Mr Dee

Carruthers plays on tour all the time as well so it's not a case of one team playing at a higher level than the other, and all of Carruthers team except for one guy has brier experience too. Mcewen has more success on tour without a doubt but none of them have any brier experience, and given all the trouble he's had winning Manitoba I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that they might not be the guarantee at the brier some think in their first go around. That team is good, but they have a lot of mental demons they need to get over. Carruther's team does play on the tour, but with not as much success. The team is new, so they have to get more playing experience together. Are they strong enough positions 1 thru 3 behind Carruthers? Time will tell. McEwen has always had those "demons" and seemed to have overcome them, especially within the last year and a half. It's a shame he has Manitoba Select issues because he would be a top 4 candidate in this field of competitors.

It must be remembered that although Carruthers has been here before, it is a new experience for his team, and the Brier is not an easy atmosphere to slide into. MB would have far better represented by McEwen's team as they play world class competition all the time. They would have had, probably, the best chance at knocking off Jacobs. Not to be. Carruthers knew how to play McEwen and beat him twice. It was no fluke. But that happens in any sport, where the better team doesn't always win. This particular Brier is filled with teams that are good…just not good enough to knock of the defending Gold Medal Champs - Team Jacobs. Team Gushue is solid (7-2) and will make the playoffs, probably at the #2 spot. 2 tough games left - NO, QC Team Canada (6-3) is back on track after switching skips (Simmons for Morris) 2 games left - QC, NO Team Menard QC (6-3) playing steady 2 games left - TC, NL Those 4 teams hold the 4 playoff spots but Sask, Alta and MB may still figure in the playoffs. There's bound to be some sort of tie-breaker depending on these upcoming games. Very interesting…if you're into curling.

Several points: - Of course the list of flaws is going to be long, they'll list anything short of lack toothpaste facilities because the more they list, the more serious their claim must be. - You cannot state generally, that Union shops will produce poor workmanship. Would the work be any more accomplished because some schtick is being paid less? Hire the right company, and it won't matter if it is Union or not. - This is a re-hash of the flaws we were told about 6 months ago…bumped up, and will be reminded of, 6 months down the road. Can't wait until this BS is put behind us.

Leave me alone man................................It has a certain appeel for me.

........These are my Avengers - John Steed and Emma Peel.

Race for the playoffs prior to today's draws: 5-2 Gushue NL- play - PEI, ALTA, NO, QC 4-2 Laycock Sask - play - NO, PE, ALTA, ON, BC 4-3 Morris TC - play - BC, ON, QC, NO 4-3 Menard QC - play - NT, MB, TC, NL 3-3 Cotter BC - play - TC, MB, NT, NB, SASK 3-3 Koe ALTA - play - NL, NT, SASK, MB, NB 3-3 Carruthers MB - play - QC, BC, ONT, ALTA, PE 7 teams vying for the 3 remaining playoff spots. Want to give a spot to NL and Gushue but they play 3 tough teams plus the ? Casey and PE. That team, PE, will determine the fate of a few teams as they play 3 of the top teams. Sask, TC, QC, have the early advantage having won their 4th game already, but Sask has to play an extra game. Koe and Cotter have a step up but they have to play an extra game. Carruthers, IMO, has the toughest road to get there. Look for Gushue and Cotter to sneak in and the 4th team ???? Quebec could be the dark horse in all of this. Definitely could be tie-breakers. Last night, in the TC vs AB game, a hog line infraction was overturned by the players after the replay showed it wasn't an infraction. That's what I love about this game. Both teams agreed there was no infraction and Rycroft was allowed to re-throw the rock. No fuss, no muss, and nobody had to throw a challenge flag.

Of course they pander to that Province. When that Province learned that you could watch the Riders on all 12 hundred of their TV sets, TSN figured they'd cash in on the swarm of believers (both true and *kling-ons) and mention occasionally, that that is one heck of a fan base. Never mind that the majority are still working on what the initials TSN stand for. But they don't fool me, once the Green fades into fall colours and the losses mount, the lustre will come off and the fans will drop off like leaves from a tree. *Indirect Spock tribute.

