Game 15 Recap

Game 15 was just like many of my team's other games this season.  We played a D level team and they got three points.  And similar to lots of other games this season, we found ourselves down 7-1 after two ends.  But in the next end of they missed takeouts and we were able to score 6.  I had 5 rocks in kind of a star formation and then all I had to do was get a rock anywhere in the house; I still needed furious sweeping from Lead and Second to get there.  It was back and forth after that, but we pulled out the win, and I believe the final score was 11-10.

The record is now 9-5 and the competitive record remains at 2-3.

There wasn't a game from this past week as the opposing team had to cancel on me.  Unless we're able to do a makeup game, there are only two games left for the season.

Hogline Razor Broom Review

As I've written about here, my broom is five years old, so it was pretty cool to be contacted to try out a new broom.  (I think this is a sign that people are actually reading this blog.)  But Ole from Hogline asked if I wanted to try out their Razor broom.

It was so surprising to hold a carbon fiber broom.  It's so much lighter compared to my broom.  We also compared to Lead's broom (a composite) and we could tell the difference in weight too. 

I remember Drew at the Fireball Bonspiel saying that once you've used a carbon fiber broom, you won't go back.  At first, I couldn't really feel a difference during sweeping, but that's because I'm a skip for my league games.  However, I played third at the Fireball and sometimes I switched back to my old broom and that's when I could really tell. 

In terms of comparisons to other brooms out there,  the shape of the broom head is just like most of the other brooms out there.  The price is comparable too.  The major differentiation is that the brooms are made in America (and by an SPCC member) so that's kind of cool. 

One drawback is they don't do 1" brooms, but I've only met a few people that use 1" brooms.  This might just be me, but I found it more difficult to slide with such a light broom.  I was speaking to an opposing skip who has a Razor and he said it took him a little bit of time to get used to sliding with it, but loves the broom.  So I don't think that should deter anyone from buying the Razor (or any carbon fiber broom for that matter.)

But anyway, after trying it out for a few weeks and then using it during the Fireball Bonspiel, I can definitely say I like the broom and I added it to my Amazon Wishlist.

The Spin-o-rama Contest Idea

My team and I were just talking after our game and we came up with the idea of the Spin-o-rama closest to the button contest.  For those that don't know, here's a video of Jeff Stoughton doing a spin-o-rama.



So the idea is that you have to do a spin-o-rama and then throw the rock at the house.  Everyone that gets their rock in the house (or maybe the 8 foot) qualifies for the finals.  Then, the finalists do it again and the winner gets the pot (say the entry fee is $1-5 if you want to do it.)

Wouldn't that be really fun?  We're pushing for it for the Hobber Dobber Bonspiel. 

Game 13 and 14 Recaps

Last week was another D level team and just like in weeks past, we (I) started out slow and they stole 3 in the first end.  (How do we keep letting this happen?)  But we chipped and didn't panic and when scored 4 a few ends later, we were feeling good.  And then we eventually won the game.

But this last game was our first game against an A level team since early December.  And then I learned that they only have one loss for the season so far.  (Wow).  After the game, I would learn that the opposing skip remembers what happened last season.  (My team beat theirs on the last shot of the game, as recapped here.) 

Kind of an auspicious start before the game.  I had lined up a sub, but then an hour before the game, he cancelled as he had basically been curling nonstop that Sunday (congrats on almost winning the Winter Carnival Bonspiel).  Right before our game, I spotted someone else we knew and convinced him to stay for one more game.

Ee pretty much kept the game close.  (If I had made a couple freezes, we might have scored more.)  By the seventh end, the opposing team (with hammer) was looking at something like this.  (There might have even been more guards up front.)  They have hammer and they're yellow.

If it was me (and the other skip incidentally), I would go for the point and do the raise.  Blanking the end hadn't even popped into my head as an option until I saw them throw the rock.  It was a choice of being up two without hammer vs being up one with hammer coming home (or being tied with hammer if you miss).  So in terms of risk, blanking the end was a good choice as the takeout was the easier shot.

So now we're in the eighth end.  With his first shot, the opposing skip made a great double takeout.  There goes my shot at stealing two.

And then I threw garbage for my last rock.  The raise might have given us a shot at going to an extra end, but oh well.

These two games brings the record to 8-5 and the competitive record to 2-3. 

