Strong and her St. John's rink of Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong and Peg Goss improved to 5-4 with a couple of impressive wins Wednesday. That record puts Newfoundland in a five-way tie for what would be the fourth and final playoff spot. Quebec, which Strong and Co. defeated 9-5 late Wednesday night, is also at 5-4 as are P.E.I., Alberta, and Ontario.

B.C. leads at 8-1, followed by Team Canada and Saskatchewan at 6-3. Jennifer Jones's defending Canadian champs were Strong's other victims Wednesday, with Team Canada losing 8-4.

Not much is clear what going into what could be a crazy Thursday in Victoria. It is a certainty that British Columbia has clinched a top-two finish and a playoff spot. It is just as certain that if Newfoundland wins it final two games today - against New Brunswick (3-6) and Nova Scotia (1-8) - it will guarantee itself at least a place in a tie-breaker on Friday.

Two days ago, even that didn't seem possible for Strong and Co., which had started the week at 1-4. But then the Newfoundlanders ran off four straight wins, all against teams that were ahead of them in the standings at the time. That run not only helped Strong's rink move up, but helped bring Quebec, Alberta, and P.E.I. back.

Cunningham said they didn't have any choice but to win, since putting their backs against the wall. "With four losses we were done. Either we turned it up a notch to see what we could do, or we're going home," she said.

Strong's rink isn't the only one on a roll. After starting with three straight losses, Saskatchewan, skipped by Stefanie Lawton, has bounced back with six wins and now controls its playoff fortunes.

"We knew that was going to be an intense game against Alberta," said Lawton, who needed an extra end to turn back Cheryl Bernard 7-6 in the afternoon draw. "We are fighters and I'm so proud of how we came back from our 0-3 start. We have a lot of family and friends here and it is great when you can hear them cheering for us."

Strong and her St. John's rink of Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong, and Peg Goss defeated Alberta 8-6 and Prince Edward Island 9-3 Tuesday to improve their record to 3-4. What's more, the victories came against teams that were ahead of Newfoundland in the standings, giving Strong's team even more incentive in the chase.

The St. John's rink is tied for seventh place with Ontario and New Brunswick, and only the top four finishers make the playoffs. However, there are three teams - Alberta, P.E.I., an Sakatchewan - tied for fourth at 4-3.

Marla Mallett of B.C. leads at 6-1, followed by defending champion Jennifer Jones and Team Canada, who are at 5-2 along with Quebec's Marie-France Larouche. Strong could make things even tighter with a couple of wins today - Team Canada and Quebec will be her opponents.

Tuesday's big upset came in the late draw, when Kelly Galusha of the Territories defeated Jones 10-8, handing the defending Scotties and world champion her second loss of the day. Galusha, who is 22 weeks pregnant, kept pace with Jones from the outset, building leads of 4-1 and 6-4 before Canada rallied. Jones gave her Winnipeg rink the lead with a single in the eighth before Galusha took two in the ninth to build a 9-8 advantage.

Facing multiple Canadian stones in the house in the 10th, Galusha executed a perfect play off her own stone to edge out Jones for shot rock. Jones attempted to bump one of her own rocks into the Territories' stone with her final shot, but she was wide right.

"I'm extremely excited to see the statue. It'll be a personal high for me," said Strong, the provincial director of the Terry Fox Foundation in Newfoundland.

Strong has childhood memories of participating in Terry Fox runs near the other Mile 0, more than 5,000 kilometres away in St. John’s, N.L.

"In Newfoundland, we take great pride that Terry Fox started his cross-Canada run here. I grew up with that connection."

Although Strong and her team of third Cathy Cunningham, second Laura Strong, and lead Peg Goss might need directions to find Terry Fox’s statue, they’ll have no problem finding their way around the Scotties Tournament of Hearts next week at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The combined experience among the four players adds up to 33 appearances at the Canadian women’s curling championship.

"We're sufficiently stocked with Scotties diamonds," Strong said, referring to the tradition of each participant receiving a diamond to add to a Scotties necklace. "We have a lot of experience, and we're hoping that'll pay off on the ice."

Strong has never made the medal round at the Scotties. She lost out in tiebreakers last year and 2006, when she was named an all-star skip, but Cunningham and Goss were runners-up in 2003. The biggest hurdle for the team, which has been together for two years, is getting game experience leading up to the Scotties.

"It’s tough, but we also don’t have anything else to compare it to. It is what it is," Strong said, of the isolation of her home province.

They want to play well at the Scotties, but they also plan to cherish every moment.

"This is my ninth, and you never know when it’s going to be your last."

So far this season in cashspiels, the Strong team has been steady and consistent on the ice, but hasn’t quite been able to win those key games to put themselves into the money. They lost out in three C-event qualifiers.

"We haven’t quite been able to flick the switch," she said. "I think the competition has been tough, but it’s just been a shot here and there. We haven’t been coming unhinged or anything."

Apparently, the team was just waiting for playdowns. Strong won seven straight games at the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club to roll to her fifth straight provincial title. Besides experience, she said the strength of the team is a nice blend of personalities — she laughed about outgrowing those old sisterly blow-ups with Laura — and all are focused on the task at hand.

"We really aren’t shooting for anything less than the playoffs," Strong said, although she did see one disadvantage about curling in Victoria.

"The ocean is going to be on the wrong side."

Heather Strong left no doubt she’s queen of the rings in Newfoundland and Labrador women’s curling Sunday. Strong and her Re/Max Centre St. John’s curling rink of third Cathy Cunningham, second Peg Goss, and lead Laura Strong defeated clubmate Michelle Jewer 8-6 to win the Scotties provincial ladies’ curling championship at Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club for the fifth straight time.

