Day 9 of the Tankard Times

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

TANKARD TIMES OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE 2009 TIM HORTONS BRIER

TODAY 6 p.m.

ALBERTA: Kevin Martin

MANITOBA Jeff Stoughton

Sunday, March 15, 2009 2

Buffalo Boys stampede Stoughtonʼs ʼTobans finding another gear in surge to final

By LARRY WOOD Tankard Times Editor

J

eff Stoughton forged a Tim Hortons Brier winning streak that reached five games on Saturday night.

Now he’s looking to give Manitoba its second straight come-from-behind winning streak of the year and somehow catapult his team toward his first Brier title in a decade.

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

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

SEMI-FINAL “Yeah, Jennifer’s streaks give me inspiration as a Manitoba skip. We watched them a couple of weekends ago. It was fun to watch them go six straight. So if we could repeat what they’ve done it would be awesome.”

Stoughton won the 1999 Brier title at Edmonton before losing the world men’s final at Saint John, N.B. to Scotland.

The Manitoba team of Stoughton, third Kevin Park, second Rob Fowler and lead Steve Gould gave SEE itself a chance to repeat that RESULTS, Jones feat with a dominating Page 9 performance in the Brier semi-final.

They bounced back from a two-point yield Thatʼs not a golf swing Glenn Howard is practising. Itʼs his reaction to a in the first end against Howard to hammer four missed opportunity in the semi-final against Manitobaʼs Jeff Stoughton. on the board. ning the game so soon after giving up that a six-win streak. For Alberta? A record-shatterHoward said later he couldn’t recall the last deuce, but we’ll take it.” ing 26 straight over two Briers. time anybody hit him with a four-bagger.

The Brier final — undefeated and defending For Martin, a fourth Brier title hangs in the After that it was a strange exchange of sin- champion Alberta vs. Manitoba — goes today balance. That would raise him into heady comgles with Stoughton three times gassing open at 6 p.m. pany alongside the Richardsons from Regina in-turn draws for deuces before hitting the “We’re not going to be able to miss any and his crosstown Edmonton rivals, the bull’s-eye with his last of the 10th end and open draws like that any more, that’s for sure,” Ferbey Four. Skip Randy Ferbey, of course, Ontario sitting the tying pair. said Stoughton of today’s assignment. “When leads the league with six titles.

“We got lucky with that four,” said we have a chance we have to capitalize.”

“It would be nice to do that (win a fourth Stoughton later. “We didn’t think we’d be winA win for Manitoba today would constitute title),” said Martin on Saturday after off-day prac-

Manitobaʼs Stoughton is on a roll as he heads into todayʼs Brier final against Albertaʼs Kevin Martin. tice. “But I won’t be thinking about it. If it happens it happens. It doesn’t really matter to me.

“The goal all along is consistent play all the way to the Olympic trials and getting to the Olympics and to get in as many of these kinds of games as we can. The two games we had against Glenn Howard in the previous two days were so great.”

Stoughton said the fact his team hasn’t yielded after absorbing four losses is a confidence-builder.

“Yeah, they (Alberta) have been on a rampage but we have to hope their winning streak can end. If they win, they win, but we’ll give it our best shot.

“We’d like to put Manitoba on the map again. Not that we’ve dropped off too far. But certainly on the men’s side. We’d like to follow the women and junior women.

PLEASE SEE BRIER P8

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4 Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Wood file

EDITOR Larry Wood ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Komosky PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Burns Jr. PUBLISHED BY The Calgary Herald

Larry WOOD

N

ow that we’ve determined the best teams in this Tim Hortons Brier in Cowtown, it’s time to reminisce on the good, the bad, the ugly and the so-so of this 80th annual rockfest . . .

The 12-team field — Arguably one of the best going in, but circumstances dictated only two or three teams were able to stand the heat. Turned out to be just the way the Tankard Times predicted it before the first rock was thrown — Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland/Labrador and Quebec . . . Less of a widespread contest than it promised to be. time since the 2006 final and Rod Rating: So-so.

MacDonald got the measure of the Buffalo The hero — For Alberta curling fans Boys, which doesn’t happen often. it must have been Kevin Martin. For Rating: Yawn!

Calgary fans it must Most notable have been Johnny Mo. loser — Rating: Good.

Saskatchewan The biggest bust seems to domi— Nova Scotia. You nate this category have to spend more time almost ever year. sifting through past After a three-year results than most of us growth process, care to sacrifice in order Pat Simmons to discover the last forinarguably mer champion who should have been wound up 2-and-9 in a in last year’s subsequent Brier. final. Maybe he Unbelievable, to say nothshould have won ing of totally unpreit. But Joel dictable. Rating: Ugly.

Jordison’s unforThe biggest surprise tunate rookie — There wasn’t one. This endeavours here Brier ran so true to form it Brothers Glenn (rear) and Russ brought to mind ing story. actually started to become those of such made for a heartwarm boring, like all form charts infamous Green Machine casualthat are followed to the tee. Upsets were ties as Roger Anholt, Don Gardiner and few and far between. Two exceptions — J- Jim Packet. Rating: Bad. M Menard beat Glenn Howard for the first The hottest shot — There was a lot

of circus shooting on the premises this week but Glenn Howard’s closer against Saskatchewan is a cinch to win the ShotOf-The-Week award. Poor Jordison is still shaking his head, still trying to recover and still fighting nightmares, to boot.

Rating: Outstanding.

The heart-warmer — The Howard brothers squaring off on Tuesday morning.

And with a sibling involved, too. An inspirational occasion for all. Rating: Wonderful.

The attendance — There wasn’t much chance they’d ever catch Edmonton’s monumental record considering the current global financial meltdown and an early Brier deep-freeze put a lid on whatever chance there was. But this will be close to 2002’s No. 3 total attendance and it may even threaten Saskatoon’s No. 2. Rating: Good.

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

The Brier Patch — Probably one of the most successful, also one of most heavily subscribed, also one of the wildest. A jolly good effort all-around.

Despite an economic downturn and some frigid weather, Calgarians turned out in big numbers at the Saddledome.

Rating: Good.

The entertainment factor: — Excellent in the arena. In the Patch they tell us it was A-OK. Whatever became of McGinty, is what we want to know?

Most years. Rating: Hmmmm.

The arena — Still one of the better “older” buildings in the National Hockey League. And damn fine for curling, too.

Needs a good, thorough wash, though.

Rating: Fair.

