The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 53

Sports 3, The Leader-Post Regina March 4, 1994 TV Radio MeetItheBrier Skips ffntrasiD mD sttnDD lb third Phil Loevenmark finished third at the 1993 mixed championship tn Swift Current Ruse Howard, Penetanguishene, Seventh Brier appearance and fourth straight Defending Canadian and world champion Holds record lor victories by a skip (59) and will set mark for appearances with eight Ghlslain Doyon, Amos, First Brier appearance Only left-handed skip in the field Lead Martin Oervais, 19, is the youngest player In the field. Brian Dobson, Saint John, N.B. Fourth trip to the Brier but first as a skip Was fifth for father Arnie in 1984 and third for Gary Mitchell in 1987 and 1989 Third Charlie Sullivan won 1907 Canadian and 1988 world junior with brother Jim as the skip Alan O'Leary, Dartmouth, N.S.: First repeat provincial champion since Alan Darragh in 1979 O'Leary was 2-9 at last years Brier Mark Gaudet, Charlottetown, P.E.I. First Bner appearance Was third at 92 Canadian juniors Youngest team at 21 75 years. Mark Noseworthy, St.

John's, Third Bner appearance Was 8-4 in 1987 and 6-6 in 1982 Was beaten 8-6 by Berme Sparkes in the 1987 semifinal Second Rob Thomas was a second with Gary Oke at 1993 Bner and was a lead with Nosewoithy in 1 987. Robert Andrews, Atlin, B.C. (YukonNWT) First Bner appearance Youngest skip at 20 First rink to represent one province or territory but live In another since Joe Heartwell's Rosetown team represented Alberta in 1928. Rick Folk, Kelowna, B.C.: Second consecutive appearance and filth overall Won the championship Iri 1980 while curling out of Saskatoon Has finished second In his other four appearances Third Pat Ryan won Canadian championships In 1988 and 1989 Oldest team, averaging 40 25 years. Ed Lukowich, Calgary; Seventh Brier appearance Canadian champion In 1976 and 1986; world champ In '86 Lukowich, 48, is the oldest player In the field Second Dan Petryk was on Kevin Martin's Brier champion (1 991 Doug Harcourt, Quill Lake: First Brier appearance Beat Saskatoon's Mark Dacey 3-2 in a best-of-five provincial showdown Lead Brian Wempe is one of lour lefties in the field.

Dave Smith, Winnipeg First Brier appearance Manitoba has won 23 Canadian men's championsnips Lead Charlie. Satina was fifth for Northern Ontario's Rick Lang in 1993 and played in one game. Scott Patterson, North Bay, Onl First Bner appearance First North Bay nnk to represent Northern Ontario since 1955 Patterson and Farm foursome ready for Brier "Im happy with the way we played and conducted ourselves this week," Anderson said. We know we can beat any of these teams. Western provinces are noted for strong curling teams.

I know the rest of Canada didnt know Sherry Anderson and her team from a hole in the ground. Now they know us and theyll know us better when we get back here next year. Since Team Canada the defending champs started participating in the Scott in 1986, only one team has repeated as Canadian champion Thunder Bays Heather Houston in 1989. Peterson, Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit are attempting to beome the second. The final is Saturday at noon on CBC-TV.

Peterson and her rink dont plan on waiting around to see who will be in the final. We learned a lesson last year about watching the semifinal, McCusker said. "We wont be around to get all revved up. Its hard to get sleep that night as it is. It didnt matter who we played, but as (last years semifinal) wore on, we were getting really nervous.

We were just gagging because we were so nervous. It was terrible. It was one of those things we had to experience and we can draw on that experience and say its cool, its alright Team Canada may not care who makes the final, but it is cheering for Anderson. If we have two Saskatchewan teams in the final it would be unbelievable, Betker said. Any time you have two teams from the same province in the final its unique.

