Tankard Times - Curling Canada

Issue 2 – Sunday, March 6, 2016
uu
BIG WINNER!
n Gushue enjoys red hot start to Tim Hortons Brier / 9
7:30 P
MONDAY
CANADA VS. NORTHERN ONTARIO
REMATCH
for made
glory
get
Ge t your
tickets &
live it live!
Page 2
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
Team Canada’s John Morris has
fans wherever he plays, but
particularly here in Ottawa
where he spent a good part of
his life. Team Canada won its
opening game 7-2 over Team
Quebec on Saturday.
Brier slugfest!
M
McEwen, Gushue
put on curling clinic
By JOHN KOROBANIK
Tankard Times Associate Editor
ike McEwen finally made his Tim
Hortons Brier debut Saturday and
while it was not a successful one
on the scoreboard, the Manitoba skip felt
pleased with his team’s effort.
“I’m happy with how comfortable we
looked out there,” he said. “That was key for
us, that there were no jitters, we were ready to
play right away.”
Veteran Brad Gushue of NewfoundlandLabrador spoiled McEwen’s debut by making
a last-rock, hit-and-stick in the 11th end for a
5-4 victory in the event’s opening draw.
“It’s kind of a game of who makes the
better good shots and he (Gushue) made a
couple of beauties,” said McEwen. “Other
than playing in an electric building like that,
the actual act of throwing a rock and calling
the game and making shots felt the same.”
While Gushue is playing in his 13th Brier,
this is the first for McEwen. The team had
lost in five of the previous six Manitoba finals
before finally winning the province this year.
After a somewhat erratic first end that saw
McEwen have to make an angled raise tap back
for a single, the two teams put on an exhibition
of great shots throughout the game. Both teams
ended up shooting 93 per cent.
“We said there’s going to be times when
you play in the 90s and lose and there’s a
handful of teams that happens (against),” said
McEwen. “We’re playing another one of those
(this) morning (Glenn Howard, Ontario).”
“The first few ends were like haymakers
been thrown by both teams,” said Gushue,
who is still trying to win his first Tim
Hortons Brier. “I didn’t expect the first end to
be like that. It looked like we could steal two,
and then give up five, then steal two, and we
ended up forcing one.”
One of the key plays of the game came in
the 10th end. With Newfoundland-Labrador
sitting three counters in the four-foot, third
Matt Wozniak committed a hogline violation.
“Made a perfect shot and then it got taken
away,” said McEwen. “Would we have gotten
two? I don’t know, hard to say. The margin of
winning and losing those games is very little
so everything matters. It definitely didn’t help.
“But we didn’t score a deuce and if you’re
going to beat a good team you’re probably
going to need to score a deuce.
Gushue said he got lucky with the hogline
violation. “No doubt about that, but we were
still in pretty good shape even if it got in
there. We made the shots we needed to win.
“It’s one of the better games I’ve been
part of at the Brier. When you play as well
as our team played you expect to win a little
easier than that. It was a battle, I’m tired.”
In other key games Saturday, four-time
champion Glenn Howard of Ontario made
a clutch last-rock draw in the 11th end to
slip past two-time Brier winner Kevin
Koe of Alberta 5-4, Pat Simmons and
Team Canada successfully opened defence
of their title with a 7-3 win over Quebec,
and Olympic champion Brad Jacobs of
Northern Ontario nipped Saskatchewan
6-5 in 11 ends.
Manitoba’s Mike McEwen lost in his Tim Hortons Brier debut.
Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
PRE-QUALIF YING GAME
Page 3
Careful what you wish for
Territories qualifies;
faces meatgrinder
J
By JOHN KOROBANIK
Tankard Times Associate Editor
amie Koe and his Yellowknife team
are back in the Tim Hortons Brier.
Koe survived a 10th-end scare
to score a 7-4 win over James Murphy of
Nova Scotia Saturday in the pre-qualifying
play-in game. And that was the easy part.
“Step one is to get in and now it’s
careful what you wish for,” Koe said after
the win before a near capacity crowd at
TD Place. “You have that field to face. But
we’re playing well and hopefully we can
keep it going and get some breaks.”
Koe agreed there are no gimmes in
what may be the best field ever assembled
for a Brier.
“It’s going to be tough, but if we’re
going to get better these are the teams we
need to be facing.”
Koe had a 4-1 lead after four ends –
scoring deuces in the second and fourth
ends – but Murphy and his crew refused to
go away. Nova Scotia scored singles in the
third, fifth, seventh and eighth ends before
Koe recovered with singles in the ninth and
10th for the win.
