Saturday, January 30, 2010

Villages

Okay, I have stopped crying, caught my breath, and remembered the road we took to get here. It takes a village to raise a curling team. It's been people like Ken Trask who took a couple little brat kids onto the ice for the first time; Doug and Julie Pittman who invited them to little rocks; Doug Williams who harrassed them on a daily basis to keep them humble; the Meltons and the Kozais who fed them at bon spiels; aunts and uncles and cousins who supported them when they had this funny pipe dream. There have been far to many people to thank who have offered support, love and a nice pat on the back. The boys are successful because they have such a wonderful support system around them... and we, their parents, are grateful to and for you.

Take it For Granite,
Scott

Name Change

Formerly known as Team Beighton, they changed their name to Team Washington. Same team now needs new letter head to read "TEAM U.S.A!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

About 5 years ago when we were at Nationals in Duluth, we met a group of Minnesota girls who were just cute as a gd bug's ear. We dubbed them "Minnesota Cute." The kids became good friends, the parents became good friends. It's Minnesota Cute that won the Jr. Women's side of this. So we will be going to Switzeralnd with good friends.

That is about all I can write, for some reason my eyes are really blurry and wet.

Took It For Granite,
Scott

Friday, January 29, 2010

Express Train

Okay, here's the scoop... the lads beat Minnesota 1 again today. That puts them in the finals tomorrow against Aaron Wald's Minnesota 2 team. Not much more that I can say. We are excited and calm and nervous and focused and above all else, fired up! I think I wrote a couple days ago that this was going to be a wild ride... anyone need their money back?

Take It For Granite,

Scott
I have just a couple of minutes before the lads get home with sandwich makings. They don't want top have anything too heavy before tonight's game. BTW if you haven't seen, the lads beat Mass. to be in the medals. Guaranteed bronze, but they want the other yellow colored medal.

The game was not a high scoring game. Sean and the lads were patient and waited for the right moment to pounce. The chance came in the 6th end when Mass. had to hit and roll to the button. Washington had one on each side of the four foot and one in front of the four foot. Mass hit the one on the skip's left and rolled out making it a steal of 2 and putting us up 2 points. Washington took 2 in the 7th to be up 4 points and they never looked back.

Send them a congradulatory note and the games should be on the internet tonight and tomorrow. We are facing a hostile crowd here in Minnesota.... both Minnesota teams are who we have to go through.

Take It For Granite,

Scott

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Wow, what a game this morning. Minnesota 2 won in extra ends, but it was a hard fought game the whole way. Their coach was extremely complimentary about our boys and said that he expected to meet them in the final game.

So we have a longer road than we had hoped for this win. We play Massechussettes on Friday at 2 local time. WHEN we win that one, we play another game at 7 local time. And then we have the finals at 1:30 on Saturday. It will be busy, but do-able and the lads feel up to the challenge.

Because we only had one game today Coach Murray, GayLynn and the adult McLean's went to the down town 2 blocks. We had the obligatory picture with Paul Bunyan and Babe The Blue Ox. We just had some down time to release fome of the intensity of the week. Tonight we head out for dinner with our host family the legendary curler Scott Baird and his wife Lynn.

We did hit one snafu today during the game. in the 5th end, right as our second's rocks were being played, Lisa turned to me and asked if I brought the go-gurt. I panicked! I ran back to the hotel in sub-zero temperatures {have I mentioned it's cold here?}, froze part of a lung during the jaunt; grabbed the go-gurt and made it back to the club in time to watch the skip's rocks in the same end. My thninsulate snow boots, parka, wool sweater, long johns, etc were not made for swift movement... it had better have been the best go-gurt those kids have ever tried!

Spirits are up, the boys are playing rousing games of hearts and hitting the pool/hot tub. Hang on, I still think we are in for a fun ride.

Take It For Granite,


Scott

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sacred Loving Bovine

Holy Freakin' Cow!!!!!! Washington just beat Minnesota 1! The State Champions of Minnesota! Do you realize how big of a deal that is??!!? They have definitely come out of their funk and are rising to their surroundings, no, not to, but above their surroundings. There is now a 3-way tie for first between Minnesota 1, Minnesota 2 and WASHINGTON!!!!

The boys play Minnesota 2 tomorrow. The Mn. 2 team is the heir apparent to the Plys dynasty. They are good, but they are beatable as they have already lost 2, just like Washington. The game starts at 8 central, 6pacific.... that's AM, not PM. Sorry, most of you will have to go to work.

