Because you demanded it....more curling

So, because I know some of you have been pining away for more curling related news, here are a few updates.

1. I'm curling in the Furspiel this weekend (no, that's not a typo). The team I'm on are the defending champions and we managed to make it into the final again. We play tomorrow afternoon. There are not as many teams this year, which is kind of disappointing. But that's just the way this curling season has been. It's been a bit harder to round up the bodies. Come October, we might be beating them off with sticks. Bur right now it's a bit of a struggle.

Still, we're in the money. The team that finishes first gets $1,600. Second place gets $1,000. Not bad for a weekend's work. I am hurting a bit, although nowhere near as bad as last year.

2. I've been watching some of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Now, Newfoundland is gone, eliminated in a tie-breaker yesterday. But it's a funny thing. We've been talking about it at the curling club. There are people from pretty much every province in Canada and we're each cheering for our home province. But having spoken to a few of my fellow Newfoundlanders, we're feeling a bit uncomfortable cheering for Heather Strong, the Newfoundland skip.

I don't know Strong. At all. Maybe she's a really nice person. But there were two things this week that caught my ear. In one of them, she lost a game to Manitoba after she has to rush her last shot because the game clock was ticking off the last few seconds. Because of that, she missed and Manitoba was able to take two and win 8-7. After the game she blamed her front end for not watching the clock and making sure they had lots of time.

In other game, she apparently blamed her front end for not making their shots, which was burying them early and getting them in trouble. I believe someone from TSN then popped up the percentage stats and showed they were actually curling a lot better than Strong.

Look, I've been on plenty of teams where I've wanted to kill players for not making their shots. I'm sure there have been plenty of times where players have wanted to kill me for not. But you try not to bitch about it during a game. Especially when you're miked. And hey, maybe you don't got and tell a reporter how much your front end sucks after the game.

Skips, the good ones, have pretty healthy egos as a rule. You need one to think you can call a game better than anyone else and to face the pressure of making the last shot in an end or a game. But if Strong is getting on with this type of things, well....

Not to mention that Brad Gushue certainly seems to have burned every inch of good will in the province since winning the gold medal two years ago. We have some good curlers in Newfoundland right now. I just wish, I don't know, they were easier to cheer for nationally.

3. The Curling News has more on the Rockstar Curling show in the United States. As silly as it might sound, it looks like it might be a go.

4. I might have some legitimately big curling news to announce. I've been sitting on it for weeks and it's driving me nuts. But with some luck I might be able to announce in in the coming week. Maybe even tomorrow. It's pretty cool, actually.

Last Five
1. He lied about death - Stars
2. Overlap (live) - Ani DiFranco
3. Everybody knows - The Duhks*
4. Little trip to heaven - Tom Waits
5. Doginabag - The Fratellis