day 4 of the morning cup newspaper

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CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 1 Presented by The The Morning Morning Cup Cup Ofcial Newspaper of the Canada Cup of Curling THE NEWS REVIEW THE NEWS REVIEW Scott Pfeifer (left) and Dave Nedohin apply some friction with their brushes Friday at the Canada Cup. Their team, skipped by Randy Ferbey of Edmonton, was one of eight teams that qualified for the playoffs starting today at the Gallagher Centre. See story, Page 2.

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Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper from the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling

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Page 1: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 1

Presented by

TheThe

Morning MorningCupCup

Offi cial Newspaper of the Canada Cup of Curling

THE NEWS REVIEWTHE NEWS REVIEW

Scott Pfeifer (left)and Dave Nedohin

apply somefriction with theirbrushes Friday atthe Canada Cup.

Their team,skipped by Randy

Ferbey ofEdmonton, was

one of eightteams that

qualified for theplayoffs

starting todayat the Gallagher

Centre.See story, Page 2.

Page 2: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 2 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009

www.sgicanada.ca

Building community.Building life skills.

Building character.

SGI CANADA – proud to supportcommunity sports.

Kevin Martin vs. Randy Ferbey? Orvice-versa? How original!

Between the two of them, they’vedominated all the previous Canada Cupfinals and have won five of the six.

Heading into this morning’s Canada Cupplayoff action on the men’s side of the draw,the long-time Edmonton rivals emerged aswinners of the two round-robin sections onFriday and were headed for a showdown at

8:30 a.m.“We’ve adjusted to

the ice and figured itout and the last fewgames we’ve beengetting better andbetter so I thinkwe’re in a good posi-tion right now,” saidDave Nedohin, last-rock chucker for thefour-time Canadian

champion Ferbey unit.The playoff sends the winner to the cham-

pionship final on Sunday night and the loserto the semi-final today at 7:30 p.m.

“We played him (Martin) three times inprovincials and had some good games andprobably should have won one or two ofthem,” said Nedohin. “But he’s playing real-ly, really well. He’s on a roll. We were therea few years ago, we know what it’s like.

“We came to the Canada Cup one timeafter winning the Brier and right beforegoing to Victoria for the Worlds and kind oflooked and said, ‘how fast can we get out of

here’? And we won the thing. It’s just whenmomentum is going well for you, it’s goingwell for you.”

Wayne Middaugh’s Toronto outfit handedMartin his first loss in 23 games following13 wins in the Brier, five provincial champi-onship wins and four in this Canada Cup

Middaugh erased a 4-3 deficit with threein the seventh end and hung on to put an endto the Martin streak.

As result, Middaugh finished his groupwith a 3-and-2 record and will play JeffStoughton of Winnipeg this morning in asudden-death Page playoff with the winneradvancing to the semi-final at 7:30 p.m.

In addition, the Middaugh win cancelleddefending champion Kevin Koe’s hopes ofcontinuing. Koe was 3-and-2 in a section inwhich Ferbey and Stoughton each turned in4-and-1 records.

“You know momentum ends at somepoint,” said Nedohin of the Martin skein.“We are not intimidated by them by anymeans. And they’ve struggled this week.They’ve pulled at least three games out ofthe fire. So, for us, we just go play like weare and don’t worry about the oppositionso much but . . . to beat them would benice.

“It’s karma. Good things happen to youwhen you’re on a roll. And they (Martin)certainly are the best team in the world rightnow and good things are happening for themall the time.

Old foes renew hostilitiesBy LARRY WOOD

Morning Cup Editor

Martin, Ferbey back at each otherʼs throats

SEERESULTS,Page 10

PLEASE SEE MEN P11Kevin Martin saw his amazing winning streak finally come to an end Friday.

MEN

Page 3: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 3

Richardson International is proud to be the Official Presenting Sponsor of the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Throughout its 152-year existence, Richardson International has maintained a strong connection to communities throughout Western Canada, including the Yorkton area. Winter sports, and especially curling, are emblematic of life on the Canadian Prairies, as are the orange coloured Richardson Pioneer grain elevators. Our sponsorship of the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling provides a unique opportunity to highlight and celebrate the relationship between our business and one of our favourite pastimes.

