'Roar of the Rings' - Winners

So there you have it! Cheryl Bernard and Kevin Martin will carry the Maple Leaf into Vancouver!

My personal preferences were for Jennifer Jones and Glenn Howard, but I’m not terribly upset. First, my two 'anybody but' teams didn't make the playoffs (Ferbey and Scott). Secondly, and more importantly, both Cheryl Bernard and Kevin Martin were the best teams on the ice in Edmonton, and that’s exactly who I want representing us in Vancouver…the best…

Women's - Cheryl Bernard

For Cheryl, this will be her first crack at top-flight international competition, having never won a Scotties. She’ll face an interesting decision, as this year’s Scotties ends just before the Olympics. Should she stay in Alberta and try to qualify for the Scotties, or should she go overseas and get some face-to-face experience against the teams she’ll be facing in Vancouver? I’d personally choose the former, the competition at the Alberta Playdowns and Scotties will be just as good, if not better, than the international competition.

Team Bernard won’t be the overwhelming favourite for Gold, but is still probably still the frontrunner. As long as she plays as well as she did this week, she’ll be just a-ok!

Men's - Kevin Martin

On the men’s side, Kevin Martin was clearly superior to Glenn Howard in yesterday’s final. It was a textbook game of Curling. Take two, force one. It was beautiful in its simplicity. Of course, having your skip throw 93% will go a long way in any game regardless of strategy, and Martin was spot on.

Kevin Martin will now try to erase the only blemish on his impressive resume, his international record. If Kevin can bring home Gold, it’ll cement his name as the best curler of this generation. I imagine that he was able to get the ‘international record’ monkey off his back somewhat after winning the ’08 worlds, but one has to wonder if that monkey didn’t hop right back on after dropping the finals to Scotland in 2009. Kevin Martin is the best team in the world right now, it’s just up to him to go out there and prove it now in Vancouver. I can’t wait!!

Couple of Quick Stats, from the Curling News and Canoe.ca:

• 175,852 attended over the week
• TSN average audience 496,000
• 872,000 viewers for Women's Final
• 1,200,000 viewers for Men's Final

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Finals

In a little less than half an hour, the Men's Finals of the 'Roar of the Rings' will get underway, and its the matchup that everyone has been hoping for. Its Martin v. Howard for the right to represent Canada in Vancouver. Its the best two teams in the world going head-to-head. What else can you ask for?

Men's Final - 3:00 PM

Martin v. Howard
We all know the resumes. Howard and Martin share between them 21 Brier appearances, 6 Brier Wins, 4 World Championships, and an Olympic Silver Medal. Thats before you add in the resume's of the rest of their teams, which is primarily made up of John Morris' old Ontario Junior Team (Morris, Laing, Savill).

It should be an amazing game, and either team will become the instant favorite for Gold in Vancouver. Martin has the edge in recent history, having beaten Howard in the round-robin, 1-2 Game of the '09 Brier, Round Robin of the '09 Brier etc...

However, for his part, Glenn Howard has had more consistent success on the international scene. 3 world championship appearances...3 gold medals. He also took the October 'Olympic Warm-Up' World Cup of Curling against the very teams that are going to be in Vancouver. In fact, he went undefeated...

On the basis of his international success...I'll be pulling for Howard to take the white blets to Vancouver!! But either way, I'm excited!

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Final

So here we go...time to see who is off to Vancouver, and who is going home empty handed. Its the Battle of Calgary (errr..in Edmonton) - Bernard v. Kliebrink

Women's Final - 8:00 PM

Kliebrink v. Bernard
Bernard comes into the final after topping the field during the round robin. She's had a full day off, so she should be rested. She was able to beat Kliebrink along the way, and will look to repeat that tonight.

Kliebrink comes in after beating Krista McCarville last night in the semi-final. This is old news to Kliebrink now, having made the finals of the trails 3 of the 4 times they have been held. After losing to Schmirler in '98, she was able to win in all in '06. She looks to get back to the Olympics after finishing with a Bronze in Torino.

I gotta say that I'm pretty happy with either option. Bernard has been the best team all week, and Kliebrink has the experience of having been through the Olympics before.

Should be a good one!!!

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'Roar of the Rings' - Semi-Finals Showdown

Just a quick one:

Women's Semifinal
After reeling off two tiebreaker wins, Krista McCarville moves into the Semifinal against Shannon Kliebrink. McCarville looks to keep on her hot streak, while Kliebrink looks to return to the Trials final for the second straight time. She won the last trails, so she knows what this is all about.

I like McCarville alot, but I think I'm pulling for Kliebrink here. I think I'd like to see here get another shot at Gold, and I think she's the better team a little....giving us the best shot.

Men's Semifinal
Stoughton v. Howard...how many times have these two faced off? Round one million gets underway Saturday at 3:00 PM. After dropping the last draw of the Round Robin, Howard is trying to get another crack at Kevin Martin. Stoughton looks to return to the trials finals again, hoping for a different result in '05.

I'm happy with any of the teams that are left really, Ferbey is gone, so I got what I wanted. But if I had my choice, it'd be Howard....

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'Roar of the Rings' - Tiebreaker Friday!

So, after 5 days of some really top-notch Curling, we’re onto the playoffs!! As I predicted, the Men’s side ended up without tiebreakers after Stoughton topped Simmons last night . That means the Men get the day off, before Stoughton and Howard faceoff in the semi-final on Saturday. The winner moves onto Sunday’s final vs. Martin.

On the women’s side, things finished up with a 3-way tie for 3rd. As a result, two tiebreaker games will be required today! The first one gets underway at 10:30 when McCarville takes on Lawton.

The winner of that game then takes on Amber Holland at 3:00 PM. All the while, Shannon Kliebrink has moved directly to the Semi-Final, and will get the winner of the Holland/Winner of the First Tiebreaker game.

Cheryl Bernard missed out on going perfect through the round robin by dropping a close one to Lawton yesterday. However, her record was still good enough to finish first. She’s through to Saturday Night’s final, and needs just one more win to go to Vancouver!!

Women’s Tiebreakers – Friday 10:30 AM, 3:00 PM

McCarville v. Lawton
Krista McCarville moved into the tiebreaker after taking down Webster on Thursday Afternoon. Lawton needed an upset of the previously undefeated Bernard, but was able to do it.

Although I’m sure these two are happy to still be alive, it’s a long road to Vancouver still. In order to move on, they’ll have to win 4 straight to get all the way through the playoff bracket….three today. No easy task.

These two teams met during the round-robin on Monday night, where McCarville was victorious. This one could go either way though.

Holland v. Winner
Amber Holland awaits the winner of the McCarville/Lawton matchup. Holland qualified for the playoffs after winning three straight to end the round robin over Webster, McCarville and Scott. She’ll look to stay on that hot streak and move into the Semi tonight against Kliebrink.

