Team TSN has checked into Thunder Bay to bring Canadians the 10 days of the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for some of the broadcast members to reach the Lake Superior curling hub.
“I had a late flight out of Toronto, and they cancelled it due to the weather,” said longtime TSN analyst and decorated curler Russ Howard, a key player of the Scotties on-air crew. “And then, because there’s so many people are coming to the Scotties, I could not get a flight in.
“So I ended up doing Regina to Minneapolis — for two-and-half hours — to Duluth,” continued Howard. “And at Duluth, we got picked up by a limo driver, and he drove us four hours to Thunder Bay. That was the closest, possible, best scenario.
“You can only get into into Thunder Bay from Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg. And in Winnipeg, all the flights were full. And Toronto and Ottawa had the storm.”
No worries, however.
Howard is now on the ground and ready to roll with the TV team to lend his expertise from the Scotties, beginning with Draw 1 on Friday (7 p.m. ET, TSN) …
MEET THE BROADCAST TEAM
• Vic Rauter
It wouldn’t be a Scotties without Canada’s ‘Voice of Curling’. Toronto’s Rauter, now 70, has been doing the sport’s ‘play-by-play’ for TSN since 1986.
“Vic is the absolute consummate professional,” Howard said. “If only I had a nickel for all the times I’ve been stopped by someone and asked, ‘Why does Vic ask those crazy questions?’
“Well … he asks those because A) he knows the answer, and B) he’s setting me up and letting me do my thing,” continued Howard. “It’s hard to do a good interview if they’re bad questions, and he’s just a pro.
“He just makes the broadcast seamless.”
• Cathy Gauthier
Winnipeg’s Gauthier has been a TSN analyst for two decades. The former front-ender for legendary skips such as Connie Laliberte and Jennifer Jones does it all on the broadcast.
“She’s like a team player,” said Howard, of the 63-year-old Gauthier. “She’s been at this longer than I have on the TV side. She’s just, honest to God, here to help.
“Whatever the team wants, she does it,” continued Howard. “She’s the glue that holds it together. Vic’s voice went down one time, and Cathy took over — and I couldn’t do that. Cathy does interviews for whoever wins the Scotties or the Brier — she does them live. She speaks fluent French. She gives tremendous insight. She can do it all.
“So it’s a real comfort blanket to have Cathy around, because she’s got your back.”
• Russ Howard
Because of his decorated playing career that included two world titles, two Brier crowns and Olympic gold in 2006 Turin, the 68-year-old Howard brings plenty of curing knowledge to the booth. He has been an analyst with TSN since 2009.
“I try to show the viewer what’s going on before the shot, like the thought process for the team,” Howard said. “For example, (Brad) Gushue’s last shot in Newfoundland to win the 2017 Brier.
“I talk about the frost, the extra curl, the adrenaline … etc. Then I try to explain the strategy to the average fan and maybe the smart way to miss.
“I’m hoping fans can learn something from the broadcast.”
• Joanne Courtney
The Edmonton native is the new kid on the team, essentially replacing the vibrant Cheryl Bernard. Courtney, the 2017 Canadian mixed champ, is considered an élite sweeper, having been a front-end star for Rachel Homan’s 2017 Scotties and world championship-winning rink.
“Joanne brings a fresh perspective, because Cathy and I been doing it for a long time,” said Howard, of the 35-year-old Courtney. “Kinda new to the TV game, but she’s extremely current. So she knows a lot of the curlers on the ice — and that helps. Not afraid to pick up the phone and call Emma Miskew and get her thoughts.
“And nobody tried physically harder than Joanne Courtney when she was playing … and she’s the same in the booth. She’s prepared.”
• Bryan Mudryk
From Athabasca, Alta., Mudryk jumped into the curling gig in 2009 to help lend a hand — and his voice to spell Rauter — on the TSN broadcasts.
“He’s just a hoot,” said Howard, of the 45-year-old Mudryk. “He just keeps us light — he’s the best at that. He lets us go on our own and give our opinion. And he kind of drags stuff out of you, and usually in a relaxed, comical way, which is good TV, in my opinion.
“People say, ‘You and Bryan are having a lot of fun.’ Well … we are,” continued Howard. “I’m no expert, but I think that’s part of the secret to broadcasting. If people think you’re tense and it’s a job, then they’re not enjoying listening to it.”
HOW DOES IT COME TOGETHER?
Everybody’s got their own skill they bring to the telecasts.
“For Vic and Bryan, there’s usually 15 things going on at once,” Howard said. “I don’t know how they keep it straight, but they do.
“I just have to answer questions and talk curling, but they’ve got so much more with getting to the commercials on time and doing the promos and doing the ads and nailing down what the producer wants and trying to come up with questions for us and listening in one ear to my answer and listening with the other to the production truck on where the broadcast is going.
“It takes a special person to do that.”
The analysts aren’t too shabby themselves, bringing important insight to take the guess-work out of each shot and what’s going on team-wise around the Scotties.
“We all have our own niche, I think,” Howard said. “Like Cathy comes in and she knows all the scuttlebutt from the Winnipeg/Manitoba area with the men’s and women’s teams, especially Kerri Einarson. And we’ve got the inside track on Homan because of Joanne. And then I know everybody from so many years back. So we just kibitz and tell stories.
“It’s just fun.”
Indeed, it’s not work at all, says Howard.
So that makes what turns 10 days of what could be a grind into a fun run.
“Broadcasting is the absolute perfect replacement for when you retire from competitive curling,” added Howard. “Because you had your three best friends all winter — through thick and thin and pressure and non-pressure and fun — to the point that you’re basically working together, the four of you.
“Well … to replace that, I now have 45 guys on my team — or whatever the math is with all the crew members here — and we’re just all good buddies. TSN just as one hell of a job of hiring the right people. And they’re all there to make Joanne and myself and Cathy look better.
“It’s a real professional team, and the camaraderie is just off the charts.”
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