In the House

Why We Need Curling Now More Than Ever

2023-02-25T11:43:00.007-05:00

My wife has a recurring dream where she wakes up angry at me. She wakes up and tells me that she dreamt that I was cheating on her with an unknown mistress. She spends the whole dream trying to figure out who the other woman is, only to find out in the end that it is a curling sheet. Weird, but understandable. Admittedly I have had a life-long affair with curling.

It started when I was 13. I started curling in a junior league at Lachine Curling Club, and I loved it. I started Saturday morning juniors in September, and by Christmas I was hooked. I was asked to spare for a team with some older kids at the annual Christmas Bonspiel at the TMR curling club. I remember getting picked at my house to go and play by 3 seventeen-year-old girls with 80’s hair in their parent’s Oldsmobile with Bon Jovi blasting on the radio. For a shy 13-year-old boy, this was obviously the highlight of my life at that point. I do not remember how we played that tournament, but I remember the car ride. I wish I had a copy of our team picture from that event.

Since then, curling has given me so much. I curled juniors and had ridiculous amounts of fun getting into trouble with friends in crazy places. I loved the game. The drama, the strategy, the history. I soaked it all in. I would practice after school with my friends. We would play tournaments on weekends. It allowed me to get into the right amount of trouble.

After juniors, I started curling in men’s and mixed leagues. I curled with or against grandmas, police officers, union reps, lawyers, conspiracy theorists (we called them “crazy guys at the end of the bar” back then), politicians, World War 2 vets, students. The curling club was a diverse cross-section of society. And after every game, you would sit and have a drink (or usually 2 or more) with the teams. What I did not realize at the time was how valuable a gift this was.

Curling takes you out of your bubbles. Normally we tend to hang out with people who are like us: people with similar backgrounds, similar beliefs and similar habits. But at a curling club we are all just curlers. And I learned how to talk to people. I learned how to disagree. We learned to laugh at our differences, and not let them define us. I could disagree with someone’s views, but still curl with or against them. Curling was the bridge.

We need this today more than ever. We have lost the ability to tolerate those that we disagree with. Social Media has allowed us to crawl back into our like-minded bubbles. The Crazy Guy at the End of the Bar can now find millions of on-line allies, emboldening his views. Our differences now define us.

Curling is the enemy of this. It is not pretentious, it is welcoming. I applaud those working to bring diversity into the sport, we need this. While curling clubs are generally welcoming by nature, it takes awareness to recognize that maybe not all feel welcome, and hard work is required to fix this. We can be better at this, to better reflect the communities we live in. This will help curling continue to play its role in helping to build relationships across boundaries.

I recently moved for work, from Montreal to Toronto. Once again, curling is helping me to fit in somewhere new. Forty years after walking into Saturday morning juniors, I have joined a new league. I have a new team, and I continue to learn and make new friends. I can’t think of another sport that can give you this.

So on this Curling Day in Canada, I declare that this is the greatest game of them all. We need it now more than ever.

LSG! LSG! And what I want to be when I grow up.

2023-02-23T01:07:00.002-05:00

LSG! LSG! LSG!

A bit sleep deprived this week watching my friends Laurie St-Georges and team kicking some butt at the Scotties this week. Watched her shoot the lights out tonight against BC, after watching her shoot the lights out last night against Lawes. And it looks like her game against NS tomorrow night will again force me to stay too late at a curling club after my Thursday night game to watch.

I am usually a big Russ Howard fan – but he keeps talking about how Laurie is such an underdog since her team has only played 4 spiels this year. Yes that is true, but Laurie eats, sleeps, drinks and poops curling. She practices more than anyone I know and she plays a ton of mixed doubles. Oh, and she won the Canadian Mixed this year (with Emily of course, who also plays Mixed Doubles). I saw her team playing in a number of spiels, and often with their 5^th as a couple of them are busy with school or work. This is a very good curling team, and Laurie plays the game with no fear and a big smile.

I am hoping they keep this run going!

***

When I grow up…I want to be Krista McCarville

I am getting a bit tired of the Curling Canada Foundation commercial with all the goofy kids saying what they want to be when they grow up…with the girl who wants to be scientist while holding a pebble hose. (Bad start!). This commercial has been on for so long I feel like even the kid who didn’t know what he wanted to be probably has a job by now.

But following this theme – I wanted to add my voice to this cheesy commercial: When I grow up, I want to be Krista McCarville.

Okay I am already grown up, so its too late for me. But if you are a young curler looking for a role model – I hope you are watching this team.

They are unlike the other top teams. Most top teams follow the same formula: try to play well enough to get into the slams - play a million tournaments to get better

The challenge with the Olympic movement is that we have created a generation of curlers who are aspiring to be professional curlers, and nothing else. I have to say, when I was a young curler decades ago, that was not an option. The best curlers and role models that I knew had day jobs; they curled for fun, mostly on weekdays and weeknights.

Today, aspiring young curlers look at the Slams. This is a series of 6 big cash tournaments for the top 15 teams in the world. If you play in these, you need multiple weeks off work (as these tournaments run all week). This is not conducive to having a career. So the model for a young curler looking to grow up to be a champion, the model is to go all in.

But here is an alternate model for success: Krista McCarville. They are the Oakland A’s in Moneyball. Except instead of having less money than the other teams like the A’s, they have less time.

They achieve an incredibly high level of play while having lives. This team has been close to winning the Scotties multiple times (she has lost 2 finals), and was final 3 to represent Canada in the Olympics last Olympic Trials. This is undisputedly one of the top 5 teams in Canada.

So how do they do this? How do they manage to compete with the best women’s teams in the world while actually having families, jobs and lives?

Well, they practice. A lot.

And they have some pretty good coaching, from no less than my childhood hero and the guy whose slide my random Quebec toe-tuck is modeled after: Rick Lang.

They shun the Slams. They play only small schedule. They come into this event with hardly any CTRS points, ranked 15^th out of 18.

But they currently sit at 6-1, and are looking likely to be in the mix again this year.

I hope young teams that are asking themselves if this is a model they can emulate to be good at curling. Maybe there is another path to curling success. You can compete against the pro teams.

Now if we can just get the commentators to stop talking about how their reduced schedule kills their chance of winning.

Time for the Scotties!!!

2023-02-18T00:35:00.001-05:00

The Scotties kicks off this week, which signals the beginning of the season of curling on TV. Sure there is curling before, there are Slams before Christmas, but the Scotties kicks off the full TSN coverage, which they do very well.

I really enjoy the Scotties. The curling is good, and the women will tend to have a few more rocks in play than you would see at the Brier. The women’s game also seems to have more emotion and fun.

This will be a compelling week of curling. Teams have been shuffled since last year, so apart from the defending champs, most of the favorites are using new line ups. And of course I will cheer for LSG – aka Laurie St-Georges to defy the odds and make some noise.

As far as predictions go, you have to think that Homan and Einerson are the favorites. Both have the experience and the talent to win the big games. Smart money would have them playing each other in the finals again. Lawes and Jones will likely round out the final 4. I am curious to see how some of the younger teams fare. I think the women’s game is more likely to see new teams be in contention for the next Olympic qualifying than the men’s game. Teams like Skrlik, Grandy and Zackarias (with or without Jones) will be interesting to watch develop over this event and the next few years.

TSN Coverage vs. Streaming

There has been a lot discussion of late around streaming and TV coverage of curling. In Ontario Provincials, an event with 1/10^th the budget of a national championship, every single game was available via streaming, yet in a Brier or a Scotties I only get to watch the TSN feature game.

I get that TSN has been using the same format for many years, but it is hard to believe that it might not be time for a re-think in how they cover the big events to help drive more exposure and better coverage.

- Firstly, they need to be more flexible to switch games, and switch back if needed. Can we get updates that are more than just the occasional shot? I am watching the first draw, and while we are watching the Alberta-WC1 game, the commentators are telling us how good the Canada-Quebec game is, and all we see is the occasional skip rock.

- There needs to be a way to watch the other games on-line, even without commentary. I know TSN dabbled with covering multiple games across TSN 3-4-5, but I get why that is tougher given the production value that they put in each game. So why not stream the other games on the TSN platform? I get that they want eyeballs on their main feed, but it seems like a low-cost way of drawing in fans. Eyeballs = revenue.

The current TSN model is based on the notion that most people still watch TV, but if you are trying to reach the next generation of curling fans, you need to offer options that appeal to the multi-screen, streaming-only crowd.

WTF, where F is for Format

So let me explain how the Scotties format works:

Two pools of 9 play an eight game round robin.
The top 3 teams advance to the playoffs.
Then the 2^nd place in Pool A plays 3^rd place in Pool B, for the right to play 1^st place in Pool B for a spot in the 1-2 Page playoff.
2^nd place in Pool B plays 3^rd place in pool A, for the right to play 1^st place in Pool A for the other spot in the 1-2 page playoff.
The losers of the Cross-over final play each other for the right to play the loser of the 1-2 Page playoff game.
The the winner of that game then plays the .... ah forget it. Finals are Sunday.

What the hell are they trying to do? This is the most confusing format I have ever seen. I don’t know any other sport that tries to give teams so many chances to lose and still win.

Here is a truth: at a certain point, it comes down to a game where you need to win or go home. Why is curling obsessed with giving everybody so many chances to lose? It just makes the event seem interminable. It is hard to maintain the drama over so many damn games. There must be a better way.

I mean the friggin’ Olympics are sudden death after the Round Robin!

An open letter to David Murdoch

2023-02-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

Dear David;

I am overjoyed to hear of your appointment to lead the High Performance program at Curling Canada. I have enjoyed curling against you and watching you over many years of success at beating Canadian teams and in teaching other how to do the same.

So as a fellow steward of this great game that we love, let me share with you my wishes to help this increasingly troubled Canadian program develop.

First, you need to recognize that curling in Canada is unlike any other country. Yes, you Scots might have invented the game, but we made it more than something you do on a frozen loch waiting for the ice to melt so you can golf.

Competitive curling in Canada is history. From Werenich to Hemmings, from Jones to Jones, from Gervais to Jacobs, from Schmirler to Homan, Lukowich to Gushue, from the Ryan Express to the Iceman, from the Richardsons to Koe, from the Howards to, er well, the Howards. Competitive curling in Canada is a legacy. It is the Brier. It is the Scotties. It is big Silver trophies carried by Mounties. It is TSN (or the CBC before). It is the Hackner double, the Schmirler Gold, the Jones in-off, and the Gushue trio. It is Ray Turnbull, Vic Router and Don Duguid, Linda Moore and Cheryl.

These people and moments in and of themselves are only made special by the legacy and by the context that created them. This legacy and history made Canada the undisputed curling superpower for decades. Canadian curlers were better because curling meant so much to so many. Every year, an ARMY of curlers would mobilize to try to get to the Brier or Scotties. Thousands of teams aspired for greatness. This was the pinnacle. And it was readily accessible.

But this is no longer the world we live in. The Olympics have replaced the Brier as the pinnacle of the sport. And Canadian teams that used to aspire to winning a trophy now aim for the privilege of wearing the Maple Leaf at the Olympics.

That has changed our game. The bar has gotten considerably higher. The strength that used to come from sheer numbers and competition now is replaced by relatively few teams that dedicate the better part of their lives to reaching the top of the sport. It has created the professional curler; of which you were one, David!

The rewards of Olympic curling have brought other countries into the curling mix. Countries like Sweden, Switzerland, the US and Scotland have realized that they can also reach the pinnacles of the sport with a given formula:

Coaching + time + funding + a dedicated team + practice together + play in the Slams = get very good = potential medals!

Gone are the days of listing the players day jobs on the screen as they compete.

So how do we continue to succeed in this new world, and what is success?

My take:

To me, the biggest challenge is to understand what success looks like. Many use medals as the ultimate barometer of curling excellence. But I would argue that might be true for other programs in countries that likely have 1/100^th of the competitive teams that Canada has, but if medals come at the expense of the competitive curling world in Canada, if medals come at the expense of the rich tradition that is the Brier and the Scotties, to me that is failure.

So how do you achieve both?

- Success on the podium

- Continuing to develop the mass of competitive teams from coast to coast, and protecting the rich legacy of the Brier and Scotties.

To me, success in one at the expense of the other is failure.

So here are my two cents:

- This one seems obvious, but let’s qualify the Olympic teams WAY earlier. Like at least a year in advance. This would allow us to fund the team for a year, and let them get used to the weight of curling with the Maple Leaf on their back. The Trials have to be the most stressful event in the WORLD, maybe even more than the Olympics themselves. I get stressed out watching. It is unreasonable to think that teams could go through that stress and not be a bit burnt out for the next couple of months. Let’s declare our teams a year in advance, and then let them train and play for a year with an optimized schedule that helps them peak at the right time.

- Unlike other countries, Curling Canada should not be in the team-picking business. This might have worked in the UK, where the teams can be selected from a smaller set of competitive players, but it comes at a price. Create the playing field – and provide the coaching opportunities for the winning teams (like Brier winners or top ranked CTRS teams).

- Support the base. Canadian curling success has come from the strength of the base. Teams have to go through difficult times and challenge to get great. They need to grind. Make it hard, then let the cream rise to the top. Stop funneling funding to the top teams. Our last Olympic men's winner was Brad Jacobs - who worked their way up the ladder and grinded in the years leading up to the Olympics. They qualfied for the Trials through the pre-trials. The grind made them better. They peaked at the perfect time.

- A lot is made of residency rules. This is a giant red herring. It really only matters to a small handful of teams, who should be able to work within the rules. We have now made exceptions for birthright, we allow an import, and quite frankly I do not care if EJ Harnden’s official curling residence is Brad Gushue’s basement. Further bending of the rules is not needed.

Well David, I wish you luck. Having hoisted a few pints with you over the years, I am confident that you get it. I am confident that you will not sacrifice the rich legacies of the Brier and Scotties in the pursuit of Olympic excellence. I am confident that you will help make us better.

Yours in curling,

Mike Fournier

TEAM FOURNIER ANNOUNCEMENT: Namaste, Salvadore

2023-01-13T19:52:00.000-05:00

TEAM FOURNIER ANNOUNCEMENT

After much thought and careful consideration, Team Mike Fournier has decided to part ways with team Astrologist and Meditation Consultant Salvadore Zabat-Kihn.