"It was a tight game and came down to the last end," said Strong, who won seven straight games to earn the right to represent the province at the Canadian championships Feb. 21-March 1 in Victoria, B.C. "We were ahead throughout the game," said Strong, "but I don’t know if you could ever say we were in control at any point. It was a well-played game by both teams. We missed a couple of opportunities to get some padding points and they missed a couple of opportunities to tie the game."

Strong led 4-2 after four ends and could have put the game out of reach in the fifth with a shot at scoring five. Strong attempted a runback for the nickel, but ticked the guard and Jewer stole one. "It was a hard shot for five, but it was certainly available to us," Strong noted.

In the sixth end, Strong had an open hit and stick for a deuce. Jewer got one back in the seventh when she drew against two. Strong got that one back in the eighth. Jewer and her rink of Kellie Turpin, Jill Waite, and Leslie Ann Walsh stayed alive with a runback for two in the ninth end. Strong won the game and the championship with a draw to the four-foot in the 10th end.

"We were really pleased with how we played throughout the week," said Strong. "We felt we were in control for the most part..."

"We were really pleased with how we played throughout the week," said Strong. "We felt we were in control for the most part (during the round-robin) and played well. "We were able to finish off the close games that could have gone either way," said Strong, who beat Jewer 9-4 earlier in a round-robin match.

Strong said the team will "stay in practice mode" and try to get some competitive games here before they head out west for the nationals. Jewer beat Barb Pinsent of Re/Max Centre 9-3 in the semifinal. After finishing undefeated in the round-robin, Strong had to be beaten twice for the championship.

For the second Sunday in 7 weeks, Team Rodrigues Winery from the RE/MAX Centre in St. John’s was eliminated by Barb (Kirkness) Spencer of Winnipeg from a major World Tour event, the 44-Team $76,000 John Shea Insurance Canada Cup Qualifier in Ottawa. The Team of Heather Strong, Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong, and Peg Goss finished 4-3 and in 14th place, taking home $750 and making it all 4 World Womens Tour events this season (and 10 of the last 11 events) where they have won CTRS points (6 from this event).

Team Rodrigues Winery skip Heather Strong said that, “the JSI Canada Cup Qualifier saw our Team fulfill the goal of maintaining consistent play among the World Tour leaders. We went to Ottawa focused on game 1 against (2004) National Junior Champ, Jill Mouzar, and we played tough in a nice come-from-behind win. Personally satisfying, it was a significant accomplishment to get our first ever win against Kelly Scott; she is likely to be at the top of this game as long as I am around.” Scott won the World Championship in her second try in 2007.

Third Cathy Cunningham added that, "Two of our losses were against teams that went on to Qualify for the 13-team Playoffs, and the other (Krista McCarville) was a finalist in April at the Players Championship played at Mile One Stadium".

"And I made it a year sooner than Heather," she joked

For Team Rodrigues Winery second Laura Strong, there was an added element to her satisfaction; she has now surpassed the 150-win level for World Tour and National Championship play. “And I made it a year sooner than Heather,” she joked, knowing that the only Newfoundland and Labrador curler to have more wins is her Sister who got number 150 in October 2007 as a 30-year-old. Heather, who now has 195 wins (190 as a skip), said with a wink that, “I know Laura is prepared to have me share some of the credit for a lot of her wins”.

Both Strongs have surpassed legend Sue Ann Bartlett in World Tour and National career wins; Bartlett played 216 games in Nationals prior to the World Tour catching fire as it is at the present. Games played and won-loss information for Cathy Cunningham and Peg Goss are not available; however, Cunningham is probably the only other Newfoundland and Labrador curler ahead of Bartlett.

Team Larouche from Quebec City defeated 2008 Players Championship Winner, Amber Holland of Kronau, Saskatchewan 6-4 on Monday night for the $12,000 first prize. It was Larouche who defeated Team Rodrigues Winery 5-4 in a Qualifier at the Sobeys Slam last weekend on route to the championship there as well. With Sherry Middaugh and Mary Ann Arsenault the other semi-finalists, three of the four Canada Cup Qualifiers from this event are from the East.

Cathy Cunningham, the Team Rodrigues Winery third, commented, “We hoped for better, but it’s a satisfactory outcome to finish 14th when you’re seeded middle of the pack in the largest World Tour event of the season”. Team second, Laura Strong, added that, “Our World Tour Season has been a confidence boost; we intend to use this experience and focus in our efforts to defend our provincial title in January”. In St. John’s, the Team plays weekly in RE/MAX Mens SuperLeague Curling where they currently have a 6-3 record.

There's a great deal at stake for the 44 teams entered in the John Shea Insurance (JSI) Canada Cup Qualifier to be played December 11 - 15 at the Ottawa and Rideau Curling Clubs in the Nation’s Capital. In addition to the $70,000 total prize money, the top four Qualifiers get invited to the Strauss Canada Cup, where the winner will be awarded a spot in the Olympic Pre-Trials.

For Team Rodrigues Winery (currently 19th under the Canadian Team Ranking System) from the RE/MAX Centre in St. John's, this will be their fourth World Tour appearance this season. They have been successful in earning CRTS points in all 3 events. Team third, Cathy Cunningham said that, "We are focused on every shot and every game we play this weekend. Our goal is to gather as many points as we can, qualify for the Canada Cup by winning this event, and put ourselves in the best position we can for the remainder of the season."

Team Rodrigues Winery finished in 5th in the Canada Cup Qualifier each of the last 3 years, but just the top-four advance. With the entry list reading like the Who's Who of Canadian Curling, a top-four finish will still be a good accomplishment. Still, all four Team members (Peg Goss, Laura Strong, Cathy Cunningham, and Heather Strong) have a Canada Cup to their credit. Said skip Heather Strong, "the Canada Cup is like a mini-Scotties; while the Team needs to be hot for a shorter period of time for the Canada Cup, there is a tougher balance of the top teams in the Country".