“We got a little tight out there the last
six,” admitted Koe, who’s back for his 10th
Brier. “The first five were pretty loose and
we got a little tight knowing what’s on the
line.
“That’s the way it goes. You’re playing
pretty defensive and you’re going to have
to shoot against two and if you miss your
last shot they’re going to steal, but that’s
the way we played it.”
They almost played themselves out
of the Brier in the final end. Nova Scotia
had a chance for three with last rock, but
Murphy’s try to punch out Koe’s counter
failed.
The Koe team were winless in last
year’s Brier, which threw them back into
the pre-qualifying round this year. They
went 4-0 to earn their way back into the
main draw but he admitted the team is tired
after already playing five games.
“We were bagged (Friday) night. We
have two in a row (Saturday) and we’re
going to be bagged again. The guys are
sweeping their hearts out.”
Farewell to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s 2016 Tim Hortons Brier
is over after losing the pre-qualifier playoff
final 7-4 to the Northwest Territories on
Saturday afternoon.
Halifax-based skip Jamie Murphy was
down 6-4 without the hammer in the 10th
end and missed by a hair a hit-and-stay to
lie three on his final throw. That left Jamie
Koe’s Northwest Territories team with shot
stone and Nova Scotia out of rocks.
“That’s sports. It goes that way
sometimes,” said Murphy, who curls out of
the Mayflower Curling Club.
Despite the tough loss, Murphy said
there was still some good to be gleaned
from his team’s brief Brier appearance.
“It was good to be in the event for the
amount of time we were in it. It’s always
great to come out here and play on this ice
and good teams. It’s a little hard to swallow
The Bluenosers are done.
right now, but we made it interesting.”
Murphy said he and his teammates fly
back to Halifax Monday, but he hopes to
be back for next year’s championship in St.
John’s.
Jamie Koe (right) and Chris Schille discuss strategy.
Page 4
Host city
By PATTI DAWN SWANSSON
1
Tankard Times Contributor
Shawarma or BeaverTail? It is
a debate of epic proportions
in the nation’s capital, greater
even than the lengthy courtroom
deliberations that begged the question,
“Did Mike Duffy do it or did Mike
Duffy not do it?”
So, what is the unofficial, official
food of Ottawa? Shawarma or
BeaverTail?
Having tried neither, I cannot cast
a vote, but others have in a CBC online
poll. At last peek, the scoreboard read
BeaverTail 2,856, Shawarma 2,408,
which bears a striking similarity to
most Rough Riders or Renegades games
during the regretful Bernie and Lonie
Glieberguys eras of three-down football
in Bytown.
What, you might be inclined to
ask is, what is a Shawarma? Well, it’s
a Lebanese dish of spice-marinated
lamb, turkey, chicken, beef or a mix of
meats slow roasted on a vertical spit and
shaved and rolled in flatbread. Add the
toppings of your choice into the mix,
and you’ve got a whole lot of calories,
fat and flavor.
According to the website
Wikitravel.org, there are more
Shawarma eateries in Ottawa than “any
other place on earth.” Apparently, The
Shawarma Palace on Rideau Street is
the best.
But wait. When U.S. President
Barack Obama dropped in for a visit in
2009, he didn’t make a special pit stop
for a Shawarma. The Commander-inChief took a detour to the BeaverTail
hut on George Street, across the road
from ByWard Market, and had a Secret
Service agent order him an ObamaTail.
For the uninitiated, a BeaverTail
is fried dough stretched in the form of
— you guessed it — a beaver tail and
topped with the likes of whipped cream,
banana slices and crumbled cookies.
The ObamaTail features cinnamon,
sugar, maple butter and chocolate sauce
dripped on whipped cream in the shape
of the letter O.
Apparently, Democratic presidential
candidate Hilary Clinton also favours
BeaverTails. No word on Republican
Donald Trump’s preference, though. He
might be a Shawarma man. Either way,
he’d probably ban them both from the
United States.
You can call him little Tommy
Mapother IV, you can call him
Ethan Hunt or you can call him
Tom Cruise. But, by any name, the
award-winning, Mission: Impossible
actor spent a portion of his youth in the
Ottawa suburb of Beacon Hill, attending
Robert Hopkins Public School and
Henry Munro Middle School. Seems
kid Cruise had a habit of doing flips
2
10
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
EDITOR: Dave Komosky
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: John Korobanik
PHOTOGRAPHER: Mike Burns Jr.
