2009 Tim Hortons Brier - Tankard Times - Day 1

TANKARD TIMESOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE 2009 TIM HORTONS BRIER

Issue #1, Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Howards — son Steven,

uncle Glenn, father Russ,

get together at Brier ’09.

“It’ll be fun. I’veplayed him severaltimes since he movedaway but never on anational stage.”

— Ontario skip Glenn Howard onfacing his brother Russ at the Brier

New Brunswick skip Russ

Howard is making his 11th

Brier appearance.

There was a time when star-power was-n’t something you related to the sportof curling.

But times have changed, due to a massiveincrease in exposure, primarily from televi-sion.

So when the 80th Brier (No. 5 if you’remerely counting Tim Hortons-sponsoredgigs) kicks off this afternoon at thePengrowth Saddledome there’ll be a lot oftalk about star power.

Five former Brier champions, including thetop two skips in the world according to mostrankings, not to mention an Olympic goldmedallist, are among those starting the chasefor the battered Brier tankard.

Defending champion Kevin Martin, Albertachampion the past four years and 10 wintersoverall, figures to be the favourite with 2008

champ Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., theNo. 2 choice.

Everywhere you look, the experts . . . andeven the opponents, are picking Kevin andGlenn or Glenn and Kevin.

These two have been banging headsin most curling circles for years andneither is certain who owns the edgein wins.

If you don’t know Martin, he’s theguy they haul out of that box of sty-rofoam on the Capital One commer-cial. Martin won the 1997 Brier inthis same building. But he’s biddingfor even more popularity in this townthis time out — half of his lineup,third John Morris and lead Ben Hebert,resides in Calgary. Second MarcKennedy is from Edmonton.

Howard’s lineup of Richard Hart, BrentLaing and Craig Savill has been together forfive years.

“It’s been one of the best years ever,”

Howard told Bill Graveland of CanadianPress. “It’s just been mind-boggling howwell we’ve done this year. We just seem tokeep riding this wave and there’s no reason tothink it’s not going to continue. We’ve been

in the final for the past three years.So we’ve had a lot of current experi-ence.”

It took Martin just five wins infive matches to qualify as Albertachampion. By contrast it tookHoward a total of 18 wins in 20matches (he lost his very first gamein zones). So can we take this? Is onebetter prepared than the other? Is oneprovince’s draw system softer thanthe other? One thing is for certain.Never has it been easier (five games?)

to grab a Brier berth.Both Martin and Howard have won three

Brier titles. Glenn, the younger, won twoof his with older brother Russ on the tee-head.

And, lo and behold, older brother is hereskipping the New Brunswick entry fromOromocto with 1997 skip James Grattanplaying third.

Grattan finished third in ’97 when Martinwon here.

There’ll be a lot of attention paid to theclash of the Howard brothers come Tuesday.These guys never have collided in a Brier tilt.Russ, the venerable, however, will have hisgnarled paws full with this group but he is,nevertheless, a two-time champion skip withboth his wins transpiring in advance of themillennium.

“It’ll be fun,” said Glenn Howard. “I’veplayed him several times since he’s movedaway but never on a national stage. I’m goingto want to win as much as him but if we winI’m not one to stick it in his face or any-thing.”

Star power in the ‘domeBy LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

Five former champs in field loaded with experience

SEE

DRAW,Page 12

PLEASE SEE BRIER P5

Monday, March 7, 2009 2

Familiar face back in the hunt

They launched the 15th go-round of theFord Hot Shots men’s singles skillcurling event on Friday afternoon at

the Pengrowth Saddledome and defendingchampion John Morris of Calgary was rightback in the hunt for his second gas buggy intwo years, firing 26 of a possible 30 pointsin the singles competition.

Leading the way was Nova Scotia secondplayer Andrew Gibson, a part of MarkDacey’s 2004 Brier-winning team with animmaculate 28 out of 30 possible points.

The pre-event shotmaking competitionrequires curlers to execute six shots: Hit-and-stay, draw-the-button, draw-the-port, raise,hit-and-roll and double takeout. Each shot isawarded points on a scale from 0-5, rating thesuccess of each.

Trailing behind Gibson and Morris, theAlberta third, heading into Saturday’s 11a.m. quarters, semis and final, five playerswere deadlocked scoring 25/30 apiece. Theyincluded Kevin Martin, Alberta skip; JoelJordison, Saskatchewan skip; Bruce Lohnes,Nova Scotia third; Jason Vaughan, NewBrunswick lead; and Martin Gavin,Territories lead.

Catching the last survival berth wasOntario lead Craig Savill with 24 points.

The Saddledome sniping constituted achange of pace from two weeks ago atVictoria when the B.C. team skipped byMarla Mallett unanimously opted to pull outof the competition and toss all her resourcesinto performing at the national champi-onship. B.C. finished second.

In this morning’s eights, Gibson will bepaired with Savill, Morris with Gavin,Jordison with Lohnes and Martin withVaughan. The five tied players drew to thebutton to decide their part in the pairings.

Second-place finisher will be presentedwith a cheque for $2,000, while the third-place finisher receives $1,000.

Past Hot Shots winners at the Brier havebeen Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock,Ontario's Ed Werenich, Rick Perron, JeffLacey and Marc LeCocq of NewBrunswick, Northern Ontario's MikeCoulter, Pat Ryan and Greg McAulay ofBritish Columbia, Manitoba's Steve Gould(twice), Alberta’s Don Bartlett, RandyFerbey and Morris, and Mark Nichols ofNewfoundland/Labrador.

Former Scotties winners includeSaskatchewan's Kay Montgomery, BritishColumbia's Sherry Fraser, Kristy Lewis anddouble winner Kelley Law, New Brunswick'sAllison Farrell, Alberta's Marcy Balderston

and lats month’s winner Cheryl Bernard ofCalgary, Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne(Gaudet) Birt, Ontario’s Andrea Lawes andJenn Hanna, Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones,Manitoba’s Gerri Cooke and Kelli Turpin ofthe Territories, who has since returned toNewfoundland/Labrador.

