The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 32

D4 Sports The Leader-Post Regina Monday, February 14, 2000 pegaiiriiDseir's safeifiedl fstia' A championship overall attracted 6,500. Reginas Sandra Schmlrler was here then and won the 1997 provincial championship. Schmirler, a three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist, is one of the biggest draws in competitive sports. The men dont attract fans at the level of Schmirlers team. Weve got a good nucleus and background but we dont have that big team, said Gilewich.

To accomplish that we have to win the Brier. Then they have to stay together and be dominant for a number of years. Then the reverse happens and people wont come because they win all the time. It's tough. The organizing committee did its job here.

They have numerous sponsors and have worked at making the Tankard the big event in the city. They expect to turn a profit of approximately $20,000, which will help keep the Swift Current Curling Club viable for a few more years. Still, all of those empty seats To the casual curling fan, they might read something into it, Shoemaker said, The bottom line is did we get people out watching some great curling? Was it a great event? And did the host committee make a little money for their curling club? If thats what happened, then its a good event. said the attendance was approximately 8,500 for the 11 draws here. Sundays final, which Saskatoons Bruce Korte won with a 10-5 victory over Strongfields Glen Despins, had an announced attendance of 950.

The total compares to 7,500 in Meadow Lake last year. The SCA was prepared for the attendance hit in Meadow Lake. The event was looked upon as a reward for the areas loyalty to the association and spreading the game of curling throughout the province. Improvements were expected here. Swift Current has a larger arena which can seat 2,300 for curling, more hotel rooms and a larger population from which to draw.

There have been improvements, but only marginally. "In Yorkton (1993) they packed it and Melville (1998) it was really good, said the Callies Randy Gilewich, who lost Saturdays semifinal 9-5 to Korte before a sparse gathering. Maybe the Civic Centre was too big. It was difficult to avoid comparisons to the 1997 Scott Tournament of Hearts, which was held at the Civic Centre. The 1997 championship was the first time a Saskatchewans womens championship was held in an arena-setting.

The final drew more than 1,100 spectators and the By MURRAY McCORMICK L-P Sports Writer SWIFT CURRENT Theories abound about the large number of empty seats at the Centennial Civic Centre for the Pool Tankard Saskatchewan mens curling championship. The weather, Swift Currents distance from Regina and Saskatoon, the lack of a marquee rink at the competitive mens level and the relative closeness to the upcoming Labatt Brier in Saskatoon are some of the reasons which were expressed. Those are legitimate excuses for the dearth of fans in the seats. But there doesnt appear to be a final answer to how many want to watch the crowning of a Tankard champion. When you compare Tankards in Melville, Meadow Lake and Swift Current, theyre all about the same, said Jerry Shoemaker, the Saskatchewan Curling Associations liaison for the Pool Tankard.

When you set the record (like in Melfort), you raise the bar and thats not fair to the other committees. You have to look at the average, which is about 7,000 to 9,000. Were not pressing the panic button because were right about our average. Despins impressed by Korte who was Saskatchewan's leading money winner on the World Curling Tour with $42,000 in earnings. When you dont, its a great feeling of disappointment.

Now I know how the other teams felt when we were getting our Purple Hearts. We have to regroup and get ready for the WCT players championship in March. The Despins team is a blended one. Paulsen lives in Strongfield. Mihalicz and Despins both live in Regina.

Germain lives in Saskatoon. Despins expects the team to be together again for another season, if not longer. We have a solid team right through the lineup, Despins We showed that because we made it to the final. Only one team can go, thats the way the Tankard works. Associated Press Vince Carter passes the ball through his legs before dunking it Carter soars above dunk competitors of 950 had filed out of the Civic Centre.

Hes going to be tough at the Brier. Hes got a good chance at bringing the title back to Saskatchewan. Despms, who curls with Art Paulsen, Dwayne Mihalicz and Phil Germain, earned a bye into Sundays final after finishing first in the round-robin portion of the Tankard with a 6-2 record on Saturday. It was the third time in the Tankard final for Despins and Mihalicz. The two won provincial titles in 1996 and 1998 as a third and second respectively with Moose Jaws Rod Montgomery.

Yesterday was the first time Despins had suffered a defeat in a Tankard final. Were out here to win, said Despins, By MURRAY McCORMICK L-P Sports Writer SWIFT CURRENT If Glen Despins was wearing a hat, he would have tipped it in the direction of Saskatoon's Bruce Korte. Despins, who skipped his Strongfield team into the final of the Pool Tankard Saskatchewan mens curling championship, knew his team was beaten by the best rink in the province. That was evident after Korte beat Despins 10-5 in Sundays final at the Centennial Civic Centre with some spectacular shotmaking. It doesnt matter what the shot is, he's got all of them in his tool kit, Despins said after an announced crowd OAKLAND, Calif.

