1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
We've only just begun
It's a glorious logjam at the top
Two days to go in the regular round and and it's definitely show time.
"They say Wednesday is moving day at the Brier,'' said B.C. skip Bert Gretzinger. "I guess it will be.''
But whoa. There's way too much to move on one day.
This is a lovely logjam. A delicious dog's breakfast. A marvelous mess.
Tuesday was Black Tuesday for Guy Hemmings' Quebec rink. And that's what made it.
Hemmings, Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba, Russ Howard of New Brunswick and Paul Flemming of Nova Scotia are all at 5-2.
Ken Hunka of Alberta and Gretzinger of B.C. would have made it a six-way tie for first if they hadn't stubbed their toes last night.
Instead they are part of a five-way tie for second at 4-3 which includes Scott Patterson of Northern Ontario, Rich Moffatt of Ontario and Gerald Shymko of Saskatchewan.
Nine teams still in it!
Nine out of twelve teams have four or more wins!
Has there ever been a Brier like that?
And what happens next?
This is more complicated than the NFL playoff picture going into the last weekend on occasion.
Space doesn't permit an attempt to try explain it. And we've got 12 pages here.
These are the games we still have left with teams in contention playing each other: Saskatchewan-Manitoba, Alberta-B.C., Ontario-Northern Ontario, New Brunswick-Ontario, Nova Scotia-Saskatchewan, Manitoba-New Brunswick, Northern Ontario-Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia-B.C., New Brunswick-Quebec, Northern Ontario-Alberta, Quebec-Ontario, B.C.-Saskatchewan and Alberta-Nova Scotia.
If there's a favorite to come from the 4-3 pack at the back, maybe it's Northern Ontario.
They are the only rink which can come close to declaring "been there, done that'' when it comes to this traffic jam.
"This looks like our provincials,'' declared Patterson.
"It's Northern Ontario all over again.
"We had seven of nine teams in the playoffs. We had all sorts of tie-breakers.
"Our rink had to play five more games. All five were lose-and-you're-out. We won five straight.
"That's the attitude we've been going with since Monday. That we can't lose another game.''
The Patterson rink lost both games Monday but bounced back with two wins yesterday.
And now they have all sorts of company.
Like Hunka.
"That one got away,'' said Hunka of his game against Ontario.
"I wouldn't want to lose another one.''
Gretzinger was asked how many games he felt his rink would have to win to get in.
"I'd say all of them.''
Moffatt figures they are curling from the edge of the cliff, too.
"We didn't talk about it. But I'm sure we were all thinking it. We're just glad to be alive.''
Even the guys at 5-2 are saying they can't afford to lose another game.
"You have to take the attitude now that you have to win every game from here on in,'' said Manitoba's Stoughton.
"That's the only way you can guarantee anything.
"It's just a run to Thursday now with a mess of us up there.''
Hemmings, who had a rock pulled on a hogline violation against Northern Ontario in the morning - a call which was the difference in the result - took his dark day in stride.
"We should have lost our game Monday night,'' he said of the win-some-you-should-lose, lose-some-you-should-win way it works sometimes.
"We're still in a good spot. I'm not disappointed. Hopefully we'll bounce back.
"I'm not surprised by the way it's worked at all. Look up my comments at the beginning of the week. That's what I say.''
But you ain't seen nuthin' yet, says the fan favorite.
"Lots of guys have to play each other.''
Stoughton put it best.
"This Brier hasn't even started yet.''
Listen to 'Terry Jones At Large' weekdays at 8:35 a.m. and 5:05 p.m. on 790 CFCW.