Curling Recap: 1/27/12

Career game #164: 2012 Winter League - January 27, 2012

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Allen........ 110002100 | 05

M. Jackson... 001210011 | 06

Last Sunday in pickup curling, I happened to catch opposing Skip Murray on an off night. Not this week! He made some incredible shots. I made some shots of my own, but not enough, especially early in the game.

First, the ice conditions. The line was really, really tricky, and not always predictable. Seemingly unnoticeable differences in shots would result in your rock taking a completely different path. That meant you could sometimes make your take-outs...but not always, especially early in the game before we figured it out.

In the first two ends, we got early position, and that was the difference. After that, Murray's team started making the shots before we (especially myself) did, and his team pulled out to a 4-2 lead. In the 6th end, I made a draw, Murray missed the take-out, and then I made another draw, to score two. I forget how we scored in the 7th - maybe that was one of the ends in which the other team accidentally promoted us into scoring position. (That happened a couple of times on Friday. Never underestimate the value of rocks in play!)

Now...the 8th end. Important strategy decision! The opponent had the hammer and was down by one; here's the approximate setup before our last rock. (Our team = red)

Even though the lines were predictable, we could use most of the ice, which meant that we had options. I couldn't remember having as many options at such a key juncture of the game as we did with this shot.

If I wasted my shot, I was almost certain Murray would go for the take-out on rock #1, and sit two, for the win. With that in mind, I think we had four reasonable options.
a) Guard rock #1.
b) Draw another rock in the general vicinity of rock #1 to get a guard and/or second scoring rock.
c) Raise rock #2 towards the button.
d) Raise rock #3 towards the button.

All of these options are sort of related, in that if the goal is option a) and you're heavy, you might end up with option b). Or, if the goal is option d) and you're narrow, you might end up with option c). On arena ice, what would happen if you miss is a very important consideration.

I called shot c), for a couple of reasons. One, it was the most predictable line; there was a ridge down the middle of the ice, and I was pretty sure the rock would hold that line. Two, it was hard to place a guard exactly where it needed to be, and the odds of placing my guard effectively under plan a) were slim. And also, in an earlier end, I did play the guard...only for Murray to make the "double tap" anyway. Precise guards weren't proving to be of much use in this game. But most of all, I wanted to prevent Murray from winning the game on his final shot. For that to happen, I needed to be lying two after my shot (which eliminates option A), and not have a double take-out possibility (which eliminates option B). So, I called option c), with option d) as a "Plan B" in case I was wide. Take-outs weren't gimmes given the ice conditions, so leaving it open and hoping he would either miss, or roll the shooter out of scoring position, seemed like a viable option. Or, if I raised rock #2 well enough, it wouldn't matter, because I'd have an untouchable rock on the button.

But, I only kind of made the shot. I raised rock #2 into the rings, and enough for second shot...but NOT enough such that Murray couldn't tie the game with the open take-out. I needed a little more weight. Murray made the take-out, of course, but at least it was only to score one and not two. And that matters because of a new rule that I (as the club's League Coordinator) implemented this season: NHL-style standings! Two points for a win, one point for a shootout loss. So, our team's league record is now 0-0-1. (Oh, right...Murray beat me in the tiebreaker by about an inch. Ugh!)

So...it's annoying when your team plays well, and you lose anyway. And, this was my fourth consecutive loss in league play. But these streaks happen, both good and bad. I'm still confident that I can get the job done, and I think we have a solid team. Our next game is this Friday.

Sports Saturday: 1/28/12

This would be an appropriate time to talk about the passing of Joe Paterno, but, I don't know what I can really add to what is already out there. And, I admit, while I am obviously saddened, it hasn't affected me as much as it's affected many of my Penn State bretheren. It might be a different story were I still in State College and surrounded by the Penn State culture, but I never met Paterno, nor have any stories about how he "inspired" me or whatnot. For me, he really was just the football coach. For many others, however, he was so much more.

And, that's that.

College basketball - Generally speaking, all of the professional sports teams I follow suck. Thank goodness for Florida State athletics! Obviously, I'm talking about football and men's basketball, but I should also mention that the women's volleyball team made the Final Four this season.

