1999 Brier
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SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
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Nova Scotia coming around
And, there was plenty to celebrate.
Nova Scotia's Paul Flemming and Russ Howard of New Brunswick both posted two-win days at the Labatt Brier.
That put both rinks at 5-2 and with B.C.'s Bert Gretzinger's 9-5 win over Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton, assured them of at least a tie for second by the time the night draw is done.
It's a different perspective for the region which has traditionally not done well at the Brier. Nova Scotia has just two Brier wins and New Brunswick has never won curling's most prestigious show.
They're usually out of it by this time of the week.
But while most of the attention this week has gon to Guy Hemmings, Stoughton and Russ Howard, Flemming has hung in there.
"They're rated 1-2-3 and we weren't expected to do as well as them, which is just fine,'' said Flemming. "We're just playing our own game and hopefully be there at the end of the week.''
Flemming said his exposure in winning the Canadian mixed title earlier this year was a big bonus.
"It certainly helped me,'' said Flemming. "We had a lot of exposure, in the quarter-final, the semi and the final. The TV exposure certainly didn't hurt. Playing with such a competitor as Colleen (Jones) helped and the whole round-robin concept."
The exposure has helped his composure.
"Not panicking if you lose if you lose one early helped me understand there's lots of time left,'' said Flemming. "I love the round-robin.''
Battling through the early rounds, Flemming has already gone past most of the upper-echelon teams. The four games he has left are, on paper, much easier than his first seven. The trouble is, the game's played on ice, not on paper so Flemming's not getting overly confident just yet. He figured a .500 record in his last four games will put him right where he wants to be, finishing with a 7-4 record.
Howard, who represented Ontario at eight previous Briers, can also sense a shift in power to the Atlantic provinces.
"When I got the draw, I said Ontario plays here, Ontario plays there,'' said Howard. "Then I realized I'm not Ontario this time.
"I've never been to the Atlantic party before. I'll tell you, the Eastern teams, now that I am one I'm defending them. One shot and you're there. P.E.I. could have won four or five games and Newfoundland has been in every game I've been looking at and Nova Scotia's a very interesting team. There's a lot of parity here. It might not show on the scoreboard or standings at the end of the week, but if you watch the games, they're very close."