Day 9 of the Tankard Times

TODAY 6 p.m.

MANITOBAJeff StoughtonALBERTA:

Kevin Martin

TANKARD TIMESOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE 2009 TIM HORTONS BRIER

Issue #1, Saturday, March 7, 2009Issue #9, Sunday, March 15, 2009

Jeff Stoughton forged a Tim Hortons Brierwinning streak that reached five gameson Saturday night.

Now he’s looking to give Manitoba its sec-ond straight come-from-behind winning streakof the year and somehow catapult his teamtoward his first Brier title in a decade.

Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones turned that tricktwo weeks ago at the Scotties in Victoria.

“We’ve done it in bonspiels, won six-or-seven in a row,” said Stoughton at thePengrowth Saddledome in the wake of an 8-6semi-final conquest of a crumbling Ontarioforce skipped by Glenn Howard.

“Yeah, Jennifer’s streaks give me inspira-tion as a Manitoba skip. We watched them acouple of weekends ago. It was fun to watchthem go six straight. So if we could repeatwhat they’ve done it would be awesome.”

Stoughton won the 1999 Brier title atEdmonton before losing theworld men’s final at SaintJohn, N.B. to Scotland.

The Manitoba team ofStoughton, third KevinPark, second Rob Fowlerand lead Steve Gould gaveitself a chance to repeat thatJones feat with a dominatingperformance in the Briersemi-final.

They bounced back from a two-point yieldin the first end against Howard to hammer fouron the board.

Howard said later he couldn’t recall the lasttime anybody hit him with a four-bagger.

After that it was a strange exchange of sin-gles with Stoughton three times gassing openin-turn draws for deuces before hitting thebull’s-eye with his last of the 10th end andOntario sitting the tying pair.

“We got lucky with that four,” saidStoughton later. “We didn’t think we’d be win-

ning the game so soon after giving up thatdeuce, but we’ll take it.”

The Brier final — undefeated and defendingchampion Alberta vs. Manitoba — goes todayat 6 p.m.

“We’re not going to be able to miss anyopen draws like that any more, that’s for sure,”said Stoughton of today’s assignment. “Whenwe have a chance we have to capitalize.”

A win for Manitoba today would constitute

a six-win streak. For Alberta? A record-shatter-ing 26 straight over two Briers.

For Martin, a fourth Brier title hangs in thebalance. That would raise him into heady com-pany alongside the Richardsons from Reginaand his crosstown Edmonton rivals, theFerbey Four. Skip Randy Ferbey, of course,leads the league with six titles.

“It would be nice to do that (win a fourthtitle),” said Martin on Saturday after off-day prac-

tice. “But I won’t be thinking about it. If it hap-pens it happens. It doesn’t really matter to me.

“The goal all along is consistent play all theway to the Olympic trials and getting to theOlympics and to get in as many of these kindsof games as we can. The two games we hadagainst Glenn Howard in the previous twodays were so great.”

Stoughton said the fact his team hasn’tyielded after absorbing four losses is a confi-dence-builder.

“Yeah, they (Alberta) have been on a ram-page but we have to hope their winning streakcan end. If they win, they win, but we’ll giveit our best shot.

“We’d like to put Manitoba on the mapagain. Not that we’ve dropped off too far. Butcertainly on the men’s side. We’d like to fol-low the women and junior women.

Buffalo Boys stampedeBy LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

Stoughtonʼs ʼTobans finding another gear in surge to final

Thatʼs not a golf swing Glenn Howard is practising. Itʼs his reaction to amissed opportunity in the semi-final against Manitobaʼs Jeff Stoughton.

Manitobaʼs Stoughton is on a rollas he heads into todayʼs Brier finalagainst Albertaʼs Kevin Martin.

SEERESULTS,Page 9

PLEASE SEE BRIER P8

Sunday, March 15, 2009 2

SEMI-FINAL

The Wood fileEEDITOR Larry WoodASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave KomoskyPHOTOGRAPHER Mike Burns Jr.PUBLISHED BY The Calgary Herald

4 Sunday, March 15, 2009

Now that we’ve determined the bestteams in this Tim Hortons Brierin Cowtown, it’s time to remi-

nisce on the good, the bad, the ugly andthe so-so of this 80th annual rockfest . . .

The 12-team field — Arguably oneof the best going in, but circumstancesdictated only two or three teams were ableto stand the heat. Turned out to be justthe way the Tankard Times predicted itbefore the first rock was thrown —Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Newfound-land/Labrador and Quebec . . . Less of awidespread contest than it promised to be.Rating: So-so.

The hero — For Alberta curling fansit must have been Kevin Martin. ForCalgary fans it musthave been Johnny Mo.Rating: Good.

The biggest bust— Nova Scotia. Youhave to spend more timesifting through pastresults than most of uscare to sacrifice in orderto discover the last for-mer champion whowound up 2-and-9 in asubsequent Brier.Unbelievable, to say noth-ing of totally unpre-dictable. Rating: Ugly.

The biggest surprise— There wasn’t one. ThisBrier ran so true to form itactually started to becomeboring, like all form chartsthat are followed to the tee. Upsets werefew and far between. Two exceptions — J-M Menard beat Glenn Howard for the first

time since the 2006 final and RodMacDonald got the measure of the BuffaloBoys, which doesn’t happen often.

Rating: Yawn!Most notable

loser —Saskatchewanseems to domi-nate this categoryalmost ever year.After a three-yeargrowth process,Pat Simmonsinarguablyshould have beenin last year’sfinal. Maybe heshould have wonit. But JoelJordison’s unfor-tunate rookieendeavours here

brought to mindthose of such

infamous Green Machine casual-ties as Roger Anholt, Don Gardiner andJim Packet. Rating: Bad.

The hottest shot — There was a lot

of circus shooting on the premises thisweek but Glenn Howard’s closer againstSaskatchewan is a cinch to win the Shot-Of-The-Week award. Poor Jordison is stillshaking his head, still trying to recoverand still fighting nightmares, to boot.Rating: Outstanding.

The heart-warmer — The Howardbrothers squaring off on Tuesday morning.And with a sibling involved, too. Aninspirational occasion for all. Rating:Wonderful.

The attendance — There wasn’tmuch chance they’d ever catchEdmonton’s monumental record consider-ing the current global financial meltdownand an early Brier deep-freeze put a lid onwhatever chance there was. But this willbe close to 2002’s No. 3 total attendanceand it may even threaten Saskatoon’s No.2. Rating: Good.

The all-stars — Mostly Alberta,natch. The Martin domination is gettingdownright scary. Rating: Monotonous.

The Brier Patch — Probably one ofthe most successful, also one of mostheavily subscribed, also one of thewildest. A jolly good effort all-around.

Rating: Good.The entertainment factor: —

Excellent in the arena. In the Patch theytell us it was A-OK. Whatever became ofMcGinty, is what we want to know?Most years. Rating: Hmmmm.

The arena — Still one of the better“older” buildings in the National HockeyLeague. And damn fine for curling, too.Needs a good, thorough wash, though.Rating: Fair.

The best quote — Every player inthe building was totally accommodating.There was no pulling teeth for answersthis Brier. Rating: Good.

The worst quote — There werenone. Rating: Good.

The press room — Most dingy, dark,grungy working area this side of theBalkans. Great only if you survive on asteady diet of Timbits. Rating: Ugly.

LarryWOOD

PLEASE SEE WOOD P5

Despite an economic downturnand some frigid weather,Calgarians turned out in bignumbers at the Saddledome.

Brothers Glenn (rear) and Russ

made for a heartwarming story.

There’s something you should knowabout this estimable news sheet to whichyou’ve subscribed the past nine days.

What’s that? Well, simply, it never getsthe final story. Hardly ever. And certainlynot this year, either. Sorry about that.

The Tankard Times, you see, does notpublish on the post-Brier Monday. The waythe Calgary organizing committee figuresit, if we’re over budget after nine days, wewon’t be going for 10.

Oh yes, and there’s something else youshould know. This publication would notexist without the efforts of the Calgaryorganizing committee, the Canadian CurlingAssociation and its sponsors. Between them,they fund the whole shebang. So, save acheer, also a tiger, for them.

Now, what we’re asking from you todayis this. We set up tonight’s championshipfinal match in this last edition. Hereafter,you’re on your own. The name of the win-ner of the 2009 Brier will not be recordedfor posterity in the Tankard Times. Atleast, not before the initial issue of the

2010 rockfest in beautiful downtownHalifax.

Meantime, it has been a chunk of theproverbial heaven, folks. We at the Timeswould like to thank you for your interest.We’d like to thank all the competitors fortheir time and courtesy. We’d like to thankour supporters for theirs. And we’d espe-cially, also specifically, like to thank ourvolunteer assistant Linda Cunningham,also Mount Royal College journalism stu-dents Mark Strowbridge, Lindsey Wallis,Catherine Szabo, Nora O’Malley and ErikThompson for jobs well done. Specialthanks, too, to Jamie Zachary of theCalgary Herald and the Herald’s EPP gangfor the jobs they’ve performed on ourbehalf.

Oh yes, and a particular salute to analways-friendly gang of drivers. Great jobs,guys.

What else is there to say? Have a goodfinal day and don’t forget to reserve earlyfor the 2010 Bluenose bash at Halifax

Cheers.

TThis issue, thenwe’re outta here

WoodFrom Page 4

The commentators — No knockagainst any of the current breed but it’s timeRuss Howard retired permanently to thebooth. Wouldn’t it be wunnerful? He exhibit-ed at the Scotties he has the potential to bethe most informative commentator around.The prospect of Howard and Rauter make aredoubtable teaming. Oh, and one otherthing. Let’s have more personal stuff on theplayers and less meaningless statistics, if youplease. Rating: A passing grade.

The volunteers — You never get volun-teers that aren’t top-notch. If they weren’ttop-notch, they wouldn’t be volunteers. And,oh, how the Brier is dependent on them.Rating: Good.

The weather — What was all that abouton Sunday, Monday and Tuesday? Arrrghh!Otherwise, passable. Rating: Fair.

The politics — None of account at pres-ent but the threat of a whole bunch lurkingon the horizon. Eight-end games? Multi-alterations to future Briers? Rating: Scary.

The eateries — Loved Abruzzo. Butthere’s definitely was nothing wrong with

Dutton’s Lounge in the Saddledome. One ofthe better in-house buffets and menus.Rating: Good.

The global prospects — The men’stitle should be in stable hands at Moncton.Jennifer Jones is going to have her hands fulland her work cut out in far off Korea.Rating: Good.

The coverage — Chairman IanHenderson praised the media assistance here.As good as it gets, these days. Rating: Good.

The overblown incident — ProbablyRuss Howard breaking his broom in threepieces. Big deal! There was a time in thisgame when guys like the Big O fromWinnipeg would break brooms over theiropponents’ noggins. Rating: Yawn.

The future — It’s always enticing whenthere’s a trip to Halifax on the horizon andthat’s where the Brier goes next. If youhaven’t been to a Down East Brier, youhaven’t been to the best. Rating: Excellent.

The future, part II —There are prob-lems ahead for the game at the top level. Ithas become too Olympic-oriented. The talentpool is shrinking and the prospects post-Olympics are grim. All in all, changes areneeded but they have nothing to do withshrinking the game to eight ends. Yeesh!Rating: Ugly.

Sunday, March 15 2009 5

Rock ‘em, sock ‘em in CowtownIn 1997, the Brier returned to Calgary for the first time

since 1980. It was a memorable championship featur-ing a competitive field, record attendances, a hard

fought round-robin, and thewildest championship game inyears.

The Kevin Martin-skippedAlberta team and Manitoba’s VicPeters came in as the odds-onfavourites. But with Ontario rep-resented by the veteran EdWerenich foursome, and a strong,albeit unsung New Brunswickentry skipped by James Grattanin the field, it was never goingto be easy.

At the midway mark of theround-robin competition,Manitoba and Alberta led with 6-0 records, followed by a surprising Jeff Thomas foursomefrom Newfoundland at 5-1.

By the time Alberta and Manitoba met in the second-lastround-robin draw, both teams’ sported 9-0 records and were

anxious to gain the important psychological advantage avictory would bring going into the playoffs. AndManitoba exploited several early Alberta errors and rode a4-0 lead after four ends to a relatively easy 7-4 victory.

Peters finished the round robin at 11-0 — the first unde-feated round-robin record since Alberta’s Ryan Express inChicoutimi in 1988 — followed by Alberta at 10-1, NewBrunswick 8-3, and Ontario 7-4.

No team outside the top four finished with more winsthan losses, and the Newfies after their stunning start losttheir last six games. Meanwhile, the Jim Packet-skippedSaskatchewan team tied the province’s worst-ever Briertally with a shocking 1-10 record.

New Brunswick eliminated Ontario 6-4 in an excitingPage Three-Four playoff game, after Werenich missed a10th-end raise-chip for a deuce, in a one-down-without sce-nario.

In the round-robin leaders’ match — and with a place inthe championship game up for grabs — Martin endedPeters’s undefeated streak at 10 games with a 6-5 extra-endvictory.

AAlexROBERTS

ClassicBriers

Kevin Martin has a history of great play in Calary. SEE CLASSIC BRIERS P18


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Brier From Page 2

“I think if there’s pressure we’llput it on ourselves. You want to per-form, you want to play really welland show you belong to be here.

“What we have to do is makeshots, string together 20 shots aguy,” he said.

But what about all those misseddraws for points against Ontario?

“The guys said they didn’t thinkI threw any of those draws any dif-ferent (two heavy, one light, all in-turns). We were never worriedabout draw weight. There justseemed to be tracky patches hereand there.”

“It wasn’t easy out there. We hadreally good ends when we forcedthem to ones. We seemed to be posi-tioning rocks really well.”

Howard was disconsolate after-ward, as only a Brier skip pointed at68 per cent on his playoff shots

could be.“No, that wasn’t a very good

game,” he admitted. “Not very well-curled. I’m disappointed with it. I letthe boys down, I didn’t play verywell. The ice was a little differenttonight.

“How many times will you see

Jeff Stoughton and Glenn Howardmiss that many draws? We weren’tsolid as a team at all. We haven’tticked a guard all week and look atthat! Tick, tick, tick!

“It was a little tricky today, that’sall I can say. We came here to winand it’s very disappointing to lose.”

Manitoba is headed to todayʼs final.

W LAlberta (Martin) 12 0*Manitoba (Stoughton) 10 4Ontario (G. Howard) 9 4NL (Gushue) 8 4

———Quebec (Menard) 7 5B.C. (Geall) 6 5N.B. (R. Howard) 6 5Sask. (Jordison) 3 8NWT/Y (Koe) 3 8Nova Scotia (Dacey) 2 9P.E.I. (MacDonald) 2 9N. Ontario (Jakubo) 2 9* — won fourth-place tiebreaker

SATURDAY3-4 GAME10:30 a.m.

NL (Gushue) 101 010 211 0 — 7Manitoba (Stoughton) 020 202 000 2 — 8

NL S P % Manitoba S P %Korab 20 75 94 Gould 20 73 91Fry 20 58 73 Fowler 20 70 88Nichols 20 62 78 Park 20 58 73Gushue 20 70 88 Stoughton 20 73 91TEAM 80 265 83 TEAM 80 274 86

SEMI-FINAL6 p.m.

Manitoba (Stoughton) 040 101 010 1 — 8Ontario (G. Howard) 201 010 101 0 — 6

MAN. S P % ONT. S P %Gould 19 72 95 Savill 20 72 90Fowler 20 66 83 Laing 20 66 83Park 20 70 88 Hart 20 66 83Stoughton 20 64 80 Howard 20 54 68TEAM 79 272 86 TEAM 80 258 81

STANDINGS

LINESCORES


A real buzzer-beater

“When that rock stopped, a feeling cameover me that he’d made it and, sureenough, what a shot!” exclaimed BradGushue, the Newfoundland skip at the2009 Tim Hortons Brier.

This was the sudden-death Page systemThree-Four playoff game at the PengrowthSaddledome on Saturday morning andManitoba’s veteran skip Jeff Stoughtonhad just delivered a circus shot to score twoand heist survival from his younger foe.

Gushue had a decision to make withtime running out on the clock and the heatturned up in the final end. He had over-come a three-point deficit after six ends andstolen his way in front 7-6 after nine.

He had a rock stationed in the four-foot,guarded, but second shot belonged toManitoba. The decision to be made: Weavea draw into the rings between guards to lietwo or add a further cap to the already cov-ered insurance point.

Gushue chose the guard with less than aminute remaining on his clock. There werenine seconds left when he tossed the guard,a shot which appeared to be more thangood enough.

“The clock was an issue for both of us,”admitted Gushue. “Probably more for Jeff.You have a shot like that to win a gameand the time is on the line. I mean, even ifI miss my last shot he still has to make asix- or eight-foot runback. He wasn’tgoing to have an easy shot regardless. Wemade it extra tough by adding another rockand another six feet but it still wasn’t goodenough for us.”

Stoughton drove the long guard on to

the second long guard, his own, ontoNewfoundland’s counting stone and hisown rolled but not far enough to keepGushue and Co., in the Brier.

It was the third Brier outing in whichGushue failed to finish the last end with aone-point lead. He lost to Glenn Howardlast weekend with a two-point lead —Howard scored three — and to Alberta’sKevin Martin two draws later with a one-point lead — Martin scored a deuce.

Stoughton’s deuce kept Manitoba aliveto play in the Saturday evening semi-final.

“The ice was different to start with,” saidGushue. “Jeff might have had a bit of anadvantage playing yesterday while were sit-ting out. From what I watched of his gameit was a little straighter yesterday and wewere a little slow catching on. We justcouldn’t quite believe that it wasn’t goingto curl. I think after the fifth-end break thelight finally dawned.

“I’m very proud of the team the way wecame back. We played extremely well thesecond half and forced Jeff to make a lot ofgood shots and, you know, I feel kind ofsnake-bitten with the last one — like,what do you have to do to win?

“But what shot! You have to give himall the credit in the world. He put the

broom down and made it. He’s been mak-ing those the past couple of days and ifthey keep going the way they’re goingthey’re going to be tough to beat.

“The first five ends we were flat and wehave to look at them and determine whathappened there and correct the problems.”

Stoughton admitted matters were criticalas he went down to throw the last brick.

“We had to do something,” he reasoned.“I think over the last four ends they didn’tmiss a shot. They placed every rock per-fectly and we were going to need a big oneto beat them. I missed my first one and allthe way down on the second one it lookedlike nose which wasn’t going to get usshot but it just pulled up enough at theend. And, obviously, I feel great.

“We had control and a good game goingthrough six and both teams were a littleslow. We were throwing a lot of draws anda lot of thought shots.”

When Stoughton threw his last he had38 seconds on the clock.

“It was never a situation where we werepanicking and I don’t think they were,either,” he said. “They probably had a lit-tle less time than we did because they did-n’t have a time out for that last end. Wehad both of ours so it worked out well forus.”

By LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

Manitoba coach Norm Gould gives skip Jeff Stoughton a big hug after ameasurement gave the Buffalo Boys the win and a berth in the semi-final.

3/4 GAME

Stoughtondeliversin clutch

Halifax Brier

The last time the Brier visited Halifax,more or less the centre of Canada’s fareast, they called it “A Shore Thing”.

Next year, when the Tim Hortons showreturns to the Nova Scotia capital?

“It’s still A Shore Thing,” says rookiechairman Hugh Avery, who is ably supportedthis time around by veteran organizerGraeme Harris, chair of the 2005 Olympictrials and a committee head during the 2003Halifax Brier.

“Our message isn’t new,” says Avery. “Wethink if you can’t have a good time at aBrier in Halifax you just can’t have a goodtime, period.”

A lot of past Brier visitors to Halifax willagree. In spades.

Avery wasn’t even well known in his owncity’s curling circles when they unveiled theorganizing committee last November at theHalifax Metro Centre.

“I called myself Joe The Curler,” herecalls, “because I’d just been watching thatelection south of the border at the time andthere was that story about Joe The Plumber.And what I was trying to say was I’m justan ordinary curler like everybody else.”

Halifax knows him now, of course.“This will be my last event,” says Harris.

“I felt this needs new flood and Hugh steppedup to the plate so any experience I can bringhe’ll have to store and take it from here.”

Talk about tossing the pressure on yourco-chair.

“We certainly are looking raise the bar andhave a record attendance for a Brier east ofWinnipeg again,” says Harris, who wasaround when they established that record —158,414 in 2003.

Ironically, all Halifax needs for the bestattendance record east of Saskatoon is an addi-tional 6,662 seats in the pews. That wouldsurpass Winnipeg’s attendance last year.

“We’ve had great support with our promo-tion here in Calgary and we’re reallypleased,” says Harris. “We partnered withNova Scotia Tourism to come out and pro-mote the province and promote the Brier andit has been a great marriage because we’regetting two things done — the provincewanted to impart the message to everybodywith roots in Nova Scotia that it’s time tocome home, and we’re out here saying, ‘hey,you might as well come home and watch theBrier in Halifax’.

“The nice thing about a Brier in Halifax isthat we have a smaller venue, the Metro

Centre, but it has a more homey atmos-phere. You can hang up your coats in thehotel room, walk the pedways to the venue,get down on the escalators to the BrierPatch, and never have to look at the weather.We think that’s special.”

Not that the weather in Halifax has beentoo bad this week. No deep freeze there. Butan indoor Brier is something at which nary asoul would sneer.

“We recognize that the hotbed of curling iswestern Canada so we know that for us to besuccessful we have to have a lot of western-ers coming east to visit us,” said Avery. “We

recognize the current economic constraints.So we want to suggest a package here: TheBrier and the tourist attractions of Halifaxand area. We’ll be offering many opportuni-ties for visitors to get both experiences.”

“It’s a special year, too, with theOlympics,” says Harris. “There’s no questionthe Canadian Curling Association wanted toget the Brier as far away from the Games asthey could get it. But we feel this benefits usfor a number of reasons. One, the televisionexperience just before our show should bringcurling awareness up a level and we’re goingto have good crowds. Two, when they builtthe venue in Vancouver they didn’t build itbig so we think that’ll be to our advantage.Three, the Olympics will be curling and theBrier’s the Brier, it’s like the Grey Cup, it’sa party and down in Halifax we can matchany party anybody else can come up withand, maybe, improve upon it.”

Adds Avery:“We’ve listened to the feedback from the

fans that have dropped by our booth here,we’ve heard what they’ve liked and didn’tlike here, and I won’t give away too manysecrets but I can assure you that in manyareas we’re equipped to handle their concerns,that each and every day will be special, thatwe’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves, thingsthat are new even to Halifax, and we guaran-tee a good time.”

By LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

Graeme Harris(left) and Hugh

Avery arebeating the

drums for theHalifax Brier.

Halifaxcommitteepromises

curling fanswill havefun timeat Brier


Gadget junkiewith a camera

On the main concourse of theSaddledome, people are visiting withnew and old friends they’ve met since

the Brier started last Saturday.Up in his quiet catwalk location near the

roof of the building, Len Dubyts doesn’t getmany visitors.

High in the Ed Whalen broadcast booth,Dubyts is in charge of the two cameras thatgive television curling the overhead view thatis unique to the sport.

“I’m always the guy up here,” Dubyts says.“People see me at the start of the day and at theend of the day.”

He’s been “that guy” since 1970, when hefirst started covering the sport of curling. Forthe past 22 years, he’s been working with thecurrent set-up that uses robotic heads.

“It’s just an extension of the business,” Lensays. “I’ve always been a gadget junkie. Whenthe chance to do this came up, I jumped at it.”

There are five cameras in total, but the twothat concern Dubyts are the two positionedover the rings at each end of the sheet in thefeatured game.

Depending on which end the team is shoot-ing from, Dubyts controls one camera at atime. The other stays stationary over the rings.There are cameramen on the ‘floor’ to get theclose-ups of the guards and shot rocks.

OVERHEAD CAMERA

By CATHERINE SZABOSpecial to The Tankard Times

Len Dubyts keeps a close eye on the action below at the Saddledome.PLEASE SEE CAMERA P16


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Blake, WendyBlasetti, EleanorBleay, CathyBlenkin, NicoleBlenkin, DanielBoa, ChuckBockman, BarbaraBohun, SandraBonitz, RickBonneau, DebbieBonneau, RandyBosch, ArtBoss, MaxineBossler, EdBoudreau,JonathonBourdin, RhondaBourne, DonBoutilier, DanielleBoyer, LiseBrackett, PeterBradley, JanBremner, LindaBrennan, KathyBrennan, KaitlynBriand, KendraBristow, LeslieBristow, KevinBrossart, LenBrown, IreneBrown, DaleBrown, DonnaBrown, JosephBrown, DarrellBrown, CraigBrown, BerniceBrowne, ColleenBubola, DanielBunz, LeoBurak, HilaryBurak, KellyBushell, MariaBuzanko, RobertBuzila, HarryCain, LorraineCameron, DorothyCampagna, TimCampbell, loisCampbell, DeannaCampbell, RonCampbell, BrianCampbell, DougCarlson, WayneCaron, BillCarson, DonnaCassidy, JamesCavanaugh, PerryCerminara, UmbertoChambers, DougChapman, TedCharchun, BarryCharlton, ArvillaChiasson, MarilynChicilo, TerryChow, GarryChristianson,CameronChristianson,

MichellaChristianson,HeatherChristianson, BradChristie, BobChudyk, DonChyz, WayneChyz, BradleyChyz, ConnieChyz, StewartCivitella, DianaClark, DerekClarke, JimClarke, DeborahClayton, KathleenClemens, NancyClysdale, GordonCoderre, HeidiCoderre, SylvainCohen, AndreaCole, LaurieCole, AmandaCollins, TraciCollins, CherylColwell, GordCommo, MaryConley, CarolineConrad, JeraleeCook, BarbCooke, MargaretCooke, LanceCorneil, R., , LynnCory, Kaoru, (Suzie)Costigan, LauraCoutts, GeorgeCowan, MicheleCraig, DonaldCrandall, VivianCranford, DerekCranston, AngelaCrooks, BrianCrosbie, WayneCrough, ShelleyCrowle, BobCrowle, SharonCruise, DianeCunningham, LindaCutting, KevinDahlberg, LoriDaley, Teresa-JaneDang, JamesDanielson, LorneDanielson, MelbaDare, AngelaDavidson, JillDavis, DarleneDay, DennisDean, PhyllisDean, TrentDelair, GordDemick, DarrellDenny, JuneDerhak, MarikaDesiatnyk, RichardDesLauriers, LouDesmarais,AlexandreDewhirst, Linda

Dirkson, LorieDobrowolski,SandraDodge, WilmaDodge, DougDokken, JimDonahoe, BernieDonlevy, ErinDotta, MarisaDownie, ColinDoyle, TanillaDrabble, AnnDrabble, RayDrebit, ToddDroppo, LoriDrummond, VincentDubois, DwayneDumba, BrendaDumonceau, MarieDumonceau, MarieDumonceaux, JohnDuncan, BrianDuncan, ElaineDundas, TammyDunlop, RondaDunn, AndrewDunn, Margaret, ADunsmore, AnnEckland, GeraldEckstrand, LeeEdgar, JimEdwards, MarynEdwards, FredEffa, AlvinEisler, PatEklund, Shawn

Ellert, DaleElliott, JeffreyElliott, MaryElves, MelissaElves, RickErvin, KathyEsler, FrancisEsler, LeonardEtheridge, SusanEvans, TomEwanchuk,MichelleEwchuk, DennisEwen, ShirleyFark, SusanFark, JohnFaryna, JimFawcett, LynneFelt, ElaineFelt, DuaneFerguson, CindyFerguson, ErinFernandes, LisaFichtner, AndreaFielder, LyndaFinnamore, RandyFisher, WilliamFisher, WendyFisher, GregFisk, RobFleming, ArthenaForbes, JohnFoster, JoanneFotheringham, GarryFox, ChrisFranzon, Batista

French, DougFuessel, GayleneFyke, CarolGage, PatGalloway, KimGanong, RobertGanong, CindyGentles, BrianGerrish, HollyGetz, ShaunaGibb, DawnaGibb, ArleneGibbs, MargaretGibson, CindyGibson, BruceGillespie, MarleneGilroy, RussGodfrey, BrianGoods, VivianGorr, RodGoudie, DouglasGourlie, Elizabeth,(Betty)Gowryluk, BernieGowryluk, LouiseGraham, KarenGraham, StephenGranger, TheresaGranger, ClaudeGreen, DanGreen, DeannaGreene, CarolGreenslade, FayeGregorash, HarveyGriffin, ElizabethGriffith, Flora

Guinan, PattyGulajec, JoeGunn, KaitlynGunn, CathyGuske, KisaHacault, KristinaHagel, TanyaHagel, RaymondHall, DarleneHamilton, SusanHamilton, LarryHamilton, LouiseHammond, JoanHanlon-Karrel,CarolHansen, JoanneHansen, HeatherHansen, JeanHarkema, RobHarlos, DionneHathaway, AllanHathaway, JudithHavrelock, DennisHawkes, JimHaydu, KimHazenberg, CherylHead, JoyceHeadley, Dr., NevilleHeath, SheilaHeine, DeniseHelton, DeanaHenderson, CathyHersberger, AlvaHertzig, ShirleyHertzig, FrankHickey, Lisa

Higginbottom,TammyHigginbottom,LouiseHobbs, SteveHodgson, DonHoffmeyer, KimHoover, DeeHorne, SarahHorsman, KevinHoward, PatriciaHoward, BillHowell, LydiaHuculak, SharonHull, DarinHume, AlisonHume, AllanHume, RobertHunt, TaraHuntley, SusanHuntley, ChrisHutcheon-Larose,FriedaHuzzey, Christine,(Chris)Hyatt, DavidHyatt, Jo-AnneHyde, ColetteHyde, RichardIlnicki, DallyInman, BrendaIrvine, MichaelIrvine, RhondaJackson, GaryJackson, Donna, AJackson, LandisJackson, GwenJacobson, LauraJager, JanetJames, KayeJanzen, DebraJaworski, MarkJensen, DoreenJensen, LarryJensen, LoreenJewitt, EileenJobson, JenniferJones, Jo, AnnJordan, MorrisJorgenson,JacquelineJorgenson, JustineJorginson, GeorgeJors, KarlKahut, FredKane, PatrickKarrel, BryanKautz, BarryKeaney, ConorKeith, TracyKeller, AlanKelly, MyrnaKennedy, JohnKennedy, DaveKeough, ShawnKerkermeier,KristopherKicia, Wendy

Kimber, SueKirk, DeborahKirychuk, LaurenKlassen, RogerKleibrink, RichardKlein, PieraKobe, DianeKolinsky, CeliaKolisnyk, TaraKolody, PeterKorner, RobertKorpela, CarolKorvela, KimmoKosloski, RussellKozak, JohanneKrahn, CarolynKrahn, MurraryKutaj, DeniseKuzek, DwightKvisle, DianneLadouceur, GaryLambourne, TomLampel, JosephineLander, BettyLandry, LauraLane, RobLarose, DavidLarsen, JamieLarson, MonaLauwers, ThibautLavoie, KarenLawson, KylaLawson, CurtisLaycock, RobertLeach, KeithLeblanc, BrendaLeBlanc, RichardLecompte, BrianLedene, DarcyLee, RyanLee, LylaLendzion, TedLengyel, EdLeslie, ColleenLeSueur, PeggyLewin, KarenLieskovsky, BonnieLind, JDLindsay, JohnLinn, KathyLitt, LarryLockyer, CarolLohse, BarbaraLohse, TerryLoraas, DebbieLorren, Lynn-GaleLove, ErinLovell, JackieLukich, FredLumsden, BretonLunn, JohnMacDonald, JimMacDonald, SandraMacDonald-Hodge,MarnieMacGillivray, EvelynMacLachlan, RobertMacLachlan, Kyla

MacNaughton, LyndaMacNeill, LyndaMadrigga, DustinMah, EvaMaher, CarolynMains, DebbieMair, JohnMak, SebastianMakinson, LeanneMalin, GerryMalin, KimMalin, ShawnaManthey, MicheleMao, KathyMarquardt, ColleenMartin, ShanaMartin, JudyMass, LanaMatiisen, ArneMatthews, JannaMcAfee, WendiMcBeath, AndrewMcBurney, LloydMcClelland, JamesMcClosky, WendyMcComish, LeonaMcConnell, AnneMcCormick, GregMcCready, SandraMcDonald, PatriciaMcDonald, PaigeMcDougall, DonMcDougall, LayneMcFadzean, HughMcFeeters, CindyMcFeeters,MargaretMcIntyre, Dawn, AnneMcIvor, RachelMcKay, RandyMcKay, CliffordMcKellar, DianaMcKenzie, EleanorMcKnight, RobertMcLaughlin, PaulineMcLay, BobMcLean, TamsynMcLean, GenevieveMcLennan, RoseMcNichol, JillMcPherson, AdamMeier, CarolynMelnyk, DonMendritzki, VolkerMergny, UrsulaMergny, RobertMesic, TomMetcalfe, GaryMetcalfe, JohnMeunier, SherryMichael, DonnaMichell, JohnMicks, GeriMiller, Ed

SSpecial thanks to allvolunteers for your

enthusiasm and dedica-tion in making the 2009Tim Hortons Brier anevent to remember!


More volunteersnames, seeopposite page.

Volunteers are the backbone of any successful Brier.


Miller, BevMilligan, BobMilligan, ConnieMinaker, BobMitchell, WB,(Barney)Mitchell, BarryMitchell, StuartMoen, RoselynnMoffatt, WandaMoffatt, TeracaMoggey, GwenMoody, DaleMoon, GeoffMoore, TomMoore, DonnaMoore, LaurelMoore, RoyMorkin, PatMorris, ErinMorrison, GregMorton, ScottMorton, SignyMoulton, VernMullin, DewittMunro, MarionMunro, AlMunro, AllenMurphy, SeanMurphy, VickyMurray, Gordon

Murray, RobertMustard, DarrellMuto, HiroMyhre, MaureenNadeau, DanielleNattrass, TerlynNeis, CelinaNelson, JoanNelson, JoanNelson, TracyNelson, MarjorieNelson, LarryNetherton, StuartNevers, MalcolmNguyen, ThanhNielsen, SallyNimik, AllisonNixon, GlendaNixon, KeithNoseworthy, TrinaNotenboom, CherylOakley, GrahamOaks, CatherineObrocki, DixieO'Callaghan,CarmenO'Connor, CeciliaOdo, JimOdut, LindaOlson, KellyOntkean, Gerald

Ormerod, RobOsborne, MarilynneOsborne, MargaretOttawa, RonOwens, ToddOwens, ValeriePadget, SherriPalamaruk, RosePankewitz, RegParker, KenParkinson, JoanPart, John, (Jack)Part, CarolPartington, DiannePartlo, DonPaterson, BettyPaterson, DawnPaterson, BillPaterson, DianaPaton, GlennaPatterson, LindaPavisova, SarkaPek, GregPenner, JillianPerera, SonaliPerkins, StasiaPerkins, KimPetryk, WendyPetryk, StevenPhillips, MarkPickering, JudyPihulak, JamesPike, NancyPinel, MarneyPitacciato, Dominic

Pitchko, JeanPlace, RyleaPoirier, LouisPorter, JimPrairie, DanPrice, LynnProciuk, PatProcter, TomProut, DarrenPullar, BrendaQuayle, ConnieQuinn, WilliamQuinn, KathyRaber, PeggyRasmussen, MarleneRasmussen, BartRayburn, DoloresRedford, KathleenRehbein, VernReid, DaveReimer, BrendaReitbauer, LaunaRichardson,AndrewRisdon, MarleneRitter, DonnaRivard, RogerRoberts, MarvRobertson, DebbieRobinson, JenniferRobostan, RobertRobostan, LoisRoche, DeniseRodger, CherylRogers, Leslie

Rogers, JessicaRokosh, RoseRombough, BrianRombough, GeraldineRose, DaveRoss, DonRoss-Lamb, LyannRoth, MichelleRothenburger, LeanneRousseau, Anne, MarieRussell, KristenRutherford, KenRutherford, DougRutledge, MikeRuzicka, ColleenSaigeon, RozSale, LionelSale, JoySalekin, DonnaSalhab, LaurieSalyn, GordSalyn, LaverneSanders, WilmurSandhals, LyricSandner, ClausSarich, SharonSauers, BrendaSaunders, FredSawatzky, HeatherSchafer, RaySchiewe, TerrySchiewe, WendySchmidt, CurtSchmidt, GarrySchmidt, Marcie

Schmidt, SuzanneSchoettler, CherylSchwab, ValSchwab, PatriciaScott, GlynnisScrymgeour, SteveSeafoot, BeverleySeelmann, JasonSenneker, KatherineSept, RickShand, AprilShimizu, JulianneShivas, JanetShouldice, HarleyShupe, DennisShupenia, HumphreySimmons, RossSjolie, MarkSkinner, BrianSlade, Jeffrey, T.Slater, MarcSlater, AlisonSlezak, CharleneSlezak, MurraySmith, ErnestSmith, CathySmith, NelsonSmith, FlorenceSmith, DougSmith, BobSmith, JackSmith, MargaretSmith, MaureenSmyth, JackieSnow, Linda

Somers, AlanaSperle, JacquelineSpielman, AllenStalmans, JanetSteel, JohnStefaniw, DonnaSterling, KenSterling, JuneSterner, TriciaStevenson, FayeStevenson,ShannonStirling, BillStrasser, DanaStuparyk, BradStychyshyn, TerryStychyshyn,PatriciaSulimma, HardiSullivan, TimSummersgill, CarolSutter, MaureenSwanston, LindaSweet, LyndaSwett, SheilaSwyripa, KenSyme, BrentTait, RussTakvam, CindyTanner, BrockTaylor, PeterThomas, DaveThomas, TrevorThomas, DavidThomas, Rob

Thompson, BobThompson, BrennanThomson, JohnThomson, CarolThomson, JustinThorburn, SteveThornton, SusanThoutenhoofd, MegTiberio, SharonTidlund, BobTodd, DavidTodd, FrancesTomyn, KellyTopp, LynnTrach, ShannonTrach, JeannieTruckey, DonnaTucker, MarleneTucker, KathrynTurcotte, BarbTurgeon, DonTurubchuk, ElizabethUkrainec, JillVan, Aalst, DonVan, de, Laak, Johnvan, Tongeren,JoanneVarga, SteveVaugeois, DonnaVeasey-Jalbert,NicolaVink, MariaVirtue, RexVogt, GordonVogt, Linda

Volcko-Ibsen, FloVopni, MyraWachowich, DonnaWagner, PaulWakeman, SusanWalker, RichardWalker, JaniceWallace, DorisWalls, JeremyWalton, James, PWangler-Clohessy,MaryWard, CorlissWard, MikeWardale, JudyWarrack, KirtWarren, BruceWasdal, BeateWatson, CatherineWatson, SandraWatt, CathyWatt, Donna, MaeWeeks, DianneWegmann, CarolWeir, BoydWeisner, KenWelder, JodyWelsh, BrendaWerle, JasonWessner, JoyWhapham, AlWickerson, DawnWiese, BrianWilby, DonaldWilliams, Tara

Williams, SeanWilliamson, AdeleWillison, LorneWilson, BrianWindsor, GailWindsor, DarleneWing, ClarkeWitt, ValerieWoloschuk, RodWong, KarenWong, PaulineWoodard, AaronWoollett, CathieWorden, TylerWoychuk, DwayneWoychuk, MarilynWoychyshyn,ChristineWyatt, JimYakemchuk, LeighYanke, CharleneYeo, PatYorke, JudyYoung, CarolYoung, DianneYoung, DennisYoung, BlairYuen, AllanZboya, SusanZeller, ColleenZeller, DavidZubot, BrettZuehlke, RobynZuk, WalterZurek, Johnine

VolunteersFrom Page 12

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Long days mean fun nights at Brier Patch

Roger Powell has a tough job: He’sthe entertainment co-ordinator forKeith’s Brier Patch and the Purple

Heart Lounge at the Tim Hortons Brier. The Patch is a fun and spontaneous

place to enjoy good company, listen tosome live music and have a few laughs,but Powell says every minute is orches-trated to ensure the day is problem-free.

“Everything is scripted, even though itdoesn’t look it,” says Powell, whosebeen organizing the entertainment for theCanadian Curling Association since1992.

With the help of a volunteer commit-tee, Powell started planning the bandlineup and festivities for the Patch a yearago. Having worked the Brier last time it

came to Calgary in 2002, he was gratefulto re-unite with some familiar faces.

“There are people on the committeeyou know you can trust. They make thisBrier special,” said Powell, with obviousappreciation.

Powell works long hours during theBrier: He makes his way down to thegrounds at around 10 a.m. and doesn’treturn to his hotel room until 1 or 2 a.m.It’s a marathon day that consists ofscript-writing, schedule maintenance andorganizing the daily talk show Up Closeand Personal — an intimate interviewwith each team — held in the PurpleHeart Lounge.

BRIER ENTERTAINMENT

By NORA O’MALLEYSpecial to The Tankard Times

The entertainment package at the Brier Patch was lined up a year in advance.PLEASE SEE PATCH P17

Sunday, March 15 2009 14


Anyone who has been to this year’sTim Hortons Brier and visited thePatch or the Purple Heart Lounge

has been part of curling history.Housed in the Big Four Building, what

is now Party Central still holds theGuinness Book World Record for thelargest indoor curling facility in the world.

Early curling had found a home in theVictoria Arena, which was built in 1912and housed the first artificial ice plantinstalled in Calgary. The arena shared thespace with hockey, including the AllanCup-winning Calgary Stampeders hockeyteam of 1946, but there was great concernthat the antiquated structure might col-lapse from the press of fans. To solve the

problem, a new facility, specifically forhockey, was designed by the local archi-tecture firm of Stevenson Raines, andnamed the Stampede Corral.

While the Corral was a hit with hockeyfans, it was practically useless for any-thing else, and with much of the Corral’s

ice time taken up with amateur and pro-fessional hockey, as well as public skat-ing, the demolition of the Arena in 1959frustrated the curlers who had made theirhome there.

The growth of the midway and theother exhibits on the Stampede groundsmeant that space was at a premium. Thesolution was to build a multi-purposebuilding to serve both functions, and TheBig Four, named after the original part-ners in creating the Stampede (GeorgeLane, A.E. Cross, Pat Burns, and ArchieMcLean) was constructed in 1959. Whenit opened, its 48-sheet curling rink, ontwo floors, was the largest of its kind inthe world.

Anyone who curled in Calgary duringthe 1960s and 1970s remembers playingat least once in the Big Four: it washome to bonspiels, playdowns, and count-

less school classes where students learnedthe game on those endless sheets.

That tradition came to an end in thewinter of 1987-1988 when the buildingwas converted for use as part of theInternational Broadcast Centre for the XVWinter Olympic Games. Later, in 1988,the Stampede board decided to install acasino in a large section of the upperfloor (site of this year’s Patch is), and usethe remaining space for trade shows.

With the construction of the newStampede Casino (opened last summer),the Big Four building’s future is uncer-tain. While the ice plant would need to bereplaced, curling is as popular, if notmore so, than it was back when it wasfirst constructed, and is an excellent exam-ple of Modernist architecture.

Many Calgarians believe it is worthpreserving as a piece of curling history.

Curling emporium had endless sheets of iceHISTORY

By LINDA M. CUNNINGHAMSpecial to The Tankard Times

CameraFrom Page 11

Len’s left hand controls the pan and the tiltof the camera; his right controls the zoom andfocus. These aren’t your average joysticksthough; they respond to the slightest touch.

“As you can see, you can’t even see myfingers moving,” Dubyts says. “It’s just amatter of pressure.”

The headset that Dubyts wears enables thedirector to bark in his left ear, and has thecommentator and the players’ mikes fed intohis right ear. Hearing the players speakallows Dubyts to be ready for the play, and tolearn what’s about to happen next.

“When I shoot, I know what to expectwhen the rock comes into the house,” hesays. “We’re tailoring the shot to fit the sit-uation, so viewers at home can plan their

own strategy.”During Draw 16 on Thursday afternoon,

Dubyts had his cameras positioned overSheet C, honing in on the match betweenNorthwest Territories/Yukon and NewBrunswick. While moving his cameras, hecommented that long guards were annoying,because the camera has to zoom so far outthat extraneous material begins to be seen onthe side of the screen.

“But what can you do,” he says. “That’spart of the game.”

If being high above everyone else isn’t dis-tracting enough, Dubyts has four monitors towatch. The centre monitor shows him the tapethat’s actually being broadcast, and then thetwo smaller monitors are connected to theirrespective cameras on either end of the ice.

Because the home-end camera screen is onthe right side of the booth, Dubyts also hasa security camera that allows him to seewhat’s going on, as he’s too far from the side

of the booth to lean over the edge.Constant awareness is one of the hardest

parts of the job, Dubyts says, because some-times it gets repetitious.

“If you lose concentration, then you’rebound to lose something that’s going onwith the game,” he says.

Dubyts says he covers 11 curling events ayear and is on the move from about the lastweek of November straight through until mid-April. In fact, he will be in Korea by the mid-dle of next week to cover the Women’s Worlds.

With a schedule like that, he’s had so muchexperience he rarely misses a shot. But if hedoes mess up, it’s usually a case in whichhe’s trying to improve his shot coverage.

“These [cameras] follow every rock,” hesays, “whether they’re on air or not. It’s myjob, to follow every rock down there.”

Catherine Szabo is a journalism student atMount Royal College

‘When I shoot,I know what toexpect when therock comes into

the house. We’retailoring the shot

to fit thesituation’

— Camera operator Len Dubyts



TODAY’S QUIZQUESTION OF THE DAY:

How many points did Kevin Martin score in thefirst end of last year’s Brier final against GlennHoward?

1. How many points did Martin score in thesixth end of that final game and what was thescore thereafter?2. Randy Ferbey has won six Briers. Name therunnersup of the five following 1988.3. Something unique to the Brier occurred in1993. What was it?4. Who was involved?5. Where was this edition played?6. Manitoba leads the Brier with 26 wins.

Alberta has 23. Which of these two provinceshas the most silver medals?7. How many?8. Is this the most won by any province, if notwhich has won the most?9. Name four Alberta junior champion skipswho subsequently competed in the worldmen’s curling championship and/or theOlympic Games.10. Name six other Alberta junior championskips who subsequently played in the Brier.11. Everybody knows Kevin Martin won anational junior title and went on to win threeBriers. No other junior champ has skipped oneBrier victor. But 13 have tried. If you can nameall 13, you’re a trivia champ.12. Oh yeah. How about the provinces repre-sented in each case?

(Answers

QofD: None, it was blanked.1. Martin scored one in the sixth and led 4-2.2. 1989 — Rick Folk; 2001 — Kerry Burtnyk;2002 — John Morris; 2003 — Mark Dacey;2005 — Shawn Adams.3. Four teams finished tied for first placewith identical 8-3 records.4. Russ Howard, Rick Folk, Rick Lang, VicPeters.5. Ottawa.6. Alberta.7. 14 silver.8. Actually, Alberta, Saskatchewan andOntario each have won 14 silver.

9. Kevin Martin, Carter Rycroft, Kevin Park,Bernie Sparkes.10. Johnny Trout, Wayne Saboe, BarryColeman, Tom Kroeger, Paul Gowsell, ChrisSchille.11. Bayne Secord, Tom Tod, Danny Fink,Paul Gowsell, Bill Jenkins, JamieSchneider, Bob Ursel, Jim Sullivan, DeanJoanisse, Shawn Adams, John Morris, BradGushue, Steve Laycock.12. Secord (Saskatchewan junior, OntarioBrier), Tod (Northern Ontario), Fink(Saskatchewan junior, Manitoba Brier),Sullivan (New Brunswick), Joanisse (B.C.),Adams (Nova Scotia), Morris (Ontario)Gushue (Newfoundland/Labrador), Laycock(Saskatchewan).

Brier Trivia PatchFrom Page 14

Ultimately, Powell can have everything planned toperfection but if the audience doesn’t respond, it’s all fornothing. As Stuart Brown, Powell’s longtime co-workerand emcee for the Brier, said: “It’s like you’re making acake, and you have the ingredients, but you don’t knowhow they’re all going to come together or what’s goingto come out of it all. It’s the audience that makes curl-ing work and what makes the Patch work.”

Powell and Brown both agree that Calgary has oneof the most receptive audiences in Canada.

“There are certain great places you go for the Brierand Calgary is one of them. One, it supports it very,very well and they just love curling,” said Brown.“And they love to have a good time,” he quickly addswith a smile.

Brown, who also was the emcee for the 2002 CalgaryBrier, draws on the energy from the crowd — and his co-workers — to make it through his intense schedule. Hehas to be at the Saddledome for the beginning of eachdraw to announce the players and at the end to wrapthings up. He also hosts Up Close and Personal, whichtakes place between the afternoon and evening draws, andthen he works the nightly crowd at the Patch.

“Calgary people are a lot of fun to play with. Theyjust want to have a good time and you just let themhave it,” said Brown. “We do the job but it doesn’tseem like work — it’s fun.”

Like Brown, Powell also thrives off the energy fromthe volunteer committee and his co-workers. But, hav-ing worked the Brier for more than 15 years, he alsoknows how to make good use of the draw schedule.

“Every game is three hours long so if you play yourcards right and you’ve done your homework, as soon asthe game starts at 6, you jump into a VIP van, you goback to your hotel, you pass out for an hour, and thenyou’re back at 10 or so,” Powell said with a chuckle.

Nora O’Malley is a journalism student at MountRoyal College

Classic BriersFrom Page 6

The semi-final also went to an extra endwith Manitoba riding the hammer to a hard-fought 6-5 win over the feisty upstarts fromNew Brunswick.

Thus, the stage was set for a clash of thetitans. And with a record curling crowd of17,024 shoe-horned into the Saddledome andone-million-plus watching on TV, fans weretreated to one of the most memorable tusslesin the 86-year history of the Canadian men’scurling championship.

Manitoba, with hammer, blanked the firsttwo ends before Peters made good use of lastrock advantage by cracking a three-ender in the

third. Alberta came right back with a deuce inthe fourth, and then held Manitoba to a singlein the fifth, leaving the Bison province with a4-2 lead at the break.

Then Alberta cracked a four-ender in rock-filled rings in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead,only to see Manitoba tie it with two in theseventh and then go ahead 8-6 when Martinmissed a tapback in the eighth to give up asteal of two.

The turning point came in the ninth end,with Martin’s first shot. Alberta was sittingshot stone on the edge of the button, andfourth shot on the edge of the 12-foot, whileManitoba had second and third shots — bothin the four foot. Martin called for a very diffi-cult double takeout. Against all odds, he madethe shot and removed both Manitoba stones tosit three. Peters then attempted a double of hisown, but removed only one Alberta stone and

rolled out his shooter. Martin drew for threeand an unexpected 9-8 lead going into the 10thend.

Martin decided that a good offence was thebest defence so he played for Alberta’s firststeal of the game. But lead Don Bartlett’s first

shot landed in the rings and survived severalManitoba attempts at removing it. With hissecond-last shot Peters tried a delicate playthrough a narrow port to get at Bartlett’s still-shot rock in the four-foot, but tweaked aguard.

Martin put up a guard with his last shot andPeters was forced to look at a difficult angle-raise takeout for a deuce, and the win.However, with only 20 seconds left on thetime-clock, a visibly flustered Peters had torush his shot and wound up wrecking on aguard.

One of the most remarkable Briers in histo-ry was over; and a game that had twisted andturned like a John LeCarre spy novel had goneto Alberta, despite being out-shot statisticallyby an 82-78 per cent margin.

Alex Roberts is a Halifax-based writer


One of the mostremarkable Briers in

history was over, and agame that had twistedand turned like a JohnLeCarre spy novel had

gone to Alberta.

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Day 9 of the Tankard Times

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