A Message from Curt VossenPresident, Richardson International Limited

Our company has evolved and expanded significantly over the course of its existence. That growth is best exemplified in the Yorkton area. Our grain business has grown by 50% through the recent acquisition of numerous grain elevators and ag business centres throughout Western Canada, including Yorkton. In 2010, Richardson Oilseed will open its new canola processing plant in the Rural Municipality of Orkney. This new plant will triple Richardson Oilseed’s current canola oil production and will produce food quality canola oil destined throughout the World.

While the nature of our business has changed over our long history, our commitment to supporting the communities in which we operate and our employees live continues to be one of our core principles. We are very pleased to be involved in the growth of your community and our sponsorship of the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling is one way to show our appreciation of your ongoing support.

On behalf of Richardson International, I congratulate the organizing committee and the numerous volunteers involved in the hosting of the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling. Having grown up in Yorkton and knowing first-hand the capacities of its citizens, I have no doubt that this will be a world-class event. To all competitors, sponsors and fans, I wish you a great week of curling!

www.richardson.ca

Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche andCalgary’s Shannon Kleibrink hungtough during final-round scuffling in

Canada Cup women’s preliminaries at theGallagher Centre on Friday night and qualified forthis morning’s Page One-One playoff tilt.

Each team logged a 4-1 record in their respec-tive round-robin section.

Their playoff game rewards the winner with a

bye to the championship final on Sunday at 8:30a.m. while the loser plays the semi-final this after-noon at 3 p.m.

Larouche left no doubt of her superiority in hersection by routing Amber Holland of Regina 9-2on Friday night. On an adjacent sheet, Kleibrinkand her team survived a gut-clencher, stealing the7-6 winner in an extra end over winless SherryMiddaugh of Coldwater, Ont.

Kleibrink maintained control in this one until

Middaugh posted a go-ahead deuce in the ninth endand held her foe to a tying single coming home.

In the extra, Middaugh needed a full in-turn come-around draw to the four-foot but was inches out.

Earlier in the day, the immaculate Kleibrinkteam ousted former two-time Canadian championKelly Scott of Kelowna 11-6. Larouche, previ-ously unbeaten, lost a 6-5 decision toSaskatchewan champion Stefanie Lawton ofSaskatoon.

At press time on Friday night, Mary-AnneArsenault of Halifax and Michelle Englot ofRegina were entangled in a sudden-deathtiebreaker with the winner advancing to the 8:30

a.m. sudden-death playoff against Calgary’sCheryl Bernard who won twice on Friday to stayalive.

Arsenault whaled Scott 7-3 in the afternoon toamass a 3-and-2 round-robin record while Englotflunked out in an attempt to avoid a tiebreaker bylosing 11-4 to Lawton on the nightshift.

Bernard defeated Arsenault 11-6 Friday morn-ing and then sidelined Cathy King of Edmonton10-9 in a wild extra-end afternoon tiff.

“We thought we’d be playing tiebreakers allnight,” said Bernard.

Larouche, Kleibrink excel

PLEASE SEE WOMEN P11

Kelowna skip Kelly Scott (second from right) got herself in a bit of a jam Friday, so she called in the help of everybody to discuss the situation.

WOMENBy LARRY WOODMorning Cup Editor

Page 4: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 4 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009

The Wood file

You may have noticed somethingmissing Friday at the Canada Cup.

Well, actually, someone!If you were barging into the Gallagher

Centre with a hope of glimpsing long-timeBrier legend Russ Howard, you were dis-appointed.

In the wake of an 0-and-3 start, Howardskipped town Thursday night and flew toSummerside, P.E.I., where the Canadiansenior championships open on Saturday.

Funny thing happened in his absenceFriday morning. Third James Grattan waselevated to skip and executed a couple ofbig last-end shots to defeat Wayne

Middaugh and giveHoward’s entry itsfirst win in fourCanada Cup games.

“I think Russ waspretty tired,” saidGrattan later.

“Even for him —he’s always beenbusy with curling— but I think in hisown words he hascalled his schedule‘a gong show’.

