An emotional farewell to an icon – Winnipeg Free Press

Good day everyone.

It could be an emotional night at the Mattamy Athletic Center in downtown Toronto.

Jennifer Jones, a born-and-bred Winnipegger now living in Ontario and the greatest woman of all time, will jump in and compete for the final time in the four-man women's curling lineup.

I say “maybe” because, as of this writing, the Jones crew, which calls a combination of Winnipeg and Altona its home base, still has a slim chance of making the playoffs in the Players Championship.

Jones is 1-3 with one round of competition remaining. She plays a familiar opponent tonight, Sweden's Anna Hasselborg (2-2). The other four teams are 1-3. All are fighting for the sixth and final playoff berth in the final event of the season, the Grand Slam of Curling.

Sportsnet's media representative told me that a few dominoes would have to fall during the draw today to make the Jones-Hasselborg game significant. Permutations and combinations are no good for Jones to enter the tiebreaker.

But while it's highly unlikely that Jones will win tonight and keep his hopes of one last Slam alive, the curling icon will be speaking at length this weekend about his version of the game he has dominated for nearly two decades.

Jennifer Jones poses at the Scotties Hearts tournament in Calgary in February. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Gold medalist of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Two-time world champion. Six-time Scottish champion. Ten-time Grand Slam champion. Participant of the Olympics for the second time in 2022 in Beijing.

It is still coming out near the top.

Jones' team, with third Carly Burgess, second Emily Zacharias and lead Lauren Lenentin, lost to Rachel Homan of Ottawa in the national finals in late February and is still ranked second in Canada and fourth in the world.

Homan's team had a stellar season last month in Sydney, N.C., winning the women's world crown — Canada's first title since Jones won in 2018.

But I still think many curling fans from coast to coast were rooting for Jones to try and wear the Maple Leaf one last time with a win at Scotty's in Calgary.

Jennifer has been the epitome of class since bursting onto the local scene in the early 1990s, winning a trio of Manitoba junior titles.

He has competed all over the world and is one of the best ambassadors of the game.

Jennifer is usually the last player to leave the rink, stopped by fans looking for autographs or selfies.

He doesn't turn on autopilot, he writes recklessly. It will strike a chord with anyone and give them a memory to last a lifetime.

Jennifer tells you that she gets more out of the interactions than she gives.

I have had the privilege of speaking with Jennifer more times than I can count. After big wins and losses. The best conversations we had were on the phone when he was on a long drive somewhere and we could share updates from our lives.

Usually it's more about our kids than curling. She is the first mother.

The curling seasons are going to be missing something. Jennifer said she will continue to play mixed doubles with husband Brent Laing.

It won't be the same. Scots won't be the same.

Indeed, there will be tears in Toronto.

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READY for the playoffs! The Free press Jets are gearing up to help fans prepare for the playoffs with a special hot stove session featuring hockey writers Mike McIntyre, Ken Wiebe and yours truly.

The event will be held on Wednesday, April 17 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Free press Atrium at 1355 Mountain Ave. Our roundtable will be a wide-ranging discussion with plenty of time for you to ask questions. Space is limited, so the first 50 people to RSVP by email by 5pm on Friday 12th April will reserve their place to attend.

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I'll end this week's newsletter with a funny story. At least I thought what happened on Thursday afternoon's ride was hysterical.

I celebrated my son Scott and his fiance Justin's wedding this weekend last Friday. I heard from the radio that they thought I should add the song to their playlist, so NO HANDS OVER Bluetooth (just wanted to be clear on that) I asked Siri on my iPhone:

“Call Justin.”

The response was overwhelming. All timers, especially considering who I am and where I live.

“What do you want to know about Thomas Steen?”

Cool, right?

Even Siri has Jets on her brain.