Curling Legends Podcast
Sports
About
Conversations with the players and storytellers who shaped Curling from the 1940's to the modern era.
Episodes
- Episode 101 - Team Bruce Roberts
This episode of Curling Legends Podcast covers the intense career of curler Bruce Roberts, including his 1976 Silver Broom victory and the 1984 World Championship. It features discussions with his brother Joe Roberts, Gary Kleffman, and Je…
- Episode 100 - Kerry Burtnyk
Kerry Burtnyk discusses his pioneering aggressive curling style, his two Brier championship wins with young teams, and an undefeated World Championship. He also shares career stories and reflects on his experiences in 2001.
- Special Episode - Colleen Jones
This rereleased episode from January 28, 2015, features Colleen Jones in conversation with hosts Kevin Palmer and Gerry Guerts. They discuss curling in Halifax, the 2014 Olympics, relegation, Brad Gushue's performance at the Brier, and pre…
- Episode 99 - John Kawaja
John Kawaja, a two-time Brier and World Champion curler, shares stories from his competitive career, including his 1983 win at age 21 and his 1990 championship. He also discusses the genius of skip Ed Werenich.
- Episode 98 - Bob Nichols
Bob Nichols discusses his career, including his 1974 and 1978 world championship wins, his time with Bud Somerville, and his experiences at the Superior Curling Club. He reflects on his journey in the sport and shares stories from a promin…
- Episode 97 - Beau Welling
Beau Welling followed a peculiar path. From studying physics to designing golf courses and eventually becoming the President of World Curling. Beau shares his origin story and how the cancellation of a European business trip led him on a q…
- Episode 96 - Ken Horton, Part 2
In Part 2 of my conversation with Ken Horton we begin after the 1977 men's world championship, progressing to the 1983 worlds and the controversy surrounding Swedish corn brooms. Ken shares an assortment of stories including a Paul Gowsell…
- Episode 95 - Ken Horton, Part 1
Ken Horton was obsessed about curling. He honed his skills at the Crossmyloof Ice Rink in Glasgow, eventually teaming with skip Robert Kelly and the front end of Willie Jamieson and Keith Douglas to win the Scottish Junior Mens title in 19…
- Episode 94 - Andrea Schoepp
Andrea Schoepp could focus on the game and nothing else. Her skills developed from curling outdoors with her family in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the age of fifteen, Andrea skipped her team, including her mother Elinore at third and Monika…
- Episode 93 - Toby McDonald
Toby McDonald always chose to wake up with a smile. From his beginnings at the St. John's Curling Club, Toby had a passion for the sport and its evolution in Newfoundland and Labrador. His crowning acheivement was winning the Brier in 1976…
- Special Episode - Don Finkbeiner
Don Finkbeiner speaks at the banquet celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Manitoba Men's Provincial Curling Championship. Resby Coutts provides the introduction and later shares a story of Mark Olson's grandfather in-law's dog to close…
- Episode 92 - Bryan Wood
Bryan Wood led the seventies. Woody learned to curl on a two sheet natural ice club in the small community of Justice, Manitoba. His legacy began when he was recruited by Don Duguid at a urinal in the Granite Curling Club. He went on to be…
- Episode 91 - Ron Braunstein
Ron Braunstein missed the Scotch Cup. Committed to his exams, Gordon McTavish went in Ron's place and Canada lost its first world championship in men's curling in 1965. Back in 1958, Gord had helped Ron and brother Terry join the men's lea…
- Episode 90 - George Fink
George Fink is unflappable. Raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, he began curling with his family on a two sheet club with natural ice. George won the Brier and World Championship in 1966 as third for Ron Northcott. The team, which included B…
- Episode 89 - John Cullen/Warren Hansen
John Cullen joins Kevin to discuss his new podcast series Broomgate: A Curling Scandal . John explains how the project came together, what he learned through the experience and what surprised him. John shares stories left out of the show a…
- Episode 88 - Dorenda Bailey
Dorenda Bailey did it all by twenty-two. Growing up in Moose Jaw, a provincial High School championship was followed by multiple collegiate victories representing the University of Saskatchewan. Junior girls curling was limited to regional…
- Episode 87 - Jim Waite
