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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 events in the sixties but the women's ranks offered a chance to become a national champion. When Dorenda's sister Cheryl moved to Saskatoon in 1969 they were joined by Linda Burnham and Joan Andersen at front end and everything fell into place. The first step was beating defending Canadian champion Joyce McKee to win northern Saskatchewan. Next, the squad rebounded from a first game loss to win the best of three against Pauline Klaudeman from the south. Recently married and six months pregnant, Dorenda (now Schoenhals) was headed to the 1970 Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship in Calgary. Beginning with long slides which were considered "un-ladylike" at the local club, to practice and fitness training, their team blazed a trail for young women in curling. Dorenda explains what to do with free beer when your team drinks milk and orange juice, finding uniforms for a teammate who wears jeans and how to balance your delivery while pregnant.

Host Kevin Palmer is joined by Gerry Geurts and Matt Hall for a gambler's preview of the 2024 Canadian Women's Curling Championship set to begin in Calgary, Alberta. Gerry projects a wide open field beyond the two favourites and Matt explains the futures bets available at Coolbet.com including the odds of an eight-ender and a suggestion from Kevin to add Rachel Homan vs the field.

Host Kevin Palmer is joined again by Ken Pomeroy, Gerry Geurts and Matt Hall. Ken updates the gang on team rankings and his latest development, Task Manager. The crew looks at the no-tick rule, discusses whether it has adjusted teams' tactics approaching the final end, and examines the results. Gerry explains an approach to optimum strategy for the modern game and the panel considers if it leads to boring play. There are further thoughts on the Pan Continental Championships, the qualification process for major events, and concerns if the Grand Slams can meet the quota for Canadian content in the future. 

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 Ontario as second for Don Gilbert. He later moved to officiating, becoming chief umpire for several Canadian and World championships and in 1993 became the national coach for the Canadian men's team. Jim shares tales from his playing days to his four Winter Olympics including Gushue's phone calls, Team Harris pratfalls, and an oddly timed lunch between Kevin Martin and Pal Trulsen.

Doug Wilson of the Daily Curling Puzzle Facebook page and Mickey Pendergast, co-authors of What’s Your Call?, return to examine a Curling Scene Investigation from the 2022 PointsBet Invitational. 

Brad Gushue has to decide on a call for Mark Nichols’ first shot of the sixth end. The PointsBet rule of a draw to the button (rather than an extra-end) could be weighing on his decision here, even with four more ends to play.

Link to The Curling News to follow along with video and graphics, and watch the game on YouTube.

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 Myrna McKay and lead Betty McCracken, travelled east to St. John's for the last CLCA Championship (Scott Paper took over sponsorship the following year). A win in the final game over local favourite Sue-Anne Bartlett was followed by a trip to Perth, Scotland for the third women's world championship. Susan shares stories from the early days to the Calgary curling scene of the 1970s, covering all the highs and lows of over five decades in curling.

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 eventually came up against the famous Richardsons, and won. He initially found success teaming with Darlene Hill, John Gunn and Marlene Dorsett to win back-to-back Canadian mixed championships in 1967 and '68. Another mixed title came in 1971 (with Marlene replaced by Audrey St. John) but a purple heart still evaded him. Larry would reach his only Brier in London in 1974, falling just one game short of a playoff with Alberta's Hector Gervais. Larry shares stories from his early days to the many events and carspiels (he won three), being a driver for Paul Gowsell (and his opponent in the famous "pizza" game) and dealing with Russ Howard's headsets as player representative for the CCA in the 1980s. Larry passed away on August 20, 2023.

This week we talk about [00:36] how buying cheap android products on popular ecommerce sites may come preloaded with malware, then [07:16] we talk about how the curl library and command has 2 security patches that you need to make sure you update this week, [11:11] a popular DNA testing company has their data leaked on the internet and why that should concern you, and [16:25] Sony confirms another breach linked to the MoveIT vulernability.

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 Staniloff, Robert Lemecha and Allan Dudar, Hersh first won a purple heart in 1963. The crowd in Brandon was stunned watching the Richardsons of Saskatchewan dismantle Manitoba 16-4. The Lerner squad didn't recover that week, finishing 3-7. Vowing he'd be back, Hersh returned in 1966, again with Robert and Allan and now joined by Bob Dudar at lead. They finished 6-4, defeating eventual winner Ron Northcott from Alberta but losing close games to Bob "Pee-wee" Pickering of Saskatchewan and runner-up Joe Gurowka of Ontario. Before talking to Hersh (43:50) Kevin sits down with the guest from episode 24, Wally Ursuliak and his friend Will Pacarynuk. "Lucky" Will, aka "Fudgie", has spent the last few years writing WALLY-san , a history of Wally's life and legacy.

Doug Wilson and Mickey Pendergast join to discuss their new book, What’s Your Call? Curling Strategy & Tactics in 50 Real-Life Puzzles. They share an example from the book of a Curling Scene Investigation—an early-end decision by Canada (Chelsea Carey) against Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni) in their round robin match-up at the 2019 World Women’s Championship. Link to The Curling News to follow along with video and graphics, and watch the game on YouTube.

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 years. They won their first in 1982 with Bob Nicol and Bruce Kennedy at front end and later recruited Ian Tetley and Pat Perroud to capture their second Canadian and World championship in 1985. Al reflects on his famous double takeout against Pat Ryan at the '85 Brier in Moncton and shares many stories from his long career. The episode concludes with a recording of Arnold Asham performing "The Hack Came Back".

Kevin hosts Ken Pomeroy of Kenpom.com, Gerry Geurts of CurlingZone and 2019 World Junior Champion and Coolbet.com handicapper Matt Hall. They examine the recent rule change by the World Curling Federation to hinder the tick-shot, ponder if drawing to the button over playing an extra is more equitable and debate having time clocks expire after each end.

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 century. He skipped Tom Howat, Ken Ingo and Donald Mackey through the Ontario Tankard in 1966 and narrowly lost the Brier in an extra-end playoff to Ron Northcott of Alberta. In a return trip to the Brier in 1976, Joe acheived the rare feat of shooting 100%. He went on to win his first Canadian Seniors Championship in 1986 as third for Earle Hushagen and added two more Seniors titles and a Masters playing second for Jim Sharples. Joe held many roles as a builder, including president of the Canadian Curling Association but it was during his time as president of the OCA that he was entangled in controversy with Ed Werenich during the 1984 Provincial Tankard and the legend of curling's version of “deep throat” was born.

Doug Wilson and Mickey Pendergast return to discuss Daily Curling Puzzle #70. Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs has the hammer (last rock advantage) and is tied against Brendan Bottcher of Alberta in the second end of Draw 1 at the 2019 Brier. Brad is about to throw his first stone and may be in position to score two or more, but he must consider what his opponent could do next. Link to The Curling News to follow along with video and graphics.

Reigning Alberta Senior Men's Champions James Pahl and Mark Klinck join Kevin to examine what happened in the infamous 2004 Brier Final between Alberta's Ferbey Four and Mark Dacey's Team Nova Scotia. Link to The Curling News to follow along with video and graphics.