Penton: Brier features rare ‘grudge’ match

By Bruce Penton

Rarely, if ever, has a game at the Brier involving New Brunswick been must-see TV. But if you follow curling and are a dedicated viewer, it’s likely that last Saturday night’s battle in Lethbridge between James Gratton of New Brunswick and Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, in the field representing Team Canada as defending champion, was one you wouldn’t want to have missed.

In a sport known for its pre- and post-game handshakes, its extreme sportsmanship and overall gentlemanly approach, usually followed by post-game mingling with the opposition over cool refreshments, this particular curling game had ‘grudge match’ written all over it.

Last December, you might recall, Bottcher’s long-time third, Darren Moulding, was basically fired from the team, after great success, including three Alberta titles and one Canadian championship. Reasons for his departure were vague, but it seems it was a matter of bad chemistry involving team personnel, not to mention concerns about how the business side of the team — money, baby, the root of all evil — was handled. The cut came with all the class of a clique of high school girls shunning one of their classmates.

To say there were hard feelings from the Moulding camp, harder than the granite used for curling stones, is an understatement. Bottcher tried to frame the split as a mutual decision, which Moulding immediately called “BS.” He said he was especially hurt about not being able to curl in his home-province Brier.

It didn’t take long, however, for Moulding to land on his feet and regain an opportunity to curl in the Lethbridge Brier. Gratton, who last year led the Brier standings in the early stages of the week, winning four of his first five games, juggled his team’s lineup to create an opening at third. It didn’t take Moulding long to accept the invitation from Gratton, who has represented New Brunswick 14 times. Gratton finished 4-4 last year, just missing the playoffs, and was 3-4 the year before, one win out of the playoffs. Perhaps the addition of Moulding will be enough to push the rink over the top this year.

Regardless, Moulding really only cared about winning one game — the one vs. Bottcher. As for post-game drinks? Not likely.

• Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “A cargo ship packed with luxury cars caught fire and was aimlessly adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Sort of the nautical equivalent of the L.A. Lakers.”

• Boyce Garrison on The San Diego Union-Tribune, after country singer Trace Adkins was chosen to perform the national anthem before the Daytona 500: “Snoop Dogg must have been unavailable.”

• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Commissioner Roger Goodell, when confronted about the NFL’s apparent systemic racism in not hiring black head coaches, said ‘we have to do a better job’ and ‘we believe in diversity. Translation: Tsk, tsk.”

• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: “Los Angeles held a Super Bowl victory parade for the Rams. Highlight: Brief diversion from nightmare that is the Lakers season.”

• Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated, on long-winded and bombastic basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale’s recent throat surgery: “Dickie V has been instructed not to speak, which is like telling Joey Chestnut not to eat.”

• Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com, after Medina Spirit was disqualified as last year’s Kentucky Derby winner due to a doping violation: “So two of the last three horses who crossed the Kentucky Derby finish line first have now been disqualified. It’s enough to make you long for the purity of pro wrestling.”

• Vancouver comedy guy Torben Rolfsen: “(Phil) Mickelson was trying to use the Super Golf League as leverage against the PGA to get what, … more caviar in the players’ tent?”

• RJ Currie again, on numerology: “Yesterday’s date was 2022-02-22. That’s the biggest load of number two since Novak Djokovic tried to BS his way into the Aussie Open.”

• Dwight Perry again: “The next time ‘Do you believe in miracles?!’ — coined by Al Michaels 42 years ago — will next be uttered when: a) the Detroit Lions win the Super Bowl b) baseball owners come out the winners in the players strike c) the Russians go an entire Olympics without testing positive.”

• David Whitley of the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, on MLB not testing players for steroids for the first time in 20 years: “In totally unrelated news, Barry Bonds announced he is stepping out of retirement and will bat cleanup for the Giants this season.”

• Jack Finarelli of sportscurmudgeon.com, on the stalled baseball talks: “Neither side is worthy of praise or support. If you ‘take sides’ here, you are merely selecting the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs.”

• Headline at fark.com: “Due to their success on the field and general wealth in Cleveland, Browns raising season ticket prices for fourth straight year.”

Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca

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