The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Novak Djokovic talks sense over Australian Open. Breaking the Ice see
The Continental Cup was so much fun last week – and even more fun when you win, of course.
Beating a Canadian team in front of their own fans in a sport they love is as enjoyable as it gets.
Team Europe haven’t had many wins down the years, so to make it two in a row feels like a pretty big deal and is another example of the strength of curling in our continent.
The team morale was brilliant. It was just like I imagine it being for Europe in the Ryder Cup. It really does make a difference to how you perform.
For ourselves, we’re just trying to keep the winning run going.
We’re in the middle of a Grand Slam in Yorkton. After winning the mixed doubles at the end of the year, then the Perth Masters and now the Continental Cup, it definitely gives you the taste for lifting trophies.
Burning issue
This has to be the coldest weather I have ever experienced. It’s been -32 but has felt even lower.
It’s so cold you wouldn’t think about going outside unless you really had to.
They were having problems with the ice at the arena here because of the temperatures. They haven’t been able to heat it up as much as they would have liked to get a little more curl, which is what you want ideally.
“Straight ice” isn’t the best for the elite teams.
When you’re putting as many layers on as you can find the situation out in Australia just feels like another world. It’s so sad what has happened there. Sport really isn’t anywhere near the top of the list of priorities out there but the organisers of the Australian Open have tried to push on with their qualifiers as best they can.
They have maybe been a bit too keen.
You can’t have players complaining about breathing difficulties.
Novak Djokovic knows what he is talking about and when he speaks about the potential for cancelling the tournament, you really have to listen.
The weather seems to be changing for the better so hopefully big decisions won’t need to be made.
But, in the grand scheme of things, calling off a tennis tournament when a country has been ravaged by fire really wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen.
Spotlight on Dodson
You can understand the flak the SRU chief executive Mark Dodson is getting now that people know he has been paid nearly £1 million for a year’s work, including big bonuses.
I know it’s above curling in the food chain but you don’t get the impression that rugby is a sport awash with money.
What I would say is a bit unfair, though, is equating Dodson’s pay with what has happened on the pitch at the Rugby World Cup.
That’s down to the coaches and the players not the chief exec.
You have to separate the business side of a sport from what happens on the playing field.
It’s human nature to feel that such a big sum of money doesn’t feel right, especially when the national team has been under-performing, but the bottom line is he will have been set targets and if he has met them then he has earned his pay.
You can understand the flak the SRU chief executive Mark Dodson is getting...