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 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.

Novice Bonspiel Recap

I had to get my post on the greatest shot of my life out before I forgot, but now I'm ready to write a general recap of my experience at the Novice Bonspiel at the St. Paul Curling Club.
First off, congratulations to the Rohde rink for winning the third event.  I finally got to meet him in person on Saturday and hopefully, my team will get to play his at some other bonspiel in the future.

Since Friday was April Fool's Day, we thought it'd be funny to show up in hockey jerseys and Vice and Lead wore hockey helmets.  I also wore a hockey glove when I wasn't throwing.  Also, before the game, we kinda messed around hitting a puck on the ice with our brooms.  And my signal for takeouts was changed to the cross checking motion.

Anyway, we won our first game 12-6.  I feel like the main difference my opponents and my team was that their lead continually threw rocks through the house and Lead kept his in play.  Also, Vice had a double takeout, which is always nice for making up for some other misses earlier in that end.  Our opposing skip brought root beer schnapps and we all did a root beer barrel after the game.  Cool team to hang out with after the game.

Because our first game was at 5PM on Friday, we also get to play at 8:30AM the following Saturday.  (We stayed for a while after our first game, but didn't close the place down or anything afterward.)  Our opposing skip is a guy that's subbed for my team before so that was cool to play his team.  I don't remember the final score, but I believe it would have been something like 9-8.  In the last end, they were down four, but only had the ability to score three.  I didn't really call a particularly great game, but I think we all played well and both Vice and Second had double takeouts.  And even though it was still morning after our game, we stayed a while with the other team hanging out.  (Then, nap time, at least for me.)

So now, we're in the first event.  I've done this bonspiel three times before (my team couldn't make it my first year).  My first two times, my team was in the fourth event, but played (and lost) the first game on Sunday.  Last year, we were in the third event, but didn't make it to Sunday.  Kind of a nice jump up I think.  And I think we're playing pretty well, and I felt like we had a good shot at things.

First, an old teammate was unexpectedly in town and it was awesome to hang out with him.  And Second brought his fiancee and baby (dressed in the same curling onesie shown here.)  And my wife and Vice's girlfriend were able to watch our game.  (Lead's wife had other obligations.) 

Our opponents for our first event game are one of many matching outfit teams.  (They have matching outfits throughout the season, not just for the bonspiel.)  They also have the game to match.  (Surprisingly, none of them had curling shoes; they still used sliders.)  I tried to play takeouts with them for a couple ends and my team was the one that missed them.  We scored four in the second end, but that was really kind of a fluke in retrospect where they missed a couple shots.  And the seventh end ended with my greatest curling shot to tie the game. 

It's now my first shot of the eighth end and I'm faced with this.

I think I have three choices.  We have the double raise (in red), which has the advantage of built in protection if I hit the shot.  There might be difficulty getting the right angle and weight on the shot, so we looked at the two draw options.  The draw to the left is probably the correct shot as a runback would be difficult, but I liked the draw to the right just based on what I feel more comfortable with and we saw other shots really curl in that direction so I thought it would be more likely to get behind the guards.  Of course I was wrong and my rock was open for a takeout, which they made.  Now, I have this:

I thought I really only had the option of the hit and roll.  I thought I hit the shot right where I wanted (doesn't always happen), but the rock just kept going until it was finally in the open.  My opponents don't miss takeouts and won the game 10-8.  Should I have done the raise with my first shot?  I guess I'll never know.

Still, it was a good run and my team played really well.  We had a good time afterward as did everyone else I think.  My wife and I each got a wingspan and we left with a pair of dish towels with curling stones sewn on (kind of cool).  Second won something else, but equally underwhelming.  We did not win the iPad or the wall of wine or the wall of beer. 

We had discussed a funny scenario (if we write a good curling movie) where I'm hoisting the trophy after winning the first event and then

It was my last novice bonspiel and I've definitely come a long way in the last five years.  I should have something more profound to say, but oh well.  My son will be born any day now (I'll thank him someday for letting me play this past weekend [already thanked my wife]) so I might not be blogging for a little while.  But I'll try to get in a post or two following my brother's games and I think I'm going to blog about curling patents through the years so keep an eye out for that.  In the meantime, feel free to send me a note and I could talk about someone else's curlng experience on here.



