Fine welcome to the MCA, eh?

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Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Team Brown�s Kroy Nernberger (left) and Derrick Casper watch their opponents� rock at the Granite Thursday.

Embracing the true spirit of the event, where adjustments are hatched on a shot-to-shot basis, the Craig Brown rink had to make some changes on the fly Thursday.

The Wisconsin foursome, looking to get a little ice time in as they ready for the U.S. national championships in a couple weeks in Philadelphia, transformed into a three-piece for the opening round of the 124th MCA Bonspiel when their skip got held up in travel earlier in the day.

Coming from San Francisco, Brown's flight was delayed two hours in the Bay Area, only to be delayed another six hours in Denver en route to Manitoba.

The rest of the team -- third Kroy Nernberger, second Matt Hamilton, and lead Derrick Casper -- drove up from Madison and rolled into Winnipeg at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon when they found out about the change of plans.

No big deal, they said.

"We haven't decided the lineup yet, but the campaigning has already started," Nernberger said prior to the 6 p.m. draw, as teammates muttered their intentions to skip under their breath.

"The only thing that we may be lacking in is sweeping," added Hamilton.

Careful what you wish for: The 22-year-old foreshadowed his own fate with those comments, as he did the bulk of the broom work in the 5-1 win over Ste. Anne's Murray Woodward team at the Granite Curling Club.

Ultimately, it was Casper who handled the last rocks, with Hamilton and Nernberger throwing three stones apiece to offset the missing player. Casper, 30, said he's never had to go with three players during a bonspiel, noting the alteration in normal game routine just added to the experience of playing in the MCA.

"This is on everybody's to-do list as far as curling goes," Casper said. "It's something we've wanted to do for a long time; we just never had the opportunity until now."

That high esteem of the MCA echoes the sentiment of Brown. Earlier in the week, the two-time U.S. national champion (2000, 2008) said he was looking forward to the different environments of the storied event.

"Put it this way: If you're a big golfer and you love the game, you want to go to Scotland and play the big courses there," the 36-year-old said. "I think Winnipeg is a bit like that when it comes to curling."

While not many would see the Granite or the Thistle in the same light as historic St. Andrews or Royal Troon, the old ice barns are part of the cache the MCA holds for those raised in the sport -- even those who aren't from around here.

The bonspiel guarantees teams six games, and the veteran Brown hopes to play in a different club each time during his stay. Understand, the event takes part in 17 venues in and around the city, so he might get that chance.

What quality of opponent awaits him remains to be seen, though.

"We know you're going to get some competitive teams and you're going to get some guys who are just getting drunk and having a great time all weekend," he said. "We'd like to win some games and play as long as we can."

Which brings us to the obvious question: What happens if they slide through and snag one of the five berths up for grabs to the Safeway Championship in Dauphin next month?

Can't happen, CurlManitoba says. To be eligible for the provincial men's championship, teams must be residents of Manitoba. If a visiting team were to win a berth, they would default it and the invite would go to the runner-up.

Obviously, that leaves the Americans out in the cold, but this scenario has already come up with the group once before.

"We actually won a berth into the northern Ontario provincials this season," Brown said. "It would be fun to claim that we have berths in multiple provincial championships in one year. Obviously, we couldn't play, but it would be fun to say that."

The 124th MCA Bonspiel continues today through Monday.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 20, 2012 C4