PUBLISHED BY: Winchester Print
things you should know
about visiting Ottawa
Photo courtesy of Tourism Ottawa
some unusual things for a CFL club
president during his stewardship of the
Riders and, later, the Renegades. Like
dating team cheerleaders and figuring it
would be boffo marketing to encourage
young female fans to bare their breasts
in exchange for cheap trinkets.
Ottawa is ranked as the most
educated city in Canada.
Apparently, the intelligence
quotient took a quantum leap north
when the Glieberguys left town.
There are 14 national museums
in our country’s capital city,
including the Canadian Museum
of Civilization, the Library
and Archives Canada, the Canadian
Museum of Nature, the Canadian War
Museum, and the Canadian Aviation
and Space Museum. Of course, if you
want to see real ancient artifacts that
do nothing, visit Parliament when the
Senate is in session.
Ottawa is one spooky place. It
is said that the ghost of Charles
Melville Hays haunts the Chateau
Laurier, the very building his
company, the Grand Trunk Railway,
finished building in 1912. Hays died
when the Titanic sank to the bottom
of the Atlantic Ocean a dozen days
before the hotel was scheduled to
open. In the Bytown Museum doll
section, meanwhile, people have heard
the sounds of children weeping and
observed dolls winking. Col. John By
apparently roams the building. Then
there’s the old Carleton County Jail,
now the HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel. If the
ghosts of murderers and rapists haunting
what once was Death Row don’t send
you skedaddling in fright throughout
an entire night, you get a room on the
house.
One supposes the spookiness
ought not be a surprise. After
all, our longest-serving Prime
Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie
King, is known to have read tea leaves,
consulted with a Ouija board and used
a crystal ball to engage in chit-chats
with his dead mother and his three dead
dogs, all named Pat. His crystal ball
is on display at his former residence,
Laurier House.
There’s a farmer’s field
smack-dab in the middle of
Ottawa, which has more rural
land than any city in Canada.
The Central Experimental Farm is a
whopping 427 hectares (1,055 acres),
which means it’s the only place in
Bytown where they spread more manure
than on Parliament Hill.
6
7
8
9
If you’re here for the Tim Hortons Brier
and are new to the city, here’s what you
should know about the Nation’s Capital
off rooftops and once broke a leg after
landing on a concrete sidewalk below.
It’s believed that’s when he took to the
notion that using a stunt double would
be a wise career move.
Ottawa was originally called
Bytown, so named after Colonel
John By, the man responsible for
the construction of the Rideau
Canal. By the time Col. By’s ditchdigging days were done in 1832, the
cost of the Canal came in at 822,000
British pounds, which would be about
80 million of today’s weakened loonies.
Or, marginally less than the $96 million
3
the Ottawa Senators are paying Erik
Karlsson and Bobby Ryan to play
hockey.
The name Ottawa originates from
the Algonquin word “adawe,”
which means “to trade.” Do not,
however, even think of blaming the
Algonquins for the deal the brought the
dreaded Dion Phaneuf to the Senators.
The city’s Canadian Football
League franchise, then know as the
Rough Riders, was sold to Bernie
Glieberman for $1 in 1991 and he
installed his unqualified, 23-year-old
son Lonie as club president. Lonie did
4
5
10
Patti Dawn Swansson is a longtime
jock journalist who has covered multiple
Briers, Scotties Tournament of Hearts,
world curling championships and Roar of
the Rings Olympic Trials. She also loves
Ottawa, but hasn’t been back since 1988
because she’s afraid of ghosts.
CURLING QUIZ
Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
1. This Brier curler holds the records
for most wins at the Canadian Junior
Men’s Curling Championship:
a) Jamie Koe, Territories.
b) Brett Gallant, Newfoundland and
Labrador.
c) Adam Casey, P.E.I.
d) Braeden Moskowy, Manitoba.
2. Match the curler with his postsecondary school:
Adam Casey
Wilfred Laurier University
Nolan Thiessen
Georgian College
Brent Laing
Dalhousie University
Scott Howard
University of Manitoba
3. If B.C. skip Jim Cotter could invite
one person (past or present) for dinner,
it would be:
a) Buddha.
b) Barack Obama.
c) Cher.
d) Marilyn Monroe.
4. True or False. Rick Sawatsky of
B.C shot a perfect 100 per cent in not
one, not two, but three games in the
2014 Brier.
Page 5
CONTACT US
(613) 249-9900
ext. 348
FOR YOUR
OFFICE
PRODUCT
NEEDS
Gather ’round folks,
we’re going to test
your curling know-how
5. When Ben Hebert of Team Alberta
was 12 years old, he won this prize at a
curling competition:
a) Season tickets to Calgary
Stampeders games.
b) A waffle maker.
c) Season tickets to Calgary Hitmen
games.
d) A Pac Man game.
