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                              Last updated:  May 13, 2008
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SWEEP!  Poll - May-June 2008

Brad Gushue and Jennifer Jones were among
the first to import a player from another province to
fill out their rosters -- those players being respectively
Russ Howard and Georgina Wheatcroft.

Now, we see more and more of these mutli-province
teams. Colleen Jones tried it. Wayne Middaugh added
Jon Mead. Brad Gushue's into his third try with
Ryan Fry ... though he's said to be moving to NL.
And the latest to go this out-of-province route
are Jeff Stoughton and Kerry Burtnyk.

Given this trend, should the CCA and the provinces
modify the residency rules for playdowns
leading to national championships ... specifically
the Scotties and the Brier?

SWEEP!  Off-Season News Blog

Looking at women's remaining direct berths! Mississauga, ON  (May 13/08)    The Jennifer Jones foursome is, as yet, the only direct-to-Trials women's team. They have won four majors to date ... and they have eliminated the 2-time CTRS leader as a direct route.    So who else will join them?    Kelly Scott has three avenues ... so her team is likely to be in this select set, but then there's this motherhood factor. Scott's squad needs only one more major ... one of the Scotties, Canada Cup or Players' Championship. Or this team could get there as the 3-year CTRS leader or the 2-year CTRS leader.    Stefanie Lawton and Amber Holland each require two majors ... a tall order, and they go head-to-head for the Scotties/World Women's majors, both being from Saskachewan. Lawton also could get the 3-year CTRS leader spot with a phenomenal 2008/09 and is well position to get one of the now two 2-year CTRS leaders spots.    Shannon Kleibrink has a realistic chance for the 3-year CTRS leader direct berth ... and leads the pack for a 2-year CTRS spot. Kleibrink is Kelly Scott's primary competitor ... and will likely have a heavier event schedule. Scott will be having her first child this summer.    The other two teams with a reasonable opportunity to go direct-to-Trials are Sherry Middaugh and Cheryl Bernard ... both via the 2-year CTRS leader avenue.   Looking ahead to the remaining direct berths! Mississauga, ON  (May 12/08)    Manitoba has been getting a lot of ink lately ... and rightly so in view of the high profile player changes that have occurred there.    Yet to be openly discussed (though the CCA has thought its way through the ramifications and will soon be webbing its up-to-date listings) is who is in line for the outstanding and coveted direct entry berths for the 2009 Canadian Curling Trials in Edmonton.    On the men's side, curling fans will know that the teams of Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard already hold two of these four spots.    But who will get the other two?    Jeff Stoughton has wisely assessed that both are likely to come from the CTRS ... and SWEEP! agrees that the odds that either Kevin Koe or Randy Ferbey will win two of the 2009 Brier, Canada Cup, Ford Worlds and Players' Championship are long. The odds are even longer that these two teams split these four and both get spots --- and that only happens if one of them wins the Brier and Ford World Men's.    So what is more likely? It is more likely that Koe gets the third direct entry, based on his team's three-year CTRS total ... as Team Koe heads into the 2008/09 season with a 50-point head start.    That means that the fourth direct berth is going to be a four or five-team race ... depending upon the CCA's decision on Kerry Burtnyk's petition to have Garth Smith declared as a 2007/08 team member based on a medical exemption (... though there is no such in-place provision).    To be fair to all, the CCA has been examining provisions in other sports before ruling on the substitution of Smith for the nearly season-long injured-in-action Rob Meakin ... Burtnyk's registered lead.    Look for the CCA to grant the exemption ... citing a medical exemption parallel in golf rankings.    That being the case, the five-team last-direct-spot race would be between Burtnyk, Simmons, Stoughton, Middaugh and Ferbey --- with Simmons being the most consistent of these squads over the past two seasons --- and hence while some would say a dark horse, the team that SWEEP! thinks will sneak through.    Burtnyk and Stoughton have playdown eligibility issues ... but in Manitoba. So does Middaugh, much tougher ones ... as well he has Team Howard. And Ferbey has both Martin and Koe to contend with.    No matter what, the race is going to be one to watch for the entire season. And it could all come down to final placings at the 2009 Tylenol Players' Championship.    Interestingly as well, so could this same tournament determine the last spot or two for the pre-Trials event in Prince George.   More dominos fall in Manitoba. Mississauga, ON  (May 12/08)    The fallout of the Stoughton-Burtnyk moves to shore up their teams for the 2009 Canadian Curling Trials continue.    Reid Carruthers, pictured here at the 2008 Brier, where he was Burtnyk's fifth player, was not the receiver of either a Stoughton or Burtnyk phone call. Both opted for more experience. Either wanted to be in a rebuilding mode.    But Carruthers was called by Dan Kammerlock, the player he replaced to get his first 'game' experience at a Brier, and those two have hooked up ... and are reported to have inked Derek Samagalski and Shane Kilgallen as their front-end.    Then it was Daley Peters' turn to move. He's jumped into Carruthers spot.    The Manitoba shuffle, with some fifteen squads now rejigged, is not over yet. Another eight or more teams have holes to fill.   Stoughton calls Kevin Park. Mississauga, ON  (April 28/08)    Jeff Stoughton has made his call. But instead of making a local call, he dialed long distance -- to Edmonton, to Kevin Park.    