Game 15 Recap

This was a makeup game from earlier in the season.  (Yet another advantage to the dedicated facility is the ability to do make up games.)  Anyway, another late game and another close game.  Fortunately, this one didn't go into an extra end, though it almost did.  Our opponents are definitely a good team and are consistently among the top teams for our league.  A couple things going for my team was a one point handicap and they had someone new playing lead for them that had only curled a couple times.  And during the game, I think they had a little trouble with weight and a little trouble working with the ice, which curled a lot more in one direction than the other.

In the seventh end, my team is actually up by four against these guys and we're feeling good.  And then they scored 2 in that end and now my team has hammer for the eighth end and we're up two.  A good position, but we'll find a way to make this interesting.

In the scenario below, it's the opposing skips second rock.  We're yellow.  As shown by the arrows, he made an unbelievable raise double takeout to sit two.  Can you believe that? 

So now, I'm left with this, but I was able to make a very slight tap to raise our own stone.  (Kudos to Lead and Second for sweeping that rock all the way.) 

They scored one for the eighth end, but we won the game.  Phew.  That handicap really helped out.  The record's 10-6 now and we have a couple wins against a few good teams.  If momentum mattered (probably doesn't), that'd be good heading into our last game and then the novice bonspiel.

Game 17 Recap

That was a late game.  We were on the late start and the other skip was on the slow side (I can't imagine what he'd do in a timed regulation game.)  And then, of course, we went into an extra end.  However, for the first time this season, my team won the extra end.  It helps to have hammer.  The final score was 8-7 but the game took 2 and a half hours.  Geez.  Vice was out again so I had to have a sub.  None of my regular set of subs was able to make it, but I found someone through the e-mail list.  When I met him, he told me that this game would be his fourth for the day since he has his other regular league earlier and then he played two makeup games.  Wow. 

I've never met the opposing team before and the skip is an older guy.  He had a toothpick in his mouth the entire first end and Second and I were imagining bad scenarios that might happen if he fell.  Anyway, in the third or fourth end, there was a takeout.  After the shot, the skip asked me if I had released the rock before passing the hog line (called a hog line violation).  It kind of felt like an accusation.  Now, I tend to slide behind the rock a little bit after releasing, so I can kind of see how it might look like I was still holding on to it.  I don't know.  I'd like to think that I can trust my opponents to not do that and in return, they can trust me.  (Would it have been really mean to respond with, "Why don't you stand at the hog line the next time I throw?")

Also, there was a situation about halfway through an end where there was one rock from each team biting the four foot and my opponent's Vice Skip tried to measure the distance with his broom.  I was really surprised to see this and just asked kind of incredulously, "Are you measuring?"  Neither the skip nor the vice knew that that wasn't allowed.  Both Vice and I were told not to do it very early on and I was surprised that these long time curlers never knew.  I wasn't trying to be prick about it, but I was just really startled when I saw him start to measure.  (I guess I doubt I'll ever win a sportsmanship award.)

Rant over.  Back to the game.  In the first end, my team basically didn't make any shots and their team made everything and got four points.  (By the way, no handicap for either team.)  In the second end, it was kind of the same thing, except my team had hammer, so I felt fortunate to come out of that end with one point.  I was worried that I might be conceding after like five ends if this continued.  But they started missing shots.  We ended up stealing two in the third end and then three in the fourth end (some of their raises promoted our stones).

I believe the situation below was in the seventh end.  The score's tied, it's my first rock, and we're red.  On the right side, we can see that there's a draw to the four foot available (red arrow).  On the left side, there's a raise (black arrow).  Lead and Second were thinking draw, but I just felt like the raise would be the easier shot for me.  That's definitely the better turn for me and I don't know; it's just what I wanted to do.  I do realize this may not have been the optimal decision.

As it turns out, I didn't hit the broom exactly for that shot, but I ended up with a double raise, with our rock in the four foot.  That was lucky.  On my next shot, I missed the draw to try to score two, but we were up one.  We had already played for two hours at this point and I was kind of fishing around when I said to the other skip, "It's getting late..."  Nothing doing.  They scored one in the eighth end on a nice draw through a port.  In the extra end, I had to make a takeout down the center, probably my most reliable shot.  Phew.  We escaped with the win.  The record is now 9-6.

Analyzing a Bond Girls End

There was no curling this past week, so let's take a closer look at the final end of a Bond Girls match vs. New Jersey.  As of this posting, New Jersey has the best record in the Curling Club Nationals and will be vying for the championship later today.  Here's the video in case you want to watch. 



