Playoffs??!! We talkin’ ’bout playoffs?!

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This article was published 12/03/2021 (1897 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRAD Jacobs has owned the podium before and he did it again Friday, sort of, entertaining reporters on Zoom while sitting at a table, inhaling a donut.

The Northern Ontario skip was at his thoughtful, articulate and playful best after an impressive 7-2 victory over Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., the great defender of last year’s Brier title.

Jacobs even put his own spin on former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora’s legendary “Playoffs” rant, when asked to comment on the Canadian men’s curling championship’s upcoming Sunday spectacular inside the Calgary bubble.

“Playoffs? We talkin’ about playoffs? Playoffs?” said the 2014 Olympic champion, producing laughs from his third, Marc Kennedy, seated to his left. “Oh, man. We’re so far from that. We need to put together three more performances like that and see where we fall. That’s really where my mindset is at.

“The pool we were in, coming out at 5-3, we learned a lot coming out of our pool and, really, I think we’re battle-tested for the championship round. We’re just excited to still be in this thing and we know what we have to do. Destiny’s in our own hands, our backs are against the wall and we’re just going to keep playing hard and fighting for everything we’ve got.”

There’s no Page playoff format this year as only three teams make the playoffs. The highest-finisher after the eight-team championship round receives a bye into Sunday’s final (7:30 p.m.), while the second- and third-place teams collide in the semifinal (1:30 p.m.).

It’s crystal clear why Jacobs refused to look ahead — there’s still a gauntlet to run. It began Friday night against Kevin Koe and continues Saturday with matchups against Jason Gunnlaugson and Glenn Howard.

But the gang from Sault Ste. Marie had its A-game against Team Canada, as all four members — including the front-end brother act of Ryan and E.J. Harnden — posted glitzy 90-plus (per cent) shooting numbers.

Jacobs, who seized his only Brier crown eight years ago in Edmonton, was in gridlock in the championship-round standings, tied with five teams — Gushue, Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone, Gunnlaugson’s Manitoba crew and Ontario’s John Epping — but trailing Howard (Wild Card 3), Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Koe (Wild Card 2) prior to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. draw at WinSport Arena.

The 35-year-old skip was asked for his take on peaking at the right time, particularly with a 2020-21 competitive curling season fraught with challenges, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic — and he didn’t disappoint with his answer.

“I don’t believe in peaking at the right time. I believe in peaking all the time. That’s my mindset, all the time,” Jacobs said. “To me, there’s no such thing, whether it’s a club game, if it’s a (Grand) Slam, if it’s the Brier or whatever. We’re going to come out and give it our all every single game, and I see no reason why you can’t do that.”

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Northern Ontario bypassed a tie-breaker scenario because James Grattan of New Brunswick was stunned 10-6 by Greg Skauge of Northwest Territories on Thursday’s final draw.

Fortuitous, indeed, admitted Jacobs.

“You need some breaks, too, and we got one. We were in the hotel room, on the edge of our seats, watching those games — we had the night off— and we got a break… an upset, I would say,” he said. “That gave us (Friday) morning off, we were able to get a really good rest and we came out feeling very refreshed. That was big.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell