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The Norway Pad is the next generation of brush pads. Utilizing M-Brush Technology this brush pad increases effectivity, decreases the amount of energy needed for sweeping and lasts for a whole game without getting wet. The Norway Pad is available exclusively through Goldline Curling.

The Norway Pad is a newly developed extra firm, waterproof pad offering less resistance on the ice surface. Due to it's unique construction it 'polishes' rather then breaking down ice pebble, allowing the curler an increased frequency of sweeping while expending less energy.

The Tim Hortons Brier returns to Saskatoon for 2012, and this year presents us with a very intriguing field with two obvious favourites: Alberta’s Kevin Koe, and Ontario’s Glenn Howard.  These teams, along with four others, could reach the playoffs and make some noise on the weekend.

Howard is 1-4 in the last 6 years in Brier finals, add an upset loss to Stoughton in the 2009 semifinals, and an overall 3-7 record in Brier Finals when including his games with brother Russ and you wonder how this stains his reputation on an elite team.

"Choker" is such a dirty word in sports,  a title no one wants to be called. I wouldn’t assign that to Howard now, but in his early days as skip they did lose some big draws they shouldn’t have: two provincial finals after being a strong favourite (2004 to Mike Harris, 2005 to Wayne Middaugh) and nearly giving away a big lead when he finally won his first Ontario Tankard in 2006, again to Middaugh.

Jump to the 2006 Brier final, Howard as the class of the field only losing just one game in the round-robin, to give up a couple very bad early ends spotting Jean-Michel Menard with 4 stolen points to single-handedly hand over the game to the upstart Quebec team.  If there was ever a definition of choking, I believe this would be it.

But in 2007, things changed for Howard.  The last minute change prior to the final forcing Steve Bice into the lineup after Brent Laing left due to the birth of his child, likely forced Howard and team to focus more on the moment at hand, thus dispensing Middaugh again. After the win, the team walked into the Brier and dominated the field, losing only one round-robin game to Martin before slipping in the Page 1v2 game to Brad Gushue. Howard rebounded with a semifinal win over Jeff Stoughton and then took advantage of some youthful impatience to claim the Hamilton Brier trophy.

Howard went off to Worlds and posts one of the most dominant performances by a Canadian team, only losing a meaningless game to USA’s Todd Birr late in the Round-Robin and claiming World Championship Gold.

Since this win though, Howard has struggled in finals, but I have a hard time considering that he has “choked”. Choking implies being the favourite and outside of the 2010 Brier final against Kevin Koe, where Blake MacDonald stood on his head in the final to win the championship game, you can’t say Howard has ever been the favourite.

In 2008 in Winnipeg, Martin dominated the week, the beginning of the Fit to Curl revolution was evident in the team of John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert, who defeated Howard three times to claim the title. Howard came out of the three-four game, defeating Simmons to get to the final, but held the hammer to start the game, and used it effectively to win.

2009 in Calgary, Martin was the host province favourite, and cruised through the week, starting every game with the hammer and going undefeated. Howard lost a tight Page 1v2 game to Martin, and then struggled in the semifinal, losing to Jeff Stoughton.

In 2011 in London, Stoughton was the week’s best team, reaching the final and holding the hammer and best record.  Howard had to defeat his arch-rival Martin in the Page 3v4 game and then Gushue in the Semifinal to get an opportunity at Stoughton. Problem was, only 1 team has ever won the Brier coming from the three-four game (Koe in 2010) and the effort required made him the strong underdog.

This is the year for Howard, and while it may seem like Kevin Koe could do it again to him, I don’t hold a lot of merit in the reasons why. Howard has had yet another dominant season, while Koe has struggled to find consistency with his squad. Howard is sitting second on the CTRS and Order of Merit, winning two Grand Slam titles and reaching the Semifinals in the other, while Koe sits sixth overall on the CTRS without a Tour victory to his name.