Random Thoughts on Handicaps and Rules

After this past game, my team was discussing whether the handicap system was fair.  After a few games early in the season, all of the teams in the league are sorted into groups A-D.  If an A level team plays a C level team, the C team gets 2 points; if a C level team plays a D, the D gets 1 point; etc.  (If an A level team plays a D level team, the A team automatically gets hammer.) 

This past game happened to be played at 6PM, in between the 4PM and 8PM leagues.  Also, the 4PM game on our sheet went long and we didn't start our game until almost 6:15.  Does that give the handicap team an advantage because there are fewer ends for the other team to catch up? 
If a good team is up three and is able to make takeouts, the game might be (essentially) over after a few ends.  There are only a couple of teams in my league that I would put in that category.  I consider myself pretty good and I'll miss easy takeouts just by being a little wide or I didn't read the ice correctly.

So anyway, I don't have an answer.  I've been beaten by D teams and and I've won games against D teams that weren't even close.  I've skipped a D level team one season and I was very appreciative of the handicap then. 

I think if the league had teams that were a little closer in experience/skill, I would propose something along the lines of A vs. B = B gets 1 point/A gets hammer, A vs. C = B gets 1 point and hammer, A vs. D = D gets 2 points/A gets hammer.  But it probably wouldn't make that much of a difference.  Anyway, I'll stop rambling about this.

*******************************************************************************

On another subject, during this past season, we've noticed several teams with some minor infractions.  Things like skips "warming up the ice" (don't do it) or not knowing what to do with rocks touching the back line (they're still in play) or measuring a rock with your broom before the end is over (don't do it).  I'd just like to implore you, especially if you're a skip or third to read through the rules of the game.  There are several books for this, including Curl to Win and Curling For Dummies.  It's less than 20 pages in  both of these books.  Or if you don't know the rules, don't be afraid to ask.

Hopefully that wasn't too much of a rant.  Just needed to get that out.

Game 12 Recap

This past game was against another D level team.  I always ask the opposing skip how they're doing during the season and I was surprised to learn that they had a .500 record.  So they've been able to take advantage of the handicap.
And again I started the game slow.  The opposing team actually stole four in the first end.  And then in the second end, I missed a (what should have been easy) takeout that would have scored three; we ended up only scoring one. 

But then we stole one on the next end and then they scored one and then with hammer, my team scored four.  Now we're down two and it might be a game.  And then we stole four in the next end.  In the final end (we got the buzzer in the previous end), I placed as many rocks as possible in the house and it was like they couldn't make any more takeouts.  Earlier, they were getting hit and rolls
and even a couple tick shots.  I guess the lesson is not to lose hope.

Sorry no diagrams today.  I didn't really feel that conflicted with shot calling.  (Usually, there's a situation where I just know that I have to remember it.)  Our record is now 7-4.

Game 10 and 11 Recaps

Wow.  That was a bit of a layoff.  Surprisingly, I haven't had any days with zero hits.  It was probably helpful that I posted the gift guide.  (Thanks to the anonymous person that actually clicked on an amazon link and bought something.)

You might notice that I haven't posted a Game 9 Recap.  This is because the team canceled on us like two days before our scheduled game.  So I scheduled a makeup game and they said they could make it and then the day before they cancel again.  I'm a little miffed (just tell me that you can't make it.)  Lead thinks we should force a forfeit from them since they canceled twice.  There's a tiny chance this might matter in the final standings as we're both A level teams.

I'll recap Game 11 first.  I had my whole team together and we're playing a D level team so they got three points.  This was definitely the worst game of the season, at least one where there wasn't a teammate missing.  Vice believes (and I agree) that we were kind of intimidated by the three point handicap.  We really tried to score big ends and it ended up backfiring.  In the first end, the other team stole 2 and we're looking at 5-0 and that's just tough to see.  It's possible that if I had played more conservatively, we would have chipped away at the score.  I didn't though.  I think the final score was something like 10-2.  Just bad.

Game 10 was a tough game.  Our opponents were a C level team.  This surprised me because they had beaten us handily at the Novice Bonspiel a couple years ago.  We were fighting to keep pace the whole game.  In the eighth end, we were down three, but had hammer.  Surprisingly, the opposing skip had missed both of his takeouts and we were able to tie up the game and take it to an extra end.  We played one rock each, but they had hammer.  I'm looking at this for my shot. 

