This week we released one of our favourite episodes, the (what used to be) annual ranking of curling commercials. While we couldn’t find them all online, here are some of the contenders for those who may have missed them during the Season of Champions.
Bet 365 Curling
Laurie St. Georges for Hardline
Scotties ‘Life Can Be Messy’
Kerri Einarson ‘A Stone’s Throw From History’
Brad Gushue ‘A Stone’s Throw From History’
Fixed Rate Pizza Pizza
Team Smooth v Team Styled
This weekend, only 7 of the 16 playoff teams at the Grand Slam were Canadian, leading to another round of declarations that the world has caught up to Canada.
This declaration, however, might be one of the longest running traditions in Canadian curling. So we wanted to look back at just a few of the times when we’ve been told about curlers around the world having caught up to their Canadian counterparts.
2002
Leading into that year’s world championship, a CBC article declared that “the world is catching up…”
Later in the article, Kevin Martin is quoted as saying “The Canadian public hasn’t seen it yet…the longer it goes , the more difficult it’s going to get for Canada to win.”
Randy Ferbey adds that “anybody can jump up and bite you, and that’s why it’s very difficult.”
2003
In the Globe & Mail, Bob Weeks wrote that “the world has caught up. Not only are there teams from around the globe competing, but almost all of them have at least a semi-legitimate chance to win.”
2006
An AP article in the Los Angeles Times, warned curling clubs against being unprepared for the influx of new players following the Olympics, citing the “Americans’ Olympic success.”
In describing the situation leading into those Olympics, the Devin Heroux recalled that “the world was still trying to catch up to Canada when it came to curling.”
2009
A Bob Weeks article leading into the world championship was titled “Rest of world catching up to Canada.”
Kevin Martin is quoted in the piece as saying “gone are the days when we were able to keep winning without much effort” and that “it’s kind of scary looking into the crystal ball and thinking what’s going to happen 10 years down the road.”
2014
There were no think pieces about the world having caught up to Canada in 2014. I wonder why?
2018
Following the American men’s semi-final win over Canada, Time declared that “in curling, the world’s catching up to Canada.” In that same article, Marc Kennedy is quoted as saying “it’s a really f—-ing hard game at this level…this is the new normal for Canada. We have to get used to it.”
Dave Feschuk argued in the Toronto Star that one of the reasons the world was catching up (or had caught up) was because of Canadian coaches. After noting that “the overriding feeling in the women’s curling world was that Homan’s lack of success had as much to do with the rise of the international field as it did with her sub-par form,” Feschuk attributes a lot of that rise to Canadians coaching internationally. He notes that 6 of the top 7 teams in the field were coached by Canadians, who could be described as “simple mercenaries - contract coaches hired by national sporting federations bent on finding success.”
2022
In a long-form piece for Sportsnet about changes to Curling Canada’s approach, Kristina Rutherford stressed that “casual curling fans may want to take a deep breath, because Canada isn’t the favourite it once was.”
In his season summery for CBC, Devin Heroux declared that “the world has caught up and curling is no longer Canada’s game to dominate.”
Here is how Scott ranks the 10 most frequent curling commercials we saw during the bubble. Sean’s rankings are below. For our full analysis, check out this week’s episode.
10) Home Hardware - “Local is Local, buy Local”
9) AMJ Campbell - “Moving is Relaxing”
8) OK Tire “More Safety”
7) Kruger - “Poopy Diaper”
6) New Holland - “Epic Agriculture”
5) Tim Hortons - “Our Coffee was Bad”
4) Curling Canada - “Aspirational Children”
3) Tourism Calgary - “Come Look at our Buildings”
2) Curling Canada - “40 Years of Kruger”
1) Scotties - “Floor Curling”
Sean’s Rankings
10) Ok TIre - “More Safety”
9 AMJ Campbell - “Moving is Relaxing”
8) Home Hardware - “Local is Local, Buy Local”
7) Kruger - “Poopy Diaper”
6) New Holland - “Epic Agriculture”
5) Curling Canada - “Aspirational Children”
4) Tim Hortons - “Our Coffee was Bad”
3) Curling Canada - “40 Years of Kruger”
2) Tourism Calgary - “Come Look at our Buildings”
1) Scotties - “Floor Curling”
To commemorate the success that was the 2021 Curling Bubble in Calgary, we wanted to hand out some superlatives to celebrate some of the best performances. Leading up to recording this episode, we put out some polls on Twitter, all of which have been included in our awards.
