The whole city is abuzz.  No, it's not due to that really quite unbelievable shot that Ryan Jacobs made in 10 to keep Canada from scoring the 2 they needed to win.  It's because we're having a heat wave! Everyone is talking:  temperatures in the single digits!  (By single digits, I should explain, they mean single digits below zero.)  The snowpack has been here since October, and no one can remember the last time there was a temperature above freezing.  But I can attest that after many days in a row in the double digits and worse below zero, -4C seems actually warm. In degrees F, -4 =  about 25 degrees. That's below freezing, but the comparative warmth is remarkable.  Even I was too hot in my down jacket.  I remember being amazed at how fast I acclimated to the winter weather when I moved from California to Illinois in 1984; I am re-amazed.

The warmer weather outside, interestingly enough, resulted in warmer weather inside.  I was too hot in my sweater.  That much difference in temperature will affect the ice, which will start curling differently.   Have fun figuring that out at this point in the week, boys!

The lowest temperature that I have been outside in since I got here was about -28.  The difference in degrees F between -28 and -3 is 45 degrees.  Supposed to be colder tomorrow--back down to -10, but everyone was happy today.  The warm weather, above freezing, that was originally supposed to arrive midweek this week is now slated for midweek next week, after I am home again.  They put on a special show just for me.

Had an entertaining conversation with a local yesterday: he told me about going to Las Vegas last year for the curling World Championship and it snowed about 2".  "The whole town shut down!" he exclaimed.  "The kids didn't even have to go to school!"  The idea that school would close for weather flabbergasts Manitobans, who haven't had a snow day in, well, forever.  I explained that the problem is that places where it seldom snows don't maintain fleets of snow moving equipment because it just wouldn't be a sensible expenditure of taxpayer money, and he allowed as that was true, but he was still pretty amused at our wimpiness.  

Cars here come with an electric cord standard feature, and you can drive up to your home, or to the pole in the hotel parking lot, and plug it in overnight so the engine will be warm in the morning.  I assume my rental car has this feature, but I haven't looked.  I wouldn't know whether there is a button I have to push somewhere or what, and the little thing has started every time I tried it.   Another local told me that he has a Ford Fiesta which has started every day this winter without ever being plugged in.  "If it doesn't start, I get a day off," was his philosophical approach.

I went down for curling this afternoon, but only stayed the one round.  The announcers kept trying to sell everyone on the idea that "every game counts in this round"--but that wasn't really true.  One of the games today featured two teams which were eliminated yesterday, and another featured one team which had been eliminated and one which is guaranteed in the medal round.  A third featured two teams which are not officially guaranteed, but, because of the eliminations, actually are.  There was, then, only one game which mattered, and that game featured two teams I like, so I was torn.  One of them won.  Go figure.  At that point, all four teams going to the medal round had been decided.  Tonight's draw does mean some jockying around for who is in which place, 1-4, and that does have some ramifications for who plays in the 3-4 game and who plays in the 1-2 playoff, but I don't really care about any of that.   I'm sure the real fans do!

I am not feeling very well--being stuck inside airplanes and crowded arenas full of cold air and foreign germs has resulted in my having a cold--so I just went back to the hotel to take a nap.  I can find out who gets first and who gets second on television tonight.  Tomorrow is the day that really counts, as it will determine who plays for the gold medal and who plays for the bronze.  Won't miss those!  Sunday is the medal games, and I won't miss those, either.

Some features of the curling tournament I haven't mentioned before:

As part of the opening ceremony for each match, the emcee makes an announcement that we want to acknowledge that we are in Treaty 2 Territory.  Treaty 2 is one of 11 treaties between the Canadian government and the local tribes; this one was signed in 1871.  I'm thinking that reading off the acknowledgement and naming the tribes is a rather odd means of compensating the natives: hey, there.  We admit we took your land, but at least we mention you at the beginning of every curling match--and, presumably, hockey game.   You can read about the treaties here.  Actually pretty interesting. No mention of curling at that point.

We are playing in what is normally the hockey rink for the BrandonWheat Kings, a JUNIOR hockey team in the Western League since 1967.  You wouldn't believe this arena isn't for professional athletes--think Texas high school football, a la my entry from my trip to visit Julia a couple of years ago.  Entry here.

Finally, the Canadians are making an effort to appeal to non-curling fans to come and see the Brier. They have made a series of really silly commercials with a guy named "Doug" and one of the regular broadcasters, wherein "Doug" tries to commentate and of course knows nothing at all so calls everything by the wrong name.  The tagline is "You don't have to know it to love it!" You can see one here.  They also have them for radio. You can also see how the fans have taken to this schtick when you look at my photos.

Perhaps I should at least acknowledge the final four:

Alberta--Kevin Koe (10-0); Northern Ontario--Ryan Jacobs (9-1); Team Canada--Brad Gushue (8-2) and Team Wild Card--Brandon Bottcher (8-2). So there are various possibilities: if Koe wins, he will be 11-0 and will go directly to the 1-2 playoff in the medal round.  Jacobs will be 9-2, as will the winner of the Gushue/Bottcher game, and they will have to play a tie-breaker in the morning to determine who is in second place. If Jacobs wins, then he and Koe will be tied at 9-1, and they will have to play in a tie-breaker again tomorrow morning to determine who is in first and who in second.  (At least I THINK they will have to!)  If Jacobs wins, that will consign both Canada and Wildcard to the 3-4 playoff. Whoever loses Canada/Wild card tonight will end up in the 3-4 game no matter what.  Had to know who to root for there; Canada is trying to win its third straight Tim Hortons Brier, a feat accomplished only once before, by Randy Furbey's team from Alberta (2003-2005). On the other hand, the Wild Card team had to win a wild card playoff last Friday, and who doesn't love an underdog?

The way the medal rounds works is this:

3-4 play each other.  Winner goes to semi-final.  1-2 play each other.  Loser goes to semi-final.  Winner goes to gold medal game.  Winner of semi-final goes to gold medal game.  Loser of semi-final plays loser of 3-4 playoff for bronze medal.  So any of these four can still end up in the gold medal game; the more they've lost, the more games they have to play to get there.