CP photo second By ARDITH STEPHANSON L-P Sports Writer KITCIIENER-WATERLOO Television ratings for the womens national curling final could go through the roof in Saskatchewan. The possibility of an all-Saskatchewan final exists at the Scott Tournament of Hearts. Sandra Peterson's Team Canada foursome from the Callie earned first place and a bye to Saturdays final with a 10-1 record. Prince Alberts Sherry Anderson, representing Saskatchewan, finished in a three-way tie for third place. Anderson (74) was to compete in the second tiebreaker (1 p.m.) against the winner of this mornings tiebreaker (8:30 a.m.).

Manitobas Connie Laliberte (8-3) finished second and is in todays semifinal (6:30 p.m.). All three games are on TSN. Weve got strong curlers in Saskatchewan, Peterson said. It took us 13 years before we won it last year. Thats not indicative of the players in Saskatchewan.

Its coming to the forefront now. Before Petersons Canadian title last year, the last Saskatchewan rink to win a national title was the Callies Marj Mitchell, who also went on to win the world title in 1980. Peterson had to win one of her two games Thursday to clinch first place. She accomplished that in her first game with a 7-6 victory over B.C.s Diane Dalio in the morning. She also beat Quebecs Agnes Charette 64 in the afternoon.

We came in thinking we wanted 8-3 as a record, said Peterson, who was 8-0 before losing to Laliberte on Wednesday. "Last year we decided on 9-2. This year we wanted a different goal because its a new year. BMEnroNlTY Manitobas Connie Laliberte finished Spectator rats on Laliberte and things arent going well, the game could be over. Any player being honest would say thats the way to go.

Peterson gets the hammer and the choice of rocks in Saturdays final. She picked the red rocks from sheet which she used to beat Saskatchewan 10-2 and to crush Ontario 10-1. Both games ended after six ends. And apparently surprise, surprise red is their favorite color Commentators Linda Moore and Ray Turnbull, who freelance for TSN, were hoping for as many tiebreakers as possible. The two are paid by the game.

There will be two tiebreakers and a semifinal today Newfoundlands Laura Phillips, who finished with a 74 record and made a tiebreaker, competed in only one bonspiel this season. Three members of Petersons rink led their positions for shooting percentage Peterson at skip, 80 per cent; Jan Betker at third, 83; and, Joan McCusker at second, 85. Marcia Gudereit was third among leads at 83. The team was first at 83 Tuning In (By Arditft Stephansoni Dominant favorites could hurt Brier KITCHENER-WATERLOO -TSN is probably hoping the Brier wont be a dud this year. Veteran curlers Russ Howard of Ontario, Rick Folk of B.C.

and Ed Lukowich of Alberta should dominate the Labatt Brier Canadian mens curling championship, which begins Saturday and runs through March 13 in Red Deer. Their dominance could make for some blowouts. Its top-heavy," TSN commentator Ray Turnbull said. There's no question Howard and Folk will be the two favorites. Its a foregone conclusion.

They were in the final last year and Folk wants it badly. The addition of the free guard zone should help keep games exciting. Teams can come back from big deficits with the rule. But Howard, the defending Canadian and world champion, should be the class of the event. An unknown is Quill Lakes Doug Ilarcourt, who is attending his first Brier.

No one is sure how this years Saskatchewan representative will do. I dont know anything about the Saskatchewan rink, Turnbull said. Vic Peters won his first Brier (in 1992) and Kevin Martin won his first Brier (in 1991). You never know." TSN has live daily coverage of the round-robin, with Turnbull, Vic Ranter and Linda Moore calling the action. CBC-TV takes over for the semifinal and final.

STN has sent writerproduc-er Kevin Karius and cameraman Gord Barnett to the Scott Tournament of Hearts here. Karius and Barnett, who are from Prince Alberts CKBI-TV, are collecting behind-the-scenes footage of Prince Albert's Sherry Anderson and Team Canadas Sandra Peterson, who are competing at the Scott. Theyll edit the footage when they return to Prince Albert 1 and produce a half-hour show, called Draw to the Heart. Well have that big mountain of tape again," said Karius, who has also produced a behind-the-scenes look at the WHLs P.A. Raiders.

It wont be all highlights as little as possible because its after the fact. Everybody knows if theyve won or lost. The show will air March 12, 6:30 p.m., on the STN network, including CKCK-TV. Sports Journal will be pre-empted that day. Only CFQC Saskatoon wont air the show then, preferring to hold off until a later date.