The home tuff search, which was Stoughton's preference, was not looking good. Jon Mead was happy with his Team Middaugh spot. Dan Kammerlock, dumped late last week by Kerry Burtnyk, was not considered a good fit. Other possibles were not available.    So Stoughton went the gun-for-hire route. He had a pre-trails spot locked up. Playdowns were not that important in the bigger picture.    He looked west, to the city of champions, for availability and for as much experience as he could get.    But he did not land Don Walchuk ... seems Burtnyk had already speed-dialed that number.    The gifted but firey Kevin Park was his choice.    Both teams, Stoughton's and Burtnyk's, are on paper instant contenders. Not pretenders. And both have a full cashspiel season to gel before heading to Prince George ... if a direct berth is not obtained.    Both moves make next season one to look forward to.   Schille. Fry. Just the beginning. Mississauga, ON  (April 22/08)    The internet rumour millers had been keying for more than a couple of weeks about Chris Schille's imminent exit from Team Gushue and his very temporary residence on the Rock.    And it has all turned out to be true.    Schille's claim was that the newly instituted 'living in Newfoundland' requirements were too onerous ... each team member must be a bona fide resident of Newfoundland and Labrador by October 31st of the current curling season and at all times thereafter until the end of the competition, and must spend at least 75% of the time, from October 31 of the current curling season to the end of the competition either in the province or with his/her team outside the province excluding extenuating circumstances.    Word is that there was some reluctance by those covering some of his expenses to have a repeat of 2007/08 in 2008/09.    So Schille is returning to this home base in Red Deer ... and has hooked up with Charley Thomas, two-time World Junior champion. Their front-end is to be Adam Enright and D.J. Kidby. The latter is Ben Hebert's cousin. Enright was Team Martin's fifth and a M&M Meat Shops partner in Edmonton. A small world.    Back on the Rock, Gushue was also busy working the phones. He knew the Noftall experiment was not working ... and frankly neither was the Schille move.    So ego aside, he called Jamie Korab. They seemingly ironed out their differences and Gushue has welcomed the gold medallist lead back to his former position.    Then, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, he convinced Winnipeg's Ryan Fry -- third for Jeff Stoughton -- to move to Newfoundland [under the new rules] and become his second, replacing Schille.    While it's not yet clear what the CTRS points' ramifications will be for the Gushue team, and others caught in the domino effects of the Schille move, it is apparent that the fallout is not complete.    Stoughton needs a third ... and who knows, may go knocking on Jon Mead's door, which could/would spill over into the just rejigged Team Middaugh.    Similarly, JD Lind, Mike Westlund and Kyle Reynolds are in the hunt -- though this young trio may have trouble getting an equivalent replacement as they poach about.   World Men's on CBC Mississauga, ON  (April 4/08)    The 2008 World Men's Curling Championship kicks off this weekend with coverage available on CBC's digital channel 'bold', as Canada takes on Denmark live from Grand Forks, North Dakota at 8 pm ET.    In total, 'bold' will present five match-ups from the tournament, including coverage of Canada vs Germany on Tuesday, April 8; Canada vs Czech Republic on Wednesday, April 9; Canada's playoff match on Friday, April 11 [assuming Canada gets into either of the 1-2 or 3-4 Page games; and the bronze medal match-up on Saturday, April 12.    Complete coverage of Canada's games, plus the playoff, bronze medal, semifinal and final games, will also be available on cbcsports.ca live and on-demand, while CBC Television will broadcast the semifinal and final. The complete broadcast schedule below: Saturday, April 5th: Canada vs. Denmark - 8 pm ET/5 pm PT -- On bold & cbcsports.ca Sunday, April 6th: Canada vs. Sweden - 3 pm ET/12 pm PT -- cbcsports.ca Canada vs. Australia 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT -- cbcsports.ca Monday, April 7th: Canada vs. France - 3 pm ET/12 pm PT -- cbcsports.ca Canada vs. Scotland - 8 pm ET/5 pm PT -- cbcsports.ca Tuesday, April 8th: Canada vs. Norway - 10 am ET/7 am PT -- cbcsports.ca Canada vs. Germany - 8 pm ET/5 pm PT -- On bold and cbcsports.ca Wednesday, April 9th: Canada vs. China - 10 am ET/7 am PT -- cbcsports.ca Canada vs. Czech Republic - 3 pm ET/12 pm PT --On bold and cbcsports.ca Thursday, April 10th: Canada vs. Switzerland - 10 am ET/7 am PT -- cbcsports.ca Canada vs. USA - 8 pm ET/5 pm PT -- cbcsports.ca Friday, April 11th: Playoff: TBD - 3 pm ET/12 pm PT -- On bold and cbcsports.ca Saturday, April 12th: Semifinal - 2 pm ET/11 am PT -- On CBC Television and cbcsports.ca Bronze Medal game - 8 pm ET/5 pm PT --On bold and cbcsports.ca Sunday, April 13th: Final - 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT -- On CBC Television and cbcsports.ca   Curling gets more eyeballs ... than ever! Mississauga, ON  (April 1/08)    No, it's not an April fool's joke. Viewership for curling has reached new heights.    TSN achieved record ratings for its coverage period of the 2008 Ford World Women's ... a stunning average audience of 381,000 viewers.    The previous high water mark was back in 1996, the year that Ontario's Marilyn Bodogh wore the red and white. Then, TSN's coverage attracted an average audience of 366,000.    For its prime-time evening broadcasts, TSN averaged a lofty 487,000 viewers. ... with the peak being the Friday night Page 1-2 game between Canada and China. Then, some 613,000 TVs were tuned in.    