Ever since Christmas he hasn’t stopped —curling, TV, curling, TV, curling, TV, curl-ing.”

And there’s more on the horizon.Following Summerside, where he hopes toavenge a championship final loss toSaskatoon’s Eugene Hritzuk a year ago,Howard moves home to Moncton and theTSN booth for the Ford Worlds.

But never mind the 53-year-old Howard.His vice-skip, 19 years his junior, is asenthusiastic about the game as Russ everwas.

“I never get tired of this,” said Grattan,whose first competitive appearance was aNew Brunswick skipping gem at the 1997Brier in Calgary. “I love this. I love com-

peting against these guys and, out east, wedon’t get to try out for these big eventsvery often.

“The end of the year, if you’re luckyyou’ll make it to a Brier. We were lucky toqualify for this (Canada Cup) back inDecember. So this is one we’ve been look-ing forward to all year and when you’relooking forward to it you just love to beout there playing.”

Matter of fact, Grattan now is canvass-ing teams bound for next weekend’s BearMountain Classic in Victoria.

“I’m good to go,” he said. “I’m going tothrow my name out there and see if any-body needs a spare. Hey, it’s a grind, butI’m not complaining.”

Grattan is an Air Canada customer serv-ice agent at Fredericton airport and “can

always make arrangements with the job”.“Fortunately,” he says, “I work all summerso I usually have room to take a lot of timeoff in the winter. Everybody else at workwants the summers off and I’m the exactopposite so it works out pretty well forcurling.”

The moot question with this team now,of course, is Howard’s future plans. Doeshe retire to the TV booth or continue toscrap on the ice lanes with this five-manunit?

“We haven’t had the official talk yet butwhen we talked over summer to officiallyset up this five-man team it was kind of atwo-year plan,” said Grattan.

LLarryWOOD

EDITOR Larry WoodASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave KomoskyPHOTOGRAPHER Mike Burns Jr.PUBLISHED BY The News Review

Russ Howard (above right) isstarting to settle nicely into a

career in the broadcastbooth with TSNʼs Vic Rauter.

That could leave JamieGrattan (right) with a four-man team and back on the

teehead.

Grattanponders curling futurethat could be without old warhorseat his sidePLEASE SEE WOOD P6

Page 5: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 5

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Shannon Kleibrink is a fan favourite in Yorkton this week.

Everywhere she goes at the GallagherCentre this week, Shannon Kleibrinkis surrounded by supporters.

Arguably, the smooth-shooting Calgaryskip is the Canada Cup women’s curlingfavourite every time she steps on the ice.

“I’m pretty close to home,” she said,moments after a session of photos and auto-graphs at the back end of the FarrellAgencies icehouse where competitors fileout on the way to their dressing rooms.

“I was born in Norquay but I lived in Pellyuntil I was six years old,” Kleibrink confid-ed.

Everybody in these parts knows Norquayis north and a shade east of Yorkton andPelly is the next stop east on Highway 43 toBenito and Swan River in Manitoba.

Kleibrink, who lost last year’s Scottiesfinal to Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, is thecurrent season’s Canadian Team Ranking

System points leader and one of twowomen’s qualifiers, along with her lineup ofthird Amy Nixon, second Bronwen Websterand lead Chelsey Bell, for the CanadianOlympic curling trials at Edmonton inDecember.

Jones is the other qualifier.“I just met about 10 people from Pelly,”

said Kleibrink. “I don’t know them becauseI can’t remember that far back to when I wassix. But they’re all from Pelly and they’regreat. I still get lots of letters from peoplethere.

“And they put a sign up in the village –Home of Shannon Kleibrink — so we havelots of supporters.”

Kleibrink, of course, won a bronze medalat the Torino Olympics as Canada’s repre-sentative but she’s not sure she’s in favour ofthe current revamped system to decide ateam for 2010.

“There’s no question the Olympic processhas changed curling,” she said.

