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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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 18 Recap

Last game of the season.  (We missed our playdown game, which was on St. Patrick's Day.)  I guess this time I'll hold off on telling you the results of the game until the end of the post.  This game is a rematch from Game 3, yet another close game that my team lost on the last shot.  Like the last game, this is an A level team so we got a one point handicap, but they were playing with a somewhat inexperienced sub.  I was happy to have everyone together on the team, which I realize now might have only happened half the time this past season.

I didn't really play particularly well and I think basically everyone, maybe more so on my team, had trouble with draw weight.  I had two opportunities early in the game to draw basically anywhere in the house to score and the first time, it went long and the second time it was short.  Geez.

This game also featured a blank end.  This has only happened one other time for me and Vice and this has never happened for Lead and Second.  That was kind of interesting.  My team didn't have hammer and we basically just played the takeout game and we made them all.  So it's my last shot of this end and I don't have hammer and I'm looking at this. 

I think you definitely want to have something in the house to force the opposing team to do something.  I was thinking that ideally, you have a rock that's biting.  This way, a takeout wouldn't be in the house.  Of course, I couldn't throw that weight and I was light.  I would've preferred to just have something in the house (maybe behind a guard), but oh well.  Faced with the decision of going for one or the blank, the opposing skip chose the blank.  However, they only scored one on the next end, so maybe Coach Bill is right about blanking ends. 

Anyway, in the situation below, we're now in the seventh end and we're down two.  We've already been buzzed so I know that this is my last shot.  My team is red and with his last shot, the opposing skip drew to the four foot.  He had wanted a guard or maybe a biter, but in the house isn't really a terrible result either.

So of course, I need a double takeout with this shot and my team would end up scoring at least two.  My wish was for the green arrow.  Unfortunately, the second yellow rock jammed on our own rock.  They scored one and that was the game (final score 9-6).  It was so close though and there was a lot of weight on my rock so if the second rock hadn't jammed squarely, it might've barely moved out of the house.

Oh well.  That brings our final season record to 10-7 (we never did a makeup game for game 9).  Not a bad season. 

My Brother's Game 5 Recap

This was my brother's last game for this league.  Two of his teammates couldn't make it so he played lead while his skip played second (to practice sweeping more).  Two instructors played Skip and Vice.  Maybe a slightly unfair setup, but I guess it's still an instructional league, so it doesn't really matter.  He was impressed with the opposing team's strategy of throwing a lot of guards and really protecting whatever they had in the house.  However, my brother's team did win their game and they finished their 5 game season 3-2.  Not bad.

My brother felt a lot more confident in his new shoes this time aroiund so that's good.  If you haven't bought curling shoes yet, definitely look into that or make your own. 

His team got some shirts made and my brother got one for me too.  His artist friend drew it and it's very cool.  I'll post it when I get permission from the artist.  (It may also violate copyright, so I'm not positive I should post it.)

My brother's already planning on playing in the next five week league and is still trying to secure a spot for the Golden Gate Bonspiel.  In his words: "I'm surprised at how into it I've gotten." 

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.

My Brother's Game 2 Recap

My brother is already on game 2 after being out of town for game 1.  They won their game and they're now tied for first in their league.  They play the other undefeated team next.  I believe they're the only team with all rookie curlers, so that would be pretty cool if they won their league.

My brother made a come around shot which he was really happy with.  Also (shhh), my brother broke a rule; he started sweeping his opponents' rock before it crossed the tee line.

But that wasn't really the interesting part about the game.  On what I believe was the last shot of the game, the opposing skip fell on the ice.  He was actually knocked unconscious and was taken to the emergency room.  Wow.  Fortunately, he's OK and one of his teammates went drinking with my brother's team after the game.  (It must not have been that bad then or maybe he's just not that good of a friend.)

Game 16 Recap

Finally, a win; the final score was 8-4.  We haven't had a win since Game 11 and that was roughly six weeks ago.  This brings our record to 8-6 with 2 incomplete games and I'm not sure yet if/when we'll get around to those incompletes. 

But before we get to my own game, I actually subbed in a game right before.  I warned my skip that I had a game in two hours so if they went long I might not make it.  Of course, as it turns out, in the last end, the opposing team scored three to tie up the game (my skip had some bad misses).  So we had to go to an extra end, but I really just had enough time to throw my own rock so I didn't sweep any rocks in that last end.  Fortunately, they were able to pull out the win. 

I want to spotlight one scenario from this game.  My team has hammer and is red.  If I recall, we were up by two or three.  It's the first shot for my team's third. 

Now, I tend to play a bit more of an offense game, but I thought the most logical shot was to take out one or more of the guards.  Really, I figured you would just throw the rock down the middle (shown in red) and you couldn't help but hit something.  My thinking is my team is up and this end is ripe for a steal if the other team can make a nice raise. Instead, my skip called the hit and roll off the rock in the house (shown in black).  For both of the third's rocks, we went for that shot and missed it on both sides.  Fortunately, the other team basically missed all of their shots (too bad after setting up a nice end).  Then, with his last shot, my skip was able to draw in a rock (shown in green) to score one, though I think that shot was more difficult than it needed to be.

On to my game.  I had hoped to have my whole team together for the first time in a little while, but alas, Lead was sick.  He had tried to call me, but I was subbing.  Oh well.  We just played with the three of us.  We started out pretty poorly.  In the first end, the opposing team was sitting four, but because we had hammer, I was able to cut that down to them just stealing one.  Fortunately, we settled down after that. 

I can't really remember any major strategy decisions, but here's a shot I should've made. I guess like most other skips (I assume), I remember shots I missed.

In this situation, my team is up two (I think), we're yellow, we have hammer, and it's my last shot.



The obvious goal is to take out the red stone and then we'd (hopefully) score four.  How to call it?  Well, we knew rocks tended to curl a little more to the outside on that side.  So I had Vice hold the broom on the edge of the four foot (as opposed to right next to the red rock) and then I threw takeout weight (the black arrow).  To our surprise, the rock curled all the way over to our own stone (the green arrow) so we only scored two.  Of course, in retrospect, I now wonder if I should've thrown an in turn (the red arrow) and thrown back line weight and used the red rock as a back stop.  I'm now thinking there would've been a greater chance to score three.  But I guess it didn't matter as we won by four.

Anyway, it was a good two games and it was good to get back on track.

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.