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Here, I will keep older articles, postings etc. for those people who still want to reference them.
PHILLIPS JOINS HARNDEN & MINOGUE
AT THE 2002 PROVINCIALS "BIG" THANKS AGAIN TO JOHN HODDER,
ALONG WITH AUREL RIVET, BETH DYKALSKI
AND THE REST OF THE GREAT STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
AT THE LITTLE CURRENT CURLING CLUB.
THE NOCA APPRECIATES YOUR DEDICATION. NINE COMBATANTS GO HEAD TO HEAD
HERE THEY ARE! 1) SCOTT PATTERSON (hiding in the bush??)
2) TIM PHILLIPS (got the bullets, needs the gun)
3) CHRIS JOHNSON (keep the temper in control Chris)
4) ED PREMO (strong at the associations)
5) ROB LENTIR (Espanola's top dog)
6) GARY GRAHAM (sorry Gary, not familiar with you)
7) DAVE McDERMID (never take an Islander for granted)
8) MATT PAUL (sorry Matt, don't know you either)
9) TODD MALPASS (Mr. Mixed curling) Friday 8 PM 1) Chris Johnson (11) VS Matt Paul (5)
2) Scott Patterson (8) VS Todd Malpass (5)
3) Tim Phillips ( 9) VS Dave McDermid (3)
4) Gary Graham (9) VS Rob Lentir (3) Saturday, 9:00 am 1) Johnson (10) vs Premo (7)
2) Phillips (6) vs Graham (5)
3) Paul (2) vs Malpass (9)
4) Lentir (9) vs McDermid (8) Saturday, 2:00 pm 1) Johnson (5) vs Patterson (6)
2) Premo (3) vs Graham (9) Saturday, 8:00 pm A-SIDE
Phillips (7) beats Patterson (6) extra end
B-SIDE
Johnson (8) beats Lentir (3)
Graham (8) beats Malpass (6) extra end QUARTER FINALS
Phillips beats Johnson (7-6)
Paterson beats Graham (9-8) extra end
B -FINAL
Paterson beats Phillips (5-1)
SUDDEN DEATH FINAL
Phillips beats Patterson (6-5)
Team Phillips off to Provincial SUNDAY, 5:00 PM TIM PHILLIPS joins HARNDEN & MINOGUE AT PROVINCIALS
Well it worked down to the five o'clock sudden death final, but he finally pulled it off.
Scott Patterson (at 1:00pm) beat Tim Phillips 5-1 to force a final game for the BIG one.
To make a long story short, Phillips had to make an angle raise takeout to take two in the tenth for the 6-5 win over Patterson.
I talked to Tim after the game and he was struggling to put the win into perspective. He said it was hard to describe the win, Patterson had a great team, we made the big shot and it was ours. I want to see how he writes it up Tuesday in the Sudbury Star. Go ahead and brag, you deserve it.(I would) Posted by
Bud O'Donnell
Jan. 4/2002 What is this about Russ Howard being suspended from the World Curling Tour for two years because he entered the Tankard playdowns in New Brunswick.
Say it ain't so.
Why have the "elite curlers" found it necessary to boycott the Brier? Somethings rotten in Denmark. It's time for the tour and the CCA to kiss and make up. The game is at stake here. What's really going on with our game, eh? Posted Jan.6/02
E-mail from
Chad McMullan
Executive Director
World Curling Tour Subj: RE: Russ Howard suspension
Date: 1/5/02 4:04:12 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: CMcMullan@worldcurlingtour.com (McMullan, Chad (worldcurlingtour))
To: Budod@aol.com ('Budod@aol.com ')
Bud,
Thanks for taking the time to write. It's unfortunate that the fan is not
privy to the politics involved in the Grand Slam of Curling series. In a
nutshell I can tell you the following:
The goals of the Grand Slam are can be broken into two sections.
1) The establishment of a professional Tour and
2) better conditions for competitive players in CCA controlled events.
First let me state that every player that signed the Grand Slam agreement
wants to compete in the Brier. It is the best curling event in the world and
quite possibly will be forever. We will be sitting down with the CCA in the
very near future to hopefully find an amicable agreement between both sides
that allows any player to compete in both WCT and CCA events.
The main issues we need to resolve with the CCA are a uniform playdown
schedule across the country, and the ability to wear sponsor cresting at CCA
events. We need a longer pro season, one that doesn't end in December, in
order for our players to justify their sponsors' involvement. The players
earn enough money to compete by either winning it or by soliciting it from
sponsors. They need to provide value to these sponsors otherwise they pay
out of their own pockets, both financially and through holiday time at work.
We are not asking for the world here, and to the CCA's credit they have
begun to address the situation.
These issues are not new. They have been brought to the CCA's attention
dating back to the 70's. Eventually, as with any sport, the players had to
take a stand for what they felt was best for the sport.
Why do you think the PGA Tour is as successful as it is? It's because a guy
named Tiger Woods is playing in professional events every weekend on
television. Every "major" sport has come to a crossroads in it's history
where the players took a stand to develop a pro Tour. Once that Tour was
established, their respective sports became "major". Curling is unique in
that everyone can play in both cash and amateur events. There is no reason
for this to change. If we want to see a boom in young curlers registering to
curl we have to start marketing our athletes and providing more curling on
television than we currently do. I ask you this: What would get more people
into curling clubs, seeing it on television every weekend throughout the
winter or having open houses and "hot dog days" at your local club? I think
the answer is obvious.
In the case of the Russ Howard team, they left us with no choice. If they
are allowed to compete in both the GS and playdowns then every GS team would
be have to be afforded the same. If that was the case we would have provided
nothing new. Our formats of trying to bring more curling to television have
not been profitable over the past 3 years. Creating four more money-losing
events is simply not the answer. We sold this property to sponsors based on
the "exclusivity" of the players. Without it, we had nothing to sell. Please
also be aware that Russ has only been suspended from competing in the new
Grand Slam of Curling series, NOT regular World Curling Tour events. They
have chosen to stay with the status quo and as such, have not lost a thing.
Their season's will continue as they have since they began competing.
We are already starting to see the benefits of the Grand Slam movement. The
CCA has announced two new televised events for elite players to compete in.
They are now marketing the players (as every other major sport does). They
have also granted the players the ability to wear their own sponsor crests
at these new events. There is even a rumbling across the country's
provincial associations regarding a uniform playdown schedule. Don't think
that any of this would have happened without the top teams signing this
Grand Slam contract.
The Grand Slam is only the first step of many. No one is going to get rich
from the current prize purses. Teams are still paying entry fees in two of
them and they are paying their airfares and hotels as well. This is
something we are striving to eliminate in the future. The guys that have
thrown their support behind this endeavour will be long-retired before the
rewards of their actions are seen. For that reason alone, no one can call
these guys greedy. It is quite the opposite, they have sacrificed a chance
at getting to the Brier for what they feel is best for the future of the
sport, the fan, new sponsors, etc., and certainly not for themselves.
Sometimes a step back is necessary in order to step forward. Hopefully this
sacrifice is not a long-term one. Based on recent positive CCA actions we
have no reason to believe it will be and hope to have things back to normal
as soon as possible. The Brier will be a huge success this year, I have no
doubt of that, and honestly hope it is. If nothing else, we have brought
four more events to the fans' homes this year!
Hopefully the public will realize that the players' actions are for what
they feel is the best interest of the sport. If successful, that will become
evident in the coming years.
Regards,
Chad McMullan
Executive Director
World Curling Tour |