I'm going to talk about the tenth end, which starts at roughly the 2:24 mark.  After scoring 6 points in the first 3 ends, the Bond Girls would give up 7 points over the next 6 ends.  Fortunately, the Bond Girls are only down one coming home and they have hammer.  That didn't work out for them in their earlier game against Wisconsin, but let's see what happens here.  (In case you didn't watch the movie, the Bond Girls are yellow.)  Also, I have no idea what the time situation was at that moment, but no one really seemed too rushed. 

New Jersey's first rock was in the house.  A good call to see if they can force a takeout game for the end. 

But Marissa called a freeze for Donna, which I consider the right call.  At least see what happens before doing a takeout.  Donna's throw was a little bit too heavy, but a good stone. 

After New Jersey missed their takeout completely to take out their own rock, Donna drew to the other side to split the house.  Good call and good throw.

New Jersey then missed freeze, which left a wide open takeout.  Jen made the shot. However, New Jersey, made a nice bump/freeze shot.  (There should be a better name for this.)

Marissa goes for the takeout, even if it takes out their own instead.  New Jersey's rock does jam against a yellow, but is open.  Still, a nice rock from Jen.  I would have called the same thing for Second and ask that he put lots of weight on it (and hope he hits the broom).

I'm not sure if New Jersey had shot rock after that.  However, they went for a draw, which ended up being more open than they would have liked.  I think if this were my game, I might have thrown a guard if I was shot rock, but the draw keeps the pressure on to make some takeouts.

Cindy missed the open takeout.  New Jersey then threw a guard (the right call in my opinion).  In the next shot, Marissa called for a runback on the left side to raise their rock inside the four foot.  However, Cindy's shot perfectly made it past the guard and the yellow rock to bump New Jersey's rock and take shot rock.  Wow.

New Jersey missed a takeout with their next rock and Marissa threw a well placed guard on the left side.

New Jersey has two choices here I think.  You have the draw on the right side.  Really, you have to be perfect on weight and line because you're either drawing to the button or hoping to bump the yellow stone.  Another, more interesting, option is the runback.  If the red rock is hit on the nose, it would go straight down the center.  Maybe it stays, but hopefully, it at least leaves you sitting one.  Of course, this is a dangerous shot and a number of things could go wrong.  New Jersey went for the draw.  (I probably would have too.)

They missed just a little long on weight.  This was good for the Bond Girls as it gave them an additional backstop if necessary.  Of course, Marissa didn't need it at all and drew perfectly to the button.

Whew.  That was a long post.  I guess that's what happens when you have video to remind you of every little thing.  But a very exciting finish and an awesome win for the Bond Girls.

Game 14 Recap

Sigh.  Another loss and the record's now 7-6.  Exactly like last week, the final score was 7-6 after an extra end.  Our opposing team was a D level team and got two points and they needed both of them.  I once subbed for a skip and this skip before the game said to the other skip, "[Harumph] You don't need that one point handicap" and so the other skip was kind of bullied into playing without the handicap.  And then the team I subbed for won by one point.  (Was that wrong?)  What sucks about this game is that I had two opportunities to win the game as my team had hammer in both the eighth end and in the extra end and I messed it up both times.  After the game, Second said, "Maybe we're not as good as we thought earlier this year."  Maybe not. 

Here's the key shot.  It's the eighth end, my team is up one, we have hammer, we're yellow, and it's my last shot.  Should've been a no brainer all takeouts end, right?  Well, there were some missed takeouts and I'm kind of left with this.  Again, there were definitely a few more rocks in play, but these are the basics.

So the shot I called was the takeout on the red stone in the center.  I had tried this shot earlier and I had a ton of weight on the shot and it just flew past it.  I put a little less on the shot this time around. Of course, I had too little weight and it curled too much.  It did raise our yellow rock, but it wasn't enough.  We went into an extra end, missed some more takeouts, and that was it. 

On a positive note, Second brought the baby and I got to hold the little guy for a little while before the game, so that was pretty cool. 

Game 13 Recap

Another heartbreaking loss brings the record down to 7-5.  Starting off the second half 1-2 is pretty bad for our second half championship chances.  The final score was 7-6 after an extra end.  The opposing team was also a B level team so no points for either team and it was nice to have the whole team back together again.  This was a fairly memorable game for me so we'll go through the last few ends.

In the shot below, it's the sixth end.  The score is tied at 4-4 and the opposing tam has hammer.  My team is yellow and it's my first stone.  I felt good that we had a lot of guards and I thought we'd have some good opportunities with that.  (In an earlier end, the opposing team had six guards in front of the house and there was basically nothing for my shots.)  At this point, we can see that their rock is just barely closer.  We figured that our rock only has to move up by an inch or two to be shot. 