The best quote — Every player in the building was totally accommodating.

There was no pulling teeth for answers this Brier. Rating: Good.

The worst quote — There were none. Rating: Good.

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

PLEASE SEE WOOD P5

Sunday, March 15 2009 5

Wood From Page 4 The commentators — No knock against any of the current breed but it’s time Russ Howard retired permanently to the booth. Wouldn’t it be wunnerful? He exhibited at the Scotties he has the potential to be the most informative commentator around.

The prospect of Howard and Rauter make a redoubtable teaming. Oh, and one other thing. Let’s have more personal stuff on the players and less meaningless statistics, if you please. Rating: A passing grade.

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

Rating: Good.

The weather — What was all that about on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday? Arrrghh!

Otherwise, passable. Rating: Fair.

The politics — None of account at present but the threat of a whole bunch lurking on the horizon. Eight-end games? Multialterations to future Briers? Rating: Scary.

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

Dutton’s Lounge in the Saddledome. One of the better in-house buffets and menus.

Rating: Good.

The global prospects — The men’s title should be in stable hands at Moncton.

Jennifer Jones is going to have her hands full and her work cut out in far off Korea.

Rating: Good.

The coverage — Chairman Ian Henderson praised the media assistance here.

As good as it gets, these days. Rating: Good.

The overblown incident — Probably Russ Howard breaking his broom in three pieces. Big deal! There was a time in this game when guys like the Big O from Winnipeg would break brooms over their opponents’ noggins. Rating: Yawn.

The future — It’s always enticing when there’s a trip to Halifax on the horizon and that’s where the Brier goes next. If you haven’t been to a Down East Brier, you haven’t been to the best. Rating: Excellent.

The future, part II —There are problems ahead for the game at the top level. It has become too Olympic-oriented. The talent pool is shrinking and the prospects postOlympics are grim. All in all, changes are needed but they have nothing to do with shrinking the game to eight ends. Yeesh!

Rating: Ugly.

This issue, then we’re outta here There’s something you should know about this estimable news sheet to which you’ve subscribed the past nine days.

What’s that? Well, simply, it never gets the final story. Hardly ever. And certainly not this year, either. Sorry about that.

The Tankard Times, you see, does not publish on the post-Brier Monday. The way the Calgary organizing committee figures it, if we’re over budget after nine days, we won’t be going for 10.

Oh yes, and there’s something else you should know. This publication would not exist without the efforts of the Calgary organizing committee, the Canadian Curling Association and its sponsors. Between them, they fund the whole shebang. So, save a cheer, also a tiger, for them.

Now, what we’re asking from you today is this. We set up tonight’s championship final match in this last edition. Hereafter, you’re on your own. The name of the winner of the 2009 Brier will not be recorded for posterity in the Tankard Times. At least, not before the initial issue of the

2010 rockfest in beautiful downtown Halifax.

Meantime, it has been a chunk of the proverbial heaven, folks. We at the Times would like to thank you for your interest.

We’d like to thank all the competitors for their time and courtesy. We’d like to thank our supporters for theirs. And we’d especially, also specifically, like to thank our volunteer assistant Linda Cunningham, also Mount Royal College journalism students Mark Strowbridge, Lindsey Wallis, Catherine Szabo, Nora O’Malley and Erik Thompson for jobs well done. Special thanks, too, to Jamie Zachary of the Calgary Herald and the Herald’s EPP gang for the jobs they’ve performed on our behalf.

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

What else is there to say? Have a good final day and don’t forget to reserve early for the 2010 Bluenose bash at Halifax Cheers.

Sunday, March 15, 2009 6

Rock ‘em, sock ‘em in Cowtown I

n 1997, the Brier returned to Calgary for the first time since 1980. It was a memorable championship featuring a competitive field, record attendances, a hard fought round-robin, and the wildest championship game in years.

The Kevin Martin-skipped Alberta team and Manitoba’s Vic Peters came in as the odds-on favourites. But with Ontario represented by the veteran Ed Werenich foursome, and a strong, albeit unsung New Brunswick entry skipped by James Grattan in the field, it was never going to be easy.

Classic At the midway mark of the Briers round-robin competition, Manitoba and Alberta led with 60 records, followed by a surprising Jeff Thomas foursome from Newfoundland at 5-1.

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

Alex ROBERTS

Kevin Martin has a history of great play in Calary.

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

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

No team outside the top four finished with more wins than losses, and the Newfies after their stunning start lost their last six games. Meanwhile, the Jim Packet-skipped Saskatchewan team tied the province’s worst-ever Brier tally with a shocking 1-10 record.

New Brunswick eliminated Ontario 6-4 in an exciting Page Three-Four playoff game, after Werenich missed a 10th-end raise-chip for a deuce, in a one-down-without scenario.

In the round-robin leaders’ match — and with a place in the championship game up for grabs — Martin ended Peters’s undefeated streak at 10 games with a 6-5 extra-end victory.

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Brier

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“I think if there’s pressure we’ll put it on ourselves. You want to perform, you want to play really well and show you belong to be here. “What we have to do is make shots, string together 20 shots a guy,� he said.

But what about all those missed draws for points against Ontario? “The guys said they didn’t think I threw any of those draws any different (two heavy, one light, all inturns). We were never worried about draw weight. There just seemed to be tracky patches here Manitoba is headed to todayĘźs final.

Jeff Stoughton and Glenn Howard could be. and there.� “No, that wasn’t a very good miss that many draws? We weren’t “It wasn’t easy out there. We had really good ends when we forced game,� he admitted. “Not very well- solid as a team at all. We haven’t them to ones. We seemed to be posi- curled. I’m disappointed with it. I let ticked a guard all week and look at the boys down, I didn’t play very that! Tick, tick, tick! tioning rocks really well.� “It was a little tricky today, that’s Howard was disconsolate after- well. The ice was a little different all I can say. We came here to win ward, as only a Brier skip pointed at tonight. “How many times will you see and it’s very disappointing to lose.�

68 per cent on his playoff shots

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9 Sunday, March 15, 2009

A real buzzer-beater STANDINGS W Alberta (Martin) 12 *Manitoba (Stoughton) 10 Ontario (G. Howard) 9 NL (Gushue) 8 ——— Quebec (Menard) 7 B.C. (Geall) 6 N.B. (R. Howard) 6 Sask. (Jordison) 3 NWT/Y (Koe) 3 Nova Scotia (Dacey) 2 P.E.I. (MacDonald) 2 N. Ontario (Jakubo) 2

L 0 4 4 4 5 5 5 8 8 9 9 9

* — won fourth-place tiebreaker

LINESCORES SATURDAY 3-4 GAME 10:30 a.m.