And it gets better. The final on CBC on Sunday afternoon drew 1,118,000. Wow! In perspective, that was only 22,000 less than tuned in for Hockey Night in Canada the night before when the Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against the Montreal Canadiens, traditionally an over-the-top viewing audience.    CBC has two remaining Tier-1 Season of Champions broadcasts ... the semifinal and final of the World Men's Curling Championship from Grand Forks, North Dakota, before its contract expires. It is also covering Canada's round-robin and preliminary playoff contests between its heretofore much criticized Country Canada digital channel ... which has been rebranded as 'bold' and www.cbc.ca.    When TSN becomes the exclusive Season of Champions telecaster next year [for a six-year period], the latest word is that it is considering airing semifinal and final matches of the major events on the full CTV network ... and with the vaulting number of viewers seen this year, why not!   Scotland does it again. Shamefully! Mississauga, ON  (March 28/08)    Desperation strikes again! Remnicent of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, where Hammy McMillan was benched, the coaching staff of the Scottish entry in the 2008 Ford World Women's, hosted in Vernon, BC, decided to shake things up and benched the team's skipper, Gail Munro (pictured here).    But in this instance, the team was already well out of playoff contention. And there was only a difference of two (2) Olympic points on the line.    Munro's squad was 1-8 and there were only two draws to go for them. Their remaining matches were against the only teams below them in the standings ... Italy and Czech Republic. A best chance to raise their heads ... if only a bit.    The benching was simply a slapping ... and unnecessary.    Yes, the team underperformed. Scottish prognosticator, Bob Cowan, assessed the team's potential pre-tournament this way ... "They've been playing well, have a good attitude and should at least hold their own."    Well, hold their own they did not. But to target the skipper? Seems teammate Lyndsay Wilson thought that focus of blame was excessive too. She stood her ground and said that if the skipper was out, so was she. Kudos for the loyalty ... especially in view of the timing.    So Scotland completed the tournament's round-robin with three players ... Karen Addison, Lynn Cameron and Anne Laird.    Proponents will look at the subsequent two wins (and two points) and applaud perhaps. Realists will say shame on Scotland's curling brass for what they have needlessly done to Gail Munro.    Is this a sign for the future for more countries ... when cherished Olympic points outweigh faith in and loyal to a team?   A decade ago! Mississauga, ON  (February 15/08)    Ten years ago today, the Sandra Schmirler team was awarded these Olympic gold medals. Team members are showing off their medals here on the steps in front of the Olympic Village in Nagano.    In this first official Winter Olympics' tournament, Schmirler's Team Canada squad had an overall record of 8-1. Their only loss was in Draw 2 of round-robin play to Norway's Dordi Nordby, 6-5.    In the gold medal match, this Canadian contingent defeated Denmark's Helena Blach Lavrsen by a 7-5 score.   Norberg toppled! Mississauga, ON  (January 30/08)    Decisively, at Sweden's ladies championship, a team from Skelleftea skipped by Stina Viktorsson (pictured here), prevailed over the Swedish juggernaut, Anette Norberg's 2006 gold medal team ... and most recently, the women's champions at the 2007 European Championships in Fussen, Germany this past December.    In fact, not only did Viktorsson and her teammates, Maria Wennerstrom, Maria Prytz and Margaretha Sigfridsson, crush the Norberg foursome in the final by a 10-3 tally, they also won the round-robin match and the Page contest between these two squads. Wow, that's a hot streak!    Norberg has represented Sweden at the past five world championships.    Now, while this victory gets the Viktorsson team Sweden's berth in the upcoming Ford World Women's Curling Championship in Vernon, BC, it does not assure them Sweden's spot in next year's European Championships, hosted in the Swedish city, Ornskoldsvik. To get that right they'll have to defeat Norberg in a March playdown.   Cancer kills Don Wittman! Mississauga, ON  (January 21/08)    Don Wittman, like so many before him, and in spite of his courageous fight, lost his battle with cancer. He died on Saturday, January 19th, 2008. He was 71.    Sadly, the CBC contract-concluding 2008 Brier broadcast will not have this most remarkable voice calling the play-by-play of its final game in his hometown, Winnipeg.    Wittman worked his first Brier in 1961, the same year that he joined the CBC. In total, he was the CBC's curling voice at 35 Brier finals ... a feat never to be exceeded!    May the best of the curling 'Dons', and perhaps the best Canadian sports broadcaster ever, rest in peace.                                                                                                                 Update:   (January 23, 2008)    At the Capital One Grand Slam's Masters of Curling, which starts tomorrow in Saskatoon, SK, all participating players will be wear a 'DW' crest on their uniform in honour of Don Wittman's immeasurable contribution to the sport of curling.    In addition, tributes to the career of Wittman will take place during the semifinals and the final of this event.   Boutilier leaving WCPA! Mississauga, ON  (January 16/08)    After a six-year stint, Paul Boutilier, affectionately referred to as "Boots" by curlers, is calling it quits as the Executive Director of the World Curlers Players' Association (WCPA) and as its Tour's boss at the end of this curling season.    With the disputes between the players and the Canadian Curling Association resolved, and with the Grand Slam series on a solid footing, now under the ownership and control of Toronto-based Insight Sports, Boutilier's challenges have been accomplished ... successfully.    