This decision was far from easy, as Salvadore has been a part of the team since his spiritual chanting of "Boom, Boom" was instrumental in the team winning the Kitchener-Waterloo bonspiel earlier this season, but as the team prepares for the upcoming Ontario Provincial Championship, we felt the need to seek out a new spiritual and mental direction.

We wish Salvadore all the best as a curling advisor, as a spiritual being and most importantly as a human, on both this plane and the next.

As a team, we will take a moment to assess our spiritual state before seeking out new guidance and will produce a similarly artificial press release once we have chosen Salvadore’s replacement.

Thank you, and Namaste.

***

But seriously, I am very excited to be headed to the Ontario Provincials next week.

After having curled in countless Quebec provincials, I get to try my luck in the land of Trillium. We qualified by the skin of our teeth via some moderate success on the Ontario curling tour. But it’s a new game, and everyone starts at zero wins and zero losses.

Honestly, for a hard-core curling lover, the idea of playing Glenn Howard in a likely-full arena in an evening draw at an Ontario Provincial is goosebump-inducing.

For those following along, I believe the event will be streamed on www.curlOnTV.ca.

The Provincial Season is my favorite time of the year. You can talk about Slams, and Worlds, but nothing beats the drama, the passion and the pressure of trying to get to the Brier or Scotties. The finals from most provinces are usually broadcast on Sportsnet or via streaming, and unlike many televised curling games, you can usually feel the anxiety and nervousness of a game where finishing second sucks (trust me on that one).

An Indecent Proposal: let me sponsor your golf/curling tournament.

2022-06-30T17:56:00.003-04:00

In the classic eighties movie Indecent Proposal, Robert Redford offers Woody Harrelson a cool million bucks to spend one night with his wife, Demi Moore. Many of my favorite sports now find themselves in the role of Woody Harrelson, wondering if the big cheque you are getting is worth having some creepy dude screw around with something you love.

I have been a sports junkie my whole life. Whether its playing, watching, discussing or watching sports movies, I have always thought that sports provides a great common reference point for us all. Sports has become the new religion, it often provides us with role models, and I have always loved the challenge of having to deliver under pressure. It has what has made me love watching curling, watching golf, or pretty much any other game where dedicated athletes have trained to put themselves in a position that is compelling to watch. I love the drama.

But lately, I have become a bit disillusioned by some of the implications of money and sponsorship in the sports I love to watch. Hey, I get capitalism. I am all for athletes getting paid. I understand that money and sponsorship allow sports to reach a national audience. But damn, the last few weeks have been tough on the sports I love, and the influx of questionable money is making it harder and harder to be a fan.

Some are excited by the influx of cash – but I find myself asking myself if we are willing to take money from anyone? And is it making the sports better?

First, let’s talk golf. In case you have not been following, let me fill you in. The LIV golf tour, created by a disgruntled Greg Norman has begun poaching away golfers from the incredibly lucrative PGA tour by offering them insane amounts of money. Phil Mickelson, whose best days of golf are likely 20 years ago, was offered 200 million to leave the PGA and play in events that look more like a charity pro-ams than golf tournaments, with a few other top golfers. The money is being fronted by Saudi Arabia, who apparently are compelled to drop billions of dollars into golf for no other reason than to show that they can. Some call this “sportswashing” their money - trying to help out their country’s tarnished reputation as a religious autocracy with a sketchy human rights record by transforming it into “magnanimous sports promoter”.

Some of the game’s best are cashing in. Dustin Johnson, Bryson Dechambeau, and likely Brooks Koepka will join the tour and cash in, reportedly receiving amounts in the hundreds of millions just to show up. I guess I get it. If someone offered me life-changing money to go and curl (not likely), I guess I would take it. But golfers like Tiger, Rory, John Rahm, Jason Spieth and Justin Thomas have turned down the money, saying that history, legacy and competition are more important to them.

It’s easy to judge the sell-outs. They have no heart, no soul and no appreciation for the PGA tour that made them rich and famous. They now have enough money for their 2^nd yacht, another private jet. It is hard to cheer for multi-millionaires, who had more than any of us will ever have, who now need MORE money. But they are not the problem.

My ask is why would anyone want to dump billions of dollars to create a tour to rival an existing tour? In marketing, they say if you can’t tell what someone is selling you, then you are the product. The Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund is buying credibility, image and wholesomeness. They know their target market: they want rich, western citizens to know them and like them. Golf gives them that. Phil and DJ give them that. The financial model of giving away that much money cannot possibly make sense. This is not about business; there is no way this tour would be financially viable; its revenues will be but a fraction of the amounts it is paying out. It is all about spreading wealth to make people like them.

Of all the uses I could think of for a few billion dollars, giving it to wealthy PGA tour pros is at the absolute bottom of my list.

The PGA Tour, love it or hate it, has created a feeder system to develop the grassroots of the game. It is also a true meritocracy; you have to earn your way in and you have to keep playing well to remain. It is hard to get there, and it is hard to stay there. That is what make me appreciate the athletes who have made the choice to be that good. LIV golf is a showcase, providing guaranteed money to players.

In no ways does the LIV golf tour make golf better for the fans. Idon't know how all this will end - but I guuarantee it will not end with a "and they made the game of golf better and all lived happily ever after."

From golf to hockey…

I was watching ads for sports betting the other night. Oh wait – I was actually watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, which has seemingly become an informercial for sports betting sites. There was commentary on the betting. And then “celebrities” talking about their bets. I now know what a parlay is. I now understand odds. How have I lived this long without being able to engage in state-sponsored gambling?

I get it. Betting on sports can be fun. Dropping a few bucks into a hockey pool is awesome. Betting with your friends, awesome. But sports betting always comes with an ugly underbelly. We know that gambling is an addiction like many others, and can ruin lives. So the incessant marketing of this, making us feel like there are riches to capture if we only play, normalizing gambling as something we all should do, feels wrong, and way over the top.

Which brings me to curling.

Curling Canada just announced its deal with Pointsbet Canada, and has created a new event: a March madness-style, single-knockout spiel in NB next September. Don’t get me wrong; I love the idea of trying new formats, and creating new events. And admittedly, this format sounds compelling, apart from making teams fly to New Brunswick for the possibility of being out in one-game (I believe they are giving the invited teams $5000 each to play to cover travel). The prize money is pretty big as well. They are also inviting the reigning Junior and Club (amateur) champions to play. And they will of course have sponsor exemptions.

But here is where I have a few problems with this.

· Sports betting start-ups in Canada are using the same technique as the Saudis; they are normalizing their existence by throwing money at a sport with a good reputation for being ethical.

· Gambling in curling is fraught with the potential for fraud. I blogged about this last year – and got a lot of feedback from people calling me a Debbie Downer for pointing out what seems to be obvious: there are serious motivations for teams to manipulate the outcomes of games to win or lose bets.

· Inviting a junior team to an event sponsored by and encouraging sports gambling? Kinda sketchy.

Sports betting has always had problems in sports where the money being bet is misaligned with the money being made by the participants. For example, in the US, betting on college basketball had a massive points-shaving scandal, as the athletes do not get paid, but the money wagered was HUGE.

This is the wrong direction for Curling Canada. For an organization that has done so much good work of late to encourage inclusiveness and diversity in sport, the move towards gambling and monetizing the game is outside of what they should be doing, or sanctioning.

I can hear you reading this and calling me an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud, and I hear you pointing out that the game used to be sponsored by tobacco and other vices. But it isn’t anymore.

Like golf, part of the charm of curling was that it has a solid ethical message built into its traditions and heritage. Players call fouls on themselves. We shake hands at the end of games. We say “nice shot” to our opponents. The unholy marriage with the sports gambling industry just does not fit.

I know that sports today is all about business. I am in no way naïve enough to not recognize that money is hard to say no to, and money is required to make bigger events, bigger purses and generate interest for the games. But if we truly love our sports, I expect us to be able to recognize that money never comes in for free; it always comes with expectations and conditions. Whether its hockey, golf or curling, the recent influx of questionable money is a threat to the very soul of these games. That is why it just feels so wrong to many fans. And just because it’s now legal does not make it right.

To be honest - I can't remember how Indcent Proposal Ends, but I am going to guess that it is not "he took the money and they all lived happily ever after".

Thanks Lethbridge, and Let's not let the Arsonists write the fire safety rules

2022-03-13T04:14:00.001-04:00

I am back from Lethbridge, struggling to jump back on the moving train that is my life after escaping into curling nirvana for 10 exciting days. The Brier this year, and everything leading up to it has been an emotional rollercoaster.

First, I was not supposed to even be on the ride. I had said that I was stepping away from the game back in November, only to find out that my team still needed me after my replacement went down with a wrist injury. After thinking my competitive career was at an end, I was called back into service.

We then won Charlevoix a few weeks later. I had never seen a team play so well. Felix was on fire, and everything was falling into place. I was back to practicing, and I could not wait for a week at Provincials with my team.

But then, a wave of Covid hit. Events cancelled. Clubs closed. And provincials delayed. I spent January throwing practice rocks into empty houses, once again prevented from practicing as a team, all for provincial that was looking less and less likely to occur.

We were in a very awkward spot. We were without question the top ranked team in the province by a pretty wide margin (if you go by the national raking system), but we were told that if there were to be no provincials, there would be a selection process to pick a team to send. And who knew what that meant.

We waited. We practiced. We waited some more, for what felt like an eternity. As restrictions started to loosen, there was hope that Quebec could run a provincial. We practiced. We waited. We had Zoom calls. Then they announced there would be no provincial. And we waited some more.

I know it sounds self-serving or disingenuous to say that we wanted a provincial, but we absolutely wanted a provincial. We wanted to earn our spot at the Brier, and we honestly believed we would win it fair and square. Also, I know that the intensity and pressure of a Provincial would be a great way to prepare us for a week against the country’s best. And if somebody beat us at provincials, then so be it.

If my house was on fire, and I had to choose a single possession to save from the flames, it would be my purple heart from 2018. (A Purple Heart is the crest given to provincial winners). That crest represents years of hard work and perseverance. I earned it. And I damn sure wanted to earn another one this year.

But instead, we were anointed Quebec’s representatives. Some in our province complained at the choice, given that I had announced my retirement earlier this year. I think that is massively unfair to both me and especially my teammates, who worked so hard to get to the level they are at, and who I expect to keep winning long after I am gone. I believe we were the right choice for the Brier.

Then, with the selection process behind us, we then found out that Martin had contracted Covid, within a week of us leaving for Lethbridge. Our last week was spent learning about CT levels, isolation protocols and incubation periods. Not exactly the ideal pre-event prep.

We found out all of 6 hours before our televised game against arguably the Best Team in the World that Martin would even be able to play. We struggled to find our legs against Gushue in that game, and got thoroughly schooled. We then won vs. the Territories, then got demolished again, this time by Brad Jacobs.

We then lost a game that we should have won. We played a brilliant game against Jason Gunnlaugson, only to blow it on a very bad call that will haunt me for many years to come. We dropped a game to BC where we should have been better. We finished strong against Nova Scotia and Manitoba, and got the added bonus of having our last 5 ends televised, as we put together a crafty 4 in the 9^th end to knock Mike McEwen into a tie-breaker.

In the NFL, there is an expression that says: “You are your record”. We were 4-4. We could have won one or two more had we been sharper, and we could have lost one more had our opponents been better. All in all, 4-4 is fair for how we played. We finished a game out of the playoffs. Unfortunately, I felt like we were finally hitting our stride as the tournament ended for us.

A few other observations/stories from the Brier:

I have no idea how I do NOT have Covid. Mark Nichols and the rest of Team Gushue were safe all week, avoiding crowds and wearing masks off the ice, while we were in the Patch, singing karaoke and signing autographs. And he gets Covid. Life is not fair. I feel for them, and I am cheering for them to become the first team to win the Brier 3-handed
I had forgotten how amazing it is to play this game in front of cheering fans. It is indescribable to the average curler. It is both terrifying and exhilarating, but mostly just fun
I need to say that I love JF Trepanier. I just want to highlight that he put up 1^st all-star numbers at lead, and is the funniest person I have ever played with. And he got kicked out of the Brier patch for dancing with a cardboard cutout of the Rock (I mean Dwayne Johnson, not an actual rock). Epic.

Changing the Brier

Here we go again. As predictable as the spring, Curling pundits and some TopTeams will now call for sweeping changes to the Brier. They will poo-poo provincial representation and point to the crappy records of the weaker provinces / territories as proof positive that the current format is broken. Kevin Martin & friends will wail on poor Nunavut, and point out that PEI, Newfoundland and the Yukon only managed one win apiece, all against each other. They will talk about the “entertainment value” of the product being the main goal, and point out that residency restrictions put limitations on our best teams.

In short they will call for the Brier to be better, and point to its declining ratings and attendance as proof that the current format is broken.

This is like the arsonist who set fire to your house giving you a lecture on fire safety.

I call bullshit on this need for radical change.

Yes, the Brier is at a crossroads. The consensus seems to be that change is necessary, as attendance and TV ratings continue to decline. (although I suspect this year’s attendance issues are likely more about Covid than lack of interest)

We all agree that making the product more entertaining will help, but where views differ is on how to get there. Some would say to make the Brier more exclusive, with only the top tour teams invited and limit provincial reps. Others would have the Brier go back to its roots, and be an event only for “amateurs” (like the US Amateur is for golfers) and discourage the pros from even playing. I think moves in either direction would hasten the decay of the Brier.

I am of the mindset that the current format/number of teams seems like a good compromise. They say the measure of a good compromise is that nobody feels satisfied, and this seems to be the case here. You have provincial representation, but you have some spots available for the hadful of "pro" teams. Perhaps the only change I would suggest would be to include the Wildcard teams BEFORE the provincial playdowns. This would help grow the game in places like Newfoundland and Northern Ontario, by giving more teams a hope of making it, and give the stronger provinces more representation.

In short, the current format is not perfect. (I would also suggest that new playoff format is unnecessarily complicated). But removing provincial representation will kill the event. Look at a team like Colton Flasch this year. Look at the pride they take in wearing the Saskatchewan green. Look at McEwen with the Manitoba Buffalo on his back. Provinces are what made the Brier into what it is, and are still an essential part of the show.