NL (Gushue) 101 010 211 0 Manitoba (Stoughton) 020 202 000 2 NL Korab Fry Nichols Gushue TEAM

S 20 20 20 20 80

P 75 58 62 70 265

% 94 73 78 88 83

Manitoba Gould Fowler Park Stoughton TEAM

— — S 20 20 20 20 80

P 73 70 58 73 274

7 8 % 91 88 73 91 86

SEMI-FINAL 6 p.m.

Manitoba (Stoughton) 040 101 010 1 Ontario (G. Howard) 201 010 101 0 MAN. Gould Fowler Park Stoughton TEAM

S 19 20 20 20 79

P 72 66 70 64 272

% 95 83 88 80 86

ONT. Savill Laing Hart Howard TEAM

— — S 20 20 20 20 80

P 72 66 66 54 258

8 6 % 90 83 83 68 81

Stoughton delivers in clutch

By LARRY WOOD Tankard Times Editor

“When that rock stopped, a feeling came over me that he’d made it and, sure enough, what a shot!” exclaimed Brad Gushue, the Newfoundland skip at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier.

3/4 GAME This was the sudden-death Page system Three-Four playoff game at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Saturday morning and Manitoba’s veteran skip Jeff Stoughton had just delivered a circus shot to score two and heist survival from his younger foe.

Gushue had a decision to make with time running out on the clock and the heat turned up in the final end. He had overcome a three-point deficit after six ends and stolen his way in front 7-6 after nine.

He had a rock stationed in the four-foot, guarded, but second shot belonged to Manitoba. The decision to be made: Weave a draw into the rings between guards to lie two or add a further cap to the already covered insurance point.

Gushue chose the guard with less than a minute remaining on his clock. There were nine seconds left when he tossed the guard, a shot which appeared to be more than good 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 game and the time is on the line. I mean, even if I miss my last shot he still has to make a six- or eight-foot runback. He wasn’t going to have an easy shot regardless. We made it extra tough by adding another rock and another six feet but it still wasn’t good enough for us.”

Stoughton drove the long guard on to

Manitoba coach Norm Gould gives skip Jeff Stoughton a big hug after a measurement gave the Buffalo Boys the win and a berth in the semi-final. the second long guard, his own, onto broom down and made it. He’s been makNewfoundland’s counting stone and his ing those the past couple of days and if own rolled but not far enough to keep they keep going the way they’re going Gushue and Co., in the Brier. they’re going to be tough to beat.

It was the third Brier outing in which “The first five ends we were flat and we Gushue failed to finish the last end with a have to look at them and determine what one-point lead. He lost to Glenn Howard happened there and correct the problems.” last weekend with a two-point lead — Stoughton admitted matters were critical Howard scored three — and to Alberta’s as he went down to throw the last brick.

Kevin Martin two draws later with a one“We had to do something,” he reasoned. point lead — Martin scored a deuce.

“I think over the last four ends they didn’t Stoughton’s deuce kept Manitoba alive miss a shot. They placed every rock perto play in the Saturday evening semi- fectly and we were going to need a big one final. to beat them. I missed my first one and all “The ice was different to start with,” said the way down on the second one it looked Gushue. “Jeff might have had a bit of an like nose which wasn’t going to get us advantage playing yesterday while were sit- shot but it just pulled up enough at the ting out. From what I watched of his game end. And, obviously, I feel great. it was a little straighter yesterday and we “We had control and a good game going were a little slow catching on. We just through six and both teams were a little couldn’t quite believe that it wasn’t going slow. We were throwing a lot of draws and to curl. I think after the fifth-end break the a lot of thought shots.” light finally dawned.

When Stoughton threw his last he had “I’m very proud of the team the way we 38 seconds on the clock. came back. We played extremely well the “It was never a situation where we were second half and forced Jeff to make a lot of panicking and I don’t think they were, good shots and, you know, I feel kind of either,” he said. “They probably had a litsnake-bitten with the last one — like, tle less time than we did because they didwhat do you have to do to win? n’t have a time out for that last end. We “But what shot! You have to give him had both of ours so it worked out well for all the credit in the world. He put the us.”

Sunday, March 15, 2009 10

Halifax Brier Graeme Harris (left) and Hugh Avery are beating the drums for the Halifax Brier.

By LARRY WOOD Tankard Times Editor

T

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

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

“It’s still A Shore Thing,” says rookie chairman Hugh Avery, who is ably supported this time around by veteran organizer Graeme Harris, chair of the 2005 Olympic trials and a committee head during the 2003 Halifax Brier.

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

A lot of past Brier visitors to Halifax will agree. In spades.

Avery wasn’t even well known in his own city’s curling circles when they unveiled the organizing committee last November at the Halifax Metro Centre.

“I called myself Joe The Curler,” he recalls, “because I’d just been watching that election south of the border at the time and there was that story about Joe The Plumber.

And what I was trying to say was I’m just an 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 stepped up to the plate so any experience I can bring he’ll have to store and take it from here.”

Talk about tossing the pressure on your co-chair.

“We certainly are looking raise the bar and have a record attendance for a Brier east of Winnipeg again,” says Harris, who was around when they established that record — 158,414 in 2003.

Ironically, all Halifax needs for the best attendance record east of Saskatoon is an additional 6,662 seats in the pews. That would surpass Winnipeg’s attendance last year.

Halifax committee promises curling fans will have fun time at Brier “We’ve had great support with our promotion here in Calgary and we’re really pleased,” says Harris. “We partnered with Nova Scotia Tourism to come out and promote the province and promote the Brier and it has been a great marriage because we’re getting two things done — the province wanted to impart the message to everybody with roots in Nova Scotia that it’s time to come home, and we’re out here saying, ‘hey, you might as well come home and watch the Brier in Halifax’.

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

Centre, but it has a more homey atmosphere. You can hang up your coats in the hotel room, walk the pedways to the venue, get down on the escalators to the Brier Patch, and never have to look at the weather.

We think that’s special.”

Not that the weather in Halifax has been too bad this week. No deep freeze there. But an indoor Brier is something at which nary a soul would sneer.

“We recognize that the hotbed of curling is western Canada so we know that for us to be successful we have to have a lot of westerners coming east to visit us,” said Avery. “We

recognize the current economic constraints.

