It was fun while it lasted

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2010 (5897 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HALIFAX — The first Friday at the Brier, veterans tell us, is all about getting used to the ice, making sure your team shirts fit and trying to win a car.

The good stuff, the real stuff, gets going today.

Teams held quick practice sessions on Friday morning at the Metro Centre, attended a players’ meeting, took part in the preliminary round of the Ford Hot Shots competion and then attended a banquet.

Brier action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. today. Jeff Stoughton’s Manitobans face B.C.’s Jeff Richard in the opening draw and Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs in the late draw (5:30 p.m.)

After the Hot Shots preliminaries, a skills competition with players vying for a two-year lease on a new Ford Taurus, the following players have advanced to today’s finals.

Team Manitoba second Rob Fowler leads with a total of 29 points out of a possible 30 following Friday’s preliminaries.

In second with 25 points is Nova Scotia’s Ian Fitzner Leblanc while three curlers are tied at 24 points — Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton, Glenn Howard of Ontario and Ryan Fry of Newfoundland-Labrador.

Three others are tied at 23 to round out the field — Saskatchewan’s Darrell McKee, New Brunswick’s James Gratton and Northern Ontario’s Ryan Harnden.

After morning practice we took the opportunity to fire a few questions at each of Team Manitoba’s curlers.

Skip: Jeff Stoughton

FP: What’s your favourite part of this day before the curling begins on Saturday?

JS: The practice is fun and to check out the dressing room and see where you are going to sit for the week and to see the other teams that are here and let the buzz of the event begin to sink in.

FP: When do you slap on your game face?

JS: Hopefully, Saturday afternoon and no later. This is fun and games but tomorrow we’ll start to get a little serious.

FP: Is there a point when you’ll take your team aside and have something to say?

JS: Not today. We have a team meeting before every game, nothing long, we’re talking about five minutes, and it’s to make sure we’re all in the game and ready to roll.

FP: Who is going to win the 2010 Brier?

JS: Team Manitoba.

Third: Kevin Park

FP: You finished second at the Brier last year. Do you feel some pressure to get over the hump this year?

KP: Coming from Manitoba there is inherent pressure to succeed. If we play as we can we should make the playoffs. To win the Brier you need the breaks to go your way in that last game and hopefully that can happen.

FP: It’s been said that the skip must curl well for a team to win but can’t the same can be said about the third position?

KP: If I don’t play well, Jeff won’t have much to look at, so there’s pressure there as well.

FP: How do you feel heading into the event?

KP: I feel pretty good. We played well at the provincials against good teams and that sets us up pretty well.

FP: You haven’t won here in a while, going back to your days with Kevin Martin. You must want to feel that success gain?

KP: I won with Kevin back in 1991. I was quite young and I thought at that time we’d just come back every year and I took it for granted.

Second: Rob Fowler

FP: Are you relaxed or are you a little nervous heading into the week?

RF: I’d say I’m more relaxed this year than I was last year and even more than the first time in Hamilton. This is my third and there are a few jitters, but this is really just a fun day until it gets going.

FP: What do you like about being here at the Brier?

RF: Let’s face it, this is the pinnacle of curling. I grew up around curling and as a kid I dreamed about being here, and to make it to my third Brier, this is just awesome.

FP: They just a picture of all the players from all the teams standing together. What’s it mean to you to be part of that group?

RF: I’d like to be in another picture at the end of the Brier. In Hamilton we finished third and last year we finished second. Being from Manitoba the goal is to win — not to finish second or third. Come Sunday night, we’d like to hoist that trophy and be in that picture as the last team standing.

FP: What does Jeff Stoughton do to motivate his team?

RF: He’s calm, but also has an energy that’s second to none. He brings that out in us. At the same time he keeps us loose so we don’t try and do anything different here than from any other event.

Lead: Steve Gould

FP: It’s a long week of sweeping, what do you like to find out on this warmup day?

SG: "How fast the rocks are running, when to sweep and how late you can move in to sweep a rock. We haven’t swept in a few weeks so you like to get your lungs back."

FP: Do you ever get on to ice and think, this (surface) isn’t good for us?

SG: Oh yeah, but not at the Brier. These ice conditions are always good. Sometimes at a local bonspiel by the fifth draw of the day when they haven’t scraped the ice it can be a little gummy, but not at these events."

FP: You’re a big guy and the uniform has to fit right for you to feel good. Do you ever have problems with them?

SG: In the old days, the pants didn’t fit well and the yellows on our shirts never matched. Mondetta makes them now and they do a great job."

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

FP: Why would you pick lead as your position?

SG: I don’t think anyone wants to be a lead. I was always in the back end and then I got the chance to join Jeff’s team as a lead in 1995. But no one growing up aspires to be a lead.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca