TSN not showing the Love to Quebec and Love Notes from Brad

The Brier is done.

It was a yawner of a final, with Cotter apparently forgetting to show up after playing great all week. Koe's team played up to form, and Carter Rycroft was exceptional. 

Mighty fine job from our Quebec representatives. JM and team exceeded expectations, and came very close to making a final. They played well all week.

I think it might be time to highlight that Quebec competitive men’s curling is not that bad. TSN kind of implies that it is a miracle that a team from the curling wasteland of Quebec can be so competitive at the Brier. Cathy Gauthier before one of the games talked about how JM prepares – and said something like this: “It`s all about spending time on the ice practicing for Jean-Michel, because the team does not face the kind of competition in Quebec that they need to prepare for a National Championship.” Really? 

Don’t get me wrong - I am a huge fan of the TSN coverage. Russ, Vic and Linda are by far the best commentary team in curling; Russ always adds immeasurable insight to the analysis of a curling game. But man did they ever beat to death the point that JM likes to throw his outturn. Here is a quote from the 3-4  game against Stoughton.  Vic: “How can a team with only 1 turn make it this far into the competition?”

Then they backpedalled a bit before the semi-final, saying “We know they can throw an in-turn, it’s just that throw so many out-turns.”

Yes, they are an out-turn team, and maybe more than most. They like to throw it more than the in-turn, and when given the choice play out-turns. Anyone who has played them in Quebec knows this to be true. But so what? So they always peel with the out-turn. I have played against JM for years, and I usually am not thinking “Oh thank God he is throwing his in-turn – he is bound to miss it!” JM has beaten me on both turns before. I think TSN kinda went overboard on this one a bit.

In general, I found TSN kind of dismissive of the Quebec Team. They often said things like “their passion for the game makes them tough to beat.” No, the fact that they are a great team makes them tough to beat. JM has won the Brier, won a ton of money in Canada, and consistently beats a lot of the big teams at the Brier, and yet everyone always seems surprised when they win. I don’t get it.

Maybe I am being over-sensitive here. Was there an anti-Quebec bias? Did anyone else notice it?

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Wow - the bronze medal "game" was probably the best example ever of why there should not be a bronze medal game. Quebec totally deserved 3rd place. It was just mean to make them get up and play at 9am (8am if you count the time change) after playing an 11 end heart-breaker of a game late the night before. At least we got to see the Duffer (Pierre Charette) throw a couple of rocks at the Brier.

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Lucky Me!

I got a personalized letter from Brad Jacobs in the mail! Brad Loves Me! He really loves me! He even started it with “Dear Mike”!

Unfortunately, like the lovely lady I ran into on rue Ste-Catherine the other week, his love will cost me money. Brad says that because I love curling so much, I should write a cheque to the CCA so that they can help grow curling in Canada, apparently by holding more events in Las Vegas, and in buying more protein shakes for Team Jacobs.

Okay. I really do love curling. And I am a pretty charitable guy. But somehow I think I can find a way to better support the development of the sport I love then sending my hard earned cash to the people that brought us Relegation, Conflict with the OCA, the Canada Cup, and the infamous CBC deal (a few years ago).  

I am really not trying to be anti-CCA. I really do love curling, and I have no doubt that there are some good people at the CCA doing some good work. But they just seem to be straying a bit away from their stated mission of late, and shaking down the curling community for cash is another example.

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Speaking of Relegation;

My Anti-relegation tirade last week was rather popular, having been read and shared a few thousand times in the past week. Not surprisingly, a lot of the support and comments have come from NS and PEI, that now they find themselves in relegation at the Brier.

A petition is afoot, to illustrate the widespread disapproval of this stinker of an idea:

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/canadian-curling-association-remove-the-relegation-round-from-canadian-national-championships?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_mobile&recruiter=85291568

I will be signing.