Team Rodrigues Winery has drawn the 2007 Nova Scotia Champion (Jill Mouzar Team with Heather Smith-Dacey, the 2000 and 2004 Nova Scotia Champion and a National Mixed winner, at third) for their first game 6:00 pm (7:30 Newfoundland time) today at the Rideau Curling Club. The last time Strong met Mouzar was in the 2007 Scotties where Mouzar was the victor. Team second, Laura Strong, said that, "We had a different lineup in 2007. We are playing better and more consistently as a team this year, but we have to assume our opponents are as well. This should be a good match-up."

Win or lose, the Team's second game is 8:00 am Friday. Lead Peg Goss added that, "While money is always a help to our team's travel expenses, the major incentive for all these teams will not be the $12,500 for the winner but the potential berth in the Pre-Trials." The Olympic Pre-Trials will be played in Prince George, BC in November to decide four teams to move on to the Trials in Edmonton next December to decide Canada's entry in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver-Whistler.

"We hope to continue our consistent play in Ottawa which is an important last test before the Provincial Championship at the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club in January".Team Rodrigues Winery knows that they will have to knock off some heavy-weights on the Canadian ladies curling scene in order to make the playoff round of 13 teams; however Strong has finished 5th in Ottawa World Tour Event on four occasions over the last 9 seasons (1999, 2001, 2003, and 2006). Elimination games continue Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the final played Monday evening.

Heather Strong said that, "We hope to continue our consistent play in Ottawa which is an important last test before the Provincial Championship at the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club in January". In St. John's, Team Rodrigues Winery plays out of the RE/MAX Centre where it has a 6-3 record with two games remaining in the Men’s SuperLeague. Game results and real up arrowtime score updates will be available from the link on the Team's Web Site Schedule Page.

The 32-team $60,000 Sobeys Slam 2008 concluded Sunday night at the John Brother MacDonald Stadium in New Glasgow with a 7-3 win by Team Larouche (QUE) over Team Lawton (SASK). Both Semi-Finals went an extra end as competition was intense throughout the four days. Team Rodrigues Winery played tough from start to finish with 6 of their 7 games going down to the last rock (two of them in extra ends), and the 7th game was 2-2 playing the 7th end when Team Rodrigues Winery scored a "five".

For the Team of Heather Strong, Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong, and Peg Goss; this 9th place finish equalled their best ever record for their 4 appearances in the more prestigious "Slam" World Tour Events. Also it gives the Team CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) points in all 3 World Tour events this season (and 7 of 8 events since this lineup was decided in the summer of 2007). The Team moved from 32 to 22 from the 6 points earned this weekend.

"It was great experience to play rock-for-rock against a tremendous field and to have defeated some of the top World Tour teams..."Heather Strong said, "It was disappointing to be so close to the playoffs and not convert; however, compared to last year, we were in tight scores in every game, including against the Team which went on to win the Sobeys Slam Final." Third Cathy Cunningham added that, "It was great experience to play rock-for-rock against a tremendous field and to have defeated some of the top World Tour teams. I know that our Team has it in us to ‘qualify’, but it just wasn’t in the cards this weekend."

Team Rodrigues Winery was put on the sidelines Saturday night by Marie-France Larouche from Quebec City (the eventual winner); a Team that Team Rodrigues Winery defeated in the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts round robin. Larouche (in 4th on the CTRS list) made a draw for 2 and a 5-4 win after Strong, who had a nice touch all weekend, was deep on a come around with her last rock. Team Rodrigues Winery stole 2 in the 3rd end to open the scoring and was ahead or tied until the last rock was thrown.

The remainder of the Team Rodrigues Winery games unfolded like this:

Game 6: A 5-3 loss to Sherry Middaugh from Coldwater, Ontario, 3-time National Finalist and defending Sobeys Slam Champion. Middaugh (9th on the CTRS list) moved ahead 4-1 with 2 in the 1st and a steal in the 5th before Team Rodrigues Winery scored 2 in the 6th and forced Middaugh to hit with hammer in the 8th.

Game 5: Defeated Julie Reddick from Brantford, Ontario 4-3 by scoring 2 in the 6th and a single on a hit with hammer in the 8th. Seeded 12th in this Event and in 14th place under the CTRS, they are Winners of the Ontario Tour Championship and have 2005 Olympic Trials skip Jo-Ann Rizzo at third on the otherwise young team that distinguished themselves as juniors.

Game 4: A third consecutive win by Team Rodrigues Winery (7-2) over their 2006 Scott nemesis, Team Belisle from Montreal. Strong took control with a steal in the 5th and scored a decisive 5 in the 7th, Eve Belisle coming up light on her final shot. Belisle (13th on the CTRS list), in addition to two Quebec Ladies Championships, is one of only two females to skip in the National Mixed.

Game 3: After Team Rodrigues Winery scored 3 in the 5th to take the lead for the first time, Mary-Anne Arsenault from Halifax (second on the 5-time Canadian Championship and 2-time World Championship Colleen Jones teams) came back with a 2 and was able to trade singles the rest of the way to win 6-5. This was some revenge for an extra end defeat at the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Regina. This year Arsenault (30th on the CTRS list) has Scott skip Kay Zink at third and Theresa Breen, from the great Ann Merklinger (ONT) teams of the 1990's, at lead.

Game 2: Despite steals in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, Team Rodrigues Winery needed an extra end for a 7-6 win (their second win in 7 career games) over the current Canadian and World Champion Jennifer Jones Team from Winnipeg, the second seed in the Sobeys Slam 2008. The only scoring by Team Jones (7th on the CTRS list) were 3's in the 2nd and 8th.

