It's not the dream final organizers of this 2008 Tim Hortons Brier had hoped for.
That final would have certainly included Manitoba's Kerry Burtnyk as one of the two teams who will do battle today at MTS Centre, a Canadian mens curling championship hanging in the balance.
Ontario skip Glenn Howard (left) flashes a smile during Saturday's semifinal curling game against Saskatchewan's tough-luck Pat Simmons. Ontario prevailed 8-7 to advance to the final today against Alberta, skipped by Kevin Martin.
But if what you're interested in seeing in today's final is the world's two best men's teams go toe-to-toe for 10 ends -- and very possibly 11 ends -- then buckle up because this afternoon's Brier final pitting Alberta's Kevin Martin against Ontario's Glenn Howard has the makings of an all-time classic.
Don't take our word for it -- ask the competing skips.
"I think we're two of the best teams in the world," Howard said Saturday, "and I think hopefully we'll both go out and play to our abilities and it could be one of the best games ever."
Martin, made a similar prediction, citing his recent history against Howard.
"In the last couple years, our games almost always seem to come down to the last rock in the 10th or an extra end. It will probably be the same (today)," Martin said.
Howard holds a 3-2 advantage in games played between the two teams this season, but it was Martin who won the last battle during the round-robin on Thursday by a score of 7-4.
Ontario third Richard Hart said there should be no illusion about what's at stake today for both teams. "It would be very, very special to win two Briers in a row, and to beat Kevin, who's clearly on top of his game, that would be special. And I think people would stop talking about who the No. 1 team is. I think it would be pretty clear after the two seasons we've had. There wouldn't be much to talk about."
Hart added that the stakes might even be higher today for Alberta, given the kind of week they've had -- a week that's similar to the one Ontario had two years ago when they were stunned in the Brier final by Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard.
"They really feel like they deserve it," Hart said of Alberta, "and they kind of do. They're 12-0. We've been there before, the pressure is squarely on them. We felt it against Menard; we beat them twice to get there, and we're like, 'Oh my God, what do you have to do to win this thing?' Oops. Guess what? You have to win one more, that's what you have to do. And we didn't do it. And that's what they have to do."
That's some bold talk for an Ontario team that limps into today's final after an 8-7 extra-end win over Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons in Saturday's Brier semifinal.
Martin, on the other hand, will be making his first trip to a Brier final since 1997. But Martin said what he lacks in recent Brier final experience he more than makes up for with big game experience -- and success -- on the cashspiel circuit.
"Last year we were in 13 finals and won, I think, 11," said Martin. "This year it's been maybe nine finals and we've won seven or eight. That's a lot of finals and this will be another one. And hopefully we win it."
Howard's aware of Martin's record in big games.
"We have to play one of the best games we've ever played, I can tell you," said Howard. "I don't expect them to have an average game. I think they did (Friday night) and I don't see two in a row."
paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca
Saturday highlights
1. With a thrilling 8-7 extra-end victory over Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons in Saturday afternoon's Brier semifinal, Ontario's Glenn Howard advances to play Alberta's Kevin Martin in today's Brier final (5:30 p.m., CBC) at MTS Centre.
2. You have to give credit to Simmons. No one would have blamed him if he'd limped out against Ontario with his tail between his legs after he lost the Page playoff 1 vs. 2 game against Alberta Friday night on a last-rock pick. But Simmons and his team shook off the bad loss and can rest easy with the knowledge that they left it all out on the ice Saturday afternoon and gave Ontario all they could handle.
3. Ontario blew a 6-3 lead in the game and needed all they could muster to escape with the extra-end win. In the end, the margin of difference was Howard's last-rock draw to the four-foot with the final rock of the extra end.
Storylines
1. Which Alberta is going to show up today? Skip Kevin Martin said his team "played like dogs" Friday night in escaping with a win over hapless Saskatchewan. If that mistake-riddled team shows up again today, Ontario will have their second straight Canadian title. But if Alberta can recapture the almost robotic form that allowed them to roll through the round-robin virtually unopposed, it's hard to see how Ontario will beat that.
2. John Morris -- Drama king? The last time Alberta third John Morris played in a Brier final (2002), he promptly got his head torn off by Edmonton's Randy Ferbey and was so dejected by the fifth-end break that he told CBC live on the broadcast that he was thinking of retiring from curling. High-strung people and emotional dramatics get eaten alive by Brier finals. We'll see if Morris can keep it together.
3. As goes Howard, so goes Ontario: there's a reason Howard is a four-time Canadian men's champion -- he can carry a team almost by himself. Last year, a great shot by the skip in the ninth end extinguished a serious Newfoundland threat and won him the Brier right there. At some point tonight, Howard will probably have a chance at a similar game-breaking shot. He'd better make it, because Martin is unlikely to give him two of those.
Today's schedule
Noon -- Closing awards bruncheon, Purple Heart Lounge (2nd floor, Convention Centre)
Final, 5:30 p.m.
9 p.m. -- Closing ceremonies
For tickets, go to www.seasonofchampions.ca or call Ticketmaster at 669-3333.
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