The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition – Curlers soared, execs failed in ’05
Great shots overshadowed by bungling of bureaucrats
Paul Wiecek
Fri Dec 30 2005
WITH apologies to Charles Dickens, it really was both the best and worst of times for Canadian curling in the past 12 months.
From one of the greatest shots in the history of the game to some of its worst ever bureaucratic bungling, there was lots to laugh and cry about on the emotional roller-coaster that was 2005 in curling.
Here then, for performances auspicious and otherwise, are the seventh annual Rockhead Awards:
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A GENUINELY NICE GUY: Curling fans can sense a good guy when they see him. And so it was little surprise that 2005 Manitoba men’s champion Randy Dutiaume quickly became the fan favourite at the Brier in Edmonton.
His aw-shucks smile, his goofy ballcap, his flopping around the ice and his self-deprecating quotes resonated with fans who love their curling heroes to be as ordinary as their abilities are extraordinary. And Dutiaume was both. BEST USE OF A CURLING ROCK AS A WEAPON: The perpetually sweaty Dutiaume had a rock slip out of his hands during his backswing at the Brier. The rock flew through the air and — thankfully — landed harmlessly on a neighbouring sheet.
MOST DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Jennifer Jones’s last-rock “in-off-for-four” to win last February’s national Scott Tournament of Hearts will be replayed on TV for decades to come.
Curlers have made tougher shots. But it’s difficult to recall a better last rock with anything approaching the pressure under which Jones threw hers, with everything from a national championship to a berth in the Olympic Trials to about $200,000 in tax-free funding on the line.
MOST INSULTING PERFORMANCE BY A BUNCH OF GREYING WHITE GUYS IN SUITS: It is difficult to envision how you could organize a worse curling event than the debacle that was the World Women’s Curling Championship in Paisley, Scotland last March.
The ice was abysmal, the crowds were non-existent and the entire event was so low budget that they used canned music (‘Man, I feel like a woman’) instead of bagpipers to bring the teams out on the ice prior to draws.
When you can’t hear a piper at a curling event in Scotland, you know something’s wrong.
GUTSIEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Jennifer Jones unhooks herself from a morphine drip, drags herself out of a hospital bed and goes straight to the rink in Halifax, where she promptly drills Ontario’s Sherry Middaugh in the round-robin of the Canadian Curling Trials.
Battling kidney stones the rest of the week, Jones limps to a 5-4 record and misses the Trials playoffs. But it was hard not to respect the effort.
BIGGEST QUESTION MARKS HEADING INTO THE WINTER OLYMPICS: They both won fair and square and provided a nation of curling fans some great moments during December’s Trials. But are Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue and Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink — devoid as they are of international experience — really this country’s best chances to finally reclaim gold at the Olympic curling venue? Or is Canada once again going to have to settle for the disappointment of silver or even — hold your breath — Kelley Law bronze.
BOLDEST PERFORMANCE BY A GUY WHO CALLS THEM LIKE HE SEES THEM: Jeff Stoughton lived to regret his comments to the Free Press that Gushue had “no chance” to win the Trials.
But to his everlasting credit, Stoughton never tried to weasel out of what he said. And he backed up his tough talk off the ice with a memorable performance on it, as the Stoughton foursome went all the way to the Trials final only to have the high-flying Gushue finally serve Stoughton his words on a platter.
WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATION: The Canadian Curling Association’s ham-handed handling of their TV deal very nearly ruined a broadcasting arrangement that is the envy of all amateur sport in Canada.
But thanks to the rabid outcry from curling fans across the country, the CCA, CBC and TSN were ultimately forced to make nice and put the pieces, more or less, back together. Score one for the Canadian little guy.
© 2005 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
You must log in to post a comment.