But we also need to ensure that the top teams in the country are part of the solution. A Brier without the best teams is not sustainable. It would be destined to become a Tier B event if held only for the "amateur" teams.

I was lucky enough to spend some time chatting with Gerald Shymco at the Brier this year. For those of you who do not know Gerald, he lost the Brier semi-final to Guy Hemmings on an amazing draw to the pin in 1999. Gerald is what the Brier should aspire to be. His love for the game, his genuine love for the traditions and his disdain for how the game has evolved should give pause to all curlers screaming for change. The Brier works because it is the one event that is still bigger than the players. It still draws thousands of fans (and volounteers!) and can produce moments like the one he had with Guy in 99. (here the link to the shot, and watch the post-game bear-hug he gave Guy after losing to him).

Guy draw against Shymco

A few other points:

I sadly agree that Nunavut should not be at the Brier. As much as I love Peter and his crew, they are just not ready and need to take steps to get better. In their defense, they told me that their club was not even open for most of this season, and obviously spieling is not an option. But I think the Nunavut association has to look at some alternatives to sending lambs to the slaughter every year. Maybe they should give up their spot for x years in exchange for some funding to repair/upgrade their curling club or for junior development. There are better ways to grow the game in Nunavut than to have a team be cannon fodder at the Brier.
A few words on entertainment. Here is a controversial statement: the best teams are evolving towards a more boring style of play. I say this not to as an insult: if anything, I mean it as a compliment. I aspire to be good enough to make my games be boring. The top teams are so good, so disciplined, so methodical that I find they can become boring to watch, and it can lead to boring games. I do not mean to be disparaging to what they have accomplished, and the hard work it takes to be as good as they are. But if your main concern is the entertainment value of the product, then you need to protect the game against the idea that boring is the best way to win. This same evolution towards boring is what drove the game to the free guard zone 30 years ago. The best teams were too good and made the game boring. The same is true now. Maybe we need to go to a 6 or 7 rock FGZ. Or maybe just no takeouts on the first 6-7 rocks, even on rocks that are in the rings (like Mixed Doubles). And maybe we should use rocks that are LESS lively and harder to take out. And let’s remove stopwatches. In short, anything we can do to make the best teams shoot slightly lower percentages would be good for the game. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but the possibility of missing every once in a while makes for entertaining content. We need to find ways to fight boring.
It is not good for a sport when your overtime, which is supposed to be the most exciting part of the game, has all the drama of an NFL extra-point conversion. The best teams are winning 90%+ of extra end games when they have the hammer. The no-tick rule coming soon will help. It should give a bit of a fighting chance to the team without the hammer, to create a bit more entertainment.

***

Anyway, as I reflect on my 3^rd and hopefully not last Brier, I am just so grateful for the experience.

A giant thank you goes out to those who supported us throughout our journey, both our sponsors and our fans. Thanks to the volounteers and fans in Lethbridge that helped make the event feel like the Brier after what has been 2 long years.

The Brier is a tradition that I grew up watching and aspired to my whole curling life. The chance to be a part of it again is something I will remember forever.

News of Breakups, Unretirements and Lifted Curses

2021-12-07T19:49:00.003-05:00

There has been a social media explosion to the firing of Darren Moulding from the reigning Brier champs, Team Bottcher. It has been a somewhat entertaining shit show, complete with a glossed-over and misleading press release, interviews a-plenty and lots of bad blood and hurt feelings.

Bottcher said it best when he mentioned that breaking up is hard to do. This is especially true when you dump a guy weeks before Christmas, and a couple of months away from what would have been a home-town Brier for Moulding, who will now likely be in the stands booing Team Canada in Lethbridge instead of playing.

Curling fans are angry at this one, I think mainly because this seems so off-brand for this team. Team Bottcher always came across as genuine, decent guys – a bit removed from the business-first approach of some of the other competitive teams. I guess a lot of that was Moulding, who always came across as genuine and true, and was never afraid to let his passion and feelings show. He was very much the face of the team, and gave them the reputation as hard-working, average guys. They have a cute train-themed social media thing happening for them, and they actually seemed to like each other.

But Bottcher’s dismissal could not be more opposed to this “nice guy” reputation the team had built. No matter how you look at it, right or wrong, this was cold. This was BUSINESS. This was a round of corporate layoffs before the Holidays. For most fans, it seems aggregious.

But I can relate to the feeling that the team was broken, and I understand that feeling that whatever is wrong needs to be fixed right away.

I say this as a guy who has broken up teams mid-season on a couple of occasions. I tell you, when it feels wrong on the ice, you need to act right away to fix it. Some people can curl well angry or with tension, I am not one of those people. When there is tension on the ice, it needs to get fixed one way or the other. One of the key ingredients for any high-performance team is trust, and the interviews suggest that it was absent here.

A quick story…In 2018, 6 weeks before the Provincials which we ended up winning to go to the Brier, our team was in that place; we were broken and tension was high. We needed a heart-to-heart chat to address tensions that we were having on the ice. We were brutally honest with each other, and it ended up making us stronger as a team. But before that chat, we were broken. After the chat we were still the same 4 guys, but with the tension gone we could focus on curling.

And it appears that Team Bottcher went through something similar. Seeing them at the trials, you knew something was wrong. There were things left unsaid. Something had to give.

The big question now is who they will find to replace Darren. We are weeks away from many provinces starting playdowns to get to the Brier, so Bottcher needs to find someone who is willing to leave their current team mid-season. While the allure of being on Team Canada is a big draw, it is a dick move to leave your team in December.

I would offer my services to Team Bottcher as a recently-retired back end player but alas….

It turns out that news of retirement was a bit premature.

A bit of news from me and Team Fournier. I mentioned last blog that I would be stepping back from the game after the pre-trials, as I prepare for a move to Toronto for work with a new job. It turns out the curling gods in a fit of whimsey have given me a bit more time.

After we lost our last game of the pre-trials in a heart-breaker to Tanner Horgan, I thought I was done. I was a bit emotional after the game, (especially after Scott Chadwick hugged me and said it was an honour to play against me for my last game, sniff sniff), and was prepared to slip into the warm embrace of 6 or 7 rye and cokes. But then my teammates informed me that my replacement, Steven Munroe, had freakishly torn his hand ligaments bowling (yes, bowling) and would be unavailable for the season. That means that I am back – at least for one more run for the Brier. The provincials will be held January 5-12 in Alma, Quebec.

WTF Charlevoix?

Charlevoix had always been my “bête noire” of curling bonspiels. While I always seem to have a great time there off-ice, my on-ice record at Quebec’s biggest bonspiel has been pretty awful. From the time I gave up a steal of 3 to Martin Ferland in the Circuit finals 20 or so years ago, Charlevoix always ended in heartbreak. Some would even say I was cursed.

But wait - apparently the news of my impending retirement has lifted the curse! We played great all weekend, and Team Fournier managed to squeak out a win in the finals against Paul Flemming from Nova Scotia to claim the title. It helped that we sacrificed a Brownie, a virgin, a live chicken and an autographed Guy Hemmings picture prior to the playoff round to appease the Curling Gods. (apologies to the locker room cleaning staff!). But we did it! The curse if lifted!

So thank you, Charlevoix! I will definitely return in the future and will speak highly of you to my new Ontarian friends. And hopefully next year the band and party will be back as well; it just wasn’t the same without the cover band belting out ACDC’s “She was a Fax Machine…”

Bet...bet...BET...BET!!!!

2021-10-18T17:59:00.001-04:00

As I eagerly await the start of the pre-trials next week in Liverpool (which Kevin Martin apparently thinks I should not even be playing at!), just a few thoughts on pervasive trend that has developed in the last few years.

Bet…bet…BET, BET, BET!!! Fred Flintstone’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he lost all control, as this cartoon from my childhood so elegantly addressed gambling addiction.

Fast Forward to 2021. Like Fred Flinstone, my beloved sport of curling is getting into the gambling game. Years ago it was just some hard-core sports gambling sites giving odds on the Brier and Scotties. But now more and more sites have started providing action on games from the Slams and Curling Canada events. Betting sites have started sponsoring curling teams, encouraging the use of their platforms to make a few bucks on curling. And now even the traditionalist Curling Canada is getting its piece of the action, announcing a partnership with a sports betting site for their events.

On the surface this makes a lot of sense. Sports gambling is big business, and its involvement in the sport will surely bring in some dearly needed excitement and money to the game. Curling is trying to be Big League, and that means money and gambling.

But at the risk of being called a pearl-clutching doomsayer, I have a prolem with Curling Canada condoning gambling on its events.

I have a few real problems with this. First of all, many (most) of the teams at the Brier are amateurs. We do not make enough money at curling to make a living, and to be honest, our dedication to the sport also often limits our ability to make a good living away from the game. Put simply, curlers don’t have a lot of money. Only a handful of teams are truly financially stable. I am on the 30^th ranked team in the world (give or take a few spots), and we are AT BEST financially break-even as a curling team. Unlike a lot of pro sports - there are no curling millionaires.

So here is the scenario: Province A is playing Province B at the Brier in a game where we are both teams have already been eliminated. Province A is a heavy favorite. Province A skip gets a call from a friendly gambler, and an offer for a $5000 sponsorship for the season if he were to lose.

To be clear if I am skipping Province A – I would say no. But when you have games that are meaningless, with amateur participants who are financially needy, you open yourself up to questions. Let’s say in my scenario, Province A skip says no to the offer, but then loses the game anyway. As a fan, would you not ask questions about the integrity of the game?

I get that for some, having a few bucks riding on an outcome enhances the viewing experience. But is this something Curling Canada should be condoning?

Look, I know gambling is going to happen whether Curling Canada or some of Canada's leading teams get involved or not. But curling jumping into this industry with both feet just feels wrong to me. As the gambler wisely advises: You gotta know when to walk away, and know when to run.

The Dreaded "R" Word.

2021-09-19T01:42:00.004-04:00

I always swore that when I would decide to hang up my curling shoes, I would not do some sappy Facebook/Twitter post announcing it to the world; I would just quietly exit, stage right. But I kinda feel the need to share some news as we head into the start of what will hopefully be a more conventional and social curling season:

Once the Olympic Trials are done for this year, I will be stepping back from competitive curling.

I was getting to the point in my career where I have started to notice the game passing me by. I am 49, about to turn 50, and as much as I have tried to stay in shape and keep my game up to the level of the some of the best curlers in the world, it keeps getting a bit harder year after year.

Covid has not helped; I have not thrown a curling rock since the 2021 Brier, and find myself having to remember how to get my not-so flexible legs to tuck back into curling position. The sad and inescapable truth is the amount of practice I need to do to be able to make the shots I need to make is now beyond the time and energy I have to give.

And, as I often pointed out, sometimes life can get in the way of curling. I have taken on a new role at my “day job” that will require me to relocate to Toronto (or “The Six” as the cool kids call it) and spend a bit more of my energy at work. It was probably already time to step away gracefully, but the combination of Covid and work have made the decision to retire that much easier. Therefore, once our Olympic quest comes to an end, (which will ideally be after closing ceremonies in Beijing early next year!), I will step back from the game I love.

I will miss it dearly. I will miss that excitement you feel competing at a high level. I will miss playing down for the Brier, still one of the greatest sports traditions on the planet. I will miss my team. I will miss that satisfying feeling of sitting down for a postgame rye and coke, knowing that you just competed against the best in the World at a game. Most of all I will miss my team.

I am incredibly proud of how this team has grown over the past years, from starting with Felix and Will five years ago, then adding Ben and JF and now Martin. There are times, rare times, in sport when a team becomes more than just a collection of guys playing the game. It becomes something indescribable, a bond towards a common purpose that unifies in way that nothing else can. This team is that. #feedthehorses

So what does this mean for Team Fournier?

Well, I will leave it up to them to tell you. But Team Fournier will live on for at least a couple more months. As a result of our national ranking pre-Covid, we have been invited to play at the Olympic Pre-Trials. The Pre-Trials will be held October 26-31 in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. 14 Teams will play down for 2 spots at the final Olympic Trials to be held in Saskatchewan in late November. Then the winner heads to Beijing 2022 wearing the maple leaf.

If the pre-Trials/Trials is to be my last big men’s competitive run, I can think of no better way to go out. The Canadian Olympic Trials are the pinnacle of the sport. I would argue it is harder to win the Canadian Olympic Trials than it is to win the Olympics. I absolutely can’t wait to get back on the ice to work towards October.

***

My recent decision to step back has left me rather reflective on the past 30 years of competitive curling. I have borne witness to so many changes in the game, from the introduction of the free guard rule (thank God!), to the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics, to the directional sweeping era where we all faced the bizarre notion that we had been sweeping wrong for the past 50 years. The game is barely recognizable to when I started out 3 decades ago.

The highlights are many. Obviously going to the Brier in 2018 and 2021 top the list, and especially winning the Quebec Championship at Glenmore takes the top spot.

But I can’t help but to think back to how much fun it was just to even make it to Quebec Provincials when I started out. I think I was two years out of juniors when I qualified A-side out of Montreal, where we were one of 4 teams out of 80 or 90. It was different time.

And so many of my best memories will come from playing in obscure cashspiels in small towns. The tour was fun, and every spiel was an adventure.

***

Anyway – more to come. My imminent retirement will surely not mean the end of the blog. I might not be writing as an insider anymore, but it will be much more fun to write about the big teams without having to worry about them reading it before playing me!

Real Men, Curlers or Habs Don't Cry - or do They?

2021-04-29T14:07:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I have an idea for a blog rumbling around in my head, and then something happens in the world outside of curling that helps bring it all together for me. Last week was the European Super League debacle, reminding me of the universal theme of what made a fan a fan.

This week it happened again.

I have been thinking for a while about a few folks that emerged as heroes from the Calgary Curling bubble, and not so much for their curling. Colin Hodgson and Darren Moulding emerged as heroes to me, not so much because of what they did on the ice (although both are pretty fine at curling), but for their heartfelt and genuine displays of bravery and vulnerability off the ice. More on them later.

Like many of my blog ideas, this one was vague and a bit all-over-place. Then it came together this week with an announcement that truly broke my heart as a Habs fan: Jonathan Drouin announced he was taking a leave of absence from the Canadiens and pro hockey for “personal reasons”. I will not speculate what is the issue, but clearly he is admitting that he is not okay.