The lads had a great time at the school. They enjoyed the questions and they commented on how smart this class of 5th graders was. Hmmm, I'm thinking about a TV show....

I hada headache most of the day. I was up very late last night enjoying the exports of Scotland with the parents of "Minnesota Cute" the junior women's champions last year. We had a wonderful time catching up and sampling each others' Scottish imports.

Lisa and I headed down town today. Saw the woolen mills store. Great sales going on there too. But it was cold. Have I said it's cold here? It was about 6 degrees down there. It's cold to start with, then the wind picks up off the lake, off the mud puddle, off that piece of snow that's 10 feet away and it just rips to your core... the wind chill takes it down to about 30 degrees BELOW 0. Rather than walking 2 blocks we ended up driving just to get out of the wind and cold.

Keep those cards and letters, okay emails coming. We remain,

Take It For Granite,
Scott

High Praise

Good Freezing Morning, Before I tell you about today's first game, a huge shout-out to Daniel Journeaux, the second on Team Illinois. This "kid" was hit by a car a month ago and has rehabed himself to be able to make it here and to curl with his team. By today, his knee was really hurting and he had to sit out after the second end. He fought through a lot of pain and misery to help his team. If there is some award for bravery and guts and determination, he should win it hands down!

Unfortunately for Team Illinois it was not a close game. The score was 14-1 after 7 ends in Washington's favor. It was helped by a 5-ender and a 6-ender. Rough for anyone to take.

It was a good win for Washington and I think it washed out their heebee-geebees. They made some great shots and started to feel the mojo again. Feeling confident again is important, the two hardest games are next. They face both Minnesota teams. Both teams are beatable, it's just which team shows up for the game... like always. I think Brady Clark is even beatable {if we hog-tie him and put him in a blindfold}

Have I mentioned that it's cold here? Today's high is a wopping 2 degrees above 0. That's in farenheit! The low... does it really matter?

The lads are off to visit a school this afternoon. They have a classroom that has "adopted" them. They visit and show their equipment and talk about curling and where they come from... the boys really enjoy this part. And the school kids treat them like rock stars, they ask for autographs and for the team to play with them at recess. It's a great diversion from the intensity of the competition.

The game starts at 4 central, 2 pacific. Keep those thoughts, prayers, sacrifices to whatever god you choose, incense, bells... whatever coming. Words of encouragement are especially prized. The lads often check their email account to see who has written and what the say.

Take It For Granite,
Scott

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/image/id/17682/headline/More%20cowbell/
The above is a link to today's front page on the local paper. I can't say it's terribly flattering picture, but we have been the only people with cowbells at the games. It's because of me and the cowbelss that last night's game was as terribble as it was... it was the one game I sat behind the glass and didn't have my cowbells going. The cowbells make the kids laugh at the embarrassing guy who is following them... it helps them relzx and have fun. That loss is squarely on my shoulders.

Today's game however, that's a different story. They are definitely coming out of their funk but not totally for this game. It was a hard one to lose... I'd love to say more but I don't want to sound like a sore loser nor put a target on my team's back by anything that someone else just might read. Not worth it. Happy to say though, the lads are on the reight track.

Tonight we made the pilgrimage to Dave's Pizza. Yes the famous Dave's that is owned by Pete, Pete Fenson {in James Bond talk}. The pizza is really good and I am not just saying that. I bought a couple of t-shirts. When you see me wearing mine, know that I bought it to embarrass my youngest son. He told me distinctly not to buy that shirt.... hmmmmm, what to do? My child is going to need the work of a good therapist to work through his childhood! They can thank me later.

We have not had much of a chance to see the sights yet. Life has pretty much been the curling club, like that's new. It is cold here... I mean really cold. A my father used to say, it's colder than a witch's mammary gland in a brass lifting device. There is something particularly uncivilized about getting into your car and having to scrape the windshield on the inside... I HATE THAT!!! There is a solid sheet of 1" thick black ice everywhere. We could curl in the parking lot if it were level. Oh wait, this is Minnesota, it is flat. I know we have dear friends who are from the Prairie and love it... good on you. I am still a Northwest boy and always will be.

Our first game tomorrow is at 8am. That's 6 back home. It should be finished up about the time most of you get to work. No excuses for not working tomorrow.

Take It for Granite,
Scott

Monday, January 25, 2010

Frowny Face

Well, tonight did not go so well. Shots were missed... not much good to say except Sean Beighton shots kept them in the game. He deserves a well-placed pat on the back. There were some other good shots made, but Sean overcame a digger rock to make some clutch shots.