So we want to suggest a package here: The Brier and the tourist attractions of Halifax and area. We’ll be offering many opportunities for visitors to get both experiences.”

“It’s a special year, too, with the Olympics,” says Harris. “There’s no question the Canadian Curling Association wanted to get the Brier as far away from the Games as they could get it. But we feel this benefits us for a number of reasons. One, the television experience just before our show should bring curling awareness up a level and we’re going to have good crowds. Two, when they built the venue in Vancouver they didn’t build it big so we think that’ll be to our advantage.

Three, the Olympics will be curling and the Brier’s the Brier, it’s like the Grey Cup, it’s a party and down in Halifax we can match any party anybody else can come up with and, 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’t like here, and I won’t give away too many secrets but I can assure you that in many areas we’re equipped to handle their concerns, that each and every day will be special, that we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves, things that are new even to Halifax, and we guarantee a good time.”

11 Sunday, March 15, 2009

OVERHEAD CAMERA

Gadget junkie with a camera

By CATHERINE SZABO Special to The Tankard Times

O

n the main concourse of the Saddledome, people are visiting with new 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 get many visitors.

High in the Ed Whalen broadcast booth, Dubyts is in charge of the two cameras that give television curling the overhead view that is unique to the sport. “I’m always the guy up here,� Dubyts says. “People see me at the start of the day and at the end of the day.�

He’s been “that guy� since 1970, when he first started covering the sport of curling. For the past 22 years, he’s been working with the current set-up that uses robotic heads. “It’s just an extension of the business,� Len says. “I’ve always been a gadget junkie. When the chance to do this came up, I jumped at it.�

There are five cameras in total, but the two that concern Dubyts are the two positioned over the rings at each end of the sheet in the featured game.

Depending on which end the team is shooting from, Dubyts controls one camera at a time. The other stays stationary over the rings.

There are cameramen on the ‘floor’ to get the close-ups of the guards and shot rocks.

PLEASE SEE CAMERA P16

Len Dubyts keeps a close eye on the action below at the Saddledome.

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Sunday, March 15, 2009 12

Abbott, Patricia Abbott, Peter Abramchuk, John Abramchuk, Valerie Adams, , Murray Adamson, Susanne Ambrose, Ron Anderson, Delphine Anderson, Blaine Anderson, Valerie Anderson, Karen Anderson, Brenda Appleby, Lisa Armbruster, Kurt Armstrong, Jill Armstrong, Jim Arsenault, Andrew Asham, , Brent Aspden, Dayle Attridge, Donald Audenaert, Sheena Augustyn, Barbara Austin, Jeff Ayer, Frank Bailey, Janice Bailey, Denise Bain, Gary Bakator, John Baltesson, Bev Barclay, Lee Barker, Ernie Barker, Darlene Barnes, Tami Barnes, Steven, E Barnes, Peter Barnes, Evelyn Barr, Carol Barriere, Ray Barron, William Barron, Karen Barton, Mark Basarsky, Don Basarsky, Cathy Baswick, James Bauer, Johnathan Baynton, Bruce Baynton, Penny Beaton, Scotty Beatty, Neil Beaulac, Clem Beaulac, Marianne Beirnes, Ronald Beitel, Jeff Bell, Richard Bellamy, Rick Benson, Candace Berezuk, Alanna Bergin, Bill Berry, Marge Berthelette, Gwen Bertsch, Lara Bertsch, Gwen Besner, Jeanne Birkholz, Linda Bishop, Ella Bisson, Norm Blackwell, Steve Blais, Vicki

Blake, Wendy Blasetti, Eleanor Bleay, Cathy Blenkin, Nicole Blenkin, Daniel Boa, Chuck Bockman, Barbara Bohun, Sandra Bonitz, Rick Bonneau, Debbie Bonneau, Randy Bosch, Art Boss, Maxine Bossler, Ed Boudreau, Jonathon Bourdin, Rhonda Bourne, Don Boutilier, Danielle Boyer, Lise Brackett, Peter Bradley, Jan Bremner, Linda Brennan, Kathy Brennan, Kaitlyn Briand, Kendra Bristow, Leslie Bristow, Kevin Brossart, Len Brown, Irene Brown, Dale Brown, Donna Brown, Joseph Brown, Darrell Brown, Craig Brown, Bernice Browne, Colleen Bubola, Daniel Bunz, Leo Burak, Hilary Burak, Kelly Bushell, Maria Buzanko, Robert Buzila, Harry Cain, Lorraine Cameron, Dorothy Campagna, Tim Campbell, lois Campbell, Deanna Campbell, Ron Campbell, Brian Campbell, Doug Carlson, Wayne Caron, Bill Carson, Donna Cassidy, James Cavanaugh, Perry Cerminara, Umberto Chambers, Doug Chapman, Ted Charchun, Barry Charlton, Arvilla Chiasson, Marilyn Chicilo, Terry Chow, Garry Christianson, Cameron Christianson,

Michella Christianson, Heather Christianson, Brad Christie, Bob Chudyk, Don Chyz, Wayne Chyz, Bradley Chyz, Connie Chyz, Stewart Civitella, Diana Clark, Derek Clarke, Jim Clarke, Deborah Clayton, Kathleen Clemens, Nancy Clysdale, Gordon Coderre, Heidi Coderre, Sylvain Cohen, Andrea Cole, Laurie Cole, Amanda Collins, Traci Collins, Cheryl Colwell, Gord Commo, Mary Conley, Caroline Conrad, Jeralee Cook, Barb Cooke, Margaret Cooke, Lance Corneil, R., , Lynn Cory, Kaoru, (Suzie) Costigan, Laura Coutts, George Cowan, Michele Craig, Donald Crandall, Vivian Cranford, Derek Cranston, Angela Crooks, Brian Crosbie, Wayne Crough, Shelley Crowle, Bob Crowle, Sharon Cruise, Diane Cunningham, Linda Cutting, Kevin Dahlberg, Lori Daley, Teresa-Jane Dang, James Danielson, Lorne Danielson, Melba Dare, Angela Davidson, Jill Davis, Darlene Day, Dennis Dean, Phyllis Dean, Trent Delair, Gord Demick, Darrell Denny, June Derhak, Marika Desiatnyk, Richard DesLauriers, Lou Desmarais, Alexandre Dewhirst, Linda

Special thanks to all volunteers for your enthusiasm and dedication in making the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier an event to remember!

