#Brier2019 Midterm Grades

#BetweenTheSheets: Making The Grade In Brandon

Big Red returns to fill out the midterm report card

It's BBBBAAAACCKKKK!!!

My trusty friend Big Red returns to hold those accountable for their actions and reward the good while scolding the bad. Some teams are making the grade. Some are just doing the bare minimum to avoid failure. And some, one in particular, is on the downward slide towards failing. There is no bell curve in place here folks. Your actions and results on the ice speak for themselves.

It is report card time at the 2019 Brier and this blog is ready to do some grading.

You may remember a similar practice being brought back into the blog at this year's Scotties. Well it certainly would not be fair to open up the report card for one national event and not do so for another right?



A

#RookieRespect - Coming into the Brier the focus was on experience. Gushue chasing the #3peat. Koe seeking redemption from the Olympics but being a former champion himself. Jacobs looking to return to the top of the Canadian podium. And while all 3 teams are looking good heading into the Championship Pool, there are a few rookie teams and players earning mad respect from their competitors and curling fans. Ontario's Team McDonald opened their inaugural Brier campaign with the hardest schedule possible, drawing Canada's Koe and Alberta's Gushue. Yikes! Welcome to the big ice. Sure they went 0-2 BUT they put up a fight and sometimes even in a loss you pick up a win. Drawing the top seeded teams in the pool from the get go could prove to be an advantage. It put their backs against the wall a bit but also got two tough games out of the way early. Now they are rolling. They have won three straight and look in great shape to qualify for the Championship Pool. Plus this is a good team. They have been great all season (a regular fixture on this blog's #PowerRankings btw) and, now mid-week, are showing no signs of being Brier rookies. Heck McDonald himself is sitting T3 on skip percentage numbers with Kevin Koe, behind the two Brad's. Similar credit goes out to Nova Scotia's Stuart Thompson. Thompson makes his first Brier and comes down with a flu upon arrival. He has to miss part of the opening ceremonies due to the illness and then hits the ice for his first-ever Brier game feeling under the weather. You fight your entire life for this moment, your first Brier, and this is what happens. The Sports Gods are cruel sometimes. But, similar to Ontario, the team has impressed this week. They also sit 3-2 and are in the hunt for the Championship Pool spot. They end the RR with games against Canada and Alberta unfortunately, needing at least a split to have a shot at advancing. It won't be easy, but has anything about this rookie Brier experience been easy for Thompson? And finally what about the Marsh boys from Saskatchewan? Sure #TeamMnM is bookended by the Muyres brothers but remember this is still a rookie Brier for both Marsh bros. Saskatchewan is sitting 4-2 and looking good for a Championship Pool spot. They have been strong contenders in each game and, outside a beauty shot by Manitoba's Mike McEwen, could be 5-1 right now. Both are curling in the mid-80's thus far and sitting at a +2 rating, not bad for a debut.