Vice and I considered playing a guard for our rock in the house (1).  The opposing skip had made takeouts for the game and thought we might as well force a draw to the button.  Perhaps if the opposing skip hadn't done too well on takeouts, we might have tried for a guard/top of the house type shot (2).  But then we decided to just draw to the button and hopefully get behind the guard (3).  But alas, the rock picked (not blaming Vice's beard for this one) so the rock was in the open.

Now, the other skip didn't throw a takeout.  Probably a good idea to make sure the rock stays in play.  But I think most people would have thrown the rock with back line weight or maybe a little more and use my rock as a backstop.  The opposing skip actually threw light.  His teammates were furiously sweeping and then we end up having to measure the rocks.  His rock was closer by 2mm.  Oh well.

With these two games, the record is now 6-4 with the competitive record remaining at 2-2. 

Game 8 Recap

I was worried about this game because I've practiced sliding with the opposing skip and vice before and I know that they're very consistent.  (They're also an A level team.)  Fortunately, their vice could not make it to the game so that was good.  I got to have my whole team together.

In the end, I had nothing to worry about as this was definitely one of our best games of the season.  We had a solid 9-4 win, which included an end where my team scored 5. 

I'm going to diagram my miracle shot.  The opposing team had a couple shots in this end where their plan B somehow ended up with rocks in the house behind the mess of guards. 

With all of the guards and the curl on the ice, I thought going off the corner was my best shot.  Surprisingly, I made the shot, though the roll was a little bit too far.  I was also surprised that the opposing skip missed the takeout twice.

In the fifth end, the opposing team put together a nice end to score two, which made the score 9-2.  For the 6th end, I realize that the strategy is to take everything out and keep the ice clean.  But I feel weird about doing that.  Instead, I just play rocks in the house.  If they want to freeze or take them out, that's fine.  By my first shot, I had an open takeout on their shot rock.  If I made the shot, my team would sit five (really, it just wasn't their night.)  I don't try to run up the score out of a sense of meanness; it's just not in my nature to not try to score.  Anyway, Vice made me throw a guard on their rock instead of the takeout.  They scored two for the end and Vice gets credit for being much more sportsmanlike than me.

This brings our record to 6-2 and the competitive record to 2-2. 

Game 7 Recap

This game came on the Sunday following the Fireball Bonspiel.  I remember telling my brother about the possibility that I might hoist the trophy (or whatever the prize is) for the bonspiel at 3PM and then curl just a few hours later for my league game.  As it turned out, I didn't play on Sunday at all.  As the father of a young baby, not playing on Sunday was nice as I really hadn't spent very much time with my wife and baby during a hectic thanksgiving weekend.  But competitor me is getting a little tired of not even getting to Sunday in my last three bonspiels.

Anyway, back to the game.  When I walked into the club, I looked up at the board and saw that I was up against another A team for this game.  (I've since checked the "competitive" list and they're on there.)  Vice couldn't make the game as he was still on the road coming back from his sister's wedding that weekend.  I couldn't find a sub so we were playing with three.  I was somewhat comforted by the fact that my opponents were also playing with just three.

It just wasn't our night though.  We couldn't make anything the whole night.  In the third end, my opponents were sitting two and I had an open draw to score 1.  I ended up being 10 feet short of the house. 

This brings us to the fourth end and my second shot.  My team is down 3-1 and I already knew that we were struggling with both weight and line.  My team is red and the circled (in green) rock was my first shot (again short of the house). 

I have one obvious shot: raise my previous stone into the house.  Of course, I feel weird about that shot based on my previous shot and the previous end.  So instead, I think, "Well, let's save 1 point and keep hammer and hopefully set up for a better end the next time around."  I go for the takeout on the left side.  I put a lot of weight on the rock, but it still curled back enough to hit the guard so the other team still scored two for the end.  Both a bad call and a bad shot.  Things didn't really improve from there.

This brings the record to 5-2 and the competitive record to 1-2.  For our next game, our opponents are on the competitive list, but I'll have my whole team back, which hasn't hapenned in a few weeks.

