Thought you folks might like an idea of how the gals spent the time between games while in Ottawa. You will have to guess who is whom. Maybe we will have a contest. 

Mission Accomplished, (sort of)

Hello sports fans, we're back from the land of frozen.... to the land of, well, frozen. It is -23 degrees here in Unionville and I am going to smack the next tree hugger who tells me we all have to drive smaller cars and separate our organics from our non-organics and send more money to Costa Rica in order to stop the scourge that is Global Warming. Wake up and stick your head outside people!

Anyway, Ottawa was a great trip for "She who makes my sun shine" and I, we saw some great curling and two nice old curling clubs and met some lovely people. For our ladies it was as close to being a perfect trip as you could have expected. It started out with a close win over Jo Ann Rizzo and ended up with a close loss to Jo Ann Rizzo. Along the way our heroes got to play some tough teams on some challenging ice and gain valuable experience for the upcoming Ontario STOH which will be held at the Rideau Club in January.

Early on Friday, (7:30 AM!) our gals played the first of two games they had against Ann Merklinger. Ann gave them a spanking for the first time in 8 matchups to put them down into the B draw for some more practice, after which it was tough sledding to the semi-final where they returned the favour to Ann and then went on to play Jo Ann who was having a great weekend, along with her 3rd, Cheryl McPherson, they curled the lights out and won the big prize of the day. Nice gals, well earned win. Congratulations Team Rizzo.

Meanwhile, our gals, by winning second place, can claim an entry into the Canada Cup in Kamloops which is being held in March this year. Looks like this edition of the Canada Cup will be a family affair from Ontario. Wayne Middaugh and his team qualified for the CC, as did Mike Harris on whose team toils Trevor Wall hubby of our beloved Kirsten and Wayne Tuck, who won second place in the Mens side with a close loss to Brad Gushue of Nfld., will also be in Kamloops along with good friend Kim Tuck who plays for Ms. Rizzo.

They could rent a houseboat and make a real trip out of it.

All things considered, a good time was had by all and our team looked good, played well and acted like the class act they are. Mrs. Frosty and I were proud to tell people who we were cheering for and I soaked up the compliments like a love starved puppy.

I had a great time, wish you could have been there. More later.

We're off to see the Wizard(s)

Mrs. Webby and I are off to the land of frozen canals, petrified Senators, doll stomping dim witted MP's and great curling and I couldn't be more excited.

The lineup for the Canada Cup East is terrific if not exactly full. Our gals drew a bye in their first game and do not start until Thursday morning around 10'ish at the Rideau Club. I notice a similar bye or two on the mens side. Hard to believe they had trouble filling this up.

I will cheer enough for you all, maybe sneak in some pasta at Mama Theresa's and if I am lucky I will pick up a Beaver Tail near the canal.

Back on Monday to report what REALLY happened. Check the LINK below to be taken to the official website.

Cheers

One Down, Lots more to come

Our gals won their Zone 10 qualifying game this afternoon in Gravenhurst. No details yet at press time but a win is a win. On to the Regions in Norwich on Jan. 7/9.

Great news.

Team Middaugh is headed for Karuizawa Japan. 

Team Middaugh is Gonnago to Nogano

Team Middaugh is going to Japan. Specifically, to the town of Karuizawa in the Prefect of Nagano, Japan. Here is an excerpt from the official announcement from uber coach Pat Reid.

"Team Sherry Middaugh has won the right to represent Canada at the Karuizawa International bonspiel in Japan. We have accepted the invitation.

The Canadian men and women's team are selected by the CCA based on points accumulated over the calendar year 2004. A qualifying team must have at least 2 La Releve athletes in order to be eligible.

"La Releve" is a talent identification program for High Performance sport with the objective of identifying and training the next generation of "stars" in sport. It is a program in effect for all sport in Canada and Curling has received considerable funding because of our record of achievement in World Championships and Olympics.

Both Kirsten and Sheri are in the program and our whole team is engaged along with them in a consistent training and development program......thus we are eligible."

Team Middaugh was the top points team given the eligibility criteria and therefore were the selected Canadian Womens Representatives.

The Team leaves for Japan on Feb. 1 and returns Feb. 10. Needless to say, everyone involved is happy for the girls and we want to say a big thank you to their respective employers and for the stay at homes who support their travel in so many ways (Thank you Grandma/pa) for being so generous in allowing them the time off for this once in a lifetime experience.

The Webguy has calculated that if he buys $234,786.12 worth of Christmas presents on his Air Miles Visa card he may have enough points to get a standby ticket on Air Chance to go along and support the Team.

Gonna run now, gotta go shopping. TWG

Calm before the Not so Calm.

Here it is Sunday, Dec. 5 and our gals are not locked in a dramatic game somewhere far away. Just a little time to give the nerves a rest before the busy season starts.

Zones next weekend, Dec. 12, in Gravenhurst. If my little birdie is correct, there were three teams signed up and in what must be a first, our gals drew the bye. This means that they play their first and potentially only game on Sunday afternoon.

Might be a nice drive to Gravenhurst on a Sunday. Stop at Weber's for a cheeseburger, pick up some wild blueberries from a roadside stand. What's that!! The Dark Lord (ess) who runs things around here is telling me that it is winter, no Weber's, no berries. OH NO, Auntie Em', say it ain't so!

Maybe I will just watch it on TV, surely CBC will be covering the Zones. I can see it now, Mike Harris and some CBC sports hack and then Skippy, the CBC designated import huddling around the van at the Tim's in Gravenhurst trying to read a map and find the local curling club.

Curling is great fun, isn't it. I just love our government and it's propaganda arm being in charge of bringing us our curling fix.

News item. Today marks the sad end of 20 years of TSN shaping, supporting, reporting and teaching curling to Canadians. I, like many others, will sorely miss LindaRay & Vic, whom I learned to love and respect over the years as they demonstrated time and again a pure understanding of and devotion to our beloved sport of curling.

There is no joy in Mudville.

PS: For those of you who are big fans of all things Middaugh, be sure to pick up the December issue of MaCleans Magazine at your local news stand. Nice pic and article on M&M's favourite couple.