Homan / Howard Winners of the First Slam

Team Homan. Winners of the Masters of curling this past weekend with a convincing victory over team Muirhead of Scotland. The Ottawa foursome were in control the entire game and never looked back. On the men's side, it was Team Howard winning the final over the Kevin Martin rink. So, after watching all the televised games, I had to wonder, who is the best on the planet in men's and women's? Really, it depends on the day. There are so  may good teams out there, it would be pretty tough to pick the best.

On the Mens side, there are the likes of Howard, Martin, Jacobs, McEwen, Stoughton, Gushue, Koe...any one of these teams could represent Canada in the Olympics. But on the international stage, there is Ulsrud, Edin and Liu that are tough squads and the Canucks will have to be at their best to beat them. The Chinese team, Liu, had an excellent showing at the Masters and showed the curling world that they are a world class team.

On the womens' side, there is Homan, Jones, Scott, Carey, Midaugh....many good teams. On the international stage, there is Ott, Sigfridsson, Wang, Siderova, Muirhead, Tirinzoni,....the list goes on. Although they did not win at the Masters, I'm thinking that the Sigfridsson rink from Sweden is one of the best teams in the world today. Granted, they have lost a couple of world finals, but they are ALWAYS tough and Maria Prytz, in my opinion, is one of the best shooters in the game today. That, of course, is not to take away from the others as any one of the big teams can beat the other on any given day.

What all this does make for is some incredibly entertaining curling. Curling at this level is at its best. And we as spectators are going to have an incredible year of curling to watch. The pretrials are coming this week and while I am excited to follow the teams...I am disappointed with the lack of televised games. My picks? Well, on the men's side: I have to pick Jacobs first. This squad are the current Canadian champions and they have been at the top of their game. This Northern Ontario crew has made their mark and they will be tough to beat. I would be shocked to see them  not make it to the Roar of the Rings. Second, it will have to be Gushue. These guys have a couple of wins this season and they look really good. After all the shuffles, Gushue seems to have found the right mix and these guys have a great chance to get to the Roar. And they have proven that they can beat them all. But then there is Menard and these guys can get on a roll as well. it would not surprise me to see them garb a spot..they are certainly capable. Then there is is the Morris crew...I don't know. Great team on paper but they have no time to gel and it will be a tough road for them.

On the womens' side, my first pick would have to be Team Scott. This squad is seasoned and I am thinking they will secure a berth in the Roar. The second team, however, becomes a toss up. Lots of good squads to pick from. The Bernard rink will be there  but I'm not sure if they can consistently knock off some of the more seasoned crews...like Tracy Horgan for instance. They have been to a Scotties before and they are regulars in the circuit. They will have to play well but they can do it. Then there's the McCarrville rink. I'm not sure about this squad, they have been around and Krysta McCarrville is a seasoned veteran and I like her. I'm just not sure if they will be consistent enough to make it through. I hope so. Of course, then you have Webster and Crocker. It would not surprise me to see one or both of these teams get through. They are tough customers and they will be focused on the prize, you can be sure of that.

So, it all starts tomorrow and the Road to the Roar opens up. You can keep your finger on the pulse of this tournament by following the line scores. If you google 2013 Road to the Roar, the site will direct you or you can go to Curling Zone and that will also provide you with the line scores plus much more!

Rock On!

The Curling Chronic