Jim Waite learned honour in curling at an early age. Playing lead in a bonspiel final, their opponent's last stone picked and Jim's skip, Don Anderson, allowed Alfie Phillips Sr. to throw it again. Jim got his purple heart in 1968, winning…
- Episode 86 - Susan Seitz
Susan Seitz kept knocking at the door. After winning an Alberta Junior Championship in 1968 it would take 13 years and several close calls before capturing her first women's provincial championship. Susan and third Judy Erickson, second My…
- Episode 85 - Larry McGrath
Larry McGrath rode horses to the curling club. His father would take him via horse and sleigh on Saturday mornings to practice on a sheet of natural ice in Dodsland, Saskatchewan. Larry honed his skills in local bonspiels as a teenager and…
- Episode 84 - Eugene Hritzuk
Eugene Hritzuk walked over to curl after hockey practice. Planted in goal with no face mask, the team took shots at him. After one puck whizzed past Eugene's ear and another hit him in the collarbone, it was time to try a safer sport. Stra…
- Episode 83 - Hersh Lerner/Wally Ursuliak and Will Pacarynuk
Hersh Lerner says if you're not nervous it's BS. Hersh grew up in Winnipeg, learning to curl at the Maple Leaf Curling Club. His talent for golf was matched by his prowess on the ice, scoring three 8-enders in one season. Joined by Coleman…
- Episode 82 - George Karrys
George Karrys bought The Curling News. February 15, 2023 was the 25th anniversary of the Olympic men's curling final in Nagano, Japan. George and teammates Mike Harris, Richard Hart and Collin Mitchell of Canada won a silver medal after lo…
- Episode 81 - Heather Houston
Heather Houston isn't a stereotypical skip. She never felt a need to be the centre of attention, often avoiding the limelight. When Heather and Lorraine Lang formed a new team in 1987 with Diane Adams and Tracy Kennedy at front end, quick…
- Episode 80 - Al Hackner
Al Hackner always concentrated on the game. His deep focus, cool demeanor and absence of emotional display led to his nickname "the Iceman". Al's partnership with third Rick Lang in 1979 led to four trips to the Brier final in the next 6 y…
- Episode 79 - Joe Gurowka
Joe Gurowka believes curling associations need to engage players. He shared this perspective in his retiring address as Ontario Curling Association (OCA) president in 1984. Joe's career as a player and administrator covers over half a cent…
- Episode 78 - Orest Meleschuk
Orest Meleschuk could accept when an opponent threw a good stone. But he was less tolerant when chaff from a corn broom turned a terrible miss into a made shot. In 1972 the luck of the chaff fell his way and together with third Dave Romano…
- Episode 77 - Georgina Wheatcroft
Georgina Wheatcroft always wanted to be an Olympian. Initially kept out of the evaluation camps, she needed a Scotties victory with Pat Sanders in 1987 to qualify for the first ever Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. She eventually reached h…
- Episode 76 - Don Lewis
Don Lewis was an innovator. Being a curling icemaker in the 1970s was as much art as science. Don learned the craft in Saskatchewan, honed his skills with winter sojourns to Toronto in the early sixties and eventually became head icemaker…
- Episode 75 - Erika Brown
Erika Brown started young. At the age of 15 she qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games and would compete in her first World Junior Championships a month after her appearance in Calgary. Erika shares her experiences growing up in the first fa…
- Special Episode - Jim Wilson
There are many legendary nicknames in curling. The Wrench, Snake, Moose, Arrow, Ice Man and the Round-Mound-Of-Come-Around are only a few. But you may not have heard the legend of "Rock Bottom". Coach for Team Epping at the 2021 Tim Horton…
- Episode 74 - Rae Kells/Donna Boyle
Rae Kells was prepared for the challenge. Her experience as a probations officer provided ideal training for work as a curling official. Her steady approach to controversial finishes at the 1993 Canadian Junior Women's and '94 Junior Men's…
- Episode 73 - Don Aitken
Don Aitken misses corn brooms. With two players pounding in unison, the sound and rhythm was a thing of beauty. In the 1970s, Don practiced on linoleum during summer months and by winter, helped sweep up purple hearts, winning Quebec Provi…
- Episode 72 - Terry Jones
Terry Jones wanted to have fun. As a kid he ran errands for the press box during the local baseball tournament and saw the thrill of being a sportswriter. Over his career "Jonesy" has covered it all, including succeeding Don "Buckets" Flem…
- Episode 71 - Elaine Dagg-Jackson
Elaine Dagg-Jackson pursued her passion to coach curling. The decision led her to amazing experiences across the globe and eventually her dream job as National Women's Coach with Curling Canada. Her introduction to the sport came from fath…
- Episode 70 - Bert Gretzinger
Bert Gretzinger has a few stories to tell. Born in Winnipeg, he spent his middle-school years in Calgary and eventually landed in Vancouver, winning his first purple heart as vice for Bernie Sparkes in 1976. After moving to Kelowna, Bert n…
- Episode 69 - Resby Coutts
Resby Coutts is a real life Les Nessman. Farm reporting was the primary job but having been a member of the Murray Nye team that lost the final of the 1981 Manitoba Tankard, curling was added to his radio duties. Resby shares how starting…
- Episode 68 - Lindsay Sparkes
Lindsay Sparkes was driven by a desire to improve rather than by competition. Leaving figure skating for curling she replaced judges with a scoreboard and by focusing on her own ability, eventually the winning took care of itself. Joined b…
- Episode 67 - Glen Jackson/Doug Wilson
Glen Jackson was young and brash but made a mature decision when it mattered. A coin flip to determine who would be third for Paul Gowsell on their high school rink went to Neil Houston and Glen chose to stay with the team. Joined by Kelly…
- Episode 66 - Matt Hames/Warren Hansen
Matt Hames was a mad man. Once a copywriter, just like fictional TV character Don Draper, Matt gave up three martini lunches at Bay and Bloor for six packs and road trips to bonspiels in Thunder Bay and a chance to make the Olympics. After…
- Episode 65 - John Ferguson
John Ferguson developed management skills from behind the tee-line. Dealing with a contentious boardroom seemed easy after numerous years as vice for two of the most eccentric skips in curling history. As third for Paul Gowsell, John won t…
- Episode 64 - Guy Hemmings
Guy Hemmings found curling by accident. Having moved to Montreal for University, during a Sunday morning walk he saw a sign to try curling at the Outremont Club. This chance encounter would eventually lead him to skip Quebec to the Brier f…
- Episode 63 - Alison Goring
Alison Goring likes to be around people. Socializing was also a form of sports psychology. She couldn't face the alternative of quiet solitude in a hotel room the night before a big game. Alison won the 1983 Canada Winter Games and Canadia…
- Episode 62 - Julie Skinner
Julie Skinner was always driven. Recognizing this, she was hesitant to return to curling when Kelley Law asked her to play third years after she'd stepped away. With the support of her family, Julie jumped head first into her second act an…
- Episode 61 - Don Bartlett, Part 3
Don Bartlett returns for more conversation. He shares thoughts on the Brier boycott era and Team Martin with Carter Rycroft. Don discusses the Ferbey Four, playing a bonspiel with Paul Gowsell, split times and 5 rock Free Guard Zone. You c…
- Episode 60 - Peter Gallant
Peter Gallant never took to skating. His father was a hockey coach and while his older brother reached for a stick and puck, he chose a broom and slider. His choice led to nine Brier appearances with Prince Edward Island and a Canadian Mix…
- Episode 59 - Ray Grant
Ray Grant's father Andy felt one trip to the Brier was enough. After skipping Ontario at the first Regina Brier in 1955, Andy's experience was so fantastic he believed every competitive curler should be given a chance to go. However, they…
- Episode 58 - Bernie Sparkes
Bernie Sparkes loves the Brier. From his first purple heart as second for Ron Northcott in 1966 to his twelfth and final appearance skipping British Columbia in 1987, every visit to the Canadian Men's Curling Championship meant as much as…
- Episode 57 - Earle Morris
Earle Morris always knew how to prepare. Years before appearing in a Brier he studied the best teams, collecting binders of notes on how to approach the game. Travelling with the military made it difficult to establish himself but eventual…
- Episode 56 - Pat Sanders
Pat Sanders was always determined to knock over obstacles. Still a knee slider when starting university, she changed her delivery and fought to make the school team, later moving from toe slide to flat foot to improve even further. Reachin…
- Epsiode 55 - Larry Wood
Larry Wood doesn't like puff pieces. He became editor of the Tankard Times, a daily newspaper at the Brier, on one condition; he wasn't going to pull any punches. As columnist at the Calgary Herald, Larry was scribe to many of the greatest…