As indicated by the arrows, there were two shots available.  Lead and I were thinking about going for the double raise (the arrows on the right) and Vice and Second were thinking about going for the takeout (arrow on the left).  The double raise was the more difficult shot but if made, it would take some sort of double takeout to remove it.  However, if I made the takeout and got the roll, that might put the team in position to steal two.  I thought that possibility was enticing, but I ended up going just a little too wide for the takeout.  As it turns out, their next shot was a guard on that takeout and then my next shot was the original double raise that I had first envisioned, which I also missed.  They scored one for the end; it's now 4-5.

So now we're in the seventh end and while my team has hammer, we're in a pretty tight spot for my first shot (I think it was my first shot).  They have shot rock and we figured we had two choices again. There's the double take out (arrows on the left) or the raise takeout (arrows on the right).  I felt like the angle on the double takeout was easier to hit, but there's also a good chance that you only get the front stone.  The angle for the runback was more difficult as it has to get by the guard and hit at a specific point, but I felt a little better about moving our rock instead of theirs. 

Unfortunately, I barely missed the runback.  They ended up stealing one so now the score is 4-6 and we're in the eighth end.  My team again has hammer and they did very well placing their guards again.  (I think we had some high guards in play, but I don't remember and they're not really relevant here.)  Just to let you know that I can occasionally make good shots, this was the setup for what could've been the last shot of the game.  I didn't feel good about trying to go through any of the ports so the runback was the shot, but I did make it to send it to an extra end.  

However, my team didn't have hammer and we would only be playing one stone each.  Lead and Second's rocks ended up being too light.  Vice made a takeout and then I made the shot in the four foot so below is what the opposing skip had to deal with.  Of course, in retrospect, I should've had less broom so that my rock would be behind the guards, but we were worried it might curl a little too much and then crash into the guards. 

But the opposing skip made his takeout for one and took the game.  Oh well.  

Game 12 Recap

This was a bad game for us.  First, Second couldn't be there (new babies need a lot of care) and there was a mixup with finding a sub (my fault) so it was just the three of us.  And I just couldn't get a handle on reading the ice at all during the game.  Also, I had a somewhat stubborn refusal to take out guards thinking that I could use them later.  But by the time my shots came around, I had to make a difficult raise and/or throw a rock through a port and I feel like I pretty much didn't make any of my shots for the game.  (Note to opposing skips: I'm likely to miss shots where the broom is placed on the 12 foot and beyond.  I seem to always go wide.)  But the final score was 6-1 after six ends and that brings our record to 7-4.  Afterward, I was thinking that if we played more of a takeout game, the score could've been closer, but I don't know if it would've been enough because they were making nearly everything.

Here is an example of how the match went.  This is my second shot from the first end and my team doesn't have hammer.  Because of all the guards, I have to make a tough runback and get my rock to stay in the house.  (There wasn't any other shot, right?)  While I did make the takeout to save one, my rock wasn't shot rock.  There were two other ends that ended in a similar fashion. 

Here is an example of how poorly I called the game.  This is the third end where my team is down two and it's the last shot for Vice; my team has hammer.  I wasn't sure which rock was closer, but I thought it was likely to be theirs.  So I decided to call a takeout on their rock (the dashed line).  I realized at the time that it was kind of a gamble, but I didn't realize that a. the rock would curl way more than I thought and b. there would be a perfect double raise to take out my own stone.  I thought the worst case was a takeout on that guard.  The opposing team would end up scoring two for that end.  I know I could've called draw weight instead, but that just wasn't happening for us during that game and during that end.

Anyway, after the game, Lead and I bought some raffle tickets to help out the Junior Women's Curling team, who are going to play in Fairbanks, Alaska for the upcoming Junior Nationals.  The prizes are a new broom (I could use one of those) and a curling stone.  I have no idea what I'd do with a curling stone, but apparently, rocks can be sold to others for a few hundred dollars so I might do that.  I'll let you know if I win.

Game 11 Recap

After a week off (no subbing), we were back on the ice.  Vice actually hadn't played since Game 7 back in early December.  I needed subs for Lead (vacation) and Second (congrats on the baby boy!), but our subs played well.  My team won the game 13-7 after 8 ends, though we could've called it after 7 ends (my team was up by six), but the opposing skip wanted to throw the rocks back down.  This brings our record to 7-3, which I think is pretty good, especially since games 3 and 7 were so close.

