Morning Class

I learned about this nice institution over dinner before an evening session of the Brier.
Adriann Kennedy does a nice job explaining it.

Talk to people in the know at the Tim Hortons Brier, and they are apt to ask you the same question: “Have you been to Morning Classes?”
It is a quiet sensation, but if you know where to look, you will find a tradition that is as enduring as the event itself.

Go read the whole thing.

Brier Final, Early Ends

Just settling in here in the JLC. My plan had been to watch from the comfort of home but the atmosphere yesterday was too much fun, so here I am again. I can catch up on sleep and rest tomorrow, waiting for the body shop to finish work on my car.

Manitoba have the initial hammer, coming from the 1-2 game.

END #1: After a few rocks, an exchange of hit and rolls, there is an MB corner guard, an ON possible biter behind it, and a MN rock partly covered. Howard raises the biter onto the MB rock, removing it and sitting. Stoughton hits and stays, feathering the ON rock outside the rings. Howard hits and leaves a biter. Stoughton gets the blank.
0-0

END #2: A series of mutual freezes on the center line help create a bit of a mess; Howard on his first rock sets up three ON rocks in front of a MB shot in the house. A Stoughton draw does not sufficiently bury. Howard hits and rolls into cover as shot. Stoughton makes a perfect tap for two.
MB 2 - ON 0

END #3: Mead cleans up the house but there is a bevy of guards. ON comes to the front four-foot behind center guards. Mead runs a guard back and removes the ON rock, leaving a MB rock behind cover. Hart hits and rolls but is still open. Stoughton hits and stays. Howard hits but rolls out. Stoughton draws to the four-foot; he also has a biter at the back. Howard drawing to four-foot against two for his one. He gets it.
MB 2 - ON 1

END #4: Rocks, mostly MB, line up in the four-foot. Hart opens things up a bit. Mead responds and MB lie three. Howard pops one MB rock and sits on another one, in the four-foot. Stoughton's draw comes up a bit short. Howard taps his own and rolls a tad to sit two. Stoughton picks one to keep Ontario to steal of one.
MB 2 - ON 2

END #5: MB have two counting rocks in the rings behind three ON rocks. MB poke one of those out. ON tap-back causes the tappee to roll out. MB tap it out and sit three. ON double out the front MB rocks. Stoughton has a draw for two.
MB 4 - ON 2

Both teams were lucky in that end.

The Bronze Medal Game

As you probably guessed, neither Alan nor I was very enthusiastic about covering the bronze medal game between Alberta and Newfoundland/Labrador. I understand why it is played: it sells tickets and it generates some ratings that might be better than the ratings for anything else TSN would show. And it pays an extra $10K to the team that wins it, which is nothing to sneeze at, given the compensation in curling.

So I understand why it has been introduced. But it isn't a big thing in my mind --- about the same as the finals of some of the less significant spiels on the tour.

I'm back in Regina, now. I managed to get to the house here just in time to turn on the tv and see Martin concede to Gushue. I confess to being happy for Mark Nichols that his team at least won the bronze, but at the same time, as usual, I felt as if the media overdid that human interest story.

So now I'm relaxing, getting ready to watch tonight's final. I expect the joint will be jumpin'!

Semi-Final, Final Ends

END #9: I got caught up in the crowd clapping, and making various odd calls. In the process Guhue got his two.
NL 6 - ON 6

END #10: NL center guard, ticked perfectly into irrelevance, as the ON rock goes into the rings. NL center guard - ticked into the rings, leaving an ON rock out front. NL come around the two ON rocks. ON freeze to it (small gap) as shot. NL center guard - jam concerns on peels now. ON peel, no jam.
NL center guard. ON peel, no jam. Nichols' guard attempt just makes it across the hogline; Russ Howard points out that jams are more likely from out there. ON peel, no jam. Gushue now sit on ON shot rock and become shot. ON come in beside that rock, ON now shot. NL want to hit and roll into the four-foot. His shot punches out the ON rock but sitss. Howard has an open hit and stick for the win. Here it comes. He gets it!
ON 7 - NL 6

And the place erupts again, for the second time.

One more night - Stoughton - Howard.

