NF Heckuva Curling Final

[JohnF]

Sooooooo close! She came down to that last end so many times in the tournament and pulled it out. This time she missed by a few degrees. Oh well, silver/s pretty good.

 

JF

[danbouck]

I usually don't watch curling but it was a great game

[Dutch]

I shouldn't have even come down to the last end - they really should've won it in the 9th and she missed that shot too.

 

Bernard played well and kept them in it in the earlier ends, but when the pressure was on, she was not on her game.

 

Silver is fine, but it is 100% not gold.

[knightfisher]

Another medal for Canada is good.

However Canada lost the gold on this evening by not playing smart.

At the end of the ninth up by 6-4, is was a no brainer.

Tenth end, just continue to take every rock out of the house and

allow Sweden to draw for one. Canada would of won.

Very disappointing loss.

Cheryl Bernard did Canada proud, but knows she blew this one.

[Bill Shearer]

Right on Knightfisher!

At the end of the day,we should still be very happy.

Puts more pressure on Martin and company though.

[Guest gbfisher]

Another medal for Canada is good.

However Canada lost the gold on this evening by not playing smart.

At the end of the ninth up by 6-4, is was a no brainer.

Tenth end, just continue to take every rock out of the house and

allow Sweden to draw for one. Canada would of won.

Very disappointing loss.

Cheryl Bernard did Canada proud, but knows she blew this one.

 

Easier said than done....

A silver is reason to celebrate as curlers do after a good game....

[JohnF]

Another medal for Canada is good.

However Canada lost the gold on this evening by not playing smart.

At the end of the ninth up by 6-4, is was a no brainer.

Tenth end, just continue to take every rock out of the house and

allow Sweden to draw for one. Canada would of won.

Very disappointing loss.

Cheryl Bernard did Canada proud, but knows she blew this one.

 

This is why the free guard rule was conceived. But other than that it's a great theory.

 

JF

[TJQ]

Silvers good but she could have won that game twice. That being said... the pressure must have been enormous!

[canadadude]

Brutal, is all I can say. I curled competively for over 10yrs and an open hit to win the gold is a gift, an easy nose hit and it's over not even having to save the shooter, anything but jam it easy oooops. The an easy double to win the gold oooops inside no chance what a choke, just plain brutal at that level of play, Cheryl snatched defeat from the hands of victory.

[canadadude]

Easier said than done....

A silver is reason to celebrate as curlers do after a good game....

It don't get any easier open hit for the gold basicaly a no brainer, brutal my gut hurt for an hour after that miss, can you say CHOKE. Poor Cheryl and the rest of the team will have nightmares for years after that game

[JohnF]

Brutal, is all I can say. I curled competively for over 10yrs and an open hit to win the gold is a gift, an easy nose hit and it's over not even having to save the shooter, anything but jam it easy oooops. The an easy double to win the gold oooops inside no chance what a choke, just plain brutal at that level of play, Cheryl snatched defeat from the hands of victory.

 

Would we have seen you in the Brier then? No, probably not, as all the skips who've ever competed there have missed a few "easy" takeouts. Musta been some tough league you curled in if no one ever missed.

 

JF

[Radnine]

Brutal, is all I can say. I curled competively for over 10yrs and an open hit to win the gold is a gift, an easy nose hit and it's over not even having to save the shooter, anything but jam it easy oooops. The an easy double to win the gold oooops inside no chance what a choke, just plain brutal at that level of play, Cheryl snatched defeat from the hands of victory.

 

 

Um...ouch dude.

It is a tough loss because it is a clear case of not coming up big under the pressure.

But, ouch man.

Jim

[canadadude]

Would we have seen you in the Brier then? No, probably not, as all the skips who've ever competed there have missed a few "easy" takeouts. Musta been some tough league you curled in if no one ever missed.