During the round-robin, Holland bested McCarville, but lost to Lawton.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 7

So…I called it…although it was a little tighter than I thought…This morning, things went according to plan, setting up a fairly clean table going into the final men’s draw. Well…clean compared to the Women’s anyways.

Glenn Howard was able to stay undefeated, although it took a key steal of 2 in the 9th to slip past Ferbey. Martin and Koe went back and forth all game, but Martin was able to edge ahead in an extra. Stoughton just about blew it, but he was able to steal 10, and steal an extra to avoid a big loss to Middaugh.

So where does that leave us?

We know for sure that Martin and Howard are in the playoffs, and Stoughton is now guaranteed at least a tiebreaker. Koe and Ferbey are still alive, but they need help from Stoughton to get a tiebreaker. As Ferbey an Koe are playing each other, we know that at most there will be one tiebreaker between the winner of that game and Stoughton, should he lose. If Stoughton wins versus Simmons, there is no tiebreaker and the Ferbey-Koe winner is SOL.

Men’s Draw 7 – 8:00 PM

Howard (6-0) v. Martin (5-1)

Gotta get boring? Not for fans anyways…

For the umpteenth time, Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard will face off on a Thursday in the last game of the round robin, with first place in the round-robin on the line.

Tonight, the prize is a bye right to Sunday’s final…and the chance to avoid a big hurdle in the Semi-Final game. Its cut and dry really, win and you move on, lose and you get the semi-final game. Martin has had Howard’s number recently, topping him in the Round-Robin and 1-2 Game at the ’09 Brier, the ’08 Brier Final and the ’07 Briere Round-Robin.

Stoughton (4-2) v. Simmons (2-4)
Stoughton just about blew it this morning against Middaugh, but was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by stealing a single in the 10th, then repeating the feat in the 11th. That gives Stoughton control of his own destiny. Win and he gets the loser of the Howard-Martin game in the Semi’s. Lose, and he gets the winner of the Ferbey-Koe game in a tiebreaker.

Ferbey (3-3) v. Koe (3-3)
Both teams suffered key losses this morning, with Ferbey letting one slip away against Howard via the steal of 2 in the 9th, and Koe dropping an extra-end decision to Martin. That puts them both at 3-3, and needing help.

The loser is done here, with the winner needing help. If Stoughton wins his game, this one is meaningless. Only a loss by Stoughton gives the winner a tiebreaker.

Gunnlaughson (0-6) v. Middaugh (1-5)
Middaugh almost played spoiler vs. Stoughton this morning, but instead fell to 1-5. He’s been out of it for a while, and is just playing out the string. Gunnlaugson hasn’t managed to pick up a win yet, and this is his best chance to do so.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 7

Coming into this week, it was generally assumed that 3 losses would be too many, and would leave you on the outside. At the very most, you would need a heap of help to get into a tiebreaker at 4-3. Well…with one draw to go on the women’s side, we’re looking at a scenario where 4 friggin losses might be good enough to stay alive.

That, by some miracle, has kept Jones and Webster alive at 2-4 going into today. Pure crazyness

A 5-way tie for 3rd is in play, and it’s really not that hard for the 3-4 mark to be the tiebreaker. I don’t even want to think about how many tiebreaker games that would take. The 3-4 tiebreaker comes into it if all three of the current (3-3) teams lose. We get to the 5-way tiebreak if:

Webster (2-4) over McCarville (3-3)
Bernard (6-0) over Lawton (3-3)
Jones (2-4) over Kliebrink (4-2)
Scott (1-5) over Holland (3-3)

Anyways, with so much unknown, what do we know?

We know for sure that Bernard will get a chance to play in the finals. She’s clinched first place, and will play on Saturday night no matter what. We also know that Shannon Kliebrink is guaranteed at least a tiebreaker. Her week can’t end this afternoon.

Beyond that….I guess we’ll just have to play the games. Similar to the Men’s, I’m going to just briefly look at each of the eligible playoff teams now:

Women's Draw 7 - 3:00 PM

Bernard (6-0) – Matchup vs. Lawton
Bernard is through to the final, so this game really means nothing to her. If she wins it, it’ll push Lawton to 3-4, and she’ll need help.

Kliebrink (4-2) – Matchup vs. Jones
Shannon is guaranteed a tiebreak, but I’m sure she’d like to avoid that if possible. A win for her puts here into the semi-finals directly. More importantly, she has a chance to end Jones’ week right here. She should take it when she has the chance, as if Jones gets into a tiebreaker she can still win this whole thing. Best put her out of her misery when you can!

Lawton (3-3) – Matchup vs. Bernard
Lawton has the toughest matchup of the 3-3 teams, drawing the undefeated Bernard team. A win puts her into at least a tiebreaker. A loss, and she’ll need the 3-4 playoff scenario to develop. That occurs if McCarville and Holland were to also lose. That would be at least a 4-way tiebreak however, so Lawton would be best servered by just winning!

McCarville (3-3) – Matchup vs. Webster
McCarville blew a bit of a chance last night when she dropped her game to Holland last night. That dropped her back to 3-3, whereas if she’d won she would have guaranteed herself at least a tiebreaker. She gets a chance to rectify that mistake here though, as a win would eliminate Webster (and Jones), and give her at least a tiebreker.

Holland (3-3) – Matchup vs. Scott
Amber Holland gets the only matchup against a team that is out of it in Kelly Scott. However, Scott is clearly still capable of playing spoiler, so Holland will have to take care of business. Holland kept her chances alive by beating McCarville last night, and can guarantee a tiebreaker with a win here. A loss, and she needs Bernard and Webster wins to stay alive.

Jones (2-4) – Matchup vs. Kliebrink
How the hell is Jones still alive? Only two wins all week, and she can still make the playoffs. Just nuts. It won’t be easy though, as Jones needs a win, and then wins from Webster, Bernard AND Scott. Then she has to deal with a 5-way tiebreak. Then the semi’s. Then the finals…it’s a long road…

Webster (2-4) – Matchup vs. McCarville
Similar to Jones, I don’t know how Webster is still alive. She needs a win, and then also wins from Bernard, Jones and Scott to move on. But it can happen.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 6

Just two to go!

Cheryl Bernard has moved two games clear of the pack for 1st, has clinched a playoff spot, and just about has that bye to the finals all wrapped up. The only way she can end up in the semi’s is if:
She loses to Jones tonight
Lawton beats Kliebrink this evening
She loses to Lawton tomorrow afternoon

As for the rest, Kliebrink, Lawton and McCarville all share the tiebreak playoff spots at this point at 3-2 with Jones and Holland still alive at 2-3.

It’s not for sure, but it’s really shaping up that the tiebreak will be at the 4-3 record mark on the women’s side. The only way that it stays at 5-2 is if two of Kliebrink, Lawton and McCarville win out. Should only one of them win-out, and the other two go 1-1, then any team at 4-3 will be alive. Considering Lawton plays Kliebrink this evening, we know at for sure that one of the required two will go 1-1. If McCarville loses one, or if the winner of the Kliebrink-Lawton matchup then loses tomorrow….it keeps Jones and Holland…and any other 4-3 teams alive.