Like many fans, I have watched Drouin with a hint of frustration over the years. He is pure talent, a natural and gifted playmaker. He would display flashes of absolute brilliance; the perfect no-look pass that nobody expected, the brilliant stick handling around a defenseman, the hand-eye coordination. The man is gifted.

But for every 3 or 4-game flurry of brilliance, there is a 10 game slump where he seems lost and without vision. He has been in one such slump this season after a brilliant start. “Fans” (and I use the term loosely) berate him on social media and say things like “he has no heart”, although he surely wants to be brilliant more than anyone else wants it for him. These “Fans” who give him a standing ovation when he flashes brilliance, actually post that they hope he is injured so the Habs can bring up young Caufield to fill his place. Montreal hockey fans are both the best and the absolute worst all at once.

I watch him play and clearly Jonathan Drouin struggles with confidence. As someone who tries to play a sport at a high level and has been for a long time, I can see it on him as plainly as I can read a scoreboard. You can see it on his face, and in his play. As someone who has struggled with confidence in the past, I can tell you it takes one to know one. And while I have often struggled to keep my chin up in the narrow limelight of curling, Drouin struggles quite visibly at $5M per year in the most critical and over-hyped hockey market in the World (other than Toronto).

I do not know what exactly is going on with Jonathan Drouin, and I will not speculate. But here is a guy growing up in a sport dominated by truly toxic masculinity; a sport where might makes right. A sport that actually encourages you to take discipline into your own hands and fight if someone violates the unwritten “Code”; a sport that glorifies players who play on through broken ankles or players who return to a game after getting stitched up.

And here is a guy brave enough to walk away - a guy brave enough to put his hand up and say “I am not okay”. To me this is 1000 times more powerful than 365 Bell Let’s Talk days.

I wish him well, and I hope to see his brilliance on display again.

***

Back to curling. For those who do not know Colin Hodgson, he is the charismatic and stylish lead for Team McEwen from Winnipeg. Colin has become a clear and consistent voice for mental wellness in the sport.

After the Brier, Colin was supposed to re-enter the Bubble in Calgary to play in the Grand Slams, and spend another two weeks in relative isolation. Like Jonathan, Colin put up his hand and said No, I am not okay. He chose to stay home. His interview on That Curling Show actually brought me to tears. It was heartbreaking and inspiring, all at the same time.

Darren Moulding was of course the 3^rd for Brier Champion Brendan Bottcher. He took it on the chin in Social Media as Canada went through a mid-week losing streak at the World Championship and then lost to an excellent Scottish Team in the quarters to finish 6th. Yet his interviews were always honest and heartfelt. And even after it was over, he was not afraid to put up his hand and say there were times when he was not okay. His depth and vulnerability were truly touching.

I cannot tell you how refreshing this display of humanity is to watch. I was born into the “fuck my feelings” generation. Real men don’t cry. Real men swallow their emotions. Suck it up princess.

Curling, although not as flush with the toxic masculinity as hockey, was just that way too.

If you are sad, suck it up, have a drink. I think of all the men I knew that were not okay, but just could never say so or talk about it. I think of the countless competitive curlers I have known who have self-medicated throughout the years with booze and/or drugs. I have had teammates that were alcoholics. I have had teammates that were so plainly not okay, it amazes me to this day that they showed up and curled on some days. It breaks my heart to think about it now. And it breaks my heart that I likely did not do enough to have them talk about it.

Thanks Jonathan, Darren and Colin for showing us there is better way.

Changing the Brier could get Messi

2021-04-22T16:41:00.003-04:00

I could not help but chuckle this week at the death of the European Super League, a mere 48 hours after its birth. For those of you not up on your European Soccer – here is the skinny:

The top soccer teams in the World (like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Barcelona) decided that they did not want to play against the other “Tier 2” teams in Europe. They wanted to create a league for only the top 15 teams, where they would only play against each other. Basically they were turning their backs on the rest of the soccer world.

So why do this? It’s all about the money, honey. The top clubs figured that their fans would be overjoyed to only watch them play against superstar-laden squads, to not have to worry every year about having to qualify for major championships like the Champions League. They figured that the TV rights and ticket sales could be split 15 ways, instead of having to support the hundreds of Tier 2 teams across Europe in the various national leagues.

But this idea only lasted 2 days. Why? Because the fans, the people who actually pay to watch, saw this idea for what it was: a cynical cash and power grab. Football fans are among the most passionate in the world, and they were in the streets this week protesting against this turd of an idea. And not only the fans of the “tier 2” clubs; fans of Chelsea and Liverpool fans were among the most vocal.

And their protests worked. Most of the teams have pulled out following the fan backlash.

Amazingly, fans respect the history of the game, and they like that the big clubs have to support the smaller ones. The fans enjoy the competition, and the potential for an underdog team (like Leicester City a few years ago) to win it all despite overwhelming odds. The fans like that the World Cup, where the Club teams dissolve away to play for their country, is still the ultimate soccer event on the planet (despite a number of issues with residency rules).

What soccer suddenly realized this week is that the game is bigger than just the top teams.

***

You might have been able to read from my not-so-subtle telling of this story that this situation might just be pertinent to curling, and worth remembering as we discuss changing the Brier and Scotties.

Of course, curling attracts 1/1 millionth the money and attention of European Football, but I still think there are lessons to be learned.

Some pundits have suggested that like the ESL, the Brier should limit provincial representation, and turn the national championship into an invitation-only event for the top-ranked teams. Forget about the Tier 2 provincial teams, nobody wants to pay to watch them play anyway.

What became obvious this week in Europe was that the Top Teams and players often have no idea what actually makes the average fan watch a sport. The Christiano Ronaldos and Manchester Uniteds of the world inevitably think that it is about them; that fans pay to watch the best players because they are the best players.

For sure this is a part of it, but history and competition play a key role in what makes true fans stick with a sport as well.

Fans like unpredictability. Fans like underdog stories that no one saw coming. Fans like feeling an attachment to their teams as they struggle to prove themselves.

And as much as the soccer in the new European Super League would have been spectacular, the fans realized that the same teams playing each other over and over again would get BORING.

Let's hope that the powers that be remember this when deciding how to evolve the Brier and Scotties in the coming years.

***

So, a little over a month has passed since I checked out of the Calgary curling bubble, and it feels like a year ago. I miss curling.

I only got to play 8 curling games this season, and I really miss it. I miss big cashspiels. I miss the end-of season fun party/charity spiels. I miss having my knees ache from having to play a three-game day. I miss sleeping in sketchy AirBNBs on squeaky mattresses. I miss long car rides home from losing a C-Qualifier on last rock. I miss the irreplaceable taste of a rye-and coke after a hard-earned win. I miss having to draw wide against three in the first end on a fresh path. I miss peeling the other team out of rocks. I miss staring at the draw sheet trying to figure out who we would play in our next game. I miss practicing.

I miss it all.

Here is hoping that the vaccines and the summer wind finally blow this damn virus back to the depths of hell.

***

One of the casualties of the pandemic this year is once again one of my favorite events to support: Kurling for Kids, an annual charity spiel that raises money for the Montreal Children’s and St-Justine Hospitals. 2021 would be the 23^rd year of this event that has raised an astonishing $4 million over the years. Of course the pandemic has cut the legs out of the curling part of the event – but if you would still like to help you can go to www.kurlingforkids.org, they have a number of virtual events like trivia nights and poker tournaments to help you pass the time and help out!

More importantly, if you liked my blog at all this year, it is time to PAY UP, buster!!! Donate a couple of bucks to the cause here: Click here to donate!

Back from the Bubble

2021-03-14T20:28:00.002-04:00

The strangest curling season I will likely ever know has come to an end.

My 2020-2021 season consisted of a total of 8 curling games, all played on the biggest of stages in front of a handful of officials and a panoply of cardboard cut-outs.

Now that the season is over and I have returned to my “normal” existence, I can look back at what was the weirdest of curling seasons.

First, there was a fall of cancellations and frustrations. We went from the excitement of a full season of cashspiels planned across 4 provinces, to the disappointment of realizing that it was all cancelled, weeks before we were to leave for our first tournament.

Then there was practice. Lots of practice. Practice without even knowing what we were practicing for. There were rumours that they would still try to run a Brier, but who knew anything? My kids were in on-line school, restaurnats and bars were closed, all sports were cancelled, and we had been confined to working at home for months. Would there even be a Brier? And if so, who gets to go?

Then some announcements: first in December that there would be a Brier, and then after Christmas that we had been chosen to represent Quebec! While I was glad to have found out that my hours of practice were not in vain, the news also came at the same time as the province shut down. As of January 8^th, all curling was forbidden, and there were NO exceptions (or at least none for us!).

So even though we were going to the Brier in March, we would not be allowed to so much as step on the ice between January 8^th and Feb 27^th (2 days before we would leave for Calgary). Awesome!

This video shows how we trained:

Team Horses Training Video

Then we needed to test. And test. And test. JF discovered that having an oft-broken nose from hockey is not conducive to easy PCR Covid testing. And I discovered that I apparently have a very sensitive gag reflex! All of this to confirm, and re-confirm, that we were Covid-free.

Then we needed to isolate. First at home for 2 weeks, then in a Calgary hotel room. 2 days of room service and Netflix. We had a team Zoom call dinner, despite all being within 50 feet of each other in separate rooms.

But then the payoff. On Friday we got an all clear from our test results, and we were good to go. We got to take off our masks and curl against the best teams in Canada.

The Markin-McPhail Centre, and the Olympic site around it, are stunningly beautiful. This is the home of the national ski-jumping team, the snowboard half-pipe and mogul training. We would drive by people skiing and snowboarding everyday to get to the curling. The arena itself is a smallish yet incredibly modern arena. I am guessing it holds around 2000 fans, although this week there would be none. There were only cardboard cut-outs (I swear I heard them talking to me sometimes) and a small army of volunteers and officials.

The curling itself was an absolute blast. If my season entire season was going to be one week, then we were going to go all out. Our team motto was: “on est pas venu icitte pour bunter”, or loosely translated - we didn’t come here to bunt. We would go down swinging for the fences.

All our games were all fun, and we never felt outclassed.

Our lone TV game vs. Nova Scotia was if nothing else entertaining, as well as incredibly frustrating. Versus Gushue, and Koe, we were very well positioned until a few late misses sealed our fate.

We finished a respectable 4-4. We let a couple of games get away from us and won one we were not “supposed” to against Epping. We beat all of the teams that we were expected to. All in-all a good week.

And in the context of 2021, spectacular. We spent the week in compete awe of the fact that we were CURLING, and that we were the luckiest 4 (or 6 with Will and Ben) curlers in Quebec.

Hell, I was just excited to be able to eat in the hotel restaurant, as Quebec restaurants have not been open since the summer. Sitting and having a few beers with friends in a bar while watching sports on TV was like heaven. On our last night – we took advantage of that privilege:

***

Are you not Entertained?

Curling Twitter this week was ablaze with numerous comments about TV games, and about the entertainment level of the games shown.

A few of the TV feature games showed one team trying to play, while the other team blanked and blanked and blanked. While many of the blanks usually were the result of some impressive hitting, I think even the cardboard cut-outs were napping after 5 ends of scoreless curling.

I think this will inevitably raise questions of further rule changes. The fact is, the aspiring “pro” teams will often be the least fun to watch, as they take less risk to keep control of games. While having your second make a triple peel to get rid of all guards is impressive, the fact is it makes for lousy TV. The rest of the end has all the drama and excitement of a library visit.

Some food for thought for the “pro” teams: if your goal is to make the game less risky and less exciting once you have a two-point lead, why do you expect sponsors and fans to shell out money to watch? The New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in the mid 90s by playing a boring and defensive style of play, but they seriously hurt the game in the process. The “trap” put teams and fans to sleep, leading to games with no flow. Big hit curling teams do the same.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how tough it is to do this. And with the stakes as high as they are, it is naïve to think that teams will not do whatever it takes to win. I think we will need to invent some new rules at the elite level to protect the best teams from themselves. Maybe a no-tick zone, or maybe the blank end should be banned. I know this would change the game, but probably not as much as the 4 or 5 rock rules. Either way, if curlers are hoping to be able to make a living at the game, then they have to figure out a way to put on a better show.

The fact is, when teams decide to play – like in a last end, the curling is awesome. I am writing this after having watched the 10^th end of the Bottcher-Dunstone Semi-final. When both teams want to play, it is spectacular.

***

In closing, there are a number of thank yous that feel especially relevant this year:

Thanks to Curling Canada for pulling off what will be remembered as one of the greatest Briers (and Scotties) ever. Creating an incident-free bubble in the context of the current crisis is nothing short of miraculous. Havnig lived through it from the inside, I can assure you all that you have no idea how much work, preparation and diligence went into planning this event. And it all worked.
The ice, as would be expected, was amazing. To all the ice techs, who took on the isolation and health risks to deliver Brier ice; I say a sincere thanks.
To Curling Quebec, for giving us the honour of representing Quebec on this stage and for the support and effort.
To our sponsors, especially Hardline and RBC Dominon Securities for standing by us this year. We honestly can’t wait to get back on the ice next year.
To the folks at Glenmore, Pointe-Claire, Victoria, Val d’Or and RCMP Curling Clubs who kept the lights on the compressors running so that we could practice as much as possible this season. The motto on our Quebec jackets says Je Me Souviens, and trust us, we will remember.
To my teammates. I have the best team a 49-year old journeyman curler could possibly ask for. I am heartbroken that we only get to curl eight games together this season; I can’t wait until next year.

Lastly: Thanks to all our fans who reached out with words of support during the Brier this year. I can’t tell you what it meant to us that we were not alone, especially in an empty arena under the strangest of conditions. We are so grateful for your support.

I am now pouring a rye and coke and settling in front of my TV for what should be a barnburner of a final.

2021-03-14T19:56:00.001-04:00

Thus, ends the strangest curling season I will likely ever know.

My 2020-2021 season consisted of a total of 8 curling games, all played on the biggest of stages in front of a handful of officials and a panoply of cardboard cut-outs.

Now that the season is over and I have returned to my “normal” existence, I can look back at what was the weirdest of curling seasons.

