How (not) to deal with acute Brier withdrawal.
I enjoyed every end of the Brier — except for the end, period.
Although this portly pundit is the furthest thing from a curling maven, I love covering the sport’s major events.
That was especially true from March 3 to 11, when the Canadian men’s curling championship was held at the Brandt Centre.
In 30-plus years at the Regina Leader-Post, I cannot think of anything that has been more enjoyable to cover than the 2018 Brier.
It just felt so comfortable, so perfect, every day.
On many occasions, I sat in Row 2 of the media bench and took mental photographs, savouring the occasion.
Along the way, I broadened my expertise and learned how to differentiate A from B. For example ...
In-turn: The rotation applied to the handle of a stone that causes it to rotate in a clockwise direction and curl for a right-handed curler. (Definition courtesy of Curling Canada.)
Intern: Paige Kreutzwieser, a former Leader-Post intern who covered the Brier for The Canadian Press.
Oh, what fabulous fun I had annoying and alienating people on the media bench. I was such engaging company, in fact, that I usually had two or three vacant seats beside me.
There were, I should note, considerably more media members in the row behind me ... and the row in front of me ... but I shouldn’t take that personally, my mother tells me.
Perhaps people kept their distance out of sheer jealousy, considering my (cue fanfare) EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.
One of the highlights of Brier week was the opportunity to meet Peter Case, the New Brunswick lead.
Early in the Brier, as the media horde waited downstairs to do interviews, Case walked past us and jokingly snubbed the reporters. He was having fun with the fact that nobody had submitted an interview request form that included his good name.
So, the very next day, I requested an interview with Case. It turned out that he had never been interviewed at the Brier, despite being a sixth-time participant.
Case was absolutely great. The landmark interview (exclusive!) resulted in one of my favourite columns of all time.
But, me being me, I wasn’t satisfied with that. Therefore, I kept submitting interview request forms for Case, while including a bogus name and affiliation.
Example: Peter King, Sports Illustrated.
Another example: Anderson Cooper, CNN.
One more: Juan Evo Morales Ayma, Bolivian Curling Monthly.
I should note that the latter publication does not exist. There is, however, a Juan Evo Morales Ayma. He is the president of Bolivia. (Profuse thanks to Google for providing me with an authentic Bolivian name.)
Throughout the week, I was able to share some laughs with Case, who is one of the coolest people ever.
See also: Brian Starkell.
Starkell, the Nipawin fire chief, was the most vociferous supporter of Team Saskatchewan. His booming voice was clearly audible throughout the arena, and you could not miss his No. 23 Saskatchewan Roughriders jersey.
I simply had to interview this nice man, so I approached him after one draw and said, “Hi, Ronnie.”
After we both paid homage to No. 23, Ron Lancaster, a cordial interview began. Everything was going smoothly until I dropped my iPhone, which had been sitting on my lap for reasons that still elude me.
We did the interview in Row 1 of a lower-level section so, really, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to find the iPhone. It had to be under the seats, right? Nope.
I descended to ice level, figuring that the phone might have bounced and landed just behind what is ordinarily the Regina Pats’ bench. No luck.
By this time, Brian and his wife had both joined me in the search for the iPhone.
Then it hit me: “I wonder it it fell underneath the stands.” So, on all fours, I crawled underneath the section and pawed around until I found ... a patch of grease. Yuck!
Just to the left, there was my iPhone. Crisis averted, the inter- view resumed.
Meanwhile, back on the media bench, Leader-Post colleague Murray McCormick did the real work.
Murray was ultimately rewarded on the Brier’s closing Saturday when he received the prestigious Paul McLean Award, which recognizes significant contributions to curling by a member of the media.
It was a proud moment for Murray, his family, and the Leader-Post — and one more reason to absolutely love the 2018 Brier.
But, alas, I am now left to deal with the withdrawal symptoms.
Memo to Curling Canada: Please, please, please schedule another major curling event for Regina. Hurry hard!