Semi-Final, Middle Ends

END #5: NL center guard, ON corner, two rocks in the house (one of each), hitting and rolling going on. Hart just whiskers a guard to get a NL rock - what brushing! Gushue gets a tiny roll, removing Hart's rock. Howard just barely touches it but enough to remove it, while losing the shooter. Gushue tries to draw behind cover but he is open. Howard hits and stays for two,
ON 4 - NL 3

END #6: Howard's last rock faces two NL rocks; he bounces the wrong way and leaves Gushue a draw to the eight for two. Which goes way too deep. NL take one.
ON 4 - NL 4

END #7: After a bit of a mess built up Nichols blasts things open, though not quite as hoped, leaving an ON stone in play. Hart pops out a NL rock and ON lie two. NL hit one and stick. Hart hits and sticks. Gushue hits and stays. Howard hits and stays. Gushue hits and rolls over on top of the other ON stone. Very nice. Howard gently taps the NL rock for 2 and the palce goes wild here.
ON 6 - NL 4

Unbelievably, between ends, there is a competition involving the throwing of Timbibts onto the ice, presumably as entertainment for the audience. The NL players seem to be watching.

END #8: ON inadvertently take all rocks out of play on what was meant as a simple peel. NL put up guards, ON peel. Rinse, lather repeat (with concerns about jams). NL put a rock in against backing just outside the rings. ON blast that configuration away. End blanked.

Brier Bronze Medal Game

As I noted with my puzzlement during the Scotties, this is an innovation.
Iti s not an innovation the players much like, and I understand why. The marginal financial benefit to them is likely minimal, even though it is pretty significant to the CCA.
The freshest commentary comes from Kevin Martin right after his loss this afternoon.

"Please make this go away," said Martin after the loss. "We gave everything we had this week and we played a heck of a game against Glenn (Howard) and they played a heck of a game against us and they won. Why do we have to go out now and do it again? I just don't understand it."

And Marc Kennedy is voting with his feet.

While Martin's team will show up for Sunday's game against the loser of Saturday night's semi-final between Howard and Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador, they will likely be without second Marc Kennedy, whose wife is expecting a child any day now.
"I would hope that Marc (Kennedy) goes home," said Martin. "I'm going to tell him to go home because he's got to be home. There's no reason for him to be here so I hope that he'll do that. The rest of us will play."

Had the bronze medal game been part of Brier tradition I imagine it would be better received. But it is not. This is new, and while I rather buy into the idea that if it is done at Worlds then it can be done here, I also suspect other motives.

Semi-Final, Early Ends

Well, my plan was to go home, but I changed my mind around 4 this afternoon (before Ontario) made the final, and I'm settled back on the media bench awaiting practice.
The atmosphere here at the JLC is too much fun to pass up (though I expect I will pass it up tomorrow). The absolute explosion that followed the Ontario win this afternoon was a bit of a measure of how excited the fans are.
I'd have been as excited to see Alberta in the final, but there is no question the atmosphere will be even madder with Ontario playing.

Coming from the Page 1-2, Newfoundland and Labrador get the initial hammer.

END #1: Pretty wide open even after an ON center guard. Howard rolls behinbd the guard with his last rock, after a series of exchanges. Gudhue draws for one.
NL 1 - ON 0

END #2: Blanked.
NL 1 - ON 0

END #3: NL center guard and ON corner guard. One rock each in the house. AMazing shot - ON tap their rock back into a freeze on the NL rock and roll behind the center guard. NL then double off the ON rocks, leaving their own! Hart removes it and rolls behind cover in the twelve-foot. NL remove it and roll out. ON come around behind the center guard - slightly exposed. NL runback just misses, and leavess the shooter out front. ON split their rocks front and diagonal back. Gushue hits the front one leaving Howard a hit for two.
ON 2 - NL 1

END #4: A lot of play in the house behind guards in this end. Two NL stones in front of two ON stones, the NL stones counting. Hart pushes one of those to the back of the house and rolls over on top of the other. (A Plan B.) Nichols whiffs. ON call 'pick' but roll to the back of the back four-foot. NL put a rock on the button. ON whiff. NL draw for 2.
NL 3 - ON 2

Page Playoff 3-4, Final Ends

END #9: Long AB center guard, ON on the button, AB rock frozen to it. ON goes to the twelve-foot on the T-line. AB freeze to the AB frozen rock is open and angled. ON peel. AB put up a front guard, not quite covering the rocks behind. ON peel. Guarding attempt comes up short and off the center. Hart punches away the front AB rock in the house and stays. Morris freeze attempt turns into a center guard. Hart makes a big miss, removing one ON rock, moving everything off the center. ABD can come in around the guard. Martin gets by the guards but goes too deep. Howard draws to the back of the four-foot, too far. Martin freezes to it, right on the button. Howard comes right on top of it; I think it's AB scoring but it is not obvious. The measuring stick cannot be used. I am SO glad I am not the umpire! He calls AB.
AB 4 - ON 3.

