Continental Cup Of Curling trickery: Let’s have more of that

Whether it was a first attempt at a Stoughton Spinarama, or a nifty bit of sleight of hand on a between-the-legs shot, this year's Continental Cup in Penticton illustrated, once again, that curlers might just have a penchant for showing off when the situation allows.

Let's foster that desire and give birth to something wonderful. A curling version of pro hockey and basketball's trick-shot competitions.

Judging by the reaction of the crowd, which always delights in seeing curlers try to do something a little different with the rock, isn't it time to really add this component to an event?

You see it whenever Jeff Stoughton is in the hack near the end of a blowout game. The crowd always asks for the spin. It's unusual and entertaining, and could be the springboard to something even more fun.

Watching John Morris flip a rock between his legs during the singles competition over the weekend, it dawned on me: Just what else is possible for pro curlers to pull off if they're allowed to - no, encouraged to - let their imaginations loose?

Give them all a blank canvas and ask them to come up with something creative. You'll get things like Sebastian Kraupp's Chuck Berry slide. And then you'll get more. Human nature being what it is, like-minded curlers will try to upstage it. They will. Then someone will try to upstage that. Make it a two-hour show where everybody is trying to outdo each other and you might quickly build it into a must-see event, like the NBA's slam dunk competition or the NHL's breakaway showdown.

Over the years we've seen those two showcases become the darlings of all-star weekends. In some cases, maybe many of the cases, the slam dunk and breakaway competitions have been better than the games that followed. I would love to see curlers try their sport's version of Corey Perry's breakaway artistry or Dwight Howard's Superman dunk. I'm not even sure what that might ultimately look like, but I'm certain it would be amazing to see.

The Continental Cup seems a perfect place to do this. While there are times when the curling during this event is as serious as can be, a large gathering of some of the best throwers on the planet is akin to an NHL or NBA all-star game.

Added to that element is the fact that next year's Continental Cup will be contested in Las Vegas. Vegas! No better place than that to spice up a show.

I envision an evening like the other all-star skills events. With judges on hand and a pumped up crowd urging as much showmanship and ability as can be wrung from the thing. Heck, maybe even give the crowd scorecards and let them decide the winner. Props and costumes? Sure. At the heart of it all, though, ability. Challenging the world's best at anything to be creative and to push the envelope in a way that might not otherwise have a place to be displayed leads to exciting new things.

We've probably seen only the very tip of curling's creative iceberg.

Let's see more of it.