Game 1: For the second year in a row, Team Rodrigues Winery opened in New Glasgow against the 4-time USA Champion, 1999 World Silver Medalist, and 2-time Continental Cup Champion, Patti Lank of Lewiston, New York. However, this year (and for the second time in 5 days) Team Rodrigues Winery came out on top 5-4 in another extra end game. The oddity of the match saw a blank in the final end when Strong with hammer chipped out a USA rock that was partially buried and the only rock in the circles.

Team second, Laura Strong said that, "Our schedule this season was developed to get the best competition available to us, and this week saw us match up well against some great competitors". Lead, Peg Goss added that, "We have nine days to work on some aspects of our game in our home club before departing for Ottawa and our final World Tour event for this season".

In St. John's, Team Rodrigues Winery plays in the Mens RE/MAX Superleague at the RE/MAX Centre where they have 5 wins in their 7 games played to date. Information on all the up arrowmainland events contested by Team Rodrigues Winery for the last several seasons is available from on the Team’s Web Site ( www.teamstrongnl.com ).

Team Rodrigues Winery, for the second consecutive year, opens the 2008 Sobeys Slam at the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow against the Patti Lank foursome, a 4-time USA Champion, 1999 World Silver Medalist, 2-time Continental Cup Champion, and a very successful World Tour team. It is also the second matchup of the two teams in 5 days, the team of Heather Strong, Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong, and Peg Goss having defeated the Americans 5-3 in Brantford, Ontario Saturday; although Lank prevailed 7-3 in their first matchup last November.

Lead Peg Goss explains that "we are expecting a great match-up as we are such closely ranked teams" (Team Rodrigues Winery is ranked 15th, one place higher than last year for this event and the team from Lewiston, New York is seeded 18th, one place lower than last year).

The first game starts 8:30 (9:00 am in Newfoundland) with the second game, win or lose, being 4:00 at the John Brother MacDonald Stadium in New Glasgow with the winner and loser respectively playing the winner and loser of the game between Jennifer Jones (Team Canada & World Champions from Winnipeg) and Nancy McConnery (3-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts representative from Truro).

The Sobeys Slam, now in its second year, was voted by the curlers as the best World Tour event of 2007-08. This jewel of the World Ladies Curling Tour in Atlantic Canada is the first ever Grand Slam Event to come east of Manitoba although the Players Championship season finale was hosted at Mile One Stadium in St. John’s in April. The format for the Sobeys Slam is a 32-team triple-knockout seeing 8 teams go to a sudden-death playoff where a total of $60,000 is on the line, making it the richest event on the 2008-09 calendar.

This will be the sixth time that Team Rodrigues Winery has participated in the Sobeys World Tour Cashspiel and they were the 2005 Champion as well as a 2002 Finalist. They finished 9th last year, the same as they placed at the Casinos of Winnipeg Slam last month. The familiar surroundings for the Team are among the reason for optimism that they will continue their success so far this year, which includes a 5th place finish at the Sun Life Financial Classic in Brantford last weekend.

"Coming off a good weekend, we are looking forward to some arena play and good conditions at the Curling Club in New Glasgow..." Third of Team Rodrigues Winery, Cathy Cunningham, said that, "Coming off a good weekend, we are looking forward to some arena play and good conditions at the Curling Club in New Glasgow. We like the planning put into this event by the local committee, and of course the field of talent again this year is superb." Skip Heather Strong added that, “We look forward to competing in the ‘Sobeys’ each November. We keep that weekend open and we always enjoy this opportunity to play against the top ladies teams in the world, just before we head into the playdown season. We are confident of great ice conditions and many knowledgeable, enthusiastic fans being there to enjoy the curling. The hospitality that we have always experienced in New Glasgow has been second to none."

Second Laura Strong states that "The first goal is always to qualify (for the Playoff Round of 8 teams) but essentially we would like to take it a step further, which would be a great accomplishment in a field of the best World Tour teams on the Tour". In addition to Jones (#2), Strong, and Lank, other top seeds in this event include:

• #1, Shannon Kleibrink, Calgary,
• #3, Kelly Scott, Kelowna (with Coleen Jones as 5th player),
• #4, Cheryl Bernard, Calgary,
• #5, Sherry Middaugh, Coldwater, Ontario (defending Sobeys Slam Champion),
• #6, Stefanie Lawton, Saskatoon ( Canada Cup Winner),
• #7, Cathy King, Edmonton,
• #8, Team China (Bingyu Wang), Harbin,
• #9, Krista McCarville, Thunder Bay (Players Championship Finalist),
• #10, Heather Rankin, Calgary,
• #11, Amber Holland, Regina (Players Championship Winner),
• #12, Eve Belisle, Montreal,
• #13, Julie Reddick, Brantford, Ontario,
• #14, Marie France Larouche, Quebec City (Sun Life Financial Classic Winner),
• #16, Renee Sonnenberg, Edmonton,
• #17, Crystal Webster, Grand Prairie, Alberta,
• #19, Alison Goring, Thornhill, Ontario,
• Mary Ann Arsenault, Halifax,
• Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt, Charlottetown,
• Karen Porritt, Winnipeg

According to Goss, "These teams have a wealth of Provincial, National, and World curling experience, and any team in an event of this calibre is a force to be reckoned with."

Cunningham also explained that, "We use all the event we compete in as preparation for our upcoming playdowns to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. It is important to play as many highly competitive games as possible to gather as much experience as we can." In St. John’s, the Team plays out of the RE/MAX Centre.

It was mixed emotions yesterday for Team Rodrigues Winery at the Sun Life Financial Curling Classic in Brantford, Ontario as they were eliminated by a last rock 6-5 loss to an upstart Ottawa Valley cashspiel team skipped by Jacqueline Harrison.

