In the zone as reporter, too

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/01/2010 (6043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’M packing a few extra things in my curling bag this week — a voice recorder, notepad and pen.

My assignment: Try to win a spot in the Safeway Championship through the Winnipeg men’s zones, and write about it at the same time.

I promise accurate coverage, but not always when my team plays. It may not be the sweepers’ fault if one of my draws sails through the rings, but it doesn’t have to be reported that way.

It helps as a reporter to be on the ice and hear everything the players are saying. But the next time you curse your skip for not giving you the right ice, be careful — I might just have my notepad handy.

It’s been different interviewing guys I battle almost weekly on the Manitoba Curling Tour. But maybe if I give them good write-ups, they’ll be kind to my team the next time we play.

Bryan Zachary wasn’t too kind to the press on Tuesday night. He gave me and my Deer Lodge team all we could handle in our opening match at Grain Exchange. We won 7-6, but not before Zachary pushed us to an extra end in a game that lasted nearly three hours. Doesn’t he realize I’m on deadline!

If your team made some spectacular shot on Tuesday and the press didn’t report it, be understanding — I had my own game to focus on!

But I will find time to watch other games. After all, I’ve been assigned to cover the event.

And I won’t just interview curlers about the Grassie team. But if you are asked to talk about us, I expect you’ll say nice things, especially about the skip.

ZONE NOTES: Eugene Desjarlias would be the first tell you he was a long shot to knock off No. 1 seed Kerry Burtnyk last night. But at least he knew it could be done after beating the former world champion 12-11 in the 2007 zones. The West Kildonan skip says he also lost a close game to Burtynk in the zones another year.

"This will be our rubber-match," Desjarlias joked Wednesday afternoon.

Desjarlias said it was going to fun to duel Burtnyk again, no matter how the scoreboard looks.

"It’s always a pleasure to play a top team," Desjarlias said.

One giant-killer this season has been Victoria’s Jim Conacher. On Tuesday night, Conacher beat No. 11 seed Andrew Wickman 6-0 with the same team that upset Vic Peters in the A-final at the senior zones last month (Peters won the A-B final). Conacher will play Rob Cosens of West St. Paul tonight.

sean.grassie@freepress.mb.ca

Wednesday night zone results

 

7 p.m. draw

A side

Kerry Burtnyk, Assiniboine Memorial 10 Eugene Desjarlais, W. Kildonan 4

Peter Nicholls, Deer Lodge 6 Dan Dixon, Victoria 2

Brendan Taylor, West Kildonan 8 Larry Dreger, West Kildonan 6

Vic Peters, Fort Garry 7 James Scott, Fort Rouge 4

Dave Elias, West Kildonan 10 Collin Sundell, Victoria 3

Bob Sigurdson, Granite 7 Gord Green, Charleswood 6

Mike Mahon, Deer Lodge 3 Doug Riach, West Kildonan 1

 

B side

Dave Smith, St. Vital 10 Justin Reynolds, Thistle 2

Jay DeFoort, Fort Rouge 8 Mark Franklin, Fort Rouge 7

Andrew Irving, Heather 6 Ian Beavis, Fort Rouge 4

Andrew Wickman, West Kildonan10 Joel Marcon, St. Vital 6

Kelly Lauber, Pembina 8 Corey Chambers, Pembina 7

Barry Swain, Thistle 8 Jim Kirkness, Fort Rouge 6

Mike Hebert, St. Vital 9 Bryan Zachary, Granite 8

Dave Watt, West St. Paul 6 Troy Hamilton, Fort Rouge 4