Contacts: Chris Semrau
Ralph Engelstad Arena Director of Media Relations
(701) 777-4379 semrau@theralph.com
2008 WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCEMENTS
GRAND FORKS, ND – The Local Organizing Committee of the 2008 World Men’s Curling Championship is exited to announce the following appointees have accepted positions for the event:
Donald F. Barcome, MD: Honorary President
Mr. John Aasand: Master of Ceremonies – Opening Banquet
Mr. Mike McNamara: Master of Ceremonies – Closing Banquet
HONORARY PRESIDENT
It is a tradition of the World Men’s Curling Championship to offer the title of Honorary President to someone who has made a major impact on the sport of curling. The Local Organizing Committee believes there is no one more fitting to serve as Honorary President than Donald F. Barcome, MD. As Honorary President, Dr. Barcome will be part of all official ceremonies and will help ensure that our guests from around the globe enjoy their visit to Grand Forks.
Donald F. Barcome, MD
Donald Barcome, MD has filled many roles within the curling community.
· Team Coach of the 1977 Junior World Bronze Medalists and the 1979 Junior World Champions
· Past President of the Grand Forks Curling Club, United States Curling Association and the World Curling Federation
OPENING BANQUET – MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Mr. John Aasand will preside as Master of Ceremonies over the opening banquet at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, Friday, April 4 at 8 PM. Tickets are $50 each and are still available for purchase. Opening banquet tickets may be purchased by calling 701-777-6641 or at the Ralph Engelstad Arena main office.
Mr. John Aasand
John Aasand has had an exciting and long-lived curling career, locally, nationally and internationally. Mr. Aasand has also been the owner of the Extra End Bar in Grafton, ND for more than a quarter century.
· Member of the 1972 US National Men’s Championship team that lost on the infamous “kicked-rock” in the 10th end against Team Meluschuk, of Manitoba, Canada. This led to the “Curse of LaBonte,” where it was seven years before Canada won the World Championship
· A nine-time ND Men’s State Champion – (state record)
CLOSING BANQUET – MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Mr. Mike McNamara will preside as Master of Ceremonies over the closing banquet at the Alerus Center, Sunday, April 13 at 7 PM. Tickets are $50 each and are still available for purchase. Closing banquet tickets may be purchased by calling 701-777-6641 or at the Ralph Engelstad Arena main office.
Mr. Mike McNamara
Mr. McNamara is a visible part of the local community. With a highly-rated talk show and involvement in many charitable and civic organizations, Mr. McNamara has become one of the more visible Grand Forks residents.
· Host of MacTalk on KNOX Radio
· A Major in the US Marine Reserve with two tours to Iraq
· Grand Forks City Councilman, a husband and father of four
www.worldmenscurling2008.com
_______________________________
Chris Semrau
Director of Events / Media Relations
Ralph Engelstad Arena
One Ralph Engelstad Arena Drive
Grand Forks, ND 58203
(701) 777-4379 Phone
Visit the World at the Ralph April 5-13!
Single draw tickets as low as $15 for the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship.
Seats available by phone at 701.772.5151, online at ticketmaster.com and at the Ralph Box Office.
Don, do you know if there is wireless access in the Ralph? Would like to do some live blogging if possible.
JH
Yes, Jeff there is. Please drop me an email with your plan & I will pass it to Chris Semrau - Event Media Manager - for you to get instructions...
Thanks Don, will do. Another very important question. Do the TV's in the Ralph get ESPN and broadcast TV? The Masters starts on Thursday that week and the early rounds are on ESPN. At least you probably want to make sure a certain person's suite gets those channels. ;-)
Congrats on the Honorary President role.
What networks are broadcasting the live games for mens worlds
It is supposed to be on WCSN right now but it doesn't seem to be. CurlTV is also broadcasting it outside of the US right now as well.
Yeah... I don't get it... CurlTv says to go to NBCOlympics.com. But then NBCOlympics.com says to go to WCSN.com... But WCSN doesn't have the game playing
What is going on?
Finally working now on WCSN.
I'm in Wisconsin and this is what i get from WCSN when I try to watch...
We're Sorry!
Your data indicate that you are prevented from watching this game due to live broadcast restrictions. WCSN.com live and on-demand video products are subject to availability and change. For international viewing blackout restrictions, check the specific blackout restrictions.
Where and how am i suppose to watch this game????????????
did you try Curltv? Maybe your ISP has a Canadian address?
Yes I have tried CurlTV. and this is what i get from them
USA Broadcast Restrictions
Due to television broadcast restrictions in your area CurlTV.com would like to apologize that we are currently unable to provide you video access to some games for this event Please visit NBC Olympics for more coverage.
