Registered: Jan 2017
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Thoughts on the team after two losses to Manitoba? Are they too aggressive without the hammer? Do they get too intense/rattled in key moments? Are they great frontrunners and not so great when having to come from behind?

I still believe they are the best team in Canada, but Manitoba has outplayed them twice now.

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Brandon
Posts: 1054

I think they are far too intense, not the "team dynamics" when they are behind. No one likes to lose a game of such importance, but when they do lose whether it is a slam event, they just look like they hate each other.

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Registered: Feb 2015
Location: Canada
Posts: 278

quote:

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Originally posted by CURLER1
I think they are far too intense, not the "team dynamics" when they are behind. No one likes to lose a game of such importance, but when they do lose whether it is a slam event, they just look like they hate each other.

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Registered: Apr 2014
Location: In the House
Posts: 608

quote:

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Originally posted by Three


I don't see where you get they look like they hate each other when they lose but obviously everybody sees the intensity. So what? Let me see, they clean up on tour regularly, have a pile of wins are at or near the top of the money list year after year, and have an average age of around 28? Oh yeah also are two time Canadian Champs. When they lose they look like hockey players after a loss. Not happy at all. In other sports this is normal but in curling it looks 'different'. Their intensity is part of their game and it works for them. Let's face it they truly are full time professional curlers more so than most. Show me a happy loser and I'll show you a loser. No poster on this site knows what goes on with their team dynamics but if you look at their social media feeds they seem to be great friends off the ice, vacation together etc. Don't forget that you can be hardest on those closest to you because you know they will still be with you in the trenches the next day.

I say we need more Team Homan and less teams high fiving each other after complete misses and saying 'that's all right' when everybody can see it was a bad shot.

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__________________
"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own... but the great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last edited by On The Nose on 02-25-17 at 12:33AM

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Registered: Mar 2014
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Everybody wants to enjoy what they do and work hard. Just for fun curling is only at your local rink. While these professional curlers do not earn millions like other sports, the time, money, sacrifices invested and financial/Olympic perks available , separates the intensity and seriousness at this level from the club level. Therefore they have to deal with situations at the professional athlete level.

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Brandon
Posts: 1054

we all know they are a great team, but I didn't see anyone answer the poster's question. Just on and on how great they are.

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Registered: Jan 2011
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Englot completely owns Homan's mind space right now and that is a dangerous thing. Homan's coach's psycho babble is not working.

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Twin Snowbanks
Posts: 2068

Couple of things.
In the post game interview, Rachel belittled the difficulty of the shot Michelle achieved, after the ON in off. "We gave it to her, she could have hit it anywhere." Really? This talented athlete has some negativity in her head and it shows in her demeanor. She likes to hit and has an "attitude" about the finesse game. Attitude will lose you more games than it will win you. I think her coach is helping, but her thoughts are her worst enemy. By contrast, Englot's mental game is as good as it gets. She has the curler's perspective. It is "only" a game. That is what elevates talented curlers to be great curlers. It is a grueling sport, but it is still a game. The stars who forget that cannot find the illusive incremental advantage - when all eight players are curling well. Therein lies the difference. MB and SK mostly come from grassroots curlers. I always think that lots of ON comes from country club curlers. So, they miss a wee aspect, maybe.

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Lots of major youth (<21) events. Nice for Murdoch... and us :-D.

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Registered: Feb 2015
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To dovetail onto neski's astute insights, Homan always has to state the obvious---when it's someone elses fault. Early in the game on an outurn that may or may not have been wrongly called by Emma---Homan jumps up to her front end and notifies them that Emma called the line incorrectly. That's the rub with Homan. Englot wouldn't have said a word---no need to. Everyone at this level knows when they mess up and the quality skips don't feel the need to tell the casual viewer taking in the game on TSN that it wasn't their fault. It's called leadership and Homan is a complete failure in that regard.

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Registered: Feb 2009
Location: Brantford ON
Posts: 96

quote:

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Originally posted by nelski
Couple of things.
In the post game interview, Rachel belittled the difficulty of the shot Michelle achieved, after the ON in off. "We gave it to her, she could have hit it anywhere." Really? This talented athlete has some negativity in her head and it shows in her demeanor. She likes to hit and has an "attitude" about the finesse game. Attitude will lose you more games than it will win you. I think her coach is helping, but her thoughts are her worst enemy. By contrast, Englot's mental game is as good as it gets. She has the curler's perspective. It is "only" a game. That is what elevates talented curlers to be great curlers. It is a grueling sport, but it is still a game. The stars who forget that cannot find the illusive incremental advantage - when all eight players are curling well. Therein lies the difference. MB and SK mostly come from grassroots curlers. I always think that lots of ON comes from country club curlers. So, they miss a wee aspect, maybe.

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Registered: Sep 2011
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what a fantastic story this is. of course michele has done well before, winning bronze twice, she's had a couple 4ths. however , making her first final at the age of 53, thats incredible. would be even better if she managed to win. i might be wrong but i dont think any skip over 50 has won a national championship before

now that we are in the playoffs im pulling for mccarville to win but i would be very happy for michele too, would be an amazing story. hoping for manitoba v.s northern ontario. that'd be win/win

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Twin Snowbanks
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quote:

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Originally posted by BMalc
Lots of Ontario comes from Country Club curlers?!! Really! How ludicrous. First of all, Courtney is from Alta. The rest of them got their training at the Ottawa CC which has an excellent history and is far from a country club. Rachel may appear cold and negative but good skips maintain a focus without becoming emotional in the game.

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Lots of major youth (<21) events. Nice for Murdoch... and us :-D.