Look for the WCPA to be soon hoisting a Paul Boutilier banner, honouring him as an Ambassador of the sport ... hopefully at the Tylenol Players' Championships in April. It would be the right thing to do!   Curling broadcasting suffers again! Mississauga, ON  (December 19/07)    Sad news for another iconic voice of curling.    Don Chevrier, one of three Dons who were CBC's voices of curling (Don Wittman and Don Duguid being the others), has died at his Palm Harbor, Florida home.    The 69-year-old veteran broadcaster of some 24 different sports was succumbed by a blood disorder.    In recent years, Chevrier was the voice of curling along with Don Duguid at NBC Sports. In 2002 and 2006, this pair effectively introduced legions of Americans to the sport with their calling of American games and playoff matches at the Olympic Winter Games.    Here's a photo of Chevrier (right) and Duguid at work in Pinerolo, Italy in 2006 at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.    In a tribute to Chevrier's work, NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol recalled Chevrier's curling calls as "entertaining but reverential" -- and called Chevrier, along with Jim McKay, "the two greatest all-around sports announcing talents in North American history."   Cancer strikes Don Wittman! Mississauga, ON  (December 18/07)    Perhaps the most recognizable voice in the sport of curling and one that's venerate in Canadian sports broadcasting, Don Wittman, is battling cancer.    Wittman, now residing in a Winnipeg suburb, has been the CBC's voice of curling for decades.    When the CBC telecasted the Grand Slam's BDO Canadian Open two weeks ago, Wittman was noticably absent from the broadcast crew, replaced by Bruce Rainnie.    Downplaying his plight, the spin was that Wittman was uncharacteristically taking some time off. Rainnie had big shoes to fill and a bigger voice to replace.    Wittman was rightfully and respectfully inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2003, a popular selection among his peers in the media.   Week 15 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (December 17/07)    The 2007/08 'Season of Champions' was kicked off by curling's version of the Ryder Cup, a North America versus Europe multi-format points' accumulation event.    Going into this year's tournament, each side had posted two victories.    On paper, it looked like Team North America was more potent -- and that's what the 290-110 final points tally indicated. Way more potent!    With the lop-sided outcome, some talking heads from over the ocean were quick to cite the event's timing as being to Team Europe's disadvantage. It commenced only days after the European Championships had concluded. That fact was only one factor, a small one. The bigger factor was the talent pool sent.    And the biggest factor was the truly impressive play of the two American squads -- the men's foursome skipped by Todd Birr and Debbie McCormick's women's crew.    Birr took 25 out of a possible 42 points when he was on the ice. And McCormick (pictured here), let's just say that she was a monster. She wrestled 51 of 52 points from her opposition.    Also on this weekend were two Canada Cup qualifying tournaments. The men were in Ottawa, the women in Edmonton. Kevin Koe and Cheryl Bernard took home the respective top cash prizes.    Getting spots into the Canada Cup, for men, were Koe, Mike McEwen, Russ Howard and Kerry Burtnyk -- as well as Jeff Stoughton, Brad Gushue and Pat Simmons via CTRS points (if our math is right).    Among female combatants, Bernard, Sherry Middaugh, Stefanie Lawton and Janet Harvey earned spots. The women's CTRS berths look like they'll go to Shannon Kleibrink, Cathy King, Sherry Anderson and Michelle Englot -- an extra berth via CTRS points because Jennifer Jones was returning champion when she won a spot as the 2007 Players' Champion for women.   Week 14 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (December 11/07)    After a two-year hiatus, the TSN Skins Game was back -- in High Definition for TV viewers for the first time. At a casino for those who chose to view it live. And it was also the first time that a typical venue was not its site -- either a curling club or an ice arena.    All reports regarding the televised production seem to suggest that the three-game show was fantastic. Seems TSN was using this platform to experiment with its production values as it prepares to become the exclusive Season of Champions broadcaster starting next curling season.    Too bad that this extravaganza did not lure more eyeballs. It deserved more. Nielsen, the ratings' measurement folks, had the final at 238,000 tuned in TVs.    That though had to be the only sour note. The live experience was superb -- and except for the complimentary seats held by host Casino Rama for its patrons, it was virtually a sold-out house for all three matches. The nearly 4,000 paid-for seats per game made this comeback event the most successful at-the-gate curling Skins Game since the inception of this particular curling format back in 1986.    As for the crowd, the sheer number of people there made the experience both electric and nerve-racking for the players. What an atmosphere! A buzz was in the building. And what an entertaining show orchestrated by TSN and provided by the gamesmanship of the participating teams. Everyone was raving at Rama!    While each match had its own flow and drama, these eyes thought that the Saturday night game was this two-day tournament's 'entertainment' highlight. It was a toe-to-toe battle from beginning to end between two of Canada's Olympians. There were lots of greats shots, precisely made, end after end by the two skips, Kevin Martin and Brad Gushue.    