Interesting thing about the opposing team was that they were on a little bit of a losing streak.  They decided to switch things up by moving their lead all the way to skip and then everyone took a step down.  I would've expected her to not be so good at takeouts, but she had some hit and rolls and a nice runback.  A few years ago, my own team had some trouble and I'm not sure why, but for one game Vice and I decided that we'd play first and second and Second and FormerLead (who would leave Minnesota the following summer) played third and fourth.  Without going into detail, it was just a disaster and we lost by a lot.  But I think we all learned something though.  So if you're having some trouble with your team, I guess I would say don't be afraid to shake up your order, even if just for one game.

In the scenario below, it's SecondSub's first shot.  My team doesn't have hammer, we're yellow rocks, and we're up by three (in the sixth end I believe). 

I was conflicted as to what to call here.  I decided to call a shot in the top of the house (#1), one that was completely exposed, which we did make with a fair amount of sweeping help.  Of course, that shot was taken out and then I did it again.  The opposing team ended up taking one for that end.  I feel though that with a little bit more thought, this setup could've led to a steal for my team.
 
One reason for playing the rock in the house was that the opposing team's front end had been a little inconsistent with their takeouts so I thought I'd test that out.  I know though that against other teams, hoping for a missed takeout (on a wide open shot) usually doesn't work out for me.  One shot I strongly considered was playing a guard instead of in the house, just in front of where the shot ended up (#2).  That's probably the more sensible play as it forces the other team to either take out a guard or attempt a runback.  Another option would be to place a guard to block the raise (#3).  Then, if they play a rock in the house, I can try to take that out or draw to it. 

I didn't want to draw to the four foot in this situation; I felt it was a little more dangerous.  If the shot's off on line, it might raise their stone.  If it's too heavy, then there's a nice backstop to draw to.  So I thought the open shot was a decent play. 

Anyway, it was a good game.  The opposing team lead by three a couple times, but my team had two four point ends.  (Big sigh of relief after those two ends.)

Curling Source Shot of the Week #1

The Curling Source just posted their "Shot of the Week".  "It is a tie game in the 8th end of an 8 end game. You are shooting yellow and have last rock. It is your third's second rock of the end. What should you do?"
1. Hit and roll for shot
2. Draw top 4 for shot
3. Peel the guard
4. Run/Peel the gaurd into the top blue stone

Just thinking about my team, the easiest shot is a takeout for shot rock.  Now, to precisely get the correct roll is always kind of random for my team.  We're thinking about it, but we're never really sure whether or not it will happen.  And my first fear is always whether or not a shot will make it around a guard so I might call for a sweep a little too early just to make sure that I at least get the desired takeout.  And then once the rock gets past the guard, then I'll see about getting the roll. 
However, in this particular scenario, I'm more likely to call a freeze for Vice, though I'll ask for back line weight.  Ideally, the freeze makes would make our rock very difficult to takeout.  Depending on where it lands, it could be shot, or I could throw a rock that makes it shot.  If there's too much weight on that the shot and it ends up moving that stone back some (or out), that's not a terrible scenario either.  Our rock would most likely be open for a takeout, but as my team has hammer, I think I'm OK taking my chances with that, at least against the teams that I see on a weekly basis.  There's also the possibility that the shot ends up being a draw behind the guards for shot and I'll take that too.  I ask for more weight than is necessary mainly because I don't want the shot to be short and then act as a guard and then I'll have to do a more difficult runback.

Choice 4 would probably never occur to me.  To do a raise with that much distance needed is just too difficult for me to get that angle correct.  I think that's when someone knows that they're really good, when they can call and consistently make a raise from that far up.  But while peeling the guard isn't my first instinct, it's probably not a bad strategy if you have hammer.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Post your thoughts here or at The Curling Source.

Game 10 Recap

Not that you're keeping track, but you may have noticed that I jumped from Game 8 to Game 10 for my recaps.  Due to the holidays Game 9 has been postponed.  I'm guessing Game 9 doesn't really affect the league standings or else there might be some pressure to get the makeup game scheduled.

Anyway, my team played well and we posted an 8-2 win after 7 ends.  Supposedly, we're evenly matched as B level teams.  I would've guessed that their team would be much better as I've played against this skip before and their lead and second have been subs for me in the past. 