Its screwed up right now anyways:)

Women's Draw 6 - 9:30 PM

Bernard (5-0) v. Jones (2-3)
A win for Bernard puts her right into Saturday’s final. A loss means she has the same opportunity tomorrow…she only needs one of her final two...and even then with the right help she might be there already.

Jones dropped her morning game to Lawton, putting her in a really tough spot. She HAS to win out now, and against Bernard and Kliebrink that won’t be easy. Even with two wins, she’ll need help. Her best bet is for Kliebrink to win tonight against Lawton, which would put her destiny back into her own hands….if Lawton wins over Kliebrink, she’ll need Bernard’s help tomorrow.

Holland (2-3) vs. McCarville (3-2)
Amber Holland is in the same boat as Jones…winning out will be required. However, she already has control of her destiny for sure, as a win tonight over McCarville would guarantee the tiebreak falls to 4-3 (err…I think). If Holland bests McCarville, they both go to 3-3. With the guarantee of another 3-3 team from the Kliebrink-Lawton game, it a Holland win would set up a 3 way tie between Holland, McCarville and the loser of the Kliebrink-Lawton game. If Jones wins, that’d make it a four-way tie for 3rd….all at 3-3.

McCarville will look to finish out 2-0 against Holland and Scott. If she’s able to, she’ll make the playoffs for sure. If she goes 1-1, she should still be OK for a tiebreaker, as it would push her under the above scenario, but it’ll depend on how the other matchups go.

Webster (1-4) v. Scott (1-4)
Snore…the only good thing about this matchup at this point in the week is at least we know Kelly Scott won’t be in Vancouver!

Lawton (3-2) v. Kliebrink (3-2)
In a lot of ways, this is already a mini-tiebreker game. The winner will move on to 4-2, and will be in a good spot to clinch a playoff spot I think (at least a real tiebreaker). The loser will fall back into the pack at 3-3, needing McCarville to lose a game, or the winner to lose tomorrow in order to stay alive.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 5

With only 3 draws to go, the Men’s side of things are starting to come into focus. At 0-4, both Middaugh and Gunnlaugson have no chance of making the playoffs, and Simmons at 1-3 is not likely to have a chance. For Simmons to make the dance, he’ll have to first run the table, and then hope that 4-3 is the tiebreak mark. However, with three teams at 3-1, the odds on enough of them getting to three losses to give Simmons a chance is pretty slim. I think given all the head-to-heads with the teams higher up the board from Simmons, that it might be a mathematical certainty that enough wins will be collected to eliminate him.

Anyways, it’s shaping up for an exciting few draws of curling, as most of the big-guns will be going head to head. In fact Howard-Martin-Koe-Ferbey all play a mini 3-draw round-robin here over the last three draws. The wild-card is Stoughton at 2-2, who gets Gunnlaugson, Middaugh and Simmons to round out the draw. As the other 4 are dragging each other through the mud, Stoughton has a chance to rattle off 3 wins in a row, and leapfrog the whole pack. Stoughton has to be careful not to stumble, but he’s still in a really good spot, even at 2-2.

Men’s Draw 5 – 3:00 PM

Middaugh (0-4) v. Simmons (1-3)
Middaugh’s week is over, and this is a must-win for Simmons. Should he falter, the slim chance that he might still have will evaporate completely.

Koe (3-1) v. Howard (4-0)
Both teams managed to get through the ‘lower’ seeds in good shape, with Koe’s only loss coming to Stoughton. Obviously this is a big game, as Koe will look to keep pace with the tie-break spots, and Howard looks to keep a game clear of the pack for the bye to the finals.

Martin (3-1) v. Ferbey (3-1)
Two of the hometown teams go head-to-head in a huge game. Neither team will be out of it with the loss, or guaranteed to be in with the win, but the losers will need two straight against Koe-Howard if they drop this one…whereas the winner will only need to take 1.

Stoughton (2-2) v. Gunnlaugson (0-4)
Although he’s a game back of the tiebreak mark right now, the pack will fall to Stoughton at some point. He’s in the unique position of being in the hunt, but on the outside of the Howard-Martin-Ferbey-Koe mini round-robin. He has winnable games in front of him, but needs them all most likely.

I keep hammering on it, but if Stoughton had made that draw to the four-foot on Sunday night, he’d be in a tiebreaker right now.

Actually…all 5 teams at the top of the field would be tied at 3-1…what a situation that would have been…

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 5

Onto Day 4...

With three in the bag, the playoff picture is starting to crystalize a little bit on the Women's side, with really 5 teams fighting for those 3 playoff spots. Webster, Scott and Holland aren't mathematically out of it at 1-3, but not only would they need to run the table at this point, they'd need a fair amount of help.

Jones has fought back into contention...

Right now there are 5 teams with two or fewer losses. If any of the bottom 3 want to make it as far as tiebreakers, they'll need 3 of those 5 to drop to a 4-3, or worse, record.

Women’s Draw 5 – 10:30 AM

Scott (1-3) v. McCarville (2-2)
Kelly Scott is right on the brink at 1-3, and can't afford another loss. Her only win so far came against Lawton on Sunday night, so she's missed three in a row now. She has to run the table, but it is possible for her with matchups vs. McCarville (2-2), Webster (1-3) and Holland (1-3) left. Still, one more mis-step and she's done....and is without help anyways...

McCarville dropped a big one last night against Kliebrink, falling to 2-2 and one full game back of the tiebreakers. She still holds her fate in her own hands...going 3-0 from here will get her into at least a tiebreaker, but one more loss and she'll start to need help. Like Scott, McCarville has the 'weaker' end of the draw left. After Scott (1-3) she has Holland (1-3) and Webster (1-3). These are all 'winnable' games for McCarville, and odds are Holland and Webster will be officially out of it when she plays them, so it will be up to her to take advantage.

Bernard (4-0) v. Kliebrink (3-1)
The two front-runners face off in a Wednesday matchup that will go a long way to determining who gets the bye to the final. If Bernard is able to remain undefeated, she'll move two games clear of the pack, almost certainly locking up the bye with two games to go. However, if not she'll fall into a 4-1 tie with Kliebrink, and with the first tie-breaker being head-to-head, Kliebrink would have the clear edge.

The three 2-2 teams should be pulling for Bernard hard here. If Kliebrink falls to 3-2, it will make tiebreakers far more likely. If both Bernard and Kliebrink exit today's game at 4-1, they will still be a full game clear of the pack no matter what, leaving them scrambling for 3rd place.

Jones (2-2) v. Lawton (2-2)
Jones backed herself into a corner early in the week by starting off 0-2, but has fought back to even at 2-2. Thats currently good enough for a share of a tiebreak spot, meaning that she now holds her fate in her own hands again. If she can win out, she'll get at least a tiebreaker. However, with Lawton, Bernard and Kliebrink left, Jones hasn't made it easy on herself.