The expectation was that Martin would have a huge advantage based on past experience. This was Brad Gushue's first 'for-money' Skins event -- except, as he said, the one-on-one matches he's had with his third Mark Nicholls as a form of regular practicing.    That lack of experience, though, did not show in the game. And Kevin Martin was thankful that, for the carryover draw-to-the-button after the 8th end, he could take that same ice and throw the same out-turn shot.    Gushue, although he elected to repeat his in-turn draw, had to adjust his ice and path -- which Martin thought caused him to come up a little short, giving Martin the money, the win and the berth in the final.    A side note, Kevin Martin also praised Gushue's demeanour and how he entertained the live audience with a wit Martin had not seen heretofore.    In other weekend curling action, the big money tournament, hosted in Saskatoon, had two local teams in its final. Randy Woytowich edged Darrell McKee 6-5.   Week 13 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (December 4/07)    It was a pretty good week on the ice for the Middaughs, especially Sherry.    Sherry Middaugh (pictured here) captured the Sobeys Slam crown in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.    It was her first major as a skip, and first title of the season -- having qualified on three previous occasions in the 2007/08 campaign.    And her Team Middaugh did it the hard way. They dropped their first two matches … their opener to Regina's Jolene McIvor 5-3; their second to Colleen Jones 7-6, requiring four successive wins on the 'C' side just to make the playoff round … which this team did!    In the playoffs, Sherry's squad had to face three of this tournament's hottest teams. First, it was Stefanie Lawton, who was runner-up at the Wayden Slam two weeks ago. Then, New Brunswick's Andrea Kelly, an 'A' side winner here. And in the final, Quebec's Marie-France Larouche, the other 'A' side finisher.    The 6-3 win over Larouche netted the Middaugh team $14,000 in cash and 36 CTRS points.    Meanwhile, husband Wayne was in Quebec City at the BDO Canadian Open, also a Capital One Grand Slam event. From there, he was coming home with his cut of a $12,000 semifinal cheque, and 22 CTRS points.    Among his Team Middaugh's wins at the Pavillon de la Jeunesse were two against the reigning World champions, skipped by Glenn Howard.    However, Wayne's team just couldn't figure out Nova Scotia's Shawn Adams. Adams dealt them their only two tournament losses. The second, the semifinal, was a 6-3 decision where Adams amassed two deuces and two single-point steals.    Kevin Martin toppled Adams in the final ... for his fourth Canadian Open title.   Week 12 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (November 27/07)    Week 12 was a week of firsts! The first first to highlight is the two first place finishes by China (pictured here) at the Pacific Curling Championships. And that itself is a first for China. It marks the second time that their women's squad, skipped by Bingyu Wang, has finished first --- she also won this tournament last year. But it was the first time that a Chinese men's team finished first. Says something about these two teams housing in Edmonton this fall, and playing a steady diet of WCT events. Canadian Dan Rafael, in blue front-row centre, is one of their coaches.    In tour events, a number of teams captured their first titles of the 2007/08 season. Pete Steski skipped Team Raymond James to the Casino de Charlevoix Challenge's $10,000 first prize.    The Interlake Pharmacy Classic was Kerry Burtnyk's first tournament win. Remember his squad started like a house on fire last season. [On the women's side, Joelle Brown finished first for the second time this year.]    In the province next door, Jolene McIvor got her first crown of 2007/08 by her first-year team at the CUETS Sandra Schmirler Classic.    Other first-of-the-year wins were notched by Cory Heggestad at the Comoc, by Steve Cartwright at the St Mary's, by John Likely at the Hub City, by Dan Petryk in Seattle, by Jay Peachey at the Winn Rentals and Steve Waatainen at the Skoukum.    And the weirdest of the weekend was the first-place tie final result of Carl deConinck-Smith and Jamie Schneider in Prince Albert. That's gotta be a first!   Week 11 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (November 20/07)    For a team that's not strayed too far from home to date in the 2007/08 season, and has only had five starts, Kelly Scott's Team Canada squad notched its second title of the campaign in nearby Abbotsford.    Here, it took them the maximum number of matches (10) ... of which two were against finalist Stefanie Lawton, the first of those was a loss that sent them to the 'B' pool.    In their playoff run to the $16,000 payday, besides the Lawton foursome, Scott also upset Julie Reddick's Ontario team and Kim Moore of Edmonton.    And speaking of paydays, this Wayden Slam marked the first time that the women's money leader, Jennifer Jones, did not go home with cash in 2007/08.    In other women's tour events, the youthful Julie Hastings squad from Markham, Ontario bested the reigning Ontario champion, Krista McCarville (Scharf), at the Sun Life Invitational in Brantford. Hastings, after an opening-round match loss to Alison Goring, racked up seven wins to claim top prize.    Also in Brantford was the top men's tour stop of Week 11 ... the McDonald's Invitational. And in this battle for cash, it was the Glenn Howard show. Howard's wrecking crew went 7-0 for the second time this season ... and hoisted their third trophy among four final game appearances.    While the final against (Captain) Kirk Ziola was lopsided [9-1], the Howard quarterfinal match was a last shot win over the Wayne Middaugh rink (without Wayne this weekend) and it took an extra-end steal in his semifinal to down a gamey Greg Balsdon.    