Holiday/Christmas Gifts for Curlers

So you know a curler and you want to get them a gift, or you're a curler and want some items for your wishlist.  Here are some ideas:

1. Books.  My personal favorite gameplay books are Curl to Win by Russ Howard and Curling Secrets by Colleen Jones.  Fit to Curl by John Morris is great for the fitness types.   Curling, Etcetera by Bob Weeks is great for the trivia buffs. 

2. Clothing.   Loudmouth pants (the pants worn by the Norwegian men's curling team) are still popular here in St. Paul, so that trend might continue another year.  There are many t-shirts out there, but this one is the cutest.  (Future post idea: Top 5 curling shirts)  I'm sure you were wondering about this, but they do make curling themed underwear as well.

3. Equipment.  I could suggest lots of equipment, but I think it's better if a curler just adds exactly what they want to their wishlist.  If you really want to spend the money, I'm guessing you'd make a curler feel really special if you got them a carbon fiber broom (here's one option).   Broom bags are reasonably priced gifts, but I would suggest it only for someone that goes to bonspiels.  I normally wouldn't suggest a broom head has a gift, but this one is good for a skip (credit to nohocurling for posting that).

4. Games.  There's a new card game called Hurry Hard.  (No idea if it's fun.)  On the Button Gifts has some nice curling themed games as well.

5. Other.  There's curling jewelry and glasses and paperweights and all sorts of other stuff.  Here's a good collection of mostly glassware and here's probably the most random selection of curling themed items. 

Any other ideas for curling themed gifts?  Let me know.

Game 6 Recap

First, happy Thanksgiving!  On to the post...

It's official.  I'm skipping an A level team.  My opponents this time got three points, making them a D level team.  This is quite a fall for them as last season, they shook off a slow start to be in the hunt for second half champion.  (FYI, we have champions for first half, second half, and the full season, which gets you into the top bracket for the playdowns.)

The final score was 10-4 after five ends, though I would add that the game was closer than that.  This was a case where their rocks were just a little long or just a few inches off line and my team was able to take advantage. 

After having my team together the last few weeks, both Lead and Second were out.  (Second's in Florida having a small destination wedding.  Congrats!)  And I was able to get some of my regular subs to play for them so that was good.

I'm going to outline the last shot here.  The first few stones were spent playing freezes and a couple takeouts, which account for the rocks in the house.  After a few missed shots from the opposing team, I was able to set up all of the guards (my team is red).  For his last shot, Vice and I suggested to the opposing third that they try to raise their high guard to try to score one.  (I do realize that shot could have easily raised a red rock, but they really didn't have much choice.)  As it turns out, he missed the raise, but still hit the corner guard.  Off the bounce, it was headed towards the button and Vice even helped the opposing third try to sweep it in, but it wasn't meant to be.  I think that pretty much shows how their game went.

This game brings our record to 5-1 and our competitive record remains at 1-1. 

Game 5 Recap

This past game was against a C level team and they got one point.  I was surprised at this because I know that this team (at the very least their skip) has played in some international type competitions.  They were playing with only 3 while I had my regular team together.

I think this game might have been determined by the front end play.  This just wasn't a good night for the opposing first as only a handful of his rocks would stay in play during the game.  In the second end, this helped lead to my team having all 6 rocks in play before I even threw my first rock and no opposing stones; we stole three in that end. 

Now, the final score was (I believe) 7-4 after 6 ends, but I have to say that the opposing skip had some really lucky shots.  One of them was pretty similar to my own luckiest shot (he missed his original shot, but made an unbelievable double raise to score two).  The other lucky shot came in the fourth end.  I don't remember exactly what all was happening on the left side, but no one was going to draw on that side.  The opposing skip draws to the right side.  The rock looks like it's going through the house and Vice gets ready to sweep it, when all of a sudden, it picks on something in the house and makes a sharp right turn to land on the button.  They score one. 

Afterward, we looked under the rock and we found a hair.  We believe that it's one of Vice's beard hairs.  If this happens again, I'm going to make him shave or wear a surgical mask or something. 

Our record is now 4-1 and our competitive record remains at 1-1.  I'm wondering if we'll be bumped up to A level soon.  I feel weird about that; I can't imagine anyone thinking that my team is one of the best in the league.  It's not like we have matching outfits or play multiple times a week or go to lots of bonspiels or have really expensive equipment (only Vice and I have curling shoes). 