Boys have headed to the hot tub. They will get over this and curl better tomorrow. Losing is always hard, but Murray is an excellent coach and will guide them through this. How about a little email to cheer them up? washington.men@usacurl.org

Thanks for the Support,
Take it For Granite,


Scott

Wake up!

Hello Everyone, Have I told you it's cold here? I mean, really cold. I could make a joke, but there are too many of the younger set whose parents might get upset with me. Today, it's supposed to get up to 17. The wind is blowing at around 30 MPH. And the snow, not snow flakes, but snow darts that bite and sting their way through your clothes. Walking outside is painful. So instead of going outside, we sit on the ice!

The game with North Dakota was a good game. North Dakota is a good team, Team Washington is a great team. The boys seemed to have woken up and have become used to the time zone. Maybe they've shaken the travel issues they had, off. Whatever it was, they looked incredible. Where ever Sean wanted a rock, that's where it went. Okay, there were a couple of missed shots, but the team was back in its usual form.

I don't remember the final score, but that's not important... the important thing is the team received a "W". Still only 2 teams at the top of the reader board.... Minnesota 2 and Washington.

Take It For Granite,

Scott

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Yawn... What?

What a day... it went from the most exciting game to the most boring game. Tonight the boys played Wisconsin 2. They are a young team and could hit quite well. But the whole game was hit, hit, hit, it lulled me to sleep almost. But in the boredom Wisconsin snuck up and scored some points top pull ahead 4 2 in the 8th end. Team Washington played brilliantly to score 3 in the 9th to go up 5 4. They let Wisconsin play for 1 in the 10th and a tie and to have hammer in the extra end. Extra end was played brilliantly again and Washington took 2 more to win. It wasn't pretty, but neither am I and it was a win. At the moment there are only two undefeated teams, Minnesota 2 and Washington. This is a very good field anything can and will happen.

Take It For Granite,
Scott

EMAIL

If you want to post anything to the lads their email is Thanks to all the well wishes I have received in my inbox and Facebook. I have passed them onto the team directly.

No "F: in Way

Well, it was a nail biter.... Team Washington was down 6 3 to New York after 9 ends. Somehow, they got a cluster of three rocks to the right of the skip on the 12 foot. New York's skip, on his last shot, tried to take atleas one, if not two of the rocks out. He nicked the guard and spun out of the house. Sean had hammer and had to draw to the big circle-y thing ....it's going... it's going.... they're sweeping.... huurrrrrrryyyyyyyy! To the button, or at least close enough. Team Washington took 4 on the last rock to win.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Day 1

Hello Everyone,

It has been just about a year since I last worked on this site. Yes, it's time again for the Junior Nationals. Please know, this blog is written by a very biased father who has skin in the game. If you want a non-biased blog, please try somewhere else... this place is not for you.

If, on the other hand, you are willing to put up with my bias and would love to follow Team Washington, aka Beighton, read on MacDuff!

...I wrote about another 500 words to this post. Somehow it got deleted. I have a headache this morning {no, nothing fun} and I don't wish to retype the whole thing.

Here's the gist.... the boys had a terrible/funny trip. They missed a connection because of a late plane, but their baggage made it on time {5 hours before them}. Spew Knighted Airlines would not put them on the next flight so they had to switch out their tickets. Sam's aforementioned luggage was taken home by someone else. They got lost in Fargo. Much laughter and ribaldry in the car as that's the best way to handle adversity.

Lisa and I flew out the next day.... boring trip, just long. The roads in this part of Minnesota are the straightest roads I have ever seen. The scenery in the mirror is exactly the same as the scenery in the windshield. Not exactly my cup of strongly brewed coffee, but some people are happy living here.

The game was a good one to get used to the ice. It's really fast ice and the rock finishes nicely at the end. The score was 11-2 after 8 ends. I think the score is misleading .... Washington had a couple of incredible ends that kind of put the game out of reach. Washington took 3 in the first and stole 4 in the second. With a lead of 7-0 after 2 ends, that's a hard lead to overcome both with points and the mental aspect.

The boys are calm and focused. They think one their hardest games will be Sunday morning against New York. NY is a team that is under valued in the peer seating. The boys are confident though in their game and skills.

On a side note, a back-side note, some of the young ladies were commenting about the glutal regions on Team Washington.... hmmmmm, I don't see it.

Take It For Granite,

Scott