The Middaugh and Balsdon efforts may well represent a precursor of the hot battles to come at the Ontario championship in Kitchener in February.    Lastly, kudos to Alberta's Dean Ross team for not disappointing the local faithful at the Canadian Mixed hosted at the Calgary Curling Club.   Week 10 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (November 13/07)    The major tour event of this second weekend of November was the Lloydminster stop on the men's tour ... the Best Western Wayside Inn Classic.    It's a $75,000 purse/$22,000 first prize bonspiel which attracted many of the top men's teams.    When its triple knock-out preliminary was completed, the playoff match-ups were Kevin Martin versus Pat Simmons, Glenn Howard versus Kevin Park, Kevin Koe versus Glen Despins and Jeff Stoughton versus Charley Thomas. Indeed, it was an all-star lot.    The final was Stoughton versus Howard ... a chance for the Manitoba foursome to get some redemption for their 2007 Brier semifinal loss. And they did just that. Stoughton (pictured here) drew to score with the game's last shot to win 6-5.    Also of note on this weekend was the conclusion of the Wheelchair Championship Qualifier, held in Scotland. Two berths were available for the nine contenders.    When round-robin play concluded, there was a four-way tie. So a tie-breaker round was needed ... Denmark versus Italy and Sweden versus Germany. To get to Sursee, Switzerland, a win was a must. Sweden and Italy prevailed.    The Canadian Mixed Championship is in progress. Hosted at the Calgary Curling Club, this event wraps up on Friday.   Capital One ... We've got Curlers! Mississauga, ON  (November 6/07)    At a noon press conference today in Toronto at the Donalda Club, the posh digs were Mike Harris is now the head golf professional -- it also has a 4-sheet curling rink -- it was officially announced that Capital One, the McLean, Virginia-based credit card folks who have been in Canada since 1996, was acquiring the title sponsorship to Insight Sports' Grand Slam of Curling series. It is a multi-year pact -- so at least two ... with options.    Ian Cunningham (pictured here holding the jersey presented to him by Scott Russell of CBC Sports), the youthful Chief Operating Officer of Capital One Canada, whose curling experience is of the once-a-year corporate funspiel genre, indicated that his team had done their homework in assessing this opportunity and were excited about linking up with this 'best-against-best' curling series property.    Cunningham mused at the notion that "We've got Curlers!" could be a follow-up theme for Capital One's current aggressive "You've got Bankers" advertising campaign.    As for Insight Sports' view, CEO Kevin Albrecht was gratified to pass the acid test with the Capital One brass. Seems golf didn't! He saw the signing as a huge boost for the future of the Grand Slam concept, one that he could see expanding both in terms of the number of events per season and the hours of coverage per event, within Canada and beyond. Further, he graciously acknowledged that having partners like CBC Sports and the players were the underpinnings of what happened this day, and what the growth may be into the future.    Albrecht also acknowledged that the Capital One signing boded well insofar as getting title sponsors for The National and Masters of Curling events in the series. He anticipates that Capital One's confidence and commitment would not go unnoticed in the corporate community.    Marquee players present for this presser, Kevin Martin, Jennifer Jones and David Nedohin, agreed that this was a significant moment and a great day for curling. Martin, in particular, took pride in the fact that this was a time he had long looked forward to, and indeed had personally worked toward.   Week 9 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (November 5/07)    As the 11th month of the year begins, the big money machines kicked into high gear.    In Brooks, Alberta, that province's 'Centennial City' with a population of 12,500, most of the top men's teams in the 2007/08 Money Chase gathered for the inaugural Cactus Pheasant Classic. And the local folks were not to be disappointed.    Disappointed were the six teams that Kevin Martin faced ... particularly this big money team's playoff opponents -- Greg McAulay, Randy Ferbey and lastly, Wayne Middaugh.    For their efforts the Martin squad banked a huge pay cheque, $22,000 -- which translated to $3,666.67 per victory in this four-day tournament.    Of the many women's bonspiels happening this weekend, the highest profile event was also in Alberta ... up the road in Red Deer. The Community Savings Classic was being hosted in Alberta's third largest metropolis.    For its Sunday playoff matches, six of eight contenders were Alberta-based teams. However, that was not to be any help as Jennifer Jones' top-ranked money squad was on fire. They mowed down Cheryl Bernard, then Crystal Webster and finally Kristie Moore for the top pay cheque.   Movember starts tomorrow! Mississauga, ON  (October 31/07)    BalancePlus has sold its one hundred (100) tapered-handled 'Prostate Cancer' brushes which means that a tidy $10,000 has been donated to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. Congrats to BalancePlus and to the one hundred buyers.    There are still, though, those one-dozen game-used, autographed brushes to be had. They'll be auctioned off at the end of this curling season.    And there's more. In support of 'Movember' month, which starts tomorrow, Canada's top male curlers who'll be playing in the Grand Slam's Canadian Open slated for Quebec City at the end of the month, have been asked to start growing a moustache from scratch. The idea hatched is that fans will bid for the right to shave off players' growths at the Pavillon de la Jeunesse once teams are eliminated from the tournament.    