John Morris may be the poster boy for the 2009 Brier.
But the Alberta third's got nothing on Shannon Smadella, who is here making her rounds here as Miss Canada.
Smadella checked in for opening ceremonies Saturday and intended to stay a few days to do promotional work in her duties as the national pageant winner.
And the 27-year-old beauty hoped to meet a few legendary curlers during her visit to Calgary.
"It's nice to see Jeff Stoughton here," said Smadella of the Manitoba skip and two-time Brier champion.
"One of my goals is to meet him. I grew up in curling in a small town eight hours north of Winnipeg," said Smadella, a native of Cranberry Portage, Man.
SLEEPY TEAMS HIT SHEETS
Competitors for yesterday morning's draw were more sleepy-eyed than usual with the time change Saturday night. The usual 8:30 a.m. draw was more of a 7:30 a.m. start.
It was especially tough on Saskatchewan, the only province in Canada not to participate in daylight savings time.
"You might be on to something," said Saskatchewan skip Joel Jordison, whose team lost 9-4 to New Brunswick. "Maybe I can blame my performance in the morning to the clocks. Let's go with that."
EXTRA ENDS
The money breakdown for the final four playoff teams at the Brier is as follows: $40,000 to each the winner and runner-up; $30,000 for the third-place team; and $20,000 for the fourth-spot rink. The winners also get medals, crystal boxes, lapel pins, keeper trophies, championship rings and a title banner, plus the right to represent Canada at the 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championships in Moncton, N.B., April 4-12.
