Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 72

E8 CALGARY HERALD Friday. February 16. 2007 SPORTS No keeping up with Jones 1 Scott has quiet season unlike her counterpart ALLEN CAMERON Calgary Herald For the most part, Kelly Scott's Canadian champs have flown under the radar in the lead-up to their attempt to repeat at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The team they beat in last year's final? Uh, not so much. While Scott's Kelowna, B.C., foursome, rounded out by third Jeanna Schraeder, second Sasha Carter and a'j2r Mi Skip Kelly Scott didn't have to worry nately, the public doesn't really know everything that happened; it was a difficult decision, we put a lot of thought into it It does happen in other sports, and we know why it happened, and we felt it was a decision we had to make." Jones, who bowed to Scott in last year's championship game in London, managed to put the controversy behind her with a solid run at the Manitoba championship to earn her fourth trip to the Tournament of Hearts.

Scott, meanwhile, didn't need to worry about the playdowns grind this season and will wear Team Canada colours in Lethbridge in hopes of seeking a second straight trip to the world about the playdowns grind this year championship; she finished third in last year's worlds in Grande Prairie. "We are ready, we are so ready to actually go and play in the event we've waited all season to play in," said Scott, 29, whose team opened the season with a bang by winning the Grand Slam Trail Appliances Autumn Gold in Calgary at Thanksgiving. Scott's team has been relatively inactive since Christmas, attending a bon-spiel in Switzerland, where it made the semifinals before losing to world and Olympic champ Anette Norberg of Sweden. Other than that, it's been practice, practice, practice. "We've had a month at home prepar as Herald Archive, Canadian Press she will sport Team Canada colours.

ing and practising and we're ready to go," promised Scott. Last year's finalists will be among the favourites in a 12-team field that includes 1998 Olympic gold-medallist Jan Betker of Saskatchewan, 2000 Canadian and world champ Kelley Law of New Westminster, B.C., 1996 Tournament of Hearts runner-up Cheryl Bernard of Alberta and former Canadian junior champs Suzanne Gaudet of P.E.I. and Jill Mouzar of Nova Scotia. "There's a good strong field; even picking the top three at the end of the week is a tough chore," said Scott, ACAMERONTHEHERALD.CANWEST.COM CREW 1.0 PEP MONTH 36 MONTHS DOWN I 2007. Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's curling championship When Saturday through Feb.

25. Where Enmax Centre, Lethbridge. Format 12-team round-robin, top four teams make the playoffs. At stake Canadian championship; a berth in the world championship March 17 to 25 in Aomori, Japan; berths in the 2007 Continental Cup and 2008 Strauss Canada Cup; Sport Canada funding ($144,000 over two years); 2009 Olympic Trials qualifying points. TV coverage TSN showing two or three round-robin draws daily; CBC showing the semifinal Feb.

24 and the final Feb. 25. Herald Predictions The Favourites Alberta, Manitoba, Team Canada. The Dark Horse NewfoundlandLabrador. On the Playoff Bubble B.C., Saskatchewan, YukonNorthwest Territories.

Not Quite There Yet. But Watch Out in a Couple of Years Nova Scotia. Enjoy Your Visit to Lethbridge P.E.I., New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec. The Winner Alberta beats Manitoba in the final. Bernard's bunch proved its mettle in the toughest provincial field in the nation.

The Field (Teams listed as skip, third, second, lead, alternate and coach) Team Canada Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter, Renee Simons, Michelle Allen, Gerry Richard (Kelowna, B.C.). B.C Kelley Law, Georgina Wheat-croft, Shannon Aleksic, Darah Provencal, Stephanie Jackson, Brent Giles (New Westminster). Alberta Cheryl Bernard, Susan O'Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire, Cori Bar-tel, Vicki Sjolie, Dennis Balderston (Calgary). Saskatchewan Jan Betker, Lana Vey, Nancy Inglis, Marcia Gudereit, Sherry Linton, Gene Friesen (Regina). Manitoba Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Officer, Janet Arnott, Kristen Williamson, Connie Lal-iberte (Winnipeg).

Ontario Krista Scharf, Tara George, Tiffany Stubbings, Lorraine Lang, Heather Houston, Tom Coulterman (Thunder Bay). Quebec Chantal Osborne, Cheryl Morgan, Catherine Derick, Sylvie Daniel, Brenda Nicholls, Andre Ferland (Thurso). New Brunswick Sandy Comeau, Denise Nowlan, Marie-Ann Power, Jeanette Murphy, Jane Boyle, Charlie Sullivan (Moncton). Nova Scotia Jill Mouzar, Meredith Harrison, Teri Lake, Hayley Clarke, Mary Mattatall (Halifax). P.EI.

Suzanne Gaudet, Robyn MacPhee, Carol Webb, Stefanie Clark, Sinead Dolan, Terry Smith (Charlottetown). NewfoundlandLabrador Heather Strong, Shelley Nichols, Laura Strong, Susan O'Leary, Cathy Cunningham, Erin McGowan (St. John's). YukonNorthwest Territories Kerry Koe, Monique Gagnier, Kelli Turpin, Dawn Moses, Nicole Baldwin, Fred Koe (Yellowknife). GOLF 'Invincible' Harrington shoots 63 DOUG FERGUSON The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Padraig Harrington is a newcomer to the Nissan Open, still not sure when to hit the brakes and when to fire at the flags.

He chose the latter Thursday and zoomed past Phil Mickelson and everyone else at Riviera with an 8-under 63. Harrington opened with three straight birdies. He ran off four in a row after making the turn, and even picked one up on the tough 15th hole when his 5-iron hit the pin and settled four feet away. His only bogey came from a three-putt on the par-3 14th, and the Irishman had a reasonable explanation for that "At this stage, I'm feeling invincible," he said. "I didn't think I was ever not going to make birdie." It gave him a three-shot lead over Mickelson and Briny Baird, with Jim Furyk another shot behind.

Calgary's Stephen Ames sits nine strokes behind Harrington in a tie for 77th after firing a i-over 72. Mike Weir of Bright' Grove, finished tied for nrth place after shooting 3-over 74. It was seven years ago this week that Weir, a two-time Nissan Open champion, first entered the top 50 in the world ranking. He didn'tfall out of the top 50 until last week, slipping to No. 51.

Weir continues to struggle, while going through swing changes. Darkness halted play with six players still on the course. AT TEJE TOP SPEAKS FOR ITSELF I i I II I a i 1 -II i 1 i- I I fill -1 I lead Renee Simons, has had a relatively quiet season, 2005 Canadian champ Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg has had anything but going into the 2007 Tournament of Hearts, which kicks off Saturday at the Enmax Cen Jennifer Jones tre in Lethbridge. Despite heading into the holidays as the top-ranked outfit on the Canadian Team Ranking System, Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham and second Jill Officer decided to make a change at lead, dumping Dana Allerton who'd joined the team prior to the season and replacing her, for now, with 50-year-old Janet Arnott, who'd been the alternate. "You know what? To be perfectly honest, the only people who are making a big deal out of it are the newspapers," said the 32-year-old Jones, apparently blissfully unaware of the howls of outrage the move generated on Internet curling forums.

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