Howard and his new rink take unique approach

 EDMONTON (CP) -- When Russ Howard landed in New Brunswick last fall with a new job, he also had to find a new curling rink with which to try to get back to the Brier.
 Howard hooked up with an existing team of Wayne Tallon, Rick Perron, Grant Odishaw and Jeff Lacey and went on to win the provincial championship. This is Howard's ninth Brier appearance, having won two for Ontario -- 1987 in Edmonton and 1993 in Ottawa.
 When Howard joined, the team wanted to ensure each existing member would still get some playing time.
 "We made an offer that we'd play a rotation and he accepted it," Tallon said. "I think we've handled it well. We're happy with it."
 The rink draws cards to determine which player will sit out, with the exception of Howard, who won't miss a game. The veteran skip said he was skeptical at first.
 "To me, in the long run, you're giving one of your teammates a rest," Howard said. "It's like (rotating lines) in hockey."
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 STRUGGLING SHYMKO: Saskatchewan skip Gerald Shymko and his Yorkton-based foursome got off to a slow start at the Brier, continuing a mysterious streak for teams from the curling-mad province.
 But he was feeling a whole lot better about things after winning his first game Sunday to move to 1-2.
 "We had the night off, so we're going to the Brierpatch, relax talk to a few people and come back at it tomorrow," he said.
 Shymko, a grain farmer who lives near the tiny community of Calder, Sask., with a population of 95, was at a loss to explain why Saskatchewan -- with seven Brier wins -- has struggled in recent years.
 "I really don't know -- we haven't been the Brier favourites," he said. "Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario have been dominating Briers for the past decade.
 "We have a lot of good teams per capita."
 Shymko said the province has a good system to determine its Brier representative, but with so many good teams, it makes it hard for rinks to make repeat appearances to gain the experience needed to win a Brier.
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 STOUGHTON'S SEEDS: Jeff Stoughton's Manitoba rink appears to be trying to win over the Alberta crowd by tossing goodies into the audience after games.
 The Winnipeg foursome has been throwing bags of sunflower seeds into the crowd -- one of its sponsors being Spitz.
 The practice started during cashspiels, the provincials and skins game.
 "The crowd likes something going on with the players so we figured, what the heck, let's keep it going," Stoughton said.