By LARRY WOODMorning Cup Editor

Pellyʼsfavouritecurler backamong hersupporters

PLEASE SEE KLEIBRINK P8

Kleibrinkcomes‘home’

Page 6: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 6 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009

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WoodFrom Page 4

“Russ’s first goal was to get (his son) Stevieto the Brier. And maybe now that we’veaccomplished that first-year plan somethingwill crop up for Year Two. We’ll figure it out.But the intent with this team, for me, was toget Stevie hooked up with us and try to ridewith him for awhile. He’s been playing well,he’s a big-game player, he plays superbly inthese bigger games and I’m looking forwardto getting a long-term arrangement with himmore than anything else.

“After Russ, I like Jason’s (Vaughan’s) atti-tude, he was with us at the Brier, and PeteCase. I’ve been tight with those guys for threeyears and we were just missing one player. Weeyeballed Stevie as a person who had similargoals and, to start with, Russ had to comealong with that package initially. I joked withRuss over the summer, I told him I reallywanted Stevie, not him.

“But it has worked out well. Stevie’s got alot of good experience under his belt this sea-son . . . he played third for us today and thatwas even better . . .”

Yorkton’s Gerry Adam, a regular withDavidson’s Pat Simmons, filled in forHoward.

“I think Russ was missing being up in thebooth,” Grattan said of the recent Brier ven-ture in Calgary.

“By all accounts he’s pretty good at it, too.So I wouldn’t be surprised if he leans in thatdirection. I think he’s going to have somedecisions to make once everything’s calmeddown.

“I’ve never put pressure on the guy. Lastsummer I told him, ‘listen, if you play onegame or 100 I could care less. Whatever youwant to do is fine with me. If anything, thatmay prompt him to play whenever he wantsto, or if he wants to at all. We have four guysso I’m not going to put any pressure on theguy. Based on that he might play another year.He’d make a helluva fifth to take to a Brier.”

Grattan has no qualms about returning tothe teehead, although he admits to having beensomewhat shaken after last year’s 2-and-9Brier debacle at Winnipeg.

“Yeah, we didn’t play well at the Brier lastyear and I was sick and it just seemed tosnowball,” he recalled. “I think that had a lotto do with my decision to call up Russ andsay, ‘listen, I’ve been lucky enough to get tothe Brier seven times now but I’m tired ofgoing there and getting kicked’. This year wewound up being one of the competing teams.We were there until the last draw. I think that’sall we could ask for.

“I’m confident enough in myself that I cancompete at this level. It’s just a matter of find-ing three guys that are on that same page. Outeast it’s a little tough with numbers.

“A good thing about having Russ on thesquad is that we had less trouble lining upsponsors and that’s a big thing when it comes

to travelling to these ’spiels. We spent a lot thisyear and actually made a little bit. And that’sall we want to do out east is kind of breakeven and get out here to do what we all wantto do.

“It’ll be tougher if Russ isn’t with us but thelast few years without him we’ve actuallydone a few ’spiels out west. Because I workfor Air Canada it helps with the flight costs. Iuse that as much as I can.”

Another hitch, poor ice, has been a bugbearfor Russ Howard since he moved to NewBrunswick.

“We don’t get enough practice on this(Canada Cup) kind of ice,” agreed Grattan.

“We’ve got a bad situation with the ice outeast and it always takes us a few games at theBrier to learn a new release and how to copewith it. Russ doesn’t exaggerate. It is tough todeal with.

“We have an icemaker, Chris Tapley, whohas worked a couple of Briers and makes agood surface, one of the best sliding surfacesI’ve ever played on. But it’s just that the rocksin these facilities back home are so old. Hegets no help from the rocks. If they had thatsituation out here they’d just sandpaper therocks every now and then and give ’em somegood curl. “We’ve actually tested it. There’sone club in New Brunswick that’s sandpa-pered the rocks and if you played those rockson the ice surfaces here it’d be just like this.We’ve done it on Chris’s surfaces. The differ-ence is 100 per cent. What does that tell you?

“But every time you mention the wordsandpaper back home they think it’s a wordfrom hell.”

Gerry Adam played a fill-in role.

Page 7: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 7

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Page 8: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 8 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009

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KleibrinkFrom Page 5

“This definitely has been a longer grind. Ithink it’s better to have a two-year processrather than three because three is a reallylong time to stay at the top of your game andplay every single weekend. Especially forwomen because a lot of them want to havekids and there’s no room in that four-yearspan to have a baby. It’s tough. You have totry to fit it around curling and, often, it does-n’t work.