Howard holds a dominant advantage over Koe, a 14-4 record over the Alberta skip since he stepped back into the house again in 2006, including a 5-1 record this season. Howard’s confidence playing Koe is night and day different when compared to the other Wild Rose rock legend. If anyone has a right to feel snake-bitten, it’s Koe who has also lost three Grand Slam finals to Howard, and five Grand Slam finals overall. In addition to his 2010 Brier title, Koe has the 2008 Canada Cup title to his credit as well.

The other factors I considered to come to this pick is the big-game experience of Wayne Middaugh at Third Stone and the change of dynamic this brings to the Team Howard lineup, and the game that will really matter will be Thursday evening, which should go a long way in identifying who will win this Brier. Winner here gets the hammer in the Page 1v2 game and likely in the final as well.

I’ll pick Howard to win this one, and carry the all important hammer (and favourite tag) into the playoffs, and the Middaugh/Simmons matchup will be all the difference this time for Howard to prevail. Lock it in.

Finalist: Kevin Koe, Alberta

The question remains, can Kevin Koe get to the final? Outside of the other challengers, none have a lot of success against Koe, and you know he’ll place high during the week. Give Koe the hammer against everyone else, and they’re tough to beat.

Playoff Bound: Rob Fowler, Manitoba

My third pick will go to Manitoba’s Rob Fowler, a hugely underrated team who wins a lot of games. Overshadowed by Jeff Stoughton and Mike McEwen, Fowler holds his own in the Grand Slams, rarely missing the playoffs. He has Howard’s number to an extent as well, and I predict Fowler will jump ahead of the “other four” with a win over Howard in the Round-Robin.

Fourth Place: Brad Gushue, Newfoundland & Labrador

A strong team and they’re likely the only of the “other four” I can see winning the whole event. Gushue has big game experience and put his team on his shoulders last year and got them into the Page 1v2 game. After a switch in November, the young front end of Adam Casey and Geoff Walker have gelled and the results on the season show this team is always dangerous.

Tiebreakers:

Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs and British Columbia’s Jim Cotter are again on the brink. Jacobs has been playing well, I just wonder if they play these big teams enough to be able to beat them when it counts. Jim Cotter and his team of Kevin Folk, Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky finished the year strong, reaching the semifinals in the most recent Grand Slam event, and they’ll be a team to watch this week.

Shooting for .500

Quebec's Robert Desjardins has been in contention in Quebec, losing several finals before breaking through at third with Francois Gagne last season. “Bob” has stepped back into the skipping shoes and finished the job this season and will be a team to be careful with here.

The Rest of the Field:

I’ll rank the rest of the teams together, I can’t see more than 4 wins out of any of them, unless one decides to go and beat all the other teams down here. Ice conditions are not what any of these teams are used to, and several surprises from normally strong representatives make predicting success a difficult proposition for these teams.

Team Saskatchewan and Scott Manners is a great feel-good story, but I hope the home crowd doesn’t boo them late in the week when they’re trying to scratch out a few extra wins. Bruce Korte would have likely been able to get into the .500 group, but missed two makeable shots to give Manners the opportunity to be the Cinderella darlings. On a side-note, when Saskatchewan is hosting the Brier, I’m not sure putting their provincials into a club facility is the best way to send a well-prepared team who might win the first Brier for Saskatchewan since 1982.

Jamie Koe and his Territories squad just don’t play enough down south, he put a great run together with three friends and ran to the final in the Red Deer Classic, but I’m afraid he’s showing up to the party lacking a lot of ammunition to work with.

Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy, PEI’s Mike Gaudet and New Brunswick’s Terry Odishaw were all minor surprises out of their provinces, but again it’s going to be a struggle for these teams.

Slider Thickness - slider speed increases with the thickness of the Teflon™, ¼” being the thickest and the fastest. Every curler should be looking for optimal slide with a minimum of leg thrust. For most curlers excessive leg thrust results in instability. Experienced curlers who are accustomed to the ice and do not have stability concerns usually prefer a fast slider, whereas less experienced curlers usually want to balance speed with stability. It is important to keep in mind that inexperienced curlers generally have low leg thrust and, if they are equipped with an excessively slow slider, the result will be an unsatisfactory delivery.