So then i try NBCOlympics.com... they say go to WCSN... but WCSN also has restrictions for me...
Sounds like you are screwed.
Do you have to pay the $5 month fee to watch the games on WCSN?
No, registration was free for me.
Did anyone try CBC webcast last night? Does it work from the US? Watched the game on CBC Bold on the satellite.
Fun Article - nice to have things like this being writen in our local paper:
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=72311§ion=home...
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=72624
USA vs CZE
USA is down 6-1 at the half-time break!!!!!!
Too many mistakes.....could of had 2-3 in the 5th but Craig makes two big errors. OUCH.
Lucky that they beat Norway.
Miss the draw to the 8 foot in four as well. Need to bounce back here.
Not gonna win them all but have to beat the "weaker" teams.
It's a Bohemian Rhapsody :)
Ya....Bohemia rocks eh?
CurlTV commentator is brutal on the US...or is that just me?
Not really. Just telling the truth, when you gas a draw through the house what can you say but "really bad".
Did the US replace Annis? missed this end.
Is Pete not playing lead because of illness, injury or performance? The USA is not out of this thing yet!
why is the CBC doing the coverage and why can't they put them on the regular channels instead of the dull programming they now show.
Pete was shooting 98% when they took him out. They just wanted Kakela to get in the game in front of his home fans. Pretty classy move actually.
that may be, but i read the blog on the website for the event and that guy claims pete's had knee problems throughout the year and went to ice his knee.
"American lead Pete Annis left the game shortly thereafter, but to aleviate any rumours, he was seen icing his knee. Annis has had some knee problem this year, and the team saw an opportunity to give him some rest. Kevin Kakela joined the lineup at lead stones, and Brown made a valiant effort to comeback, but fell a point short in the end, by a score of 7-6."
http://rockintheralph.curlingzone.com/
How much longer are the USA team going to trip over themselves? how lucky can you get? Time to gel before you end up watch the semis from the bar.
well they seemed to be geling just fine untill their lead had to leave the game. hard to finish strong when you're doing line up changes after the 7th end every other game. Annis has had knee problems for a while now and you'd think he'd take some time during one of these off seasons to get into shape. He's not doing his team any favores on the bench.
Or why not sit Annis for a game against a "weaker" opponent like China. Has to be hard on the team to have a new player come in at the end of the game. Different release for the sweepers to read and the skip to read. No feel for the ice for sweeping or throwing. Tough situation for everyone involved.
From the couple of games I have watched on the web, they just seem to be overthrowing it slightly, not bad, maybe 2 or 3 feet. But that affects the curl on that ice. Backline vs top 4 is a whole different amount of curl.
Anyone else having problems e-mailing Team USA? I've tried the link on the USCA site, and it comes up with a lot of "java." I don't see a link through the Rock the Ralph site.
Any options for me?
My best guess as to the email address for would be either teamusamen@usacurl.org or teambrown@usacurl.org. I'd give it a try sending an email to one of those (or both) and see if it goes through.
USA loses to Ozzies :(
Could we be witnessing another meltdown similar to the ladies?
In like lions...out like kittens????
How come I coould watch cbc the last 2 nights and tonite I can not? This is starting to suck.
Let's hope for at least 5-6 and some Olympic points. The results have been disapoining
That chinese team can curl. After going down 3 in the first to Canada they steal the 11th for a 6-5 win!!??!! After watching the womens team medal, look out.
Bye Bye US
Not so fast, they have a few more games and are now 5-4. Yea they need some help but still have a chance. They look like they are playing beter and could get hot now..... I just hope its not to late
GO USA
The USA guys have the potential and I think they are getting it together to put in a good tough ending of the week - they want to be in the top 4!! Go USA ~ you can do it!!
I will gladly take some of that large bill-fold off of the Personal injury attorney from mpls. to throw the game tonight. After all we're already the 1 seed, we are the Best team in the World, and Morris really needs the money. Tell the Double Doctor I'm going to need One Large ( thats 5 zeros ) otherwise we pound them into the Salt of St. Paul..... K-Mart
That might be the funniest thing I have ever read on here. Good stuff.
YANKS TANK!!!!!!!
No surprise
To get a potential tie-breaker....
Norway must lose its last game.
USA must beat Canada
Right, easy-peasy gents....yahhhhhhh....sure
Not toast yet, but the toaster is warming up.
Seems that my prediction was true after all. In like lions, out like kittens.
MEOW!!!! :)
The US beat all of the semi final teams except for Canada. Throwing Canada out, they were 5-5. The winning percentage of the 5 teams they beat .564 and the winning percentage of the 5teams they lost to was .364.
