I didn't watch the entire Brier final on Sunday, but I saw enough. I'm glad to see Northern Ontario win for 2 reasons: It's nice to see someone other than the usual 3 win it and also it justifies the continuation of having a Northern Ontario team, from a competitive point of view anyway.
But the final wasn't exactly an exciting match to watch. NO went up by 3 early on, and given how good and competitive the teams are, chances were slim to none that Manitoba would catch up. It's a bit of a flaw in the game as it is right now... And early lead of more than one usually will mean a certain outcome, especially with the top teams consistently curling in the upper 80% to 90% range. The free guard zone rule has given the "slim" chance for a comeback, which is better than the "none"-only option.
What's the solution for more comeback opportunities? I have no idea. More free guards? Maybe. But they should start thinking on rule tweaks, if they haven't already. Or else, with the athletes getting better and better all the time, we may just end up with robo-curling.
Maybe they should start having big tournaments on crappy club ice.
I say important things of importance
I would actually watch if they played on crappy club ice. Rocks would be burning and hitting ruts and garbage all over the place. That would be fun to watch.
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