KEVIN

While distinguished and well-respected athletes in their own rights – Ronaldo and Lance Armstrong are hanging up their hats – Kevin Martin is still going strong. They don’t call Kevin Martin the “Old Bear” for nothing. He’s still ripping, roaring, and clawing his way to curling championships at the ripe age of 44. K-mart currently sits on a throne as one of the greatest skips currently still professionally competing in the sport of curling. The Old Bear is one of the greatest curlers in the current curling world and it might be years before he hangs up his rock.

Curling is often made the butt of Olympic game jokes. A little over a year ago on 60 minutes, Andy Rooney, said of curling, “the dullest Olympic sport is curling, whatever curling means”. Charles Barkley has said, “Curling is not a sport. I called my grandmother and told her she could win a gold medal because they have dusting in the Olympics now.” How would the Old Bear respond to such statements? Well, I think he’d give those comments a hearty Canadian chuckle.



When I think of Canada a few things come to my mind – Labatt Blue, Wayne Gretzky the “Great One”, and Curling. I also think of the lakes, the mountains, the forests, and the hills – "a place of peace, the repose of the mind". Like the beauty inside of Canada - Curling has an inner beauty. I think many Americans nitpick at curling because they don’t see the beauty in its complex simplicity, the sportsmanship involved, and the intense competitiveness and difficulties of these chess matches on ice. Instead it is easy to notice the sport’s “lack of glamour” – and perhaps lack of physical toughness that is made apparent in other sports such as hockey and football. Well, if that’s the case, consider curling the equivalent of a nice game of golf... on steroids.



K-mart's Canadian Curling team won Olympic gold in 2010 as they went undefeated in round robin play, beat Sweden in the semis and eventually knocked off Norway for the gold. Now, in 2011, it’s March Madness in the curling world. From March 5-13, The Brier, will be taking place in London, Ontario. K-mart will seek to become the first curler to win five Briers as a skip. Then as the final four in basketball kicks off on April 2 in Houston, Texas – 1800 miles away the World’s Men Curling championship will be taking place in Regina, Saskatchewan. It will be interesting to see how K-Mart comes out in these upcoming events. We might not have the young Terps to root for this March in the field of 64, but we surely we will have the Old Bear to support.

A little background on the Old Bear – he’s married to Shauna Martin (Honey Bear) and has three children, Karrick, Kalycia and Mykaela (three little bears - possible future curling champions). He is the owner and operator of Kevin's Rocks-n-Racquets. He has owned his own business since 1991. Prior to that, he was an ice maker. He also runs curling academies at the Saville Sports Centre. He has a resource management degree from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. (source: wikipedia/Kevin Martin)

Folks, Curling rocks, it is aboot time it’s sweeps through America. Check in over the next few months on B-W Blogway for results of all the curling action going on around the world and get updates on Kevin Martin. Let’s Go Old Bear!!! It's hammer time!!!

It's not just a rock. It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, with a beveled underbelly and a handle a human being can hold. Okay, so in and of itself it looks like it has no practical purpose, but it's a repository of possibility. And, when it's handled just right, it exacts a kind of poetry - as close to poetry as I ever want to get. The way it moves.... Not once, in everything I've done, have I ever felt the same wonder and humanity as when I'm playing the game of curling. ~Paul Gross, John Krizanc, and Paul Quarrington, Men with Brooms

Valentines Weekend - Hardest Weekend of the Year to spend without a Significant Sports Team

I’m going through a rough time with my relationship to the sporting world. So far this weekend I have not watched one sporting event. Recent Maryland Terrapin Basketball losses have been dragging me down, I thought this year’s Ravens team was the one, and I really was convinced that they were going to the Super Bowl, but then those dreams quickly came crashing down once the second half kicked in against the Steelers. The dissapointment of local sports teams has given me a sports heartbreak. This weekend, I’ve been trying to break off my love affair with sports, but everything I do keeps reminding me of what I’m missing. Tonight I picked up a few various NECCO Candy Sweethearts and each one reminds me of sports…


PURR FECT – Ohio State Basketball team – You no longer have a perfect season after the loss to Wisconsin today. You’ve been dumped. You just lost your sweet lady # 1 spot to Mr. Kansas.

LOVE BIRD – Vladimir Guerrero, you are going to help fill up some seats at Camden Yards, at least for the first couple weeks of the season. Many are looking forward to watching these new Birds come April.



BEAR HUG - Steelers Big-Bearded Brett Keisel, you need a giant bear hug after that Super Bowl loss…literally, a hug from a giant bear.



HEAT WAVE – Miami’s hot – Heat, you are on a roll. You’ve won 8 in a row – will the Celtics be engulfed by your flames or will they stop, drop, and roll past you guys at 1PM tomorrow?


SUNSHINE – Tom Brady.


HOME SICK – Come on wizards, you’ve been in D.C for 37 years now, it’s time for you to leave the nest, get your stuff out of the Southeast Division basement in D.C, move out and get a win on your own now on the road…You are 0-25 on the road - Come on guys! - Get a road win tomorrow - Cleveland's a great place to start. But watch out - Clevelands hot... They just won a game and ended their 26 game overall losing streak.