 

JF

We all miss easy takeouts, the difference here is this one was for the gold medal, if you don't make that shot you don't deserve the gold, simple. I know it and Cheryl Bernard know's it as well, I'm just saying you couldn't have been given a better shot to win gold CHOKE!!!!!

 

Sorry guys I call it like I see it, it may sound harsh but it is what it is. I don't think Cheryl will be happy with silver either on the bright side it may motivate her to get back to the olympics, much like Kevin Martens draw in the 2006 olympics motivated him to get back.

[canadadude]

Another medal for Canada is good.

However Canada lost the gold on this evening by not playing smart.

At the end of the ninth up by 6-4, is was a no brainer.

Tenth end, just continue to take every rock out of the house and

allow Sweden to draw for one. Canada would of won.

Very disappointing loss.

Cheryl Bernard did Canada proud, but knows she blew this one.

Actually Dan they played the 10th perfectly, just missed the easy take out and jamed it

[Rich Clemens]

I don't think there is anyone in your country that feels worse that Cheryl does right now. I watched the match as well and really wanted to see Canada bring home the gold. But - it was not to be

 

How about just celebrating what the women were able to accomplish and be proud of that ? They had to make a heck of a lot of other good shots to make it that far. Oh yeah - Our USA team was out of it after the first couple matches.

 

Celebrate the accomplishments and don't pour salt into wounds that are already hurting. None of us could have done any better - even though we 'think we can' from our own easy chair.

 

Sorry - but a couple of the comments just seemed to rub me the wrong way as I just have a lot of respect for my Canadian friends and neighbors.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Rich Clemens

[dks]

While I was disappointed she didn't win, I was very proud that she lost gracefully. Unlike other athletes her team accepted defeat and showed true sportmanship in losing gracefully. She did herself and Canada proud.

[JohnF]

We all miss easy takeouts, the difference here is this one was for the gold medal, if you don't make that shot you don't deserve the gold, simple. I know it and Cheryl Bernard know's it as well, I'm just saying you couldn't have been given a better shot to win gold CHOKE!!!!!

 

Sorry guys I call it like I see it, it may sound harsh but it is what it is. I don't think Cheryl will be happy with silver either on the bright side it may motivate her to get back to the olympics, much like Kevin Martens draw in the 2006 olympics motivated him to get back.

 

 

Betcha she'd have preferred a 12 foot draw or corner freeze to double. Just because these guys are the best doesn't mean they are guaranteed to make every shot. If this stuff was a given why have the games at all?

 

Sorry dude. I also call 'em as I see 'em, too, so apparently you and I are seeing different hockey and curling games.

 

JF

[HTHM]

I suppose eveyone who is denigrating the shot(s) that she missed would have made them themselves....

[JohnF]

While I was disappointed she didn't win, I was very proud that she lost gracefully. Unlike other athletes her team accepted defeat and showed true sportmanship in losing gracefully. She did herself and Canada proud.

 

She was very gracious in defeat. I liked that. Naturally I wish she'd made one of those game ender shots in the last ends but she did her share. All through the competition she won ends after her front end or in the last game the third had missed the setup. That's what a winning skip does.

 

I don't know if non-curlers understand how close that last shot really was to working. They knew she was inside the broom right from the release so they swept for all they were worth but they couldn't keep it on the outside. It probably needed to be about a cm straighter to make that shot. It's just like angles in billiards. If she'd been too wide though she'd have jammed on the second rock and still left Sweden counting. Contrary to resident expert opinion there were lots easier shots she could have had to wind it up.

 

She and her rink played great for Olympic rookies. The winners are very experienced in it.

 

JF

[bigfish1965]

She has a medal and she is smoking hot...so she wins in my books

 

I can't tell you how many time I missed a hookset on a fish by setting too soon or too late even though I know better...so I get it.