Back in the eighth end, one of Martin's calls was challenged by Morris, and as the two were negotiating about the planned shot a voice called from the audience, "Listen to your skip! He got you a gold medal." Martin was laughing. (Morris won the negotiation.)

END #10: Ontario at least get the hammer out of the last end. Laing's attempt at a hit and roll gets too little roll; sits in front eight-foot slightly behind cover. Morris freezes to it. Hart freezes to that, and punches the ON rock behind it to the eight-foot. Morris gets a bump on that, moving the AB rock to the front four-foot. Hart hits a beauty tap-back, making the AB rock a back biter and leaving two ON rocks in the four-foot. I presume the nuclear option is coming from Martin. Martin kills two but leaves ON sitting one. ON hit an AB rock in the front twelve and sit. Martin shot a total miss. ON 2

Ontario make the semi!

Page Playoff 3-4, Middle Ends

END #5: ON hit and roll to the twelve-foot behind cover, picked out. Laing draws there again, but behind the T. Freeze misses and is open. Hart hits it but gets much less roll than wanted. Morris hit and stay. Hart hit and slight roll - now into four-foot. Martin wants a double; hits and rolls to where Morris was. Howard wrecks on a guard but rolls behind cover. Martin draws to the opt of the button and shot (more because of sweeping than shooting). Howard taps for two.
ON 3 - AB 2

END #6: Here there are a couple of small AB misses during the chess opening. Kennedy cleans up a bit, setting up two AB corner guards. A series of runbacks leaves one ON stone behind four AB rocks, one in the twelve-foot, the others guards out front. Hart punches the rock out of the twelve-foot and rolls to the center, not really behind cover. Morris wrecks on a guard but punches one ON rock out, rolling over as a biter. Howard hits the biter and rolls to the center. Martin freezes in the back of the four-foot for shot. Howard punches it and the backing rock out and loses the shooter. He has a rock in the eight-foot behind a tad of cover. Martin manages to blank.
ON3 - AB 2.

END #7: Pretty open end. Russ Howard uses the metaphor of 'recess' and points out this is a way to make up time on the time clock. I welcome the idea of nothing interesting happening until the eighth end - that is played towards my position. Shouts of 'boring' and 'very boring'. A blank.

END #8: All the first four chess shots are somewhat out of place. Three ON rocks on the T, an AB rock frozen to the middle one. Corner AB guard. Laing taps the AB rock back, removing the backing ON rock. Morris comes around the guard slightly bumping a backing ON rock. Hart removes it and its backing and stays. Morris' intended tap rolls through the traffic to the back of the house. Hart taps his middle stone and removes the AB rock backing it. Four ON rocks around the T-line, an AB rock in the back of the house. Russ Howard sees a triple for AB. Morris gets two ON rocks but goes out and removes the AB rock. ON four-foot.
hat two rocks more or less on the T-line; the AB guard is on the other side of the house. ON put a rock on top of their rock touching the button. Martin doubles those two and stays, but stays open rather than roll in front of backing, as planned. Howard hits and stays. Will Martin try the double? Martin draws to the four-foot.
ON 3 - AB 3

The Page 1-2 Playoff: Second Half

End 6. A couple of NL rocks drifted a bit deep, and MN froze to them. NL will have to work to score more than one. With his first stone, Gushue draws to the back of the button, too deep. Stoughton freezes to it and is shot rock on the button. Gushue will struggle even to score as a result. A long angle take-out attempt removes both a MN and a NL rock, giving MN a steal of one. Tied at 3.