ANSWERS
ON PAGE 9
FOR KEEPING
SCORE ON THE GO
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE SMARTPHONE APP NOW
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Page 6
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
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Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
Page 7
PLACE YOUR AUTOGRAPHS BELOW!
AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS
SUNDAY, MARCH 6 | 12:30 p
TEAM QUEBEC
SUNDAY, MARCH 6 | 6:00 p
TEAM NORTHERN ONTARIO
TEAM ALBERTA
THEY SAID WHAT!?
“
ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OUR
TEAM IS THAT WE DON’T LIKE TO HAVE FUN OR JOKE
AROUND. YES, WE ARE VERY INTENSE, FOCUSED AND
DON’T SMILE A LOT ON THE ICE. BUT AFTER THE GAME
WE JOKE AROUND AS MUCH OR MORE THAN MOST
PEOPLE!
WE PASS“THE TIME
BY WATCHING OLD
STAMPEDE WRESTLING
VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
”
TEAM NORTHERN ONTARIO
TEAM CANADA
MARCH 6
SUNDAY
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL
12:45 P TEAM NEW BRUNSWICK
12:45 P
TEAM MANITOBA
6:15 P
TEAM CANADA
”
Get over to the Patch to get up close
& personal with members of teams
New Brunswick, Manitoba & Canada!
Maybe even clink a glass or two —
with possible autograph opportunites
to follow. Don’t miss it!
He’s a ‘perfect fit’
Page 8
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
Super-sub Spencer
fills big shoes in lineup
“
He’s a
gentle giant.
I couldn’t
have asked
for a better
transition.
­— Glenn Howard
H
Adam
Spencer
By PATRICK BUTLER
Tankard Times Writer
e’s a last minute pick-up
playing in the premiere
men’s curling event in
Canada — and he couldn’t be
more excited.
Adam Spencer was pressed
into veteran Glenn Howard’s
lineup this winter after third
Wayne Middaugh, a three-time
world champion, broke his leg
in a ski accident in January.
Spencer did OK. In fact he
did better than OK. He was
superb. Howard went on to win
his 16th Purple Heart a month
later and is representing Ontario
at the Tim Hortons Brier at TD
Place.
“They’re pretty big shoes to
fill, no doubt about that,” said
Spencer, who moved seamlessly
into the second hole on the team
while Richard Hart moved up a
notch to play third.
“He’s (Middaugh) a hard guy
to fill in for, but these guys are
great guys to play with. They
put you at ease right away.”
On a team of Brier veterans,
this year’s event is Spencer’s
first shot at a Canadian men’s
curling championship.
“There’ll be a bit of nerves,
probably, in the first game,” he
said. “But I’ll just try and get
my groove on and hopefully
things will turn out,” he said.
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Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
FORD HOT SHOTS
Page 9
QUIZ
ANSWERS
1. Glenn Howard, 53, is an excited
pop now that he’ll compete in the Brier
with son Scott, 25, on his team.
2. Ryan Fry showed former Los
Angeles Lakers star Rick Fox some tricks
of the trade at the Toronto Cricket and
Curling Club.
3. Steve Laycock wears winningstreak socks.
4. True. Team Alberta second Brent
Laing took skip Jennifer Jones for a
bride last summer, while Manitoba skip
Mike McEwen and Jones’s lead, Dawn
Skip Brad Gushue is already a winner at the Tim Hortons
Brier. Gushue accepts his prize from Mike Herniak, General
Manager, Eastern Area, Ford of Canada.
Gushue drives
away a winner
McEwen, exchanged nuptuals in 2013.
5. This is the fifth trip to the Brier
for Kevin Koe, seventh for third Marc
Kennedy, 11th for second Brent Laing
and ninth for lead Ben Hebert for a total
of 32 appearances.
Collins Barrow Ottawa LLP
613.820.8010
New Holland NA - Tankard Times - 2016 Brier Ad.qxp_Layout 1 1/8/16 12:40 PM Page 1
By JOHN KOROBANIK
L
Tankard Times Associate Editor
ike the veteran skip he is, Brad Gushue
of Newfoundland-Labrador jumped on
the opportunity when he saw it Saturday
to win the Ford Hot Shots skills competition at
the Tim Hortons Brier.
Gushue scored 26 of a possible 30 points
to beat lead Denni Neufeld of Manitoba in the
final of the event for Brier competitors. The two
had shot-identical scores of 25 in the preliminary round Friday, 26 in Saturday’s first round
of the playoffs and 25 in the semifinals.
