The Simpsons Go Curling

 This article is courtesy of The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press Photo: This file photo supplied by Fox Broadcasting shows Homer Simpson.

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

CALGARY - Curling will be getting some prime-time exposure just prior to next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver as Homer and Marge Simpson take up one of Canada's favourite sports.

An episode of the long-running comedy "The Simpsons" featuring the cartoon power couple playing the game is scheduled to run in early February on the Fox Network.

"We wanted to do a show at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and my initial idea was to have Homer and three of his buddies do a four-man bobsled," said writer Rob LaZebnik in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"Then we decided there's a lot more interesting story having Homer do something with Marge. One of the head writers suggested curling and we all liked it. I learned about mixed curling and it seemed kind of perfect."

In the episode, Homer and Marge form a mixed-doubles curling team with Principal Skinner and his mother, who are experienced curlers. It turns out that Marge is a natural, while Homer is a disaster on the ice. Marge is faced with a difficult decision: Possibly win a medal by asking Homer to leave the team or ruin their chances by keeping him.

"You'll see the comedy in it comes from Homer and Marge, and Homer turns out not to be a great curler and Marge is a great curler - part of it is all the housework she has done with her brooming," laughs LaZebnik.

He and several other members of his staff spent an afternoon at a southern California curling club to pick up the nuances of the sport.

Veteran Edmonton curler Randy Ferbey, a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion, said the exposure is great.

"I'm sure they're going to somehow make a mockery of it like they do every other thing, but I think you need to take it with a grain of salt," Ferbey said.

"It brings attention to our sport and I think it's wonderful. The more curling on TV, whether it's in an animated form or real form, the better."

Ferbey is a fan of the Simpsons and said the publicity will be a bonus in the United States, where curling's popularity is basically limited to a handful of northern states.

"In some states I guess it's OK, but the U.S. has so much going for it with pro sports. I mean in the states we struggle with hockey, for God's sake!"

LaZebnik said skewering the sport is not part of the plan.

"Since everyone in the curling world had been so supportive, we wanted to take it seriously on the show. The funny thing is it's an event in an episode where Homer actually takes something seriously," LaZebnik said. "I think we're really very respectful to it. We're surprisingly respectful."

A sidebar plot involves daughter Lisa struggling to collect Olympic pins.

Rick Patzke, the Chief Operating Officer for USA Curling, said there are only about 16,000 people in the United States who actually play the sport. He said everyone watches The Simpsons and the publicity will be a blessing.

"I learned a long time ago not to take it personal when someone makes fun of curling - a lot of them who used to make fun of it are now curlers," he noted.

And there is something about Homer Simpson that just screams curling he said.

"If you look at Homer and Marge - I think they are the quintessential curlers. That's pretty much what curlers are, right? They make fun of themselves, drink beer and eat doughnuts."

There have been several references to Canada on "The Simpsons" over the years, but only one previously included curling. When the family visited Toronto in 2002, the script featured a TV show called "Curling for Loonies."

"The Simpsons" is the longest-running television comedy to date and will mark 20 years on air in 2010.

While mixed doubles isn't currently an Olympic discipline, it is being considered by the International Olympic Committee as a medal sport for upcoming Olympic Winter Games.

Webmaster

Don Wittman dies at 71

Picture courtesy CBC

By The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG - Don Wittman, whose smooth baritone voice called some of Canada's most significant sports, has died of cancer. He was 71.
For more than 40 years, Wittman was a familiar face on CBC television. He did the play-by-play for Grey Cups and Stanley Cups, plus covered curling, golf and track and field. He was a fixture at both summer and winter Olympics.
"He is truly a first-generation television sports legend. He's one of the pioneers of our industry," Scott Moore, executive director of CBC Sports, said in January.
"He has done almost everything and done it all well."
Wittman died early Saturday morning in a Winnipeg hospital surrounded by his family.
"The family wishes to acknowledge the tremendous outpouring of support Don received from friends, colleagues and fans. Thanks to everyone for respecting our privacy at this time," Wittman's family said in a statement on the CBC's website.
It was Wittman who called Ben Johnson's steroid-fuelled 100-metre victory at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and he was on hand when Donovan Bailey sprinted to gold in the same event in 1996 at Atlanta.
CBC broadcaster Scott Russell, who worked with Wittman at several Olympic and Canada Games, called him "the most unselfish broadcaster I've ever worked with."
"Don always believed that his job was to be the guide of a sporting event," Russell said in Vancouver, where he is covering the Canadian figure skating championships. "He took us through, he introduced us to the characters, then he let the athletes shine. Don was the guide, he was the storyteller. That's what made him great."
Wittman saw Wayne Gretzky win Stanley Cups and was in Czechoslovakia in 1987 for the Canada-USSR brawl at the world junior hockey championships.
During the 1972 Olympics in Munich he stood on a balcony and looked into the masked face of one of the terrorists who kidnapped nine Israeli athletes.
"It was then the reality of it really struck me," Wittman said in a 1984 interview about the incident. "Here was this man with a hood over his face standing there."
Colleen Jones, a two-time women's world curling champion and a broadcasting colleague, credits Wittman for the rise in popularity of her sport.
"It was his ability to be a wonderful storyteller and weave the stories that he was so strong at," Jones said from her Halifax home. "And the creating drama, and his voice obviously was fantastic. All of that just lent itself to just being the best."
Born in Herbert, Sask., Wittman got his start as a news reporter with CFQC radio in Saskatoon in 1955. He also worked for CJNB radio in North Battleford. He was only 24 when he joined CBC Winnipeg on New Year's Day 1961.
During his career, Wittman won two ACTRA awards and in 2002 was named Broadcaster of the Year by Sports Media Canada. He also was a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and Manitoba's provincial sports hall of fame.
"He is the voice of football in Canada in my mind," said Moore, who grew up in Montreal watching Wittman call Alouettes games.
Both Russell and Jones will remember Wittman for his willingness to teach younger reporters.
"He always was available to you," said Russell. "He was somebody you learned from, the proper way to do things, the right way to announce. He was meticulous in the research he did. What was great about Don too, was he believed in all things Canadian in sport. The Grey Cup, curling . . ."
Jones, who first worked with Wittman at the 1987 Scott Tournament of Hearts, said he taught her much in his painstaking preparation for his broadcasts.
"You always knew he was a legend and I learned a lot from him," Jones said. "He never just mailed it in, he always wanted to be just so professional, so prepared and so ready, so wanting to do a great show.
"He loved all the sports and he loved broadcasting. He was always thrilled to be such an eyewitness to all of the big events."
The respect held for Wittman was evident at a ceremony in January, when he was inducted into the CBC Sports Hall of Fame. The guest list was a who's-who of the sports world. Hockey Night In Canada's Ron McLean, Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Lyle Bauer and New York Rangers GM Glen Sather were among those on hand. Wayne Gretzky and others sent video tributes.
Wittman was choked with emotion, saying he was humbled by the tributes.
Wittman is survived by his wife Judy, two daughters and a son.