Monday, December 10, 2001
Martin spoils strong Burtnyk script
By JIM BENDER -- Winnipeg Sun
REGINA -- And so ends what could have been the best feel-good sports story of the year.
When Alberta skip Kevin Martin drew to a piece of the button with the hammer facing two, he dashed the Olympic dream of Manitoba hero Kerry Burtnyk, the curler who battled back from a cancer scare for the second time in his life last summer.
Not only that but his foursome rebounded from losing three straight provincial finals to earn spots in both the Olympic trials and last year's Nokia Brier.
But the Hollywood story line was snuffed out when Martin made the draw to nip Burtnyk 8-7 in the dramatic men's final of the 2001 Canadian Curling Trials before 6,913 at the Agridome yesterday afternoon.
"As much as we're broken-hearted right now, the year's only partly over," said Burtnyk, who lost the Brier final to Alberta's Randy Ferbey. "I've said all along what I really wanted was this one so there's no doubt this hurts more than the Brier final.
"This is quite a bit bigger. We gave it everything we had. We let it all hang out and we were pretty close. It really hurts emotionally right now because we worked so hard for it. I'll let you know whenever it stops hurting."
Supported by third Jeff Ryan, second Rob Meakin and Keith Fenton, Burtnyk battled back from an 0-3 start to win seven straight, only to finish that one draw away from Olympic glory.
"The bottom line is that it still is a game and it's going to be setback for a little while, probably," said Burtnyk, 43. "But life's going to go on. And I guess, in some respects, it won't be quite the same turmoil as it might be for the Olympic teams for the next few months. So maybe our lives will be a little more normal."
But he would have much preferred a few abnormal months.
"Obviously, we're extremely disappointed," Burtnyk said. "It's been a long, hard grind, not only this week but the last three years. We came oh so close and we played a team that played fantastic today. I was really proud of my guys."
Even Martin felt for Burtnyk.
"We've become pretty close friends and, after what he's been through, I'm just glad to see him out here curling again," he said.
"We kept fighting back and fighting back and even that last end, it looked like we might have a chance and Don Walchuk did it to us one more time," Burtnyk said of the third's raise-back double kill. "He probably made eight or nine raise-backs and was probably the difference in the game."
Martin took control when he cracked a three in the sixth end to take a 5-3 lead. Although Burtnyk knotted the score at 7-7 with a deuce in the ninth, Martin took the hammer into the 10th.
Supported by Walchuk, second Carter Rycroft and Don Bartlett, Martin will represent Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Ogden, Utah, Feb. 11-22.
"It feels great to get through," said Martin, 35. "I can't wait.
"That was pretty high stress. When you're playing against a guy like Burtnyk, you've just got to try to do your best."
But Martin has not done his best on the international stage, winning silver in 1991 but failing to medal at either the 1992 Olympics (demonstration sport) or the 1997 Worlds. Yet, he should still be a gold-medal favourite.
"You think after all the worlds and stuff we've been to, we're going to go in as the favourite?" he asked. "All the people in Scotland are going, "Yeah!" I'm joking but, when you curl in Canada, that's the way it has to be."
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