CCA should re-think its scheduling
Monday, March 10, 2008 | 08:55 PM ET
Day 3 of competition has just about wrapped up, and my ears are still ringing.
School's out!
The school kids were out in full force this morning, screaming and yelling their encouragement to the home team, plus their designated teams. This week, school kids from across the city get a chance to attend the Brier, and as part of their homework, each school has a designated province/team to learn about and cheer for.
If you have never participated in a Brier before, or have never been to a morning draw before, the kids can be quite the surprise, and very, very noisy. As a player you have to learn to block out all distractions and I know when we were out on the ice you can't believe the kids can keep up the screaming all game, but yes they can!
Let's see the home team and the best teams at the best times
You would think the CCA would put some more thought into how the draw is scheduled for the Brier. The CCA could wait until each province's winner has been determined then schedule the draw to match up the big names for the evening draws. At the very least, they should ensure the home team plays as many evening draws as possible.
To me it's a no-lose situation.
The host committee would love to have the home team and the big names battling it out in prime time, which is obviously a great draw for the local fans. I know TSN would love to have the big boys playing during their evening time slot. There is no guarantee that the big names will be performing at their best, but everyone still wants to see them bang heads.
Two games we would have loved to have see on TV or live in front of a packed house are Wednesday morning's Burtnyk vs. Gushue and Thursday morning's Howard vs. Martin. Of course, you can catch all the morning draws streaming live right here on CBCSports.ca.
Morning Games - Stealing Their Way to Victory
The morning draw saw two unbeaten teams steal their way to easy victories. Manitoba stole singles three times to get past New Brunswick 8-3. Alberta stole a total of three points to cruise over previously unbeaten Saskatchewan 7-4.
As expected Ontario easily defeated Northern Ontario 9-4 in eight ends. The nail biter was the Quebec vs. B.C. game, with B.C. finally getting their first win by scoring one in the 10th end to hold off Quebec 6-5.
Afternoon Games - Blowouts
Team Martin blew out P.E.I. to go undefeated and looks good at 5- 0.
Team Ontario controlled the game against Manitoba to go to 5-0. Burtnyk was off his normal perfect self today and will have to put it together tomorrow.
Nfld beat the NWT. Gushue and company have a better record now (2-2) than they had last year (1-3) when they finished the round robin at 8-3.
Saskatchewan rolls along against the grey beards from N.S., pushing their record to 4-1.
Strange, but true fact: Red rocks have not won a game on Sheet D. Red always has the hammer for the first end during the round-robin games, but red rocks are now 0-6 and have been outscored 25-49 by the yellow rocks.
Questions:
Will Brian Rafuse, the skip for N.S., ever throw an in-turn shot?
Will P.E.I. win a game this week?
Will Kerry Burtnyk, the skip for Manitoba, take off that skirt for a jacket this week?
Will Martin Crete, the third for Quebec, lose his voice?
Will Marc Kennedy, the second for Alberta, shoot less than 95 per cent for the week?
Key games on Tuesday:
Draw 9 (9:30 a.m. local): Saskatchewan vs Quebec
Draw 10 (2 p.m.): NWT vs. Ontario
Draw 11 (7 p.m.): Alberta vs. Manitoba
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About the Author
Former world and Brier champion Jeff Stoughton joins CBCSports.ca with his take on the 2008 Canadian men’s curling championship.
The Winnipeg native - widely regarded as one of this country's top skips - captured Brier titles in 1996 and 1999, winning the world championship in 1996 and finishing second in 1999.
Stoughton has won a record six provincial titles over his career. He currently curls out of the Charleswood Curling Club with teammates Ryan Fry, Rob Fowler, Steve Gould.
Fans can keep track of Team Stoughton on their website: http://www.teamjeffstoughton.com
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Comments
Ron
BC
Agree 110% with Jeff's comments about the draw schedule.
Posted March 12, 2008 05:13 AM