Four on the floor
Ferbey's foursome dances into position
By TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
SASKATOON -- Back to the storyline. Destiny. History. The Richardsons. Going where nobody has ever gone before. Four in a row. "I'm really looking real forward to going for my fourth,'' said Randy Ferbey.
"My fourth beer.''
Hey, getting to four straight Brier finals is thirsty work.
When you score four on an end to beat the only team to beat you at the Brier in the last two years, four beers seems appropriate.
When you put yourself one win away from becoming the first rink ever to win four in a row and to match Ernie Richardson as the only rink ever to win the Brier four times, four beers seems about right, all right.
The Ferb and his fab four didn't have last rock advantage for the first time in their Brier playoff history, but it was never a factor. The Albertans ended up shaking hands with Mark Dacey of Nova Scotia after nine ends, with a 10-6 victory.
HAMMER AND ROCKS FOR FINAL
For the fourth straight year the Edmonton Avonair rink has hammer and choice of rocks for the final.
Nobody has ever beat them when they have the hammer. Of the five games Ferbey has lost at the Brier in the last four years, none of them have occurred when the only team to ever win a Nokia-sponsored Brier and the only team who ever will if they win this one, has had last rock advantage.
And don't dismiss choice of rocks, the other bonus of winning the 1-2 game in the Page Playoff system to go directly to Sunday's final.
"Dave's Babies,'' said second Scott Pfeifer of Nedohin's personal picks of yellow rocks.
"Dave has used the exact same rocks in the Brier finals for the last four years, the same rocks he threw today. He used them in the Worlds last year in Winnipeg. He's used them in the Continental Cup.''
Nedohin says they all have their favourites from the rock pile to pull out for the big games.
"They're consistent. We have a red set we like a lot, too. But we like these babies best.''
Ferbey has no idea which ones are his.
"Scott picks 'em out for me,' '' he said.
Pfeifer says Ferbey is a piece of work.
"Randy couldn't care less. I could give him a couple without handles and I don't think he'd notice.
"I have my own favourite pair,'' he says of picking them from the different sets of yellows.
"But the happiest guy is Marcel,'' he said of the lead who signs his autographs "Shot Rocque'' in the Brier Patch these days.
"During the round robin he ends up with all the garbage rocks the other guys don't want. He's thrilled to be able to choose his own personal two.''
Rocque says it gives you a comfort zone to go with the confidence you get from the been-there, done-that, curled before 11,000 people before, curled before more than a million on TV before advantage.
"We each found a pair. I'm ecstatic. In the final I never get a couple I have to wrestle down,'' said Rocque.
The guy who also answers to 'Huff' of the front- end combination now known coast to coast as "Huff & Puff'' curled 97%, his best playoff percentage yet at the Brier - and not once has he been under 90%.
Rocque, as usual, led all leads with a 93% record. And Pfeifer, as always, topped all seconds at 89%, the same percentage he scored in knocking off the Bluenosers yesterday.
Ferbey topped all third-rock-throwing curlers with 87% during this year's round robin and curled 90% yesterday. Nedohin ended up third among last-rock throwers at 82% but upped it to 88.
The team, which outcurled everybody all week at 88% despite Nedohin's mercurial week, has improved from a percentage point of view every year.
TOO MUCH IS MADE ABOUT THEM
But Ferbey says maybe too much is made about them doing the thing they do. Maybe it's about the other guys, too.
"Maybe it's more that the other teams aren't as experienced. All we try to do is go out and perform like it's another game. The bottom line is that we wait for a break.''
It came in the seventh end in this one.
The defending, defending, defending champions kept forcing Dacey to make tough, tough, tough shots. Finally they forced him to miss two.
Four!
Dacey said it was the kind of game which happens so often to teams going against the outfit which has run its Brier win-loss record to 46-5 and is one game away from taking a trip to Sweden, with a chance to become the first team to ever win three straight world championships.
"These guys ... hats off to them,'' said the only guy who stopped their Brier winning streak at 23 and now has to win today's semifinal to get the rubber match and a re-match of last year's Brier final in Halifax, but a guy who ended up shooting 65%.
"They just keep coming at you and wait for you to crack. Then they're all over you.''
And then it's over. Pour four more.
