It's a Howard versus Martin Brier final

NEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN CURLING ASSOCIATION

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Ontario bids for Brier repeat Ontario's Glenn Howard has a chance to make history Sunday night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

Howard's team from the Coldwater and District Curling Club — third Richard Hart, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill — will take on Alberta's Kevin Martin in the final of the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men's curling championship. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Eastern on CBC.

Ontario will be seeking its second straight Brier championship; it also will be looking to become the first team ever to win the Brier after playing in the Page playoff three-four game.

The Howard foursome reached the final by defeating Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons 8-7 in Saturday's semifinal as Howard made a cold draw to the four-foot with his final stone of the 11th end.

"I feel bad for Pat Simmons right now," said Howard of the Saskatchewan skip, who lost the Page one-two game on Friday night when his last rock against Alberta caught some debris. "He didn't deserve to play that game. He should have been in the final last night. I don't blame him. Even when I'm in the hack to throw that last shot, I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, is this destiny for him to have something happen to my shot.' "

Ontario scored deuces in the third, fifth and seventh ends and never looked threatened until Saskatchewan cracked a three in the eighth end to tie the game 6-6. The teams traded singles before Howard made his game-winning shot.

Alberta defeated Ontario in the round-robin, and Howard is looking for a different result on Sunday.

"I think we're two of the best teams in the world and I think hopefully we'll both go out and play to our abilities and it could be one of the best games ever," said Howard

The Brier winner will represent Canada at the world men's curling championship, April 5 to 13 in Grand Forks, N.D.

Also, the team will share $144,000 in Sport Canada funding over the next two years as well as berths into the 2008 Continental Cup in Camrose and the 2009 Canada Cup in Yorkton, Sask.

Both finalists will receive $40,000 in cresting money. ***********************************************************