Lawton has been back and forth all week...lose one, win one, lose one, win one. She'll have to break that streak and start putting together back-to-back wins if she's going to make the playoffs. Like Jones, Lawton has the front-runners Bernard and Kliebrink left after this.

Neither team is out of it if they lose this one, but they'll be back in the position of needing help at 3 losses. With all the front runners playing each other down the stretch, I think its possible that 4-3 will still be good enough for a tiebreak...but its still not for sure. 5-2 will get you in for sure...so why tempt fate?

Webster (1-3) v. Holland (1-3)
These 1-3 teams face off in a game of really little consequence. The loser will be officially eliminated, while the winner can still hold onto hope...but is probably done anyways. Whoever wins still needs to win-out and get help. But the road can start here...

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 4

If things on the Women’s side has been a story of upsets, the Men’s side has been the exact opposite….with things sticking almost exactly to the expected script. Going into the evening draw, there seems to be a bit of a pack forming amongst the Top 5. Simmons still has a chance at (1-2), but has been a step behind the leaders all week. ‘Gunner’ and Middaugh are probably finished for all intents and purposes. There is more definition in the standings on the Men’s side, meaning that three losses probably won’t be good enough. They would need to jump a lot of teams, some that are two games up with 4 to go. If they are going to have ANY chance, they need to run the table here on out….and then pray for a lot of help.

 Glenn Howard....out front and eyeing that bye to the Finals

Men's Draw 4 - 8:00 PM

Ferbey (2-1) v. Gunnlaugson (0-3)
Ferbey has had the benefit of an ‘easy’ schedule this far, picking up wins over Simmons and Middaugh. He gets another break here facing the young 0-3 Gunnlaugson. Ferbey sits in a tie-break spot right now, but things get tougher down the stretch with games against Martin/Howard/Koe left. This is an important W for him to buffer against those matchups. He needs to go into that stretch at 3-1, not 2-2.

Gunnlaugson has impressed for his age, and has won over the crowd a bit. He’s certainly a fan favourite. However, after dropping to 0-3 this morning, his shot at the Olympics is probably over. His real target is the 2014 games, and by that time, he might return as a front-runner, rather than an underdog. He’s still a dangerous spoiler team, as Kevin Martin almost learned.

Stoughton (2-1) v. Martin (2-1)
This is clearly the biggest game of the draw, and probably the biggest game of the week so far. With that 4-way tie set up for 2nd through 5th, its very important to keep pace with the tiebreaker mark. However, one of these two teams will exit this game 2-2, probably needing to win three straight to make the playoffs.

Both of these teams really should be at 3-0, if it weren’t for last-shot mistakes by the skips. Stoughton botched his draw to the four-foot on Sunday against Howard, and Martin let at least an extra-end slip away against Simmons on Monday by flashing a hit. Those two losses are going to weigh very heavy all week, especially around the loser of this game.

For his part, Stoughton has the much easier schedule after this game, with Simmons/Gunnlaugson/Middaugh left. Win or lose, Stoughton could, borderline, should win his next 3. For that reason alone, barring upsets in those games, Stoughton is in a good position to finish 5-2 or 6-1…either of which would be good enough for a playoff berth.

After today, Martin has Ferbey/Koe/Howard left. Yikes. This is a big one for Kevin. He can’t go into that stretch at 2-2, needing all 3 to move on. Geez, he really needed that game against Simmons…


Middaugh (0-3) v. Koe (2-1)
Koe will look to rebound after dropping the morning game against Stoughton. He has a good chance here against a Middaugh team that is clearly struggling to put together a meaningful week. Koe has a stiff draw left after this in Howard/Martin/Ferbey, so this will be a big W for him. With the Stoughton/Martin game going on, he needs to keep pace with the winner, and take advantage of the chance to pull away from the loser.

Middaugh is now 5-16 all time at the Trials, according to the Curling News. About all you need to know right there. Middaugh has just looked out-classed all week, and is probably toast. If Koe can best him, it will just make it official.

Howard (3-0) v. Simmons (1-2)
After receiving a gift from Stoughton Sunday, Howard has rolled over Middaugh and Gunnlaugson on his way to a 3-0 start. Similar to Ferbey, the draw gets tougher as he goes on, with Koe/Ferbey/Martin after this. I’m sure he’d love to go into those final three matchups at 4-0, really only needing 1 of the 3 games to move on. However, I’m sure that he’s not just trying to scrape into the playoffs….the bye to the finals has to be pretty attractive. Howard is lucky in that he controls his destiny on that front. Run the round-robin and he can skip the semi-finals.

Simmons has struggled somewhat, despite being able to take down Martin on Monday. But that one was a bit of a gift, as Martin botched his last shot. Sitting at two losses, Simmons week isn’t over, but he sits a full game clear of tiebreakers right now, which I think will be a surprisingly difficult hill to climb…he needs at least THREE of Koe/Martin/Ferbey/Stougton to fall back to him. I expect at least two of those guys will stay ahead of Simmons.

But if Simmons can get past Howard, he has the two 0-3 teams up next, so he has a chance to rattle off 3-straight if he can just get the ball rolling. The problem is Howard represents a pretty big hurdle.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 4

Oh thank god. Jones beat Kelly Scott last night in Draw 3, pretty much making my day. That puts both teams at 1-2...keeping Jones alive, and putting Scott in a much tougher place.

Going into the week, I thought that any team at 3 losses would be in trouble. But things have bunched up so much with all the 1-2 teams that a 3-loss week will probably mean making a tiebreaker of some sort still. There is still alot of curling to be played, so thats not for sure....but a 3-loss team has a better chance than they thought I would at this point.

Women’s Draw 4 – 3:00 PM

Lawton (1-2) v. Holland (1-2)
After an opening night upset of Jones, Amber Holland had a less than ideal Monday, dropping both games. She needs to stop the slide now, already being at 2 losses.

Lawton took a tough loss to McCarville last night, and is a bit of a surprise to be at 1-2...she has played well, but hasn't seen the results.

Webster (1-2) v. Jones (1-2)
Jones pulled off a huge win last night over Kelly Scott off the back of a raise-double for 5. Not only did she play much better (89%), but by avoiding the 3rd loss, she's give herself a chance to get back into it with a win today. 2-2 looks alright if Jones can get there.

Webster probably wishes she could have caught Jones earlier in the week. She will be in tough if Jones has truly rebouned. She is at 1-2 right now, and a 1-3 start would not end her week...but again...not ideal.

Scott (1-2) v. Bernard (3-0)
Kelly Scott dropped the pivotal matchup against Jones last night, for the simple reason that she now has to face Bernard right after. Its a real possibility that she could find herself at 1-3 here. As I mentioned, this isn't the back-breaker I though it might be, but its still not ideal. In her favour, after Bernard she'll have played all the big guns...her home stretch draw is a little lighter than other teams.