While it's easy to take the football team's success for granted (the 1990s ain't coming back, folks), we're nowhere near that point in basketball. I've never been more excited about Leonard Hamilton and this team. Yeah, I was kind of critical a few weeks ago when I said "they just don't have a clue", but that was before they beat North Carolina and Duke. (And Maryland and Wake Forest, too. I was a little concerned they might drop the ball against Wake this week.)

Part of my beef was that FSU's last second plays for the tie/win almost always fail. But against Duke, Michael Snaer made a buzzer-beating three for the win. Finally, they got one! What was the difference? They didn't have any timeouts left! It came immediately after Duke tied the game with 5 seconds left, and with no interruption in play, so the defense wasn't set, allowing Snaer (considered the team's best scorer) to get open. When FSU calls a timeout in these situations, the defense knows what's coming (Snaer will get the ball, won't pass, and put up a bad shot) and can be prepared. If I were Hamilton, I wouldn't call timeout next time they're in this situation. Just let 'em play. Disclaimer: I am not qualified to be a college basketball head coach.

Florida State does not play this weekend, and neither does Penn State, so it's a good time to broaden my horizons. (By the way, NC State fans: did you really think you were going to beat Carolina this week?)
St. John's at Duke - Sat 12:00p, ESPN
Wake Forest at Clemson - Sat 12:00p, WRAL (ACC Network)
West Virginia at Syracuse - Sat 1:00p, ESPNU
Mississippi State at Florida - Sat 1:30p, MSG (SEC Network)
Virginia Tech at Maryland - Sat 2:30p, WRAL (ACC Network)
Kentucky at LSU - Sat 4:00p, MSG (SEC Network
Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan - Sat 6:00p, STO
Virginia at NC State - Sat 8:00p, ESPN2
Michigan at Ohio State - Sun 1:00p, CBS
Georgia Tech at North Carolina - Sun 6:00p, ESPNU

NHL

Last year, I was super excited about the NHL All-Star game. It was here in Raleigh, and it was the first year in which the players pick the teams themselves, fantasy draft style. This year? Meh.
NHL All-Star Skills Competition Thingy - Sat 7:00p, NBC Sports
NHL All-Star Game - Sun 4:00p, NBC Sports

Auto racing

It's the 24 Hours of Daytona (Sat 3:30p and Sun 9:00a, SPEED)! Yeah, we'll see how bored I am this weekend.

Want To See Pictures of Our Baby?

Before we had Marla, I think I remember saying something to the effect of, "I'm probably going to be that obnoxious person who is constantly posting pictures of my kid on Facebook." I don't know if that's come to fruition. Pretty sure many of my friends still have us beat. But I think I have all of my male friends beat. After all, most of the baby pictures you see on Facebook are posted by the mom rather than the dad, right? (For the record, Amber does post more pictures of Marla than I do, but I might post more frequently.)

Then, at a restaurant the other night, something occurred to me. Here I am, showing off pictures of Marla to some friends, just like that "obnoxious person" I thought I might become. Yep, it's happened alright. I think a compliment here and there ("oh, she's just so cute!") get to my head, to the point where I insist on showing everyone I know, and never leave the house without at least a few baby pictures stored on my phone. And what can I say? I'm a proud papa.

Well, Marla is pretty cute. But everyone thinks their children are cute. Are some parents just saying that? Or are all children truly "cute" in the eyes of the parents, because they (in theory) sort of look like mom and/or dad? If Marla has similar facial features to Amber, then Marla may remind me of my wife, whether I realize it or not.

By the way, I underestimated how nice it is to have a picture of your kid on your desk at work.

Of course, I know our respective families like seeing these pictures, especially because they only see us every few months. They're missing big chunks of Marla's development. By the way, she's not crawling yet, but can roll over several times in succession, to the point where we can't just plop her down somewhere and expect her to still be there two minutes later.

Marla turns six months old on Saturday. Maybe we'll celebrate by taking her somewhere. Gotta keep her (and ourselves) in "road trip shape"!

Kickball Hiatus

When Knightdale Parks and Recreation released their sports schedule for the spring, something was missing: co-ed kickball. Apparently, kickball won't be back again until the Fall. It figures, too. We were just starting to actually get good at it, and now they pull the plug on it? And how are we supposed to know that it actually will come back in the Fall, anyway?