The Team of Heather Strong, skip; Cathy Cunningham, third; Laura Strong, second; and Peg Goss, lead made the playoffs in the 32-team Ladies Section on Saturday with their fourth consecutive win in the Event; a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Debbie McCormick foursome from Madison, Wisconsin (a 10-time USA Champion and 2003 World Champion with 2 Olympic Games, a 2006 World silver medal, World Junior credentials, Continental Cup appearances, and several World Tour Event Championships on their resume). Down 3-1 at the half way point, a steal in the 6th and 2 with a last-rock draw in the final end eked out the win for Team Rodrigues Winery.

But in the Quarter-Final, Strong explained "It was the competition’s turn for last-end drama. Strong explained, "We had good control of the game and a 5-3 lead on the strength of 2 in the 2nd and a steal in the 7th. I was proud of how tough our Team played throughout the weekend against some top teams. Three in the final end is just one of those things that happens in curling; it just bit us at a bad time." It was the first 3 given up by Team Rodrigues Winery on the weekend, in fact the Team gave up only two 2's in the 5 games.

Second, Laura Strong, agreed that "Our defence was very strong this week"Second, Laura Strong, agreed that "Our defence was very strong this week" (World Tour Statistics show their 83% "force efficiency", see Attachment 4, was second best amongst the 32 teams). "Even when teams were looking like they were going to get multiple points, Heather made several clutch last rock shots to force them to a single. By qualifying out of Section A, we had 25 hours off before starting the playoffs which can be a challenge, where the teams you come up against are still playing and building momentum. I think we dealt with the layoff well though. Spectators commented that it was a well-played game by both teams".

In addition to Canadian Team Ranking System points, Team Rodrigues Winery won $4,000 (equalling the second highest winnings for the foursome) while Harrison was assured $6,000 with the victory and went on to lose the Final to Marie France Larouche from Quebec City. It was the 6th time that Heather Strong has skipped a team to 5th in an event hosted in Ontario. With $47,000 in total prize money, the Sun Life Financial Curling Classic is the most prestigious event on the World Tour in Ontario this season, attracting a high number of the better teams in central North America including six premium USA teams.

The linescores for all of the Team’s games are attached. In addition to the win over McCormick (that ran Heather Strong’s record versus USA teams to 8-1; 9-1 over international teams) Team Rodrigues Winery had a 5-3 win over Patti Lank from Lewiston, New York (another USA Champion with 6 international events to her credit and the only USA team to have defeated Strong), an extra-end 6-5 win over the 2-time Quebec Championship Eve Belisle team from Montreal, and an opening-game 9-4 win over a Hamilton, Ontario team skipped by Stacey Brandwood.

Upcoming competition for Team Rodrigues Winery comes in the Mens SuperLeague at the RE/MAX Centre, however, they will have just two days back at work before heading to the Sobeys Slam in New Glasgow. The Club Ladies Championship will start in early January. It will decide the teams to represent the Club in Eastern Zone Play which will qualify representatives for the Provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts from which the champion will represent Newfoundland and Labrador in Victoria, BC in February in the National Scotties.

Ontario has been kind to Provincial Ladies Championship Teams skipped by Heather Strong. They have placed 5th in prestigious events in Ontario cities on 5 occasions; in the World Womens Tour Event in London, 3 times at the World Tour Event in Ottawa, and at the 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts where they had 7 round-robin wins before losing a tie-breaker. Also current team members Cathy Cunningham and Peg Goss made it to the Final of the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Kitchener-Waterloo in 2003.

Team Rodrigues Winery, which includes skip Heather Strong, third Cathy Cunningham, second Laura Strong, and lead Peg Goss play their first game in the Sun Life Finacial Invitational Curling Classic (the premier Ontario Cashspiel for the 2008 World Tour Season) at 11:30 am (1:00 Nfld. Time) Friday at the Brantford Golf & Country Club. They face off in the 32-team $47,000 triple-knockout Bonspiel against an experienced cashspiel team skipped by Stacey Brandwood, the only team entered from Hamilton, Ontario, which have played together for many years and have their names on several provincial championship banners.

Skip Heather Strong says that, "Our goal for all World Tour events is to qualify for one of the 8 playoff spots that will play a single elimination starting Sunday evening". Lead, Peg Goss, adds that, "Getting off to a good start will certainly be the way to ensure we make the playoffs in this very talented field".

Some of the premier teams entered in the Sun Life Finacial Invitational Curling Classic that will be going all out to win are:

• Cheryl Bernard of Calgary who has already played 7 World Tour Events this season and is ranked second. Their history of play against Team Rodrigues Winery is deep and includes a win at the 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Lethbridge.

• Patti Lank of Lewiston, New York has a World Championship and two Continental Cup (Team North America) wins amongst her six international appearances; she has had extensive success on the World Tour and defeated Team Rodrigues Winery in the opening game of the 2007 Sobeys Slam.

• Debbie McCormick of Madison, Wisconsin, 10-time USA Champion and 2006 World Silver Medalist who is a former World Champion, a World Junior competitor, and a two-time Olympic competitor defeated by Team Rodrigues Winery at the Casinos of Winnipeg Classic/Slam last month.

• Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt, the current (& 5-time) PEI Champion, 2-time National Junior Champion, 2001 World Junior Champion, and winner of the round-robin in the 2003 Scott Tournament of Hearts. Birt and Strong have met up many times over the past decade in World Tour and National play.

• Bingyu Wang of Harbin, China who was a 2008 World Finalist and has played extensively on the World Tour the last two seasons (including 5 events already this season and an 8-7 defeat in Saskatoon by Team Rodrigues Winery in 2007). Team China is currently ranked 5th on the World Tour.

