My Picks to Win the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier

The Brier starts today. I expect that the Glenn Howard rink from Ontario is odds-on favourite to win the Brier and go on to represent Canada at the World Championships.

Why isn't the Howard rink a prohibitive favourite? I think there are two possible explanations:

1. The Howard rink choked big time during the final of the Roar of the Rings Olympic trials. I saw the final of that tournament live, and it looked to me as if the entire rink was in shock. Some of the facial expressions made me think of the the phrase "like a deer in the headlights". It is unlikely to happen at the Brier, but there is some non-negligible probability that it could.
2. Kevin Koe looked very good in the Alberta play-down. His rink and the Stoughton rink could, on their own merits, challenge the Howard rink. A possible dark horse might be Darrell McKee from Saskatchewan, but I confess that's a vote more from my heart than from knowledge, since I will be living in Saskatchewan much of the 2010-11 season.