The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 23

SPORTS TUESDAY, PKIiltl'AKY 8. 2000 BS THE OTTAWA CITIZKN Bfoffatt: Runs Harris out of chances Nokia Cup dials up range of numbers 2 I 11 1" ilium 1 1.1 iumi ir I In 1 CMS 8 1 1 RE BtCCA STEVENSON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN I I fir MP- Continued from page Bi A steal of one in the fifth end put Moffiitt's rink ahead by five. Harris and his team scored three in the sixth, narrowing the deficit to 6-4, but Moffatt scored another single in the seventh. In the eighth, Rajala wrecked on a guard, with his shooter rolling into the house, giving Harris's team a hit to count three. However, Hart's takeout ticked off another rock, and Moffatt made a beautiful double takeout to count two.

Harris was forced to draw for a single with last rock, and the Toronto skip never got another chance to make up the difference. In the all-Ottawa matchup last night, Jeff McCrady's Rideau team downed Bryan Cochrane's RCMP foursome by a 7-2 score. The Rideau rink scored three in the third and kept pressing for more, filling the house with rocks time and tiem again, forcing Cochrane to make some excellent defensive shots. By the time it was all over, McCrady, Jim Hunker, Morgan Currie and Michael Stachon were the ones walking off the ice with a 1-0 record. "We got that three, and I think we caught them a bit off guard," McCrady said.

"We had been playing a pretty clean game up until then, but we had them in trouble most of the time. "Even on their steal (in the seventh), we had a pretty good chance to get a deuce there, but we missed the sweeping call." Cochrane admitted he and teammates Bill Gamble, Ian MacAulay and Mike Pastuch were on the ropes for much of the game. "We've got the favourites coming up soon, and it would have been nice to In this year's Ontario men's curling championship, the demographics of the curlers on the 10 teams in competition aren't really surprising, given that most of them live along the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. One-half of the curlers have white-collar jobs, while most of the rest are scattered about in classrooms, on farms and with curling clubs and a police force. There are also a handful of tradesmen and one student.

The oldest player competing in this edition of the Nokia Cup is Ted Smith, the 47-ycar-oId lead on Kevin Breivik's rink. The youngest player in action, 23-year-old second Wayne Tuck, also plays for Breivik. Rideau skip Jeff McCrady, who began curling at age 5, owns the distinction of getting in the game the earliest. In terms of team experience, none of the other nine can match Bryan Cochrane's RCMP rink, with a combined total of 111 years, with third Bill Gamble's 35 years leading the pack. All but seven curlers were born in Ontario, with P.E.I., Manitoba and Saskatchewan producing two competitors each.

Collin Mitchell, the lead with Mike Harris's rink, arrived here via the Bahamas. Here, then, is the average curler in this year's provincial championship: He turned 35 in December, started curling just before his 13th birthday and now wears a suit and tie to work, stands a tad under six feet tall (Chris Fulton, the second with Rich Moffatt's team is the tallest at 6-6) and weighs 185 pounds. He's a dad, too, with 1.2 kids, and almost certainly a lot better curler than most of the people watching the action. I REBECCA STEVENSON. THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Sweepers Chris Fulton, left, and Paul Madden prepare to get to work on skip Rich Moffatt's first rock of the third end in the opening draw of the Ontario men's curling championships last night.

Tam Heather skip Mike Harris prepares to deliver a stone in his match against Rich Moffatt of Rideau last night. start out with a win," he said. "Still, 8-1 (in the round-robin) wouldn't be too bad." In other opening-round matchups, Middaugh's team did what it was expected to do, blowing open a close game in the eighth end and going on to beat a 9-4 victory against Kevin Breivik's foursome from St. Thomas. Peter Corner's Glendale team also made an eighth-end move, stealing four from Peter Mellor's Chesley foursome en route to an 8-3 win.