To mark the 15th anniversary of the HotShots competition, Ford, in collaborationwith the Canadian Curling Association, haslaunched an interactive on-line version of thethe skills competition.

Fans can go to FordHotShots.curling.caand play like the pros for a chance to win atwo-year lease on a 2009 Ford Flex.

The on-line game has, to date, drawn anoverwhelming response with more than400,000 games played. When the contestcloses on March 31, the top two players willbe determined and will receive an all-expens-es paid trip to the Ford Worlds in Monctonwhere they will compete online in a one-game winner takes all playoff April 10.

3 Saturday, March 7, 2009

FORD HOT SHOTS

By LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

WHERECalgary Pengrowth Saddledome

HISTORYThe Brier began in 1927 in Toronto and has

been held every year with the exception of 1943-45 because of the Second World War. This will bethe 80th edition of the Brier, which was previous-ly held in Calgary in 2002 in the Saddledome.

COMPETITIONThere will be 12 teams, one from each of the 10

provinces, Northern Ontario and Yukon/NorthwestTerritories. A round-robin format will be followedby a four-team Page Playoff System, where thefirst-place team plays the second-place team, andthe third-place team meets the fourth-place team.The winner of 1 vs. 2 advances directly to the final.A semifinal will be played between the loser of the1 vs. 2 game and the winner of the 3 vs. 4 game.The winner of the semifinal meets the 1 vs. 2 win-ner in Sunday’s final.

TROPHYBrier Tankard

EVENTSSaturday: Opening ceremonies, 9:30 a.m.; Hot

Shots skills playoffs, 11 a.m.; opening draw 1 p.m.Monday-Friday: Draws at 8:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6

p.m. (Please see main draw, Page 12)Friday: Tiebreakers if necessary at 8:30 a.m., 1

p.m. and 6 p.m.Saturday: Page Playoff 10 .m.; semifinal, 6 p.m.Sunday: Final, 6 p.m., followed by closing cere-

monies.

TV COVERAGEThis year TSN will provide comprehensive cov-

erage of the Brier. All morning, afternoon andevening round-robin draws will be televised, fol-

lowed by the Page Playoffs on Friday evening andSaturday morning, the semi-final Saturdayevening and the final on Sunday evening, March15, beginning at 6 p.m. MT.

THE CHAMPIONSThe winning team picks up the MacDonald’s

Trophy and represents Canada at the Ford world

curling championship, April 4-12 at the Coliseumin Moncton, N.B.

THE INTERNET

Draw results/Tim Hortons Brier informationCCA website — www.curling.ca or sea-sonofchampions.ca

Facts, figures in chase for the BrierThere was no stop-

ping Kevin Martin’s

Alberta crew last

year in Winnipeg.

From the left: Kevin

Martin, John Morris,

Marc Kennedy, Ben

Hebert from the

Saville Sports Centre

in Edmonton.

Saturday, March 7, 2009 4

BrierFrom Page 2

Nova Scotia skip Mark Dacey, the 2004Brier champion, figures Martin and Howardrate as top dogs with the remainder qualifyingas various incarnations of darkhorses.

“Over the past few years both (Martin andHoward) have certainly put the bar pretty highfor what level you have to play at,” saidDacey.

“They’re ranked number one and two in theworld and it’s kind of similar to (tennis starsRoger) Federer and (Rafael) Nadal — there’sthem and then there’s the rest.

“You sort of feel like one of the rest butthat doesn’t meanyou can’t win. Youcome out withpunches beingthrown and gunsblazing and try not tobe one of their vic-tims.”

Dacey is back inthe thick of it aftertaking a refreshingyear away from theice lanes.

Back again, too, is Quebec’s Jean-MichelMenard, who upset Howard, to say nothing ofthe Brier applecart, back in 2006? And BradGushue, who still polishes up that Olympicgold medal from Torino . . . just about everymorning. Come to think of it, Russ Howardhas the same morning ritual. He played sec-ond and called traffic for Gushue at the WinterGames.

“Obviously Kevin and Glenn are thefavourites going in,” Gushue said. “I thinkwe’re probably in the next group there. It’sjust a matter of getting ourselves into theplayoffs and getting on a run.”

Gushue followed thet very formula at the2005 Olympic trial

Another two-time champ of yore representsthe province that has accounted for more win-ners of the Brier than any other, and never

mind that a whole bunch of them were rack-ing up the silverware back there in the darkages.

Jeff Stoughton, who leads the Manitobaleague in Brier appearances, is back for theseventh time with an aging import Albertan,Kevin Park, firing third boulders. This will bePark’s first Brier in 15 years. His last visit tothe Brier was at Halifax in 1995 as KevinMartin’s vice-skip.

“You’ve definitely got the top two in theworld here and we are going to have to be atour best to beat them,” said Stoughton. “Butthe problem is if you only concentrate onthem you get killed by everybody else.”

Aside from the genuine stars, the “every-body else” includes Joel Jordison of MooseJaw, a cashspiel regular who kayoed Pat

Simmons inSaskatchewan, ending thegood bonecrusher’s four-year reign. Jordison has2002 Saskatchewanchamp Scott Bitz ofRegina playing third inhis second Calgary Brier.

And there’s Jamie Koe,the best skip in the Polarregions for longer thananybody can remember.He’s strengthened his

lineup with another former Territories skip,Jon Solberg, at third.

New Westminster rookie Sean Geall may ormay not qualify in this category. But you’dhave to say he’s probably solid for a few winsif vice-skip Brent Pierce, a winner in 2000,shows up with a hot hand.

That leaves Mike Jakubo (a magiciandubbed The Great Jakubo a few years back)from the nickel belt and aging Island cam-paigner Rod MacDonald who has few peerswhen it comes to knowing his way around ateehead.

MacDonald denied John Likely, the lastIsland skip to play in a Calgary Brier, fromreturning in a wild provincial final.