[greyhawk]

All great comments on a valiant effort! Cheryl and team played well throughout the tourney and she pulled her team out of trouble spots more than once!!!. Our empathy for her misses suggests our true Canadianism, however, at the end of the day, and Cheryl knows this all too well, she choked not once but twice. At this level of play - we're not talking club play for the championship nor provincial playdowns - that double takeout should have been a piece of cake!!!!!!!

[JohnF]

All great comments on a valiant effort! Cheryl and team played well throughout the tourney and she pulled her team out of trouble spots more than once!!!. Our empathy for her misses suggests our true Canadianism, however, at the end of the day, and Cheryl knows this all too well, she choked not once but twice. At this level of play - we're not talking club play for the championship nor provincial playdowns - that double takeout should have been a piece of cake!!!!!!!

 

Bernard's not the first skip to miss a big shot, and she won't be the last. The winning skip booted a few in that game as well. She was just lucky enough not to have to make a clutch shot for the win.

 

My son used to play a lot of competitive golf. I was constantly amazed at how he and the others could stay so steady when it was all on the line. And we know that even the greatest pro golfers aren't always totally in control, even Tiger. It's what competition is all about - being consistently great and making the most clutch shots under pressure.

 

JF

[canadadude]

Betcha she'd have preferred a 12 foot draw or corner freeze to double. Just because these guys are the best doesn't mean they are guaranteed to make every shot. If this stuff was a given why have the games at all?

 

Sorry dude. I also call 'em as I see 'em, too, so apparently you and I are seeing different hockey and curling games.

 

JF

We 're watching the same game, in the 11th her draw chances were gone on the botched peel from the vice who's shot rock guarded the draw to the button. She peeled the guard and knew she needed to be left the double for the win, which she was.

 

The bigger miss was in the 10th, jamming the Sweed rock. I mean Cheryl played the strategy part of the game perfectly it was just the exicution on 2 easy take outs that cost her the gold. Both these misses were not difficult or circus shots these were easy take outs, the one in the 10th I figured was the game, it's the type of shot you want you play the whole the end for.Perhaps drawing to an open house would be easier, but thats not going to happen at this level, the open take out and not having to stick around is the next best thing.

[JohnF]

We 're watching the same game, in the 11th her draw chances were gone on the botched peel from the vice who's shot rock guarded the draw to the button. She peeled the guard and knew she needed to be left the double for the win, which she was.

 

The bigger miss was in the 10th, jamming the Sweed rock. I mean Cheryl played the strategy part of the game perfectly it was just the exicution on 2 easy take outs that cost her the gold. Both these misses were not difficult or circus shots these were easy take outs, the one in the 10th I figured was the game, it's the type of shot you want you play the whole the end for.Perhaps drawing to an open house would be easier, but thats not going to happen at this level, the open take out and not having to stick around is the next best thing.

 

They say that at this level the draw to the 4 (if not the button) is the skip's bread & butter shot but how many of those easy draws have we seen the top skips float through the house, or come up short? We saw it in these Olympics, in fact in this game by the ultimate winner if I remember correctly. As for flashing an easy hit, that's not exactly unheard of for these guys, so missing an angle double is not a particular surprise. I'm sure Bernard was pretty confident about the shot but either she pinched the broom, misread the ice (she later admitted to it being a bit of a guess for that line), or they missed on the sweeping. There are so many ways of screwing up on any of these shots. You know that. The ice can change during the game, the slide path gets flat, and the pebble rubbed down.

 

My point is that even the best curlers are gonna miss some shots. No one is perfect.

 

JF

[JohnF]

Both the Swede and the Swiss skips struggled to close out their bronze match, but in the end the Swiss pulled it out. They both had trouble with draws (w/backing). Ironically just before that the Swede skip executed a beautiful quadruple takeout, even dumping his own shooter. That had the commentators ooooing and awing. It was almost exactly the same initial setup as Bernard's last shot but the last two rocks were lined up perfec tly. All he had to do was throw a sub six second takeout.

 

And he gives it some extra extension to boot.

 

JF