Hinged Front Slider - sliders that have a thickness of 5/32” or greater tend to be rigid, limiting any heel elevation during delivery. The Podium sole itself, not the slider, is designed to afford the appropriate degree of longitudinal flexibility. Rigidity also results in constant heel rubbing during walking. By splitting the front from the back slider and “hinging” the front slider, the negative effect of rigidity is eliminated on Podium Gold and Silver shoes.

Lateral Stability - stability during delivery is best achieved by distributing weight equally across the width of the sole. During delivery the natural tendency is for weight to be shifted to the outside of the sliding foot. The outsole on the Podium series is expressly moulded to incorporate a lateral stabilizer in the ball of the foot. The result is even distribution of weight across the slider, a wider balance platform and enhanced stability.

Warmth - insulation throughout the upper and air cushioning in the sole ensure warmth on all Podium models.

Comfort and Fit - careful attention to materials and design afford slipper like comfort from the first time Podium shoes are worn. Further, the Silver model is available in both REGULAR and WIDE fit. Unlike most curling shoes, ladies Podiums are built on specific women’s moulds.

Quality - most shoe manufacturing relies upon a high volume production line. Only high end shoes are still produced in lower volume “hand made” factories. The entire Podium line is produced in such an environment – guaranteeing careful attention to quality and detail.

1" 1 1/8"
Carbon Fiber 170 g 200 g
Fiberlite 270 g 300 g

Replacement Brush Heads

Replacement Brush Heads Synthetic vs. Hair - testing has shown hair and Synthetic heads to be equally effective in regular conditions. Some feel hair is more effective in frosty conditions. Such conditions exist at televised events where TV lights and crowds create a warm environment and ultimately frost on the ice. Such conditions seldom exist in club play. Hair is a natural fiber subject to breaking, and the effect of a rock running over a hair can be profound. Goldline hair heads are pure horsehair and the hair is set with epoxy to minimize hair loss.

The remaining three players from the lineup, Jan Betker, Marcia Gudereit and Joan McCusker reunited this weekend with Sherry Linton for a special invitation to play in the International Bernese Ladies Cup in Switzerland. And qualified! The team began listed under Betker, but after a tough first game, Joan McCusker took over the skipping duties.

Mike Harris' knowledge rubbing off on her a little?

The team plays in the Quarterfinals again Suzanne Birt at 2am Eastern time. A side-note on Birt's trip to Berne, which was a result of winning the Curl Atlantic Championship in September, a new event built to give teams in the Atlantic regions more opportunities to play on arena ice and travel abroad. This should setup Birt well for upcoing Scotties playdowns.

Congratulations to the Goldline TCA Men's Bonspiel Champions, Greg Balsdon of Richmond Hill in the Open Division, Gary McCullough of Thornhill in the Senior Division and Mike Shields of York in the Senator Division.

Some Quick Hitters:

Check out our Ladies Sale on Goldline.com and in our stores! All Ladies shoes 25% off!

Delays in the birth Jill Officer's child Camryn may see her miss her expected return date to Team Jennifer Jones in the Manitoba Scotties. A big loss for the team in what will be a hotly contested provincial with Chelsea Carey and Cathy Overton-Clapham also in attendance.

Ontario Challenge Rounds are taking place for the Scotties, and Tankard East and West playdowns. Sherry Middaugh punched her ticket to the Provincial Scotties in Kenora, after a great season. If Middaugh can win the Provincials, she'll set herself up well to claim the 2nd Olympic Trials berth directly to Winnipeg as she's sitting 2nd on the CTRS list, with Jones already qualified through.

John Epping's playdown season is also over, dropping two games in the East Challenge Round, completing a stunning fall after reaching the final of the GP Car & Home Grand Slam event in Sault Ste Marie in November.

In Alberta, the Junior Men's and Women's playoffs are now set, with Semifinals and Finals going Sunday, beginning at 9am Mountain Time from Medicine Hat.