Both Jakubo and Macdonald will be intough at this Brier but, on sheets of ice,nobody should be completely counted out.

Monday, March 7, 2008 5

“Obviously, Kevinand Glenn are the

favourites going in.”— Newfoundland and Labrador

skip Brad Gushue

It’s a deep and talented field that will hit the ice at the Saddledome.

‘Picks’ all part of the gameI

f there’s a more hated word in the curlers’lexicon than ‘pick’, nobody has found outabout it yet.

The ‘pick’ is the reference to the curlingrock in motion thatdoes strange things —like veering left orright or sideways orgrinding to anunplanned and unex-pected halt.

The ‘pick’ is the ref-erence to debris or softspots on the ice sheet.The latter are causedby handprints orkneeprints in warmarenas or pebble thathas been worn off the ice surface, usually inthe late ends of a game.

Nothing aggravates the curler more. Andnobody finds it more tiresome than the curl-

ing spectator who begins to wonder if there’ssuch a thing as a missed shot that isn’t a‘pick’.

“There’s no bigger penalty than a pickedrock in any sport,” says six-time Brier cham-pion Randy Ferbey, who was the victim ofone in last month’s provincial playdowns atWainwright.

Only two years ago, at the CoppsColiseum in Hamilton, ‘picks’ at the Brierwere as common as pin traders.

The word on the street is that ‘picks’ areoccurring with less and less frequency as ice-makers toil toward the perfect strip of freeze.

That’s the good news. The bad news isKevin Martin’s team grappled with morethan four ‘picks’ in December during a defeatto Kelowna’s Bob Ursel in the final of theCanada Cup Qualifiers up at the SavilleCentre in Edmonton.

“Four, probably more than that,” Martinadmitted during a break at the Continental

Cup in Camrose.“There were a few dead spots on the ice.

But that’s the first time in a long time. Thatwas an odd game.

“We get very few ‘picks’ any more. Theymake the water so hard the pebble stands upbetter. We’re pretty careful. We don’t get somany in a year.

“Technology actually has improved it. Asgood as it can get. Really, the surfaces aregetting so good that you don’t get so many‘picks’ any more.”

Truth is, Martin spends so much time onsheets of curling ice these days he finds itmuch easier to shrug off disappointmentslike the Canada Cup qualifier final.

“It was one of those weird games where itdidn’t react quite normally — a guard thatcurls too much, a rock dives on a guard,another one just stops,” said the guy theycall K-Mart.

“I mean, you get to know how the rocks

react, right? You’ll know if it’s debris or softspots on the ice. You can see by the handles.You get a hair and it will take right off side-ways.

“There are hard spots on a golf course andthere are sprinkler heads and there’s badbreaks in most sports. It’s going to happen.In hockey, you have the glass. Weird corners.Pucks taking weird bounces off the boards.You can lose a game because of somethinglike that. Curling’s no different.

“‘Picks’ are the same kind of thing. Youcan hit a beautiful three-wood into a par fiveand the ball hits a sprinkler head and bounces30 yards into the bush. You hit a beautifulshot, now you’re back where you hit from,two strokes and you probably lose the tour-nament and you didn’t do a thing wrong.

“Same with curling. It’s OK. It’s just theway it is.

PLEASE SEE WOOD P8

Good news is, there’s less of them

LarryWOOD


WoodFrom Page 6

“We’re ever more watchful for debris andthat sort of stuff. Everybody’s making a con-scious effort here — the WCF and the tourand the CCA with the players making surewe get up off the ice right away.

“The icemakers have a real handle on thepebble. That way you don’t get those deadspots because the pebble is really higher andharder so it doesn’t break down as much.That’s huge.

“They’re careful out the rugs now, too.They’re very picky about the material that’saround.

“Icemakers are making a conscious effortand I think it’s working like a charm.”

In fact, Canada’s top icemakers can take thecredit for supposedly reducing the instances of‘picks’.

Tim Yeo of Gibbons, one of Canada’s topglacial experts on the verge of retirement,confirms that ‘picks’ are, indeed, a lesser fac-tor these days.

“I’d say we’re 50 per cent of what we usedto get,” he said at Camrose. “The hard waterhas a lot to do with it.

“This de-oxifier makes a whale of differ-ence,” he added, brandishing a large bottle ofclear liquid.

“It takes oxygen out of the water. We’veused it with Zambonis for years.

“One day I thought, ‘why can’t we try thiswith our pebble, see what it will do’?

“Lucky enough, my wife’s best friend is achemist. I asked her to experiment and findout how much to put in. It works out that ifwe put five millilitres of this in five gallonsof water it hardens up. If you have too littleor too much it will not work. You have tohave the right mixture.

“It makes a world of difference as far as thepebble is concerned. It holds up so much bet-ter. We used to get that flattening out duringthe last couple of ends. And that was basical-ly when you got your ‘picks’, too. The peb-ble would wear out and just grab anything.”

Yeo estimates “80 per cent of ‘picks’ noware caused by debris.

“When we we’re doing the mixed up inIqaluit (last November) we decided to clean theice after every end because we had the time.We collected all the debris and it was amazingthe amount of crap that was taken up.

“Most of it was gripper breakdown. Somehair, but most of it was grippers. And I don’tlike to say this, but when we used to get ourgrippers made here in Canada they were a lot

better. Now they’re made in China and thekind of stuff in there just doesn’t last like theold grippers used to. Even new ones arebreaking off.

“You have hand prints and knee prints butplayers have really been helping us out withthat. It helps their game so they’re getting upoff the ice much quicker.

“The floor coverings around the ice sur-faces have improved, too. And we’veimproved everything with these sticky matswe use at the entrance to the ice surface. Wechange those after every draw. I think DaveMerklinger came up with those. I think theyused them in basketball.”

Poor Merk was the target at the HamiltonBrier. The complaints of soft spots and‘picks’ were long and loud.

