brier 2010 tankard times march 6th

Issue 1 – Saturday, March 6, 2010 • An Offi cial Publication of the Canadian Curling Association.

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your guide to what’s goin’ on

It’s brand new for the new curling season - your guide to what’s

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Let’srockandroll!

From left, Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue, Ontario’s Glenn Howard and Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton are readyto rock the house, down-home style, at the 81st Brier. Stone slinging begins today at the Halifax Metro Centre.

■ MartinleavesBrier void

Page 2

■ Brier facts andfolklore

Page 5

Tankard Times

Contenders rush to fillvoid left by Martin’s men

A Tim Hortons Brier without Kevin Martin?

The guy who won the last two Briers, his last 26 Brier matches, with unbeaten records un-heard of at the legendary event since, well, the last time they played it at the Halifax Metro Centre? The guy who mined gold and won 11 straight at the Vancouver Olympics last month and 34 of his last 39 games at the international level and

a world title two years ago?

Now that you mention it, yes.

Kevin Martin, to say nothing of his peerless combination of John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert, will be the missing links at the 2010 Brier when the rock’n and the roll’n on ice starts today.

But, it says here, the Brier at this Halifax icehouse will rock and roll on regardless, and without an asterisk at-tached to the name of the winner.

Everybody, in every sport, in every life, is re-placeable, you understand.

Leave us check with last year’s Brier run-nerup, who also will be representing Manitoba for a record eighth time at Halifax.

“Oh yeah,” Jeff Stough-ton was telling Jim Bender of the Winnipeg Sun a while back. “It’s great that he (Martin) is not there, we don’t have to worry about him.”

Right. But, Stoughton added . . .

“You know, Kevin Koe’s team (Alberta) is awesome. They play us tough every time we play them, so they’re go-

ing to be a top-four team just like we’re a top-four team.”

And that may or may not more or less settle that issue. The top four at the Brier advance beyond the prelimi-nary round robin to the playoffs and a glance at this fi eld results in four

teams sticking out above all others, strictly on the basis of experience and past history.

But strange things can transpire at Briers. You may recall the last one that was played im-mediately following the Olympic Games. It was staged in Regina, and the

winner was Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec.

’Twas, in fact, only the second time in the 81-year history of this fabled fra-cas that a team from Que-bec had won the national men’s rock concert.

The Olympic gold medallist that year wasn’t on hand for the

Brier, either. But Martin was there. And Stough-ton. And Glenn Howard. Five skips from the cur-rent fi eld, in fact.

Hence, this Brier will be no different from most of the last 80. There’ll be stories galore and spectacular shots galore and maybe, just maybe, nobody will decide to run away with it as Martin ran away during the last couple. Or even like Randy Ferbey ran away the last time the show visited the Metro Centre.

If a runaway happens, of course, the best bets to achieve it will be Stoughton or Howard. Or maybe Brad Gushue, the 2006 gold medal-list who won nine of 10 at the Metro Centre to qualify for the Games in the company of people like Stoughton, Howard, Martin, Ferbey, John Morris, et al.

Please see WOOD,Page 13

LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

But no asterisksattached to this Brier

Jeff Stoughtonwill be representing Manitoba at the Brier for a record eighth time at Halifax.

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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Above, the Quebec team led by Serge Reid brings a rock into the house during Friday’s practice. At right, provincial

skips call the practice shots at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Tankard Times

Rock Solid COVERAGE

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Crystalball time!

The Tankard Times makes its fearless2010 Brier picks

Playoff bound . . .ONTARIO

Coldwater & District Curling Club,Coldwater

The skinny: Back in the Brier lists for the fi fth straight year with 43 wins in the last four — one fi rst, two seconds and one third-place fi nish. Has dominated its own province for a half-decade. Saliva test will be required if this unit misses the fi nal four.

MANITOBACharleswood Curling Club, Winnipeg

The skinny: A Brier threat for 20 years, this team never has recorded a negative won-lost log. But the skip hasn’t tasted victory for more than a decade and is tiring of all those second-, third- and fourth-place fi nishes. If the stars align, this could be the Return of the Bison.

ALBERTASaville Curling Centre, Edmonton

The skinny: Likely to be the most overlooked team in the fi eld, hence be warned! This team has been improving by the year which comes naturally because it knocks heads with the Martins and Ferbeys every week. And it beat Ferbey three times to get here.

NFLD/LABRADORBally Haly Golf & Curling Club, St. John’s

The skinny: The Boys From The Rock have been less than consistent lately but this will be a home game for them. They won the Olympic trials in the same building and if they can shake off the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Games just past they must be considered a strong contender.

Don’t overlook . . .

SASKATCHEWAN

McKee and the Kortes

never have lived up to

their bonspiel credentials

at the Brier but, then, few

other Greens have been

that mean lately, either.

The darkhorse potential is

here . . . maybe.

B.C.Rookie team with a veter-

an vice-skip who fi nished

third back in the dark

ages? Beat the defending

champ to qualify but the

defending champ fi nished

in the middle of the pack,

as will this bunch.

N. ONTARIO

Young family team may

be ripe for a challenge

and this will be its

biggest yet. Could be

world-beaters, could be

a bust. Stayed tuned.

Spoilers at best

NEW BRUNSWICK

Grattan has struggled to

match his fi rst-ever Brier

appearance at Calgary

in 1997. He was third

there. Up the track ever

since. Defi nitely due for

improvement.

TERRITORIES

Jamie’s Polars have a

new incentive: keeping up

to big brother. Expected

to improve off a 6-5 fi rst

Brier, the team has gone

the other way. But, not to

be taken lightly.

NOVA SCOTIA

Have never crossed

brooms with the crowd

at this level. Veteran

vice-skip may help. Fate

may be determined early.

Whatever became of

Dacey and/or Adams?

Enjoy the sojourn

P.E.I.

Among the more venerable of contin-

gents, the Islanders are fi ne sprinters

but usually fade at the Brier distance.

QUEBEC

Pierre Charette may succeed in herd-

ing this group of Brier neophytes to

higher glory. But there’s no form on

which to judge ‘em, or rank ‘em.

GlennHowardandOntario: Tourney faves.


The Brier, more than most annual sporting events,

is steeped in tradi-tion and folklore. Its records and numbers help to stitch together the history of this great annual Canadian curling competition.

Here are some weird and wacky Brier facts, superlatives, trivia, and milestones you probably won’t fi nd in the offi cial record book.■ Many believe that the term ‘Brier’ is an old Scottish or Gaelic curling term. Actually, it is — or was — a tobacco product sold by the Macdonald Company, who sponsored the Brier from 1927 to 1980. Ap-parently, “Brier plug to-bacco” included a small

heart-shaped piece of tin which was pressed into the tobacco — hence the “Brier.”■ Each Brier curler can expect to lift or shove about 10,000 pounds of granite during the round-robin — or slightly under fi ve tons.■ After the fi rst draw of the 1946 Brier, smoking had to be prohibited in the arena for the rest of the competition because spectators complained that they could not see the scoreboards. Up to that point it was the fi rst time in Brier history that smoking was restricted.■ Contrary to what the offi cial record books tell you, the fi rst shutout in Brier history occurred at the 1951 competition.

In a playoff game for second place, Brit-ish Columbia (A.M. Chess Chesser) skunked Saskatchewan (John Franklin) 8-0, in game that lasted only eight of the scheduled twelve ends.■ During the 1958 Brier in Victoria, several of the players came down with the fl u. Matt Bald-win, skip of the Alberta team was so ill he was forced to miss the fi nal round-robin game on the advice of his doctor. Against doctor’s orders he returned to skip the playoff game, leading Alberta to a 10-6 to win over Manitoba and the championship.■ In his opening speech for the 1966 Brier held in Halifax, keynote speaker and Professor of Religion Dr. B. J. Har-die, presented a Biblical-ly-inspired address based entirely on writings from the Old Testament. His opening line was: “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the fi rst stone.”

Please see STONE,Page 15

The Snake, plug tobacco, and casting the first stone

Here are 21 things you didn’t know about the Brier . . . and won’t find in the record books

ALEXROBERTS

Tankard Times Columnist

Russ Howard:The only manto throw more

than 3,000rocks at

the Brier.

Ron Northcott, a.k.a. The Owl.

Tankard Times

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Veteran 52-year-old Rod Mac-Donald returns

as skip of the Prince Edward Island champion for the second straight Brier and his seventh overall, thereby install-ing the Island entry as the most experienced in the current fi eld.

MacDonald played in his fi rst Brier back in 1978, manning the third position for brother Peter. He returned at the lead position for Peter on two occasions before moving

to the teehead to win the Island title in four of the last six seasons.

His lineup is equally experienced. Third Kevin Champion also is bound for his seventh Brier and his sixth in a row, second Mark O’Rourke leads all Island-based Brier par-ticipants by earning his 10th trip to the national hacks, and lead Andrew Robinson is checking in for the third time.

Charlottetown’s Mac-Donald has averaged only three wins per year in three years as skip but has played the role of giant-killer on a couple of

occasions. His Islanders defeated eventual 2006 winner Jean-Michel Me-nard and last year handed Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton a stunning round-robin defeat.

In the Island provincial Tankard last month at Alberton, the MacDon-ald troops sailed through the six-team round robin

undefeated and advanced directly to the champion-ship fi nal where they dis-posed of former cham-pion Robert Campbell of Charlottetown 5-4 with a last-rock decision.

Campbell had control of the issue until MacDonald cracked a go-ahead deuce in the seventh end which proved the game’s turning point.

Finishing two games behind MacDonald with a 3-2 record, Campbell fi rst eliminated Char-lottetown’s John Likely 8-3 in a tiebreaker, then ousted Ed MacKenzie of Charlottetown 9-6 in the semi-fi nal before getting

P.E.I.

Island crew flush with Brier know-how

a second crack at the unbeaten team. Camp-bell had earlier lost 8-3 to MacDonald in the fi rst round of the provincials.

Behind MacDonald at 6-0, Campbell was

5-3, MacKenzie and Likely were 3-3, Bill Hope of Charlottetown was 1-5 and Tom Fet-terly of Summerside was blanked in a six-match struggle.

P.E.I.’s RodMacDonald:

SeventhBrier

showing.

ROAD TO THE TIM HORTONS BRIER


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From left, Kevin Martin, John Morris, Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedyshow off their Olympic gold medals during an autograph sessionFriday. They’ll be on hand for an Up Close and Personal session today at 10:15 a.m. for Brier ticketholders at the Metro Centre.

A rapturous ridefor Martin quartet

The two-hour au-tograph-signing session wrapped

around the block.“I’ve never seen

anything like it,” said local legend Colleen Jones. “One woman was

crying. Another was shaking. And the lineup for these guys . . . ”

It almost didn’t end.“It had to be 1,000

feet long,” said John Morris, his Olympic gold medal stuffed in an old purple Crown Royal bag in his pocket when it was over. “We signed for the full two hours and we didn’t get through it,” he said.

“It was out the door and around the corner,” raved second Marc Kennedy.

Every minute since they won the gold a week ago at the Olym-pics in Vancouver to set the table for Sidney

Crosby and the record 14th gold medal with his overtime goal in the hockey game Sunday, it’s been a magic-carpet ride for Kevin Martin’s team which has now taken it from one coast to the other.

But the scene at the Metro Centre on Friday might end up being the most memorable in the non-stop memory-mak-ing moments which keep coming at this team.

“It was awesome. Unbelievable,” said lead Ben Hebert.

Please see JONES,Page 14

TERRY JONESSun Media Columnist

Tankard Times

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Alex RobertsFor the Tankard Times

1934: Gordon Camp-bell, representing the Hamilton Thistle Club, skipped Ontario to what was then a Brier record high score in a 26-2 rout of Nova Scotia. Ontario “stole” the last 20 points in this one-sided fi rst draw encounter.