Also on this subject, I've always felt that our handicaps are based on small sample size (in my case, two of my wins came against D level teams and one against a C level).  It'd be cool if someone could come up with a BCS type algorithm, maybe take the final scores into account to come up with a ranking that's a little less subjective.  Just a thought. 

Game 4 Recap

This time we're playing a team on the competitive list and our first A level team of the season.  My team got a handicap of 1 point.  Their team had only two losses last year, so I think the 1 point is justified.

For the first two ends, my play was really terrible.  I hogged my first three rocks and my fourth rock was way off line.  Fortunately, the opposing skip also was having an off night and after two ends, my team was up 4-0. 

Then, they took control for the next two ends.  Here's a diagram for one of the shots they made. 

The skip would tell me later this was  luck, but at the time, I was thinking, "That's why they're A level".  I would happen to make a nice (lucky) shot to turn what could have been a score of 4 for them to a score of 2 so that was a relief.

So after the fourth end, my team is up 4-3.  In the fifth end, their team completely broke down.  By the opposing skip's second shot, my team is sitting 4 and they have just one rock in play up front.  And surprisingly, the opposing skip hogged his shot.  Wow.  Like everyone else, Vice and I will point out where we would like the rock to end up before setting the broom.  This time however, Vice pointed to the entire house and said anywhere.  I had just enough on the shot and we scored 5. 

In the next end, Lead made a couple really nice biters.  The opposing skip went for the takeout both times, except that left their rocks in front of the house.  Was that the right strategy?  I'm not sure.   Would it have been better just to try to draw behind them?  The takeout was the much more reliable shot, but I think you want as many rocks in play in an effort to score at least 3.

Anyway, everyone made their takeouts and they only scored one for that end.  That was the game after 6 ends.  This brings the record to 3-1 with a 1-1 record vs. "competitive" teams.

Game 3 Recap

Got the team back together for the first time this season so that was fun.  Our opponents get a two point handicap and we would also learn that this was their first year in the league.  This was only their second game as they were a replacement team after a team no showed their first week.  They were definitely new to curling as I had to give a couple explanations on rules during the game. 

My team played very well during the game.  The final score was 11-5 and my team's score might have been better if the third end had gone better. 

So we're in the third end and the score is 7-2.  My team is yellow and after Lead's rocks, things are looking good for this end with a rock buried.  I called a draw (1) for Second and then he was short with his first shot.  I compounded this call with my next call for him to draw even further to the side (2) and he was short again.  In Second's defense, I should have called for a lot more weight on these shots as that ice really hadn't been used that much by this point in the game.

As it turns out, by the time my shots came around they were sitting two.  My second shot was completely messed up and I raised one of their rocks in and they ended up scoring three. Fortunately, that end was a wakeup call for my team and we got ourselves back on track after that end. 

I'm not sure calling rocks in the house on that side was the correct call.  My feeling at the time was that my team didn't have hammer for that end and I could force them to try to take out our rocks.  I wasn't going to call any shots on the other side as a miss may have raised the opponents' stone.  Maybe another center guard would have been helpful.  In that case, a raise takeout for the opponents would be difficult and drawing to either side would be useless unless they find a way to take out the rock on the button.

Anyway, after the game, the opposing skip said, "Thanks for the education".  So I guess he learned a couple things during the game. 

FYI, this game brings our record to 2-1, but our record against "competitive" teams remains at 0-1.

One more thing.  My team is interested in finding one more person to play with them for the novice bonspiel (since I aged out).  Let me know if you'd like to play with my very fun teammates.

Bonspiel Update

So I have found a bonspiel to go to.  I will be at the Fireball Bonspiel with my brother, a Bond Girl, and her husband.  All are flying from California just for this.  Well, my brother is also going to spend Thanksgiving up here. 

Since a Bond Girl is involved, we are likely to stream our games online.  Our video stream would be much better if there's commentary, and as I've written previously, doing curling commentary is a lot of fun, especially if you're with a friend.  We would love it if you did commentary for our games.  I'll have to talk to the Bond Girls about this, but maybe we can give you a Bond Girls sticker or some other swag as a token of our appreciation.

Also, my brother leaves late on Saturday night of the bonspiel so if we're playing on Sunday (which would be a first for me in several years), we'd need a sub.  (In his defense, the plane tickets for leaving the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend were a lot cheaper compared to Sunday.)  Anyway, let me know if you could be an alternate for my team. 