“There’s no reason to have more Brier icelike Hamilton,” said Martin, “but I imaginewe’ll live to enjoy another one like that someday. But that’s the way it is. That’s curling.

“We’ve come a long way. The hardener inthe water is fantastic.”

Adds Yeo:“We’re never going to get rid of 100 per

cent of the ‘picks’ but, in all the big events,when we get down to where we’re using justone sheet we always clean it up as much aspossible, collect the debris and see if we findanything new.”


Kevin Martin knows all about ‘picks’.

Saville Sports Centre (Edmonton)Skip: Kevin Martin Third: John MorrisSecond: Marc Kennedy Lead: Ben HebertThe skinny: Considering the way they romped through this affair at 13-and-ziplast year at Winnipeg, it’s tough to see anybody else at the head of the linewhen they’re passing out the silverware and tickets to the Worlds in Moncton.This team is capable of the odd stumble (the operative adjective being odd) butits record in this company speaks for itself. Only real threat will be posed by . . .

1. ALBERTAKEVIN MARTIN

Charleswood Curling Club (Winnipeg)Skip: Jeff Stoughton Third: Kevin ParkSecond: Rob Fowler Lead: Steve GouldThe skinny: You never can totally count out these guys and they proved they’re theclass of the Bison Nation again by hammering everybody in sight at the provincials(Safeway Select). The team is slightly revamped with the ageless transplantedAlberta gunner Park at third so team dynamics could be troublesome over the longhaul. Stoughton has won this twice, but the last time was a decade ago.

3. MANITOBAJEFF STOUGHTON

ReMax (St. John’s Curling Club) Centre (St. John’s)Skip: Brad Gushue Third: Mark NichollsSecond: Ryan Fry Lead: Jamie KorabThe skinny: The suspicion is that this may be the lineup geared to make big noisesfor Gushue. The suspicion is, too, that he’s overdue for another performance likehe turned in at the 2005 Olympic trials. On the other hand, this team often hasexhibited a proclivity for disastrous single-end miscues (technical and tactical)that have proven costly. That’s something this talented team must overcome.

4. NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADORBRAD GUSHUE

Coldwater & District Curling Club (Coldwater)Skip: Glenn Howard Third: Richard HartSecond: Brent Laing Lead: Craig SavilleThe skinny: It’s always a great scuffle when Howard locks horns with Alberta andthis should be no different. This bunch blasted its way through Upper Canadaagain — no freebie rides into the provincials here — leaving no doubt who wasboss. They won this title two years ago and maybe should have won it three yearsago, too. But memories of that upset still leave a slight indication of vulnerability.

2. ONTARIOGLENN HOWARD

Playoff bound . . . NOVA SCOTIA — Mark Dacey oozes determination

and can be tough as nails. And his team is capable of

delivering high, hard ones with the best of them. Won

in 2004, took a refresher year off last and proceeded

to make a mockery of the Bluenose competition upon

returning. May be vastly under-rated in here.

QUEBEC— Jean-Michel Menard’s form chart sug-

gests sometimes hot, sometimes not. He’s confident he

can duplicate the surprise success of 2006 but, if last

year was any indication, he may be dreaming. Still the

best in La Belle Province and showed mettle by win-

ning two big sudden-death matches against tough foes

at the finish.SASKATCHEWAN— Joel Jordison is a fresh face

to

the Brier but he’s bonspiel-honed, having toiled on

tour for some winters now. This gauntlet, however,

has nothing in common with a cashspiel so he’s dip-

ping his toes in uncharted waters here. Surely Pat

Simmons, last year’s tough-luck rep, has filled in

Jordison on all the pitfalls.

NEW BRUNSWICK — The longer-in-the-tooth Howard

(53 years old) is back and he’ll be an obvious crowd

favourite. To boot, he’s capable of knocking off one or

two of the big guns. But not all of them. This is an old

warhorse running a long-distance steeplechase and

time favours the younger guys.

TERRITORIES— Jamie Koe has been the best Polar

bet for years now. He’s looking for a personal best at

the very least but the assignment is going to be diffi-

cult against one of the Brier’s best-ever fields. Still,

bet on the Northerners to muck it up for somebody.

BRITISH COLUMBIA — Rookie skip Sean Geall has

veteran third Brent Pierce, a member of the 2000

champs, for backing but there’s some question if the

team is built for the long haul. One or two early disap-

pointments could lead to a long and sorry week in this

company.

NORTHERN ONTARIO — Mike Jakubo is back and the

no-argument top choice from a region that has pro-

duced everything from former champions (the

Hackners, Langs of yore) to guys who couldn’t buy a

win (Robbie Gordon in 2006). This crew will be in tough

to improve on 3-and-7, circa 2005).

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND — Grizzled codgers like

Rod MacDonald keep emerging from the Island while

they wait for their current national junior champion to

come of age. Until that happens, the MacDonalds will

perform just well enough to avoid embarrassment but

they know a shot at all the marbles is a whole differ-

ent kettle of fish and spuds.

Enjoy the visit . . .

Don’t overlook . . .

Spoilers at best . . .


