ON THE TUBE

The first televised coverage of the Brier was in 1962, when, thanks to a last-minute okay from network executives, the CBC drove its cameras and trucks to Kitchener, Ontario, to cover the playoff game between Saskatchewan’s Ernie Richardson and Hec Gervais of Alberta.

Regularly scheduled coverage of the final draw started in 1973, and it didn’t have a great beginning. In the era before playoffs, Harvey Mazinke’s team from Saskatchewan played so well that the final draw of the round robin—the one the CBC came to cover—was meaningless; Mazinke won the title the previous evening.