Mike Harris, pictured here as he might look come month's end, is on board --- and he'll be endeavouring to get CBC to broadcast the shaving event highlights on national television.   Week 8 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (October 30/07)    As Halloween fast approached, Glenn Howard showed that his squad was not to be bewitched by any of the predominantly western-based opponents at the MNP Prairie Classic in Portage la Prairie.    In fact, the 2007 world champions, adorned in pink, were to repeat as this tournament's top team with no defeats.    Although Edmonton's top three teams took a pass this weekend, perhaps in preparation for the hallowed night, Manitoba's best were out in full force ... but none were good enough this time.    In Ontario, Joe Frans was sending a message to that province's playdown hopefuls. His OCT win was no fluke. At the Bacardi's 25th in Brampton, in pumpkin orange, he disposed the revamped Mike Harris squad 9-5. It was Frans' second win and third payday in four outings since his return to competitive play.    At that same rum maker's spiel in Ontario's flower town, Janet McGhee captured the women's title. And at the top women's tour cash event of the weekend, the Colonial Square Classic in Saskatoon, it was local-area favourite, Stefanie Lawton rising to the top.   Week 7 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (October 23/07)    The major event of Week 7, held in curling's capitol, Winnipeg, concluded with a showdown between the top two women's squads in this season's Money Chase. Jennifer Jones versus Shannon Kleibrink.    Perhaps fittingly, these two teams had met in this year's first women's Grand Slam final as well. In that round one contest, back in Calgary at the Autumn Gold, Jennifer Jones was the victor, 6-3.    This time, the table was to turn and the home crowd was not to have its desired impact.    While the Jones' team was to steal the first end and the eighth, they would not score more than single points in any of their five counting ends. Kleibrink, though, fashioned three deuces with the hammer over the eight ends of play, and won the top prize of $15,000 with a 6-5 final tally.    The most noteable wins from other tournaments played this weekend were Russ Howard's claim of the Berne Open title over native son Ralph Stoeckli; and the Bonnyville battle of Alberta titans where Kevin Martin prevailed over Randy Ferbey.   Week 6 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (October 16/07)    A junior women's team from Ottawa -- the back-end, two 18-year-olds, and the front-end, two 19-year-olds -- buzzed through the women's field at the Southwestern Ontario Women's Charity Cashspiel this past weekend in London.    Rachel Homan (pictured here) with Emma Miskew, Alison Kreviazuk and Nicole Johnston not only completed this tournament undefeated, going 7-0, they toppled a who's-who list of opponents in so doing.    Moreover, when Kreviazuk developed a leg problem on the weekend, they had to complete the tournament with a substitute. That substitute was Ottawa native and UWO student Erin Morrissey, a junior rival with whom the team was quite familiar, but a pinch-tosser nonetheless.    Their first victim was the USA's Debbie McCormick, a two-time winner of this event and a past world champion. Then came two of Ontario's top women's contenders, Julie Reddick [whom they beat twice] and fellow Ottawa native Jenn Hanna.    Next, in their 'A' side final and again in their semifinal, this Homan wrecking crew upended the current money leader on the women's tour and last season's tour champion, Jennifer Jones ... 9-5 and 11-6 respectively.    Their final target was Quebec's Eve Belisle -- described as a game, but mentally and physically exhausted foe.    With this win, the Homan team captured their biggest payday to date. And it says here that this won't be their last time in the limelight.    In men's play, the weekend's top tournament was held in Gander, Newfoundland, the Don Bartlett Classic. And there, the final and top cash went to the underdog, Shawn Adams of Nova Scotia. Adams's squad defeated Randy Ferbey 5-3.   Week 5 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (October 9/07)    Kevin Koe, Jennifer Jones, Jean-Michel Menard, Marie-France Larouche, David Murdoch, Allan Lyburn, Barb Spencer, Garrett Vey and Michelle Englot all said thanks on this Thanksgiving weekend of 2007. But it was to their teammates, and the bonspiel organizers and sponsors ... not the heavenly father or their families at home.    They missed home-cooked turkey dinners. Instead, they vied for and captured the championship titles, top points and the winner's purses at their respective curling tournaments.    At the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster BC, Kevin Koe (pictured here) was a juggernaut. His team put together a 7-0 run ... deja-vu to their Oslo Cup experience of two weeks ago.    Here, they toppled the also-hot Bob Ursel squad, twice [in the round-robin and the final], a team coming into PWC Westcoast Classic with a win last week in Vernon.    Two other highlights of this festive weekend's events were the performances of two junior foursomes. In Regina, Garrett Vey defeated veteran Randy Bryden in the Rockoberfest men's final 5-3. In Ottawa, at the RCMP club's Mac Ice Classic, the Rachel Homan team fought through the field to get to the final against top seed Marie-France Larouche. Down at the mid-point 4-0, the Homan team scrapped their way back to being down 6-5 without in the final end ... and were run out of rocks.    In other notable happenings, neither Kevin Martin nor Randy Ferbey made it to the playoff round in their tournaments. And Colleen Jones was eliminated in her first event with her new team by Jennifer Jones. The Jones' met down on the 'C' side in a semifinal at the Autumn Gold. Jennifer Jones won 5-3 ... and subsequentially went on to win the event.   