Looking forward to it and maybe I'll meet some of you there. 

Game 2 Recap

Our game 2 opponent was a fairly new team to the club as this season is only their second season.  We got a 2 point handicap as a result.  Lead was back for the game, but I learned that Vice was sick roughly an hour before the game.  E-mails to my normal subs and asking people on Twitter did not come up with anything so we played with three people.  Lead and Second had good draw weight for most of the game, which made things so much easier for me.  We stole several ends and we won the game 7-3.  This brings our record to 1-1.  For the "competitive" teams, our record remains at 0-1.  (I've decided to separately keep track of our record against "competitive" teams to give myself an idea as to what would have happened if the league realignment had actually occurred."  The opposing skip has definitely improved from last year.  There were several ends where we stole one point, but if it weren't for his shots, we probably could have scored more than one.

In this end, the opposing team has hammer, my team is yellow, and I believe we were up by two.  It's the opposing skip's first shot.  I was thinking the easiest shot would be to take out the rock in the top of the house and try to get a double.  With the curl on the right side, it may have been possible to draw on that side; shot rock was probably unlikely, but saving two was possible.  The opposing skip went for the hit and roll with the rock on the left side.  He almost got the roll, but was still able to get second shot rock. 

I don't remember what I did on my shot.  But the opposing skip has a few options.  One option is raise on the left side, but you need some curl on the shot to get around the guard.  Another possibility is to go down the middle.  While that shot would have been interesting (who doesn't want to see lots of rocks crashing into each other?), it's possible that their own rock would have been taken out and that would be much worse; at best they would only be scoring one.  I guess it might have been possible to go for a double raise or something like that off the guard, but that's still just as dangerous.  He went for the draw and missed.  To me though, getting the hit and roll on his first shot was still a very good outcome.

Game 1 Recap

First, an update on the A More Competitive League post.  I guess not enough teams opted in on the competitive league (or maybe it was logistically difficult to do that grouping).  Looking at the schedule, I count 7 teams from the competitive team list.  There are 10 teams in the other league, including the very accomplished curler.  So fairly even.

Lead couldn't make the game.  (Curling season came up on us a little early.)  Here's a tip.  Don't schedule a sub who's running the Twin Cities Marathon that morning.  Needless to say, we ended up playing with just three people. 

On a side note, my team has a game scheduled on 11/27, which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Let me know if you want to sub with my team that night.

Back to the game.  Our first game was against a team on the competitive team list and there was no handicap.  (I assume that the teams all get the same handicap from the end of last year, so I'm guessing we're both B level.)  Vice and I got out on the ice about 15 minutes before the game and we could both tell that we were a little rusty.  Perhaps not surprisingly, to sum up, my team really had trouble with weight the whole game.  Mainly we were throwing light, which was kinda tough on Second who had to sweep a rock all the way most of the night.  The opposing team stole a point the first three ends (my team had trouble with takeouts those first three ends).  We were able to score two in the fourth end (I somehow got a double takeout.)

So now in the fourth end, they have hammer and my team just had nothing on this end.  I'm looking at something like this for my second shot.  (My team is yellow.)

As I saw it, I could try to draw on the left side to try to save two points or go for the raise on the right and possibly get a steal.  My feeling was that I could miss the draw completely and crash into the guard, not to mention I hadn't figured out my draw weight yet.  So I went for the raise but missed the angle on that.  The other team was able to draw on the left side and scored 4. 

We played two more ends after that and my team did score one point for both ends, but it wasn't enough and I called it after the seventh.  In retrospect, we were playing a good team and since my team struggled with our shots, the game could've been a lot worse.  But next week, we'll get Lead back and we'll have the whole gang back together.

Looking for a Bonspiel

As I've said earlier, I aged out of the Novice 5 and Under Bonspiel this past season so I'm on the lookout for a new bonspiel that I can convince my teammates to do.  Let's look at a couple that I found.