Then there was practice. Lots of practice. Practice without even knowing what we were practicing for. There were rumours that they would still try to run a Brier, but who knew anything? My kids were in on-line school, all sports were cancelled, and we had been confined to working at home for months. Would there even be a Brier? And if so, who gets to go?

So even though we were going to the Brier in March, we would not be allowed to so much as step on the ice between January 8^th and Feb 27^th (2 days before we would leave for Calgary). Awesome!

This video shows how we trained:

Then we needed to test. And test. And test. JF discovered that having an oft-broken nose from hockey is not conducive to easy PCR Covid testing. And I discovered that I apparently have a very sensitive gag reflex! All to confirm, and re-confirm that we were Covid-free.

But then the payoff. On Friday we got an all clear from our test results, and we were good to go. We got to take off our masks and curl against the best teams in Canada.

The Markin-McPhail Centre, and the Olympic site around it, are stunningly beautiful. It is the site of the national ski-jumping team, the snowboard half-pipe and mogul training. We would drive by people skiing and snowboarding everyday to get to the curling. The arena itself is a smallish yet incredibly modern arena. I am guessing it holds around 2000 fans, although this week there would be none. There were only cardboard cut-outs and a handful of volunteers and officials (and I swear I heard them talking to me sometimes).

The curling itself was an absolute blast. If my season entire season was going to be one week, then we were going to go all out. Our team motto was: “on est pas venu icitte pour bunter”, or loosely translated - we didn’t come here to bunt. We would go down swinging for the fences.

All our games were all fun, and we never felt outclassed.

Our lone TV game vs. Nova Scotia was if nothing else entertaining, as well as incredibly frustrating. Versus Gushue, and Koe, we were very well positioned until a few late misses sealed our fate.

And in the context of 2021, spectacular. We spent the week in compete awe of the fact that we were CURLING, and that we were the luckiest 4 (6 with Will and Ben) curlers in Quebec.

A few notes:

Are you not Entertained?

Curling Twitter this week was ablaze with numerous comments about TV games, and about the entertainment level of the games shown.

In closing, there are a number of thank yous that feel especially relevant this year:

- Thanks to Curling Canada for pulling off what will be remembered as one of the greatest Briers (and Scotties) ever. Creating an incident-free bubble in the context of the current crisis is nothing short of miraculous.

- The ice, as would be expected, was amazing. To all the ice techs, who took on the isolation and health risks to deliver Brier ice; I say a sincere thanks.

- To Curling Quebec, for giving us the honour of representing Quebec on this stage and for the support and effort.

- To our sponsors, especially Hardline and RBC for standing by us this year. We honestly can’t wait to get back on the ice next year.

- To the folks at Glenmore, Pointe-Claire, Victoria, Val d’Or and RCMP Curling Clubs who kept the lights on the compressors running so that we could practice as much as possible this season. The motto on our Quebec jackets says Je Me Souviens, and trust us, we will remember.

- To my teammates. I have the best team a 49-year old journeyman curler could possibly ask for. I am heartbroken that we only get to curl eight games together this season; I can’t wait until next year.

- Lastly: To all our fans who reached out with words of support during the Brier this year. I can’t tell you what it meant to us that we were not alone, especially in an empty arena under the strangest of conditions. We are so grateful for your support.

I am now pouring a rye and coke and settling in front of my TV for what should be a barnburner of a final.

Elsa and The Catchy Toilet Paper Commericial

2021-02-28T23:15:00.007-05:00

I watched more of the Scotties this year than any other year. I am home, we still have an 8PM curfew, and pretty much everything is still closed. So having some curling to watch was amazing. And what a week it was!

I am writing as I watch the final. Both Einerson and Homan have been outstanding all week, and clearly deserve to be playing in the final. Einerson looks to be the most complete team in women’s curling right now; they are consistently outplaying their opposition by 10% or more. Homan is also outstanding, and Rachel is a steely-eyed missile woman. I give a slight edge to Einerson, but it should be a tight one.

***

But somehow I feel that despite all of this, the big story of the week was a Team that finished a mere 6-6. Okay I am a bit biased here, but my highlight as a fan was Team Quebec.

They ended up 6-6, but this was the most inspiring run I have seen from a Quebec women’s team in a long while. Curling-wise, they played well beyond anyone’s expectations, especially given that they were barred from practicing anywhere but in their Dad’s pool since January 8^th. Laurie was lights-out amazing, throwing big shot after big shot, and seemingly without any fear.

Full disclosure, again I am biased here. I know this team very well and have watched them develop for years now. It was fun to watch the rest of the country discover what I already knew.

Yes, they still have a LOT to work on. Their percentages were not where they needed to be to play the big game. And as would be expected, they made some bad strategy calls that cost them dearly. But that is how you learn. Russ Howard referred to “scar tissue” that you get from losing tight games at this level. I think the only way to learn how to play tight end-games is to live and learn. She will learn volumes from her games against, Anderson, Homan and Walker. Those losses are invaluable for a young team.

But enough about their curling. Let’s talk about attitude for a second. This is where Laurie won legions of fans. The Quebec girls were just plain fun. They were positive. They were engaging. They were authentic. They were fearless. As the week progressed, I could not help but think of a past Quebec team that won its fair share of fans…

This week had a Guy Hemmings circa 1998 feel about it – although Laurie was not yet alive when Guy Hemmings was apprearing in back to back Brier finals. (Just typing that made me feel old).

And like Guy Hemmings, hair was a big part of the story. Guy was known for his out-of control hairdo, and it became his trademark. Laurie and her platinum blonde hair became Elsa the Ice Princess from Frozen. And it became her trademark. It was her hook.

I have spoken about something a few times in past blogs: the delicate balance between being fun to watch and being good at curling. Very often, the best teams end up looking a bit robotic and unemotional. Look at Bottcher, Gushue, Homan. They are icy-cool. They stay in control of their emotions, and that is a big key to their success. Great for their curling, but less engaging to watch. Often the more emotional, engaging teams struggle with controlling it, and it affects how they play. But a few teams manage to do both. Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing the big teams. You need to control your emotions to win at curling. It is a delicate balance between leveraging emotion and it becoming a distraction.

Guy was fun to watch. He was funny. He got angry. He engaged with the crowd. You had to cheer for him. Somehow they managed to be both fun AND good.

Then you get a team like Laurie. Emily smiles from ear to ear after making two peels. You can feel the big-sisterly love when Laurie talks to Cynthia. And then they effortlessly switch to English to bring Hailey into the conversation. They laugh when they make shots, and they laugh when they miss shots. Like the catchy toilet-paper commercial keeps reminding us, we are HUMAN (that has been stuck in my head all week). As a fan, we love the humanity of this team.

Even though Guy never managed to win a Brier, he likely did more to grow the game then any player of his generation. He would travel on cross country tours bringing out fans. I was at the Brier in 2018 from Quebec, and still the most common question I got from every fan was “what is Guy Hemmings doing now?”. Being good AND fun is amazingly such a unique gift for a curling team.

Laurie pulled that off this week. Will they be able to keep this up as they continue to grow and develop into a competitive team? I sure hope so.

I know those are big shoes to fill. But damn, Quebec was fun to watch this week. And it was great to be reminded that we are only human after all!!! Argh I can't get this song out of me head!

***

I am going insane waiting to leave for the Brier. We leave on Wednesday to enter the Canadian Curling Bubble in Calgary. I have had my brain probed with a pipe-cleaner to determine that I am virus free (I am!!). I have packed my 12 pairs of socks, 6 pairs of underwear (you can wear them inside out) and a bottle of medicinal rye. Just 2 more days of work from home then I am gone!!! Can't wait.

Some good news! We actually got to practice just before entering our pre-event quarantine for the first time since early January. Thanks to our friends at Pointe-Claire Curling Club and Mirko and Karl for giving us some top-notch ice to play on. Our practice felt like I was last-minute cramming for a university final exam after I had skipped the entire semester. Fortunately, Will said that that is how he made it though university, so if it worked then it should work now!

Let the Curling Wash Over Me

2021-02-19T15:37:00.004-05:00

OMG there is curling on TV. I am 11/10 excited to leave for the Brier in a few weeks, but for the next 10 days I will be watching the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Women’s Canadian Curling Championship.

Seriously, I have never been so excited to watch women’s curling in my life. In a normal year, I would watch the Scotties selectively, watching only the occasional game during the week and then most of the playoffs. But this year is different. I am not likely to leave my house very often in the next few weeks, so there will pretty much always be curling on for three draws a day, even if only in the background as I work.

I could be wrong, but there seems to be an insane level of anticipation and social media buzz around this year's event. I mentioned in an earlier blog that this coudl be the most watched Season of Champions ever, as this is providing welcome relief to the curling world which has essentially not had a lot to feel good about in awhile.

This just feels good.

***

What should we expect as fans?

The Atmosphere:

First of all, this event will be in the bubble. It will be weird. There will be cardboard cut-outs of fans instead of fans, and cardboard cut-outs don’t cheer great shots. There will be no 5^th end interview. There will be no handshakes, no patch or lounge, and no SOCIABLE.

But I think it will work. Most curlers have spent most of their lives curling in clubs, where the fans are usually on the other side of a window. Will it be that different to have them watching on TV instead? I think once the curling starts, it will feel normal for the players. It might not feel like the Scotties, but it will feel like a curling tournament.

Will it be as cool as a normal Scotties? No.

Is it a million times cooler than what most of us have been doing for the last 11-12 months? Hell yes.

BTW - I absolutely love the uniforms. Dynasty curling has done a crazy job re-creating a vintage curling look with modern materials. I await my box of unis with bated breath, hoping that the men’s designs are as cool.

The format

This year the event features 18 teams, as Curling Canada did not want to leave anyone out during the pandemic. Strangely it did end up excluding a couple of big name teams in Kelsey Rocque and Robyn Sylvernagle, who were left on the sidelines because they had just shuffled their teams prior to the season. Unfortunate for them.

The field of 18 is split into two pools of 9. The top 4 advance to next stage where they play the top 4 from the other division. Then the top 3 end up in the playoffs. No paige this year.

Who are the favorites?

The Big 4: Einerson, Jones, Homan and Fleury. It will be tough for anyone other than the top 4 to win this week. I would give 10-1 odds against someone outside the top 4 winning. (if I were the kind of person that bets on curling!)

Tough to bet against Einerson wining. They looked great last year, winning in dramatic fashion in an extra end over Rachel Homan. They are without a doubt the odds-on favorite.
Rachel Homan would normally be my pick, but she finds herself 7 months pregnant at the event this year. I honestly have no idea how this will affect her. I played a Mixed Provincial with my wife who was 5 months pregnant at the time playing lead, and she played well except for having to pee about every 10 minutes during the game.
Fleury/Carey: Tough to bet on a team that has never played a game together, but weirder things have happened. Carey is a pro and can likely take over and start playing well from the 1^st minute. The strange fact is that when you pickup a new player, there is usually a honeymoon period before you get on each others’ nerves. Sometimes new is an advantage.
Jennifer Jones: JJ will surely be around for the playoffs. I think their experience will pay off in this wacky environment.

Other storylines:

Eager to see Zacharias, the junior champ from Manitoba. Despite their lofty pedigree, I think they will find it tough, and will take a bit longer to get going. They have very little experience in women’s curling, and the Scotties ain’t juniors.
I will be cheering hard for Laurie St-Georges. They are good people. They work as hard as any team I have ever seen. They are as dedicated as any team I have ever seen. There is no doubt that they will be good and will contend, it is just a question of when. It might be a bit soon to expect that for this year, but this is a great no-risk chance to learn and get better. I can’t wait to watch them.
Laura Walker is a bit of an unknown, but I am always partial to tattooed toe-tuckers. I rank them just outside of the top 4, and likely to make the final 8.
Kerry Galusha will surprise some teams. They are playing well since adding Joanne Rizzo to the mix, and they have actually curled a few games this year!
I hope that a team from the Atlantic provinces does well, if only because they will be forced to quarantine for 2 weeks when they get home! Suzanne Birt and Jill Brothers have the most potential to crack the final 8.

Who wins?

I pick Jennifer Jones to use her experience and guile to beat Einerson in the final, 7-6.

Update on MY TEAM as we prepare for the Brier:

Unfortunately, restrictions in Quebec have limited our ability to practice in Montreal and Quebec City since the 8^th of January. I am still forced to be the #practiceninja, stalking outdoor rinks and abandoned curling clubs to find ice to practice on. More to come on this in a future blog.

In the meantime, we will sit back and enjoy some curling for the first time in forever. It was almost a year ago that I was at the Brier in Kingston, (unfortunately in the stands, not on the ice), just before all things fun and sociable came to an abrupt end. I miss it deerly, and this week already feels like a much needed return to fun.

So tonight I will pour myself a rye and coke, make some popcorn and surrender to the dulcet tones of Cheryl and Russ talking strategy. I will let the syrupy-smooth voice of Vic Rauter wash over me, covering me like a heavy blanket on a cold day.

Make the final...

Bubble bound - and Beware the Practice Ninja

2021-02-05T14:23:00.003-05:00

I am off to the Bubble Brier! Team Fournier - aka the Horses - has been selected to represent Quebec at the 2021 Brier to be held in Calgary March 5-14.

The whole thing has a very surreal feeling to it. I have to admit that I really wanted this. I know I am not alone in finding the pandemic tough, but being picked to curl in a Brier seems like the first good news that I have heard in a long time. Of course, I would rather have won my way there, but given the circumstances, I will take what I can get.

Why were we chosen? The process defined by Curling Quebec was to rely on a committee of experts to pick "the best" team from a list of applicants. I am guessing that the fact that we have been the #1 ranked team in the province for a couple of years now, coupled with our experience weighed heavily in the final decision.

I am sure this feels like a kick in the teeth for Alek Bédard and Team, our 2020 Brier representatives. They would have made for fine representatives this year as well, but the selection committee seems to have placed more weight on the fact that we have been the #1 ranked team for a few years now. Was this the right choice? Who knows. As I said in an earlier blog, there is no fair way to “pick” a provincial representative. Obviously, I am a bit biased, but I think we are a good choice, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

***

Now I have to figure out a way to practice despite a lockdown. I was practicing almost daily up until January 8th, but since then our government has continued to keep curling in lockdown, no exceptions!