End 7. TSN missed the first four rocks. Linda describes this end as the race to the button, with a centre guard and five stones in front of the t-line. Slight miss by Nichols allows Mead to double off the remaining rocks in the house. Nichols draws, Stoughton freezes but bumps open a bit. Gushue hits it and rolls behind the guard. Stoughton hits and rolls off one, leaving a hit and roll for two. NL 5, MN 3.

End 8. A picket fence set up by NL behind the t-Line which will provide backing for future shots. Stoughton draws for 2 to tie things up again.

End 9. MN has four in the rings, but NL has a chance to hit one and roll behind cover. Things seem tense between Fry and Gushue on NL, and Nichols isn't shooting all that well. It's impressive that NL has managed to stay in the game. So MN puts two in the top of the button and has two in the back of the rings as backing. Stoughton puts up a centre guard, and Gushue tries to double off the two centre guards but gets only one. MN guards again and is in good position to steal at least one. Gushue draws to the button but still gives up a steal of one. So MN is up 6-5 and NL has the hammer coming home.

End 10. Draw to the button by MN; corner guard by NL; centre guard by MN; freeze to the rock on the button by NL. What Alan refers to as the standard opening. Big difference in curling percentages with MN curling much more accurately than NL, and to add to the problems of NL, Fry rubs on a guard out front.

Mead puts up another centre guard, so MN has 3 guards. Nichols tries to draw around the guards and rubs, so NL is in big trouble. MN has the shot rock, but a triple tap would let NL score one. Nichols peels only one guard, and Stoughton overcurls with a guard. Gushue tries a money shot, shakes up lots of rocks and might even have shot rock. Stoughton guards; Gushue tries a magical draw that doesn't move enough. Now to measure to see who is shot. NL scores one, so we have an extra end.

End 11. Check out the curling percentages: 90% for MN; and only 78% for NL. As I said earlier, NL is truly lucky to still be in the game.

NL puts up two centre guards, and Gould (aka "Tick-man") moves them off centre. The guard-peel dance begins. NL draws in when they get to skips' stones with an excellent shot. MN peels a guard. Gushue tries to split the top 4', but he's about a foot too deep, leaving a draw with backing for Stoughton. He lands on the button, needing no backing, and MN wins 7-6.

So NL faces the winner of the AB-ON game tomorrow.

The Page 1-2 Playoff: First Half

Gushue (NL) starts with the hammer vs. Stoughton (Manitoba) because NL defeated MN in the round robin and they had the same record. The winner moves on to the final, and the loser must face the winner of the 3-4 playoff.

I must say that at the beginning of the tournament, I didn't expect either of these teams to be in the top two, though I did think they had both had good chances to make the playoffs.

End 1. Nichols missed a peel, Stoughton drew around the centre guard, Gushue peeled one but just tapped the other behind the guard. Stoughton draws again, forcing Gushue to draw and tap for one. NL 1, MN 0

End 2. A couple of minor misses, one by Fry (2nd NL) who rubbed on an guard and one by Mead (Vice MN) who drifted a tad deep. Gushue froze to the MN stones in the back of the house, and Stoughton froze to that one. And Gushue tapped it a bit, forcing MN to draw for 1. Tied up at one after 2 ends.

End 3. Nice salvage with plan B by Gushue to lie 2; draw by Mead to the button. Angle tap by Nichols (3rd, NL). 2 rocks from each team in the 4' after Mead's second draw. Nichols taps one MN rock out, and Stoughton draws to top 8' as a guard but overcurled a bit. MN lies one, but Gushue has the hammer and is lying 2-3. Gudhur peels the shot rock, removing a NL rock, too, and lies 2. Stoughton's final draw is a bit heavy, leaving a tap for three. He tapped a different rock and scored only two. His plan B adjustments have been pretty good. NL 3, MN 1

End 4. Guard-peel game until Nichols jams a run-back. Stoughton hits and rolls out, leaving another run-back attempt, this time by Gushue. The house is empty, leaving a blank for MN.