Bernard has had no problems so far, and can almost clinch a playoff spot with a win here. She stays a full game ahead of the pack, setting herself up well for a bye right to the finals.

Kliebrink (2-1) v. McCarville (2-1)
Shannon Kliebring rebounded from a Sunday night upset to take both of her Monday Games. She will look to move to 3-1 today against McCarville.

McCarville made a nice shot last night to take her game against Lawton. The interesting note is that with the two 2-1 teams going head to head, the loser will sit at 2-2 with everyone who wins from 1-2. We are going to end up with a situation where the 2-2 teams are all in a tiebreaker after tomorrow.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 3

The Men hit the ice twice today for the first time, with both the morning and evening draws. The Men's side has spread out a little more than the Women's so far, with two teams at 2-0/0-2.

Men’s Draw 3 – 10:30 AM

Martin (1-1) v. Middaugh (0-2)
Martin maybe let hubris get the better of him in Draw 2 vs. Pat Simmons. Martin had the option to draw to the four-foot for one, and the tie, in the 10th, but decided to go for the triple instead. He missed, and handed the win to Simmons. He'll look to avoid a similar mistake this morning.

Middaugh is really down to his last strike, going to 0-3 will probably end his week. Martin is not the opponent you want to go into a 'must-win' against, but thats where Middaugh is at.

Simmons (1-1) v. Ferbey (1-1)
Two 1-1 teams go head-to-head this morning here. Simmons is coming off the aformentioned win over Martin, and will look to stay on a roll against Ferbey.

Ferbey was blown out pretty good by Stoughton yesterday, so he'll need to rebound. Ferbey has a relatively 'easy' day, with Simmons and Gunnlaugson. It'll be key for Ferbey to get two wins today, before having to finish off against Martin/Howard/Koe.

Gunnlaugson (0-2) v. Howard (2-0)
'Gunner' wasn't quite as impressive against Koe as he was versus Martin on Sunday, dropping his game 7-2 in eight ends. Things don't get easier with Howard on the schedule.

Howard was able to build on his gift win from Stoughton, extending his streak to 2-0 by beating Middaugh. Howard is the favorite here, and can really set himself up well for a playoff berth if he can go to 3-0.

Koe (2-0) v. Stoughton (1-1)
Koe has done everything he's had to so far, opening up with wins over Simmons and Gunnlaughson. Now the task gets a little tougher, as he'll start playing the higher seeds. Not the end of the world if he drops to 2-1, but as with Howard, 3-0 is a nice place to be.

That loss against Howard is going to haunt Stoughton all week, as he's now used up one of his strikes. It means he's walking on the edge sooner than he'd like to be. Dropping to 1-2 here would be tough with a night matchup against Martin on tap.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 3

Going into Draw 3 tonight, very very little has been settled so far. With 6 teams tied for 2nd-7th at 1-1, the only thing we know for sure is…well…absolutely nothing.

Rgardless, courtesy of  the CCA, a little post-game reaction from the Women after their second draw:



I was half expecting Kelly Scott to come right out and say she thinks her team cost her that game.....Anywho, onto the previews:

Women’s Draw 3 – 8:00 PM

Jones (0-2) v. Scott (1-1)
Well there is bad news…a bit of good news…and then more bad news for Jennifer Jones. The first bit of bad news is that she’s somehow found herself at 0-2, despite coming in as the favourite. There is no way around it….she has just played like crap so far (63%, 70%) and will downright have to be better.

The good news? Despite being down 0-2, there is such a log-jam at 1-1, that she still finds herself just one game back of the pack. The conventional wisdom, which I’ve esposed here, is that any team getting down 0-2 will have to find their way to 5-2 to have a shot. But with so many teams starting at 1-1, is it possible that a 4-3 team could see tie-breaker action? Regardless, for any of those scenarios to hit, Jones will have to turn her game around tonight. She has one strike left.

Which brings me to the bad news. Her schedule. She has Scott, Webster, Lawton, Bernard and Kliebrink left...having blown two of the easier matchups early, if Jones is gonna run the table, it’s going to be against the class of the field.

Kelly Scott will look to rebound from a morning loss to Kliebrink, where after spotting a 4-ender she was never able to recover. Scott finds herself in the middle of the 1-1 pack, and needs to take advantage of a ‘down’ Jones team.

McCarville (1-1) v. Lawton (1-1)
Sitting at 1-1, McCarville and Lawton will both look to build on the momentum gained from morning wins. Lawton bounced back from an opening round loss to Kelly Scott by taking Webster in an extra-end Monday Morning.

McCarville was able to put behind her a tough beat from Bernard by upsetting Jennifer Jones this Morning. As one of the lower seeds, McCarville opens the week against the tougher end of the draw, so Sunday-Tuesday are all about survival. McCarville’s goal is really to just stay in touch with the tiebreakers/playoffs through the tough end of the draw, hopefully closing ranks on Wednesday/Thursday. Not that there are any ‘easy’ wins here for anyone…

Holland (1-1) v. Kleibrink (1-1)
After being handed an upsed by Webster on Sunday afternoon, Kliebrink took apart Kelly Scott in convincing fashion Monday Morning. With Jennifer Jones struggling, Kliebrink has a real chance to jump up and grab this, so its important to build momentum.

After upsetting Jennifer Jones, Amber Holland wasn’t able to keep the magic alive against Bernard this morning. Kliebrink will be just as tough of a test as Bernard, so Holland will have to get it back ASAP. Holland probably the toughest first three draws, so if she were able to get out of it 2-1, I would think she’d be pretty happy with that.

Bernard (2-0) v. Webster (1-1)
Bernard finds herself in a unique position as the only 2-0 team. Having a full game advantage on the rest of the pack this early in the competition is a big advantage. In a perfect world, Bernard will now be able to ride her solid start into a playoff spot, just simply by allowing those below here to knock each other out. If she can go even just 3-2 the rest of the way, that should be good enough for the playoffs. However, I’m sure her eyes are starting to drift towards a 1st place finish, and that bye to the final.

Webster was able to upset Kliebrink last night, before dropping an extra-end game to Lawton this morning. She’ll look to move into the 2-1 crowd here, but will need to find another ‘upset special’ to do so. The good news for Webster is that she gets the really tough ones out of the way early, with her first four matchups being against Kliebrink, Lawton, Bernard and Jones (if Jones gets it going…). If she can stay at 2-2 through those four, she can look to finish strong on Wednesday/Thursday.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 2

Unlike the Women's draw, the opening day for the Men went pretty much as expected. All four of the direct qualifiers beat the four teams who got in via the 'Road', so I suppose everything went to form. Still, there were a few noteworthy items, including Stoughtons miss vs. Howard, and Gunnlaugson's vialliant fight against Martin.

Men’s Draw 2 – 3:00 PM

Gunnlaugson (0-1) v. Koe (1-0)
David almost slayed Goliath.