“I mean, there’s no babies on our team,not until 2010.

“But we’re thinking two years wouldprobably be better. You’ll still get your bestteams. Maybe even be more certain of it.”

Even though she won the last trials, shewasn’t in favour of that system, either.

“I didn’t like it — if you won one of thedesignated ’spiels or competitions you werein. I mean, you might reach five finals andbe beaten by five different teams andyou might not get your best teamout of that.

“What happened to us lasttime was, we won theAutumn Gold designated’spiel in October and wewere the first declared.Then we had no pressureso we won the nextone, too. But theimpetus isn’t thesame.”

No matterhow otherteams areregardingthe sea-s o nn e x ty e a r ,

Kleibrink plans business as usual.“Everybody says the following year will

be a nothing year. But it’s not a nothing year.It’ll be just as hard to get to the Scotties andyou’re trying just as hard. In fact, it may bethe best year to try.

“I guess if you’re just in it for the Olympicthing, then there might be some teams fold-ing or taking a year off or not playing asmuch. And some ’spiels are shutting downbecause they interfere with the Olympic pre-trials or they don’t think they’ll draw enoughteams just before the pre-trials.”

That doesn’t bode well for Kleibrink orany other team already qualified and lookingto hone a sharp edge.

“We’re not sure exactly what we’re goingto do if there’s a shortage of competition,”she said. “We’re a team that loves to ’spielso we’ll go into as many things as we can.But there might be a problem finding asmany competitions prior to December aswe’d like.”

Kleibrink wouldn’t mind angling her wayinto a Canada Cup playoff match hereagainst fellow Calgarian Cheryl Bernard

who slammed closed the Alberta doorto the Scotties earlier in the winter.

Revenge can be a sweet thing.“As it turned out, points-wise,

the right teams won for us at theScotties so we qualified for thetrials anyway,” said Kleibrink.

“But it would havenice to have been able

to go there andearn that our-

selves. It was alittle bit anti-

climactic.But we’lltake it.”

TODAY’S QUIZ

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

One team has won three of the past sixCanada Cup competitions. Name the skipand his hometown. 1. This is the first Canada Cup forYorkton. All previous events have beenplayed where?2. Only five players have thrown rocks inall six previous Canada Cup competi-tions. Can you name all five?3. While three teams have dominatedmen’s play in the Canada Cup, thewomen’s event has been won by six dif-ferent skips. How many of them are com-peting this year?4. Name them.5. Now, how about those winning skipsthat aren’t here this week?

6. Only five Saskatchewan skips havecompeted in the women’s section of theCanada Cup. Can you name all five.7. Likewise there have been only fiveSaskatchewan men’s skips who havecompeted at the Canada Cup. Name them.8. Name skips from east of the Ontario-Quebec border who have competed inthe Canada Cup men’s event and theirhometowns.9. How about skips from east of theOntrario-Quebec border who have com-peted in the women’s event and theirhometowns.10. Two skips share the honour of com-peting in the most Canada Cup women’scompetitions. Name the skips.11. How many Canada Cups?12. Which Ontario skip doesn’t fit in thiscategory? Greg Balsdon, John Base,Glenn Howard, Wayne Tuck, EdWerenich, Mike Harris, Peter Corner,Wayne Middaugh.

(Answers)

QofD: Randy Ferbey, Edmonton1. Kamloops, B.C.2. Randy Ferbey, Kevin Koe, DaveNedohin, Scott Pfeifer, MarcelRocque.3. Four are currently competing.4. Sherry Middaugh, ShannonKleibrink, Cathy King, Stefanie Lawton.5. Colleen Jones, Jennifer Jones.6. Sherry Anderson, Jan Betker,Michelle Englot, Stefanie Lawton,Patti Herzikorn.7. Glen Despins, Brad Heidt, BrianHumble, Joel Jordison, Pat Simmons.