(CP) What Vince Carter found hardest about the NBAs slam dunk competition was realizing hed won it. Some of the dunks I didnt even know I could do, the second-year superstar for the Toronto Raptors said Saturday after receiving perfect scores in three of his five dunks. I made some of these dunks up on the fly. I cant let it sink in yet. Its still hard for me believe that I actually was just in the NBA dunk contest.

Not only was the 23-year-old in it, he dominated, scoring 98 points in the final two-dunk round. Houston Rockets rookie Steve Francis was second with 91 points and Carter's teammate and cousin Tracy McGrady finished third with 72 after missing his final dunk. Carter, last years top rookie, didnt disappoint the soldout crowd at the Oakland Coliseum or an international national television audience, despite the pressure of going into it as the favourite. I didnt feel any pressure, said the 6-foot-6 swingman. I approached it as an opportunity to participate, have a little fun with my cousin and show the world some of my talents.

Francis, chosen second overall in last years draft by Vancouver but traded when he refused to play for the Grizzlies, kept the competition close. I made him work for it at the end, said Francis. Hes definitely incredible. Carter, who led voting for Sundays all-star game, didnt waste time thrilling the crowd. His opening dunk, a 360-degree, one-hand windmill, had everyone on their feet, waving placards with 10s on them.

The five-judge panel Isiah Thomas, Cynthia Cooper, Rick Barry, George (Ice Man) Gervin and Kenny Smith agreed, awarding him a perfect 50. But it was Carters third and final dunk of the first round that made a statement. Carter took a bounce pass from McGrady one first-round dunk had to be done in co-ordination with a teammate brought the ball under his right leg while he was in the air and then slammed it through the hoop. The move brought the judges out of their seats and Thomas jumped on th scorers table to cheer. It made me say ohh, it made me saw ahh and then I just jumped, said the former Raptors general manager.

Carter used a unique hanger on his first dunk of the final round, driving the ball down and then clinging on the rim from the crook of his elbow. It brought him his third 50 of the night. It was something different and I didnt know how the judges would react, Carter said, still trying to gather himself after winning the competition. Its unbelievable. It hasnt sunk in yet.

Im having trouble. I just remember back in the days when me and my. friends used to tape the dunk contests and watch them over and over. On his final dunk, Carter went sailing down the floor and took off just inside the free-throw line for a two-handed stuff that earned him enough to beat Francis. Carter said that dunk was an attempt to duplicate one of Julius Ervings most famous dunks when he took off from the foul line.

I wasnt too happy with it, but Ill take it, Carter said. "I wish I could have tried it again. I think I would have done better. The victory was worth $25,000 for Carter. Francis won $15,000 and McGrady $10,000.

Jones grimaced at Iverson as if to say, Its him, not you. Iverson led the East with 26 points and nine assists, while Ray Allen had 14 and Carter 12. ONeal and Duncan were named co-MVPs, the first time the award has been shared since 1993. ONeal also had nine rebounds and three blocks, while Duncan had 14 rebounds and four assists. Kobe Bryant added 15 for the West, while Michael Finley and Kidd had 11 apiece.

Malone, who wasnt happy the NBA threatened him with a five-game suspension if he failed to show up, played just three minutes all in the first half and missed his only shot. East leads the series 31-18, but had its three-game winning streak end. After the breakneck start keyed by Carters dunks, the pace slowed early in the second quarter as the reserves got their minutes. Allen and ONeal injected some life back into the game Allen with a Carteresque drive and dunk; ONeal by dribbling coast to coast for a layup and then following with a fast-break slam and an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Kidd complete with a chin-up on the rim. The third quarter was showtime again, at least while the starters were in.

