(by Bob Weeks)

To hear them talk, Wednesday’s big game between Jennifer Jones and Cathy Overton-Clapham has all the intensity of a Friday evening mixed contest at the local club.

But they appear to be the only two thinking that way. Fans, media and even fellow curlers have been anxiously awaiting the matchup between the player who was cut last April after winning the national title, and the skip who did the chopping.

You can forget that the Manitoba team has sputtered through an assortment of bad breaks, missed shots, poor calls and altered lineups to sit at the bottom of the standings.

And you can overlook that Team Canada’s improving performance has them at 5-2 and squarely in the hunt for a fourth consecutive title.

All that goes out the window Wednesday evening because ever since Overton-Clapham won the Manitoba title and got a shot at her former teammates, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts has been all about one game.

Publicly, the two skips have been cordial, both denying there’s any animosity between the two. Jones sent her former third a congratulatory e-mail following her provincial victory and they’ve conversed here this week, albeit briefly and in a locker-room setting. But the tight smiles and short answers from both seem to indicate the hard feelings have not subsided. Either that or both have had more than enough of the buildup.

“I can honestly say I haven’t lost any sleep over it,” said Jones, who thrashed B.C. 10-2 and Newfoundland and Labrador 10-4 on Tuesday. “I think it’s been good for this event, it’s been talked about a lot. It will be nice to move forward in the round robin and then hopefully we can focus on Thursday if we’re still in the running.”

“It will be exciting,” said Overton-Clapham, who fell to 1-6 after a 6-5 loss to Shannon Kleibrink of Alberta Tuesday night. “The place is going to be packed and it will be fun to be a part of.”

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Tonight’s game is at 7:30 pm