Well...this leaves a void in "Gang Green"'s schedule for the next few months. Time to start looking at other options, I guess. For example...

Another kickball league: When it looked like the Knightdale kickball league was going under last year, I tried (well, not really) to nudge us in the direction of a different league, because there are other leagues out there. They may not be any better than the Knightdale league, but just think. A whole new group of opponents who have never seen my pitching or bunting before!

Or, we could go in a completely different direction. Among the options that were mentioned on Twitter among the various "Gang Green" teammates...

Softball: Knightdale still has a co-ed softball league, but that doesn't start until later. And, well, let's face it: I am nowhere near as good at softball as I am at kickball. Unlike kickball, softball requires using your arms, and for me, that's a problem. I can't throw a ball far (to say "I throw like a girl" is an insult to girls everywhere), and I can barely hit the ball out of the infield. And, worse yet, they don't let you bunt! I'm not all that excited about the idea of playing softball, but if that's what it comes down to...

Ultimate: I know a few people who play ultimate. It's popular among people our age (or at least a certain subset of it), and I'm sure it's great exercise. I think I'd be pretty good at it too - I can run well, and as a one-time avid disc golfer, I can throw a frisbee far and accurately. (Throwing a frisbee is a totally different mechanic than throwing a ball, and I am far better at frisbee throwing.) I'd probably enjoy it a lot...provided that I'm on a team with at least a few friends of mine. I'd never just join a random team out of the blue. Problem is, I doubt we could convert the entire team from kickball to ultimate. Is there such a thing as "co-ed ultimate"? I don't know any women who play ultimate.

Ballet: I'm not sure if this was a joke or not, but let's all have an open mind, shall we? I'm all for trying something new. (Except when it comes to food. And a few other things.)

Curling: Seriously, guys. With no kickball, that frees us up to all join the Triangle Curling Club! You know you want to.

Buffalo Wild Wings: Usually, the kickball team heads to Buffalo Wild Wings after each game. Anything preventing us from just going there anyway, game or no game? Nope. I imagine there will be some of this, at a minimum.

I pretty much just go with the flow with this sort of thing, so...you know, whatever.

Curling Recap: 1/20-1/22/12

The Triangle Curling Club's winter hiatus of sorts is over. Time to get back on the ice! It's been so long, I had completely forgotten that in my last official game, my team lost 11-1.

I'd like to get as many reps in as possible between now and "The Dykes" bonspiel in February, so I played twice this weekend. Both games were pickup games - "preseason", if you will. (The spot in the second game was really Amber's spot, but she declined, so I went instead. Amber will be curling on Sundays once the league starts again, though.) The next round of leagues start this coming weekend.

Career game #162: Pickup - January 20, 2012
(Note: Game was a 3-on-3 game played with six rocks per end, instead of the standard eight.)

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Allen........ 021202101 | 09

Foulger...... 400000010 | 05

Getting behind early in the game was a serious problem for me last season. Good to know I can still spot the other team a 4-0 lead after the first end! After that, we were pretty much in control, though.

But in all fairness, opposing Skip Andrew only has a few games under his belt at Skip. I've been there, and it takes a while to know what to expect with respect to ice conditions, etc. For instance, the ice did have a slight fall towards the center, but it was possible to get a rock to curl back from the inside out...if the weight was right. Rocks thrown at take-out weight fall and don't curl back, while rocks thrown at draw weight fall and do curl back towards the end. Andrew knew that, but there's still the matter of knowing where to put the broom to compensate for all of that, which...I have to say, that is the single aspect of Skipping that I think I've had the hardest time with, but I am getting better at it.

Since this was just a pickup game, I decided I'd try a "take out" strategy late in the game. On dedicated curling ice, it's standard protocol for a team with a lead to keep everything as open as possible and remove as many opposing rocks as they can. On arena ice, though, chasing take-outs can get you in trouble, so I usually just keep playing normally until at least the last end. But a preseason game offers a perfect opportunity to try a different strategy! Based on the final score, trying to remove every yellow rock I could worked out, but this isn't something I'll make a habit of.

Career game #163: Pickup - January 22, 2012

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Allen........ 1100102 | 05

Jackson...... 0012010 | 04

The feel of this game was entirely different, because unlike on Friday, both teams had one or more practically brand new curlers. Priority #1: help them along, and make sure they have fun. But when my turn to throw came up in each end...of course, the idea at that point is to win the game. I think I just take these pickup games more seriously than most.