Volunteers are the backbone of any successful Brier.

Dirkson, Lorie Dobrowolski, Sandra Dodge, Wilma Dodge, Doug Dokken, Jim Donahoe, Bernie Donlevy, Erin Dotta, Marisa Downie, Colin Doyle, Tanilla Drabble, Ann Drabble, Ray Drebit, Todd Droppo, Lori Drummond, Vincent Dubois, Dwayne Dumba, Brenda Dumonceau, Marie Dumonceau, Marie Dumonceaux, John Duncan, Brian Duncan, Elaine Dundas, Tammy Dunlop, Ronda Dunn, Andrew Dunn, Margaret, A Dunsmore, Ann Eckland, Gerald Eckstrand, Lee Edgar, Jim Edwards, Maryn Edwards, Fred Effa, Alvin Eisler, Pat Eklund, Shawn

Ellert, Dale Elliott, Jeffrey Elliott, Mary Elves, Melissa Elves, Rick Ervin, Kathy Esler, Francis Esler, Leonard Etheridge, Susan Evans, Tom Ewanchuk, Michelle Ewchuk, Dennis Ewen, Shirley Fark, Susan Fark, John Faryna, Jim Fawcett, Lynne Felt, Elaine Felt, Duane Ferguson, Cindy Ferguson, Erin Fernandes, Lisa Fichtner, Andrea Fielder, Lynda Finnamore, Randy Fisher, William Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Greg Fisk, Rob Fleming, Arthena Forbes, John Foster, Joanne Fotheringham, Garry Fox, Chris Franzon, Batista

French, Doug Fuessel, Gaylene Fyke, Carol Gage, Pat Galloway, Kim Ganong, Robert Ganong, Cindy Gentles, Brian Gerrish, Holly Getz, Shauna Gibb, Dawna Gibb, Arlene Gibbs, Margaret Gibson, Cindy Gibson, Bruce Gillespie, Marlene Gilroy, Russ Godfrey, Brian Goods, Vivian Gorr, Rod Goudie, Douglas Gourlie, Elizabeth, (Betty) Gowryluk, Bernie Gowryluk, Louise Graham, Karen Graham, Stephen Granger, Theresa Granger, Claude Green, Dan Green, Deanna Greene, Carol Greenslade, Faye Gregorash, Harvey Griffin, Elizabeth Griffith, Flora

Guinan, Patty Gulajec, Joe Gunn, Kaitlyn Gunn, Cathy Guske, Kisa Hacault, Kristina Hagel, Tanya Hagel, Raymond Hall, Darlene Hamilton, Susan Hamilton, Larry Hamilton, Louise Hammond, Joan Hanlon-Karrel, Carol Hansen, Joanne Hansen, Heather Hansen, Jean Harkema, Rob Harlos, Dionne Hathaway, Allan Hathaway, Judith Havrelock, Dennis Hawkes, Jim Haydu, Kim Hazenberg, Cheryl Head, Joyce Headley, Dr., Neville Heath, Sheila Heine, Denise Helton, Deana Henderson, Cathy Hersberger, Alva Hertzig, Shirley Hertzig, Frank Hickey, Lisa

Higginbottom, Tammy Higginbottom, Louise Hobbs, Steve Hodgson, Don Hoffmeyer, Kim Hoover, Dee Horne, Sarah Horsman, Kevin Howard, Patricia Howard, Bill Howell, Lydia Huculak, Sharon Hull, Darin Hume, Alison Hume, Allan Hume, Robert Hunt, Tara Huntley, Susan Huntley, Chris Hutcheon-Larose, Frieda Huzzey, Christine, (Chris) Hyatt, David Hyatt, Jo-Anne Hyde, Colette Hyde, Richard Ilnicki, Dally Inman, Brenda Irvine, Michael Irvine, Rhonda Jackson, Gary Jackson, Donna, A Jackson, Landis Jackson, Gwen Jacobson, Laura Jager, Janet James, Kaye Janzen, Debra Jaworski, Mark Jensen, Doreen Jensen, Larry Jensen, Loreen Jewitt, Eileen Jobson, Jennifer Jones, Jo, Ann Jordan, Morris Jorgenson, Jacqueline Jorgenson, Justine Jorginson, George Jors, Karl Kahut, Fred Kane, Patrick Karrel, Bryan Kautz, Barry Keaney, Conor Keith, Tracy Keller, Alan Kelly, Myrna Kennedy, John Kennedy, Dave Keough, Shawn Kerkermeier, Kristopher Kicia, Wendy

Kimber, Sue Kirk, Deborah Kirychuk, Lauren Klassen, Roger Kleibrink, Richard Klein, Piera Kobe, Diane Kolinsky, Celia Kolisnyk, Tara Kolody, Peter Korner, Robert Korpela, Carol Korvela, Kimmo Kosloski, Russell Kozak, Johanne Krahn, Carolyn Krahn, Murrary Kutaj, Denise Kuzek, Dwight Kvisle, Dianne Ladouceur, Gary Lambourne, Tom Lampel, Josephine Lander, Betty Landry, Laura Lane, Rob Larose, David Larsen, Jamie Larson, Mona Lauwers, Thibaut Lavoie, Karen Lawson, Kyla Lawson, Curtis Laycock, Robert Leach, Keith Leblanc, Brenda LeBlanc, Richard Lecompte, Brian Ledene, Darcy Lee, Ryan Lee, Lyla Lendzion, Ted Lengyel, Ed Leslie, Colleen LeSueur, Peggy Lewin, Karen Lieskovsky, Bonnie Lind, JD Lindsay, John Linn, Kathy Litt, Larry Lockyer, Carol Lohse, Barbara Lohse, Terry Loraas, Debbie Lorren, Lynn-Gale Love, Erin Lovell, Jackie Lukich, Fred Lumsden, Breton Lunn, John MacDonald, Jim MacDonald, Sandra MacDonald-Hodge, Marnie MacGillivray, Evelyn MacLachlan, Robert MacLachlan, Kyla

MacNaughton, Lynda MacNeill, Lynda Madrigga, Dustin Mah, Eva Maher, Carolyn Mains, Debbie Mair, John Mak, Sebastian Makinson, Leanne Malin, Gerry Malin, Kim Malin, Shawna Manthey, Michele Mao, Kathy Marquardt, Colleen Martin, Shana Martin, Judy Mass, Lana Matiisen, Arne Matthews, Janna McAfee, Wendi McBeath, Andrew McBurney, Lloyd McClelland, James McClosky, Wendy McComish, Leona McConnell, Anne McCormick, Greg McCready, Sandra McDonald, Patricia McDonald, Paige McDougall, Don McDougall, Layne McFadzean, Hugh McFeeters, Cindy McFeeters, Margaret McIntyre, Dawn, Anne McIvor, Rachel McKay, Randy McKay, Clifford McKellar, Diana McKenzie, Eleanor McKnight, Robert McLaughlin, Pauline McLay, Bob McLean, Tamsyn McLean, Genevieve McLennan, Rose McNichol, Jill McPherson, Adam Meier, Carolyn Melnyk, Don Mendritzki, Volker Mergny, Ursula Mergny, Robert Mesic, Tom Metcalfe, Gary Metcalfe, John Meunier, Sherry Michael, Donna Michell, John Micks, Geri Miller, Ed More volunteers names, see opposite page.