Sin Sity Spiel - This one is about 6 weeks from now and if you can't guess from the name, it takes place in Las Vegas.  This one might be a good fit for my team as both Vice and Second are engaged (not to each other, not that there's anything wrong with that.)  What could be better for a bachelor weekend?  Curling, gambling, even Olympian Chris Plys will be there.  It's kind of expensive though at $400 per team.  The schedule is kind of insane too since the curling will be nonstop for all 48 hours of the bonspiel.  (There may also be some fun conversations wtih significant others when we say, "Honey, why don't you take care of the baby all weekend?  I'll be hanging out in Vegas.  Have fun!")

Beers of the World Bonspiel - This bonspiel features beer tasting along with all of the normal bonspiel type stuff.  When I told my wife about this, she said, "Don't you already get enough beer at a regular bonspiel?"  That's true, but regardless, it sounds kind of fun though.  On a related note, Lead thinks there should be something like a "Vice-Spiel" where basically all kinds of vices are celebrated.  So during this hypothetical bonspiel, there'd be cigar smoking, gambling, all sorts of drinking, etc.  Obviously, some (all?) of this stuff happens anyway, but more as a side to the bonspiel.  Anyway, the Beers of the World Bonspiel will be taking place in Columbus, OH on December 2.  Kind of a drive for us. 

Triathlon - I haven't seen anything on this yet for this year, but I've been told that it's really fun.  The triathlon in this case is composed of curling, bowling, and darts.  This takes place in Fargo, ND and the obvious joke is, "What else is there to do there?"  It'd be nice if the three sports are within walking distance of each other (I have no idea if they are).  I'm guessing it'd be dangerous otherwise or they'd need shuttles or something.

Anyone else know of any interesting bonspiels?

A More Competitive League

I recently got an e-mail proposing that my curling league may cherry pick teams from the Sunday night leagues to form a more competitive league.  Surprisingly, my team was on the list of teams that would make up this new league.  (I guess it's not completely implausible; we ended last year as a B level team with a pretty good 10-7 record.)  However, I look at the list of other teams and see several teams that dealt us our 7 losses.  Also, not naming names here, but one of the other skips on the list is a VERY accomplished curler.  We have a choice on the matter so, as Lead put it: "So our choices are to play against teams that will mostly destroy us, or to be grouped with teams that our past record would indicate we are slightly to much better than... On the one hand we will finish early and get free beer, on the other hand we will finish early to on time and have to buy beer."

I'm leaning towards voting for the "realignment" though I'm a little worried that if we truly are outmatched, it may not be as fun to play.  I used to play foosball with a friend of mine nearly every day for a few months (there was a table at work), but he had also played damn near every day during college and after a while, the losing got to me.  Maybe I could've practiced to get better or something, but it's just foosball, and it wasn't getting to not be fun.  (I've played foosball just a handful of times since.)  I'd hate for this to happen with curling. 

But right now, I kinda want to see if my team can hang with these other teams.  Several of my team's losses came down to the last end and maybe things might break differently.  What do you think?  Would you choose to be in the more competitive league?

Curling Book Review - Curl to Win

I'm at home today to stay with the little guy, who's running a fever.  But he's asleep right now, so maybe I can write a quick post during his nap.

I don't feel like writing about a curling patent right now, but I thought I'd write about my favorite curling book: Russ Howard's Curl to Win.  There are seven chapters which can be summed up as: General, Delivery, Sweeping, Game Plan, Strategy, Team Building, and Mental Toughness, but the reason that I like this book so much is the chapter on strategy. 

On a side note, I happen to play a little bit of poker (not very well) and my favorite poker books are the Harrington on Hold 'em series by Dan Harrington.  Basically, the books are comprised of a number of poker scenarios and the author walks you through the thought process and goes through the advantages and disadvantages that a player could make in all of these scenarios. 

Back to curling, Curl to Win has twenty scenarios covered in the strategy chapter.  Howard doesn't go over all of the possible choices (as I have in several of my strategy posts), but he gives a good comparison on how most curlers may play the shot and what is likely to be the better strategy.  I have yet to see a better set of strategy discussion in any other curling book, though Colleen Jones' Curling Secrets has a pretty good strategy discussion as well.

I also think the section on delivery would help curlers of all levels.  It's always good to go over fundamentals and there's a good summary of differents practice drills to help on your accuracy.  Maybe Vice and I will go through some of the drills when curling starts up again. 

Anyway, since most of us have no curling for summer, I'd suggest giving this book a read in preparation for the winter. 

(Just finished writing this post and he's still asleep.)