Darrell Davis: Brier contenders and pretenders

While watching the all-Alberta final in the Tim Hortons Brier, it seemed like a good time to rant about the flawed format being used to determine the Canadian men’s curling champions.

So many teams. So few contenders.

Virtually every sports league is like this. The NHL has its own Nunavut — several, actually — like the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, teams that have zero chance of winning the Stanley Cup. MLB has its version of Saskatchewan, which won so long ago you forgot it once was good, just like the Cincinnati Reds. The NFL has the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, who have never won a Super Bowl. Just like P.E.I., New Brunswick and the Territories at the Brier.

And the final four rinks — Alberta, Northern Ontario, Team Canada and the wild-card squad — are basically the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, a team that should win every year.

The days of Nova Scotia winning a Brier might be over, but the 1969 New York Mets, 1980 Oakland Raiders, 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2006 Carolina Hurricanes prove it’s worth trying.