13 Sunday, March 15, 2009

Volunteers From Page 12 Miller, Bev Milligan, Bob Milligan, Connie Minaker, Bob Mitchell, WB, (Barney) Mitchell, Barry Mitchell, Stuart Moen, Roselynn Moffatt, Wanda Moffatt, Teraca Moggey, Gwen Moody, Dale Moon, Geoff Moore, Tom Moore, Donna Moore, Laurel Moore, Roy Morkin, Pat Morris, Erin Morrison, Greg Morton, Scott Morton, Signy Moulton, Vern Mullin, Dewitt Munro, Marion Munro, Al Munro, Allen Murphy, Sean Murphy, Vicky Murray, Gordon

Murray, Robert Mustard, Darrell Muto, Hiro Myhre, Maureen Nadeau, Danielle Nattrass, Terlyn Neis, Celina Nelson, Joan Nelson, Joan Nelson, Tracy Nelson, Marjorie Nelson, Larry Netherton, Stuart Nevers, Malcolm Nguyen, Thanh Nielsen, Sally Nimik, Allison Nixon, Glenda Nixon, Keith Noseworthy, Trina Notenboom, Cheryl Oakley, Graham Oaks, Catherine Obrocki, Dixie O'Callaghan, Carmen O'Connor, Cecilia Odo, Jim Odut, Linda Olson, Kelly Ontkean, Gerald

Ormerod, Rob Osborne, Marilynne Osborne, Margaret Ottawa, Ron Owens, Todd Owens, Valerie Padget, Sherri Palamaruk, Rose Pankewitz, Reg Parker, Ken Parkinson, Joan Part, John, (Jack) Part, Carol Partington, Dianne Partlo, Don Paterson, Betty Paterson, Dawn Paterson, Bill Paterson, Diana Paton, Glenna Patterson, Linda Pavisova, Sarka Pek, Greg Penner, Jillian Perera, Sonali Perkins, Stasia Perkins, Kim Petryk, Wendy Petryk, Steven Phillips, Mark Pickering, Judy Pihulak, James Pike, Nancy Pinel, Marney Pitacciato, Dominic

Pitchko, Jean Place, Rylea Poirier, Louis Porter, Jim Prairie, Dan Price, Lynn Prociuk, Pat Procter, Tom Prout, Darren Pullar, Brenda Quayle, Connie Quinn, William Quinn, Kathy Raber, Peggy Rasmussen, Marlene Rasmussen, Bart Rayburn, Dolores Redford, Kathleen Rehbein, Vern Reid, Dave Reimer, Brenda Reitbauer, Launa Richardson, Andrew Risdon, Marlene Ritter, Donna Rivard, Roger Roberts, Marv Robertson, Debbie Robinson, Jennifer Robostan, Robert Robostan, Lois Roche, Denise Rodger, Cheryl Rogers, Leslie

Rogers, Jessica Rokosh, Rose Rombough, Brian Rombough, Geraldine Rose, Dave Ross, Don Ross-Lamb, Lyann Roth, Michelle Rothenburger, Leanne Rousseau, Anne, Marie Russell, Kristen Rutherford, Ken Rutherford, Doug Rutledge, Mike Ruzicka, Colleen Saigeon, Roz Sale, Lionel Sale, Joy Salekin, Donna Salhab, Laurie Salyn, Gord Salyn, Laverne Sanders, Wilmur Sandhals, Lyric Sandner, Claus Sarich, Sharon Sauers, Brenda Saunders, Fred Sawatzky, Heather Schafer, Ray Schiewe, Terry Schiewe, Wendy Schmidt, Curt Schmidt, Garry Schmidt, Marcie

Schmidt, Suzanne Schoettler, Cheryl Schwab, Val Schwab, Patricia Scott, Glynnis Scrymgeour, Steve Seafoot, Beverley Seelmann, Jason Senneker, Katherine Sept, Rick Shand, April Shimizu, Julianne Shivas, Janet Shouldice, Harley Shupe, Dennis Shupenia, Humphrey Simmons, Ross Sjolie, Mark Skinner, Brian Slade, Jeffrey, T. Slater, Marc Slater, Alison Slezak, Charlene Slezak, Murray Smith, Ernest Smith, Cathy Smith, Nelson Smith, Florence Smith, Doug Smith, Bob Smith, Jack Smith, Margaret Smith, Maureen Smyth, Jackie Snow, Linda

Somers, Alana Sperle, Jacqueline Spielman, Allen Stalmans, Janet Steel, John Stefaniw, Donna Sterling, Ken Sterling, June Sterner, Tricia Stevenson, Faye Stevenson, Shannon Stirling, Bill Strasser, Dana Stuparyk, Brad Stychyshyn, Terry Stychyshyn, Patricia Sulimma, Hardi Sullivan, Tim Summersgill, Carol Sutter, Maureen Swanston, Linda Sweet, Lynda Swett, Sheila Swyripa, Ken Syme, Brent Tait, Russ Takvam, Cindy Tanner, Brock Taylor, Peter Thomas, Dave Thomas, Trevor Thomas, David Thomas, Rob

Thompson, Bob Thompson, Brennan Thomson, John Thomson, Carol Thomson, Justin Thorburn, Steve Thornton, Susan Thoutenhoofd, Meg Tiberio, Sharon Tidlund, Bob Todd, David Todd, Frances Tomyn, Kelly Topp, Lynn Trach, Shannon Trach, Jeannie Truckey, Donna Tucker, Marlene Tucker, Kathryn Turcotte, Barb Turgeon, Don Turubchuk, Elizabeth Ukrainec, Jill Van, Aalst, Don Van, de, Laak, John van, Tongeren, Joanne Varga, Steve Vaugeois, Donna Veasey-Jalbert, Nicola Vink, Maria Virtue, Rex Vogt, Gordon Vogt, Linda