8. Shawn Adams, Halifax; MarkDacey, Halifax; Brad Gushue, St.John’s; Russ Howard, Moncton; Jean-Michel Menard, St-Romuald.9. Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt, Summerside,PEI; Sandy Comeau, Moncton; CathyCunningham, St. John’s; VirginiaJackson, Halifax; Colleen Jones,Halifax; Marie-France Larouche, St-Romuald; Heather Smith-Dacey,Halifax; Heather Strong, St. John’s.10. Shannon Kleibrink and Kelly Scott.11. Five.12. Ed Werenich is the only skip in thislist who has not played in the CanadaCup.

Canada Cup trivia

Page 9: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 9

Russ Besenski had a unique challenge thrown in his lapprior to this curling season.

How do you build a crack TV curling productionteam in a matter of months?

“Yeah, pretty much from the ground floor up,” says Besenski,describing the organizing challenge of putting the elite curlingevents in Saskatchewan on the air this winter.

Besenski, a producer and production co-ordinator for MediaGroup of Saskatoon, was faced with the task when his companymoved in to fill the void after Global TV announced it wasdropping out of the picture to cover the provincial men’s andwomen’s championships due to production costs.

With Global on the sidelines, Media Group entered into anagreement with SaskTel to put the events on the SaskTel MaxLocal on Demand channel, and the heat was on to put togethera production crew with zero TV curling experience or little ofthe equipment necessary to do the job.

Now into their third and final event this season — theCanada Cup of Curling in Yorkton — Besenski and his teamhave met the challenge beautifully.

“I’m really proud of the way everything came together,” saysBesenski, who has orchestrated the production of this event plusthe provincial men’s and women’s championships this winter.“All I can say is we have a terrific crew and that’s why it allworks.”:

Besenski has a crew of 11 people in Yorkton, including atechnical producer, switcher, director, audio person, cameramen,a graphics person, production assistant and two on-air announc-ers. Together, they have covered this event from the first rock,doing every draw, including four the opening day. Their workcontinues into Saturday with one playoff game before finallygiving way to TSN which will do the two men’s and women’schampionship games.

The broadcasts have been shown live in-house at theGallagher Centre but are available on a 24-hour delay onSaskTel Max Local on Demand.

The quality has been just what Besenski wanted from thestart: a first-class, professional production.

So how’d he do it, in such a short period of time?“We were fortunate, in some ways,” says Besenski. “We didn’t

have anything in terms of overhead cameras, or anything likethat. We had to go out and lease a lot of equipment.”

He was able to secure cameras from Global, and scooped uptwo of its employees who had experience in curling TV produc-tion. Besenski was also able to tap into the extensive TV pro-duction experience of Ken Adolph, owner of Media Group.

Put it all together and Besenski and his crew was off and run-ning.

The crew’s first event was the provincial Scotties in SwiftCurrent, which came off without a hitch

“It went very well,” says Besenski. “We were pleasantly sur-prised, but it goes back to our crew and their past experience.

“The toughest challenge there was being inside an actualcurling club and not a hockey rink. It was a bit of a challengebecause it was so tight for camera positions. But our crew is justawesome and flexible enough that they take what they have andmake the best of it.”

The same can be said for the situation in Yorkton. The pro-duction room in the Gallagher Centre is cramped, to say theleast, but they have crammed in five guys with their equipmentwith just enough room to get in and out.

And because there’s five sheets, and not four, in operation atthe Canada Cup, space is tight for the two cameramen out in theice location.

“Logistics has been our biggest concern here,” says Besenski.“It’s our first time working closely with TSN and they havebeen great. Whenever you deal with someone of that calibre forthe first time, you’re always concerned about how they’re goingto react. That was the biggest hurdle, getting things straightenedout so we weren’t bumping into them and them into us.”

But the pictures, graphics and audio have been seamless.Besenski has been particularly pleased with the work of the on-air team of play-by-play announcer Heath Mulligan ofMuenster and former provincial men’s champion Lyle Myers ofSt. Gregor, who is handling the colour and interviews.

“An amazing job by the crew on Wednesday, especially theon-air guys,” says Besenski. “To talk curling for 11 hours —that’s amazing.”

The production crew honed its skills in Meadow Lake for theprovincial men’s Tankard, and finish its commitment with theCanada Cup.