In total, we have 12 categories - here is the full list of nominees and winners.
Best Bubble Moment
Nominees
Vic Opens the Scotties
It took Vic 7 seconds to again show why he is the absolute best in the business.
Kerry Galusha Beats Rachel Homan
During Draw 13 of the Scotties, we saw what was probably the biggest upset of the bubble.
Darren Moulding Wins the Brier
While it’s true that all 4 members of Team Bottcher had lost the previous 3 Brier finals, seeing Darren Moulding break through hit a little different.
Estonia Wins!
Marie Turmann and her team scored the first win for Estonia in a 4-person world championship. As the game continues to grow, it is terrific to see non-traditional curling countries improve on the world stage.
Switzerland Scores an 8-Ender
Silvana Tirinzoni and Company managed to crack an 8 during their game against Denmark. Although, since cameras weren’t running at the time, does it it really count?
Congratulations to Switzerland's Team Tirinzoni on scoring an 8-ender at the #WWCC2021! 🇨🇭 🤯 pic.twitter.com/y1TBgz7eW1
— World Curling (@worldcurling) May 3, 2021
Winner - Including a Land Acknowledgement in the Broadcast
In 2020, Curling Canada regularly started to include a land acknowledgement during its pre-game ceremonies, but during the bubble, we saw a land acknowledgement on the broadcast for the first time.
Favourite Laura Walker GIF/Hot Mic Moment
With the #curling bubble over, thought it would be fun to do some superlatives and let the #twitterspiel decide
— Game of Stones Podcast (@GameofStonesPod) May 11, 2021
First up - favourite Laura Walker (@crockerwalker) hot mic/GIF moment
Write in answers also welcomed
Strangest Bubble Oddity
In any curling season, some strange things happened, but this year we seemed to see a few more curious situations
Northwest Territories Food Poisoning
One draw into the bubble and we had to have a game postponed as part of the health and safety protocols. Fortunately it wasn’t Covid related and there was an opportunity to play the game on the Monday morning, when no games were scheduled, but just seeing the headline of a game being postponed was particularly concerning given the past year we’ve had.
Germany Plays with 3
Because of positive Covid tests on arrival in Calgary, Daniela Jentsch and her German team had to play the entire Women’s World Curling Championship with only 3 players.
Moudling/Courtney Withdraw from Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship
After suffering a back injury, Darren Moulding was forced was forced to withdraw from the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
False Positive Covid Tests in the Men’s World Championship
With the playoffs set for the Men’s World Championship, we learned that there had been positive tests, forcing a full day delay of the playoff games. The tests were later deemed false positives, although the individuals who had tested positive were not informed of such.
Five Days Without Broadcasts for During the Women’s Worlds
After two full days of competition, we woke up to news that there had been a positive tests among the broadcast staff at the women’s worlds curling championship. The result was that we went five days without broadcasts and were forced to watch a diagram updating every 30 second in order to follow the games.
Winner - Steve Laycock Damages the Ice
a 45-minute delay after a broom slam and then an angle raise to win a game. It was a weird Wednesday night at the Brier.
Bubble Necessity We Should Keep
More #curling bubble superlatives!!
— Game of Stones Podcast (@GameofStonesPod) May 13, 2021
Bubble necessity that should be kept
As always write-ins from the #twitterspiel are welcome
Best Character of the Bubble
Ben Hebert
Not for anything specific, but if there is a camera and live mic, Hebert will have some moments to watch.
Greg Smith
Expectations were high for Smith’s second appearance at the Brier and he did not disappoint.
My TV is muted, but I could still hear Greg Smith make that line call #Brier2021
— Game of Stones Podcast (@GameofStonesPod) March 6, 2021
Heather Nedohin
The former Scotties champ has always been amazing on the mic and she did not disappoint as a coach, offering the best piece of timeout advice during the bubble, telling Team Einarson “let’s not give up a 3-baller here.” Information for life!
