On Sunday evening, during the tenth end of the World Championship Final, Kevin Martin threw his first rock away. The match was tied 6-6 and Canada was lying one after David Murdoch’s first shot. Martin was worried about hitting the mess of rocks on the out-turn side of the house and wanted to maintain an in-turn draw for his last shot. Everyone knew Scotland was going to raise one of their rocks with their last shot. They did and Martin missed a double-takeout with his final stone.
Never hand the opponent anything; that’s what friendlies and pick-up games are for. In basketball, a point guard should never make an excessively risky play, such as a cross-court pass over three defenders, but they wouldn’t deliberately commit a shot-clock violation just to avoid taking a chance.
Martin should have guarded Scotland’s angle raise. Under pressure, he chose to through the game, and the championship away.