Team

B.C.Royal City CCNew Westminster

Sk — Sean Geall 34-1)3rd — Brent Pierce (39-3)2nd— Kevin Recksiedler (28-2)Ld — Mark Olson (33-1)Alt — Tyler Klitch (32-0).Coach — Glen Pierce(Runnerup: Jay Peachey,New Westminster)

3Team

AlbertaSaville Sports Centre

(Edmonton)Sk — Kevin Martin (42-10)3rd — John Morris (30-4)2nd— Marc Kennedy (27-3)Ld — Ben Hebert (25-5)Alt — Terry Meek (46-0).Coach — Jules Owchar(Runnerup: Randy Ferbey, Ed-monton)

18Team

QuebecEtchemin CC, St-Romuald

St-RomualdSk — Jean-Michel Menard(33-5)3rd — Martin Crete (23-2)2nd— Eric Sylvain (37-6)Ld — Jean Gagnon (38-4)Alt — Philippe Menard (22-0).Coach — Michel St-Onge(Runnerup — Martin Ferland,Trois-Rivieres

13Team

OntarioColdwater & District CC

ColdwaterSk — Glenn Howard (46-11)3rd — Richard Hart (40-4)2nd— Brent Laing (30-5)Ld — Craig Savill (30-5)Alt — Steve Bice (27-0).Coach — Scott Taylor(Runnerup: Peter Corner,Brampton)

21

Team

N.S.Mayflower CC

HalifaxExperience factor — 14Sk — Mark Dacey (42-6)3rd — Bruce Lohnes (50-7)2nd— Andrew Gibson (29-4)Ld — Kris Granchelli (36-1)Alt — Mat Harris (47-0).Coach — Peter Corkum(Runnerup: Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc,Halifax)

14

Team

P.E.I.Charlottetown CCCharlottetown

Sk — Rod MacDonald (51-6)3rd — Kevin Champion (45-6)2nd— Andrew Robinson (39-2)Ld — Mark O’Rourke (46-9)Alt — Peter MacDonald (52-5).Coach — Pat Aylward(Runnerup: John Likely, Char-lottetown)

19

Team

Nfld/LabBally Haly Golf andf CC

St. John’sSk — Brad Gushue (28-6)3rd — Mark Nichols (29-6)2nd — Ryan Fry (30-2)Ld — Jamie Korab (29-5)Alt — Glenn Goss (51-3).Coach — Ken Bagnell(Runnerup: Keith Ryan,Labrador City)

15Team

Sask.Bushell Park CCMoose Jaw

Sk — Joel Jordison (30-1)3rd — Scott Bitz (35-2)2nd— Aryn Schmidt (32-1)Ld — Dean Hicke (41-1)Alt — Rod Montgomery (45-2).Coach — Ron Meyers(Runnerup: Pat Simmons,Davidson)

1

Team

Y/NWTYellowknife CCYellowknife

Sk — Jamie Koe (31-3)3rd — Jon Solberg (37-3)2nd— Brad Chorostkowski(35-5)Ld — Martin Gavin (42-1)Alt — Tom Naugler (36-0).Coach — Terry Shea(Runnerup: Chad Cowan,Whitehorse)

8Team

N. OntarioCopper Cliff CCCopper Cliff (Sudbury)

Sk — Mike Jakubo (26-2)3rd — Matt Seabrook (25-1)2nd — Luc Ouimet (35-2)Ld — Lee Toner (36-2)Alt — Scott Seabrook (23-0).Coach — Bruce Melville(Runnerup: Brad Jacobs,Sault Ste. Marie)

3

Plenty of experince

ready to hit the ice

Team number indicates combined years of experi-ence at previous Brier championships. Teams listedskip to lead (in brackets age and Brier appearances

(including 2009).

Team

ManitobaCharleswood CC

WinnipegSk — Jeff Stoughton (45-7)3rd — Kevin Park (44-4)2nd— Rob Fowler (33-2)Ld — Steve Gould (36-4)Alt — Randy Dutiaume (46-1).Coach — Norm Gould(Runnerup: Kerry Burtnyk,Winnipeg)

13 Team

N.B.GAGE GOLF/CURLING

OromoctoSk — Russ Howard (53-14)3rd — James Grattan (34-7)2nd— Steven Howard (24-1)Ld — Jason Vaughan (39-3)Alt — Peter Case (31-1)Coach — Daryell Nowlan(Runnerup: Rick Perron,Moncton)

20

Alberta skipKevin Martinwalks softlybut carries a

big stick.

2009

BRIERDRAW

TIME DRAW A B C D1 p.m. 1 Sask. vs. Que. N.S. vs Man. Y/NWT vs. PEI. Alta. vs. N.B.6 p.m. 2 PEI vs. N.S. Ont. vs. NL B.C. vs. N. Ont. Y/NWt vs. Man.

8:30 a.m. 3 N.B. vs. Sask. Alta. vs. Que.1 p.m. 4 NL vs. B.C. Man. vs PEI N.S. vs. Y/NWT Ont. vs. N. Ont.6 p.m. 5 Que. vs. N.B. B.C. vs. Ont. N. Ont. vs. NL Sask. vs. Alta.

8:30 a.m. 6 Alta. vs. Y/NWT N.B. vs. N.S. Sask. vs PEI Que. vs. Man.1 p.m. 7 N.S. vs.N. Ont. Y/NWT vs. NL Man. vs. B.C. PEI vs. Ont.6 p.m. 8 Ont. vs. Sask. B.C. vs. Que. NL vs. Alta. N. Ont. vs. N.B.

8:30 a.m. 9 NL vs. Que. N. Ont. vs Sask. Ont. vs. N.B. B.CV. vs. Alta.1 p.m. 10 N.B. vs. Man. Alta. vs. PEI Que. vs. N.S. Sask. vs. Y/NWT6 p.m. 11 PEI vs. B.C. Man. vs. Ont. Y/NWT vs. N. Ont. N.S. vs. NL

8:30 a.m. 12 Y/NWT vs. Ont. N.S. vs B.C. PEI vs. NL Man. vs. N. Ont.1 p.m. 13 N. Ont. vs. Alta. NL vs. N.B. B.C. vs. Sask. Ont. vs. Que.7:30 p.m. 14 Sask. vs. N.S. Que. vs. Y/NWT Alta. vs. Man. N.B. vs. PEI

8:30 a.m. 15 Man. vs. NL PEI vs. N. Ont. N.S. vs. Ont. Y/NWT vs. B.C.1 p.m. 16 Que. vs. PEI Sask. vs. Man. N.B. vs. Y/NWT Alta. vs. N.S.6 p.m. 17 B.C. vs. N.B. Ont. vs. Alta. N. Ont. vs. Que. NL vs. Sask.

TODAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

TIEBREAKERS:DATE TIME

ONE DRAW Friday, March 13 1 p.m.

TWO DRAWS Friday, March 13 8:30 a.m.Friday, March 13 1 p.m.

THREE DRAWS Friday, March 13 8:30 a.m.Friday, March 13 1 p.m.Friday, March 13 6 p.m.

DATE TIME1 TIEBREAKER DRAWTeam Date TimeOne vs. Two Friday, March 13 6 p.m.Three vs. Four Saturday, March 14 10 a.m.

2 TIEBREAKER DRAWSTeam Date TimeOne vs. Two Friday, March 13 6 p.m.Three vs. Four Saturday, March 14 10 a.m.3 TIEBREAKER DRAWSTeam Date TimeOne vs. Two Friday, March 13 6 p.m.Three vs. Four Saturday, March 14 10 a.m.

PLAYOFFS:

1

2

3

4

Friday, March 136 p.m.

Saturday, March 1410 a.m.

Saturday, March 146 p.m.

Sunday, March 156 p.m.

Loser of 1-2 game

1 vs. 2/3 vs. 4 Semi-final Final

PAGE PLAYOFF SYSTEM



Strong lineup stars in mining beltThe 24th version of the Canadian men’s

curling championship was held in Sudbury,marking the first time in its storied historythat the Brier was held in Northern Ontario.

The games were played in a brand newarena, with excellentseating and outstand-ing visibility.Fittingly, the firstopportunity to wit-ness Brier play in themining belt wasmarked by goodcrowds, plenty of on-ice excitement, and anail-biting sudden-death playoff for thechampionship.

The lineup featuredseveral strong teams,including: BritishColumbia skipped byReg Stone, who wasappearing in his thirdBrier; 1938 Brier champion and veteranbonspieler Ab Gowanlock, skippingManitoba; and Jimmy Hill’s Saskatchewanfoursome out of the Delisle Curling Club.

Darkhorses and fan favourites were the

Northern Ontario team skipped by GrantWatson — a former member of the famousKen Watson team from Manitoba, whichhad won the Brier in 1936, 1942, and1949.

However, it was Ken Weldon’s Quebecfoursome which, after losing its opener toBritish Columbia by a 15-5 score, surprisedeveryone by winning eight straight. Indeed,if this team had won its last game againstSaskatchewan, it would have won the Brierfor Quebec for the first time in history.

The pre-Brier favourites from Manitobamatched Quebec game for game and didn’tlose until the seventh draw, when they wereedged 8-7 by Weldon’s streaking St. GeorgeCurling Club foursome. B.C. also was inthe thick of things, until they werethumped 18-11 by Saskatchewan in theninth round. And the hometown favouriteGrant Watson rink team, representing thePort Arthur Curling Club, acquitted itselfvery well, winning its last five games andfinishing with sbven wins and three losses— good for a share of third place.

During the final draw, hopes were highfor Quebec winning its first championshipas they put their 8-1 record up against a hotand cold Saskatchewan foursome that was

only 5-3, but had won their previous fourgames. Meanwhile Alberta (7-2) faced offagainst Bernard Haines’ Nova Scotia (4-5)squad.

True to form, Alberta easily beat NovaScotia, stealing eight points on the wayto a resounding 15-7 victory. However,Quebec could not seal the deal, blowingan early 2-0 lead to lose 9-5 to the JimmyHill quartet. So the stage was set for asudden-death playoff for the champi-onship.

It is worth noting the gulf in talent thatexisted at the time between the Western andthe Eastern teams. Newfoundland, in losing10 straight, was outscored 156-to-70 (itwas 12 ends in those days) over the week-long championship. And P.E.I., with a 1-9record, was pummelled 25-7 by B.C. duringin the eighth draw.

The times they have changed.The playoff was set for the Friday

evening of March 6, with a large andenthusiastic crowd in attendance.Unfortunately, the swingy ice proved to betricky and unpredictable early on - a factorwhich contributed to conservative play byboth sides in the first few ends.

Manitoba started with the hammer but

had only a 1-0 lead after three ends, and wasstill up only 3-2 at the halfway mark. Aftertaking a deuce with the hammer in the sev-enth and a 5-2 lead into the eighth, theBison province looked in control. However,Weldon took advantage of several Manitobamiscues and hit back to tie it with a bigthree-ender, and after stealing one in theninth the game and the championship wasstill in the balance.

Manitoba was held to a single in the10th but stole a point in the 11th to lead 8-7 without the hammer coming home.However, a Manitoba miss in the 12th leftGowanlock’s one counter only partiallybehind a guard. The Quebec skip merelyhad to chip it out to score two with his lastthrow and win La Belle Province’s firstBrier.

Inexplicably, the pressure got to theexperienced Weldon, because as he deliveredthe rock it was obviously wide; so wide, infact, that he flashed it completely, handingManitoba the steal and an epic 8-6 victory.

Quebec would have to wait another 24years to capture its first Brier Tankard.

Alex Roberts is a freelance writer basedin Halifax

AlexROBERTS

ClassicBriers

Armstrong mines gold for CanadaCanada's Jim Armstrong, just two years

into his revitalized curling career and com-manding the national wheelchair curling teamfor the first time, won his country's firstWorld Wheelchair Curling Championshipwith a 9-2 win over Swedish veteran JalleJungnell last week at Vancouver’s Olympicicehouse.

Canada's debut gold in the fast-growingParalympic discipline comes after dual fourth-place finishes in 2008 and 2007, and a sixth-place finish in 2005.

In 2006, Canada, led by skip Chris Daw,surprised Great Britain to win Paralympic goldat Pinerolo, Italy.

"It feels fantastic," said Armstrong. "It'sbeen a big learning curve, and this is my firstbig event of consequence.

"We struggled early, and as the week wenton and on we got stronger and stronger. Theteam played great."

Armstrong, a dentist from nearbyRichmond, took advantage of shaky openingstones from Sweden to post a 3-0 lead afterthree ends.