I am not "allowed" to practice anywhere. I have had to become a practice ninja, stealthily stealing practice hours when nobody is watching on vacant fields of ice. If you have a backyard skating rink for your kids – beware! the practice ninja might strike in your yard soon!!!

***

I have been reading a lot on-line from people asking if we should even try to hold a Brier or a Scotties amidst the chaos of a pandemic. Opponents make a number of compelling arguments:

· It is not fair. This is true. Some provinces have 2-week quarantine periods upon returning form the Brier, making it impractical for many amateur curlers who would need to skip 2 weeks of work upon their return. Teams like Krista McCarville have backed out, and nobody can blame them.

· We are putting people at risk. This event will require players, volunteers, TSN crews, and others to travel, at a time when travel carries risk.

· We are taking up testing and health care resources, at a time when most places do not have any to spare.

· Restrictions in many provinces (including mine) are keeping the participants off the ice, so many teams will show up cold, without having thrown a rock in a couple of weeks or even months.

I get it. There are a pile of good reasons to cancel or delay the event.

But I say: screw it, let’s do it.

I think by March, we are all going to need something to distract us. Winter is long in Canada. If you are like me, you are so sick of watching Netflix that the chime that comes on when you open it makes my eye twitch. Geez, I even watched Bridgerton last week. Do you know how desperate for entertainment I needed to be to watch a show based on Jane Austen meets the Bachelor? I hate Jane Austen novels, and I hate the Bachelor, imagine both together. And yet I watched it. I am counting the days until I am able to watch the Scotties!

Canada needs the Brier. I am struck by the number of fans who have reached out to me to tell me how they will be glued to their TVs in March. In a nation of millions of curling fans, we need this. Winter is long, and by March we will be even more fed up with lockdowns, restrictions and social distancing.

Curling needs the Brier. This is an opportunity for the game to pick up a new audience. People are ravenous for something to watch. A Brier that is even half as compelling as last year will surely garner some new eyeballs, and provide the sport a much-needed shot in the arm (excuse the term!).

Sure, it could all turn to shit if only one poor soul brings that nasty virus into our fragile bubble, but I still think it is worth the risk. The safety and testing protocols I have seen so far seem exhaustive. I think the bubble is way less risky than my grocery run to Costco on a Saturday morning. Fingers crossed.

***

I wanted to end with a few sincere thankyous.

First to Curling Canada and Curling Quebec (and all the Provincial Associations), who have both worked incredibly hard to make lemonade from a pile of rotten, stinky lemons. This is certainly not easy for anyone, and the work they have done to keep things moving is remarkable.

Thanks to our sponsors for their ongoing support. Hardline, RBC, Cedar Springs, Dynasty, Injection Classique and Wesdome. We have fancy new jackets with our sponsors’ logos on them that unfortunately will likely not see a single game this year. At least they are ready for next season!

I also need to thank the folks at Glenmore, Val d’Or and Victoria Curling Club for keeping their ice in for practice with the hopes of resuming a season. It would have been easier for these clubs to close their doors back in October or November as many clubs have done when the second wave hit, but a few employees and many volunteers worked tirelessly to keep things going. This has made it possible for us to be as prepared as possible for what is to come. Thank you!

The Brier is Broken! (and other Fake News)

2020-12-15T10:32:00.001-05:00

Somehow, the debate on the format of the Brier/Scotties has bubbled to the surface amidst this pandemic. Once again, the debate of what the Brier is, and how we should qualify teams for our National championship has been the subject of podcasts and newspaper articles.

Curling Canada, understandably desperate to run its most lucrative events has scheduled a Brier and a Scotties to be held in a NHL-style bubble.

Some curlers and media types have emerged from isolation to suggest that Curling Canada should use this occasion to finally eliminate all the weaker teams from the Brier and just invite the top 10 or 16 CTRS teams in the country. The current format guarantees a spot at the Brier for each of Canada's provinces and territories. Changing the format to the top 16 would eliminate many of the smaller provinces that do not have a team in the top 16 (including Quebec!). The proponents of this change would hope to make it permanent.

The arguments I have heard in favor of eliminating the quaint idea of provincial representation go something like this:

The first few days of the Brier are crap, and nobody watches because there are too many crappy teams from crappy provinces in the field.
Good young teams in tough provinces never get a chance to be at the Brier, depriving them of the fame and glory that come from curling’s biggest stage (other than the Olympics)
Teams now cross provincial boundaries; many of the top teams are made up of players from across the country, so why should we still define teams by provinces?

The Inside Curling Podcast, featuring Kevin Martin and Warren Hansen, which I really enjoyed at its onset, has now shifted to pretty much every week inviting guests on to discuss how to “fix” the Brier. They paint anyone who actually likes the current format into the corner of being “against change”, or at very least as failing to see the evolving demographics that drive the game.

Let me say this clearly: Abandoning the provincial structure will kill the Brier.

To understand this debate, you need to understand that the current world of curling has split into Pros versus Joes. If we go back 20 or 30 years, there was no such thing as a “pro” curler. When I got out of juniors, I would never have considered a career in curling (not that I was that good anyway). Even the very best curlers I knew went to university, or got jobs. We were all Joes, not Pros.

Today, thanks to the Olympics, the World Curling Tour and Grand Slams, elite curlers can now make a modest living at the game. Make no mistake, there are no millionaires in curling (or if there are, they likely made their money elsewhere), but the top 4 or 5 teams in the country can likely “get by” on what they make from winnings, sponsorship/endorsements and Olympic funding for the elite few. Even then, many of the top teams still find themselves working summer construction contracts, running side-hustles or actual businesses to make the mortgage payments and support their families.

Pretty much the entire competitive curling world now revolves around these elite 4-5 teams in Canada, who are now joined by the top 10 international teams from around the world that get together to play in the Grand Slams. The Grand Slams are high payout, Sportsnet-covered exhibits of the best curling in the world. They have been successful at allowing the top teams in the world to play each other on a regular basis, and the Slams provide the funding for them to continue doing so. Beyond the Slams, the Canada Cup (run by Curling Canada) now provides an event for the top 8 teams in Canada to play for some big money and a berth in the Olympic Qualifying.

This system has emerged as the way to support the elite curlers that aspire to play in the Olympics. The Slams are an exclusive club that is incredibly tough for young and emerging teams to break into. The rankings are stacked to favour the teams already in the Slams, meaning that teams outside of the top 7 or 8 in Canada need to play in about 20 events per year all over the world with the hope of getting enough points in the smaller events to crack the elite.

While the Slams and the Olympics have done a good job at supporting the top teams, they have helped all but kill competitive curling at the level below. This system has all but eliminated the “middle class” of curling. The Tier 2 events shrink in both number and importance every season. 20 years ago, over a thousand teams would enter to get to the Brier, now that number is now in the low hundreds. The money has filtered to the top. For teams outside the elite 7-8 in Canada, the climb to reach the top tier is just too steep.

So why do teams keep playing? What keeps the Joes from packing it in, and just playing in club-level curling? Why do teams like mine keep working and practicing?

The answer, at least for now, is the Brier.

The Brier is special. Whereas the deck is permanently stacked against the Joes when they try to climb the world rankings, getting to the Brier has always been egalitarian. The Pros have to beat the Joes to get there. John Epping has to win Ontario. Gushue has to win Newfoundland. They have to beat all comers. Anyone willing to enter the ring and pay the modest entry fee can take a shot at it. Some say that this is unfair; that the top teams deserve to automatically get an invitation to the nation’s biggest event. I see their point, but there is certain charm to the notion that this is the one event with no free rides. You have to win your province.

Is this a raw deal for teams from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario? Absolutely, it always has been. But there are perks to curling in Canada’s curling meccas; you get better games, better instruction, you have spiels in your backyard that help you get boatloads of CTRS points, and you regularly get to test your skills against the best, which makes you better. Curling in Alberta, Ontario or Manitoba has its advantages to offset the tougher road to the Brier.

This higher level of competition is evident when you look at the curling world today. Bottcher has gotten better in part by taking his lumps against Koe. Epping gets no free pass to the Brier, he knows he has to beat Howard, MacDonald and some other teams that will likely never make the Brier, but are damn good. Being from a strong province makes you better. Yes, it will be tougher to get to the Brier, but hey as Tom Hanks said in a League of Their Own: It’s the hard that makes it great.

I would not suggest that the current Brier format is perfect, but can we at least acknowledge that at least part of the magic of the Brier is the provinces, the colours, the flags, and the regional charm of our nation put on display for all to see?

Can we acknowledge that turning the Brier into another exclusive Slam will all but kill curling in a number of smaller provinces? Try cracking the top 15 in Canada if you play out of New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. The CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) inevitably favors teams from the West. If you live out East, in order to climb the world rankings you would need to be on a plane pretty much every weekend from September to December, trying to get to the higher-payout CTRS events in Ontario or out West. The additional travel time and cost make it all but impossible.

Provincial representation gives teams in smaller provinces a reason to keep playing competitively. It gives them a reason to get better. Yes, it inconveniences the top 5-10 teams in the country, but it serves to drive the next 100 teams.

The best team in the country right now is from Newfoundland. NEWFOUNDLAND! The national champs are from an isolated, far-east province of a half a million people. If ever there was a perfect argument to let all the provinces play - that would be it. Who knows where the next great team may be from? Maybe the Yukon? Maybe there is some 12-year-old kid sitting in New Brunswick that will be dominating the game 15 years from now.

So let me now acknowledge that I am completely biased in this debate. As I write this, I am currently ranked 19th in the country, so changing the Brier would likely exclude me from the mix. As the expression goes, its usually tough to get the turkeys to vote in favor of Thanksgiving. So my case for the current Brier is very much in my own self-interest. But heck, I am 49. I clearly do not have many Briers ahead of me, regardless of the format. I just feel that someone needs to speak for the many competitors from across the country who now find themselves on the outside, and who might soon find themselves excluded from our National Curling Championship.

So what about the current format?

Is it perfect? Hell no, but it makes an effort at walking the fine line between provincial representation and elite pro curling.

Yes, you have teams from PEI, Nunavut, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, the Maritimes and Quebec who are not likely to win (but you also have a Wildcard and Team Canada).

Yes, it means a few very good teams will find themselves sitting at home in March watching because they happen to live in a tough province.

Yes, it means you have some mismatches early in the week.

Yes, it means you have to have complicated residency rules that will inevitably result in curlers dancing between provinces.

Yes, all of this is true, but the Brier works anyway. The Brier last year was awesome. It is by far my favorite TV event to watch, even if the curling at the Slams is better. And it was fun to watch all week: the early week provided gems like the Gunnlaugson shot to beat PEI, and Dunstone making a quad to beat BC. Both of these were early in the week, against provinces that likely would not be there if the format was changed.

The Brier is Canada. It is a collection of very different people from all over the country, whose love of the game brings them together for 10 special days in March. If we start excluding parts of the country, it would be like amputating the very soul of the event.

Bubblewrap the Horses!

2020-12-03T18:27:00.003-05:00

This week my illustrious ex-third Alanna Routledge shared a photo from our 2012 Mixed Nationals that reminded me just how much I miss curling. (And reminded me of that unfortunate trend to wear crazy pants)

This was Mixed Nationals in Montreal, which honestly still ranks as one of the top weeks of my curling life. It was an absolute blast from start to finish, and reminded me of what I cherish deeply about the sport. It was competitive, but it was social. I feel like I have friends from across the country because of that week. It was inclusive. It was immersive. Thinking about it still makes me smile.

It has also reminded me of how much I miss curling. I have done nothing but practice since March, as spiel after spiel has fallen victim to this damn pandemic. I get it, and I know it will end someday.

I have also been relatively quiet on the blog lately, much in the way you don’t want to pull off a band-aid on a wound that you know is still festering, I have not wanted to think about all that I am missing so much. Yes, I have been practicing – a lot - but without any tournaments to play in it feels like going to the driving range without the feeling of ever getting out on the golf course.

But this week has brought news: news of 2021 Brier! (and a Scotties and a Mixed Doubles, and some Slams). Curling Canada has pulled a rabbit out from their hats, and created a Season of Champions to be held in March in what will be a Calgary Bubble, at the Olympic site.

This is honestly an impressive feet. Curling is not the NHL or the NBA. While I am sure the potential of sellable TV content is appealing, the cost of running something like this, both in dollars and coordination is immense. I am honestly blown away that CC has been able to pull this off. Big kudos to the folks at Curling Canada.

Of course, this will not come without controversy.

The first question of course will be how to pick the teams that will attend. With curling shut down in all but a few provinces, how will provincial associations be able to run events to select a champion? For sure, many provinces will find themselves unable to hold a provincial championship, so they will be in the unenviable position of having to pick a winner to send into the bubble.

So how do you decide how to pick a team to go to the Brier? I see three possible models:

1) Send last year’s winner. Amazingly, this option is supported by 100% of last year’s winners.

2) A beauty contest: You line up your teams, and you have some appointed judges pick a winner. I guess the trick is in appointing the right judges.

3) American Idol: Have some sort of vote, presumably of the players and/or curling associations to decide. Let the people decide!

So solution 1 is pretty clear cut, but presents problems when last year’s winning team is no longer curling together (as is the case in the Quebec Women’s scene). Also, if last year's winner was an upset, many of the provincial favorites will be left out.

Solution 2 and 3 become problematic due to politics.

Either way, teams will have to lobby to get to the Brier. This is a new skill set for many teams, who used to try to get to the Brier by actually practicing and getting better at curling. I don't remember a chapter on lobbying for support in my copy of “Curling to Win”. In option 3, you would have to pander for votes, and cries of "Voter Fraud" from south of the border might make their way north.

Either way, this will be messy, and controversial. I think making this work will require acceptance of the fact that these are all crappy solutions, and eventually we will have to go with the least crappy one.

I sincerely hope the pandemic eases up and we get to play in some form of a limited provincial. Those who know me know how much I value a trip to the Brier. I am a purist, a lover of the sport, so there is something about giving anyone a free pass for what I have worked so hard towards in the past just feels wrong.

However, if in Quebec it comes down to Option 2 (the Beauty Contest), then Team Fournier will sport our swimsuits and walk the runway in hopes of getting the judges to give us the Team Quebec tiara! Wish us luck, or “happy lobbying”, I guess.