End 5. Lots of guards and action, but eventually the front is cleared with 3 MN rocks on the side. Unusual call by Stoughton to draw around the guards, allowing Gushue to split the rings, forcing Stoughton to draw to touch the button to score one. NL 3, MN2

The Kissing Your Sister Playoff

I understand the logic and purpose of the Page playoff system - reward the first and second place finishers relative to the third and fourth by making the playoffs a double elimination for the former and a single elimination for the latter. Moreover, this way we get an extra playoff game (and extra revenue).
The problem is that it creates tonight's match, the Page 1-2 playoff, which for those not accustomed to sports that extensively use double eliminations seems rather strange. It's a playoff but nobody goes off - the loser just goes somewhere else.
For this spectator at least, I find it hard to commit the same investment of attention in it as I would in a real elimination.
So I will be watching tonight, but not the way I will tomorrow, and Sunday evening.
And I expect one of us will blog about it, but on the assumption that most potential readers are watching scores on Curlcast (yes I know they tend to be on more than a seven-second delay), so we may just note noteworthy events or comments.

All-Stars at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier

I expect that how a member of the media votes for the all-stars should remain confidential, but I'd be interested in feedback concerning my selections

Position 1st team 2nd team
Lead: Hebert,(AB) ; Muyer,(SK)
2nd: Kennedy,(AB) ; Laing,(ON)
Vice: Mead,(MN) ; Hart,(ON)
Skip: Stoughton,(MN) ; Howard,(ON)

Muyer's numbers weren't the second best, but he was very impressive as a young rookie. I know I wasn't the only person to have put him on my ballot.

Also, I wonder if I was the only person not to mention anyone from NL on my ballot. That wasn't by design; it was just the way things fell out on my ballot. They were all good, but nobody from NL placed in the top three by curling percentages at any position, and I saw no compelling reason to place any of them ahead of the ones listed above (though I might be willing to consider Gushue over Howard at Skip).

Draw 17, The Final Episode? Last half

Final Episode? Well, for the round robin. Also for me, but only in a sense. I won't be back at The Brier this year, but as expected, I've really enjoyed my time here and especially enjoyed re-connecting with Alan again, as usual. Watch for us at The Ford Worlds in Regina next month!

End 6. Jacobs had a possible double for three, but got only one. Meanwhile Gushue must hit and stick too score one against split rocks from Quebec. And AB-ON blank the 6th end.

End 7. What an amazing tap out by Hebert, drawing around a guard and avoiding a jam at the back of the rings. Nevertheless, a few rocks later, there are few rocks in the rings and Kennedy misses a double (rare miss for him; he has been truly amazing). Impressive and difficult double by Howard, but once again AB will blank the end as a result. And SK scores only one? I thought it was two on a simple nose hit by Simmons. NO5, SK3. AB 4, ON3. And QC scores one more. NL 7, QC 5.

End 8. Neato double by Morris followed by a Hart double leaves the rings pretty open for another blank. And the nobs in the corner got all excited by Martin's takeout that drove an ON rock up over the rubber in the hack. They'd probably cheer for full-body contact, too. Unfortunately for AB, Martin's shooter stuck around: AB 5, ON 3.

And a draw to the button by Jacob against 3 to score one and lead 6-3. And, Gushue draws to the button against one to lead QC 8-5.

WHAT??? PEI was fined $2000 for quitting early??? Give me a buckin' freak.

End 9. Martin almost pulled off a great double, but ON still has a biter as Howard throws his first rock, trying to freeze to the AB rock on the button, but he bounces a bit. Martin hits and loses his shooter so Howard hits and sticks on the remaining AB rock to tie the game at 5. AB has the hammer going home.

SK blanks the 9th and has the hammer going home, down 3; and Quebec scored two, so NL is up one with the hammer going into the 10th end.

End 10. It looked to me as if Martin sorta missed both his shots in the 9th end to let ON back into the game. But AB has the hammer and the advantage going home. Meanwhile on Sheet B, NO is about to run SK out of rocks. But there's still a jumble of rocks and a centre guard on Sheet C between Quebec and NL.

AB peels the centre guard, but Hart puts one back, right up tight to the rings. Guard, peel, etc. for about 4 rocks each. Then Martin runs the guard back to double off the ON shot rock but leaves his shooter as a centre-line guard. Howard hits, but rolls out the other side of the guard. Martin must hit and keep his shooter in the 8' to win. He does.

Gonna go join the media scrum. More tomorrow.

All Stars for The Brier

As full-fledged members of the curling press, Alan and I get to vote for the all-stars of the Brier. Any recommendations?

