and a guy who has done a lot for curling over the years, says this will be the largest cash haul in in the game.

“This is the largest prize purse in the history of curling. This is $370,000 on the line,” added Albrecht.

OK, so technically he’s right (as far as my memory serves me), but then his argument kind of falls away with the next line in the story.

Prize money includes a $100,000 purse for the men, a $100,000 purse for the women pluse $170,000 for the season-ending Capital One Cup.

OK, so I quibble a bit with the math and whether it’s a record but in any event, it’s still a boot full of money. And all the lobster you could want to eat! Woot, woot!

*****

Another year and another calendar with the girls of curling. 

Paul Wiecek has a nice story on Kaitlyn Lawes and her decision to pose.

"This isdefinitely out of my comfort zone," said Lawes, who was photographedwearing a cocktail dress. "But I like how you can choose your own photosand how you want to be represented. And it's all for a good cause."

Nice that they're all classy these days and everything, but is it just me or does it seem as if the calendar has Jumped The Shark? Yawn. 

Oh, and have we ever seen a number that's been raised for charity through the calendar sales? Just asking. 

*****

 Wiecek also has a great story on the logjam that’s building up in Manitoba women’s curling. Three great teams, one berth in the nationals. 

There has perhaps never been the kind of depth in Manitoba women's curling that we see today, and the current situation is reminiscent of the days when Manitoba men's curling was dominated by the Big Three of Kerry Burtnyk, Jeff Stoughton and Vic Peters.

The provincial final might be as good as the Scotties. Heck, it might be better. Cathy O, Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey are all playing well, with Cathy's team really in high speed at the moment.

****

The Cactus Pheasant spiel starts today in Brooks, Alta. Break out the nose plugs. A story on the field from the local bugle. 

Team Martin: Up Against The Wall

In the old days when someone told you your picture was on a wall, it used to mean you were wanted, as in your pic on the post office wall.

But Kevin Martin’s team has been immortalized on the walls of the Avonair Curling Club in murals commissioned by the city of Edmonton. It’s a very nice honour for the boys, and for Martin especially as this CTV story points out:

Martin said it was especially touching because he got his start at the curling club."I made ice here. My dad made ice here. My great grandfather made ice here," he said, "It's pretty cool."

You can see the murals by clicking here. And maybe I’m crazy, but in the one with the medal presentation, doesn’t Johnny Mo look a little like Pauly D?

Who's No. 1?

So which is the best curling team in all the land? It's the Mike McEwen rink, according to the the World Curling Tour money list and the Canadian Team Ranking System. McEwen passed Kevin Martin for top spot with a win at the Canad Inns Prairie Classic. The Winnipeg Free Press eventually gets around to talking about this achievement.

"We were talking after and this is our fifth year as a team. We've had some big mountains to climb but we just realized that we're now the No. 1 ranked team in the world," McEwen said, noting the Portage win put the team at the top of the World Curling Tour money list, the Order of Merit list and the Canadian Team Ranking System. "We've come a long way and, even though we still haven't been able to get that Manitoba championship, we're pretty happy with the direction the team is going."

So how long do you think the team can stay there?

****

In case you hadn't heard (OK, I think everyone has already heard) Wayne Middaugh is  playing third for Glenn Howard this year. Turns out he hasn't spent much time at third. I simply can't believe that he never let Sherry skip in any of those mixed events they played in!

"For me, I've only played four spiels at third in my life, so I'm still going through a learning curve and trying to catch up to where these guys already are."

****

Wow. Renee Sonnenberg is 40? I feel really old this morning (Sorry, Renee). The veteran skip won a biggie and is feeling sharp once again, she says.

Sonnenberg won the 1999 and 2001 Alberta titles, but had lost five finals since then.“That’s a long time now and it’s time to go back,” said Sonnenberg, 40. “So, this was a good thing for us to feel like we might break through and give us the confidence that we can play with all the big teams again.”

Team Martin at the Granite Club

So this is pretty cool. The Granite Club, the home of the first 13 Briers and 14 in all, is going all out for its Men's invitational spiel. It's bringing in Team Martin for the event. 

Now all you who regularly play in that shouldn't worry -- they're not playing, they're just doing an up close and personal session one night. I say just, but really, how many men's spiels would go to this extent and, presumably, expense to bring them in. Last year, they brought in Ray Turnbull, Terry Braunstein and had Vic Rauter serve as MC and host. It was a huge success. This has the makings of another great evening. 

And it's actually open to anyone who wants to attend. The details are on the poster below but realizing it's a bit small, the event is Nov. 10 at the Granite Club starting at 6:15. Dress code is smart casual and tickets are $35 which includes parking and a drink. Call 416-446-4462 for details. 