After opening up a 3-1 lead early, Gunnlaugson wasn't able to hold on versus Martin last night...eventually losing on Martin's last stone. The turning point came in the 8th, when Gunnlaugson missed a double for two...leaving Martin with a key steal of 1. It has to still be considered a moral victory for Gunnlaugson, who proved he can stand eye-to-eye with the world's best. The matchup this afternoon isn't any easier against Koe, but it provides a chance for redemption. If  Gunnlaugson can get out of the Martin/Koe matchups at 1-1, he'll be sitting alright.

For his part, Koe opened up with a solid win over Pat Simmons. Facing the youngster gives him an important chance to open up 2-0, giving him a buffer against the tough matchups still to come (Martin/Howard/Stoughton et al). Its not the end of the world if Koe drops this one, but it will make his week much tougher. Plus...nobody wants to be the first to lose to the kid.

Howard (1-0) v. Middaugh (0-1)
Former teammates under Russ Howard back in Ontairo, Glenn Howard and Wayne Middaugh face off today. Howard has to consider himself lucky. Tied 4-4 in the 10th last night, Stoughton came heavy on an open draw to the four-foot, giving Howard the W. I think Howard would have been able to recover from an opening loss without much trouble, but I'm sure 1-0 is much better than 0-1. He'll look to extend to 2-0 today in a game he really should win.

For his part, Middaugh looked pretty awful last night, getting picked apart by a clearly superior Ferbey team. Middaugh probably wasn't that likely to make the playoffs anyways, so starting off 0-2 would almost certainly seal his fate. After this one, Middaugh gets Martin/Koe tomorrow...so going into his Wednesday 0-2 is not a recipe for a playoff berth. Chalk this up as a must-win for Middaugh if he's going to play into the weekend.

Ferbey (1-0) v. Stoughton (0-1)
Ferbey looked very good last night, jumping out to an early 8-3 lead on Middaugh through 5. Although Middaugh hung around to keep it close (9-7) this one was never really in doubt. Ferbey gets a tougher matchup today in Stoughton. Winning this one would put Ferbey in a good spot for the week, especially given that it would push one of the prime competitors in Stoughton to 0-2...kick 'em when they're down...

Stoughton looked to have an important first draw win locked up over Glenn Howard last night. All that was needed was the open draw to the four-foot...

One draw to the back-eight-foot later, and Stoughton found himself at 0-1, facinging a tough Ferbey team, and a possible 0-2 start. Stoughton is capable of running the table if he gets down 0-2, but its certainly not what he'd like to be faced with. This is a big one, and he'll have to put last night's mistake behind him quickly.

Simmons (0-1) v. Martin (1-0)
Pat Simmons seemed to struggle at times last night. After getting down early, Koe was able to lean on him, and basically just run him out of ends. It can't be a good feeling to have to try and get that important first win against Martin. Like Middaugh, Simmons was never a favorite, so an 0-2 start isn't shocking. It is crippling though.

Martin got quite the scare last night from Gunnlaugson I'm sure. However, in the end experience won out, and Martin was full marks for the win. Even after Martin got down 3-1 after giving up a steal of 2, you knew that he'd work his way back into it. Expect Martin to put the gears to Simmons, and open up 2-0. After today, Martin gets Middaugh tomorrow morning, so it'll be important for him to get out to a 2-1 or 3-0 start before facing the toughter competition on the back-end of the week.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 2

After a couple of upsets Sunday afternoon, the favorites will look to rebound this morning in Women's Draw 2. Nobody wants to start the week off 0-2, so the pressure is all on the first draw losers here. Back-to-Back losses will put them in the position of probably needing to run the table the rest of the week to make the playoffs...no small task!

Women’s Draw 2 – 10:30 AM

Holland (1-0) v. Bernard (1-0)
Amber Holland lead off the 'Roar' with a huge upset of Jennifer Jones. Although Amber played well, she was lucky to catch Jones on what could at best be called an 'off' day. Regardless, she has to be happy with her 1-0 start, looking to extend it here.

Bernard won a really tight game over McCarville, making a really nice shot in 10 to take the W. Both teams hope to continue onto 2-0, but even at 1-1, the loser of this game has to be at least content with their start.

Kliebrink (0-1) v. Scott (1-0)
Kliebrink took a bit of an upset loss from Webster yesterday, putting here in a tough spot going into Monday Morning. A tough matchup versus Kelly Scott means that Kliebrink is staring a possible 0-2 record in the face, should she lose. Her week won't be over should she miss this one, but the pressure is definitly on.

Kelly Scott opened up with a solid win over Stephanie Lawton, and will look to get on a bit of a roll. Scott has Jones in the late draw Monday, so getting a win this morning would be really nice. The momentum gained from a 1-0 start can be lost pretty quickly if she ended Monday 1-2.

This is of course a repeat of the 2005 Trials, where Kliebrink edged Scott.

Lawton (0-1) v. Webster (1-0)
Lawton opens the tournament playing some of the 'lesser powers' in her first three games (Scott, Webster, McCarville). If she wants to seriously contend this week, she will need to take these wins when she has a chance. Missing the first of these games isn't the end of the world, but she really needs to be at 2-1 before facing the Jones' and Kliebrinks of the event.

Webster opened up the 'Roar' with a BIG win over Kliebrink, and will look to carry that forward. Starting 2-0 puts you in a great spot to start things off.

McCarville (0-1) v. Jones (0-1)
Krista McCarville lost a tough game yesterday against Bernard on a great last-shot win. Its the kind of game that can really deflate a team, so Krista will need to rebound against Jones. Not to hammer the point too much, but an 0-2 start can be very tough to recover from.

However, as much as there is pressure on McCarville to rebound, there is huge pressure on Jones to avenge her loss yesterday. Jones and her squad did not play well in her afternoon loss to Amber Holland, throwing only 63%. Combined with Overton-Clapham's 66%, its no surprise they lost. With a tough evening matchup against Kelly Scott, Jones really needs the morning draw 'W'.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Draw 1

So, with the Women's Draw underway, its time to look ahead to tonights Men's Draw. Don't forget the standings and draw sheet, which can be found here.

Men’s Draw 1 – 8:00 PM

Stoughton (0-0) v. Howard (0-0)
Wow…not messing around on this one are they? Two of the top teams go head to head right off the bat. Both teams have serious aspirations of taking this whole thing, and both of them will be keen to get off to good starts. I would peg this as a preview of the semi-finals or maybe even the finals.

Martin (0-0) v. Gunnlaugson (0-0)
So much for easing the young guy in…underdog Gunnlaugson gets thrown into a sink-or-swim situation right off the bat here. The pressure is all on Martin to kick things off, as an opening draw loss to Gunnlaugson would weigh heavy on his week with the bigger hitters coming up still.

Koe (0-0) v. Simmons (0-0)
In such a short tournament, every game is a big one….but for these two teams it’s almost like a make-or-break game right off. If either of these teams is going to make the playoffs, its games like these that they have to win….matchups against mid-level opposition. This game might be the difference between a 5-2 record…and hence the playoffs…or a 4-3 record and a quick trip home.