In the last matchup of the opening draw, Kirk Ziola and his team from Highland survived a late surge by Rob Rumfeldt's Guelph crew for a 9-6 win. Today at 1:30 p.m., the matchups feature Moffatt against Middaugh, Cochrane against Breivik and McCrady against Harris. Ontario men's curling championship Tiebreakers: If necessary, at 11 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday Playoffs: Semifinal, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

Final: Sunday, 1 p.m. At stake: A berth in the Labatt Brier national curling championship next month in Saskatoon. What: The Nokia Cup Ontario men's curling championship Where: Steve Yzerman Arena, Nepean Sportsplex Round-robin schedule: Today, 1:30 and 7 p.m., tomorrow and Thursday, 1 and 7 p.m., Friday at 2 and 7 p.m. Brother-sister act has chance to make junior curling headlines 1 wnm in: lilifip I Joe Scharf, sister Krista skip Northern Ontario entries (2J "11 m. 4 if: i a MM is" I fill The schedule this week features the same men's and women's provincial teams playing each other simultaneously on adjoining sheets of ice.

That means whenever Joe Scharf is on the ice, Krista Scharf and her rink are playing on the very next sheet. The close proximity is wearing Krista Scharf out. "I'm skipping my team and watching my brother's game, too," she said with a laugh. "No wonder I'm so drained." The Scharf siblings do discuss their games, but not while they're in progress. "There's no time to talk during the games," said Joe Scharf.

"I'll help her in any way I can, so we talk about the games and situations later." Joe Scharf, a plumber's assistant, admits a double win would be the thrill of a lifetime. "The good thing right now is we're both playing well. It's all positive and we're having a lot of fun," he said. Also having a blast are their parents, Ralph and Linda. Ralph Scharf constantly holds a sheet of folded paper in his hands, with the men's standings on one side and the women's on the other.

"It's hectic, but we're loving it," said Scharf with a smile. "They're curling great and having lots of fun that's the main thing right now." The Canadian Press 7 ,150331 MONCTON, N.B. A talented brother-and-sister act is taking aim at a historic double at the Canadian junior curling championships. Near the top in the men's and women's standings are the Northern Ontario rinks skipped by Joe Scharf, 20, and his younger sister, Krista, 17, both of Thunder Bay. The Canadian championship has had brother-sister winners before, but never in the same year.

"It would be wonderful," said Joe Scharf. At the halfway point of the round-robin, the men's leaderboard has Brad Kuhn of British Columbia and Jason Young of Ontario tied for first at 5-1, followed by Scharf, New Brunswick's Rob Heffernan, Newfoundland's Brad Gushue and Saskatchewan's Brock Montgomery all at 4-2. Scharf was tied for first, but he was beaten 5-4 by Montgomery in last night's late draw. On the women's side, Stefanie Miller of Saskatchewan leads the standings with a perfect 6-0 record, with Krista Scharf second at 5-1. In a key head-to-head match last night, Miller recorded four deuces and edged Scharf 9-7.

"Getting the deuces and then holding them down was key," said Miller. "We expected a tough game, and it was. They really made us work." TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 7pm 0 CAROLINA HURRICANES) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 7pm Twelve NBA players positive for marijuana TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING) ft 1 tv Breakaway for a few No penalty. Testyour manual dexterity with Hockey Breakaway, and put a whole new spin on hockey. All you need is a java-enabled jf ,0 NEW YORK Twelve NBA players tested positive for marijuana during training camp last fall, the New York Times reported yesterday.

More than 500 players and coaches were tested for marijuana and other drugs, and the 12 positive results came from a group of 430 players who made opening day rosters, said the report, which cited league sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. 1 "This marks a step forward for the NBA," said Rob Houseman, the deputy director of strategic planning for the White House Drug Control Policy Office. "It's a mixed bag. On one hand, it's probably accurate 12 out of 430 players did test positive. Part of that is, they knew when the tests were going to be given.

Part of that also has to do with a tremendous deterrence effect. That shouldn't be discounted." Marijuana, steroids, amphetamines and LSD were added to the league's drug agreement with the players' union during the last round of collective bargaining talks. Previously, players were only tested for cocaine and heroin. Players were told months in advance when they would be tested. Anyone testing positive must enter the league's aftercare program.

A second positive test for marijuana results in a fine of $15,000 and if a player tests positive a third time he can be suspended for five games. Players cannot be dismissed from the league for marijuana use, but they can serve continuous five-game suspensions. A single positive test for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines or LSD can result in banishment from the game. browser and your keyboard. The SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED SO ORDER YOURS TODAY! (Refer to Offer 21) Funplanet arena is call 755-1 166.

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