Rules and how to interpret them

OK a short blog here and for which I’m looking for feedback. This weekend, I’ve been playing in the Dominion Regional playdowns (yes, your humble servant is a club champion!). One of the new rules introduced this year for any competition leading to a national championship is that you flip a coin before the game with the winner of the flip getting choice of rocks or practice.

At least, that’s what I’m sure it was supposed to be.

Here’s what the rule reads: “. . . teams will conduct a coin toss to determine choice of stone colour or first practice.”

Now what we were told was that the winner of the toss gets a pick of either rock colour or first practice. And the loser gets what’s left.

So let’s say Team A wins the toss. It chooses red rocks and therefore automatically gets second practice (which I believe is preferable). The loser of the toss, Team B, gets no say in anything (unless, of course, the winner of the toss picks first practice) and has to take first practice. Whoever wins the toss also can’t select second practice.

Does that seem right? Shouldn’t the scenario be winner of the toss gets choice of rocks or practice the loser gets choice of what the winner doesn’t select.

I tried to argue this with the volunteer official but she said, no, the loser of the toss gets no selection.

What do you think? Is this a misinterpretation of the rule? Or is the rule just stupid?

Middaugh on a roll

Sherry Middaugh and her team are on a roll like no other squad -- men or women -- in the land. The rink already has three big wins this young year, with the third coming at the Southwestern Ontario Women's Spiel.

Longtime curling reporter Steve Green of the London Free Press asked Middaugh the obvious question about her early success in this article:

"Never," she said if she'd ever started a season this well. "But then again, I've never played this much so early before, either. To have five events midway through October is something else; most clubs have only just got their ice in."

One of those clubs that has yet to put its ice in is the Charlottetown Curling Club, home of the runner-up rink of Suzanne Birt. Her team was 17 days between throwing rocks before it arrived in London. That's tough.

Meanwhile, over on the men's side, there are a couple of big events coming this weekend. In Kamloops, the Crown of Curling gets underway Friday and the chairman told the local media thinks his event might be the oldest going.

“This event is the longest-running curling event, we think, in Canada,” said bonspiel chairman Len Bosch.
“This is a longtime event and we want it to get better and continue.” 

I'm assuming he means longest-running cash/competitive event. Anyone know any different?

 

No surprises for Overton-Clapham

I caught up with Cathy Overton-Clapham yesterday just before she hopped on a plane to head home to Winnipeg with the hardware and cheque from the year’s first Grand Slam.

I asked Cathy O if she was surprised that her young team managed to wade through the elite field of the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary.

“I don’t want to say we were surprised,” she stated. “I think we’re really pleased. Winning any Slam is a great achievement.”

Overton-Clapham has suited up this year with the youthful squad of Breanne Meakin, Jenna Loder and Ashley Howard. If nothing else, the team has good curling genes with both Meakin and Howard being the daughters of world champions Rob and Russ respectively.

But clearly they’ve found a bond early in the year that’s allowed them to win one of the biggest titles in curling.

“We made good shots all weekend,” said the veteran skip, who knocked off Shannon Kleibrink’s team in the final. (It was sans Kleibrink, who is rehabbing after kidney surgery – third Amy Nixon was calling the shots and throwing last rocks.)

Overton-Clapham was clearly reveling in the results, and beating the top teams in the world, but also in the excitement she saw in her front end.

“Everything is new to them,” she chuckled. “Ashley is in awe every time she steps on the ice and sees all these curlers she grew up watching.

“They’re going through this all for the first time so it’s fun to watch.”

Overton-Clapham, 42, said it reminded her of being on the ice with Connie Laliberte when she was starting out her competitive career. Like them, she was wide-eyed but still focused on execution. And she added that there aren’t any problems with the age difference, either on the ice or off (that was after pointing out to me that she wasn’t “that old.”)

They’re on the same page when it comes to commitment to the game and they don’t have to fight over what music is playing in the car on the way to the rink.

You can't help but like Cathy O's enthusiasm for the game and her delight for how her new team has come together so quickly. She is effervescent when she talks about their performance and of how she's excited for the year ahead. 

The team is coached by Rob Meakin and when he’s unavailable, Russ Howard steps in as he did on the weekend at the Slam. Overton-Clapham says they help build confidence with the girls, providing assistance with everything from matching rocks to post-game debriefs.

And, she added with a smile, she only had to tell the talkative Russ to stifle it once over the weekend.

Overton-Clapham is hoping to add another Manitoba title to her list of laurels – she is the defending champion, after all – and spent the summer working out as part of her goal. She stated that she is feeling no aches or pains and avoided the traditional cortisone shot that usually accompanies the start of a season.

The campaign is still young and there’s more cash on the line, but for her and her young charges, this year is all about getting back to the Scotties and a shot at another national title. So far, they’re off to a great start.