B

#TeamUpset Success - Yukon. Yukon. Yukon. How can we hand out grades without discussing #TeamPurple? Yukon has always been the little brother to the neighbouring larger territory. The Northwest Territories usually nab all the attention. We have the Koe clan with Kerry for the women and Jamie for the men. Everyone loves them. Everyone cheers for them. Everyone talks about them. "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!!" Similar for "the other" territory. It is all about "NWT, NWT, NWT". What about Yukon? When will Yukon get their time under the light and have everyone talking about them? Welcome to Brandon and #Brier2019 folks. Yukon fans, this is YOUR time. Thank you Team Solberg! Quick who expected Yukon to pick up a win this week? Ok maybe one. But, honestly, who predicted them picking up two? Three? *crickets* Exactly! The win over Newfoundland, sure. Some people maybe expected that win given Symonds team is making their debut. But what about the pivotal win Monday afternoon. Playing against one of the favourites. The home province. A team some even predicted would win the entire competition. As the "little brother" territory nobody gave them a chance. I mean I am in two Brier pools and saw the numbers. Seriously...nobody! And then the clouds opened, the curling gods spoke and BOOM....an upset was born. Now sure many will credit the result to mistakes and errors from the opposition but lets not take anything away from #TeamPurple. They executed a smart strategy. They made their shots. They put pressure on the favourites. And, in the end, the "favs" wilted under the pressure and #TeamUpset was born. Heck, Yukon knocked off PEI Tuesday night to sit 3-3 heading into their final RR game with a shot at qualifying for the Championship Pool. NOBODY took that bet!! And isn't this what we love as curling fans? Heck as sports fans! We like an upset. We love an underdog story. Yukon is the underdog story of #Brier2019. But again, people still want to question the format and allowance for all provinces/territories to be represented because we get one-sided results and risk not sending our best to world's. If you cannot beat out representatives from each province/territory to win this event, I hate to tell you this but maybe you aren't the best. Check the ego! Upsets happen in sports. Anyone can beat anyone. Yukon is proving it this year. I say, "Bring. It. On!" and lets hope we see a territory team represented in the Championship Pool. And to think, prior to this new format the Yukon hadn't qualified for the main draw of the Brier since being awarded their own spot back in 2015. From pre-qualifying to Championship Pool in 4 years? I am living for it rock heads!


C

#ContentCanada - Seeking the #3peat, Team Canada's Brad Gushue and company sure look a little....shall we say average? Perhaps the team is just content to ride through the opening round robin and turn on the jets come the important Championship Pool. Who knows really? But it just feels like a different team on the ice in front of us this year. Of course the added pressure to #DefendTheIce again must not be easy either. Everyone is gunning for you and everyone wants to be the team that took down the two-time defending champs. So teams up their game against you. But they felt similar pressure last year and just looked a bit stronger and more ready to defend than this year. Again...thus far! Don't get me wrong either. The stats are strong as always. Collectively they are curling 88% and are +3 for the competition. But we have seen a few more uncharacteristic errors and misses from them as well. The sign of a true champion is to move past the mistakes and still find a way to win, which this team is doing. A threat to win again this weekend? Of course. The dominant team we have seen the past few years? Not as much. But this could just be a wolf in sheep's clothing too. They are doing what they need to do to win games, sometimes it ain't pretty. Teams are not going to sleep on them of course but if you see the defending champs make a few little errors maybe you start getting the confidence needed to knock them off and that can be dangerous for the current Team Canada. Happy with their results but waiting to see the full package show.



D

#BuffaloBlunder - Is the buffalo hunt over? Have the other teams in the competition slayed the home province beast? The buffalo may still be walking but he is certainly wounded and on his last leg. Manitoba has struggled this Brier. Maybe it is the added pressure on skipper Mike McEwen competing at home. Maybe it is the story of the season where #TeamBFF just has not come together they way there were hoping. And maybe it is the other teams are just competing with good curling of their own and out playing the hometown boys. Whatever the reason, the losses are piling up and the excuses are becoming redundant. The comeback of the competition for Team Wildcard to hand Manitoba their first loss was shocking. The hit and roll out FTW against Yukon was a nail in the coffin. We have heard all the stories on how this team has come together and had some "real talk" with one another but is the message hitting all 4 players the same way? The team still looks out of sorts and the positive energy is just not there. Negative body language can lead to negative results. Is it perhaps a case of best friends still wanting to fight to write the perfect script of four great buddies coming together to compete and win as a team? Can the #TeamBFF be saved? The storyline is great for sure, if they are winning. This season has not been a win. It has been a struggle, a struggle the team admits. Barring a historic comeback here and winning the entire event, where do they go next? Do you continue fighting for the Hollywood #TeamBFF story? As I have learned from a member of this team, sometimes friendships don't make the best relationships. Friends off the ice, for sure. Equating a bromance to a successful relationship on the ice, perhaps not. It will be interesting to see how this team finishes the event, needing a win in their final RR game to *maybe* make the Championship Pool. If they complete the comeback and win the event, it will be all smiles. If they do not, it will be interesting to see how they compete in their final few events this season, assuming they even stick together. This team wanted the storylines going into Brandon, well now you have them. Just maybe not the story they were hoping for though. For this team, #StayTuned!