Winner - Loopy Vic
After 5 days stuck in his hotel room at the end of 3 months calling games, Vic was having no more of the WADA advise that all references to Russia should be avoided and that the team consisting of Russian players who were selected through the Russian Curling Federation and wearing Russian curlers was not actually Team Russia. During the Women’s Worlds playoffs, Vic had had enough of that and regularly referenced Russia when talking about Team Kovaleva. Add that to his banter with Cathy Gauthier and Vic continues to cement himself as the best to ever call a curling game.
Weirdest Advertising Strategy
Next up in our post #curling bubble superlatives for the #twitterspiel
— Game of Stones Podcast (@GameofStonesPod) May 12, 2021
Most notable advertising theme from a national company
Write ins welcome
Strangest Theme in the Broadcasts
GEAR!
The over/under on GEAR is 10.5 per game. Take the over.
Greg Ewasko Doesn’t Sleep
Greg Ewasko and the entire ice crew did an incredible job of preparing and maintaining the ice through what were clearly very trying conditions. And the broadcast was not shy telling us about the amount of hard work they were putting in.
Calgary is a Great City
The vista shots of Calgary included the Olympic Park and Bow River, which allowed us to track the progress of the spring thaw over the course of the Bubble. And while from all accounts, Calgary is a wonderful city, this ad seemed a little strange in its theming.
Winner - Dawn McEwen’s Cutout Gets More Airtime than Some Teams in the Field
Dawn McEwen is in the discussion of greatest lead of all-time, but did not play in any of the bubble events this season. That didn’t mean she wasn’t included in the broadcast, though! Her cardboard cutout was a staple of the teevee games, particularly when her teammates on Team Jones or her husband were the feature game. If you added up the amount of screen time the cutout got, I’d be willing to wager that it got more time than several teams who were actually competing in the bubble.
Unsung Hero of the Bubble
Another #curling bubble superlative
— Game of Stones Podcast (@GameofStonesPod) May 15, 2021
Most underrated bubble performance
Write-ins probably not necessary for this one #twitterspiel
Shot of the Bubble
We were treated to some beauties, but these 4 stood out to us.
Brendan Bottcher Runback for the Win - Brier Semi-Final
Bruce Mouat Runback for the Win - Players Championship Semi-Final
A mirror image of the shot Bottcher made to beat Dunstone. So clearly, angle runs to win semi-finals was the key to bubble success.
Greg Smith Around the Horn - Brier RR
Not only the shot, but prefacing it by saying “who care, we’re down 7-1.”
"Who cares, we're down 7-1."@gregsmithnl of Newfoundland and Labrador with an around the horn for the ages at #Brier2021!
— TSN Curling (@TSNCurling) March 8, 2021
🔥🥌⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iS2jGpNT5o
Winner - Kadriana Sahaidak Draw for the Win - Mixed Doubles Semi-Final
These types of shots don’t get the same attention as the big weight bombers, but the degree of difficulty on this shot was insanely high.
Game of the Bubble
Matt Sussman did a poll highlighting some of the best games of the bubble (which you can check out here), but shockingly (to us), our choice for the best game of the bubble - and it wasn’t even close - was not included on the list.
Winner - Alberta v. WC2, Brier Draw 19
This game was incredible! After an opening blank, Bottcher cracks a 4 only for Koe to make a ridiculous angle-raise-split for 3 in the third end. As Russ Howard said, it was “just insane” and that was just the start in what was, in our opinion, easily the most entertaining game of the bubble.
Team of the Bubble
Team Homan
They followed up a Scotties silver medal by winning the Champions Cup and making a playoff run at the Players Championship. Oh, and in between their skip had a baby.
Team Bottcher
After 3 straight Brier silver medals, the Alberta foursome broke through and won their first Brier. A couple weeks later, they made the playoffs at their first world championship, qualifying Canada for the Olympics in the process. After a good run at the Champions Cup, they missed the playoffs at the Players - of course if I had been playing in that event after 10 weeks in the bubble, I wouldn’t have scored a point, let alone win a game.
Team Mouat
Making their bubble debut at the World Championship, they shook off a tough opening draw loss to make the final. Despite coming up short in the final, they took the silver medal and then swept the men’s grand slams, beating Bottcher and Gushue in the two finals.