Last edited by nelski on 02-25-17 at 10:13AM

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Registered: Jan 2017
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Interesting to see Colleen mentioned. I always thought she did a great job of calling easy shots for her own team and enticing or forcing the other team to attempt more difficult shots. I feel like Team Homan does the opposite, especially in games against equally matched opponents. Sometimes Jennifer Jones does this too.

It's entertaining to see the best teams try hard shots, but if you are continually attempting more difficult shots than your opponents then you are probably doing something wrong.

And it would really help to get out of the first end without a multiple point deficit. I think falling down early just exacerbates the shot difficulty problem.

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Registered: Feb 2011
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 1418

Manitobas record will be 11-2 at the end of the week. It doesn't matter which one of the 3 teams make it to the final.

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Registered: Feb 2017
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I thought homan was too aggressive one down without could have lied 2 and force the one. you can be a lil more patience when down in a 10 end game

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Registered: Feb 2013
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Three and Onthenose pretty much nailed it. This is much ado about nothing. Analyze if you will but all the Homan rink does is [usually] win.

Last edited by dbsdbs on 02-25-17 at 02:38PM

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Registered: Nov 2016
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quote:

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Originally posted by CURLER1
we all know they are a great team, but I didn't see anyone answer the poster's question. Just on and on how great they are.

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Registered: Apr 2009
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I have always thought, despite Rachel Homan's personal abilities, that Team Homan's success is underpinned by the level of play of Emma Miskew -- versus her opposing 3rd.

So for this 2017 Scotties, let's take a look.

In Draw 1, versus Team Canada, Rachel curled 75%, a minus versus Chelsea Carey ... but Emma curled 91% and was a plus versus Amy Nixon. Homan's team won 7-5, scoring 2 in the 11th.

In Draw 12, game versus Northern Ontario, Rachel curled 77% -- Emma was at 65% and a minus versus her opposing 3rd. Homan team won in an extra end. Had hammer.

In Draw 16, game versus Manitoba, Rachel was scored at 73%, and a minus versus Michelle Englot. Emma was at 84% but a minus versus Kate Cameron at 92%.

In Page 1-2, Rachel scored 80%, but a minus versus Michelle Englot. Emma was at 76% and a minus versus Kate Cameron at 86%.

These stats were readily available so I've used them for reference --- but I'm quite certain that a longer term analysis would bear out my supposition.

I've watched/monitored Rachel since she was 14, at which time Earle Morris confidently told me that Rachel was a phenom in waiting. He was right. And Emma is her lynch pin.

In the semifinal, and the final if the Homan team are in that game, Emma is going to have to be the better 3rd.

Maybe, just maybe, the team needs to endeavour to play a couple of clean ends to start out ... to get Emma into a groove.

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Registered: Feb 2015
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The book is out on Team Homan: put rocks in play and make her draw. Unfortunately most womens' teams are incapable of that single game plan. NO, Manitoba and a few Euro teams are capable and when it comes down to it--for whatever reason---rachael avoids the draw at all cost--including taking on silly low-chance runbacks. As a skip, I have her behind at least three in canada (even though Val has had a miserable time being consistent) and another three from europe. The plus is she's young and has time to develop into that skip who is equally comfortable drawing or hitting but she better start now. And she better hope team canada can beat McCarville this afternoon as I don't like Team Homan's chances of beating NO

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Registered: May 2011
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The demeanor of each of the four surviving skips is all business. You might catch a fleeting smile during the game, but that's about it.

They are very nice girls off the ice; want to rip your beating heart out on the ice. If that's what they need to do to compete and be their best, I have no problem with it. I've heard TSN say that McCarville is best when she takes no input from her team and gets in the zone, both Englot and Cameron have been superb in using their edginess to sharpen their play (and here's hoping they don't relax today), and Homan and Carey are also completely focused.

I did like to see Team Homan signing autographs for hometown fans immediately after their games. It's not easy to turn off "game mode" that quickly so good on them - many athletes never develop that skill.

... and now onto the 3-4 game ...

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location: Southern Manitoba
Posts: 154

I said it before. They are just not as sharp this year, still great but not as machine like as they were last year. Meanwhile some other teams have stepped up another few notches. Little did we know it would Michelle Englot of all teams. If you watch WWE lately, it almost as humorous as Roman Reigns getting swatted like a mosquito by Braun Strowman.

Having said that lastnight, Homans last shot in 8 actually looked like the Homan team that we know.

We know Homan will be well rested and will firing bullets tonight, all likelyhood against Northern Ontario.

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Registered: Nov 2016
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FORGET THE DAMN BREATHING EXCERCISES

Both Homan & Miskew are going to have to raise their games

by ten ( 10 ) percentage points in order to win the next

two games.

And they better bring along Lady Luck too because they

are probably going to need a few lucky ticks and rolls

as well.

Otherwise, they're going to wake up watching the Worlds

on TV instead of carrying the Canadian flag.

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location: Southern Manitoba
Posts: 154

quote:

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Originally posted by Deliverer
FORGET THE DAMN BREATHING EXCERCISES

Both Homan & Miskew are going to have to raise their games

by ten ( 10 ) percentage points in order to win the next

two games.

And they better bring along Lady Luck too because they

are probably going to need a few lucky ticks and rolls

as well.

Otherwise, they're going to wake up watching the Worlds

on TV instead of carrying the Canadian flag.

---

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Brandon
Posts: 1054

different team when they are winning! A few more smiles, no bitching at each other, blaming Emma for wrong line calling.....

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Registered: Jan 2017
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And a lot easier shots. Pretty hard to screw up the open takeouts.

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