It wasn’t until Neufeld scored zero points
on the second-last shot of the final, the hitand-roll, that a gap between the pair appeared.
Gushue promptly stuck his hit-and-roll shot on
the button to score five and take the lead.
Gushue wins a two-year lease on a 2016
EcoBoost powered Ford Edge Sport SUV, with
an approximate retail value of $49,789.
Neufeld, who finished with 23 points in the
final, gets $2,000 as the runner-up. His skip,
Mike McEwen, receives $1,000 for third place.
“The biggest thing for me is the opportunity to throw more rocks,” said Gushue, who is
in his 13th Tim Hortons Brier. “Most years I’m
not as intense as I am in a game just because
you’re worried about the games and you don’t
want to wear yourself out.
“But I look back at the years I have made the
(Brier) playoffs, I had a much better feel for the
ice. So I had a little more focus yesterday, a little
more intensity and was able to squeak through.
“Winning the car is pretty exciting, too.
Anytime you have a chance to win a car for a
couple of years is pretty cool.”
The annual competition sees curlers attempting six different shots: Hit and Stay, Draw
the Button, Draw the Port, The Raise, Hit and
Roll and Double Takeout. Each shot is awarded
points on a scale from 0-5 depending on the end
result of the shot.
Eliminated in Saturday’s first round of the
playoffs were E.J. Harnden of Northern Ontario (21 points), preliminary-round leader Brett
Gallant of Newfoundland-Labrador (20), Brad
Jacobs of Northern Ontario (21) and Mike Kennedy of New Brunswick (23).
Advancing were Gushue, Scott Jones
of New Brunswick and Neufeld, all with 26
points, and McEwen with 24.
McEwen (21) and Scott Jones of New Brunswick (18) were eliminated in the semifinals.
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Page 10
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
Profile:
New Brunswick
Grand Falls Curling Club (Grand Falls) Coach: Grant Odishaw
Mike Kennedy
SKIP
Scott Jones
THIRD
Marc LeCocq
SECOND
Age: 53
Born: Edmundston NB
Residence: Edmundston
Marital status: Married
to Denise
Children: Myra 27, Erika
23, Kaitlyn 17
Employment: IT Manager
at Twin Rivers Paper Co.
Single greatest personal achievement:
Canadian senior men’s
curling champion
Strong likes: Boston
Bruins, technology, dry humor, first coffee in
the morning
Dislikes: Montreal Canadians, arrogance, late
night driving, dishonesty
Favorite food: Lobster
Favorite drink: Single malt scotch — Bowmore or Lagavulin
Three words that describe you: Resolved,
motivated, friendly
Most treasured possession: Kids baby
pictures
Other life interests: Golfing, reading
Words to live by: It ain’t over till it’s over
Age: 44
Born: Moncton
Residence: Moncton
Marital status: Partner
Lisa
Children: Brady 15,
Cailin 18
Employment: Chief
Financial Officer for
Blue Line Innovations Inc.
Single greatest personal achievement:
Curling in my first Brier
in 2007
Strong likes: People with common sense
Dislikes: Lack of common sense, seafood,
cigarettes and cigarette smoke
Favourite food: Medium rare bone-in ribeye
steak with twice baked potatoes
Favourite drink: A cold beer or Pepsi
Three words that describe you: Funny,
loyal and caring
Most treasured possession: A few souvenirs from the 1985 Brier
Other life interests: Golf, cooking, eating,
movies, binge watching Netflix TV shows
Jamie Brannen
David Konefal
FACTS
FIFTH
Population: 754,000
Area: 72,908 sq. km
Joined Confereration: 1867
Motto: “Hope Restored”
Capital City:
Fredericton
Languages Spoken:
65% English, 32%
French, 3% other
Economy: Foresty,
heavy metals, mixed
farming, fishing and
service-based business.
LEAD
Name: Jamie Brannen
Age: 40
Born: Windsor, NS
Residence: Fredericton
Marital status: Married
to Lesley
Children: Julie 14, Alex
10
Employment: Executive
Director, Brannen Consulting
Single greatest personal
achievement: Making my
own business work
Strong likes: Sports, kids, entertainment of
almost any kind
Favourite food: Steak and pizza
Favourite drink: Smoothie
Three words that describe you: Determined
(some say stubborn), friendly, good-person Most treasured possession: Bottle of CrownRoyal XR
Other life interests: Handy work, wood working, hiking, cottaging, motorcycle trips
Words to live by: Never give up! Keep pushing!
Age: 48
Born: Marathon, ON
Residence: Nackawic NB Marital status: Single
Children: Nicholas 28, D.J 23
Employment: A.V
Nackawic
Single greatest personal achievement: Winning
the high school provincial
curling championship
over Marc LeCocq
Strong likes: Family, friends
Dislikes: Snowstorms
Favourite food: Steak and fries
Favourite drink: Coors Light
Three words that describe you:
Competitive,easy-going, funny
Most treasured possession: My 1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs team hockey card collection
Other life interests: Golf, swimming, beaches,
camping
Age: 50
Born: Campbellton, NB
Residence: Moncton Marital status: Married
to Cathy
Children: Sarah 15, Matthew 12
Employment: Air traffic
controller
Single greatest personal achievement:
Winning the Ford Hotshots Strong likes: Sports, travel, stout beer, red
wine
Dislikes: Olives, Favourite food: Lobster
Favourite drink: Stout beer and red wine
Three words that describe you: Hardworking, determined, friendly
Most treasured possession: Golf clubs
NEW BRUNSWICK
AT THE BRIER
Last five years:
2015: Jeremy Mallais (2-9)
2014: Jamie Grattan (6-5)
2013: Jamie Grattan (5-6)
2012: Terry Odishaw (5-6)
2011: James Grattan (4-7)
Last championship — None
Canadian titles — None
World titles — None
Other prominent male curlers from New Brunswick —
Russ Howard, Mike Kennedy, Charlie Sullivan
Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
Page 11
UNOFFICIAL
HOME TEAM
Jean-Michel
Ménard
Friends, family close by
O
By JOHN KOROBANIK
Tankard Times Associate Editor
fficially, Glenn Howard and
his Ontario foursome are the
home team at this year’s Tim
Hortons Brier. Don’t be surprised,
however, to hear a ton of vocal
support in the stands for Jean-Michel
Ménard of Quebec.
While he represents the Etchemin
Curling Club in Saint-Romuald,
Ménard lives in the Ottawa area and
plays in leagues in the city. He’s sure
to have a sizable following in the
seats of TD Place arena.
So how does he feel about having
fans cheering him on at the Brier
“I will only be able to answer at
the end of the week because we have
never had a whole lot of fans cheer
for us,” he said with a hearty laugh.
“We’ll probably have more this
week and it’ll be fun.”
Ménard, the first Francophoneborn skip from Quebec to win the
Brier, which he did in 2006, lives
about 20 minutes from TD Place. So
while Howard has the home team
designation, Ménard may actually be
the local favourite.
But then, Ottawa is the country’s
capital where English and French
mesh easily, and Ontario’s Queen’s
Park this week announced it was
switching all its ketchup to French’s,
so perhaps it’s only fair the “home
team” label be split.
Hey, hold on there, laughs
Howard.
“But he’s playing out of Quebec,
he can’t possibly be the home team.
We’re the home team,” he said with
a smile and a chuckle.
“But Jean-Michel is going to have
a ton of supporters here, living in the
area. By the same token I think a lot
of fans will be cheering for Team
Ontario. It’s going to be cool.”
Ménard has lots of friends and
family who have never had a chance
to see him live at the Brier, but that
will change this week.
“I know there’s a bus driving
from Quebec City to see the first
couple of games,” he said. “And
a lot of friends I have in Gatineau
will either be coming this weekend
or during the week to get their first
taste of the Brier. They’ve seen me
on TV and I told them to try it live,
it’s quite an experience, so they
will have their first taste of the
Brier this week.”
FOR KEEPING
SCORE ON THE GO
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PROUD SPONSOR OF THE TIM HORTON’S BRIER
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Page 12
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
Hey, champs, wakey! wakey!
By DAVE KOMOSKY
Tankard Times Editor
The Tim Hortons Brier plays no
favourites — even when it comes
down to the defending champions.
The schedule in Ottawa this year
has Pat Simmons and his Team
Canada playing four of its 11 roundrobin games at 9 or 9:30 in the
morning.
If Simmons and his boys thought
they were going to sleep in a lot this
week, they can forget it.
And they better be wide awake
and bushy-tailed when they get to TD
Place because in those four games
their opponents are Saskatchewan,
P.E.I., Newfoundland/Labrador and
Alberta. It can be argued that three
of those games are heavyweight
clashes.
But that’s the way it breaks
down when you have a field full
of heavyweights, and a schedulemaker who leans toward making it a
level playing field for everybody —
including Team Canada.