• Marie France Larouche of Quebec City, the 3-time and current Quebec Champion, 1999 Canadian Junior Champion, 2004 Scott Tournament of Hearts Finalist, and Olympic Trials participant. They were defeated by Team Rodrigues Winery at the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Regina.

Third Cathy Cunningham said that, "We’re ready to play as many games as it takes to qualify against these great teams. Our first tournament was a success in our minds and we plan to continue with the same strategy this weekend. The experience we gain with each tournament is equally important to our overall goals."

Team second, Laura Strong, said that, "This event is being hosted at 3 local clubs; the Brantford Golf & Country Club, the Brant Curling Club, and the Paris Curling Club; we will be looking to improve on reading ice at different clubs and being able to adapt quickly." Curling fans and Team followers can link to the Event or World Tour web sites from the Team Rodrigues Winery Web Site in order to view biographical information and to follow along with scores being automatically updated.

With $62,000 in prize money in the 32-team Casinos of Winnipeg Slam at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, the richest ever prize package at a Womens World Tour Event, it would have been a good time for Team Rodrigues Winery to break through with their first championship win at a World Tour Slam level event.

Barb (Kirkness) Spencer with her Sister, Darcy Robertson came up big in a Qualifier last night to prevent that from happening. Spencer and Robertson were 1984 Canadian Junior Champions and 1986 and 2003 Manitoba representatives in the Scott Tournament of Hearts. They got out to a 3-0 lead and used hammer in the final end to defeat Team Rodrigues Winery 6-4 to advance to the Playoff Round today. Still, the team of skip Heather Strong, third Cathy Cunningham, second Laura Strong, and lead Peg Goss can be proud of some great curling in a very tough field to finish 9th and be the only team east of Manitoba left standing for the Draw #14 game against Spencer. Also they earn their first Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points for battling past some premium World Tour teams (that included a World Champion, two Manitoba Champions, a USA Champion, a Saskatchewan Champion, a National Junior Champion, and a career World Tour icon).

Heather Strong said that "I am proud of the way we played this weekend, given the fact that we are just two weeks into our season and playing many teams who have been playing for 5 to 6 weeks already. Our losses were tight scores and our wins were convincing." The field included 14 of the 17 teams ahead of Team Rodrigues Winery in World Tour points as of the end of last season (and 13 of the top 14) plus arguably the best teams from Sweden and the USA. The outcomes and highlights for games 1 to 5 are:

• In a 7-4 opening game victory over the Janet Harvey Team from Winnipeg, a lead from 2 in the first evaporated when Harvey stole a point in the fifth, but Team Rodrigues Winery countered with 3 in the sixth and Strong used hammer in the final end for a hit-and-stick against 3. Harvey, a 3-time Manitoba Champion, had defeated Strong 8-6 at the 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts in London, Ontario.
• In a 4-3 loss to Kim Link of Winnipeg, a regular competitor in the Manitoba Scott Provincial, the teams traded singles with Team Rodrigues Winery taking the lead with a steal in the seventh; however, Link scored the only 2 of the game in the final end. Third Colleen Kilgallen on her last rock of that end killed two guards on one of two opposition counters, removing that counter from play and rolling the shooter and two guard stones into the rings. Link was able to play those 3 stones into the margin of victory.
• It was two consecutive losses for Team Rodrigues Winery after a 7-5 defeat from Colleen Madonia from Mississauga (who throws third stones and has been a regular competitor in the Ontario Scott Provincial). Three in the fourth was pivotal, still Christina Cadorin had to use hammer in the final end to prevent a loss.
• Team Rodrigues Winery extended its W-L record against USA teams to 6-1, its record against former USA Championship teams to 5-1, and its record against International teams to 7-1) with a hard-fought 5-4 win over the 3-time USA Championship and 2003 World Championship team skipped by Debbie McCormick from Madison, Wisconsin. The big break was a steal of 2 in the fifth end. In game 5, Sherry Anderson from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (the 4th place Team on the all-time list of World Tour money winners and 3-time Scott Tournament of Hearts competitors), a 5-0 lead by Team Rodrigues Winery was helped by a steal of 2 in the second end. The veteran conceded defeat after Team Rodrigues Winery scored 2 more in the sixth end for a 7-1 lead. Strong’s W-L record against Anderson is now 2-3 dating back to the Montreal Open in 2001.

Event statistics are available on the Asham World Tour Web Site available from the Schedule Page or Links Page on the Team Rodrigues Winery Web Site www.teamstrongnl.com

Winnipeg has been an important site for Heather Strong led curling teams, including her start with her Sister, Laura, at the National Junior Championship in 1997. And it is back to Winnipeg on Thursday for Team Rodrigues Winery as they play in the Casinos of Winnipeg Slam at the Fort Rouge Curling Club. Heather Strong said, "I’m not sure what to expect this weekend; we are sufficiently experienced against the top teams now and we hope to break through soon with a championship win at the World Tour level. Every game is an opportunity to improve as we set out to defend our Provincial Championship in January."

Team Rodrigues Winery third, Cathy Cunningham, said that "We will all need to be at the top of our game to have a winning record amongst these very experienced teams, twelve of which have won national championships. Our goal will be to qualify for the Championship Round on Monday."

The four top-seeds are:

• Kelly Scott (BC), 2-time Canadian Champion and World bronze and gold medalist; she also won the Canadian Junior Championship for Manitoba when she was Kelly MacKenzie.

• Stephanie (Miller) Lawton (SASK), the current Canada Cup Champion and another former national junior champion who is ranked 4th in the World by the Canadian Curling News.

• Jennifer Jones (MAN), current Canadian and World Champion who also won the 2005 Scott in St. John’s with her famous last shot (another former national junior champion).