F

#TVTime - Ok look I get it. TSN is a broadcast company. TSN makes their money off of sponsorships, commercials and rating numbers. I have a PR and Communications degree folks. Trust me, I get how it all works. And while I appreciate ALL of you shedding light on how the world of broadcasting and revenue shares and marketing profit works, I actually do know this stuff too (some of you may be quite surprised at what I do know about the world LOL). Having said all that, as a curling fan I can still be critical of our TV coverage and long for the days where our broadcaster would do their best to highlight each competing province/territory at least once as a feature game. Honestly it is how I learned about so many different curlers as a kid (you know in the world before the internet and social media). I loved hearing the different stories of players from across our great country. Who they were maybe related to or how long they had been curling or even who they defeated to earn the right to wear their province/territory flag on their back. I loved all of it. And I still want it. Yes I know Koe/Gushue/Jacobs/McCarruthers draw the big numbers. Yes I know McCarruthers has a story to tell about McEwen playing at home and #TeamBFF and all that jazz. And yes I know Gushue is going for the #3peat. And Koe is seeking redemption. But what about the story of Stuart Thompson? Or Jon Solberg? Or John Likely? Doesn't every team have a story to tell, equally deserving? I liken this to #MarchMadness (fitting right?). Duke is a top team. We talk about them every year. We know they are good. We know they have a story. We know they are a contender. But then the NCAA tournament rolls around and yes we talk about Duke but we also talk about Butler or Wofford or South Dakota State or UMBC (who became the first #16 seed to knock off a #1 seed last year). We talk about all the teams who earned their spot in the field. They all have great stories to tell and CBS goes out of their way to share them. Sports fans love good action on the court (or ice in our case). But sports fans also like good stories and love getting to know the athletes competing. Why do we get 4 hours of Super Bowl pre-game? To discuss the stories of different athletes. The big dogs get attention, yes. But so do the upstarts and newbie's and little dogs. Share the love! Ask the fans in Newfoundland or PEI or Yukon or Quebec, think they wouldn't mind seeing their team as a feature at least once. Heck NL hasn't been featured in two years (outside Gushue I know but they are Team Canada). TSN dropped the ball of opportunity last year with Greg Smith, who wowed the crowd in Regina and won the sportsmanship award voted by his peers. Did the rest of the country get to see even one full game with him? Nope! It is not always about money. Besides, lets be real here folks. Sports fans will tune in when you give them a reason. Do some background journalism on a team. Find the unique and cool story. And highlight the shit out of it for the curling masses. As they say, "If you build it they will come." But yes, please let me know all the ways I am wrong and how I do not understand the world of TV revenue and economics (not that I also have a degree in Econ btw...but what do I know right?!).


What say you rock heads? Agree with the midterm grades? Disagree? Perhaps you have your own grading system in place? Share your thoughts and comments via social media and, using the hashtag #Brier2019 of course, share your opinions with fellow curling fans.

Who are your surprises? Who are your disappointments? What have you liked about the Brier thus far and what do you expect to happen come playoff weekend? Stay engaged in the conversation.

#StayTuned

While we inch closer to crowning our men's national champion, across the vast Atlantic blue a world champion will receive a coronation this weekend as well. The World Wheelchair Curling Championships are underway in Stirling, Scotland with a field full of past world champs, Paralympic medallists and surprising debutants. ICYMI, check out the #WWhCC2019 Preview for a full rundown of the competition and predictions for who will be the last nation standing.

Keep one curling eye on TSN for the conclusion of the Brier but keep the other eye on the World Curling Federation website to see the closing draws, playoff results and ultimate celebration of the next member of the curling world champion family.