1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
Hemmings lifts curling with his fun-loving style
Hemmings, 36, a greenhouse operator from St-Aime, Que., guided his rink to the Labatt Brier final with clutch shot-making -- including a dramatic draw to the button against Saskatchewan in Saturday's semifinal to advance to Sunday's final against Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba.
Stoughton, however, proved too strong for Hemmings, third Pierre Charette, second Guy Thibaudeau and lead Dale Ness in a 9-5 shootout.
"Nobody is going to force me to say I'm disappointed to be here," said Hemmings, adding he hopes this second final appearance will boost the sport from the fringes in Quebec.
"I'm not disappointed to play that game at all."
Charette left the ice in tears, but he wasn't about to bail out of the Hemmings rink.
"You have to give credit to the winner, they deserved to win," said Hemmings. "So good for them.
"I'm happy I had a chance to play that game and I'm not going to go home with my tail between my legs.
"Maybe next time we'll win it."
Hemmings, who lost to Ontario's Wayne Middaugh in 1998 at the Winnipeg Brier, was a crowd favourite there and it was no different in Edmonton.
His willingness to engage fans, whether judging belly-button contests in the Brierpatch -- the rowdy temporary bar set up for the event -- signing autographs or kissing women and little girls in the crowd made him the hit of the Brier.
On Sunday the 13,709 fans chanted Guy! Guy! throughout the afternoon and made it clear they were behind him with thunderous ovations when he did make a shot.
"The fans are good, they're talking about running the Brier in 2005, I don't know how old I'd be but I'd like a chance to come back in here," said Hemmings.
Hemmings and his rink could take a bit of the sting of the Brier loss with a big cash win at the World Curling Tour players' championship in Winnipeg later this week.
That event determines the money tour champion and has a projected total purse of $200,000.