McKee claims SaskTel Tankard

Skip Darrell McKee of Saskatoon proved that there is no substitute for perseverance. Sunday, at the SaskTel Tankard in Lumsden, McKee, along with teammates Bruce Korte, Roger Korte and Rob Markowsky, representing the Nutana Curling Club, dethroned defending champion Joel Jordison of Moose Jaw, 7-5 to claim the men’s provincial title. McKee had lost the A final to Regina’s Randy Bryden, 6-5 in an extra end in the 16-team, triple knockout event.  He then lost the B final to Jordison, 7-2. However, he managed to be one of two qualifiers out of C, then defeated Moose Jaw’s Mark Herbert, 9-4 to advance to the semi-final.  Meanwhile, Jordison had edged Bryden, 6-5 in a match-up of the A and B winners, to advance to the final. McKee then avenged his earlier A final loss by ousting Bryden 7-5, to set up a rematch with Jordison in the final.  He wound up stealing one in the 10th end in cementing a 7-5 victory. McKee played third for Bruce Korte at the 2000 Labatt Brier in Saskatoon, when the home team went 5-6 in his only previous Brier appearance. Korte skipped Saskatchewan at the 2004 Nokia Brier as well, also in Saskatoon, but again finished 5-6.  Roger Korte played second on both the 2000 and 2004 teams, while lead Rob Markowsky will be making his Brier debut, when the Tim Hortons Brier gets underway March 6 in Halifax. Saskatchewan has won seven Briers, but the latest victory was way back in 1980, courtesy of Rick Folk.