Middaugh (0-0) v. Ferbey (0-0)
Similar situation as Koe/Simmons here, as whichever team takes the loss here will start the week in a big hole. I would say the pressure is more on Ferbey here however, losing to Middaugh means needing to probably take 2 of 3 from Stoughton/Martin/Howard….not what you want to have happen.

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'Roar of the Rings' - Women's Draw 1

So, the 'Roar of the Rings' finally gets underway today. I've been looking forward to this for quite awhile! Before each draw, I'll hopefully be posting a little preview of it, just highlighting the impact of each game. With everyone at (0-0), the first one a little thin...hopefully they'll be more substantial as we move through this.

Women’s Draw 1 – 3:00 PM

Webster (0-0) v. Kleibrink (0-0)
This is a tricky game for Kliebrink, who looks to repeat this time around. A loss here would be devastating for Kliebrink, with tougher matchups to come later in the week. If Webster takes this one, it could be an indication that she’s still on a roll from the ‘Road’, making her very dangerous.

Jones (0-0) v. Holland (0-0)
Jones will look to get off to a good start here, and really can’t afford to lose to a team like Holland if she plans on being in the playoffs.  For her part, knocking off Jones would greatly improve Holland’s chances of making something of the week.

Bernard (0-0) v. McCarville (0-0)
Tough one to handicap here…two pretty equal teams. Probably a little more pressure on Bernard here, tripping up against McCarville would leave fewer strikes for the Jones, Kliebrink and Scott matchups.

Scott (0-0) v. Lawton (0-0)
It will be interesting to see what Kelly Scott team shows up…if she’s on her game she should take Lawton, but if anything less than her  ‘A-Game’ is there, Lawton will run right over her.  This is a big one for both teams, the kind of W you need to have in your back pocket to make the playoffs

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'Roar of the Rings' - Men's Preview

Come Sunday, eight of the very best curling teams in the world will take to the ice in Edmonton for the 2009 ‘Roar of the Rings’. On the line is the chance to represent Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, arguably the biggest prize that has ever been up for grabs in Canadian Curling history.

Who Will Carry the Curling Torch for Canada in Vancouver?

Although there are favourites, each and every one of these teams has a chance to win gold in Vancouver. In fact, anything less than that result will be ultimately be viewed as a failure, as Harris in ’98 and Martin in ’02 learned. Curling is our game, and it will be up to one of these eight teams to defend our home ice.

As was mentioned during the Event Preview, the event will consist of a full round-robin, with the top three teams making the playoffs. The #1 seed goes right to the Finals, with #2 and #3 facing off in a semi-final.

Everyone is setting this up as a battle between Martin, Howard and Stoughton…and that’s tough to argue against. However, as history has shown, anyone can win these Trials. Resumes means little once the action starts.

As a final note, with his defeat at the 'Road to the Roar', the 2006 Gold Medalist team of Brad Gushue will not have a chance to even return to the games. It really speaks to the depth of talent in this country when the reigning Gold Medalist doesn’t even make the Final 8 this time around.

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Team Martin

Home Province: Alberta
Team: Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert
Skip’s Resume: 10 Provincial Titles, 3 National Championships, 1 World Championship, 2002 Olympic Silver Medal
Current CCA Ranking: 2nd

There is no way around it, Kevin Martin sports the most impressive resume in Curling. 10 trips to the Brier is impressive in its own right, but when you consider that they are all representing the Province of Alberta, with its great depth of talent, it becomes even more impressive. Martin is one of the game’s great skips, blending a cautiously aggressive strategy with impressive shot making. He’s probably the best ‘all-around’ skip there is. Third John Morris is no less impressive, joining Martin after his own successes as a skip in Ontario. His pre-Martin record included back-to-back World Junior Championships in ’97 and ’98 and a trip to the Brier final in 2004. Marc Kennedy and Ben Herbert can’t be beat at front end.

Kevin Martin is the only skip at the trials with previous Olympics experience, gained when he carried Canada’s colours into Salt Lake City. However, Martin returned from those games with a disappointing Silver Medal after missing his final shot…a fairly routine draw to the four-foot. To this day, I still don’t know why he threw the turn that he did….had he come at it the other way, he had backing. If he had thrown the exact same shot, but gone at it from the other side….he would have won Gold.

A similar scenario arose at the 2009 World Championships, where Martin again let Gold slip through his fingers. Leading 6-4 after 8 ends, Martin surrendered 2 in the 9th, and then a steal of 1 in the 10th to Scotland’s David Murdoch.

Of course it would be no surprise to see Kevin Martin win the trials in his hometown of Edmonton, and he’s almost a certainty to make the playoffs….but the question has to be asked….does his record for faltering on the international stage make him the best choice for Canada? If he were to win, how confident can we be that we won’t see a repeat of Salt Lake City ’02 or Moncton ‘09?

I would suggest that we could do a lot worse than the veteran experience and skill of Kevin Martin. Many consider him to be the top team in the world. But if I had my choice, I would go with our next entrant…..

Regardless, a very interesting read is Kevin Marin’s own take on things, via the CBC

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Team Howard

Home Province: Ontario
Team: Glenn Howard, Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Savill
Skip’s Resume: 11 Provincial Titles, 3 National Championships, 3 World Championships
Current CCA Ranking: 1st

See Glenn Howard’s resume? 3 chances to represent Canada internationally, 3 times he’s brought home Gold. For me, that’s the biggest compliment that I can think of when it comes to Glenn Howard’s ability to represent Canada at the Olympic Games. Now granted, only one of those three appearances has been as a skip for Glenn, but you can’t argue with results.

If I had to think of one word to describe the Howard rink as a whole, it would probably be ‘consistency’. This is a team that you just know is going to go out there and take care of business. They call a good game, they shoot incredibly well, and Laing/Savill represent a great sweeping combo. If you’re up against them, I don’t know what you can key on as being their ‘weakness’….

Skip Glenn Howard is of course the younger brother of Russ Howard, who was part of Brad Gushue’s team in Turin. So even if Gushue won’t have the chance to repeat, the Glenn Howard rink represents a chance for the Howard brothers to keep the title in the family.

Vice Richard Hart is probably the best shooter in the world. Everytime he’s in the hack, you just expect that the shot will be made….raises, doubles, freezes…just doesn’t matter. Hart also carries previous Olympics experience on his resume, having won a Silver Medal at the ’98 Nagano Games, where he threw vice for Mike Harris.

Front end Craig Savill and Brent Laing share Howard’s later resume, having joined his team 2004. Previous to that, they of course were members of John Morris’ Ontario teams, winning the aforementioned back-to-back World Junior Championships in ’97 and ’98.

They’re the team I’ll be pulling for, and I think they would give Canada our best chance to bring home Gold. Expect them to see the playoffs for sure.