After some poor starts for teams like Manitoba and Alberta, things have settled down somewhat. The bottom teams are where they are likely to be, but the play of the young PEI team - Casey, has to bode well for their future. Team Canada has been all over the place with John Morris's spotty play. Team N. Ont. are on the warpath and demolishing everybody so far. Team Alt. is back at it as Koe has settled down and regained his form, Team Sask. has been playing strongly and are proving they belong. Team Quebec are loud as usual but are making some good shots. Look to N. Ont to be in the 1-2 game and some very tough competition between Sask., Alta., N/L, Mb., and BC for the final 3 playoff spots. Tuesday - March 3rd After Draw 8 Round Robin Team W L Northern Ontario (Jacobs) 5 0 Saskatchewan (Laycock) 4 1 Alberta (Koe) 3 2 Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) 3 2 British Columbia (Cotter) 3 2 Manitoba (Carruthers) 3 2 Québec (Ménard) 2 3 Team Canada (Morris) 2 3 Ontario (Kean) 2 3 Prince Edward Island (Casey) 2 3 New Brunswick (Mallais) 1 4 Northwest Territories (Koe) 0 5

Chaotic, undisciplined game where the real definition of scrum can be found. And out of that scrum, the ball gets squirted out, and all these ugly (a prerequisite) and brutal men, suddenly realize they have to do something with the ball...or get killed. There's no set scoring..just random points are awarded. And at least one of the teams must wear striped shirts. Playing on a muddy field is not required...but it is considered a bonus. As a matter of fact, that's how the name evolved. They usually had to have a rug by the door for all the muddy players to wipe their feet. Honest. A T.I.C. submission.

All good to dump on the Argos...in theory. It's the repercussions we don't see yet if the Toronto market is not served. The complaints are the product of an unreasonable situation the Argos find themselves in due to that horrible lease situation. They are not partners there, they are fillers...for the bottom end of the calendar of dates at Rogers Centre. There is a possible solution there, with the answer being, playing at BMO field. They'll get better attendance and better dates to play, solving most people's complaints. Why don't we just hope for that?

Chevel dayoff

You might as well nickname Trouba "Mani"...because, like the Province, he ain't going anywhere.

Under Jewish religious law, Jews are buried the day after they die. It would be unusual to not do this. Same for Muslims. Thank you for that explanation. It's appropriate, and I guess that's why I'm not that religious, because I still believe there are exceptions to every "rule", and to me, this is one heck of an exception. It all depends how deeply religious Nimoy was I suppose.

The man died Friday. It seems to me for a man as beloved as Nimoy, they could have delayed the funeral a bit to allow his many friends to attend. After all "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one".

I'm done with men's league curling and since moving to Kelowna we haven't done any curling until this past winter. The Kelowna Curling Club had this amazing deal to get curlers back into the rink on Sundays. From 11am to 5pm anybody/group can contact the club and get a sheet of ice for 2 hours - also get curling shoes, broom, sliders - and a burger, fries and a sleeve of beer - all for $20 per person. Needless to say it has re-kindled my interest in the game. There is only one CC here but it has 12 sheets of ice. Lots of room for casual curlers. It's also the practice facility for the BC rep. - the Jim Cotter rink. Unfortunately or fortunately, golf season has now started, Feb. 20th, and our group has taken our cursing over to the links. I really hope they have this deal again next year.

Forde has dual citizenship from birth so under the new CBA he qualifies as a national. Forde is the hybrid example.

I'm not sure he actually exists.

I was waiting for you to post this same message as you did in the Free Press. Nice. I always did think that was odd for Ontario to have 2 teams when there were Western Provinces (Alberta and Manitoba) who had at least 2 teams who were consistently better. I still would like the Provincial reps to be included but there should be an avenue where "Canada Cup" teams could win their way into the Brier to compete. To me, it's good to have the Yukon, PEI and Nova Scotia "earn" their spot.

Changes for this year's Brier - a pre-qualification round involving P.E.I., the Yukon, and Nova Scotia. Only 1 winner advances to the regular round. This allows a Team Canada slot for the 1st time. IMO, this was overdue. For Curling fans, this is the best avenue for watching games at the top level. The defending Olympic Gold Medal winners - the Brad Jacobs rink is the top seed. (N. Ont) Top teams include the Brad Gushue Team, Kevin Koe Team, and Team Canada - John Morris rink (the old K. Koe team) Not to be overlooked - Reid Curruthers, Jean-Michel Menard, and Steve Laycock. The brier, this year will not include such notables as Jeff Stoughton and Glen Howard. Play begins Sat. 27th with 2 draws.

If you're going to bring up goaltenders, you have to bring up their equipment too. There are many reasons why goal scoring is down. Goalies are better at what they do and are bigger and trained more, but the size of their equipment, including sweaters, makes the difference noticeable and has to contribute to less scoring in some part.

This and he can't hit the broad side of a barn with a pass.. Well since Nic Lewis did sign with Montreal....we'll see.

I was under the impression that there was a window where he could sign in the NHL after his KHL schedule was over. That's why I thought there might be time. Oh well.

Burmi would be an instant upgrade for the Jets. I'd regard playing for Maurice is the polar opposite of playing for Noel and I'm thinking Burmistrov would flourish under Maurice's system. But is there is time enough to get this done?