What that sounds like is a situation of not being able to get up for games against the weaker teams. They might benefit from using a good sport psychologist, as some teams, including Colleen Jones' old team did.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Murphy - Dartmouth NS
http://www.maritimecurling.info
I was at the World's and need to bring people up to speed. First, Annis does have knee issues, but the match was beyond saving because the USA team wasn't playing well. Canada and Australlia both made switches in their match for the same reason. Second, the Team Brown has a long ways to go to compete with Canada. The scores don't say enough about what is happening. Team Brown is not cohesive, they don't agree. I watched Kevin Martin at the Brier and at World's and it doesn't get any better. He is decisive yet he listens to his team. His team respects him and trusts him. Martin had a 26 game win streak going into the China match.
Brown and his third were chattering like valley girls about what to call. I felt sorry for them.
Seemed like they were deer in the headlights most of the time. I originally thought one can blame that on youth, but these foks have been around. Lack of focus and self dicipline most likely. I hope they were able to take somethng away from their poor performance and improve upon it.
On the other had, Kevin is a good strategist that can control nearly all situations. The chain of command is impressve on this team.
Tis toast ladies and gents....warm, "brown", crunchy, buttery TOAST :)
Better luck next year guys....
Go Scots!!
Holy Bat Crap!!! Scots beat the Canucks!!!
Did anyone else notice that the final draw that Kevin missed was almost exactly the same shot that he missed in the final of the 2002 Olympics? Same side, same path, same turn....same result, a foot heavy.
If that's not spooky, I don't know what is. Some serious international demons at work here.
It was a strange game. The Scots just kept fighting back but Canada maintained control throughout. In the ninth end, Martin thought Johnny Mo was a bit aggressive on a sweep call (which probably would have been the ball game), but they are still tied up coming back with hammer and then the last shot like you said reminiscent of one we have seen before. Of all the Canadian rinks, with due respect, I've always thought Martin was the best, but the fact that he hasn't made it to the top of the podium at an international competition is a little mind boggling. Their sweepers are incredible, Morris consistently out shoots his counterparts, and Martin makes the difficult shots look routine. I still wouldn't bet against them provided of course Martin doesn't have to make an out turn draw to the four foot (slightly sarcastic - I still think he's the best). By the way, I still like the way our US guys played. I believe the chemistry is fine on this team, first time for Rich and Pete and they did well. The team just never quite got the whole thing put together whether it was broom, call, execution, or something else. I like our teams Birr, Brown, Disher, Fenson, Laraway,and others we are developing some depth here.
clutch
What a great event and it will likely be a wonderful final! The Grand Fork group did a great job and hats off to DBZ. I am sure that the WCF will be back there!
What a great event this was. GF and the host committee put on a great show. I watched many of the US games. They lost 4 games on last shot. Very easily could have been in the final four. But they were great representatives. Took pictures with fans, handed out bracelets, pins and signed pictures to every single kid or adult that wanted them. Congratulations on a great year Team USA! I am sure you are a little disappointed but you guys gave it your all and were in almost every game.
The Geeter gives the Brown rink a big thumbs up for finishing 6th this year at the World Curling Championships.
I am damn proud of ya! Let's make it to the play-offs in 2009!
Hooray and Long Live America! + Rich Rhohonnen (US 3rd) for US Supreme Court of America!!!
Your Pal,
"The Geeter"
Section 102 Ralph Englestad Arena Home of the UND Sioux The greatest hockey fans in the World
Congrats to DBZ and the committee on a great event.
Team USA lost a couple of close ones that could have gone the other way. Believe they finished 8th in the final count based on head to head.
I would like to add my congrats to DBZ too, what a great event and the facility is absolutely incredible. Grand Forks was great too we pretty much drank (and ate) our way across the city. JH - you may be right and I may be dreaming this, but I thought I heard Pete or someone say on WCSN that they actually use the shootout to determine rankings which would leave the US in 7th. They both thought that it was a bit odd that something as important as Olympic points was determined by a shoot out, but I think that's what I heard anyway. Anyway, a super event and a good time was had by all.
clutch
Thanks Gang - we did have a great committee, and an awesome group of over 400 volunteers. Very gratifying to have over 51,000 in paid attendance, over 5,600 at the final game, and the GF Curling Club raising over over $25,000 (net) for the 50-50 & cleaning the seat area after draws. The arena's year-end is June 1st, so we will know soon what the club's 15% interest in the bottom-line will be.
The tiebreaker for standings is the same formula as is used for playoffs: head-to-head 1st, then DSC (draw shot challenge). There will be discussion about this at the WCF this summer/ One idea, which I like, is to use some number of the 11 pre-game draw to the button for hammer.
Australia gets 6th since they beat both the US and Germany. US gets 7th since they beat Germany.
Hopefully that is the way it worked. Hugh did confirm on Sunday that they got 6th.