• Shannon Kleibrink (ALB), who shared the Torino Olympics spotlight with the Brad Gushue Team, winning a bronze and who represented Alberta in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 1993, 2004, and 2008.

Team Rodrigues Winery opens 9:00 am (11:30 in Newfoundland) Friday against the Janet Harvey Team from Winnipeg. Strong and Harvey are within 4 places of each other on the Cummulative Canadian Team Ranking System over the past 2 years, resulting in a well matched opener. It will be the first of two games on Friday in the triple-knockout elimination. The evening game for Team Rodrigues Winery will either be against Kleibrink from Calgary or Kim Link from Winnipeg.

After another busy summer of off-ice conditioning and fine-tuning their approach for play on the World Tour, Team Rodrigues Winery today announced that they intend to play in at least four high-profile mainland events; events that will have the Team in the curling spotlight throughout the 2008-09 World Tour season.

Team skip, Heather Strong, said, "We are fortunate to enjoy cooperation from great sponsors such as Rodrigues Winery, Harveys Home Heating, Natural Newfoundland Nutraceuticals, and Travellers Inn and affiliates. This has allowed us to register for:

• the Casinos of Winnipeg Classic; a $50,000 32-team World Tour Grand Slam Event starting Oct. 24,
• the Sun Life Financial Invitational Curling Classic in Brantford, Ontario, starting November 21st,
• the Sobeys Slam Curling Classic in New Glasgow (voted "best event of 2008-2009" and "richest event on the 2008-2009 Tour") starting November 27; with $60,000 it is the richest event on the 2007-08 Tour,
• the John Shea Insurance Spiel in Ottawa, this ladies 48-team Canada Cup Qualifier starts in Ottawa on December 11."

These four events represent the busiest World Tour season ever for Team Rodrigues Winery which includes Peg Goss as lead, Laura Strong as second, and Cathy Cunningham as third. Cunningham explained that, "This schedule is as much as our business leave will allow, and it will enable us to get a wealth of competition with other elite teams on the World Tour. Consistent exposure to the curling talent in those events is essential for our continued development in this sport."

In addition to the four above events, Team Rodrigues Winery will also play in local cashspiels and weekly play in the RE/MAX Center SuperLeague, in order to sharpen the Team’s skills with a view to returning to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Victoria, BC in February.

It is through winning either the Scotties or the Canada Cup that Team Rodrigues Winery has the best chance of entering play to decide Canada’s Team for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Lead, Peg Goss, added that, "There is no doubt the Olympics is one of our major focuses this year, but World Tour points are helpful to qualify for events as well, such as the Canada Cup and the Players Championship" (as played at Mile One Complex in April 2008).

Team second, Laura Strong, advised that, "It is nice to have earned respect with solid outings in all our events last season, but these very high-calibre fields mean that we will have to play our best to be successful again on the World Tour this year." Complete team rosters are attached for Winnipeg but rosters for the other events and the teams for Brantford are not yet available.

Jennifer Jones walked a tightrope with Heather Strong for the second time in less than two months yesterday, and just as she did at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in February, the reigning Canadian and world champ skirted a freefall to squeeze out a win against the St. John's skip.

Jones 7-6 victory Thursday afternoon knocked Strong from the Tylenol Players Championship. Strong, Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong, and Peg Goss finished at 0-3. "A couple of execution errors killed us," Strong said afterwards.

Trailing 4-2 after three ends, Jones got one in the fourth and then stole a pair of points in each of the fifth and sixth ends. Strong managed one in the seventh and appeared to have sent the game into an extra end with a steal of two in the eighth.

However, a measurement indicated one of Jones rocks were closer to the button than Strong's leaving the Newfoundlanders counting only one. "We caught Jen missing a couple of shots, but when they missed, we tended to follow up with a miss of our own," Strong said. "We had our opportunities to win, but didn't seal the deal."

At the Scotties, Strong led Jones 7-5 in the 10th end of their round-robin game. But Newfoundland ran into time clock trouble, leaving Strong scrambling to make her last shot which was heavy. Jones, holding hammer, had an easy takeout for a game-ending three-ender.

"When teams like that make a mistake, absolutely, you have to jump on them," Strong said. "I thought there were more uncharacteristic misses by them today and we needed to take an extra second and make sure we followed up with a make of our own. We let them off the hook a little bit."

Early exit from the Players aside, Strong was satisfied with the new-look team's 2007-08 season. The group finished 7-4 at the Scotties, losing a tie-breaker to - you guessed it - Jones. On the World Curling Tour, the foursome registered a semifinal placing at a Saskatoon, Sask. event and reached the quarters in an Edmonton bonspiel.

"This was our first year as a team and on paper, we knew we were good curlers but we had no idea whether we'd gel," she said." We had a lot of fun through the season which is another measure of success that needs to be factored in. You spend so much time together, you have to enjoy each other's company.

"We won a lot of cash this year. Top 16 in Canada, nothing wrong with that." Prior to their uniting this year, teams skipped by either Strong or Cunningham had won 10 straight provincial women's championships.

Despite the obvious connections - Heather and Laura are sisters and Cunningham and Goss are first cousins, "but they're like sisters" - there was no "us" and "them," on the team.

"We had to work hard at that. We were aware that was a possibility," Strong said. "We formed this team in April of last year and through the summer that was the major focus, getting it out of two partners and getting it to four team players.

"We're always aware of that, and making an extra effort to car pool differently ... certain things like that. "It worked well."

Jennifer Jones’ Manitoba rink ran off eight straight wins to finish off the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and win the Canadian women’s curling championship in Regina. But Jones’ turnaround would not have been possible had the result of a single game — and not one involving Manitoba — had been different.