Draw 17, The Final Episode? First half

The crowd is jumping and there's a near sell-out audience tonight. Lots and lots of folks are here to watch Ontario play Alberta on Sheet D, the opposite side of the ice from where we're sitting. Both teams are guaranteed spots in the playoffs, but ends up where in the standings depends on the outcomes of both the NL-Quebec game (on Sheet C) and the ON - AB game. There are possibilities of some intriguing transitivities and intransitivities in the final standings after the round robin.

But, for personal reasons, I'll also be keeping an eye on SK-NO playing on Sheet B.

End 1. After a Morris double, Howard missed two attempts at a triple, leaving Martin a chance to split a guard on to score three, but he scores only 2. Meanwhile NO scores two against SK, and Quebec scores two against NL.

End 2. $23.50 for two beers and a pretzel? That's what someone told me they paid here at the JLC. On Sheet B, SK and NO were headed for a blank, with only one rock in play....until one of Laycock's rocks sailed two feet wide of the only NO rock in the rings. And on Sheet D, Hart misses two run-backs, leaving AB in position to steal. Howard's first shot is a draw to the button frozen to an AB rock. Martin flashed, leaving a very tough draw for two for Howard. He came up a cm short and scored one. SK managed a blank, and NL scored two with a draw to the 4' by Gushue.

End 3. SK forced to take one in the third. Howard need a hit and roll but didn't get the roll, so Martin has a hit and stick for another 2. Meanwhile a mess of rocks in play, slowly chipped at by both NL and QC with skips' rocks to come. Quebec hits for only one.

End 4. Sheesh. People here have cowbells, horns (even a couple of vuvuzelas), and they yell a LOT; still before each match the idiots running the show ask us to turn off the ringers on our cell phones. I don't get it.

After some fun clowning around by Martin and Howard, Morris makes a truly fine double, leaving his shooter behind a corner guard. Hart attempts a freeze but bounces open. Nose hit by Martin leaves a possible double. Howard sorta almost got it, leaving his shooter exposed and two AB rocks in the outer 12' to lie 2. Howard is forced to draw for just one again. AB 4, ON 2.

On Sheet B, NO tapped a SK rock back in a crowded house to score 2 and leads 4-1. And on Sheet C, NL has a draw for four to lead QC 6-3.

End 5. SK takes one again. Martin draws around a guard; Howard tries to follow him and has shot rock but lies pretty-near open. With the hammer, Martin wrecks on a guard and ON steals one. AB 4, ON 3. And on Sheet C, NL is lying a bunch; QC must try to draw to the button to score one or at least cut down the NL score. Scores 1. NL 6, QC 4.

and break time.

Kevin Martin

After the afternoon draw, during which Kevin Martin curled an abysmal 60%, Martin did, as expected comment on the ice, which seemed to bother him much more than it bothered others. However, he also said, when asked about his last shot,

"It was the only shot I made the entire game!"

Side note: Alan and I are now official members of the organization called "Canadian Curling Reporters". WooHoo!

Draw 16, Afternoon, Second Half

Northern Ontario hasn't been eliminated yet, much to the delight of the crowd. NO leads NB 3-1 and if AB loses to the Territories, NO is still alive (and AB - NT are tied in the 6th).

End 6: Martin missed a double attempt then had to draw for just one against NT; Quebec was forced to take one against MN. And NO-NB blanked the sixth end. Martin is beginning to look frustrated again even though his draw to the button was almost perfect once again.

End 7: NO has managed to split the rings against NB, forcing Grattan to draw for one but he's heavy, yielding a steal of two for NO, who now lead 5-1. Over on Sheet D, MN and QC are keeping things fairly clean (hit, stick, hit, stick, etc.). Similarly on Sheet C between AB and NT. As expected, MN and QC blank the 7th end. And Koe hits and rolls out to blank 7 against AB.

End 8: NS and PEI shake hands on Sheet B, with NS leading 12-3 after 7. PEI was lucky to win anything this year. PEI is done at the Brier and received a big ovation from the crowd.

On Sheet A, NB had corner guards while NO had a centre guard. As we go to skips' stones, NO has a corner guard with a counter behind a guard in the side 12' and peels the centre guard. Grattan draws around the other corner guard but is deep and come out the other side. Jacobs peels it but rolls out. Grattan draws but is short. Steal of one for NO and handshakes on Sheet A. NO is still alive.