Volcko-Ibsen, Flo Vopni, Myra Wachowich, Donna Wagner, Paul Wakeman, Susan Walker, Richard Walker, Janice Wallace, Doris Walls, Jeremy Walton, James, P Wangler-Clohessy, Mary Ward, Corliss Ward, Mike Wardale, Judy Warrack, Kirt Warren, Bruce Wasdal, Beate Watson, Catherine Watson, Sandra Watt, Cathy Watt, Donna, Mae Weeks, Dianne Wegmann, Carol Weir, Boyd Weisner, Ken Welder, Jody Welsh, Brenda Werle, Jason Wessner, Joy Whapham, Al Wickerson, Dawn Wiese, Brian Wilby, Donald Williams, Tara

Williams, Sean Williamson, Adele Willison, Lorne Wilson, Brian Windsor, Gail Windsor, Darlene Wing, Clarke Witt, Valerie Woloschuk, Rod Wong, Karen Wong, Pauline Woodard, Aaron Woollett, Cathie Worden, Tyler Woychuk, Dwayne Woychuk, Marilyn Woychyshyn, Christine Wyatt, Jim Yakemchuk, Leigh Yanke, Charlene Yeo, Pat Yorke, Judy Young, Carol Young, Dianne Young, Dennis Young, Blair Yuen, Allan Zboya, Susan Zeller, Colleen Zeller, David Zubot, Brett Zuehlke, Robyn Zuk, Walter Zurek, Johnine

Sunday, March 15 2009 14

BRIER ENTERTAINMENT

Long days mean fun nights at Brier Patch

By NORA O’MALLEY Special to The Tankard Times

R

oger Powell has a tough job: He’s the entertainment co-ordinator for Keith’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 to some live music and have a few laughs, but Powell says every minute is orchestrated to ensure the day is problem-free. “Everything is scripted, even though it doesn’t look it,� says Powell, whose been organizing the entertainment for the Canadian Curling Association since 1992.

With the help of a volunteer committee, Powell started planning the band lineup and festivities for the Patch a year ago. Having worked the Brier last time it

came to Calgary in 2002, he was grateful to re-unite with some familiar faces. “There are people on the committee you know you can trust. They make this Brier special,� said Powell, with obvious appreciation.

Powell works long hours during the Brier: He makes his way down to the grounds at around 10 a.m. and doesn’t return to his hotel room until 1 or 2 a.m.

It’s a marathon day that consists of script-writing, schedule maintenance and organizing the daily talk show Up Close and Personal — an intimate interview with each team — held in the Purple Heart Lounge.

PLEASE SEE PATCH P17

The entertainment package at the Brier Patch was lined up a year in advance.

15 Sunday, March 15, 2009

HISTORY

Curling emporium had endless sheets of ice

By LINDA M. CUNNINGHAM Special to The Tankard Times

A

nyone who has been to this year’s Tim Hortons Brier and visited the Patch or the Purple Heart Lounge has been part of curling history.

Housed in the Big Four Building, what is now Party Central still holds the Guinness Book World Record for the largest indoor curling facility in the world.

Early curling had found a home in the Victoria Arena, which was built in 1912 and housed the first artificial ice plant installed in Calgary. The arena shared the space with hockey, including the Allan Cup-winning Calgary Stampeders hockey team of 1946, but there was great concern that the antiquated structure might collapse from the press of fans. To solve the

problem, a new facility, specifically for hockey, was designed by the local architecture firm of Stevenson Raines, and named the Stampede Corral.

While the Corral was a hit with hockey fans, it was practically useless for anything else, and with much of the Corral’s

ice time taken up with amateur and professional hockey, as well as public skating, the demolition of the Arena in 1959 frustrated the curlers who had made their home there.

The growth of the midway and the other exhibits on the Stampede grounds meant that space was at a premium. The solution was to build a multi-purpose building to serve both functions, and The Big Four, named after the original partners in creating the Stampede (George Lane, A.E. Cross, Pat Burns, and Archie McLean) was constructed in 1959. When it opened, its 48-sheet curling rink, on two floors, was the largest of its kind in the world.

Anyone who curled in Calgary during the 1960s and 1970s remembers playing at least once in the Big Four: it was home to bonspiels, playdowns, and count-

less school classes where students learned the game on those endless sheets.

That tradition came to an end in the winter of 1987-1988 when the building was converted for use as part of the International Broadcast Centre for the XV Winter Olympic Games. Later, in 1988, the Stampede board decided to install a casino in a large section of the upper floor (site of this year’s Patch is), and use the remaining space for trade shows.

With the construction of the new Stampede Casino (opened last summer), the Big Four building’s future is uncertain. While the ice plant would need to be replaced, curling is as popular, if not more so, than it was back when it was first constructed, and is an excellent example of Modernist architecture.

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

Sunday, March 15, 2009 16

Camera From Page 11 Len’s left hand controls the pan and the tilt of the camera; his right controls the zoom and focus. These aren’t your average joysticks though; they respond to the slightest touch.

“As you can see, you can’t even see my fingers moving,” Dubyts says. “It’s just a matter of pressure.”

The headset that Dubyts wears enables the director to bark in his left ear, and has the commentator and the players’ mikes fed into his right ear. Hearing the players speak allows Dubyts to be ready for the play, and to learn what’s about to happen next.

“When I shoot, I know what to expect when the rock comes into the house,” he says. “We’re tailoring the shot to fit the situation, so viewers at home can plan their

own strategy.”

During Draw 16 on Thursday afternoon, Dubyts had his cameras positioned over Sheet C, honing in on the match between Northwest Territories/Yukon and New Brunswick. While moving his cameras, he commented that long guards were annoying, because the camera has to zoom so far out that extraneous material begins to be seen on the side of the screen.

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

If being high above everyone else isn’t distracting enough, Dubyts has four monitors to watch. The centre monitor shows him the tape that’s actually being broadcast, and then the two smaller monitors are connected to their respective cameras on either end of the ice.

Because the home-end camera screen is on the right side of the booth, Dubyts also has a security camera that allows him to see what’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 sometimes it gets repetitious.

“If you lose concentration, then you’re bound to lose something that’s going on with the game,” he says.