Heather Strong and Sherry Middaugh joked, after the fact, that had Middaugh’s Ontario rink allowed Strong’s entry to win their matchup in Thursday’s final round-robin draw, Jones would have been left out of the playoff picture. What’s more, Strong would have claimed second place and the second-life reward that came with it.

But it was Middaugh who defeated Strong to claim second, leaving Newfoundland at 7-4 and a tie-breaker date with Jones, who had stayed alive by winning her last four round-robin games. Manitoba won the tie-breaker and three more in the playoffs on a march to her second national women’s title in four years. "But that’s curling," said Strong. "We could start it all over tomorrow and have an entirely different result."

In fact, if Strong and teammates Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong and Peg Goss chose to dwell on the what ifs, they could spend a lot of time thinking about their round-robin loss to Jones in the 12th draw; in the final end of that game, with Newfoundland leading 7-5 and Jones holding the hammer, Strong set herself in the hack for her final rock with only seconds remaining on the team’s 73-minute game clock. Released just before time expired, the rock travelled too far, allowing Jones an easy takeout to score three, take the match and avoid a fifth loss which would have kept Manitoba out of the playoffs.

"I was completely rushed in that delivery," admitted Strong. "But we’ve been behind on time in the past, I’ve made those shots with no time on the clock like that before. I had the chance to execute again and just didn’t execute. We made it hard on ourselves by running the clock down, but it still wasn’t the only reason the shot was missed."

The eight-time Scotties Skip said that instead of relying on her own shot calling instincts, she kept looking for consensus from the team. After the game, her teammates and coaches reminded her to “assume the role of skip and just call the game.”

"I do a good job of that normally, but for whatever reason I just let that get away a little bit and started polling my players before calling shots. That’s something the clocks have been established to prevent. “We learned a lesson that day."

Strong said she wasn’t truly aware how desperate for time team Newfoundland was.She notes, as skip, she tends to focus more on calling the game, the shots and personally executing on the last two throws of each end. She said the team’s front-end took responsibility for the dwindling time.

"We’re all going to make mistakes, and collectively, we make fewer mistakes than most teams.Every now and again, something slips like that," said Strong, whose rink didn’t finish a game with less than 10 minutes on their clock through the remainder of the tournament.

But for those who would choose to keep coming back to the round-robin loss to Manitoba, Strong suggests its negative effect was later cancelled out by a win Newfoundland shouldn’t have registered.That was a victory over Nova Scotia, claimed when Newfoundland stole a point in the extra end. In that one, Nova Scotia skip Mary-Anne Arsenault missed an easy shot, opening the door for Strong’s winning steal. It was the third time Newfoundland won with a stolen point in the 11th.

"We didn’t deserve to win that game, in my opinion, and pulled it off. So it balanced out a game I felt we were deserving of winning and didn’t pull off," Strong said. And in any case, Strong notes, Newfoundland had later opportunities to alter its fortunes with wins over Ontario Thursday, or, in Friday’s tiebreaker against Manitoba. However, she said her rink was undone due to lack of execution on its part and the momentum of the opposition.

"In the final round-robin game against Ontario, as well as the tie-breaker against Jennifer, we were just kind of slipping on the execution front and we came up against two really strong, hot teams building momentum at the end of the week," said Strong. "As we were coming down a slope, they were heading up."

Heather Strong is enjoying her winter getaway in tropical Regina.

“This is our vacation,” said Strong, who is back for an eighth time and fourth straight year as skip for the Newfoundland and Labrador entry at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“I think that we’ll save the exotic locations for retirement. I don’t think I’ll see a sandy beach for the next little while.”

Strong says forgoing vacations to the sunny south is just one of the sacrifices needed to curl at this level.

“We invest a lot of time and money to play here,” said Strong, who is the provincial director of Newfoundland’s Terry Fox Foundation.

“It’s a real honour to represent your province. (Tournament sponsor) Kruger Products takes such good care of us, so all those factors put together are the reason we love playing in this. We wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

But there are tradeoffs to be made. To curl at an elite level, the sport cannot be approached as a form of recreation.

“There’s the practice regime, and the teams you see here are only a fraction of those that put in the same amount of effort and just came out on the wrong side of the inch,” Strong said. “There are a lot of high-calibre curlers in Canada who are making that sacrifice.

“Having said that, it is obviously a lot of fun or we wouldn’t choose to sacrifice finances and our time with our families to play this game.”

Strong is curling in Regina for the third time at a major Canadian Curling Association event.

In 1995, she competed at the Canadian junior curling championships when they were held at the Callie. Three years later, she made her Scotties debut when the event was held in Regina.

The latter event doubled as a homecoming celebration of Sandra Schmirler’s team, which won Canada’s first Olympic curling gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan. The 1998 Scotties attracted 154,688 spectators — by far the highest figure in the history of the event.

“I don’t think you can compare (this year’s Scottie) to 1998,” Strong said. “That’s in its own ballpark, in my opinion, but in terms of the talent here, it’s as high-calibre curling as I’ve ever seen. There’s 16 rocks on every sheet so, in that respect, all Scotties are going to be the same. We’re just as excited to be here as we were in ‘98.

“That (1998 Scotties) had some unique elements going for it, so it’s tough to compare that to any other, but this Scott is fantastic and we’re having fun so far.”

How do the curlers ensure that they are having fun while involved in intense competition for a coveted national title?

“It’s an important balance to strike,” said Strong, who curls with Cathy Cunningham, Laura Strong (Heather’s sister) and Peg Goss.

“It’s a whole event, so you do have to spend some time with the spectators. You have to spend some time enjoying the atmosphere and experience, because there’s only one team that’s going to leave here as Canadian champions, so you want to make sure that all 12 teams enjoy themselves along the way.”