Two games left on the ice: AB leads NT/YT 5-4, and MN is tied with QC at 4. Koe tried a double to score 2 or 3, but scored only one to tie AB 5-5 after 8.

End 9: Beauty triple by Naugler to remove the 3 AB rocks from the rings. and still in the 8th, an amazing needle-threading by Gagne to drift into the button, only to have Stoughton double them off and score two. MN 6, QC 4 after 8.

Martin is curling under 66%, and wrecked on the guard with his first shot. Koe has tried to split the rings, but leaves a possible thick double for Martin to try to blank. But he hits and rolls out, giving NT a steal of one. WOW!!! AB trails NT 6-5 but has the hammer coming home. This is becoming funner and funner...

End #10: Martin needs two to win. Kennedy sets him up with a double to lie two, Naugler peels one, but Morris barely clears a guard to hit and stick and lie three. Naugler tries to draw to the shot rock but over curls, leaving AB lying two. Morris draws a bit deep and freezes to the NT rock in the back of the rings. Koe can freeze to force AB into a tough situation.

[meanwhile on sheet D, QC shakes hands with MN conceding that game; also my daughter texts that she just saw Alan and me on tv.]

Back on Sheet C, Martin rubs on a guard with his first shot, and Koe guarded the chance for a steal. But Martin threw a bullet for a double-raise take-out to score two and win, thereby eliminating NO from the playoffs.

We're really looking forward to this evening. Manitoba is guaranteed a spot in the 1-2 playoffs. Alberta and Ontario, both at 8-2 play tonight. Should be tonnes of fun!

Draw 16, Afternoon, Early Ends

Three of the four games this afternoon matter to the standings somehow. Northern Ontario must defeat NB to have a hope of even making it to a tie-breaker. That's the featured game on Sheet A.

Alberta must defeat the Territories on Sheet C to clinch a spot in the playoffs and move into a very temporary four-way tie for first place.

And on Sheet D, if Manitoba wins, they are guaranteed a spot in the 1-2 playoff.

End #1: NO-NB blanked the first end, AB scored two against NT, and Quebec was forced to take one against Manitoba.

End #2: On Sheet D, Quebec failed to make a double, leaving Stoughton a draw for two, but he came up short of the rings. NO and NB blank the 2nd end, so there's still no score on Sheet A; and Alberta steals one against NT, leading 3-0.

End #3: NO draws against one in the back of th 4' and barely hangs on to score one. Koe hits and sticks to score two for NT against AB; and I missed what happened way over on Sheet D, but I see Quebec scored a deuce to lead MN 3-1, much to the delight of the crowd.

It looks as if for the most part the fans here are cheering for AB and MN to lose so that Ontario will have a better chance of making the 1-2 playoffs on the weekend.

End #4: NB scores one to tie NO. On Sheet C, Martin taps back a NT rock but AB has only one in the house. Koe removes that one and lies 5, forcing Martin to draw to the 4' to score one (he landed on the button, which is typically impressive). And on Sheet D, QC missed a takeout attempt leading up to skips' stones. Beauty hit-roll by Stoughton to lie 2, maybe 3. Raise take-out by Gagne, but he leaves MN sitting 1, almost 2, but then Stoughton draws. Measure to see the total results. Three for MN, who lead 4-3.

End #5: Harnden hit but didn't roll behind the guard for NO, but Jacobs doubles off the NB stones to split the rings and lie two. Hit and stick by NB. Hit and stick by NO to score two and lead 3-1 at the break. Meanwhile, the Territories (NT) are giving Martin a bit 0f a fight on Sheet C, and MN and QC are locked in a close struggle on Sheet D.

On Sheet C, Koe was a touch light with a draw but still scored 2 to tie AB 4-4. And on Sheet D, Quebec has a peel to blank the end, trailing MN 4-3.

I'll need to take a break for a bit. more later.

Why Didn't Gushue Freeze?

At the end of the 6th end this morning, I queried why Brad Gushue, skip of Newfoundland, didn't freeze to a Manitoba stone in the 3rd and 6th ends. In both instances, he hit and rolled out, leaving draws for high scores.

So I asked him about it during the media scrum at the conclusion of the game. His answer was exactly the one I suggested: if the freeze hadn't been perfect, Stoughton could have scored even more.

As Alan says, "It's all about risk management".