Broom Brothers

We're back! And we're saying "mamma mia" for a few reasons this week, as we are wowed by the performances of Rachel Homan and Bruce Mouat in Nisku (and wowed by the beautiful Silent Ice Centre), we can't believe we are reporting on another team change as Derek Samagalski takes a step back from competitive curling, and we are very excited for next week's Kioti National in St. John's.

And of course, we are also saying "Mamma Mia!" following Isabella Wranå and her team's phenomenal Grand Slam of Karaoke performance that saw them emerge with the GSOK belt. Isabella joins us to discuss that very performance, her team's performance on the ice so far this year, what it's like playing Mixed Doubles with your brother, her team's goals for the future, and what it was like spending a day with John at West Edmonton Mall.

It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks in the curling world, as Brendan Bottcher makes his Team Gushue debut with an impressive performance at the Pan-Continental Curling Championships. We break that down and wonder what the future of that tournament holds, while also discussing some of the "concerns" fans have had online about the tournament not being televised. We also tee up the Co-Op Canadian Open which will go next week in Nisku, breaking down our favourites and introducing some of the new teams that are entering the Slam field.

From there, we are joined by Joanne Courtney, making her long-awaited return to the competitive stage with Team Einarson this weekend at the Saville Grand Prix and next week at the Slam in Nisku. She runs us through what she's been doing to get ready, whether or not she's considering making a permanent return to the game, and we learn an awful lot about her secret candy stash. 

We are trying our best to make this a bi-weekly podcast, but too much stuff keeps happening! So we are back again less than a week after our previous episode and Brendan Bottcher, the new second for Team Brad Gushue, joins us to discuss what went into making the decision to return to 4-person curling. We talk about his split from his old team, what the summer looked like for him, why the time was right to return to the game, and what he's most looking forward to with his new team. And, we ask the most important question of all: is this the beginning of the Brendan Bottcher hero arc?

Who knew that it would only take two episodes before we had to record an emergency pod? With the full episode already in the can, Brad Gushue stunned the curling world by parting ways with second EJ Harnden and so the boys call an audible and get together to discuss that before getting into the episode as originally recorded. We are overstuffed this week as we break down the successful first Grand Slam for The Curling Group, the Hearing Life Tour Challenge, we discuss the Kevin Koe team change (and subsequent pick-up of Aaron Sluchinski), and we talk about the PointsBet Invitational (remember that?) and wonder about that event's future.

From there, we move to our feature interview with Kerri Einarson, back in the winner's circle in more ways than one as she picked up the Tour Challenge victory but also went to the ponies in Charlottetown with John and presented the winning horse with a GSOC blanket. We discuss that outing at the Red Shores racetrack, how the team is starting to get its mojo back, Kerri fills us in on how she may not be the most suited for her new job, and her twin girls Khloe and Kamryn make an appearance to tell us all about how good their mom is at bringing them home treats when she's away on the road.

Welcome to your new favourite podcast about curling! Robbie Doherty (Sportsnet) and John Cullen (Broomgate) will team up every two weeks to discuss the latest in curling news and gossip while delivering hot takes you can’t get anywhere else. They’ll also talk to your favourite curlers about everything that makes them tick, while also having a few laughs. Together, they are the Broom Brothers. 

On this debut episode, the BBs discuss some of the big offseason moves, the early season successes, and take a stab at where things are going. Then they invite Benoit Schwarz-Van Berkel from Team Schwaller to the show as their first guest where they discuss baking bread, making watches, and fatherhood. And finally, the episode ends with the first edition of "Let's Play a Game!"