***

Of course Warren Hansen has already suggested that the Brier seize this opportunity to “evolve” into the Canada Cup, inviting only the top 10 ranked CTRS teams. I guess I am a bit (okay - a lot) biased here, but what a crappy idea.

I have been listening to Kevin Martin and Warren Hansen’s podcast a bit. I can tell you that I hold a great deal of reverence and respect for both of these gentlemen. Kevin is the originator of the Slams and was the main guy behind the players tour. Warren is one of the fathers of the move to the Olympics and the Season of Champions, and both have helped develop and grow the sport around the World. I also do not question their intentions; I think they both believe that what they are pushing for is in the best interest of “the game”. I just do not agree with what they propose as the next evolutionary steps for our game.

They both talk about the Brier being “broken” and the need for it to change. And they are not completely wrong. The current format creates problems due to its inclusiveness: there are too many teams that do not stand a chance. The Province-based approach to the Brier no longer reflects the reality of the Uber-teams that combine stars from multiple provinces together. But how do we fix it?

I guess my beef with their approach is that it always seems to focus on the few. It looks to identify the best curlers, tag them and then make the system work for them, and them alone. I get this approach, I just do not agree with it. I see this model across other sports, from kids hockey and soccer, to education. It goes like this: Let’s try to make the game better by improving those at the top of the pyramid. Those who devote the time and have the talent deserve to reap the benefits, and for the rest we will create a Tier B championship. Their solution is to have a Brier for the Top 10 teams in the country, because that is what the people want to see. (although I am not sure who these “people” are).

Basically, this is the “trickle-down economics” theory about how to grow curling. Throw money and coaching at the elite curlers, and the benefits will trickle-down to grow the sport of curling for all. However, much like trickle-down economics, this has not really worked out well for anyone except the elite. “Tier 2” competitive curling has all but died in Canada, and participation in pretty much all competitive levels is now just a fraction of what it was 20 years ago. Yes, the best have gotten better, but a small handful of pro teams receive the lion’s share of the rewards. Competitive Curling outside of the Slams has just about died – and Covid surely will not help.

I believe in building the base. The more we have teams across the country who get exposure at a National level, the more the sport can grow. How would excluding New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, BC, PEI, and the Territories from the Brier help grow the game in these places? Have we just given up, and relegated ourselves to the eventual end of regional presence at the Brier? Will the Brier work if it becomes just an 8th Slam?

By no means is this easy. There are no quick solutions.

I just hope the Pandemic is not the excuse used to transform the mighty Brier into just another Slam.

Curling (or not curling) in the Red Zone

2020-10-04T00:39:00.000-04:00

A Curling Blog from the Red Zone

Welcome to “La Zone Rouge”, which I used to think was the name of the strip bar in Val d’Or. It is now the name associated with the parts of Quebec most impacted by the Coronavirus. With over 1000 new cases of Covid-19 per day, Montreal, Quebec City and a few other parts of the province have gone into full Code Red lockdown, meaning more restrictions and likely no curling in much of the province.

My home club, Glenmore, spent the month of September installing and preparing the ice, hoping that the season could start next week. However, new restrictions expected in the next few days would more than likely put the brakes on that. Curling Clubs in higher risk areas of the country are now faced with the tough choice between operating in a revenue-reduced, uncertain environment and just shutting the doors until next season. I am hearing many Toronto-area clubs have thrown in the towel and shut down until at least January. I suspect many Quebec clubs will end up doing the same, but I guess it will depend on the next few weeks. The reality of the virus is that it will always be worse in areas of the country that are densely populated and that rely more heavily on public transportation. This actually bodes well for curling in general, as it is a sport that thrives in the more rural parts of the country. But big cities like Toronto and Montreal will face a tough year, and might not see curling at all.

Competitive curling is a different story. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is as a competitive curler to be sitting in my living room watching live streams of curling tournaments from other parts of the world less impacted by the virus. We have now been off the ice since early March, and the earliest we could possibly play would be November. I have not thrown a rock in 6 months. We were signed up to play in Ottawa in September, which was canceled as well as a few Quebec based events in October that have also been axed. We had signed up for one of the events being held in Kitchener-Waterloo, but our government has put a “do not travel” advisory in place, and in theory we are not supposed to travel out of our Red Zone. So we are out of luck, and likely not playing until November at best.

At this point I'm not sure what the competitive season will look like. Will there even be a Brier or Scotties this year? Curling Canada is likely reviewing its options and trying to find a way to hold a TV-only event in bubble. This would surely be good for curling-starved fans who have had nothing but a few streamed events to satiate their desire to see quality curling. But how do you run a Brier with conditions as they are? Do curlers need to show up 2 weeks before to test/isolate? Would they allow a team from a “Hot Zone” to enter? Clearly, the logistics are not simple in this, and even the best-laid plan would be ravaged by a single positive test. The NHL and NBA have been able to maintain their bubbles and run playoffs, but obviously, they do not operate under the same financial realities as curling. I expect announcements to come in the next few weeks.

The Slams are canceled until 2021, and the accumulation of points for World rankings or Olympic Qualifying has been put on hold. Some events have started with tournaments across the country, but teams are playing just to stay sharp and to be ready for when the music starts up again.

All in all, this sucks.

I guess at times like these, a bit of perspective is required. Curling is just a game. It is not life or death. People are dying from this disease. A winter without curling is not the end of the world, especially in if it is in the name of saving lives, or keeping our hospitals from overflowing. But as this isolation continues, and after 6 months of dealing with this shit, this void is laying bare to me the role that curling has played in my life. Maybe some time away from the game will help me come back to it with increased perspective and appreciation.

In the meantime, I will golf until it snows. I will play soccer in the park. I will work. I will try to keep my wife and kids safe and sane. And I will miss curling.

Some non-curling content:

I am still on Facebook, mostly to get curling news and post family pics. But man, some of the shit I am seeing from people I know is troubling. I know we are nowhere near the US level of polarization and stupidity, but I see stuff that I finding tough to ignore.

First, there is the garden variety stupid: anti-mask, government conspiracy, Coronavirus is a hoax bullshit. Thankfully this gets a low-level of traction here. I have not personally seen anyone throwing a mask tantrum in a store or restaurant. I am sure it happens, but it does not seem widespread.

Then there is the “This makes no sense – the government is wrong”. I am in no way saying the government is never wrong and should never be questioned, but to say you know better because you are now an expert because of the hours you have spent watching Youtube is misguided. The fact is, we do not know better.

There is the danger of falling into the fallacy of common sense. Thinking that there is a simple solution to get us out of this, and if the government just implemented this then we would be fine.

There is no easy way out. The next year or so will be many policy decisions that feel like we are pressing on the gas and the brakes at the same time. There will be one step forward sometimes followed by two steps back. In Quebec, our government has asked us to stop socializing, but has kept schools open. Restaurants and bars are closed, but hair and nail salons are open. There will always be some restriction that is inconsistent as the government struggles to draw lines in the sand amidst changing conditions.

All we can do is try to follow the rules as best we can, and understand that the only way to keep this thing in check short of a vaccine is collective action. So wash your damn hands and wear a mask. Oh, and stop socializing, especially indoors.

Can this N95 Mask Keep me from Smelling Farts on the Ice?

2020-07-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

Team Fournier (aka Team Horses) held a rather depressing meeting last week (via Zoom of course) to discuss the upcoming curling season.

We had such a fun season planned. We have a new player, we have great sponsors, we have a keen coach, we have new sexy uniforms. All the pieces are in place.

Except we also have a virus. Covid-19 is already wreaking havoc on the competitive curling world. The Slams have been cancelled; the points systems that drive World rankings and Olympic qualifications have been suspended until November (at least) and most big events that involve crowds (like the Brier) are surely questioning whether they can even happen this year.

If you look at our planned schedule for the season, we had planned to go to Halifax, Alberta, Toronto, New Brunswick. I now question whether these places will even accept us as visitors, given that I happen to live on the island that has been the Covid hotspot in the country.

A lot people are suggesting that curling is a great social distancing sport, like golf. In theory, the other team does not need to be anywhere near the ice when the other team is throwing. However, as anyone who has ever curled with or against Dale Ness or Eve Bélisle knows, the air in a curling rink does not circulate quickly. And you are basically sharing the same damp air with everyone else on the ice for a few hours. I am not sure if masks would keep you from spreading the virus.

Beyond the safety issues, there is also the question of money. Curling, despite its TV popularity, is not baseball, or hockey. There is no way to do curling the way other major sports have undertaken it. There will be no curlers living in a resort bubble, mainly because apart from a handful of teams, we all have day jobs. Major sports have resumed with the help of expensive testing and re-testing, and travel can happen via private jets, which is of course beyond the budget for all but a couple of teams.

So where does that leave our team? We will play closer to home for the first part of the season, and then see where we are in November. I hope that the threat of the virus will be diminished, and we will venture out further (likely with our masks on) to try to play and get better and prepare for Provincials in January. If travel restrictions and rules against gatherings are lifted, then the season can start to look something like a normal curling season.

So in the meantime, wear your mask and keep your distance!

What about club curling?

I have no idea.

Glenmore (my home club) will likely open. I do not know what curling will look like. I think most of the membership will be eager to get back on the ice. Unfortunately, it would just take one case to close us down. A big part of my enjoyment from curling unfortunately comes from post-game socializing, which will probably be limited at best, non-existent at worse. But at this point, a little curling would be infinitely better than no curling, so I will venture out into whatever the season brings.

***

If you are a fan of curling, you need to be listening to the Kevin Martin / Warren Hansen podcast. Having Kevin and Warren do a podcast together is like having Karl Marx debating Ayn Rand; its like GSP debating Connor McGregor. They both have such a deep and passionate love for the game and its history, but Kevin and Warren have always been on opposite sides when it comes to discussing the game’s future. (It is called “Inside Curling” and is available wherever you find podcasts!)

Warren has been the leader of developing the Curling Canada events – such as the Brier, the Scotties and the Olympic Trials. Kevin has been the main force behind the creation of the “Pro” tour, i.e. the Grand Slams and the World Curling Tour. Putting the two together is fascinating.

Amazingly, the passage of time has brought them much closer together, and they now both see the inevitability of splitting up the “pros” from the “joes”. They have some interesting perspectives on where the game is going, on how the US and Asia will be driving the evolution of the sport. I often find myself in violent disagreement with both of them, but I have to say the blog has made me respect these guys even more than I did before. Moreover, they share many great stories from the wilder days of curling that I remember fondly. I think this podcast is one good thing that has emerged from this stupid pandemic.

I am not sure for how long they can keep it up; I am amazed they have gotten 16 episodes done so far without being too repetitive. So it is definitely worth a listen. Way better than Tiger King!

"Dad, Russ Howard is Licking Himself Again!!!" An Isolation Blog

2020-04-26T00:32:00.001-04:00

After 6 weeks of isolation, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that I miss curling.

I miss throwing practice rocks. I miss the taste of a pre, post or mid-game rye and coke. I miss my teammates, both my competitive guys and by hall-of-fame great club team.

I miss staying a bit too late after a Tuesday game. I miss throwing a few extra draws at the end of my lunchtime practice to make me a bit late for a meeting at work. I miss showing up early for a ladder game, and hanging out at the end of the bar listening to whoever had a curling story to tell about their weekend. I miss gossiping with the club manager. I miss the Glenmore Intermediate, an event that usually would have occurred last weekend and would have helped ease the transition into spring with the help of dancing, karaoke, Jello shots and late night poutine runs (and curling).

After our competitive season comes to its end, (unfortunately in January for the past 2 seasons) I curl from February to April only because I love it. And losing it this year has made me appreciate it that much more.

All that to say that I miss curling.

Of course, I miss other things too, like leaving my house, seeing friends or playing soccer. But with curling, next season just seems so far away, and I am not sure I will have my usual summer distractions of golf, soccer and the city pool to keep me busy until then.

***

The question everyone seems to be asking themselves these days is when this will get back to “normal”. When we will be able to enjoy the things we did before, without feeling like we need a hazmat suit? And what will next curling season look like?

I do not profess to know for sure, nor do I have any inside information on this, but here is my take:

First, we will not have vaccine by the fall, and most of us will not have had the virus yet. Therefore, a big part of the population will remain vulnerable. Therefore there is no way things will be back to normal. Sorry to be bearer of bad news if you had hopes of this ending soon, but it won’t.

I think we will have a season next year. But it will be vastly different that what we have seen before.

On the competitive side, I cannot envision travel getting back to what it was before. Teams from all around the world were flying across Canada from September to May to curl. There is no way this can happen next season. Curlers are like traveling germ salespersons, and as the virus flares up in different parts of the country, travel restrictions will inevitably follow. Travel will need to be much more sporadic, and more teams will be playing more spiels that are within driving distance, and in their own cities and provinces.

While the slams and big events will happen, I think we might see them being smaller, and played without crowds for TV only. The fact is, a big part of curling audiences are older, and those people will be less likely to want to gather in arenas to watch. Holding events for TV will involve a different set of economics for the game, but the reality is that TV is still where the big money is, and curling on TV without spectators will be better than no curling at all. Will the Brier be the Brier? I have no idea.

At the club level, curling will happen but with a strict set of rules. Ice techs will be wiping off rocks with Lysol every game, it will become part of doing the ice. The pre and post game handshakes will be things of the past, and I am not sure if we will be sitting together after games. I really hope I’m wrong here, but the idea of eight people sitting around shoulder to shoulder, especially given that about 30-40% of our ladder is of senior age, seems unlikely. At very least, many will stay away. If you were a member of a struggling curling club before, I would worry about their capacity to survive next season, given that bar revenues will be down and some more vulnerable members will not want to join.

Whatever happens, it will certainly be different, and will feel mighty weird. But I much prefer a weird curling season to none at all, so we will all have to adapt.

***

So how is the isolation going you ask?

I think we are all getting a bit squirrelly in the Fournier household.

I ran out of rye today, and the lineup at the SAQ was around the block, so I have resorted to drinking the little mini-bar samples I have collected over the years. I found a mini bottle of Screech I got from Team Newfoundland from the 1996 Canadian Mixed Championship. It was spectacular, and made me yearn for a fish to kiss.