Vice was out at the last minute, but fortunately, I was able to find a sub an hour before the game.  My sub was in his first year, but while there was some trouble hitting the broom, I'm happy to say that his weight was pretty good the whole game. 

Here's a memorable shot, at least for me.  The situation is my team is up by 4 or 5 and we don't have hammer.  It's the second shot for Second (who's playing third).

I decided to call a guard to block the raise (rock #1).  My thinking was that I'd just make it very difficult to score.  As it turns out, due to a bad no sweep call by me, the rock didn't make it across the hog line.  The opposing team did make a raise, but was only able to score one for the end. 

The better call might have been to just take out that rock (#2), but I just wasn't positive that we could make that shot.  There was a danger to me that we'd have the wrong angle and all that happens is their rock gets raised into the house behind all the guards.  (There may have been other rocks that aren't pictured that may have made the takeout a little more difficult as well, but I don't remember.)  What I've also been thinking about is that by calling the guard, I was basically conceding the end with my best case scenario being a blanked end.  I was OK with that (my team's up), but if that takeout was made, the rock might have rolled into the house or might be set up for a raise with one of my shots.

I guess it didn't really matter as my team won, but it's always good to keep the more aggressive plays in mind.  I also thought it was interesting that in the previous end, all 16 rocks were in play at the end.  I think that's the first time that's ever happened in a game I've played in.

Game 5 Recap

Another win for my team, bringing our record to a respectable 3-2.  Lead was out at the last minute and I couldn't find a sub on short notice so we just played with three people.  Our opponents got a one point handicap so I guess we're supposed to be better than them.  I guess we are as the final score was 8-5.  Second was probably player of the game as there were several times when after his three stones there were two guards and a buried rock in the house.  Also, there were a couple interesting shots. 

First, I'll highlight Vice's improbable double.  In the setup below we can see that there are two yellow stones close, but not touching.  I called a hard takeout with the idea that if we get the hit on the left side, we'd get both of them.  (Note: There were other rocks, but I don't remember them.)

Of course, it didn't turn out that way.  The rock curled over to the right side of the target rock.  But it rolled all the way across the house and right into the other yellow in the house for the double.  Vice will tell you that he saw that possibility, but don't believe him.  Still, it was pretty cool to see and looked very Olympic-like.

In addition, the opposing skip made an absolutely gorgeous shot that was basically all luck.  The situation is my team is up 6 in the 7th end and the opposing skip is going to throw is last rock.  Now, in the setup below, we can see that the guy had little to work with.  I'm not really sure what was communicated between the opposing skip and third, but the third was standing around the center and Vice and I ask him what the shot was.  The third said he had no idea.  I ask if he's sure and Vice actually goes over and helps him setup the double raise takeout.

As it turns out, the raised rock actually bounces off another rock before taking out my stone in the center.  It was amazing.

Second thinks we were being condescending by helping the other team with this and he's probably right.  However, I think everybody learned something and we all got to see a cool miracle type shot.

Game 3 Recap

Another loss for my team which brings our record to 1-2.  The final score was 6-5 and it was a close game the whole way.  I even had a chance to win it in on my last shot but totally choked and the shot was short.  It was probably off line too, but it didn't have a chance.  We were up against an A-level team and my team (who I've now deduced is C-level) got 2 points.  It felt good to know that my team can kind of hang with an A-level team.  We actually beat this team last year, though it kind of came on a technicality (they moved a rock before it was scored and decided to give us the point for it.)  But this is a team that should be way better than us since they play and bonspiel all the time. 

So the situation was tied after the seventh end and my team had hammer for the final end.  Their first shot was in the house, as shown here:

I decided to call a freeze, but it ended up a little short, like this.  In retrospect, that might have been the call that ruined the end.  I only had to score one to win.  Maybe it would have been best to keep everything clean so that I'd have a clear shot at the end. 

As it turns out, basically every rock was still in play with 1 rock left to go for each skip.  It something like this.  There were a bunch of guards up front, but I don't really remember where they all were.  Our two (red) rocks up front were supposed to guard against raises, but I guess they ended up too close to my oppononents' stones.  The opposing skip made a beautiful shot for one.

Supposedly, cursing's not allowed on the ice, but I definitely let out an F-bomb after that shot.  The pressure was on and I couldn't make my shot.  Oh well.  It was a good game though.

10-10-10 Highlight of the Week

This was the first curling related video that shows up when you search youtube for runback.  Personally, I've never made a double runback, but the other team magically got one when they were going for a different shot.



My first match is in just a few hours.  Almost there...