Winner - Team Einarson
Not sure this is even close. They won the Scotties, won the Players, and made the semi-final of the Champions Cup. Despite 1-5 start, they rebounded to make the playoffs at the Women’s Worlds, qualifying Canada for Beijing 2022. Plus, all four members played in the Canadian Mixed Doubles, 3 of them made the playoffs, and Kerri Einarson picked up her second national championship of the bubble. If you want to know just how dominant this team was in Calgary, their combined record was 46-17.
MVP
Winner - Rachel Homan
Finishing first in the Scotties round robin at 8-months pregnant was impressive enough. But then she made a surprise return at the Champions Cup after giving birth during the Mixed Doubles. It was such a surprise that the team had Laura Walker there with expectation that Homan couldn’t play. But she did and in the first event back, won the Champions Cup, following that up with a playoff run at the Players. While there were plenty of incredible bubble performances this year, Rachel Homan achieved something truly remarkable.
On Wednesday, Curling Canada announced a new process for how teams will qualifiy for the Olympic Trials. There has been some confusion, so hopefully this clarifies this a little.
What was the announcement?
Curling Canada announced a new qualification event that will take place in the fall.
So the current schedule is:
New Olympic Qualification Event (Pre-Pre-Trials) - early fall (dates & location TBD)
Pre-Trials (October 26-31, location TBD)
Olympic Trials (Nov. 20-28, Saskatoon)
Why do they need a new event?
There are multiple ways teams normally qualify for the Olympic Trials. Here is how teams would have qualified for the 9-team field
2019 Canada Cup Winner
2020 Canada Cup Winner
2020 Scotties/Brier Winners
2021 Scotties/Brier Winner
Highest 2-year CTRS team (2019-20, 2020-21 seasons)
Next Highest 2-year CTRS team (2019-20, 2020-21 seasons)
Highest CTRS team (2020-21 season)
Pre-Trials Qualifier
Pre-Trials Qualifier
If there is a team that would qualify twice under these criteria (a team wins both the Canada Cup and Scotties, for instance) the spot goes to the next highest CTRS team.
Why change now?
With no competitive season this year, teams haven’t been able to earn CTRS points.
Who had already qualified for the Olympic Trials?
On the women’s side, Rachel Homan (2019 Canada Cup) and Kerri Einarson (2020 Scotties) had qualified.
On the men’s side, John Epping (2019 Canada Cup) and Brad Gushue (2020 Brier) had qualified.
Curling Canada also announced that Tracy Fleury, Jennifer Jones, Brad Jacobs, Brendan Bottcher, and Kevin Koe have qualified based on 2018-19 and 2019-20 CTRS points.
This means there 5 spots in the women’s field and 4 spots in the men’s field left to fill.
Why not just use the Pre-Trials to fill the rest of the spots?
Because Curling Canada doesn’t want to get yelled at.
Really?
Pretty much. Teams that played a lot on tour 2019-20 and were hoping to do the same in 2020-21 to secure a berth into the Trials on points don’t want to go to a last chance qualifier. With the existing system, Curling Canada wants to prioritize playing on Tour and reward teams that are successful throughout the season. Having everyone go to a last chance qualifier shifts the balance and increases the opportunity for teams that don’t play as much.
What is the new event?
We’re calling it the Pre-Pre-Trials. This replaces the berths in the Trials that come from CTRS points.
Who will play in the event?
Curling Canada is using a combination of CTRS points and World Rankings to determine the field. But these teams will be in the field.
Women’s Teams: Suzanne Birt, Corryn Brown, Laura Walker, Casey Scheidegger, Kelsey Rocque
Men’s Teams: Mike McEwen, Jason Gunnlaugson, Glenn Howard, Colton Flasch
How many spots will be available?
3 women’s teams and 2 men’s teams.
Will there still be a Pre-Trials?
Yes. The teams that lose at the Pre-Pre-Trials will be in the Pre-Trials field.
Think of it like the Page Playoff. The Pre-Pre-Trials is the 1-2 game. Winners go straight to the finals, but the loser has to go through the semi-final.
The Pre-Trials will determine the final 2 teams in the Olympic Trials field.
Will the bubble change things?
Maybe. If a team that hasn’t already qualified for the Olympic Trials wins the Scotties or Brier, they will take one of the berths in the Trials field. That will take a spot away from the Pre-Pre-Trials.
