In The Books

Well, another curling season is in the books. We managed a 10-8 win in the five-six game, which means we officially finished fifth. I've done worse.

Our vice Mark, the man who throws third out of four players, saved our bacon. He made two great hits which removed opposition scoring stones and left us scoring instead, and drew to the very button, the very center of the circular target curlers call the house, when that was all we had. I mean, if he's an inch short it could have changed the outcome. If curling had game rocks like football has game balls, he'd get it.

We caught some breaks too, stealing eight straight points (you're said to have 'stolen' points when you score without 'hammer', the last rock of an end) after giving up five in the first end (an end is sort of like a baseball inning, except teams alternate throwing stones rather than all bat/field at once). It's hard to win when they hang a five on you right off, but we figured it out. 

The thing, yesterday was a very rough day at work. Indeed this entire week is daunting. I hardly wanted to play last night. But I'm glad I did. The win makes work just a bit easier to handle.

A great curling match

Well, it weren't the most satisfying curling match I ever played in. That distinction belongs to the game where me friend Ron threw a triple kill lose the shooter which won us a league title. But it was a grand match just the same.

We caught some breaks last night and found ourselves up by 4 after two ends. An 'end' in curling lingo is vaguely related to an inning in baseball. They aren't really the same, and all analogies ultimately fail. But this one almost fits.

Then our opponents, great fellas themselves, they begin to chip away at that margin. They score one in the third end, and we caught a huge break that they did not score more. But they continue the pressure, and steal a point in the fourth end. It's a 'steal' when you score at least one point without hammer, which is the last rock thrown in an end, just so's ya knows. We blank the fifth end (an end where there is no score, no rocks being left in the house, the scoring zone), which means we chose not to score in order to keep hammer, the last curling stone of the end, in our control.

Then the blokes go off and steal the sixth end. Bastards. But they played the end well and won it, hat's off to them. That's as it should be. You make the shot, you merit the accolades. But now were're only up one.

Then our vice, throwing skip rocks (the last two rocks of the end; I called the game but threw vice rocks) makes a great hit with peel weight (peel meaning a stone thrown rather fast attempting to get many rocks out of play) and we score in the 7th end to be up by two points. The game appears to be ours.

But despite some great shotmaking, we surrender two in the Eighth end. The score is tied. Now we gotta win the 9th, the Extra end.

There are not many extra ends at our level of play. As it were, four of five league games went the extra end last night. A true rarity. Yet for our game we had the advantage of shot stone, the last rock of the end in play.

I tried to call the line wrong. You see, last night we did something different. I called the game but threw third, the five and six stones. My good friend Mark threw skip rocks. And he hit just right with the last stone of the game, so that we score two and win.

It was a grand game. It's why I curl. Thanks, boys.