“It’s strange that we have more
morning draws than evening draws,
but maybe they want to keep us out
of the Patch,” smiled John Morris,
who throws third stones for Simmons
and refused to bite on whether the
defending champs should play more
games on prime time than breakfast
time.
“It’s nothing we can control so we
don’t worry about it.”
He admiited, though, that maybe
the idea of Team Canada playing a
richer prime time schedule was worth
some discussion.
Danny Lamoreux, Curling
Canada’s Director of Championship
Services and Curling Club
Development, says there is a
template built by a programmer
that set the schedule. Each team
is assigned a number and the
computer spits out the schedule.
John Morris and teammates better get their sleep this week.
Trendy – Renovated – Refreshing – Connected
TOLL FREE 1.855.677.3033
Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
Profile:
Page 13
P.E.I.
Charlottetown Curling Complex/Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club. Coach: Lincoln Peters
Adam Casey
David Mathers
Anson Carmody
SKIP
THIRD
SECOND
Age: 26
Born: Seven Mile Bay, PE
Residence: Winsloe, PE
Marital status: Single
Employment: Industrial
Process Specialist MDS
Coating Technologies
Corporation
Single greatest personal achievement: 2016
MRDCOD Champion
Strong likes: Activities, games and markets
Dislikes: Slowness, putting
Favourite food: Thai Favourite drink: Jameson
Three words that describe you: A horrible
putter Most treasured possession: A sports memorabilia piece
Other life interests: Movies/activities
Words to live by: To give anything less than
your best is to sacrifice the gift.
Age: 24
Born: Ottawa
Residence:
Charlottetown
Marital status: Girlfriend
Employment: Maintenance assistant, Fox
Meadow Golf Club
Single greatest personal achievement:
2015 Ontario champion, 2016 PEI champion
Strong likes: Travel, aviation, food, sports
Dislikes: WWE, Adam Casey’s music selection, my putting stroke
Favourite food: Pizza
Favourite drink: Rye Ginger
Three words that describe you: Sometimes
sarcastic, generally friendly, always gullible
Most treasured possession: 2015 Casey
Sandbar Golf Champion Trophy
Other life interests: Jays, Sens, Tiger
Woods
Robbie Doherty
Ryan Giddens
FACTS
LEAD
FIFTH
Population: 146,283
Area: 5,660 sq. km
Joined Confereration: 1873
Motto: “The small under the
protection of the great”
Capital City: Charlottetown
Languages Spoken:
94% English, 4%
French, 2% other
Principal
Products: Agriculture,
tourism, fishery.
Age: 27
Born: Charlottetown
Residence:
Charlottetown
Marital status: Common
law: Jill “Duff” Duffy
Children: None
Employment: Recruitment, Holland College
Single greatest personal achievement: Monday
night Karaoke champion,
“Cheers” tavern, Halifax.
Strong likes: WWE, Seinfeld, Elvis and
country music.
Dislikes: Mustard, pickles.
Favourite food: Donair.
Favourite drink: Chocolate milk (Non alcoholic), beer and red wine (alcoholic).
Three words that describe you: Unpredictable, brave, funny.
Most treasured possession: WWF Replica
Championship Belt, Great Great Uncle’s
Olympic ring.
Age: Early 30’s
Born: St. Stephen, NB
Residence:
Charlottetown
Marital status: Married
to Meaghan Hughes
Employment: University
of Prince Edward Island
Single greatest personal achievement: Eradicating Creeping Charlie
from my neighbourhood,
WHIMIS Certification
Strong likes: Over exaggerated golf swings,
fad diets
Dislikes: Fat shaming, outturns
Favourite food: Sushi, nachos
Favourite drink: Michelob Ultra, Trius Red,
Crown Royal Northern Harvest
Three words that describe you: Slightly
overweight, handsome.
Other life interests: Golf, fantasy baseball,
Red Circle Society
Words to live by: Two ain’ts don’t make a does.
Age: 26
Born: Summerside, PE
Residence: Summerside
Marital status: Engaged
to Bethany Silliker
Children: None
Employment: Student
Single greatest personal achievement:
Curling under the tutelage
of Robert Doherty
Strong likes: Good movies
Dislikes: Bad movies
Favourite food: Curry
Favourite drink: Scotch
Three words that describe you: Cheap,
frugal, stingy
Most treasured possession: Actifry
Other life interests: Soccer, squash
Words to live by: Candy is dandy but liquor
is quicker
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND AT THE BRIER
Last five years:
2015: Adam Casey (5-6)
2014: Eddie McKenzie (4-7)
2013: Eddie McKenzie (2-9)
2012: Mike Gaudet (3-8)
2011: Eddie McKenzie (1-10)
Last championship — None
Canadian titles — None
World titles — None
Other prominent male curlers from Prince Edward
Island — Doug Cameron, Bob Dillon.