Week 4 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (October 2/07)    The top money event of Week 4 was in beautiful British Columbia, the Twin Anchors Houseboat Cashspiel.    The men's field was principally filled with squads from the home province and Alberta. And come playoff time, four of the six hopefuls were from BC ... three past BC champions and want-to-be Sean Geall, who claimed a 'A' side berth.    When the last rock was thrown, it was Team Ursel (with Jim Cotter, pictured here, tossing fourth stones) which put out notice that it was setting the bar in BC. They went 5-0, with Geall as their victim in the final.    In women's play, only 11 of 24 teams were from the left coast province ... and only one of those would make the playoffs, that being Kelly Scott.    Scott would not, though, claim a spot in the final ... losing 9-3 to Olympian Shannon Kleibrink in their semi.    The final was a Calgary showdown ... Kleibrink versus Heather Rankin. In a close contest, it was Rankin's three-score in the fourth that positioned her for the 5-4 win.   Week 3 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (September 24/07)    Mike Harris showcased a new team, a new look and won seven matches in a row before sputtering in the final to up-and-comer Darryl Prebble at the BDO Galt Classic. Stealing four consecutive ends, the third through the sixth, Prebble was able to run Harris out of rocks for a 6-5 win.    In women's BDO play, Julie Reddick appears to be giving notice that she has the team to beat in Ontario. Her team went 7-1 for the tournament, including an explosive 13-4 in the final over Colleen Madonia.    Madonia got to the final by defeating Sherry Middaugh 7-5.    At the Shorty in Brockville, Glenn Howard lost a round-robin match to Manitoba's Reid Carruthers, but that was it. In the playoffs, pink-powered Breast Cancer Society squad beat back Wayne Middaugh, then Kevin Martin and finally the revamped Brad Gushue team to claim 1st place cash.    American Debbie McCormick started the final with three single-point steals and bested Quebec's Eve Belisle in the women's field.    In Edmonton, at the Boston Pizza September Shootout, the Bingyu Wang skipped team from Harbin, China took the trophy with a resounding 8-1 crushing of Calgary's Glenys Bakker.    In men's play, Pat Simmons came from the 'C' side to the top of the podium. In his playoff dust were Kelly Row, then Randy Ferbey and Brent MacDonald in the final.    Overseas, this was Oslo Cup weekend. And it was the Canadian contingent that took both top spots. Jennifer Jones defeated Sherry Anderson. Kevin Koe got the better of the never-say-goodbye Pal Trulsen.   Week 2 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (September 17/07)    The Joe! is back. After a two-year hiatus, Joe Frans has returned to the competitive curling, now skipping his own team.    Assessing the options back in the spring, it was Craig Kochan's call and ultimate persuasiveness that percolated to the top.    Kochan wanted Frans to be his back-end partner, with The Joe as skip.    Kochan and Frans had curl together with John Base about a decade ago.    The idea was to get a young front-end pair, and Kochan had his eye on Jon Solberg and Derek Abbotts.    However, since the team was formed, Solberg got the opportunity to return to the far north from whence he came. The Whitehorse Curling Club was looking for a GM and Solberg became their man.    With about two weeks to find a replacement before the season's start, and most of the talent pool inked, the venerable Paul Madgett's name surfaced as available.    When called, Madgett was eager, and assumed the lead-mentor role, paired with the youthful Abbotts.    The rest is now history. A 7-1 start, $5,080 in the team bank account and a berth at the Canada Cup Qualifier in December in Ottawa.    On the women's side, it was the rejigged line-up of Jo-Anne Rizzo-Julie Reddick (Reddick now skipping, and Lori Eddy subbing for injured Leigh Armstrong) that powered their way without a loss through the 15-team ladies' field. They wrapped up the event with a 10-4 victory over the USA's Patti Lank, banked $3,080 and locked a berth to the women's CCQ December 12-16 in Edmonton.   Week 1 Recap! Mississauga, ON  (September 10/07)    Brad Gushue's revamped squad goes undefeated at the Baden Masters, pocketing the equivalent of $9,930 CA for its efforts ... 5-0, plus winning the Skins Game against Andi Schwaller.    In the final, Gushue's victim was Andy Kapp, Germany's top ranked team. The scoreboard read 5-4 when the match concluded.    Interestingly, Kapp was defeated by Glenn Howard in the 2007 Fords Worlds final, and Gushue bested by Howard at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier. Howard was not in this tournament.    The second Canadian team in Baden was that of Guy Hemmings ... including former Gushue lead, Jamie Korab. The Hemmings team was 2-3 for the tournament and finished out of the prize money.   On A Sadder Note! Mississauga, ON  (September 4/07)    Just a week ago, with great sadness and respect, we wrote that Doug Maxwell had informed his friends and colleagues in the curling world that he had been diagnosed as terminally inflicted with cancer.    His doctors gave him as much as 10 months. Sadly, it was only to be a short seven days.    Douglas Dean Maxwell passed away peacefully at home in Waterloo, Ontario on August 31st in his 80th year. He is to be buried in Markdale, Ontario where he and his wife of 54 years, Anne, had previously resided.    Much of his adult life was involved with curling in some capacity. His legacy includes co-invention of curling's Skins Game, the implementation of curling time clocks, twenty years of involvement in the World Curling Championships as well as twenty years of scribing at the Canadian Curling News, and authoring four books about the sport of curling including 'Tales of a Curling Hack' and 'Canada Curls'.