“One of the great things about all these places is the communi-ty is behind us and happy to see us,” says Besenski. “They knowwe’re not a news crew out to get the dirt on somebody. We’reout to make everybody look good. And make the events lookgreat. And we get nothing but support from these communities.”

They are also getting great feedback from the folks inside theGallagher Centre watching the in-house feed in the Patch, andconsumers across the province who are tuning into the tape-delayed broadcasts.

“The numbers were huge for the first four games that wentup on the channel,” says Besenski. “Obviously a lot of peoplefrom the four coners of the province can’t be here and want towatch. But we feel that (numbers) has a lot to do with whatwe’re doing here.”

Media Group of Saskatoon has another year in the agreementwith SaskTel and Besenski is hoping that things will grow andthey will be able to provide a live show to the whole of theprovince.

“Hopefully the numbers will be good enough that we can goout and purchase some equipment in the future,” he says.“We’re very close to live now in terms of production. It’s allpart of the evolution process.”

It’s been a labour of love for Besenski and his crew.“It’s long days and it’s been stressful, but it’s been fun,” he

says. “I’d do it again next week. It’s very rewarding when youhear back from SaskTel and hear they’re loving it.”

The broadcast crew ofHeath Mulligan (far

right) and Lyle Myershas been on the air

for every draw at theCanada Cup. The

whole production isorchestrated by

Saskatoonʼs RussBesenski.

On the ice and on

THEAIR

TV productioncompany

grows up fastto show fans

curling eventsBy DAVE KOMOSKY

Morning Cup Associate Editor

Page 10: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 10 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009

FRIDAYDRAW 8

9 a.m.

WOMENCheryl Bernard (b) 222 002 102 x — 11Masry-Anne Arsenault (a) 000 220 020 x — 6 S P % S P %BERNARD 69 201 73 ARSEN. 72 218 76

Marie-France Larouche (b) 000 020 021 x — 5Stefanie Lawton (b) 011 102 100 x — 6 S P % S P %LAROUCHE 80 213 67 LAW. 77 245 80

Kelly Scott (a) 020 101 020 x — 6Shannon Kleibrink (a) 202 010 303 x — 11 S P % S P %SCOTT 72 208 72 KLEIB. 72 239 83

MENRandy Ferbey (b) 030 201 03x x — 9Jeff Stoughton (b) 002 020 10x x — 5 S P % S P %FERBEY 64 229 89 STOU. 64 203 79

Russ Howard (a) 102 020 200 2 — 9Wayne Middaugh (a) 020 102 021 0 — 8 S P % S P %HOWARD 80 241 75 MIDD. 80 244 76

DRAW 91:30 p.m.

MENMike McEwen (a) 010 202 011 0 — 7Randy Ferbey (b) 202 020 100 1 — 8 S P % S P %McEWEN 80 279 87 FERBEY 80 289 90

Kerry Burtnyk (b) 020 100 10x x — 4Kevin Koe (b) 201 012 03x x — 9 S P % S P %BURTNYK 64 195 76 KOE 64 212 83

Ted Appelman (b) 030 101 020 10 — 8Jeff Stoughton (b) 102 010 103 01 — 9 S P % S P %APP. 88 246 70 STOU. 88 267 76

WOMENKelly Scott (a) 001 000 020 x — 3Mary-Anne Arsenault (a) 010 111 201 x — 7 S P % S P %SCOTT 77 245 80 ARSEN. 75 238 79

Cathy King (b) 001 010 410 20 — 9Cheryl Bernard (b) 130 102 002 01 — 10 S P % S P %KING 88 286 81 BERN. 87 296 85

DRAW 106 p.m.