Turnbull is curling in the Canadian senior mens championship, which runs March 19-26 in Moose Jaw. Barry Fry, Don Duguid, Terry Braunstein and Turnbull won the Manitoba senior mens championship. All four members of the rinkhave won Canadian mens titles in the past. Turnbull has been practising daily at the Scott. Duguid arrived Wednesday and the pair plan to practise together at the Scott and the Brier.

Duguid, Don Wittman and Colleen Jones are CBCs curling commentators. CBC Radio has decided not to send a reporter to the world curling championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Last year, Winnipeg's Robin Brown went to Geneva to cover the victories of Howard and Peterson. TSN has been having trouble with its signal from the Scott TSN engineers think its a problem with Bell's fibre optic system. When the level of the video signal drops, the fibre optic cuts out killing the audio and video signal.

TSN also expects problems later this month because of sun spots. BEST BETS: TSN begins its preseason baseball coverage on Saturday with a World Series rematch Toronto and Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m.; Hockey Night in Canada offers up a weekend doubleheader Toronto at Quebec, Saturday, 7 p.m.; and, Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, Sunday, 1 p.m.; and, TSN has an NHL doubleheader on Monday St. Louis at Toronto, 6.30 p.m.; and, Florida at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. (Tuning In appears Fridays.) By MURRAY McCORMICK L-P Sports Writer Shortly after the 1994 Labatt Tankard, Quill Lakes Doug Harcourt received a card from Lembergs Don Gardiner congratulating him on his victory. Gardiner, who won the 1987 Saskatchewan mens curling championship, also noted in the card how similar the rinks appeared to be.

Gardiner, Garry Krupski, Ray Krupski and Mark Krupski were an all-farmer team, the same as Harcourt, Kevin Kalthoff, Greg Harcourt and Brian Wempe. Gardiner also exploded on to the curling scene as a relative unknown. Gardiner qualified for the provincial championship in 1986, the same way Harcourt did in 1993 before he won it all. Harcourt has also earned a trip to the Brier, which starts Saturday in Red Deer. When I was watching it on TV, I thought those guys were feeling the same way we were feeling at the time, Gardiner said from Lemberg.

But Gardiner, along with the rest of the province, hopes the similarities end there because he went on to post a 1-10 record at the Brier in Edmonton. Thats the worst any Saskatchewan rink has performed in the mens national spotlight. I hope they do well," Gardiner says. And I think they will as long as they dont get on that downhill run. Its hard to get off.

Harcourt is aware of Gardiners performance the last time the Brier was held in Alberta. Thats everybodys worst fear, he says from Quill Lake. You go to the Brier and you dont curl well. Were not considering that. Were completely looking at making the playoffs and winning it all." Harcourt is also confident in the ability of his rink.

I dont want to insult Don, but were more confident than I heard he was, Harcourt says. But Ive Doug Don Live At tape delay of previous night's draw If necessary; 8 pm. (one game); 3 p.m., and 8 pm. (two games); 3 p.m., 8 and 11 p.m. (three games).

never met him. Considering the similarities, its' practically impossible to avoid asking Gardiner if there was anything he would have done differently to" try to avoid a 1-10 record. You have to get back! up into the same level of. competitiveness at the provincial, Gardiner' says. That was the hard-, est part for us.

We, couldn't get back into' that same mood. The teams there are very! good and you have to be sharp for every game. Gardiner can live with his legacy, even though if took him quite a while to get over losing 10 games. It bothered me for a long time after, he says.j As well it should, I sup- pose. Im slowly getting over it.

He can also live with, the notoriety and the fact it will require Saskatchewan rink tot stumble through the; Brier without a victory; for his rink to be erased from the record book. i It will be tough to beat that Gardiner says. But if thats how they want to know me, then they arent my friends. Harcourt Gardiner -tein When we hit eight wins we didnt think about going for three straight losses. We changed it (Thursday) morning so were in the final.

