Curling controversy: Unusual finish generates boos, ruffles feathers at Slam event
Stones thrown deliberately through house 'not a good look,' says American Ben Richardson
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Richardson → generate → house
The Grand Slam of Curling's competition committee plans to meet this week to discuss an unusual finish at the Co-op Invitational that sent two Canadian teams into the playoffs and led to pointed words from an American rink left outside the cutline.
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that → plan → cutline
Boos were heard throughout Victoria's Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre when teams skipped by Matt Dunstone and Brendan Bottcher were not aggressive in the final end of their round-robin finale Friday night.
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teams → hear → finale
Both teams deliberately threw stones through the house early in the end before Bottcher scored one for a tie that forced a shootout.
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that → throw → shootout
That gave both sides enough points to advance and eliminated Danny Casper's rink from playoff contention.
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That → give → contention
"They're on ESPN in the U.S. and [Sportsnet] in Canada, thousands of people are watching it, I'm sure, and it looks horrible," Team Casper second Ben Richardson said from Victoria over the weekend.
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Richardson → watch → weekend
"It definitely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
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It → leave → mouth
I can't speak [for] all the people that watched it, but it's definitely not a good look for our sport.”
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it → speak → sport
Normally, a one-point game would lead to a tense eighth and final end.
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game → lead → end
But with the stakes clear — reach the shootout and you're guaranteed a playoff spot — both rinks chose a passive style down the stretch.
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rinks → reach → stretch
When it became obvious both teams were comfortable with a tied score, many spectators voiced their displeasure that any late-game excitement had been scuttled.
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excitement → become → displeasure
"Don't be upset with the players, be upset with the format," said Dunstone, who earned two points for the 6-5 shootout victory.
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who → say → victory
Bottcher picked up one point for the shootout loss, giving him seven points overall and the final berth.
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Bottcher → pick → points
Casper, who would have played a tiebreaker if the game was decided in regulation, missed the cut with six points.
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game → play → points
"I understand why both of them would want a shootout," Richardson said.
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Richardson → understand → shootout
"I don't understand why both of them would not try to win in the last end.
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both → understand → end
I completely disagree with that.
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I → disagree → that
Walker miss raised eyebrows
Team Dunstone lead Ryan Harnden drew the button, and Team Bottcher lead Geoff Walker flashed his first rock.
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Walker → draw → rock
The Walker miss raised the eyebrows of Team Casper third Luc Violette.
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miss → raise → Violette
"You would always see a team throw a corner guard in that situation if they were trying to maximize their odds of winning the game outright," he said.
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he → see → game
Harnden's second shot stopped at the top of the four-foot ring.
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shot → stop → ring
Walker then made a double-takeout and his shooter rolled out.
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shooter → make → takeout
Violette said the flash improved Dunstone's chances to steal.
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flash → say → chances
He would have expected Harnden to follow with a tight centre guard in that situation.
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Harnden → expect → situation
"Instead, they lobbed one right on top of it to leave an easy double," he said.
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he → lob → double
For second stones, Team Dunstone's Mark Nichols deliberately threw his first rock through the house, and Team Bottcher's Tanner Horgan did the same thing.
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Horgan → throw → thing
That sparked boos and jeers throughout the venue.
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That → spark → venue
Some spectators shouted "Borrrrr-ing!" while others yelled out "Shame! Shame!"
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others → shout → Shame
The broadcast team also sensed what was happening.
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what → sense → ?
"Both of these teams, if this game goes to a shootout, will get into the playoffs," said on-air host John Cullen.
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Cullen → go → air
"This looks like maybe a bit of a handshake agreement that both teams are saying, 'Let's do it."
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's → look → it
"I doubt that there's any agreement," analyst Brent Laing replied.
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Laing → doubt → ?
"I think they're both just smart enough to know there's no need [to] take on any risk, and the other guy thinks the same thing."
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guy → think → thing
After exchanging hits, Dunstone's final rock settled on the 12-foot ring and Bottcher drew the button for one point.
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Bottcher → exchange → point
Both skips said there was no agreement in place to play for the draw.
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skips → say → draw
'How the scoreboard played out'
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scoreboard → play → ?
"In eight, they threw a rock in the house and Geoff's first rock picked," Bottcher said in a text message.
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Bottcher → throw → message
"That said, our team knew we needed a point to qualify given the format."
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we → say → format
Dunstone, reached on the phone from Victoria, said: "there was no conversation whatsoever."
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Dunstone → reach → Victoria
"It was just how the scoreboard played out," he said.
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he → play → ?
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