WOMENSteafanie Lawton (b) 200 301 32x x — 11Michelle Englot (a) 021 010 0xx x — 4 S P % S P %LAWTON 64 204 80 ENGLOT 64 193 75

Marie-France Larouche (b) 030 204 xxx x — 9Amber Holland (b) 001 010 xxx x — 2 S P % S P %LAROUCHE 48 169 88 HOLL. 48 127 66

Shannon Kleibrink (a) 101 020 100 11 — 7Sherry Middaugh (a) 010 102 002 00 — 6 S P % S P %KLEIB. 88 279 79 MIDD. 88 251 71

MENWayne Middaugh (a) 020 010 300 1 — 7Kevin Martin (a) 101 002 001 0 — 5 S P % S P %MIDD. 79 263 83 MARTIN 80 278 87

Brad Gushue (a) 102 004 04x x — 11Russ Howard (a) 010 410 20x x — 8 S P % S P %HOLLAND 64 202 79 HOW. 64 186 73

LINESCORES

8:30 a.m.MEN

Page 1-1 — Kevin Martin vs. Randy Ferbey; Page 2-2 Jeff Stoughton vs. Wayne MiddaughWOMEN

Page 1-1 — Shannon Kleibrink vs. Marie-France Larouche; Page 2-2 Cheryl Bernard vs. winner of Mary-AnneArsenault/Michelle Englot tiebreaker

3 p.m.

WOMEN’S SEMI-FINAL7:30 p.m.

MEN’S SEMI-FINAL

TODAYON THE

ICE

POOL A W LKevin Martin 4 1Wayne Middaugh 3 2Mike McEwen 2 3Brad Gushue 2 3Russ Howard 1 4

POOL B W LJeff Stoughton 4 1Randy Ferbey 4 1Kevin Koe 3 2Kerry Burtnyk 1 4Ted Appelman 1 4

MEN

POOL B W LMarie-France Larouche 4 1Cheryl Bernard 3 2Amber Holland 2 3Cathy King 2 3Stefanie Lawton 2 3

POOL A W LShannon Kleibrink 4 1Michelle Englot 3 2Mary-Anne Arsenault 3 2Kelly Scott 2 3Sherry Middaugh 0 5

WOMEN

Jon Mead (left) and Scott Bailey get on the busi-ness end of a brush Friday at the Canada Cup.

PLAYOFFS

Page 11: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009 - Page 11

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MenFrom Page 2

“For us, we just have to bear down and,you know, if breaks go their way a little bit,and they might continue to, we just have tokeep playing well.

“If we win, fine. If we don’t then we’regoing to have another shot at getting back tohim. That’s what’s nice about the positionwe’re in.”

Mike McEwen of Winnipeg and BradGushue of St. John’s bit the dust with 2-3records while Ted Appelman of Edmonton,Kerry Burtnyk of Winnipeg and the JamesGrattan-skipped Russ Howard entry fromOromocto, N.B., logged in at 1-4.

Grattan won his team’s only match of the

piece Friday morning against Middaugh, 9-8, burying his last rock of the 10th end onthe four-foot and then following with a tap-back for a winning deuce after Middaughcouldn’t get his last brick hidden.

“Actually,” said Grattan, “my first one inthe first end kept us in it. I found a little holeand I thought if I missed that one the game’sover a lot quicker. But we managed to scrapfor the first five ends and I thought we out-played them the last five.”

Gushue defeated Grattan 11-8 on theFriday night shift with four on the eighthend.

In the afternoon, Ferbey ousted McEwenin a last-rock 8-7 thriller, Koe dumpedBurtnyk 9-4 and Stoughton required anextra-end and a rally to subdue Appelman 9-8.

Ferbey defeated Stoughton 9-5 in themorning.

WomenFrom Page3

Arsenault, who throws last rocks with KayZinck skipping, was in top form in eliminatingScott from the scene.

“We just outcurled them,” said the Halifax

sniper. “We knew it was a must win and the fourof us put together a pretty cohesive game.”

The Easterners stole four points en route to thedecision.

Bernard held a 7-2 lead on King after six butthe Edmonton outfit replied with four in the sev-enth and a steal in the eighth before the teams trad-ed deuces leading to the extra end where Bernarddrew her last rock cold to the button with Kinglying a pair.

Marie-France Larouche has made the playoffs with solid play in Yorkton.

Page 12: Day 4 of the Morning Cup Newspaper

Page 12 - CANADA CUP OF CURLING – MORNING CUP - March 2009Saskatchewan C a n a d a ’ s H e a r t l a n d

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We wish all of the competitors in this year’sCanada Cup of Curling the best of luck.