1946: After a three year lapse, the fi rst post-Second World War Brier resulted in a three-way tie for fi rst place between Alberta, Manitoba and Northern Ontario. In the playoff, Northern Ontario drew a bye and Alberta edged Manitoba in the semi-fi nal 8-7. It was 2:30 in the morning when the fi nal ended with Mani-

toba’s Bill Rose beating Tom Ramsey’s Northern Ontario team 8-6.

1947: There never has been an eight-ender in more than 40,000 ends of Brier play but Jimmy Welsh nearly led his Manitoba team to the “magical eight” against Prince Edward Island’s Jimmy Acorn. In the eighth end of the morning draw, with seven Mani-toba counters in the rings, and a P.E.I. stone barely on the 12-foot, Welsh was a shade heavy on the last rock of the frame, and ended up counting seven. The Manitobans went on to win the game 18-7, and with it clinched the Brier title for the 11th time in the fi rst 18 editions.

1951: The fi rst draw in a history-making Brier saw Halifax

hosting its inaugural Canadian men’s curl-ing championship, and Newfoundland playing in the Canadian men’s curling championship for the fi rst time. The rookie Newfoundland-ers, skipped by Thomas Hallet, lost their fi rst Brier encounter by a 14-6 score to B.C., while Don Oyler’s Nova Scotia won 10 consecu-tive games on its way to Nova Scotia’s fi rst national men’s curling title since 1927.

1959: Saskatchewan’s Ernie Richardson won his fi rst of four titles with a convincing 12-6 sudden-death victory over Alberta.

See HISTORY,Page 14

THIS DATE IN BRIER HISTORY

Welsh ends upinches short of

a great eight

on stage


your guide to what’s goin’ on

GO

OD TIMES BREWIN’ SINCE

198

2

The Season of Champions is experiencing overwhelming growth and popularity as Canada’s “roaring game” roars more than ever before. Hundreds of thousands of fans across the country have been drawn to the excitement, drama and strategy of our sport.

They’ve also discovered that curling comes with an incomparable party atmosphere!

The Party Line is a new feature for the Tankard Times… and it’s your guide to what’s goin’ on here at the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier. We’ll be bringing it to you every day to keep you on top of all the festivities here in Halifax.

Keith’s Patch is party central for the Brier,

pulsating with excitement all week long as fans, volunteers – and at

times, even the competitors – gather for a roaring celebration.

The Patch features an appetizing array of food and all your favourite beverages. You can dance to the beat of a steady lineup of live entertainers. Plus, the host MC’s – Stuart Brown and Jim Jerome – will be leading the way with all kinds of crazy competitions and games.

Or, if you’re looking for a more relaxing atmosphere, try the Purple Heart Lounge. You’ll find plenty of food and refreshments, and at times some great live entertainment.

So stay tuned to The Party Line and we’ll keep you in touch with every second of the fun!

Sunday, March 7 – McGinty • 6:15 pm Shameless • 11:00 pm Monday, March 8 – Little Fish • 6:15 pm Signal Hill • 11:00 pmTuesday, March 9 – The Chevelles • 6:15 & 11:00 pm Wednesday, March 10 – The Chevelles • 6:15 & 11:00 pmThursday, March 11 – Da’ Rock • 6:15 pm Matt Minglewood Band • 11:00 pm Friday, March 12 – Blue Bay • 6:15 pm Sons of Maxwell • 11:00 pmSaturday, March 13 – Big Fish • 3:00 pm Mellotones • 11:00 pm Sunday, March 14 – Blueberry Grunt • 5:00 pm

Take four musicians with diverse talents, an impressive list of professional achievements and extremely gregarious personalities… and what do you get? A group of really Swell Guys!

These Swell Guys just happen to be one of Halifax’s most popular acts, featuring Alex Vaughan (guitar and vocals), Ken MacKay (woodwinds and vocals), Pat Riley (bass and vocals) and Scott Ferguson (drums and vocals).

Individually, their talents represent an eclectic mix of musical backgrounds ranging from country, rock and blues to Dixieland and jazz.

They’ll be taking this engaging diversity to the stage tonight at 6:15 pm in Keith’s Patch.

Continued on page 10

Get Ready for a “Swell” Time...

Starting with these Swell Guys

Tankard Times

If you’re in the mood for an encore with a bit of a twist, at 11:00 pm three of the same guys – Alex, Ken and Scott – will be joined in the spotlight by John Chiasson (bass and vocals) and Donna Scaglione (vocals), in the form of the Aviators.

Make sure you’re there to see this high-flying pop-rock band soar through a repertoire of hits from the best of today’s contemporary artists, as well as countless favourites from the past. The Aviators deliver a performance that suits all ages and tastes – setting the stage for the infamous party atmosphere that rocks the Patch all week long!

There may be no other shot in curling packed with as much pressure as the cold draw to the button! Especially during the semi-finals in front of a capacity crowd at the Metro Centre.

Well, just imagine yourself trying to make it – using a golf ball and a new Odyssey White Ice putter. It’s a 93-foot putt with a $100,000 prize on the line!

Visit the Purple Heart lounge between now and Thursday, and enter the contest for your chance to be one of those competitors - contest closes Thursday at 8 pm.

Instant prize giveaways will be awarded… plus, out of all the entrants in the Purple Heart Lounge, one will emerge to putt for the big pot in the Metro Centre - with the chanceto win the $100,000!

Continued from page 9

And Then the Night Takes Flight!

The Curling’s So Cool in the Patch!The competition will be intense all week on the ice at the Metro Centre as Canada’s best curlers fight for the right to hoist the Tankard at the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier.

The action will also be fierce in Keith’s Patch for the Cool Curling competition where competitors will battle for great prizes, including cash - $500 for first, $250 for second and $150 for third.

Cool Curling is the tabletop mini-version of the roaring game that’s become a huge hit in the Patch. The competition starts Monday at noon for the qualifying round which carries on through Thursday.

Eight qualifiers will be determined each of the four days to move on to the Friday playdowns. The field will be narrowed down to the final eight who face off Saturday in the Championship round.

Think you’re up to the challenge? Just drop by the Patch to register – and then find out just how “cool” you are under pressure!


