Attention K Mart Stoppers................

Attention K Mart Stoppers, please make your way directly to Sunday's World Curling Championship finals. That could easily be the directive David Murdoch and his team of Graeme Connal, Peter Smith and Euan Byers received last night after their stunning come-from-behind 7-6 victory over Kevin Martin's Canadian champs. The Scots, trailing 6-2 at the fifth end break, rallied brialliantly in the game's second half. Truth be told, the game was a tale of two halves.
The first end was blanked as both teams were content to keep it clean and get a feel for things. With Connal and Smith on the ice and coach David Hay behind the sheet, the scene harkened back to the 1991 World finale, when those three Scots supported David Smith's precision-hit approach to the game which took them to victory over a non-follically challenged Kevin Martin.
Canada took advantage of some Scottish miscues in the second end to score three, before the Scots responded with two of their own in the third. Again in the fourth end, opportunity knocked and Martin answered the call with another three count. When the fifth end was blanked, Canada went to the break feeling pretty confident about the way the game was unfolding.
Whatever Scottish Coach Hay said to his charges during the break should be bottled up and sold on E-Bay because it seemed to work. Murdoch manufactured a two in the sixth end before some exemplary shotmaking by Connal really applied the pressure in the seventh. It could have been worse, but Canada only gave up a steal of one to lead 6-5.
Martin managed to blank the eighth end, but poor communication among the Canadians on his overthrown last rock attempt in the ninth led to another Scottish steal. Still, they were all tied up coming home with the hammer. What could go wrong?
That sentiment had to be lingering after Ben Hebert, who shot a game high 99%, made two outstanding tick shots to clear the centre line of guard material. Easy Peasy, right?
Well, there were still rocks on the corners which could be utilized, but K Mart would have complete access to the four foot for any last rock draw attempt. After a brilliant Scottish out-turn draw around the corner guards to the eight foot proved inaccessable, Martin decided to practice his draw weight with his first rock; an in-turn to a better piece of the eight foot.
It was at this point that the Scots employed their psychological warfare skills. Knowing that Martin has a less than illustrious history of last rock performance on the international stage, they decided to freeze him out for a few minutes, by calling a group meeting about their options. They even called Coach Hay down to ice level to help delay the game in advance of Martin's final rock.
They used the guise of being unsure of where they wanted their shooter to roll, but everyone watching knew exactly what they were up to.
Martin's last rock out-turn draw attempt was a little heavy and ran a little straight and when it rubbed and rolled off the Scottish counter in the back of the four foot, Murdoch's Marauders had stolen the win.
Martin and his Canadian cohorts must now regroup in advance of their semi-final game this afternoon against Norway's Thomas Ulsrud, who downed China's Fengchun Wang 7-5 in Friday's 3/4 Page Playoff.