Anderson beat Nova Scotias Colleen Jones 8-7 in an extra end in the morning, but lost 9-6 to Ontarios Anne Merklinger in the afternoon. Anderson then had to watch the evening draw and hope for a loss by either Laliberte or P.E.I.s Shelly Danks. Laliberte beat Dalio 10-5 to knock Dalio out of contention, but Newfoundlands Laura Phillips downed Danks 64. Anderson, Danks and Phillips all finished at 7-4. Anderson earned a bye to the second tiebreaker because she beat Danks and Phillips in the round-robin.

victory over Albertas Gloria Palinkas, and set a record. Jones, who is competing in her 10th Scott, has the most victories ever (67) by a woman at the Canadian championship. She broke the record of 66 held by Newfoundlands Sue Anne Bartlett, who has competed in 12 Scotts. Jones finished with a 4-7 record. Saskatchewan fifth Kathy Fahlman has helped her team with various superstitious routines.

Early in the week, she wrote jingles and sang them to Sherry Andersons Prince Albert rink. After Anderson lost to B.C. on Tuesday, Fahlman stopped singing. Anderson went on a four-game winning streak. Now Fahlman has a routine where she eats candies, delivered to her by the tournament physiotherapist, before each game.

Fahlman has also been throwing rocks daily in case she needs to play. There have been several school tours bringing children to the Waterloo Recreation Complex. They have been collecting autographs from various curlers, especially Peterson and Team Canada. As long as they keep every single autograph, Peterson joked. Actually its pretty important for these kids to be here.

The future of curling is in those kids. Peterson, who has earned a berth in Saturdays final (noon, CBC-TV), would prefer a one-sided victory. Why wouldnt you like to have a blowout? Peterson said. Its easier on your nerves and its good for confidence. You can give up a point here or there.

If you give up a deuce on the rocks to curl as well as Marcia has all week, but it was fun. I havent had to do too much. Last year there were things I could help them with. This year theyre focused and I dont need to do much. It was nice to get to throw.

I cant be a fifth player, added Gudereit, who will play in Saturdays final. I sat and ate popcorn and popsicles. All four members of the Ford family have now played in Canadian curling championships. Fords daughters, Atina and Cindy, won the Canadian junior title in 1990. Anitas husband, Gary, played lead at four consecutive national mens championships 1968, 69, '70 and 71 with Bob Pickering.

Gary is at the Scott but Atina and Cindy are at home. My husband is running around prouder than punch, said Anita, who curled 78 per cent and was seventh among leads. His wife finally got to curl and didn't embarass him. By ARDITH STEPHANSON L-P Sports Writer KITCHENER-WATERLOO Manitobas Connie Laliberte says theres a Saskatchewan hex at the Scott Tournament of Hearts. During her victory over Sandra Peterson at the Canadian womens curling championship on Wednesday, Laliberte thought a fan was trying to jinx her while she delivered her rocks.

I dont usually hear anything but I think a guy was trying to hex me with the rat thing, Laliberte said of the squeaky rats used by Team Canadas fans. "Every time I got in the hack and I went to concentrate, I heard this, De de. I thought, I think hes doing this every time. I dont know why. Normally I dont hear things like that.

I just heard it all the time in the hack and I think he was trying to hex me. I thought, Forget it. I thought about the shot and thats it. The tactic obviously didn't work, as Laliberte beat Peterson 6-5 in an extra end. Manitoba was the only rink to beat Team Canada in the round-robin.

Laliberte received a rose from a fan after her 84 victory over Ontario on Thursday morning. A little boy gave it to me, Laliberte said with a rare show of emotion. I feel like a figure skater. Nova Scotias Colleen Jones won her final game at the Scott, an 11-6 Ford finally By ARDITH STEPHANSON L-P Sports Writer KITCHENER-WATERLOO Anita Ford finally got to contribute on the ice. Ford, the fifth for Sandra Petersons Team Canada rink from the Callie, replaced lead Marcia Gudereit, who had a migraine headache, for Thursday afternoons meaningless 6-4 victory over Quebec.

Peterson had already clinched first place and a bye to the final. Ford has been Peterson's fifth at all three of the team's Scott appearances 1991, 1993 and this year but she had yet to play. It was fun, said Anita, who skips her own team out of the Callie. There was a bit of pressure trying Sat. Sun.

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