Unofficial Brier all-star team

Unofficial Brier all-star team

What a week it was. Alberta struggled and then got it back on track. Newfoundland, Ontario and Manitoba looked good just about all week. Northern Ontario and Quebec also played well.

For some teams it was a struggle. Yeah, we're looking at you PEI and British Columbia.

Either way, kudos to the teams because Friday produced some exciting moments as Alberta came within a hair of making the playoff round and Jeff Stoughton made a nice draw to at least quiet the Rexall crowd and smash Alberta's hopes.

The all-stars used to be voted on by the media, but the system was changed a few years ago and the awards are now handed out on the basis of shooting percentage during the round robin. 

UPDATE: Nope. I am wrong. The media still votes on the all-stars. It's just the Scotties that goes by straight percentages.

Stats are a good way to judge how a player curled, but just like batting average or goals against average, it doesn't tell the whole story, as there are other variables that can come into play as well as other stats. Especially at the lead position. If you're team is losing, your shots are easier. If you're a lead on a team that has the lead in a lot of games, you're shots are a bit tougher.

Therefore, here is my all-star teams that I picked based on what I saw this week. The official all star list will be released probably tonight.

Lead

First-team: Ben Hebert, Alberta. In my mind the best lead and sweeper in the world. Also remember he also had to shot with all the bad rocks and he still had a 91 percentage.

Second-team: Craig Savill, Ontario. One of the best in the game. Kept Ontario in good shape.

Honourable Mention: Mark Nichols, Manitoba. Has settled into the lead position nicely after years at Third.

Seconds

First-team: Brent Laing, Ontario. Only had two games where he shot below 90 percent.

Second-team: Reid Carruthers, Manitoba. Got Manitoba out of trouble a lot of times.

Honourable mention: Marc Kennedy, Alberta. Had one bad game early, other than that he played well, especially when Alberta got on a roll.

Also mention E.J. Harden from Northern Ontario.

Thirds

First-team: Jon Mead, Manitoba. This guy has been so good for so long. Scary thing about Mead is that he performs at his best during the big games.

Second-team: Wayne Middaugh, Ontario. Mead and Middaugh are two of the best vices out there. Middaugh was a first-team lock until the last game when he faltered a bit.

Despite his age, Middaugh can still bring the heat.

Honourable mention: Martin Crete, Quebec. Helped Quebec grind out a few wins. Also should mention Northern Ontario's Ryan Fry.

Skips

First-team: Glenn Howard, Ontario. How come this guy gets better with age? A quick Glenn Howard story. We had a hankerin' for some chicken wings so we ordered some wings from a local joint. We get there to pick them up around supper time and the bar had curling on television. While we were waiting we saw Glenn Howard make a dandy shot. One of the bar flys who had probably been drinking at the bar since noon and looked like he hangs around with the Hell's Angels, looked up at the television and said, "jeez, that bald guy doesn't miss a shot."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Second-team: Brad Gushue, Newfoundland. Had a great week. Really patient and called a good game for the most part.

Honourable mention: Jeff Stoughton, Manitoba. We loved that little fist-pump towards the crowd on Friday night.