Kidd threw an alley-oop pass that banked in (he did not call glass), ONeal did a 360-degree slam of his own, cheating on the first 180 degrees (NBC microphones caught him saying it wasn't a 360, it was a 257), and Bryant made a sky hook reminiscent of something out of Kareem Abdul-Jabbars repertoire. Highlight shots abound Canadian Press Team Saskatchewan, from left, Stefanie Miller, Marliese Miller, Stacy Helm, Amanda MacDonald and coach Bob Miller pose with the championship trophy Millers rink finally cashes in OAKLAND, Calif. (CP) Vince Carter started things off with a dunk worthy of a contest, Tim Duncan and Shaquille ONeal played like MVPs and Karl Malone got involved as little as possible. In an all-star game that was almost a microcosm of the first half of the season, each star had a chance to show his specialty and most of them did. Behind 24 points apiece from Duncan and Kevin Garnett, 22 from ONeal and 14 assists from Jason Kidd, the West defeated the East 137-126 Sunday in the 49th version of the leagues showcase event.

This was the first all-star game since 1998 because last years was cancelled by the lockout, but the players hadnt forgotten how to play one of these games. Heavy on the fancy stuff and short on fundamentals, the players put on as much of a show as they could and Carters portion of it happened right off the bat The first basket for the East was an alley-oop dunk by Carter off a pass1 from Allen Iverson, while the second bucket was a breakaway slam by Carter that closely resembled one of his best from the dunk contest Saturday night Carter did a 360-degree spin to his right, rather than doing it the easy way by spinning left, and dunked the ball with two hands. The East tried to give Carter another spectacular dunk in the first minute, but Grant Hills alley-oop pass off the backboard was too hard. Later in the quarter, when Eddie Jones tried to zip a pass to Carter and Iverson deflected it out of bounds, By KEVIN MITCHELL Saskatchewan News Network Stefanie Miller of Saskatoon was on top of the Canadian curling world Saturday afternoon but then she had a sobering thought. I was happy I was excited, she said Saturday from Moncton after winning the national junior womens championship with a 7-5 victory over Prince Edward Islands Suzanne Gaudet.

Then I thought Oh my gosh, I have to go school and write my mid-terms when I get home. But a happy tone quickly returned to the voice of the University of Saskatchewan Commerce student She was after frustrating third-place finishes in 1997 and 99 a national champion. Weve been working for this all year, said Miller, who curls with sister Marliese at third, Stacy Helm at second and Amanda MacDonald at lead. The Saskatoon Granite foursome will represent Canada at the world junior championships March 18-26 in Geising, Germany. They reached that point after going 9-3 during the national round-robin.

They met Gaudet, who went 10-2, in a final that sent Miller thinking back to her two previous trips to the national semifinals. "We watched both times when, the Holland in 1992. I was so excited, Miller said of the moments immediately following her victory. I jumped up and waved my broom in the air. Weve been working for this all year.

Stefanie Miller is a 19-year-old commerce student at the University of Saskatchewan. Third Marliese Miller, Stefanies 17-year-old sister, is a Grade 12 student in Shellbrook. Second Stacy Helm, 19, is enrolled in education at the of S. Lead Amanda MacDonald, 20, is studying agriculture at the of S. She joined Miller this season because Kristin Regnier is no longer eligible for juniors.

Coach Bob Miller is Stefanies and Marliese's dad. On Sunday, Brad Kuhns foursome from Kelowna, B.C. earned an improbable 8-7 extra-end win in the mens final at the Canadian junior championship when Newfoundlands Brad Gushue came up short on a last-shot draw. Kuhn rallied from a 7-6 deficit in the 10th to force the extra end. It marked the second time in three days that Kuhn had rallied from adversity.

Kuhns rink consists of third Kevin Folk, the son of former world champion Rick Folk, second Ryan Kuhn and lead Hugh Bennett. SASKATOON STARPHOENIX ,1 team that beat us in the semifinals went on to win (nationals), said Miller, who is into her last year as a junior. As we headed into this, we knew how we had to play. The experience definitely helps. We saw everybody else do it and we knew we had to do the same thing.

Miller scored two in the seventh end to take a 4-2 lead, and she stretched the edge with a steal of two in the eighth when Gaudet was heavy on an open draw for one. Gaudet struck back for three in the ninth, helped out by a miscue from hot-shooting third Marliese Miller. Stefanie wanted to remove a guard, but Marliese preferred to try to take out a P.E.I. stone sitting in the house under heavy cover. She missed, removing her own instead, and Gaudet took advantage.

But in the 10th end, Marliese cleared the house with a triple takeout that ended any P.E.I. comeback hopes. Stefanie hit for one with her final toss to clinch the victory. Marliese wanted to pluck that one right out of there (in the ninth), so I let her do what she wanted, Miller said. But she made up for it in the 10th." Marliese shot a whopping 94 per cent for the game.

The victory gives Saskatchewan a record eight Canadian crowns, the last one coming from Moose Jaws.Amber 't JU.