In the fourth end, Canada built a solid endand counted two with Armstrong's final throwstill to come. After debating a double-takeoutfor five - as opposed to a draw for three - thesix-time Brier competitor tried a tap for four,but missed.

But it was all Canada the rest of the way,with Sweden repeatedly scrambling to stayalive. In the sixth end, Jungnell made a nervycome-around tap for one against five Canadiancounters.

"We have not yet hit our stride," saidArmstrong.

The silver marked Jungnell's highest-everfinish in six major competitions.

"Bronze, silver... what's next?" Jungnellsaid with a grin.

In the bronze-medal game, Germany's JensJaeger, the round-robin leader, recovered fromtwo earlier playoff losses to beat AugustoPerez of the United States by a 6-4 count.

Team U.S.A won bronze at the 2008 Worldsin Sursee, Switzerland, marking the first timethat country made a podium appearance.

The World Wheelchair Championship wasthe first curling competition hosted at the newVancouver Olympic Centre, which will playhost to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games curl-

ing competition and the 2010 ParalympicWheelchair Curling competition.

The 2009 world junior championships, fea-turing 10 men’s and 10 women’s teams, com-menced this week on the same ice lanes.

Two-time defending gold medallist EveMuirhead of Scotland leads the women's fieldas she competes in her third straight worldjunior championship. Muirhead also qualifiedto represent Scotland at the upcoming WorldWomen's Curling Championship inGangneung, Korea, for which she will departdirectly from Vancouver. It marks the firsttime in Scottish curling history that a skiphas captured both the junior and women'stitles in the same season. Muirhead is 18 yearsold.

Defending world junior men's championChris Plys of the Duluth also returns for hisfourth consecutive competition. The U.S.women's team is skipped by AlexandraCarlson.

Canada has fielded defending bronze medal-list Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg and BrettGallant’s outfit from Charlottetown, P.E.I.

By GEORGE KARRYSFor The Tankard Times

Jim Armstrong was on the broom.



Brotherly connection at the BrierWhen the Howards, Russ (New

Brunswick) and Glenn (Ontario), step on theTim Hortons Brier ice at Calgary Saddledomefor skipping combat — Tuesday, March 10 at8:30 a.m. — it will mark the first time sincethe 1942 that brothers have faced off asopposing skips in the Canadian men’s curl-ing championship.

The Campbells, Gordon of Hamilton andDon of Vancouver, were the last opposingskips with a brotherly connection. Theylocked horns at Quebec City in the finalround of what was then a 10-team roundrobin.

Brother Don’s British Columbia outfitdefeated brother Gordon’s Ontario team 9-7,thereby averting a sudden-death playoff forthe Brier title between Gordon Campbell andWinnipeg’s Ken Watson.

Heading into the last round, both Watsonand Gordon Campbell were riding on 7-1records. At the finish, Manitoba won with an

8-and-1 record while Ontario and B.C. bothwound up at 7-and-2.

The last brothers to oppose each other inthe Brier were the Ryans, Pat and Jeff, in1995 at Halifax.

Jeff Ryan played third for the victoriousManitoba team skipped by Kerry Burtnyk.Pat Ryan played third for Rick Folk’s defend-ing champion team from Kelowna.

Burtnyk finished with a 12-2 record whileFolk was 6-5. In their 11th-draw collision,Burtnyk shaded Folk 7-6 in 11 ends.

The only other known Brier brotherlydebate transpired at the 1970 Brier inWinnipeg with Hap Mabey of Monctonskipping the New Brunswick entry andbrother Roger playing lead for LesBowering’s Newfoundland squad.

Neither team threatened to win the title.Both finished with 4-6 records. And RogerMabey’s Newfs defeated Hap’sHerringchokers 11-7 in the eighth round.

Meanwhile, Russ Howard and son Steveform a father-son connection that marks the17th occasion on which a father and son haveplayed in the same Brier.

According to championship figures filbert

Gerry Campbell, the first such duo appearedin the 1936 Brier when William H. Whalen(father) and William J. Whalen of performedon the same B.C. aggregation.

The next year, Edmonton’s Cliff Manahanskipped the Brier winner with son Ross pay-ing second. It was the first time a father-sonduet were part of a Brier champ.

It happened again in 1940 when Howard(Pappy) Wood skipped the Manitoba team tothe Brier title with son Howard Jr., at second.

The only all family (including a father) teamto play in the Brier was the 1947 Saskatchewanaggregation skipped by (son) Garnet Campbellof Avonlea with brothers Glen and Lloyd atthird and second, and father Alex (Sandy) atlead. Garnet Campbell supplanted his fatherwith brother Don for Brier appearances in 1954,1955 and 1957. The brothers were undefeatedwinners at Regina in 1955.

Father Paul Sauve of Sudbury was thealternate on Tim Phillips’s Northern Ontarioteam in 2000 but actually played in onegame using the stick. His sons, Roger andPaul, played third and lead on respectively.

Last year, Eric Harnden of Sault Ste. Marieskipped a Northern Ontario lineup that

included his two sons, E.J. and Ryan.Other father-son duets at the Brier:1940 — Alberta: Father Cliff Manahan

(skip), sons Ross (second), Bobby (lead), ofEdmonton.

1942 — Northern Ontario: Father AlbertCooper (lead), son Alberta Jr. (third), of Sudbury.

1949 — New Brunswick: Father RobertGalloway (skip), son Art (lead), of Newcastle.

1949 and 1953 — Ontario: Father PeterGilbert (skip), son Gordon (third), of Chatham.

1950 — Alberta: Father Cliff Manahan(skip), son Ross (third), of Edmonton.

1960, 1962 and 1964 — New Brunswick:Father Harold Mabey (skip), son Hap (third), ofMoncton.

1968 — New Brunswick: Father Jim Ayer(skip), son Frank (lead), of Fredericton.

1977 — New Brunswick: Father RollieMockler (skip), sons Jeff (second), Martin(lead), of Fredericton.

1984 — New Brunswick: Father ArnieDobson (skip), son Mike (second), of SaintJohn.

1989 — Manitoba: Father OrestMeleschuk (skip), son Sean Meleschuk(lead) of Lac du Bonnet.

By LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

MacDonald still going strong on islandROAD TO THE TIM HORTONS BRIER

The Perseverance Award for curlers chasing

Brier berths has to go to Charlottetown’s Rod

MacDonald.

Now 51, MacDonald made his first Brier

appearance 32 years ago, playing third for

brother Peter. That was in 1978 at Vancouver.

He was back at lead in 1981 at Halifax and

15 years later in 1996 at Kamloops.

Now, following his team’s victory in the

eight-team P.E.I. round-robin championship at

Montague, he’s bound for his third Brier skip-

ping appearance in five years.

Obviously, some curlers never get older so

much as better.

MacDonald, with Kevin Champion (last

year with Peter Gallant), Andrew Robinson, a

skip at the 2000 Brier, and iron man Mark

O’Rourke headed for his ninth front-end Brier

appearance, got off to a 1-2 start, then peeled

off seven straight wins for the title.

When the prelims concluded, MacDonald

still trailed Charlottetown’s John Likely by

one game and finished square with another vet-

eran senior, Ted MacFadyen of Charlottettown

who was one of MacDonald’s conquerors in

the early going.

That meant Likely and MacFadyen moved

to the Page One-Two while MacDonald was

relegated to the sudden-death Three-Four out-

ing against Bill Hope of Charlottetown who

had survived by dumping Mel Bernard of

Summerside 10-5 in a tiebreaker.

MacDonald proceeded

to whitewash Hope 7-0 in

six ends, then stopped

MacFadyen 6-4 in a battle

of singles before outlast-

ing Likely 7-6 in an extra-

end final gut-churner.

Likely had reached the

final with his seventh

win in eight games, 5-4

over MacFadyen.

Rod MacDonald is on top of his

game at age 51.

P.E.I.(Combined 19

previous appearances)



NOW AVAILABLE in the Brier Patch.Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. — 8 p.m.

Enjoy the Perfect Take-outNet proceeds donated to theSandra Schmirler Foundation

Today’s quiz

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Name the one province with the bestplayoff record in the history of the Brier.Hint: This province is the only one toboast more than a plus-11 wins-over-loss-es record in its total playoff games.1. Which of these Alberta centres doesn'tfit in this list — Leduc, Bassano, Viking,Sedgewick, Lethbridge, Claresholm,Fairview, Three Hills.2. Why?3. Name the skip and hometown of thelast Alberta champ to compete for theCanadian title when the event was spon-sored by Macdonald Tobacco. 4. Three Alberta curlers have finished firstand won cars in the Ford Hot Shots com-petition which has prefaced the Brier

every year since 1995. Name the curlers.5. In which years did they win the cars.?6. One province leads the way in medalfinishes at the Hot Shots. That provinceand its leading number of finishes?7. The same province also shares the leadfor most car winners. Name the otherprovince with three winners.8. Name the only double winner (Hint:He’s the only winner for his province.)9. Name the very first winner of the FordHotshots competition at the Brier, and hisprovince.10. Name the curler he defeated in theHot Shots final, and that curler's homeprovince.11. Name the skip and hometown of thefirst Alberta champion team to play in theBrier?12. Name the skip of the runnerupprovince when Randy Ferbey won the firstof his record six Briers.

(Answers)QofD: Alberta.1. Lethbridge.2. It has never sent a team to play inthe Brier.3. Paul Devlin, Edmonton.4. Don Bartlett, Randy Ferbey, JohnMorris.5. Bartlett 2000, Ferbey 2004, Morris

20076. Alberta with eight.7. New Brunswick.8. Steve Gould.9. Ed Werenich, Ontario.10. Brad Heidt, Saskatchewan11. Hellfire Joe Heartwell of Rosetown,Sask.12. Eugene Hritzuk.

Brier Trivia Newfoundland and

Labrador skip Brad

Gushue gets in some

work during the Hot Shots

competition Friday.

Koe shoots for best Polar record ever

ROAD TO THE TIM HORTONS BRIER

Don Twa of Whitehorse won eight gamesduring the first year the Polars were acceptedto play in the Brier. Al Delmage ofYellowknife won six in 1987 and Jamie Koematched that victory output in 2006.

Other than those three efforts, there’s beenlittle about which to write back to the cold,cold north where the Brier is concerned. ButYellowknife’s Koe will be back for his thirdskipping visit in four years this time aroundand he has long claimed that his goal is toachieve the best Polar record ever.

“That’s the kind of thing you need toboost the confidence enough to win thisthing,” he was allowing back there in 2006.

In other years, the four-team Territories

championship, a straight double round-robincompetition, has been a cakewalk for Koe.But there was a little more sweat generated

this time.Koe and defender Chad Cowan of

Whitehorse were 3-and-0 after three draws andKoe stopped Cowan 7-4 in the fourth round.But, in the fifth, Yellowknife’s DarcyMoshenko upended Koe 8-7. On the samedraw, Cowan was losing 8-6 to GregSkauge.

In the final go, Koe made it unanimous byhanding Cowan his third straight setback, 6-4 to finish with a 5-1 log.

Koe has an altered lineup from previousyears with Jon Solberg at third, former leadBrad Chorostkowski moving up to secondand newcomer Martin Gavin at lead.

Solberg skipped a Yukon team in a previ-

ous Brier and alsoplayed for NorthernOntario’s Mike Jakubowhen the Copper Cliffskip made his Brierdebut in 2005.

The end result sawCowan’s defendingchampion team finishat 3-3 whileMoshenko and Skaugeboth managed twowins in six outings.

Jamie Koe has altered his lineup

from previous years.

YUKON/NWT(Combined 16

previous appearances)


2009 Tim Hortons Brier - Tankard Times - Day 1

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