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Team Stoughton

Home Province: Manitoba
Team: Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Park, Rob Fowler, Steve Gould
Skip’s Resume: 7 Provincial Titles, 2 National Championships, 1 World Championship
Current CCA Ranking: 6th

There are two things that Jeff Stoughton will be trying to avoid in Edmonton. The first is becoming the only skip to appear at all four Olympic Trials without a victory. In both 1997 and 2001, Stoughton finished with a 5-4 record…good…but not good enough to make the playoffs either year. In 2005, he improved…progressing all the way to the finals, before losing 8-7 in the finals.

That of course brings us to the second thing that Stoughton will be trying to avoid at the ‘Roar’ – making predictions!

In 2005, when asked about the prospects of the young team from Newfoundland, Stoughton responded that Gushue had “No Chance” at winning the event. Gushue went out of his way to prove Stoughton wrong…beating him in both the round-robin and finals en route to victory. I think Stoughton will probably keep his yap shut this time around.

Drama aside, Stoughton has long been a main-stay on the men’s national curling scene, with Brier wins in ’96 and ’99. Despite the fact that it’s been 10 years since his last win at a top-level event, Stoughton is more than capabale of taking this.

Assuming the predictions are correct, and Martin/Howard lead the way through the round-robin, expect Stoughton to battle for that last playoff spot. Still, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Stoughton return to his ’97 and ’01 ways…over .500 record, but just miss the playoffs.

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Team Ferbey

Home Province: Alberta
Team: Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque
Skip’s Resume: 8 Provincial Titles, 5 National Championships, 4 World Championships
Current CCA Ranking: 3rd

Through the middle part of the decade, Randy Ferbey was curling in Canada. Some of the more recent innovations in the game, including the wider acceptance of the vice/skip throwing swap, the throwing crutch and the sweeping number system have their roots with Ferbey’s team. It’s no wonder some of these traits were adopted, considering Ferber’s wild success. Four Brier titles and three World Championships in five years (’01-’05) will spawn a lot of imitators.

Still doesn’t mean I can stand the guy. Ugghhh….

I don’t know what it is really…its hard to fully put my finger on. But the best way to sum it up is visually:

Everything you need to know about Ferbey is right there…..in that yellow and blue monstrosity of a jersey they’ve adopted. Ferbey is by no means a svelte man….and throwing that many ads on something of that size can only invoke thoughts of a walking billboard.

If he wins, I’ll be pulling for him come Vancouver. But until that time….I’ll be pulling for all 7 of the other teams first…

Thankfully, Ferbey isn’t the same team that he was in the mid-part of the decade, having been eclipsed by both Martin and Howard. Look for a roughly .500 record and a miss of the playoffs.

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Team Koe

Home Province: Alberta
Team: Kevin Koe, Blake MacDonald, Carter Rycroft, Nolan Thiessen
Skip’s Resume: No Provincial Championships
Current CCA Ranking: 9th

Kevin Koe comes into the ‘Roar’ as the best team that nobody has ever heard of.

Koe has the misfortune of being from Edmonton, shared home of both Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin. As you’ve seen from above, those two teams happen to be very good….making it very tough for Koe to make it out of his province and to the Brier. One can only wonder how many Briers he would have been at if had he been from a different province, or how many World Championships if he’d been from a different country.

Despite the lofty competition he faces in Edmonton regularly, he’s obviously still a step behind them….else we would have seen him slip past them before. I don’t expect anything to be different this time around…..it would be a surprise to see him in the playoffs.

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Team Middaugh

Home Province: Ontario
Team: Wayne Middaugh, Jon Mead, John Epping, Scott Bailey
Skip’s Resume: 7 Provincial Titles, 2 National Titles, 2 World Championships
Current CCA Ranking: 5th

What can be said about Wayne Middaugh? After sustained success through the early nineties as part of Russ and Glenn Howard’s powerhouse team, (4 straight Brier appearances ’91-’95) he struck out on his own after Russ moved to New Brunswick. That didn’t slow him down however, as he not only made the Brier in ’98 as a skip, but won the World Championship. I always remember watching Wayne during the TSN Skins games, and being thoroughly impressed.

Since the 90’s Middaugh’s star has dwindled somewhat, only making the brier twice since the millennium. However, he is still a main-stay on the World Curling Tour and comes in ranked 5th by the CCA. Still not bad.

Overall however, Middaugh is a little like Ferbey in that his prime has probably past, as he’s been eclipsed in his home province by Glenn Howard in the way Ferbey has by Martin.

He could surprise…but probably won’t. Look for a 2-5 record…

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Team Simmons

Home Province: Saskatchewan
Team: Pat Simmons, Jeff Sharp, Gerry Adam, Steve Laycock
Skip’s Resume: 4 Provincial Titles
Current CCA Ranking: 19th

Pat Simmons has enjoyed a fair amount of success over the past few years, with four straight Brier appearances from 2005-2008. His best result was in that last of these trips, where he lead his Saskatchewan rink to a 9-2 record, before bowing out to Glenn Howard in the semi-finals. Simmons would love a chance for a repeat, but given the depth of the field that will be difficult for him to achieve.

In order to make the playoffs, you really can’t lose more than 3 games. With teams like Howard, Martin, Stoughton and Ferbey out there, it’s pretty easy to get to those 3….so expect a valiant effort, but a under .500 record and no playoffs.

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Team Gunnlaugson

Home Province: Manitoba
Team: Jason Gunnlaugson, Justin Richter, Braden Zawada, Tyler Forrest
Skip's Resume: No Provincial Championships
Current CCA Ranking: Ranking? We Don’t Need No Stinking Ranking….

Definitely the wildcard of the event, a lot of people will be watching the Gunnlaugson team just to see if they are the real deal.

Prior to the ‘Road to the Roar’, I’d never head of the Gunnlaugson rink, which isn’t surprising given their ages. This team is very young, with Jason only being 25 years of age….very young in the curling world.

The Gunnlaugson team plays an unexpectedly aggressive game, relying on their excellent peel game to bail them out of any jams. Quite a few times during the ‘Road’ I would watch Gunnlaugson’s aggressive strategy get them in trouble, only to see them bail themselves out with a couple double-peels or a nice runback. Given that Gunnlaugson’s official job title is ‘Poker Player’, I don’t think we should be surprised that he likes to take risks.

Odds are that Gunnlaugson isn’t ready to run with the big dogs yet, and really just making it this far is very impressive. But don’t forget that Brad Gushue was only 26 when he won the last trials….

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Linkbacks:
Roar of the Rings Overview
Women's Preview
Draw and Standings

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'Roar of the Rings' - CTVOlympics.ca Preview

A really good Q&A with Vic Rauter and Linda Moore has been posted over at CTVOlympics.ca

I suggest you check it out. As was mentioned in the article, the two things to watch for will be how teams handle the crowds and pressure mentally, and who the dark horse team might be. Two of the three Olympic Trials have seen a relative unknown take the Men's side ('98 Mike Harris, '06 Brad Gushue). Could Gunnlaugson, Simmons or Koe do the same?

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