So I get pretty nervous when I have a big shot coming up in a league game, or better yet, a bonspiel. In a pickup game, however...hardly any pressure at all. I made some clutch shots in this game, including two last-rock-of-the-end draws to the button: one against two opposing rocks to score one (I think that was in the 5th), and then the game-winning draw for two in the 7th. (But that game-winning draw wasn't completely pressure-packed, because had I missed, we still would have gone to a shootout.) Taking six weeks off from curling clearly had no effect on my ability to throw draw weight when I needed it. In fact, it might have even helped. From the standpoint of the upcoming bonspiel, maybe I would have been better off not curling this weekend at all! But what fun would that have been?

I'm also drawing (no pun intended) close to 100 career wins. Sunday was my 97th; will my 100th career win come at "The Dykes"?

League play starts this Friday. Yes! Curling is back.

Sports Saturday: 1/21/12

NFL - One thing I like about the NFL playoffs, as opposed to other playoffs, is that it's not a huge time commitment (at least relative to other sports) to watch the ENTIRE playoffs. 11 games over five weekends? Yeah, I can do that. (Especially with a DVR!) This is one reason why the NFL gets such fantastic TV ratings. You can't possibly watch every playoff game in other sports. (Well, I suppose you could...) Seven-game series are too spread out and take too long to finish. With the NFL, everyone gathers in one place, at one time. That helps it make for great "water cooler" talk, too, because chances are, a lot of other people were watching as well. And...no 9 PM weeknight games! NASCAR and golf are pretty much the only other sports that play at Chris-friendly times. Even the Super Bowl (TM) will be over around 10 PM, which isn't unreasonable. There's no question which sport has the best playoff system.

My primary rooting interest this weekend is that we don't end up with another Patriots/Giants Super Bowl (TM). Not because it wouldn't be a good game, but because I'm a fan of anything that's 1) different and 2) not located between Philadelphia and Boston, inclusive.

AFC Championship: Baltimore at New England - Sun 3:00p, CBS
NFC Championship: NY Giants at San Francisco - Sun 6:30p, FOX

College basketball - Florida State has, at times, looked awful this year. Against North Carolina last Saturday, however, they looked great! FSU can be a dangerous team when they're making their shots. (Yes, you could say that for pretty much any team.)

The best part about beating North Carolina or Duke? Living in the area, I get to listen to the local fallout all week! Locally, North Carolina and Duke are in the news most often not when they win, but when they lose. Truly spoiled fan bases we have here. So losing by 33 (I still can't believe the final score, by the way) to Florida State is unacceptable! Ha! It's been a good week. Let's do it again this week! Florida State at Duke - Sat 4:00p, ESPN

Penn State is clearly going nowhere this season, so I've been watching other Big Ten teams more often instead, such as Michigan State, and resurgent Indiana. Purdue at Michigan State - Sat 12:00p, ESPN; Penn State at Indiana - Sun 12:00p, BTN

NHL - I think it's time to start talking trades. The Carolina Hurricanes traded a couple of minor leaguers this week, but I imagine more changes are on the way between now and the trade deadline, whenever that is. (What, you expect me to know these things? I've never professed to be a hockey expert.) Carolina at NY Islanders - Sat 7:00p, FS Carolinas

By the way, my decision to not renew NHL Center Ice has proven to be a good one. I wouldn't have been able to get my money's worth this year. There are a few teams I would like to get to watch more often (Florida, Winnipeg), but I'll live.

(This weekend's nationally televised games: NYR/BOS - Sat 1:00p, NHLN; SJ/VAN - Sat 4:00p, NHLN; MTL/TOR - Sat 7:00p, NHLN; WSH/PIT - Sun 12:30, NBC)

Marla's Baptism Video

Here is the promised video of Marla's baptism from last Sunday.

The main reason we had it recorded was for the sake of Amber's side of the family, who weren't able to make the trip down from Toledo. But they'll getting a longer version - the "director's cut", if you will. This is the much shorter "YouTube" version.

Personally, I think it's just as fun to watch everyone else standing there watching (especially the kids).

Enjoy!