SWEEP STAKES
Newfoundland’s Smith gets first ‘incredible’ Brier win, McEwen cuts it way too close ... Under new two-pool format, top teams can’t afford an early stumble
REGINA — On one side is the logo of the 1992 Regina Brier.
On the other is the likeness of famed Saskatchewan curler Garnett Campbell.
Through Draw 9 at the 2018 Regina Brier, the coin is undefeated for Ontario’s John Epping.
It’s not quite the same as the loonie Wayne Gretzky and the gang convinced Edmonton icemaker Trent
Evans to embed in the ice at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics to lead to Canada’s first hockey gold medal in 50 years. But it’s working.
Epping had completed his post-game scrum Tuesday morning when his 10-5 win over Reid Carruthers of Manitoba, combined with Saskatchewan’s 8-4 win over Northern Ontario.
The Ontario skip reached into his pocket and produced the coin, minted for the purposes of purchasing a libation in the Brier Patch that year.
“See this? It’s from the 1992 Brier here. It was the first one I watched on TV when I was a kid,” Epping said. “A guy by the name of Bob Ford at the Peterborough club where I grew up gave my mom this coin to give to me. It says ‘Regina Brier March 8-15, 1992.’ ”
He flipped it over.
“It says ‘Garnett Campbell, 1955 Brier Champion.’ Isn’t that cool?”
Epping, the 34-year-old skip of the team that includes Matthew Camm, Patrick Janssen and Tim March, had been knocking on the door to get into a Brier without success until this year. He twice skipped in the Roar of the Rings Olympic trials. But the Brier was off-limits to him and just about everybody else that ever came along that wasn’t named Russ or Glenn Howard.
While Toronto’s Epping is originally from Peterborough, Ont., his family roots are in Saskatchewan. So far, all he has working for him is the coin. But he expects his relatives to show up soon.
“First, we have to get rid of all this crazy weather and all this snow, I’m sure they’ll show,” he said of the Alberta Clipper and the Colorado Low that hit Regina back-toback.
“I have a ton of family from out here. My grandfather is from Saskatchewan. Lots of cousins. They’re from the Carnduff area,” he said of the town of 1,126 in southeast Saskatchewan.
THE HAT COMES BACK
Hats off to Carruthers.
In an era of having enough curlers at the Brier wearing ball caps to form a slow-pitch team, the Manitoba skip flipped his lid here and went bareheaded in his Monday afternoon with over Quebec.
But the hat came back as Carruthers suffered his first defeat at the Brier, 8-4 to Ontario’s John Epping Tuesday morning.
“I had about 62,000 messages from people asking me why I had a hat on. Apparently more people were focused on what I was wearing than my playing,” said the bearded skip who few fans seemed to recognize with the unusual male pattern baldness and whatever it is that’s going on with the top of Carruthers’ head.
“Changing it up. I’m not going to wear a cap on the ice for the rest of my life. The guys say I’m a little more aerodynamic now. I kept trying to compete with Colin for the nicest hair and it wasn’t working,” he said Monday.
“It feels real cool on the ice, though. I may have to wear one of those real thing toques.”
But the one-day fascination with the top of his head did it. The hat came back.
FALSE ALARM
The baby watch continued with Team B.C. at the Brier Tuesday.
No babies yet.
But the lead had returned.
David Harper had thrown only eight rocks in the team’s opening draw when the cellphone of coach Gerry Richard rang on the B.C. bench. Harper’s wife had gone into Labour.
The curler in his first Brier rushed to the airport and, after a series of delayed and cancelled flights out of here, he finally made it home.
The blessed events had not happened. False alarm.
Harper decided to return to Regina to complete his Brier Tuesday. On Wednesday, B.C. will likely be eliminated after round-robin play wraps up.
Harper, after another series of delays that resulted in extended visits to Edmonton and Regina, made it back to play in British Columbia’s one game here yesterday.
Meanwhile, the wife of third Jeff Richard, son of coach Gerry, reached her due date two days ago.
“I have both their cellphones on the coaches bench,” he reported. “Who knows when they’ll ring again. But it’s good to have the team back together.”