My wife and I are both fortunate enough to still be employed, and are working from our home office while simultaneously failing miserably at home schooling our kids. Like many of you I often take videoconferences in pyjama bottoms, and am perpetually getting interrupted. I took a call from my boss last week while dodging Nerf gun bullets.

But I still consider us as “lucky” as we still have jobs for the time being. And for those of you on the front lines dealing with this every day, I have nothing to say but a sincere thank you.

Sure sign the isolation is getting to me: last week we decided to adopt two cats after succumbing to ridiculous pressure tactics from my daughters. Sadly, they already had names, and I could not convince my daughters to rename them after famous curlers.

Having my daughters say: “Mom, Kevin Martin coughed up a hairball and Russ Howard peed next to the litterbox again” would have made my week, but alas, no. They are Seema and Stedman, pictured here.

Did I mention I miss curling?

Doing Jello Shots with my Kids - And a Team Fournier update!

2020-03-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

I am in week 3 of isolation/quarantine/home schooling and getting a little squirrel-y. Personal hygiene has become optional. The kids have watched the entire Netflix Kids library. Twice. So I figure why not write a long, meandering curling blog to kill off some time.

Curling is of course over for this season. As is the case with many Tier 2 curlers, my season essentially ended once we lost at provincials in January, but for those of you who play in events like Slams, or Mixed, or Travellers, or whatever, now find themselves pining for next year.

There will be no World Championships. There will be no Slams. I am not even sure that we will be starting next season! 2020 will have no Glenmore Intermediate, the usual end of season send-off party (I have had to show my kids how to do virgin Jello shots). The competitive curlers I know have resorted to on-line curling spiels!

I guess there is nothing like a global pandemic to provide us all with a bit of perspective. It is good to remember that we devote so much of our time and energy to something that is just a dumb GAME.

If you want a reminder of how dumb this game is, try explaining it to someone from South America who has never seen it or even heard of it (as I recently did). Here goes: you slide a big rock made of granite down a sheet of ice with little bumps on it towards a bullseye while yelling at people using push brooms to clean the path of the sliding granite. Make sense?

It is just such a dumb game. But damn I miss it.

***

Team Fournier news:

It was a year of ups and downs for Team Fournier in 2019-20. We had some great success, and managed to climb the world rankings, getting as high as 25^th in the World before coming back down to 33^rd after a disappointing Quebec provincial. We got to play in a Tier 2 Slam event, and played a lot of games against the best teams in the World! We flew to 3 spiels, went out West, got 5 speeding tickets (damn that Alberta photo radar). Unfortunately the provincials did not end the way we had hoped, but all in all a good season.

Team Fournier will have a new look next year (assuming there is curling!). We have added a new horse to the stable: Martin Crête will be playing 3^rd for us next year, while Félix slides into the the 2^nd position. Jean Francois will stay at lead.

As JF put it, we should be better at shooting and at shouting! With next season being the last year before the Olympic trials, we will be trying to get a spot at pre-trials. To do that we will have to get to the top 15 in Canada (we are currently 17^th). So we wanted to make ourselves stronger as a team, and bring on someone who could help us take it up a notch. Enter Martin!

I really look forward to playing with Martin – I have admired him as a competitor for a lot of years. And now I won’t have to try to yell over him on the next sheet anymore! I have seen him make soooooo many great shots against me over the years (his last one from the provincial finals last year still haunts my dreams); it will be weird for him to be making shots FOR me. I am amazed that this game continues to provide me opportunities to learn from my teammates, even at my advanced age (as Felix would say).

This unfortunately means that William will be stepping back this year. We are still trying to figure out if Will can still play a role on the team, but his new baby/job made it impossible for him to commit to the kind of schedule we were looking to play next season.

I will miss him a lot. Will has been one of the best teammates I could ask for over the past 4 seasons, both on and off the ice. He taught me a lot about team dynamics, about keeping a positive attitude and about how to win. He has taught me how to translate English pop songs into French in real time. He is the originator of the term “Feed the horses” which has become part of our team psyche.

I am hoping that our curling futures will intertwine again.

I will also miss him sweeping my outturn!

Felix will be spending the summer bulking up. Here he is with JF preparing for next season:

***

With the end of the season – we would like to say thanks to the sponsors that helped us compete this year.

Hardline Curling: Have been with these guys forever – love their brooms and what they do. They have become the weapon of choice for most of the big teams in the country. They have been sponsoring Felix for so long they started with their logo on his diapers, and have been sponsoring Team Fournier for a long time now. I am grateful for their support.
Royal Bank of Canada Dominion Securities – big thanks to Kevin O’Connor for his support this season.
And big thanks to our other sponsors: Cedar Springs Landscaping (514-453-4662 – Grant), and Injection Classique(Marc Don) foundation repair. If you are looking for landscaping or snow removal in the West Island, or if your foundation has cracks/leaks – please use our sponsors and mention Team Fournier! The links above take you directly to their websites.

Without their help, we really would not have been able to compete at the level we competed at. This game has gotten expensive. Even with these sponsors and all the cashspiel success we had, our season was still scarcely break even! We won’t be turning pro anytime soon.

***

If you are looking to kill some time, a couple of guys from Abitibi have started a podcast interviewing Quebec curlers! Sonny and Adam’s podcast is available (en français) at the following link:

Lien au Podcast

They interviewed me last night, JM Ménard a few days ago and Laurie St-Georges (OMG! - THE Laurie St-Georges) will be on Tuesday, (with some other guy I have never heard of).

The great thing about a pandemic is that pretty much everybody is available to appear on their show! They are doing interviews every 2 days.

Great idea! As I have said in the past, every sport needs storytellers to make the game great. Podcasts like this one and From the Hack and 2 Girls and a Game help fans better relate to the game, and are an awesome way to pass the time, especially after you have gone through everything good on Netflix!

I Think I Need Some Crop Insurance and a New Tractor

2020-03-08T23:12:00.000-04:00

What the hell was that?

I just watched the Brier final – and to be honest watched a bit too much curling this week. But how could I not? The Brier this year was ridiculous. It was like bacon-wrapped filet-mignon. It was simply the best curling I have ever seen.

It absolutely killed me to not be there.

Seriously, I have watched curling all my life, and I can’t remember anything even remotely comparable to the level of play this year. They talked about this being the best field ever, but damn. McEwen, Epping and Koe were amazing all week, and did not even make the final 4. The level of play and strategy was next-level. The fact that you know your opponent is going to make every make-able shot changes the way you play. The number of insanely good shots, the ridiculously well-curled games - I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s start with Gushue. What can you say? The pressure of a Brier final, and this guy curls 97%. Ninety-freaking-seven percent! He simply did not throw one rock tonight that was not absolutely perfect. Nichols was awesome as well. His front end actually got out-curled in the final, but when your back end plays that well, who cares.
To give you an idea of how deep the field was, Mike McEwan’s team were all 1^st or 2^nd team all-starts, and they did not even make the final 4 of the tournament. Kevin Koe makes one of the greatest shots I have seen to win a game, and is out Saturday morning. Are you kidding me?
As a 48-year-old from Eastern Canada living in a big city, I realize that I am just not the target demographic for curling ads. I watched ads all week for crop insurance, tractors and denture cream. I love the ad for the kick-ass snow tires for the snowplough, I wonder if they would fit on my wife’s Prius. The National rental car guy was starting to drive me a bit crazy. Seriously, I want to support the sponsors, but I think the only one that product I could use would be a cup of Timmies – but that would get me fired!
Also, I have never been to a Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse, but the idea of playing Jenga next to my meal seems like a bad idea.
Felt bad for the kids from Quebec. I am sure they are disappointed at 1-6, but the experience will surely serve them well. They earned their spot there, and were entertaining. From what I hear they became the crowd favorites, and I am sure the experience will make them hungrier to get back. Just hope its not for a while J
Was cheering hard for my Tier 2 compatriots from the East: Grattan and Murphy. Was hoping to see one of them sneak into the championship pool, just to shake things up again and remind the curling world that curling does not stop East of the Ontario border (except for Gushue!). Sadly, the Brier highlighted just how wide the gulf is right now in Canada between the Pros and the Joes. When the big 5 or 6 teams start playing for real, it looks like you are watching a PeeWee hockey team playing against the Washington Capitals. I say this not as a knock on the Tier 2 guys (of which I am one), but to highlight just how good the best teams are.
Loved watching Matt Dunstone this week. He is a genuinely nice kid – and obviously will be back. The raise triple to win was one of the best shots to win I have ever seen in all my years watching Briers, but at this Brier it barely makes the top 3! (Koe’s triple to win was just insane, and Gunnlaughson’s double-raise-double actually made me spit out my coffee)
Team Bottcher is truly a remarkable curling team. You can judge a team’s character by how they react when things are not going well. They are incredibly tough. They look and act the same if they are 4 up or 4 down. Brandon had a shitty final, which I am sure will haunt him for a long time, but this is still obviously one of the top teams in Canada.
Okay – don’t jump on me for criticizing shot selection – but I think if Bottcher draws for 1 in the 1^st end of the final it is a very different game. I mean you work all week to earn hammer in the finals, and then give it away trying too hard to blank. I think there is a stat on tour that the team that scores first wins something like 60-65% of the time. Take. Your. One. Settle the nerves.
It was amazing watching Jacobs this week. I have been hard on these guys in the past, but man are they a classy squad now. They were 1-3 early in the week, but you felt like they had more to offer. The addition of Kennedy has changed these guys. Even though they have not won a Brier in a long time, I would be hard-pressed to bet against them for the Trials spot in 2021.
Shout out to Colin Hodgson. Don’t let the Bieber-like sleeve tattoo or the greasy hair fool you; this guy is completely deserving of the sportsmanship award he earned this year. A class act, and genuinely good for the game.
To me, the best example of how good curling has become was the first end of Gushue-Jacobs earlier this week. Gushue basically made 8 shots perfectly, and gave up a 4. If you get a chance, go back and watch that first end. Amazing stuff. That end was like porn for curling fans.
Early week highlight: The 10^th end measure in the Jacobs-Gunnlaughson game. The poor official who had to measure was like a deer in the headlights; and just as eager to get off the highway as soon as possible. Marc Kennedy was about as Canadian as you can get; I think his face after the first measure is now a meme. But to his credit, he stayed unbelievably polite and respectful. This would simply not happen in any other sport. I’m not sure I would have remained as calm.
So can we all agree to stop arguing about the format for a while? This year highlighted why the current format works. You get full provincial representation - but you get the entertainment value of watching the best in the business bash each-others' heads in as the week progresses. This format is working. It might not be perfect, but its getting pretty close.

Damn I have to get back. Even it is just to be cannon-fodder for the Slam teams.

I am becoming Mister Softie

2020-02-24T15:48:00.001-05:00

Okay. I will admit it. I got a little emotional watching the Scotties final yesterday. Just a little. I am apparently becoming Mister Softie, which conveniently is the mascot of the Scotties.

Seriously, I have been fighting a serious case of curling depression since Quebec provincials. Competitive curling has been a big part of my life, but there are times where the sport absolutely knocks you on your ass. I wanted to go to the Brier this year. I worked harder than I have ever worked to go, and I am not going. Screw you, curling.

I have been reluctant to even think about curling ever since. I played in some club games (since our competitive season is inevitably over), and have found myself impatient and irritable on the ice. I have not wanted to be there. (apologies to my teammates over the past few weeks). I don’t think I slammed a broom once at Provincials, but last week I threw my fragile, defenseless sliding broom into a wall after missing a shot.

This year seemed to hurt more than others.

I really rued the idea of watching the inevitable barrage of TV curling that follows losing at Provincials. The Scotties. The Brier. After a year where I felt like it was ours to win or lose, it feels like you are forced to watch the girl who dumped you on a date with her new boyfriend.

But the Scotties this year brought me back. It was that good.

It was a reminder of what the sport is all about. It had drama, it had tales of redemption, it had underdog stories aplenty and it had a joyous ending. The quality of curling was very high. the Scotties reminded me that I love curling.

So what happened?

Kerri Einerson pulled out an extra end win. She gassed a draw to the 4-foot in the 10^th end for the win, before pinning it in the extra end. Every skip in Canada has felt her pain in 10. That feeling of having let down your team; that feeling of blowing what should be an easy win. The TV close-up actually showed her soul leaving her body as she watched her rock slide through the 4-foot. For her to come back and make the same shot in the extra end to win was a beautiful and fitting end to the week. They were the best team all week and deserved the win. Watching their emotion at wining was both moving and heartwarming.
Team Homan is awesome. They are smart, and tough, and have only gotten better. They look so much more seasoned, and play with more feel than before. There has been a sense that they might not be as sharp - that maybe life is getting in the way of their curling. WRONG!
Krista McCarville and her story is the reason I still curl. She is an amateur, playing with the pros and beating them. She has shown that you can win, and have a life. She does not play in the Slams, she has no giant sponsor. She is just good at curling, and loves it. If you are not cheering for this team at the Scotties, you must be the kind of sports fan that cheers for the Yankees, or Manchester United. But if you love a good underdog story, this was it.
Loved watching Lori Eddy win a few games for Nunavut. She is an awesome ambassador for the sport. If you are not listening to her 2 girls and a game podcast, you are missing out.
My Quebec friends had a rough week and finished at 0-7. But they played some big games. They took Carey to an extra end, and were close in 3 or 4 other games. I am sure they are pissed about not getting a W, but surely grew by leaps and bounds as curlers.
Loved the Aly Jenkins tribute at the opening. Aly Jenkins was a competitive curler from Saskatchewan who died in childbirth late last year. Also – the Devin Heroux piece on CBC.ca is a beautiful piece of writing. Worth a read (there must be something in my eye): https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/curling/aly-jenkins-tragedy-family-1.5470246
Lots of discussion early this week about TSN's choice of feature games. They showed the same teams over and over again (especially Jones), while shunning up and coming teams such as BC and New Brunswick, who were also in the playoff mix. I get that they want to show the most popular teams to draw the most viewers, but it would have been fun early in the week to see some of these teams. Back in the day, there seemed to be an effort to make sure everybody got one game on TV. I don't think this can work with the new format, so I understand TSN choosing the big names...but the fact is there is so much value for new young teams to get some TV time that I think more effort should be put into balancing this.