It's been a very exciting week at the Tim Horton's Briar being held this year in St John's NFLD. Team Gushue has held up well under the pressure of representing their province at home, buoyed on as they have been by the packed partisan crowd.
So far, only Team Manitoba has made it this far through the round robin with only 1 loss and currently sit atop the leader-board at 7 and 1. They are followed by Team NFLD who sit at 6 and 2; Team Canada (represented by Team Koe) also sit at 6 and 2; Team Northern Ont sit at 7 and 3 and Team Quebec sit at 6 and 3 then Team BC skipped by John Morris at 6 and 4. All other teams have at least 4 or more losses and are in danger of not making the play-offs with only one day to go in round robin play.
One of the most enjoyable and surprising teams in this year's Briar is Team Quebec, skipped by Jean-Michel Menard. Somewhat resembling the teams of yesteryear, Team Quebec is made up of a four guys who though not in the best of shape are somehow able to manufacture stunning take-outs, beautiful on-the-broom draws and always come with a never-say-die attitude. This in spite of Jean-Michel nursing a really bad hip that hinders his ability to come out of the hack smoothly - still he's made some killer shots to keep his team alive.
The other somewhat surprising team is that of Jamie Murphy's Team Nova Scotia who are also big fan favorites and manage to get their share of standing ovations for their skill on the ice.
I mention both these teams as they do not have the high profile standings of many of the other more well-known teams such as Team Canada, Team Manitoba or Team Northern ONT but have managed to get wins over the more favored in the running with a lot of determination, skill and effort. They are a pleasure to watch and a wonderful addition to this year's Briar.
As always, I am pulling for my favorites Team Northern ONT who admittedly have had their problems during the round robin especially Ryan Fry whose draw weight has failed him a few times and Brad Jacobs who has also struggled with draw weight though both of them are in the 90s with their hits. They managed a good solid win over Team Sask this morning.
The team sitting in first place after the play-offs will have won the honor of representing Canada at the World Curling Championship.
So far, only Team Manitoba has made it this far through the round robin with only 1 loss and currently sit atop the leader-board at 7 and 1. They are followed by Team NFLD who sit at 6 and 2; Team Canada (represented by Team Koe) also sit at 6 and 2; Team Northern Ont sit at 7 and 3 and Team Quebec sit at 6 and 3 then Team BC skipped by John Morris at 6 and 4. All other teams have at least 4 or more losses and are in danger of not making the play-offs with only one day to go in round robin play.
One of the most enjoyable and surprising teams in this year's Briar is Team Quebec, skipped by Jean-Michel Menard. Somewhat resembling the teams of yesteryear, Team Quebec is made up of a four guys who though not in the best of shape are somehow able to manufacture stunning take-outs, beautiful on-the-broom draws and always come with a never-say-die attitude. This in spite of Jean-Michel nursing a really bad hip that hinders his ability to come out of the hack smoothly - still he's made some killer shots to keep his team alive.
The other somewhat surprising team is that of Jamie Murphy's Team Nova Scotia who are also big fan favorites and manage to get their share of standing ovations for their skill on the ice.
I mention both these teams as they do not have the high profile standings of many of the other more well-known teams such as Team Canada, Team Manitoba or Team Northern ONT but have managed to get wins over the more favored in the running with a lot of determination, skill and effort. They are a pleasure to watch and a wonderful addition to this year's Briar.
As always, I am pulling for my favorites Team Northern ONT who admittedly have had their problems during the round robin especially Ryan Fry whose draw weight has failed him a few times and Brad Jacobs who has also struggled with draw weight though both of them are in the 90s with their hits. They managed a good solid win over Team Sask this morning.
The team sitting in first place after the play-offs will have won the honor of representing Canada at the World Curling Championship.
