Curling, Etcetera_ A Whole Bunch of Stuff About the Roaring Game - Bob Weeks [24]
Refinements have been made over the years, and other manufacturers have jumped into the game with their own models. The Stick even made an appearance at the Brier. In 2000, Northern Ontario alternate Paul Sauve played two shots in a game using his Stick. Shortly after that appearance, the device was banned in events leading to a national championship by the Canadian Curling Association. However, many jurisdictions around the world have separate Stick championships. More important, the invention by Featherstone has allowed many curlers with back and knee problems to continue playing.
NO RESPECT
Curlers have always had a hard time being treated seriously by mainstream media. Two examples:
• It’s not very often that the U.S. mainstream press covers curling, but a 1994 report in USA Today on the Buffalo Bills did so—in a backhanded manner. The story centred on how the Bills have become synonymous with losing in sport. It provided quotes from other areas of sports and business where the Bills—who lost four consecutive Super Bowls—were used as an analogy for losing. One was provided by Russ Howard when he won the 2001 Brier after losses in the previous two. “I don’t want to be compared to the Buffalo Bills,” said Howard. The story then followed with this line: “So it has come to this… The Bills are getting goofed on by curlers.”
• A newspaper ad in the Toronto Sun for a pay-per-call sports handicapping service carried the following headline: “You could earn big money in sports, with no noticeable athletic ability (just like pro curlers).” The service later offered an apology and stopped the ad.
SLIPS OF THE TONGUE
Putting microphones on players during televised curling games goes back to the 1960s when it was done for the CBC Curling Classic. While it provides first-hand insight into the strategy of players, it also has all the inherent dangers of live audio. Here are a few of the more memorable microphone moments from curling:
Winnipeg curler Orest Meleschuk was known for his foul language, and during coverage of a major cash bonspiel in Sudbury, Ontario, local viewers got a first-hand taste. At one point during the game, the big skip found himself in a tight situation with no apparent way out. He turned to his third, John Usackis—and in the process, the television audience—and said: “What the fuck are we going to do here John, eh? What the fuck are we going to do? What the fuck are we going to do?”
In the 1983 Brier, also in Sudbury, Ed Werenich and Paul Savage were discussing Werenich’s final shot. Werenich said to Savage, in a comment that was picked up by the CBC microphones: “I’ll throw it narrow and let the boys sweep the piss out of it.”
A year later, in the final of the 1984 Brier, Werenich’s Ontario team was facing Mike Riley of Manitoba. Savage was suffering some stomach problems, and during the fifth end, he raced to the washroom, forgetting completely that he was still wearing his microphone. Luckily the CBC was in a commercial break, but the staff in the production truck heard all the strange noises of Savage’s visit to the washroom.
RECORD MAN
As one of the most successful curlers in history, Russ Howard’s name is understandably all over the Brier record book. Here are a few of his and his team’s entries:
Most wins* 107
Most losses* 56
Most games played* 163
Most games as skip* 163
Most blank ends in a game (1993) 8
Lowest combined score (1993) 2-1
Shortest game (1986) 4 ends (Howard won 11-0)
*individual records
WHY HURRY?
Canadian, world, and Olympic champion Russ Howard is probably the best-known caller of sweeping instructions in the game. His famous call of “Hurry hard,” usually heard at a high decibel level, is as famous as any in the game. Here’s how it came about: