Tankard Times March 13th Tim Hortons Brier

Issue 8 – Saturday, March 13, 2010 • An Official Publication of the Canadian Curling Association.

Howard has the horses!

Ontario fends off provincial cousins, heads to Brier final

With three in the eighth and two more in the 10th, Ontario rallied to defeat Northern Ontario 8-6 in Friday’s Page One-Two playoff game, advancing to Sunday’s final.

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Page 2

Tankard Times

Ontario makes it a dirty dozen Larry Wood Tankard Times Editor

I

t was nip, tuck, to say nothing of tense, but Ontario’s Glenn Howard finally escaped with his 12th straight victory at the Tim Hortons Brier on Friday night.

Facing the youngest skip in the competition — 23 years his junior —

E.J. Harnden and Brad Jacobs, background, watched a potential upset slip away in the final three ends Friday.

47-year-old Howard and his team of Richard Hart, Brent Laing and Craig Savill required all their guile and few big shots to wrestle control from Brad Jacobs’s Northern Ontario entry in the Page OneTwo playoff game resulting in Ontario catapulting directly to Sunday’s championship final at 8 p.m. ET following an 8-6 victory.

Friday’s Page 1-2 Playoff N. Ontario Ontario* %age N. Ontario Ontario

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 6 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 8 Lead Second Third Skip Team 94 84 75 73 81 99 91 88 79 89

Playoff Schedule Today Noon — Page 3-4 Playoff: Alberta vs.

Nfld/Labrador 7:30 p.m. — Championship semifinal: Northern Ontario (Page 1-2 loser) vs.

Page 3-4 winner

Sunday 8 p.m. — Championship final: Ontario (Page 1-2 winner) vs. semifinal winner

The win plants the Howard team, playing in its fifth straight Brier, in its fourth championship final.

In three previous Brier finishes, Howard won

one, lost two.

Northern Ontario jockeyed in front of the contest by stealing a critical fourth-end point after a third-end triple

but a patient Ontario unit finally scored three of its own in the eighth, held Jacobs to a single in the ninth when Jacobs was off on a four-foot draw

by a hair’s width, and left Howard with an easy shot for a winning deuce at the finish.

“My team made every shot for me,” said Howard afterward.

“I missed a few early and got a little bit down on myself. They kept picking me up, making great shots and Richie (Hart) made the shot-of-the-week through the port in the sixth. That gave us the momentum.

“Obviously it was entertaining curling game.

I thought we had them in trouble a lot, I let them off a few times, and then got some breaks out of Brad and, lo and behold, we were tied up coming home with the hammer, just where we wanted to be.

And Craig made the two great shots on the guards in the 10th.

“They made a lot of great shots, too, and we barely beat them. But we’re totally satisfied. You can’t win unless you get to the final, so it feels great.”

Jacobs doubled out of trouble in the first end, which was blanked, then yielded two in the second despite executing another double-kill.

But Howard missed a runback in the third, then was teased into attempting a thin double on a half-guarded stone and wrecked leaving Jacobs a draw for three in the third.

Please see DOZEN, Page 19

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 3

Net yield diff. (bu/ac)*

The first Page 1-2 game in history between Ontario and Northern Ontario was one to remember, with Brad Jacobs’ crew seriously testing Glenn Howard and Co.

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Page 4

Tankard Times

Coach Coulterman Rock Solid COVERAGE counsels callow crew Helps keep Northern Ontario youngsters on an ‘even keel’

For complete coverage of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier, read sports reporter Monty Mosher’s stories daily.

LARRY WOOD Tankard Times Editor Proud sponsor of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier

C

oaches, even those who are hired to be fired, are becoming commonplace at major curling events like the Tim Hortons Brier.

The onslaught of coaching goes hand in hand with federal funding in sports and the curling situation is no different.

Hence, it says here, high time has arrived to institute a coach-of-the-year award to augment the all-star citations, sportsmanship honours and shot-of-the-week accolades that will be tossed around Sunday morning at the Brier’s awards brunch.

“Coaching is huge now,” says Tom Coulterman, this Brier’s obvious choice for coach-of-the-year, based on the stunning performance of his team from Sault Ste. Marie.

“It’s not just the managerial sense any more, it’s not just making arrangements for a team to get here, there and everywhere on schedule.

Coaches these days have gone through all the training programs. They’re much

Tom Coulterman will be trying his best to keep Brad Jacobs’ crew focused and calm this weekend. more knowledgeable about the game. They can help the players prepare physically, mentally, technically, strategically, to come into a tournament like this.”

The quiet-spoken Coulterman is dead on. Huge, is the word.

His Northern Ontario team, youngest in the Brier field, finished second during the round-robin with what

some veteran experts would characterize as an astounding performance capped by eight straight wins.

This was supposed to be the Fab Four Brier. Which is to say, Howard, Stoughton, Koe and Gushue, and forget the remainder.

Except that Brad Jacobs and his team of E.J. and Ryan Harnden and Caleb Flaxey (love that name) horned in

ahead of three of the four and supplanted Winnipeg’s Stoughton in the playoffs.

“I’ve been with the boys for one year,” reveals the 64-year-old white-haired Coulterman, a retired high school science teacher. “They asked me last summer to come on board. They didn’t have a coach last year. They felt they needed someone to come on with them. Eric Harnden, two of the boys’ father and Brad’s uncle had been working with them for many years, off and on, since high school days. Al Harnden, another uncle, worked with Brad for a few years.

Brad threw skip rocks for Al and learned a lot from him.

“I asked them, what do you want from me? They told me. I said, ‘OK, fine,’ and I agreed to the role and to try to help them in any way I could.

Basically, they were looking for someone to keep them a little calmer when they were getting into situations like you encounter in the playdowns and Brier.”

Just lately, “the boys” have been into those situations, big-time.

“They’re young, and so they’re excitable,” says Coulterman, who coached his daughter Tara George in junior play before she moved to Thunder Bay and subsequently wound up playing third for Krista McCarville. “They wanted someone who’d keep them on an even keel.”

Please see WOOD, Page 15

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Above, watch out for the sou’wester in Section 51! Below, a very bad hair day.

Page 5

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Jeff Richard’s Kelowna crew got a lift from members of the Left Coast Brigade.

Well, whaddya know? It’s the Lunenberg lobster lady!

Brad Gushue’s fans from the Rock are rockin’ and rollin’.

Meet a frizzy flatlander fan.

Page 6

Tankard Times

One-hit wonders vs. one big chance

Sun Media Columnist

U

ntil he wins a Brier, Brad Gushue knows he’ll go down in history as a one-hit wonder.

It was a hell of a hit, mind you. Top of the charts.

It was the Olympic

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John’s and they have a parade down George Street or the streets named after Gushue, Mark Nichols or Jamie Korab from the Olympics, there will be a massive void.

Alberta’s Kevin Koe, on the other hand, never has been to a Brier before. And he may never get back here again. His team is almost certain to be breaking up at the end of the season. And Kevin Martin is keeping his 2010 Olympic goldmedal team together likely for a run at Sochi 2014.

“Yeah, Gushue is guaranteed to be at this

thing the next 10 years,” agreed Koe on Friday.

“Who knows if we’ll ever get to one again because of where we live.”

Koe’s the complete opposite to Gushue as Alberta and Newfoundland meet in today’s sudden-death Page Three-Four playoff game at 12 noon AT. Gushue has won all those Brier round-robin games but he’s only won one playoff game at the Brier. But the Metro Centre is where he won the Olympic Trials, and the Newfoundland flags will be flying and the crowd will be cheering for the last Atlantic Can-

ada team left standing.

Gushue admits he came back from winning the gold medal feeling he had to start winning Briers to certify that the Olympics weren’t an aberration.

“I didn’t just want to fall off the scene. I didn’t want people to think that Olympic gold medal was just a oneoff,” he said.

Gushue didn’t get to the Olympic Trials in Edmonton. So people can now think what they want to think.

But the Brier is still there. That’s the validation he needs.

You’d figure there’d be more pressure on

Koe because he can’t say wait until next year over and over gain. But the skip of the Edmonton Saville Centre team says they’re not going to apply it to themselves like maybe Gushue might.

“We look at it as opportunity,” said Koe. “This is a great opportunity for our team.”

Third Blake MacDonald might be calling it a career after his next loss.

But he’s not looking at it as do or die either: “I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said.

Please see JONES, Page 15

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gold medal at Torino in 2006.

And Gushue could also go down as the grand old man of the Brier if he keeps representing Newfoundland every year.

He knows he’s likely to keep getting here again and again and again. He may set the all-time record for most games played and most wins at the Brier. He’s only 29 and he’s already been to the Brier seven times, half as many as Russ Howard’s record 14. He’s won 52 games.

Howard has won 113.

But unless he wins one title, until he takes the Tankard back to St.

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Says Newfoundland skip Brad Gushue, background: “I expect more.

I’ve seen more from the guys . . . you want it every time.”

Gushue prefers perfectionism Larry Wood Tankard Times Editor

O

ne thing about Brad Gushue. He doesn’t mince words or attempt to pull the verbal wool over the eyes of anybody. Not the general public, not inquisitive reporters, not even his own teammates.

“Definitely, it would be fair to call me a perfec-

tionist,” he was allowing.

“My teammates know that, and that’s why they love me and that’s why they hate me. It’s just the way it is, I guess.”

Gushue hasn’t been tossing many superlatives around the Metro Centre this week when the subject turns to his Newfoundland/Labrador team’s performances.

“This is our fourth time going 8-and-3 at

the Brier and, I think, this is the worst we’ve played,” he said. “Some of those were really good 8-and-3s; this one was not. I think we’re a better team now than we were the last few Briers so my expectations for our team are higher than they were three or four years ago.”

See GUSHUE, Page 18

Page 8

Tankard Times

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The ‘Wrench’ tightens grip on first Tankard

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1983: During his fourth appearance in the men’s championship, Ed Werenich finally won his first Brier title by beating Ed Lukowich of Alberta 7-3 in the final.

The Wrench went on to represent Ontario in 10 Briers, taking home the Tankard for a second time in 1990.

1986: Brier blowouts are rarer since the conces-

sion rule was adopted in 1973, which allows teams that are being badly outplayed to opt out early.

However, Russ Howard’s Ontario team still managed to steal nine points in coasting to an 11-0 hammering of the Territories. Territories skip Klaus Schoenne didn’t help his team’s cause by curling 25 per cent in a game that went just four ends.

1987: One of the major surprises at Edmonton’s Agriplex was the disappointing play of Saskatchewan’s Don Gardiner. In losing his final game 8-2 to Pat Ryan’s Alberta foursome, Gardiner earned an infamous place in Brier curling history by finishing with a 1-10 record — the worst ever

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by a Saskatchewan team to that point. (Note: Gardiner’s only win came in the ninth round against Nova Scotia!)

1988: Leading Alberta’s Pat Ryan 7-5 going into the last end of the final, Saskatchewan skip Eugene Hritzuk threw one of the worst pressure shots in Brier history. Looking at three, and attempting a freeze to try and hold Alberta to two and get into an extra end, Hritzuk hogged his last rock, handing the game and the Tankard to Alberta.

1993: The round-robin at the Ottawa Civic Arena ended with the first ever four-way tie for top spot.

See ROBERTS, Page 14

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 9

your guide to what’s goin’ on

Dancing Room Only The Catch of the Day The chairs may be empty tonight in Keith’s Patch – because when the Mellotones hit the stage at 11:00 pm, you can be sure the dance floor will be packed.

They’re renowned as Halifax’s premier dance band with an energetic stage show and undeniable talent that keeps the crowds moving all night.

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The nine-piece ensemble includes four horns and a dynamic rhythm section, belting out a classic repertoire of American soul music. The group appeals to the young and young at heart, delivering the talent, energy and charisma that adds up to a wild time in the Patch!

on stage

Big Fish is a lively acoustic quintet, noted for strong four part harmonies and an expansive set list. You can catch the big ones this afternoon at 3:00 pm in Keith’s Patch.

The group has been performing their unique style of music throughout the Maritimes for more than three years. Audiences of all ages have come to appreciate the creativity, powerful vocals and showmanship of Sarah Letcher, Peter Janes, Andy Gallant and Dale Letcher.

Fans can expect a song list that ranges from the 50’s to present day, including everything from the musicals to traditional Maritime tunes.

I ’S TIM ES BREWIN

Sunday, March 14 – Blueberry Grunt • 5:00 pm

Keith’s Patch Sunday hours will be 12 pm - 8 pm

The Party Line • Your guide to what’s goin’ on

Page 10

Find the Words in the Floral Flags

A Pair of Solos in the PHL Last Sunday, renowned Halifax cover band Shameless rocked the crowd at Keith’s Patch. This afternoon at 2 pm, front man Shawn Birt performs his solo act for fans in the Purple Heart Lounge.

Attractive “floral flag” arrangements, situated in the four corners of the Metro Centre, replicate the flags used by Maritime sailors.

Can you interpret the four words in the message?

The show features all the hits you love, delivered with Birt’s unique vocals and sense of humour. And, all the songs are stripped down to just the singer and his Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar.

The following guide provides the corresponding letter for each flag.

Then, at 11 pm, the Purple Heart Lounge presents Bob Lambert - one of Atlantic Canada’s most popular performers, with a reputation as a dynamic solo entertainer with a unique brand of music and comedy.

(See the answers on page 12)

Lambert is noted for his homegrown approach that is both spontaneous and versatile. A proud “Newfie”, born and bred, he articulates that heritage in the content of his progressive comedy act.

Odyssey White Ice Challenge Two lucky contestants will have the chance to putt today in the White Ice Challenge – with a $100,000 prize on the line! The challenge will take place today during the semi-final game in the Metro Centre.

Reuben Green of Northport, Nova Scotia qualified through the competition held Saturday though Thursday at the Tim Hortons Brier.

Gordon Pringle of Almonte, Ontario earned his way as winner of the online trivia contest.

Now they’ll face the real challenge – a 93-foot putt to the button, using a new Odyssey White Ice putter.

Reuben Green of Northport, Nova Scotia

Signal flags are a common sight in the Maritimes where they’re used on ships for communication at sea. At the Brier we’re using them to send messages to the fans.

Gordon Pringle of Almonte, Ontario

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 11

It’s Simply Time to Find Out…

Who Rules the Cool?

The Cool Curling action has been hot and heavy in Keith’s Patch since Monday. There were 128 teams that took part in the qualifying rounds. By end of day Thursday, 32 teams earned the right to play in Friday’s Quarter Finals. Now it’s down to the final eight: Don & Boyce Rodney & Gary Willie & Jack Dan & Bill

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They’ll be playing for pride… and cash prizes! The Cool Curling Champions will be awarded $500, with $250 for the runner-ups and $150 for the third place finishers.

The Brier Fun ‘Spiel The Brier Fun ‘Spiel brought 96 curlers to the Mayflower Curling Club Friday morning. Following the games, the competitors enjoyed a light lunch and random prize presentations.

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An appealing array of options are available including the “What is Halifax” city tour, a trip to beautiful Peggy’s Cove, the German settlement of Lunenberg or the Alexander Keith’s Brewery Tour – complete with1863 period costumed guides, beer, songs and munchies.

For complete information, stop by Level 2, WTCC, Room 210 – just next to the information booth.

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Page 12

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The 50/50 draws use an electronic system that displays real time pool updates on the video screen in the Halifax Metro Centre and Keith’s Patch. A 50/50 prize will be awarded for each Brier draw.

Here’s how it works: • four purchase outlets are located in the Metro Centre and one outside Keith’s Patch • tickets are also available from vendors with handheld devices in the Metro Centre and Patch • tickets are printed at the point of sale and the total pot is automatically updated so you can watch it grow

50/50 Winners Thursday Draw 17 – Carrie Stark, Vermilion, AB - $15,103

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zone, grip, hack, and draw

Picture Perfect

The words signaled by the “floral flags” are

Picture Perfect is the “fan’s eye” view from Halifax. When you’re capturing your favourite memories from the Tim Hortons Brier, send them in… they may just show up in The Party Line.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 13

Gang Green packs up early . . . again Larry Wood Tankard Times Editor

T

he question is same-old, sameold.

It’s asked every year at the Tim Hortons Brier.

What’s happened to Saskatchewan, the province that produced the Campbells and the Richardsons and the Folks?

The teams from the flatlands have been not-so-mean green since 1980 when Rick Folk last won a Brier for the province with a Saskatoon team.

In fact, over the last 20 renewals of the

Canadian men’s curling championship, 10 of the Saskatchewan champs have failed to win more Brier games than they’ve lost.

Certain of the old timers were mentioning it the other day. An immaculate curler like Saskatoon’s Merv Mann, who is generally considered the best skip never to play in the Brier, must be spinning in his crypt.

Guys like Richardson and Campbell must be scratching their noggins in wonder, too.

Meanwhile, the expectations in Saskatchewan are the same every year.

Which is to say, high.

And the massive disap-

pointments keep piling up.

“I don’t know why we can’t produce winners,” muses current Saskatchewan skip Darrell McKee of Saskatoon, who departed the scene Thursday night with a less-than-scintillating 4-and-7 record.

“We’ve had some good representatives, I think.

But it isn’t easy to win the Brier. Anybody who thinks it’s easy doesn’t know much. I mean, this year the top four teams were awesome and the rest of the field was good. It’s not like it used to be when you’d have four or five easy teams.

It’s a long week and you

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many years the Greens have been battered about.

At Calgary last year, Joel Jordison of Moose Jaw won a mere three games.

Moose Jaw’s friendly chiropractor Pat Simmons, who represented the province at the previous four Briers, had the best opportunity for a breakthrough in 2008.

Simmons guided his squad to the Page One-Two playoff game against Alberta’s Kevin Martin during the 2008 Brier at Winnipeg.

Darrell McKee and Co. finished 4-7 this week. have to play good for a long time.”

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Page 14

Tankard Times

Mayor Peter Kelly and Members of Halifax Regional Council are pleased to welcome all athletes and sports enthusiasts to the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier. Come share in the excitement as the country’s most accomplished male curlers compete in one of the most anticipated events of the Canadian Men’s curling scene. We wish you all success and trust your visit will be a truly memorable experience. Enjoy!

Manitoba (Vic Peters), Northern Ontario (Rick Lang), B.C. (Rick Folk) and Ontario (Russ Howard) all finished with 8-3 records.

1994: In the first Brier final using the new free guard zone, three-rock rule, Rick Folk’s British Columbia quartet beat Ontario and Russ Howard 8-5 in the highest scoring championship final since 1988.

1999: In one of the most spectacular pressure shots in Brier history, Quebec skip Guy Hemmings made a cold draw to the button in an extra end to beat Saskatchewan’s Gerald Shymko 6-5 in the semi-final in front 13,272 stunned Edmonton Skyreach Centre fans. Hemmings had originally intended to attempt an in-turn double off Shymko’s

From Page 8

ROBERTS: Ferbey sweeps up No. 6 shot rock that was barely an inch off the button, but instead decided to throw an out-turn draw – and the rest, as they say, is history.

2004: Mark Dacey skips Nova Scotia to a 7-4 decision over B.C.’s Jay Peachey in the Page System semi, to book a date in the final against the defending-champion Randy Ferbey team.

Dacey, who curled at 94 per cent, used the

Cheering hard in Halifax.

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hammer to put the game away in the eighth with a draw to the four-foot for three points.

2005: It was a recordbreaking championship in more ways than one, as Randy Ferbey won an unprecedented sixth Brier. An attendance mark of 281,985 was set at Edmonton’s Rexall Place, and the FerbeyAdams final drew a Brier record TV audience of 1,499,000.

2009: Kevin Martin extended his Brier record winning streak to an astounding 25 games with a 7-6 extra-end Page 1-2 playoff win over Ontario’s Glenn Howard foursome at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

(Alex Roberts is a freelance writer based in Halifax)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

From Page 6

JONES “If you told me at the start of the season I’d be in the Three-Four playoff game at the Brier, I’d have been as happy as I could be,” added MacDonald. “It is an awesome opportunity.”

Newfoundland third Mark Nichols said he knows he’ll quite likely be back a few more times. But . . .

“Eventually you’d like to win one of these. We’d liked to have won one of these by now.”

Since they adopted the Page playoff system in 1995, nobody has ever emerged to win three straight and the Brier.

“Eventually someone will,” said Nichols.

Page 15 “Most people tell me I have a relatively calm demeanor and that’s what they wanted. I’ve helped them with a few technical issues. There are still a few things that I’d like to work on. But it came to a point where we had to go with what we had.”

And what they have now is not too shabby.

“Obviously, we’re doing something right,” says Coulterman. “And they learned well, especially, from the senior Harndens.

But I have been able to settle them down a little bit. I didn’t travel with them as much as I would have liked but I was to a couple of ’spiels with them. I’ve been with them through all their playdowns. I’m hoping at the end of this we’ll sit down and sort of evaluate where we are, what we’ve been able to accomplish, where

we go from here.”

Sounds like a lengthy session upcoming.

“They’ve accomplished a lot already,” Coulterman admits. “I just can’t believe what they’ve done here. So now the challenge is to keep them focused and calm for the next couple of days.

“They’re excited. They have to be. I don’t think they’re nervous. But we’ll see what happens.

It’s a different situation.

All week there have been four games on the ice.

Now there’s just one.

They know they’re on TV. There’s no switching to another game. I think they’re ready for it.

“All year, one factor has really worked in their favour — this is a good group of boys. They really are. They lost the Northern Ontario final last year and their one

From Page 4

WOOD goal was to get back to that final, win it and get to the Brier and try to make the playoffs. And that’s where they are. Now we have to refocus and re-set our goals.”

At the Northerns last month, Jacobs and Co., won nine in a row, lost the Page One-Two playoff, then rebounded to win the semifinal and final.

“That was a bit of a setback,” admits Coulterman, who began coaching hockey and other high school sports in 1974 and entered the national coaching program in 1978. “It was probably a learning experience, going through the do-or-die situation. But even when you get to the final game

it’s do-or-die. At some point you’re going to be in that situation.”

Like, starting Friday night at the Metro Centre.

“It’s still a little unsettling for me,” Coulterman says, “when I’m called out in a situation to contribute in making a decision on a shot.

“I mean, some coaches like myself don’t have the actual experience of playing in a Brier or on a really competitive team.

It’s a tough situation in which to be placed. That’s what I find to be the most difficult job of the coaching regime at an event like this. I’ve seen a lot of it over the years and if I have to go out there in such a situation and help the boys I’ll do the best I can even though I may be doubting myself a little bit.

But I look forward to the challenge, actually. It has

only happened once so far this week but I expect it will happen again.”

He says “the boys” may not have expected to climb to the current heights “but they certainly wanted it.”

“That’s driven them all year,” says Coulterman.

“I didn’t expect it. Their goal was the playoffs. I thought, maybe tiebreakers. But to be No. 2! All of a sudden we know we’re going to be in a medal situation. And we’re so much closer to that ultimate goal.

“I will say that if a young team like this was to win the Brier it would be a tremendous boost for the growth of the sport.

It would contribute so much to bringing more young kids into it. Not just in the Soo, but in the whole country. It would be fantastic.”

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Look for insider’s tips every day during the Brier and visit us at the novascotia.com booth. And for more ideas on how to make the most of your vacation, visit novascotia.com/brier or follow us at twitter.com/cynatnovascotia.

Page 16

Tankard Times

Halifax’s ship-shape Brier Larry Wood Tankard Times Editor

I

t’s not often you find a guy chairing a Brier organizing committee who will admit to an interest in repeating the task.

Hugh Avery, the 42-year-old bachelor cochairing the current Tim Hortons Brier at the Metro Centre, is the exception.

“Sure I’d do it again,” he said Friday.

“It has been a lot of work, it has taken a lot of time, but it has been really rewarding. I’m incredibly happy and very pleased with what’s gone on. And I’m proud of the people I’ve worked with. This has become something of a family of sorts. We’ve become very close. I’m sure we could get most of these people to come back and do it again.”

This Brier operation has enjoyed the handiwork of more than 800 volunteers in addition to a gaggle of full-time employees.

“I don’t think I’d change a thing,” said Avery, a federal government forensic accountant.

“I’d do it again because it went smoother than I thought it would, chairing an event of this size. The key to it is surrounding yourself with very good people. But, everybody knows, that pertains to most walks of life.”

In the beginning, Avery wasted no time recruiting Graham Harris as his co-chair. Harris bossed the 2005 Olympic trials at the Metro Centre. His brother Mat Harris chaired

Walk-up gate, new 50-50 program will boost event’s bottom line the 2003 Brier in the same icehouse.

“It was a learning experience,” Avery admitted. “I wasn’t involved in either the 2003 or 2005 events. They were both successful so why re-create the wheel? Let’s take all the things that worked before and then bring in some new fresh ideas. And I think we did that. We brought in new people who had not been involved before and they proved to be very successful and very good at their jobs.

“So that’s how we started it off — bringing in a lot of good experienced people who did a good job last time and then added some people I know who had not been involved before.”

Avery might not be quite as excited about chairing another Brier if it was held, as was this one, in an Olympic year.

“To be honest, I’d rather not do this again in an Olympic year,” he admitted. “It’s a bit of a disadvantage. But we understood that. Not only did we take on the Olympics, when we accepted this task our economy was doing fairly well.

Then, all of a sudden, it sank. So not only did we have the problem with the Olympics where people were worn out, there were down times financially.

“All across the country, I

think when the two weeks were over in Vancouver people felt, ‘Now I can get back to my normal life.’ And we’ve said, now you get a week off, now you’re coming to this.

“So we knew that. The economy hit us hard. And I’m incredibly happy to have achieved the success

overall, we’ll break even at the bank.”

Any downsides?

“Sure, there’s downsides to anything,” he said. “At times, I think it was a struggle to get our flavour of Nova Scotia out there.

We probably would have been happier if we’d had more say in that.

have to be very creative.

“It’s just that you want to make sure people understand that this is a different Brier than, say, Calgary’s.

I’m sure a Calgary organizing committee would feel the same way. They want to promote the experience of being out west. So that has been a challenge, to put

Brier co-chairman Hugh Avery: “I don’t think I’d change a thing.” we have. There were times when I thought we were going to suffer big losses.

But we won’t. We’re going to be fine.”

He credits the recentlyacquired 50-50 program with brightening the financial outlook.

“It was critical to the event,” he said. “It will assure every curling club in the province of sharing in some funding. I think,

“It’s one of the key points of any Brier, to make it unique to your area. I think, though, in the long run, we achieved what we wanted to do.

“The Brier is such a process now. It’s an event that works and you don’t want to change it. Things are done a certain way. And when things are like that, it’s sometimes hard to get your spin put in so you

our own Atlantic spin on things.”

It will take some tubthumping, without the advantage of tiebreakers, to reach six figures in total attendance for this one.

The 2003 Brier established an attendance record — 158,414 — for Briers staged east of Winnipeg.

“The crowds haven’t been great but are starting to come on and I don’t

think we’re unique in that aspect,” said Avery.

“That’s been the trend in the last several events — the Moncton Worlds, even Calgary to an extent, the Scotties in January. There was heavy walkup in each place and I think that was partly due to the economy and maybe that’s the way curling fans are evolving.

“One of the problems with creating that blueprint for ticket sales from year to year, no matter where you go, is that the fans know that they’ll be offered full-event passes, following by weekend packages, following by single-draw tickets. I’m not saying it’s the wrong formula, I’m just saying that maybe curling fans know it and tend to back off. At a hockey event, fans know there’s only so many tickets, right?

“We’re really happy with our walkup, and that’s how Halifax usually operates anyway. It tends to be more of a walkup town. It’s no surprise, and hopefully we’ll see more walkup the last two days.

“If Brad (Gushue) makes it to the final, this place will be packed.”

Bottom line? Considering the timing, this Brier could be in much worse fiscal shape.

“So would I do it again in an Olympic year?” Avery repeats the question.

“It’s going to be tough no matter who does it.

Give it to me the year before the Olympics. Or, maybe, seven years from now.

“Yeah, we’ll do it again seven years from now.”

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 17

Time out for Tim Hortons Brier trivia

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won in 1980 out of Saskatoon and 1994 out of Kelowna.

12. 1938, Charles Durrant; 1953, Bernard Haines; 1978, Alan Darragh; 1980, Peter Hope; 1986, Bill Campbell Jr., 1994, Alan O’Leary.

13. Lukowich and Folk.

14. Lukowich won the Worlds in 1986, Folk won the Worlds in both 1980 and 1994.

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the Brier. But six teams have won only once. Can you name the six skips?

9. How about the records and the hometowns of the teams?

10. The years of those Briers?

Answers Hebb 1-8, Bridgewater, Shearer 1-9, Halifax; Jones 1-10, Halifax.

10. Anslow 1934, Macneill 1936, Rafuse 1940, Hebb 1942, Shearer 972, Jones 1992.

11. Ab Gowanlock won in 1938 out of Glenboro, Man., and in 1953 out of Dauphin, Man.; Ed Lukowich won in 1978 out of Medicine Hat and in 1986 out of Calgary; Rick Folk

1. No skip in Brier history has defeated the eventual Brier winner three times. But eight skips have beaten the winner on two occasions and one of those eight turned the trick in the same year. Name him.

2. How about the year he

his hometown?

7. Name the other four skips to beat the champ twice, from where and in what years in each case?

8. No Nova Scotia team has ever been blanked at

was he from?

5. Who was the second skip to beat the champ twice, in what years, and where was he from?

6. How about the third skip to beat the champ twice, in what years, and

7. Vic Peters, Winnipeg in 1993 and 1997; Russ Howard, Moncton in 2000 and 2002; Kevin Martin, Edmonton in 1995 and 2007; Brad Gushue of St. John’s in 2004 and 2007.

8. Harold Anslow, Murray Macneill, Stan Rafuse, Irving Hebb, Barry Shearer, David Jones.

9. Anslow 1-6, Windsor; Macneill 1-8, Halifax; Rafuse 1-8, Bridgewater;

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Only three skips in the history of the Canadian men’s curling championship have won 13 games in a single championship. Name the skips and the years they won that supposed unlucky number.

twice beat the winner.

3. Who was that winner and where was he from?

4. Of the other seven two-time giant-killers, who was the first skip to beat the champ twice, in what years, and where

QofD: Randy Ferbey in 2003, Kevin Martin in 2008 and 2009.

1. Glenn Howard.

2. 2006.

3. Jean-Michel Menard out off Ste-Foy, Quebec.

4. John Clark of Fredericton in 1974 and 1975.

5. Rick Folk of Saskatoon in 1978 and 1979.

6. Rick Lang of Thunder Bay in 1976 and 1993.

Larry Wood Tankard Times Editor

to WIN.

11. Three two-time Brier winners achieved their doubles while playing out of different hometowns.

Name the three skips, the hometowns and successful years.

12. Name the Nova Scotia skips in those Briers.

13. Any of them win a world championship? If so, who?

14. And when?

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Page 18

Tankard Times

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“The play may be exactly the same,” added Gushue. “It’s just I expect more. I’ve seen more from the guys and I guess when you get to that level you want it every time.”

Gushue and his crew are operating on the razor’s edge at the Tim Hortons Brier, facing Alberta’s Kevin Koe in a suddendeath Page Three-Four playoff today at the stroke of noon.

“We’re coming out like it is, do-or-die,” he said Friday after a 40-minute practice, primarily involving the skip, third Mark Nichols and second Ryan Fry, with lead Jamie Korab nursing sore muscles and spending much of the session on a massage table.

“Who knows if we’re going to be back here.

That’s the attitude we’re going in with. It’s the only attitude we can have if we want to be successful.”

It might strike you that he’s piling on the pressure.

“It adds some, but I think you need a certain amount of pressure,” he said. “I think some level of pressure is good. I think it causes you to focus a little bit more than if you had no pressure. It brings a bit of nerves that, again, makes you sharp. I think that’s a positive thing. If you put too much pressure on yourself and it’s do-or-die then, yeah, that might be a bit much but, if we treat it like it might be our last opportunity, I think that’s a positive.”

The 29-year-old Olympic gold-medallist has learned from a decade of curling at this level that applying pressure to yourself is counter-productive.

“I can’t remember a game where I felt overwhelmed by pressure,” he said. “I’m as nervous as

From Page 7

GUSHUE: ‘Home Brier’ anybody when I go out there, maybe even more nervous, but I think I’ve learned over the years how to harness that. I get excited to be nervous now. That’s fun.

“It’s no fun when you

“Being in big games like this, with big crowds like this, that’s fun and I like to get the nerves going” Newfoundland skip Brad Gushue

go out there and you don’t feel any emotion. Playing in the middle of the Prairies in a C semi-final in a bonspiel; to me that’s not a whole lot of fun. But being in big games like this, with big crowds like this, that’s fun and I like to get the nerves going.”

Gushue is unsure of his team’s overall past record against Koe, a Brier firsttimer.

“If he is beating us in the head-to-head record

it’s not by much,” said Gushue. “We’re capable of beating him and he can beat us so it should be a good game.”

The winner may be taking the first step toward a record first Brier win for a team finishing the preliminary round robin draw in the third or fourth position.

“At the Grand Slam we won this season,” recalled Gushue, “we beat McEwen, Howard, Ferbey in consecutive games. In the Brockville (Shirty Jenkins) cashspiel at the start of the season we went Koe, Howard, Martin. So we’ve beaten three real good teams in a row to win at least a couple of events.

Those are the positives we’re looking at. We’ve done it a few times already so we’ll see if there’s one more in the bag.

“You can’t look ahead in a situation like this. I mean, we played Koe in the first game, we knew we’d be playing Howard in the next game and maybe Martin in the final but you can’t think about that or you start getting overwhelmed. Right now we’re just focused on Koe. After that, hopefully, it’ll be either Jacobs or Howard.”

A lot of people in the stands will be hoping in the same vein.

“We felt like it was a home Brier for us from Day One and Thursday night in our last game of the round robin, seeing all the Newfoundland flags was pretty incredible,” admitted Gushue.

“It’s actually a little overwhelming to see the amount of support we’ve had here in Halifax.

“We knew we were going to be one of the favourites but, to this magnitude, we didn’t expect it.”

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Page 19

FAMILIAR FACES Tim Hortons Brier 2010 official Keith Reilly, left, enjoyed a Centennial Brier reunion this week with championship rinkmates, from left, John Ross and Ron (Moon) Manning of Toronto, and Halifax Mayflower’s Peter Corkum, who played third for Nova Scotia at the 1967 Brier in Hull, Que. Reilly was lead, Manning second and Ross third on the ’67 Brier championship team from Ontario skipped by Alfie Phillips Jr.

From Page 13

GREEN Simmons stickhandled his way into a last-rock situation playing the final end and faced an open hit to advance directly to the final. His rock was on target all the way down the ice sheet until it suddenly grabbed debris and veered sideways, leaving Martin with a gift win.

Back in the old days, Saskatchewan was known as a haven for keen ice, running weight and an open defensive style of play. No longer, says McKee, who directed Bruce and Roger Korte, and Rob Markowsky at the Metro Centre.

“Teams aren’t such big hitters any more,” he said. “Teams that have played the tour against these guys know you have to be able to play that game. You can’t go out there and bang on this ice

where it’s curling four feet.”

Still, there’ve been precious few Brier bright spots.

“We haven’t had a super team like a Ferbey or a Martin or a Howard,” McKee admits.

“Those guys win most of the Briers. A couple of darkhorses have come through, like Menard and Dacey, but . . . It’s not easy.

Right now, in order to build a team like those big ones you need to go at it full time.

“We’ve had Saskatchewan people win the Brier. That’s part of our problem, too. They leave Saskatchewan. Rick Folk went to B.C., Mark Dacey came to Nova Scotia. They are Saskatchewan guys.”

But, he says, things may be looking up, based on results at the junior level.

“Now, we seem to be having some of our younger players staying at home, so hopefully one of them will produce a winner.”

Sooner, rather than later.

Howard executed a near-freeze in the fourth but Jacobs chipped it out leaving his foe looking at three and Howard was inches short drawing for one.

With a 4-2 lead, Jacobs made another double in the fifth, left Howard a shot for two but the Ontario skip threw light and rolled out the shooter, settling for one.

“It’s funny with a guy like Glenn Howard,” said Hart later.

“When you say he’s struggling if he misses two or three shots, it’s like the sky is falling. He does that now and then but it rarely costs us.”

Howard appeared to have a multiple count set up in the sixth but Jacobs executed a last-rock bump to save the end and take a 5-3 edge.

Then came the turning point.

“It was the seventh end,” said Jacobs. “When I didn’t hold the shooter on an easy wideopen hit we allowed him to

From Page 2

DOZEN blank. Then he put a good end together in the eighth and we struggled for sure. If I hit and stick in the seventh we’re forcing him to one and it’s a totally different game.”

Both third E.J. Harnden and Jacobs missed shots in the eighth to set up the Howard three-spot. Jacobs needed a critical roll with his last rock but didn’t get it and left his opponent an open hit for the multiple count.

“We definitely let it slip away,” said Jacobs. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted to, not as well as we have the last six or seven games. But that’s why we wanted to get into the One-Two playoff game, we get two cracks at him. You see him missing early on and you

can’t help thinking, hey, maybe we’re going to beat this guy if he’s having an off day. But we gave it right back to him.”

Ontario outpointed its opponents at every position — 89-81 in percentage overall.

Northern Ontario, now nursing a 9-3 record, will await the winner of today’s 12-noon sudden-death playoff between Alberta and Newfoundland/ Labrador for a semi-final opponent today at 7:30 AT. “We go right back on the same sheet,” said Jacobs of the semi. “It was cool, quite the experience and we know what to expect now.

“We’re going to let this one go, almost immediatedly, and get ready for the next one.”

Jacobs said it was his team’s third loss in a Page 1-2 game.

“We lost in the provincials this year and once previously but came back both times to go to the Brier.”

Page 20

Tankard Times

Best is yet to come, says MacDonald Todd Kimberley Tankard Times Associate Editor

T

ton’s Saville Sports Centre.

“I certainly wish we could get a couple of the games back that we lost this week to teams that weren’t in contention (Alberta lost to 4-7 British Columbia and 3-8 Nova Scotia), but for the most part we’ve played well as a team. We did very well against all the real good teams.

“Everybody seems to be throwing it well. We’re in a good spot. I’m pretty confident going into (today).”

For the first time in 11 years, Alberta hasn’t been represented at the Brier this year by Kevin Martin or Randy Ferbey. Koe’s foursome knocked off Ferbey in the provincial final at Olds, while Martin was busy winning an Olympic gold medal in

Vancouver this winter.

The Koe quartet is said to be breaking up after this season, and two-time defending national champion Martin will be back on the Brier trail next winter.

“Who knows when we’ll ever be back, just because of where we live,” said Koe, following his club’s Friday afternoon practice session at the Metro Centre.

“It’s a good opportunity for us. I think we’re starting to play a bit better.

“I don’t know that there’s a ton (of pressure).

We’ve had a pretty good week, and now we’re in the playoffs. I think it’s more of a great opportunity for our team.”

Koe, who lives in Grande Prairie, Alta., boasted the third-best

Sherwood Park, who won an Olympic silver medal with Martin at Salt Lake City in 2002, was runnerup among seconds at 86 per cent, and Thiessen, of Edmonton, was the most precise lead at 89 per cent.

As a team, Alberta has curled 85 per cent, trailing only Ontario.

But for the odd lapse in concentration, the Wild Rose quartet might have been playing in Friday night’s Page One-Two playoff game, with a second shot at the championship if need be.

But the Albertans aren’t playing coulda-shouldawoulda now. “Stuff happens, and that’s behind us now,” said Koe. “We’ve got to win a couple more to get (to the final) anyway.”

Alberta’s Kevin Koe: “A great opportunity for our team.” shooting percentage this week among skips, at 82 per cent. MacDonald, of St. Albert, was No. 3 among thirds at 84 per cent. Carter Rycroft of

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hey were picked by many to be among the final four playoff teams at the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier . . . and here they are.

Individually, skip Kevin Koe, third Blake MacDonald, second Carter Rycroft, and lead Nolan Thiessen are at or near the top of the positional playing statistics.

They’ve beaten two of the elite teams at this sweepfest, and came close to knocking off Glenn Howard’s unbeaten Ontario outfit in the roundrobin finale.

And yet, Team Alberta

— with two Brier rookies in its lineup — feels its best is yet to come.

“We feel like there’s definitely room to move up,” said third Blake MacDonald, whose squad plays Newfoundland and Labrador, which compiled an identical 8-3, roundrobin record, in the Page Three-Four playoff game today at noon AT at the Halifax Metro Centre.

“We’ve had a couple of real good games, but we certainly have not had that game yet where everyone’s clicked.

“I think that game’s still out there. We’re always striving to find that one, and hopefully it comes at the right time,” added MacDonald, whose quartet is headquartered at Edmon-

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