Dubyts says he covers 11 curling events a year and is on the move from about the last week of November straight through until midApril. In fact, he will be in Korea by the middle of next week to cover the Women’s Worlds.

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

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

Catherine Szabo is a journalism student at Mount Royal College

‘When I shoot, I know what to expect when the rock comes into the house. We’re tailoring the shot to fit the situation’ — Camera operator Len Dubyts

17 Sunday, March 15, 2009

Patch

Brier Trivia How many points did Kevin Martin score in the first end of last year’s Brier final against Glenn Howard?

1. How many points did Martin score in the sixth end of that final game and what was the score thereafter?

2. Randy Ferbey has won six Briers. Name the runnersup of the five following 1988.

3. Something unique to the Brier occurred in 1993. What was it?

4. Who was involved?

5. Where was this edition played?

6. Manitoba leads the Brier with 26 wins.

(Answers

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Alberta has 23. Which of these two provinces has the most silver medals?

7. How many?

8. Is this the most won by any province, if not which has won the most?

9. Name four Alberta junior champion skips who subsequently competed in the world men’s curling championship and/or the Olympic Games.

10. Name six other Alberta junior champion skips who subsequently played in the Brier.

11. Everybody knows Kevin Martin won a national junior title and went on to win three Briers. No other junior champ has skipped one Brier victor. But 13 have tried. If you can name all 13, you’re a trivia champ.

12. Oh yeah. How about the provinces represented in each case?

QofD: None, it was blanked.

1. Martin scored one in the sixth and led 42.

2. 1989 — Rick Folk; 2001 — Kerry Burtnyk; 2002 — John Morris; 2003 — Mark Dacey; 2005 — Shawn Adams.

3. Four teams finished tied for first place with identical 8-3 records.

4. Russ Howard, Rick Folk, Rick Lang, Vic Peters.

5. Ottawa.

6. Alberta.

7. 14 silver.

8. Actually, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario each have won 14 silver.

TODAY’S QUIZ

From Page 14 Ultimately, Powell can have everything planned to perfection but if the audience doesn’t respond, it’s all for nothing. As Stuart Brown, Powell’s longtime co-worker and emcee for the Brier, said: “It’s like you’re making a cake, and you have the ingredients, but you don’t know how they’re all going to come together or what’s going to come out of it all. It’s the audience that makes curling work and what makes the Patch work.�

Powell and Brown both agree that Calgary has one of the most receptive audiences in Canada. “There are certain great places you go for the Brier and 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 adds with a smile.

Brown, who also was the emcee for the 2002 Calgary Brier, draws on the energy from the crowd — and his coworkers — to make it through his intense schedule. He has to be at the Saddledome for the beginning of each draw to announce the players and at the end to wrap things up. He also hosts Up Close and Personal, which takes place between the afternoon and evening draws, and then he works the nightly crowd at the Patch. “Calgary people are a lot of fun to play with. They just want to have a good time and you just let them have it,� said Brown. “We do the job but it doesn’t seem like work — it’s fun.�

Like Brown, Powell also thrives off the energy from the volunteer committee and his co-workers. But, having worked the Brier for more than 15 years, he also knows how to make good use of the draw schedule. “Every game is three hours long so if you play your cards right and you’ve done your homework, as soon as the game starts at 6, you jump into a VIP van, you go back to your hotel, you pass out for an hour, and then you’re back at 10 or so,� Powell said with a chuckle.

Nora O’Malley is a journalism student at Mount Royal College

9. Kevin Martin, Carter Rycroft, Kevin Park, Bernie Sparkes.

10. Johnny Trout, Wayne Saboe, Barry Coleman, Tom Kroeger, Paul Gowsell, Chris Schille.

11. Bayne Secord, Tom Tod, Danny Fink, Paul Gowsell, Bill Jenkins, Jamie Schneider, Bob Ursel, Jim Sullivan, Dean Joanisse, Shawn Adams, John Morris, Brad Gushue, Steve Laycock.

12. Secord (Saskatchewan junior, Ontario Brier), Tod (Northern Ontario), Fink (Saskatchewan junior, Manitoba Brier), Sullivan (New Brunswick), Joanisse (B.C.), Adams (Nova Scotia), Morris (Ontario) Gushue (Newfoundland/Labrador), Laycock (Saskatchewan).

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Sunday, March 15, 2009 18

Classic Briers From Page 6 The semi-final also went to an extra end with Manitoba riding the hammer to a hardfought 6-5 win over the feisty upstarts from New Brunswick.

Thus, the stage was set for a clash of the titans. And with a record curling crowd of 17,024 shoe-horned into the Saddledome and one-million-plus watching on TV, fans were treated to one of the most memorable tussles in the 86-year history of the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Manitoba, with hammer, blanked the first two ends before Peters made good use of last rock advantage by cracking a three-ender in the

third. Alberta came right back with a deuce in the fourth, and then held Manitoba to a single in the fifth, leaving the Bison province with a 4-2 lead at the break.

Then Alberta cracked a four-ender in rockfilled rings in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead, only to see Manitoba tie it with two in the seventh and then go ahead 8-6 when Martin missed a tapback in the eighth to give up a steal of two.

The turning point came in the ninth end, with Martin’s first shot. Alberta was sitting shot stone on the edge of the button, and fourth shot on the edge of the 12-foot, while Manitoba had second and third shots — both in the four foot. Martin called for a very difficult double takeout. Against all odds, he made the shot and removed both Manitoba stones to sit three. Peters then attempted a double of his own, but removed only one Alberta stone and

One of the most remarkable Briers in history was over, and a game that had twisted and turned like a John LeCarre spy novel had gone to Alberta. rolled out his shooter. Martin drew for three and an unexpected 9-8 lead going into the 10th end.

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

shot landed in the rings and survived several Manitoba attempts at removing it. With his second-last shot Peters tried a delicate play through a narrow port to get at Bartlett’s stillshot rock in the four-foot, but tweaked a guard.

Martin put up a guard with his last shot and Peters was forced to look at a difficult angleraise takeout for a deuce, and the win.

However, with only 20 seconds left on the time-clock, a visibly flustered Peters had to rush his shot and wound up wrecking on a guard.

One of the most remarkable Briers in history was over; and a game that had twisted and turned like a John LeCarre spy novel had gone to Alberta, despite being out-shot statistically by an 82-78 per cent margin.

Alex Roberts is a Halifax-based writer

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