Jones shrugs off upcoming match versus woman she fired last year
(by Paul Wiecek)

Jennifer Jones says she’s genuinely happy for a former teammate, but is prepared for the media circus that surely awaits her arrival in Charlottetown next week for the start of the Canadian women’s curling championship.

“They’re having a great year and I really am happy for them,” Jones said in an interview Friday in her first public comments since her former third, Cathy Overton-Clapham, won the Manitoba women’s championship last week.

“But yes, we know it’s going to be an issue. We’re prepared for that, just like any time you go to one of these things.”

This won’t be just like any other time, however. Jones made headlines last spring when she fired Overton-Clapham from her three-time defending Canadian champion squad.

The move raised eyebrows, in part because Overton-Clapham is a hall of fame curler still playing at a very high level, but also because it is so unusual to remove a player from a team that has won three straight Canadian titles.

Jones said the move was necessary as she considered the long-term interests of the team with a view to qualifying to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

But the move rankled Overton-Clapham, who went public with her displeasure at losing valuable perks this season that came with surrendering her spot on the defending champion Team Canada, including an automatic return to the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown.

So with the two teams now set to collide for the first time since the breakup, the likelihood of a media circus breaking out on Prince Edward Island is about on par with the possibility Charlie Sheen might have a beer or two on a Friday night.

Click for full story in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Jennifer Jones (pictured) says she thinks of the championships won with Cathy Overton-Clapham on the team, not the negativity of dismissing her.
(KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)