Page 14
Ready to roar.
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
Ottawa 2017
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Tickets from $24.50 curling.ca/tickets
Page 15
BRIER SCOREBOARD
STANDINGS
B.C. (Cotter)
Canada (Simmons)
New Brunswick (Kennedy)
NL (Gushue)
N. Ontario (Jacobs)
Ontario (Howard)
Alberta (K. Koe)
Manitoba (McEwen)
P. E . I . ( C a s e y ) Quebec (Ménard)
Saskatchewan (Laycock)
NWT (J. Koe)
SCHEDULE
LINESCORES
WL
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
1 0
10
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
TODAY
9 a.m. Draw
A — AB vs. NB; B — SK. vs. CA; C — ON vs. NB; D — NT vs. NO
2 p.m. Draw
A — Qual vs. CA.; B — NL vs. ON; C — AB vs. PE; D — SK vs. BC
7:30 p.m. Draw
A — PE vs. QC; B — MB vs. NB; C — NO vs. BC; D — NL vs. NT
Draw 1
2:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
NL (Gushue)
0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 — 5
N. Brunswick (Robichaud) *1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 4
Territories (Koe)
Nova Scotia (Murphy)
*0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
— 7
— 4
Canada (Simmons)
Quebec (Ménard)
*0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 x
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 x
— 7
— 2
Ontario (Howard)
Alberta (Koe)
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 — 5
*1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 4
Draw 2
7:30 p.m.
N. Ontario (Jacobs)
Sask. (Laycock)
*0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 — 6
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 — 5
PEI (Casey)
B.C. (Cotter)
*1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 x
0 2 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 x
— 4
— 8
Territories (J. Koe)
*0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 — 6
New Brunswick (Kennedy) 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 — 7
* — Last rock
Alberta skip Kevin Koe uses body English.
倀刀伀唀䐀 匀倀伀一匀伀刀 伀䘀 吀䠀䔀
㈀　㄀㘀 吀䤀䴀 䠀伀刀吀伀一匀 䈀刀䤀䔀刀
Page 16
2016 Tim Hortons Brier • Sunday, March 6, 2016
COME. BID. HELP.
Look who’s in the house
While Canada’s best male curlers duke
it out at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier for a
chance to represent the country at the 2016
Ford World Men’s Curling Championship
in Basel, Switzerland, top players from
the rest of the world are also in Ottawa to
check out the competition.
World curling champion Niklas Edin (skip)
and Oskar Eriksson (third) of Sweden were in
the audience at TD Place Saturday afternoon on
their way to compete at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of
Curling Elite 10 in Victoria, March 17-20.
“It’s probably the best Brier ever if you
look at the field, so this is a pretty great
event to watch,” said Edin. “We watched
some of the Brier last year, as well, and
Sub
FROM PAGE 8
MARCH 9-12, 2016
IN THE BRIER PATCH
ABERDEEN PAVILION, TD PLACE
Howard said Spencer was the obvious
choice to replace Middaugh, who had
to switch gears and now coaches the
Toronto team out of the St. George’s
Golf and Country Club. Plugged in to
fill the gapping hole left by Middaugh,
Howard said Spencer played “absolutely
outstanding” at the Ontario Men’s
Tankard.
“It was a perfect fit,” said Howard.
“He’d already played a couple of
after that we played our best curling the
next few weeks, won a few spiels, including
worlds.”
“This is a really good way for us to get
motivation and then try and go really hard
for the events that are left this season,”
The two-time world and four-time
European champion said he and his
teammates spent the fall training in
Ottawa and, along with watching the Brier,
are back in the nation’s capital to adjust
to the time difference between here and
their native Karlstad, Sweden. He said
they’ll also get some last-minute practice
in before taking to the ice in Victoria two
weeks from now.
bonspiels with us this year – I’ve played
with him for 25 years. He’s a gentle giant.
I love his demeanour on and off the ice,
and team dynamics is big with us.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better
transition. Hopefully the magic will
continue,” he said.
Howard said he’s not worried a bit
about his new addition under the bright
lights of the Brier.
“When you get in the hack, all you’ve
got to do is concentrate for four seconds.
And he’s really good at that, divorcing
himself from outside influences,” Howard
said. “I don’t expect anything different
here.”
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