Six Years AfterToday – 6:30 pmIn 2004 Mark Dacey earned a thrilling Brier victory representing Nova Scotia - and today he’ll be sitting down with his championship team to answer questions from the fans in the Purple Heart Lounge.

The Saskatoon-born Dacey has competed in six different Briers, wearing Nova Scotia colours in the past five. But the sweetest of them all was unquestionably the 2004 edition. Returning to his home town, the Dacey crew defeated Randy Ferbey in the final, ending the Alberta team’s bid for a fourth consecutive title.

In addition to his success on the men’s stage, Dacey is also a two-time winner of the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship.

Join him and his 2004 teammates – Bruce Lohnes, Rob Harris and Andrew Gibson – for an entertaining insight into the world of competitive curling.

It’s Simply

Picture Perfect

Steele Ford Lincoln is very pleased to be Official Vehicle Supplier of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier. Located at 3773 Windsor Street in Halifax, it is one of the longest-serving dealerships in our community with the original dealership being established in the 1930’s. Steele Automotive Group purchased the dealership nine years ago and has continued to strongly support

various community endeavours, charity and sports groups. The dealership’s 90 employees, through teamwork and dedication, have made Steele Ford Lincoln one of the largest Ford Lincoln dealerships in Canada. Everyone on the Steele team wishes all the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier participants the very best during the competition.

Sponsor of the Day

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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.

Email pictures to: [email protected]

(Please note: Cameraphone images may not be of suitablequality to reproduce.)

Tankard Times

Twenty-four Nova Scotia junior curlers were selected by a random draw to an honorary

position with a Tim Hortons Brier team. The junior stars receive:

• the opportunity to participate in one practice with the team

• introduction and march with the curlers in a pre-game ceremony

• 3 tickets to one of the team’s round robin games• a gift package from the host committee

Today’s feature stars are:

Team British Columbia • 3:00 pm

Ethan Garnier • CFB HalifaxMaria LeBlanc • Yarmouth

Team Northwest Territories/Yukon • 7:30 pm

Scott Callaghan • CFB HalifaxJodi Vacheresse • Truro

The 50/50 draws for the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier are based on the electronic system used at Saskatoon’s recent World Junior Hockey Championships – where five-figure payouts were standard, and the winning ticket for the gold medal game was nearly $150,000!

The new process allows fans to view 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 will be located in the Metro Centre and one outside

Keith’s Patch • tickets may also be purchased from several 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

The Purple Heart Lounge is the perfect place to sit back, relax and enjoy a beverage and bite with friends – and, a great spot to make new friends.

Tonight at 11:00 pm you have the opportunity to experience Tony Quinn on stage in the lounge. Best described as a renaissance entertainer, Quinn delivers a versatile performance

featuring fast paced comedy and music, impersonations and musical treats.

A regular at the Halifax Waterfront’s weekly musical comedy matinee, Quinn has been a special guest of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, a co-host of CBC Radio’s Atlantic Airwaves and written and performed in a broad range of categories.

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Koe, with his Ed-monton team, fi gures to round out the top four as far as crystal-ball gazers are concerned.

Strangely, the 35-year-old Koe, a petroleum industry land man who resides in Grande Prairie, will be skipping in his fi rst Brier. His third, Blake MacDon-ald, played second back in 1999. His second, Carter Rycroft, played with Martin in 2000 and 2006, that last post-Olympic affair. Lead Nolan Thiessen is a Brier rookie.

So why should Koe, the 2000 Mixed Nation-als champ, be rated top-four?

He plays with the big guys on tour and in all the so-called Slams, that’s why. He was one of the top-four quali-fi ers for the December

Olympic trials and held his own in that affair, fi nishing fourth behind Martin, Howard and Stoughton but not with-out one helluva fi ght.

One other thing. Koe plays out of the Saville Sports Centre, the same icehouse inhabited by Martin and Ferbey. The three of them have been knocking heads in Alberta playdowns for years.

In Alberta provincials last month, Ferbey couldn’t beat Koe in three altercations. Just like Ferbey couldn’t beat Martin the past two seasons. Which is to suggest, Koe is not to be discounted.

The Stoughton, How-ard and Gushue lineups,

of course, involve no strangers. Stoughton won Briers in 1996 (three straight against Martin, you may recall) and 1999. Howard won a couple with brother Russ in the dark ages, then dominated the 2007 show at Hamilton.

Gushue, on the other hand, is 0-for-6 at the Brier. His best shot was in ’07 when he lost the fi nal to Howard.

He and Koe, however, represent the young guard. Howard is 47. Stoughton is 46. They’re a part of the old cod-gership in this fi eld of combatants.

Howard is another who’ll be just as happy that Kevin Martin is a Brier spectator.

The Ontario team of Richard Hart, Brent Laing and Craig Savill hasn’t handled Martin’s

the past two years at the Brier and suffered a dev-astating setback in the Olympic trials, to boot.

“We’re not over that (defeat) yet,” Howard said last month fol-lowing his provincial victory.

The remaining eight provincial champs all promise to be the sort of teams capable of mak-ing it diffi cult for some, including each other, if not capable of the kind of consistency required to crank up a winning streak at the Brier.

Most notable among them may be 32-year-old Jamie Koe of Yellow-knife, brother and former teammate of Alberta’s Koe, who’ll provide this Brier with its second brother-vs-brother teehead skirmish in as many years (Thursday morning).

From Page 2

WOODFowler holds

a very hot handLarry WoodTankard Times Editor

Manitoba second player Rob Fowler,

an automobile dealer out of Brandon, scored a spectacular and near-perfect 29-point per-formance at the Metro Centre on Friday dur-ing the pre-Brier Ford Hot Shots preliminary skills competition.

The top eight shotsmiths out of 48 qualifi ed for today’s three-stage showdown starting at 1 p.m. The winner will receive a two-year lease on a 2010

Ford Taurus SEL FWD.Hometown skip

Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc trailed Fowler with 25 points, while Fowler’s Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg), Ontario skip Glenn Howard (Midland) and Newfoundland/Labra-dor second player Ryan Fry (St. John’s) each turned in a 24-point effort.

Rounding out the top qualifers were Saskatoon skip Dar-rell McKee, New Brunswick skip James Grattan (Oromocto) and Northern Ontario second Ryan Harnden (Sault Ste. Marie).

Tankard Times

Cheering hard in Halifax.

From Our House to Yours

Official Wine Supplier of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier

However, a howling winter blizzard in Quebec City kept the attendance down at the Coliseum, in this the 30th rendition of the Brier.

1964: British Columbia won its second national curl-ing championship with a last round 9-7 extra-end victory over P.E.I. Drawing against two B.C. counters, P.E.I. skip Art Burke sailed his last rock draw through the rings to give B.C. a two-point steal and the title.

1977: Brier games were shortened to 10 ends. They had been set at 12 ends since 1928.

1987: The legendary Ber-nie Sparkes, curling in the

last of his 12 Briers, skipped his B.C. foursome to an 8-5 win over Ontario. Sparkes went on to post an 8-3 record for second place in the round robin behind the eventual champions Ontario, skipped by Russ Howard.

2003: Howard became the fi rst skip to win 100 Brier games, when he manoeuvred his Moncton Beaver Curl-ing Club foursome to a last round 8-6 win over Ontario at the Halifax Metro Centre.

2004: The four-rock free-guard zone rule was used at the Brier for the fi rst in time Saskatoon, replacing the three-rock rule that had been used since the 1994 champi-onship. Scoring immediately jumped and the number of blank ends fell by more than 25 per cent, with stolen ends up nearly 17 per cent com-pared to the previous year.

(Alex Roberts is a freelance writer based in Halifax)

From Page 8

HISTORY:Big 100

“We don’t have people lining up and down the street for us as a rule. We’re sure getting to feel like real celebrities. They forget that we’re not. We’re curlers. It’s like when we brought our medal to the athletes village. Figure skaters and speed skat-ers were giving us hugs. Now everywhere we go people are thanking us. I didn’t understand the sense of pride and the extent something like this could bring Canada together.”

Kennedy said everybody keeps thanking them while they sit there and can’t help but thank the fans back for creating such scenes for them to treasure forever.

“It’s the demographics. We’re used to older fans. But these are young kids and teen-agers. It’s a whole new group of fans. Nobody could prepare us for this. Not even Kevin. To see what we see in the fans’ faces, to see them this happy and this proud of our country.”

While there was a weekend

of Up Close And Personal appearances at the Brier Patch, more autograph sessions, the opening banquet and opening ceremonies, Martin says he doesn’t want it to stop.

“This is just so much fun,” The Old Bear raved. “It’s like the closing ceremonies. You don’t want it to end. We were out there feeling it’s so sad that it’s ending.”

But then it doesn’t end. It keeps going. First at home when they were met by a mob at the airport and now here where people lined up forever to meet them and touch their medals.

“It’s the closest we’re ever going to be to the Beatles,” said Kennedy.

These guys only had one complete full day at home. Morris spent his fi rst full-time day at work.

“I pulled a 24-hour shift at the Chestermere fi re hall. I’d just found out I’d been hired full time. But I did get to a school with the medal and out to do a couple things. It took 50 minutes to stop and get a coffee and two-and-a-half hours to go out and get groceries,” he said.

Kennedy said he’ll always remember the hockey connec-tion: “We were at the Canada-Russia game and then seven rows behind the American net where Sidney Crosby scored in the gold medal game . . . we hung out with Sid on Sunday night after he’d scored the goal. He was the most down-to-earth guy. We drank some champagne together. He told us how he’d watched our game and gave us all signed game sticks from the tournament.”

It was like they’d done this 14-gold-medal thing together.

“It’s good that we won one more medal than the record,” said Martin. “Everybody who won one can feel that way.”

From Page 7

JONES


The 5 Fishermen | 1740 Argyle Street

Cap off your Brier vacation with an exquisite meal at The 5 Fishermen. Only the freshest seafood makes it on to your plate here – usually caught and cooked the same day. And every main course comes with a complimentary mussel bar that’s so good, it’s worth the price of your meal alone.

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.

■ During an eighth-round game against Al-berta at the 1928 Brier, Manitoba skip Gordon Hudson elected to throw his fi nal stone through an empty house rather than take a single point. The blanking an end strategy, although not uncommon in the western prov-inces at the time, was virtually unheard of in the eastern provinces. Hudson caused quite stir: with one reporter noting that it set off a “gasp of astonishment” from spectators. The strategy failed anyway, as he gave up a steal in the 12th end and lost the game 9-8.■ In the early days of the Brier, teams brought their own granite. In fact, in the fi rst Brier in 1927 they could be any weight, and varied from the low 30s to the

mid 40-pound range. In 1928 an agreement was reached to use “standard weight” rocks of 47.5 pounds. In 1935 rocks were further reduced to between 45 and 46.5 pounds. ■ Since the three-rock (1994) and four-rock (2004) Free Guard Zone rules were introduced at the Brier, scoring is up 20.6 per cent, blank ends have fallen by 64.3 per cent, ‘big ends’ (three or more points) are up 82.4 per cent and draws have gone from 49 per cent of rocks thrown to 57 per cent of rocks thrown. ■ The 1958 Brier was the fi rst in which the av-erage age of the curlers was under 30.■ In 1951, Newfound-land joined the Brier family, and for the fi rst time, there were byes in every round.

■ At the 1948 Brier in Calgary, a full-sized birch bark teepee was set up by the Sarcee First Nation. As part of the opening ceremonies, several Brier trustees were initiated as blood brothers by Chief David Crowchild. Brier Trustee and Senator John T. Haig was given the name “Big Weasel.”■ For the fi rst 13 years, the Brier was held at the Granite Club in Toronto where there were no di-viders between the curling sheets. Some of the hard

throwers not only scat-tered rocks on their sheets, but often sent stones onto adjacent sheets, necessitat-ing a watchful eye by all the curlers.■ Famous Brier nick-names include: “Hell-fi re” Joe Heartwell, “the Snake” (Barry Fry), “the Wrench” (Ed Werenich), “the Owl” (Ron North-cott), “the Arrow” (Rod Hunter), “Pee Wee” (Bob Pickering), “the Friendly Giant” (Hec Gervais) and “the Digit” (Don Duguid).■ Family rinks are no longer seen at the Brier, but in 1947, father San-dy Campbell of Avonlea Saskatchewan brought along sons Garnet, Glen and Lloyd. They went 6-4 and fi nished third.■ Fourteen-time partici-pant Russ Howard is the only Brier player to have thrown more than 3,000

rocks in men’s champi-onship play – all as skip!■ The biggest points comeback in Brier his-tory occurred in 1965, when Nick Lashuk of Alberta (Calgary) spot-ted Bill Tracy of Quebec (Bagotville) a nine-point lead but came back to win 16-12.■ At the early Briers, participants would often arrive on a special excur-sion train. The last Brier train was in 1962.■ In the 1928 Brier, Alberta was actually represented by a Sas-katchewan team. The Joe Heartwell skipped team from Rosetown, which had lost out in the Sas-katchewan play-downs, entered the Alberta pro-vincials which they won. They went on to fi nish second at the Brier with an 8-3 record.■ None of the so-

cial functions at the 1958 Brier in Victoria included the serving of alcoholic beverages, after it was discovered that the members of the Terry Braunstein team from Manitoba were underage. That team, by the way, including Ray Turnbull of TSN fame. At the time, alcohol could not be served if anyone underage was present, and so the 1958 Brier was the only “dry” Brier in history.■ 1940 was the fi rst year that all of the Brier teams were decided by provincial playdowns. Prior to 1940, many en-tries were “nominated” by their provincial curl-ing committees.

(Alex Roberts isa freelance writer

and a Brier historianbased in Halifax)

From Page 5

STONE:Weird ‘n’

wacky

Tankard Times

2010 TIM HORTONS BRIER: THE PLAYING FIELD

(player’s age and total Brier appearances, including 2010 and as a fifth player, in brackets)

Nfld/LabradorBally-Haly CountryClub (St. John’s)

Experience factor: 22Skip: Brad Gushue (29-7)Third: Mark Nichols (30-7)Second: Ryan Fry (31-3)Lead: Jamie Korab (30-6)Alternate: Glenn Goss (52-4)Coach: Ken BagnellRunner-up: Alex Smith, St. John’sLast year’s record: Brad Gushue, St. John’s, 8-4, finished fourth

NorthernOntario

Soo Curlers Ass’n (Sault Ste. Marie)

Experience factor: 5Skip: Brad Jacobs (24-3)Third: E.J. Harnden (26-2)Second: Ryan Harnden (23-2)Lead: Caleb Flaxey (26-2)Alternate: Rob Thomas (48-1)Coach: Tom CoultermanRunner-up: Matt Dumon-telle, SudburyLast year’s record: Mike Jakubo, Copper Cliff, 2-9, finished 11th

AlbertaSaville Sports

Centre (Edmonton)

Experience factor: 3Skip: Kevin Koe (35-1)Third: Blake MacDonald (33-2)Second: Carter Rycroft (27-3)Lead: Nolan Thiessen (29-1)Alternate: Jamie King (36-1)Coach: John DunnRunner-up: Randy Fer-bey, EdmontonLast year’s record: Kevin Martin, Edmonton, 13-0, finished first

NewBrunswickGage Golf & Curling

Association (Oromocto)

Experience factor: 13Skip: James Grattan(35-8) Third: StevenHoward (25-2) Second: Jason Vaughan (40-4)Lead: Peter Case (32-2)Alternate: Robert Vaughan (44-1)Coach: Dean GrattanRunner-up: Terry Odis-haw, MonctonLast year’s record: Russ Howard, Oromocto, 6-5, finished seventh

ManitobaCharleswood Curling

Club (Winnipeg)

Experience factor: 19Skip: Jeff Stoughton (46-8)Third: Kevin Park (45-5)Second: Rob Fowler (34-3)Lead: Steve Gould (37-5)Alternate: Randy Dutiaume (47-3)Coach: Norm GouldRunner-up: MikeMcEwen, WinnipegLast year’s record: Jeff Stoughton, Winnipeg, 10-5, finished second

B.C.Kelowna CurlingClub (Kelowna)

Experience factor: 3Skip: Jeff Richard (30-1)Third: Tom Shypitka(47-2)Second: Tyler Orme (30-1)Lead: Chris Anderson (30-1)Alternate: KevinMacKenzie (35-3)Coach: Gerry RichardRunner-up: Sean Geall, New WestminsteLast year’s record: Sean Geall, New Westminster, 8-5, finished sixth

OntarioColdwater & District

C.C. (Coldwater)

Experience factor: 26Skip: Glenn Howard (47-12)Third: Richard Hart (41-5)Second: Brent Laing (31-6)Lead: Craig Savill (31-6)Alternate: Steve Bice (27-2)Coach: Scott TaylorRunner-up: Bryan Cochrane, OttawaLast year’s record: Glenn Howard, Coldwater, 9-4, finished third

Nova ScotiaMayflower Curling

Club (Halifax)

Experience factor: 5Skip: Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc (25-1)Third: Stuart MacLean (49-6)Second: J.B. Kent Smith (31-1)Lead: Philip Crowell (31-1)Alternate: Mark Robar (30-1)Coach: David MacLellanRunner-up: Doug MacK-enzie, HalifaxLast year’s record:Mark Dacey, Halifax, 2-9, finished 10th

QuebecKenogami CurlingClub (Kenogami)

Experience factor: 6Skip: Serge Reid (46-1)Third: Francois Gionest (36-1) Second: Simon Collin (33-1) Lead: Steeve Villeneuve (48-1) Alter-nate: Pierre Charette (54-7)Coach: Paul GagnonRunner-up: Martin Fer-land, Trois-RivieresLast year’s record: Jean-Michel Menard, St-Romuald, 7-5, finished fifth

P.E.I.Charlottetown CurlingClub (Charlottetown)

Experience factor: 32Skip: Rod MacDonald (52-7) Third: Kevin Champion (46-7) Second: Andrew Robinson (40-3) Lead: Mark O’Rourke (47-10) Alternate: Peter MacDonald (53-10)Coach: Pat AylwardRunner-up: Robert Campbell, CharlottetownLast year’s record: Rod MacDonald, Charlotte-town, 2-9, finished 12th

TerritoriesYellowknife CurlingClub (Yellowknife)

Experience factor: 14Skip: Jamie Koe (32-4)Third: Kevin Whitehead (31-3)Second: Brad Chorost-kowski (36-6)Lead: Martin Gavin (43-2)Alternate: Jon Solberg (38-4)Coach: Terry SheaRunner-up: Chad Cowan, WhitehorseLast year’s record: Jamie Koe, Yellowknife, 3-8, finished ninth

SaskatchewanNutana Curling

Club (Saskatoon)

Experience factor: 6Skip: Darrell McKee (46-3) Third: Bruce Korte (42-3) Second: Roger Korte(39-3) Lead: Rob Mar-kowsky (36-1)Alternate: Jason Jacob-son (32-1)Coach: Gene FriesenRunner-up: Joel Jordison, Moose JawLast year’s record: Joel Jordison, Moose Jaw, 3-8, finished eighth

ville, Sydney, New Glasgow, Windsor, Truro, Amherst, Stel-larton?2. Why?3. Name the skip and home club of the last Nova Scotia champ to compete for the Canadian title when the event was spon-sored by Macdonald Tobacco.

4. Not one Nova Scotia curler has finished first and won cars in the Ford Hot Shots competition which has prefaced the Brier every year since 1995. How many have finished second and/or third in the competition?5. Name, finish, year?6. One province

leads the way in medal finishes at the Hot Shots. That prov-ince and its leading

number of finishes?7. The same prov-ince also shares the lead for most car win-ners. Name the other province with three winners.8. Name the only double winner (Hint: He’s the only winner for his province.)9. Name the very first winner of the Ford

Hotshots competition at the Brier, and his province.10. Name the curler he defeated in the Hot Shots final, and that curler’s home province.11. Murray Macneill of Halifax skipped the very first Brier winner in 1927. Name the skip and hometown of the second Nova Scotia champion team to play in the Brier?12. Name the skip of the runnerup prov-ince when Macneill won that first Brier.


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QofD: Alberta.1. Yarmouth2. It has never sent a team to play in the Brier.

3. Alan Darragh, Dart-mouth.4. One.5. Craig Burgess, third, 2005.

6. Alberta with nine.7. New Brunswick.8. Steve Gould.9. Ed Werenich, Ontario.

10. Brad Heidt, Sas-katchewan11. Harry Stevenson, Sydney.12. John Malcolm.


QUESTION OF THE DAY:Name the one prov-ince with the best playoff record in the history of the Brier. Hint: This province is the only one to boast a plus-11 wins-over-losses record in its total playoff games.

1. Which of these Nova Scotia centres doesn’t fit in this list — Bridgewater, Yarmouth, Kent-

Time out for Tim Hortons Brier trivia

Answers

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Brier

FX1019.ca

Sweep Today’s Country

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House!

Where

Metro Centre, Halifax

History

The Brier began in 1927 in Toronto and has been held every year with the exception of 1943-45 because of the Second World War. This will be the 81st edition of the Brier, which was last previously held at Halifax in 2003 in the Metro Centre.

Competition

There will be 12 teams, one from each of the 10 provinces, Northern Ontario and the Yukon/Northwest Territories. A round-robin preliminary format will be followed by a four-team Page playoff competition where the fi rst-place team plays the second-place team, and the third-place team plays the fourth-place team. The winner of the 1 vs. 2 will advance directly to the champion-ship fi nal. A semi-fi nal will be played between the loser of the 1 vs. 2 playoff match and the winner of the 3 vs. 4 playoff match. The winner of the semi-fi nal meets the winner of the 1 vs. 2 playoff match in Sunday’s (March 14) fi nal.

The Champions

The winning team will win the MacDonald’s

Tankard Trophy and will represent Canada at the Capital One World men’s curling cham-pionship, from April 3 to 11, at the Olympic Ice Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Events

■ Friday, March 5: Ford Hot Shots skills prelimi-naries, 12:30 p.m.■ Saturday, March 6: Opening ceremonies, 11:30 a.m.; Ford Hot Shots skills playoffs, 1 p.m.; Draw One, 3 p.m., Draw Two, 7:30 p.m.

■ Sunday-Friday, March 7-12: Draws as 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m.■ Friday, March 12: Draws will depend on the necessity of tiebreakers. The Page One-Two playoff match will be played at 7:30 p.m.■ Saturday, March 13: Page Three-Four playoff match at 12 noon; Semi-fi nal match at 7:30 p.m.■ Sunday, March 14: Brier fi nal match at 8 p.m.

Keith’s Patch

The Keith’s Patch in the World Trade and Convention Centre will open at 12 noon on Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 14, and at 10 a.m. from Sunday, March 7 through Satur-day, March 13.

Live bands appear-ing during the week: Aviators, Big Fish, Bittersweet, Blue Bay, Blueberry Grunt, Bob Lambert, Chevelles, Da Rock, Little Fish, Matt Minglewood Band, McGinty, Mellotones, Nuts, Persuaders, Sam Moon and The Wing, Shameless, Shawn Birt, Shaydid, Signal Hill, Sons Of Maxwell, Swell Guys, Tony Quinn.

TV Coverage

TSN will provide com-prehensive coverage of the Brier. All morning, afternoon and evening round-robin draws will be televised, followed by the Page playoffs on Friday night and Satur-day, the semi-fi nal on Saturday night and the fi nal on Sunday night beginning at 8 p.m. AT.

The Internet

All editions of the Tankard Times, plus draw-by-draw reports, results and all other Tim Hortons Brier informa-tion will be available visually at www.curling.ca or www.seasonof-champions.ca

Facts and figuresfrom the 81st

Tim Hortons Brier


Time Draw Sheet A Sheet B Sheet C Sheet D

Today

10:30 a.m. 3 Ontario vs. N. Ont. Manitoba vs. P.E.I. Quebec vs Y/NWT Sask. vs. N.B. 3 p.m. 4 N.S. vs. Quebec N.L. vs. Sask. B.C. vs. Ontario P.E.I. vs. Alberta 7:30 p.m. 5 N.L. vs. Alberta N.Ont. vs. Y/NWT N.B. vs. Manitoba N.S. vs. B.C.

10:30 a.m. 9 Y/NWT vs. Manitoba Sask. vs. Quebec N. Ont. vs. N.B. Ontario vs. P.E.I. 3 p.m. 10 Quebec vs. P.E.I. Alberta vs. N.S. Ontario vs. Sask. B.C. vs. N.L. 7:30 p.m. 11 N.B. vs. N.L. N. Ont. vs. B.C. Manitoba vs. Alta. N.S. vs. Y/NWT

10:30 a.m. 15 Alberta vs. Y/NWT N.S. vs Manitoba N.L. vs. N. Ont. N.B. vs. B.C. 3 p.m. 16 P.E.I. vs. N.B. Quebec vs. N. Ont. Sask. vs. Manitoba Y/NWT vs. Ontario 7:30 p.m. 17 N.L. vs. Quebec B.C. vs. P.E.I. Alberta vs. Ontario Sask. vs. N.S.

Monday

Wednesday

3 p.m. 1 B.C. vs. Manitoba N.B. vs. N.S. Alberta vs. N. Ont. Y/NWT vs. N.L. 7:30 p.m. 2 Y/NWT vs. N.B. Quebec vs. Ontario P.E.I. vs. Sask. N. Ont. vs. Manitoba

Sunday

Tuesday

Thursday

10:30 a.m. 6 B.C. vs. Alberta N.S. vs. N.L. 3 p.m. 7 N. Ont. vs. Sask. Ontario vs. N.B. Y/NWT vs. P.E.I. Manitoba vs. Quebec 7:30 p.m. 8 Ontario vs. N.S. P.E.I. vs. N.L. Quebec vs. B.C. Alberta vs. Sask.

10:30 a.m. 12 Sask. vs. B.C. N.L. vs. Ontario P.E.I. vs. N.S. Quebec vs. Alberta 3 p.m. 13 N.S. vs. N. Ont. N.B. vs. Alberta B.C. vs. Y/NWT N.L. vs. Manitoba 7:30 p.m. 14 Manitoba vs. Ontario Y/NWT vs. Sask. N.B. vs. Quebec P.E.I. vs. N. Ont.

2010 TIM HORTONS BRIER: TOURNAMENT DRAW

Tiebreakers PlayoffsFriday, March 12

One draw — 3 p.m.Two draws — 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.Three draws — 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 12

7:30 p.m. — Page Playoff 1-2 game

Saturday, March 13

Noon — Page Playoff 3-4 game7:30 p.m. — Semifi nal

Sunday, March 14

8 p.m. — Championship fi nal


The old curling order appears to be changing in

Bluenose country. In 10 of the last dozen

years, Nova Scotia’s rep-resentative at the Brier has been one of Mark Dacey, Shawn Adams and/or Paul Flemming.

Only recently, Brian Rafuse and Mark Kehoe managed to horn in on the monopoly. But Dacey was back last year, albeit a shadow of his former self, fi nishing with a 2-9 record.

This time around,

neither Dacey nor Adams, who had Flemming play-ing third, made it through one of the three provincial triple-knockout qualifying sections.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc powered his way through the 16-team fi eld without a defeat and will be the home Brier favourite at the Metro Centre, skip-ping veteran Stuart Ma-cLean and rookies Kent Smith and Phil Crowell.

Runnerup to Dacey last year, Fitzner-LeBlanc won six straight for the Nova Scotia Purple Hearts.

In the A qualifying, the champs dumped fellow Halifax teams skipped by

Ian Juurlink 9-6, Brent MacDougall 8-4, Chris Sutherland 9-4 and James Murphy 8-5.

Clubmate Doug MacK-enzie of Halifax May-fl ower emerged from the B section, stopping Kehoe 7-2 in the fi nal.

That decided the Page One-Two playoff teams and from there, Fitzner-

LeBlanc disposed of MacKenzie 8-7, then bounced back in the championship fi nal for a 6-3 decision after MacK-enzie eliminated Murphy 6-4 in the semi-fi nal.

Murphy and Juurlink survived the C group in preliminary play and Mur-phy stopped Juurlink 6-3 in the playoff opener.

Fitzner-LeBlanc stole singles in the third and fi fth ends for a 3-0 lead on MacKenzie in the fi nal. After MacKenzie hit the board with a single in the sixth, Fitzner-LeBlanc answered with another pair and cruised home.

Adams, who lost the 1995 Brier fi nal to Randy

Ferbey at Edmonton, won three of six games while Dacey managed only one

win in four tries on home Mayfl ower freeze.

Behind Fitzner-LeB-lanc’s perfect record, MacKenzie and Murphy were 6-3, Juurlink was 5-3 and Kehoe was 4-3.

Along with Adams at 3-3 were MacDougall and Sutherland.

At 2-3 were Haligonians Mark Robar and Sean Audas and Truro’s Peter Burgess.

At 1-3 with Dacey were Rafuse of Bridgewater and Ryan Garven of Halifax.

Teams of James Chris-tianson (CFB Halifax) and Chad Stevens (Chester) were winless in three matches.

Tankard Times

When the margin of error is small, precision wins the game.

Precisely Put.

John Deere is a proud supporter of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier.

www.JohnDeere.com

NOVA SCOTIA

Rookie carries Haligonian title hopesROAD TO THE TIM HORTONS BRIER

Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc’s crew powered its way through Nova Scotia playdowns withouta defeat.

brier 2010 tankard times march 6th

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