I’ve had enough, I’m tearing up, I need to get back to watching sports, I can’t go on without them. I’m turning on the TV, Wichita State vs. Northern Iowa at 11:30 at night… You've never looked so beautiful. I missed you sports. Happy Valentines weekend sports fans. I hope everyone's significant sports teams have been winning and treating everyone right. If not, there are many other big games in the sea.

- Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Sunday Feb 13 1PM
- Washington Wizards AT Cleveland Cavaliers Feb 13 6PM

Lacking Leadership

Two quick points...

1) The Terps are lacking leadership.

You can't blame this on anyone in particular. Maryland's seniors, Bowie and Tucker, are role players and losing a player like Greivis Vasquez is going to leave any team yearning for someone to step up. The squad's best players are underclassmen, and expecting them to carry the team in both the box score and in the locker room is a little much. The Terps will continue to show flashes of greatness this year, but without a leader on the court, they will be hard pressed to put together a solid 40 minutes night in and night out, especially in must-win games, like this evening's Duke game.

2) We might have an open blogger position for Thursdays, stay tuned.

Maryland vs. Duke Round II: Beat Duke or Die

by BalTimore Bisk (01/29/2011)

I’d like to start off by saying that you learn something new every day. Today I learned that Noxzema was originally invented by Dr. Francis J. Townsend, a doctor who lived in Ocean City, Maryland. It was originally a remedy that Dr. Townsend used to help alleviate victims of sunburn. An early slogan for Noxzema was “The Miracle Cream of Baltimore”. That’s interesting. Well I already know what little interesting fact that I am going to learn on Wednesday. I am going learn whether this year’s Maryland Men’s Basketball team is going to have a big enough win on their resume to support a bid into the field of 64.

Maryland has another opportunity to revamp their mediocre season with a big win against third ranked Duke on Wednesday. Disappointingly, the biggest win so far this season has been judged to be Penn State. Hence, the Terps are in a serious need of delivering the Blue Devils an old fashioned College Park Pummeling. A few weeks back all was looking well when the Terps had a 39-32 lead on the Blue Devils down at Cameron, but that lead was lost. Things then started to look up again when the Terps had a commanding lead on a sixth ranked Villanova team, but then came an 18-0 run. Then the Terps lost a Thursday night home game by 17 points to Virginia Tech and this possibly was the worst loss of the season. That was one Thursday night I probably would have rather watched the Jersey Shore. Fortunately, I didn’t witness either of the filths.

A big loss can really strike the soul of a team. No doubt our Terps were struck to the core by the three previous mentioned losses. However, trials can have a way of refining character. Just as fire refines silver in the smelting process, the bad losses that the Terps have faced this year might have turned the team into a dynamic fighting force. Just as Noxzema cleans away irritated skin, the Terps might have cleared these nasty pestering losses off their face. We’ve seen positive notes coming with back to back wins against Clemson and Virginia. If the Terps get by Georgia Tech on Sunday then this team will have been reborn and ready for a battle royale against the “ACC Goliath”, Duke, on Wednesday night.

Even if the Terps do not make the big dance this year then we certainly have seen some promise. The freshmen have wowed us, Jordan Williams’s abilities have skyrocketed, and we’ve glimpsed the ability of this Terps team to battle and possibly beat the best of the best. This team has me intrigued like few Terps teams before in that if they didn’t make the tournament then it wouldn’t be a huge disappointment or they could make the tournament and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made it to the final four. It is hard to gage a clear picture on what the final outcome of this season is going to be for the Terps, but this Wednesday could really push the Terps toward a tournament bid and a run to the final four. The Terps now need focused strength and desire. And no not the kind the comes from Yoga, binaural beats, or some other happy horse manure, but the kind that comes from the leadership of Coach Gary Williams. Gary will have to fire this team up.

We’re about a month away from March. The time of year college basketball fans eat, sleep, and breathe for. But before we get to March, we have one of the classic most lovable matchups for a Terps Basketball fan – Maryland vs. Duke - Wednesday February 2, 2011 9PM Comcast Center – College Park, Maryland. As a Terp alum just typing that gives me the chills. This is one of the biggest games of the year regardless of the circumstance. However, the Terps have an opportunity to make a case that they are Tournament ready.

The Terps had lost three big games in a row, but they’ve seemingly worked hard through their stumbles and falls. They’ve overcame those obstacles and won back to back games. Perhaps they now have an unquenchable fighting spirit to carry them into the post season. Perhaps they have developed the awareness of strength that resides in true Terrapin teamwork. Like life, basketball is a succession of battles. The battle against Duke approaches. “Warriors gaze into the eyes of the future without fear or arrogance, but with the confidence of those who are ready for battle.” On Wednesday, will the Terps win the game and the accolades of the fans that love them? We shall see. Let’s go Terps, it’s time to heat this season up men. Strength and Honor. M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D Maryland Maryland!!!!!