Curling, Etcetera_ A Whole Bunch of Stuff About the Roaring Game - Bob Weeks [25]
When Howard started skipping in the late 1970s, one of the most popular brooms was called the Rink Rat, a foam-synthetic model that caused a huge amount of noise, making it hard to hear when there were multiple games going on at the same time.
Out of necessity, Howard came up with a phrase that would distinguish him from other skips who yelled “Sweep,” so his teammates could hear him above the din. He decided on “Hurry hard,” which stuck.
Not everyone enjoyed hearing Howard yell—which he did almost incessantly during major events—and people told him in e-mails and face-to-face meetings. But most of them only had to listen for a few games. Longtime Howard second, Wayne Middaugh, got so used to listening to it during the five years he played for him, he had personalized licence plates made that read: “HURREE.”
CURLING NICKNAMES
Curlers have some of the most colourful nicknames in sport, a few of which can even be written in a family book. Here are the real names and nicknames of a number of Brier champions:
Terry Braunstein
Curler Nickname
Ed Werenich (’83, ’90) The Wrench
Orest Meleschuk (’72) The Big O
Paul Savage (’83) The Round Mound of Come Around
Al Hackner (’82, ’85) The Ice Man
Kevin Martin (’91, ’97) K-Mart
Ed Lukowich (’78, ’86) Cool Hand Luke
Barry Fry (’79) The Snake
Rod Hunter (’70, ’71) The Arrow
Ron Manning (’67) Moon
Terry Braunstein (’65) Bronco
Ray Turnbull (’65) Moosey
PERFECT RECORD
Getting through the Brier with a perfect record is a nearly impossible feat. In fact, in almost 80 years only 13 rinks have managed perfect records.
Randy Ferbey 13-0 2003
Pat Ryan 12-0 1988
Ron Northcott 10-0 1969
Matt Baldwin 10-0 1957
Garnet Campbell 10-0 1955
Billy Walsh 10-0 1952
Don Oyler 10-0 1951
Ken Watson 9-0 1949
Jimmy Welsh 9-0 1947
Howard Wood 9-0 1940
Ab Gowanlock 9-0 1938
Leo Johnson 7-0 1934
Gordon Hudson 9-0 1929
BABY BROTHER
While he might not have as much notoriety as his older brother Russ, Glenn Howard has enjoyed a great deal of success on the ice as well. A look at the career of Glenn Howard:
• Glenn is six years younger than Russ.
• Glenn has won three Canadian and world championships, one more than Russ.
• While playing for his brother during the 1980s and early ’90s, Glenn had a tremendous rivalry with Ed Werenich, with no love lost between the two. However, he later spent one year curling for Werenich after Russ moved to New Brunswick.
• Howard made a guest appearance on the CBC comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie. He played himself and was overlooked when the characters on the program were choosing sides for a big curling match. At first, the producers wanted to cast Kevin Martin in the spot, but the first assistant director, a former Canadian junior champion named Dave Manion, convinced them that Howard would be better.
• His full-time job is running the Beer Store in Midland, Ontario.
• In 2006-07, his team wore pink shirts and swept with pink-handled brooms as part of an awareness and fundraising effort for breast cancer.
• Along with teammates Richard Hart, Brent Laing, and Craig Savill, he started a fantasy curling camp to allow curlers of all abilities to mix with and learn from the world champions.
PLAY THE GAME
Russ Howard has played the most Brier games in the history of the Canadian championship with 163. And second on the list? His younger brother, Glenn.
Here is a ranking of the curlers who have played the most games up to 2007.
Curler Briers Games Played
Russ Howard 13 163
Glenn Howard 9 9 115 115
Pat Ryan 9 109
Al Hackner 9 106
Randy Ferbey 8 100
Kevin Martin 8 100
Rick Lang 9 99
Don Walchuk 8 97
Peter Gallant 8 89
Ed Werenich 7 89
Robert Campbell 9 88
Wayne Middaugh 7 88
Don Bartlett 8 85
Pierre Charette 9 85
Grant Odishaw 7 81
Mark O’Rourke 9 79
Neil Harrison 7 77
Jeff Stoughton 6 74
Bruce Lohnes 6 73
Mark Butler 7 70
Don Westphal 6 68
Mark Dacey 5 65
John Kawaja 6 65
Scott Pfeifer 5 65
HEAD(SET) GAMES
The 1989 Brier in Saskatoon saw one of the most