For instance, if Sherry Anderson wins the Scotties, she gets a spot in the Olympic Trials and the 5 teams at the Pre-Pre-Trials will compete for 2 spots.
If a team that has qualified for the Pre-Pre-Trials wins the Brier or Scotties, they will no longer play in the Pre-Pre-Trials.
Does this make any sense?
Sort of.
Seriously??
There was no ‘right’ answer here. This is a compromise where Curling Canada is giving tour teams the edge for getting to the Trials, which is the intent of the process. Without a full season, it would be unfair to award all the spots in the Olympic Trials and force everyone else to go to the Pre-Trials, so offering 2 paths to the top teams not yet qualified seems fair.
Will this change?
Maybe? If it’s not possible to host these events, Curling Canada will have to pivot again. For now, though, this is the plan.
Is Canada guaranteed to be in the Olympic field?
No. The World Curling Federation has altered its qualification process for the Olympics. So far, only China (as the host) is guaranteed to be in the field.
The six teams that make the playoffs at the upcoming Men’s and Women’s World Championships qualify for the Olympics. The rest of the field will be filled out through a last chance qualifier in the fall.
What happens if Canada needs to send a representative to play in an Olympic qualifier?
To this point, Curling Canada hasn’t publicly addressed this ity.
Nobody involved in Curling Canada wants this to happen. It would be an angsty summer for Curling Canada if this were to happen. No team would want to play, as it would significantly alter preparations for the Olympic Trials in December. Fortunately for Curling Canada, it’s unlikely that Canada will miss the playoffs, but not impossible. Chelsea Carey’s team missed the playoffs in at the 2019 World Championship. This year’s fields will be strong as all countries want to secure their place in the Beijing 2022 field as soon as possible.
What about mixed doubles?
The mixed doubles Olympic Trials will take place from December 28-January 2.
Since the field is much larger (16 teams), Curling Canada has more wiggle room for the mixed doubles.
4 teams have already qualified:
Rachel Homan/John Morris
Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing
Nancy Martin/Tyrel Griffith
Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant
The 12 remaining teams will come from a combination of this year’s mixed doubles championship, CTRS points, and a Pre-Trials event in December.
Now what?
Wait to see if they can pull off the bubble.
https://www.facebook.com/GameofStonesPodcast
Simulate the season for yourself and tell us who you have as a winner:
https://brantsteele.com/survivor/33/r.php?c=mfS5hCiI
Steve Gould
Alexandra Raeva
John Morris
Cissi Ostlund
Ben Hebert
Joanne Courtney
Pierre Charette
Sanddra Schmirler
Janice Rankin
Matt Hamilton
Chinami Yoshida
Ed Werenich
Dallan Muyres
Valeria Spälty
Ina Forrest
Eddie MacKenzie
Alex Krushelnitskiy
Cathy Overton-Clapham
Nick Myers
Niklas Edin
21:00 - The arena has emptied out and that’s it for our first live blog on gameofstonespod.com. Thanks for following!!
20:56 - The games are done but the night is young. The Patch will be hopping. The teams are hitting the town. I’m getting something to eat.
20:53 - Anna Hasselborg is too deep with her last one and Rachel Homan gets the win for a full Team North America sweep. Just like that it’s a 5-point event going into Sunday.
20:51 - Benoit Schwartz, down 3, makes a nice hit to sit 3 with 2 stones left to come. John Shuster makes a cross-house double to run them out of rocks. The folks next to Sheet C are going crazy, seemingly forgetting that they were subjected to the two worst games today. Sports!
20:42 - First game of the night is in the books as Gushue steals a couple in the 7th to beat Bruce Mouat. With North American leads on the other two sheets, the tide may be turning.
20:30 - BJ Neufeld: Can we play the double?
Rachel Homan: What double?
Neufeld makes a double.
#communication
20:24 - That rocks ends up counting as Hasselborg makes a beauty double to get within 1 playing the 7th.
20:14 - Ben Hebert takes over for Rachel Homan sweeping a Hasselborg stone at the back of the house, prompting laughter from Homan and Joanne Courtney. He didn’t get it out of the house.
20:00 - After de Cruz beat Shuster a couple hours ago, it seems as though they challenged each other to have as many rocks in play as humanly possible. 10 in play right now with 3 to come.
19:45 - Team North America is leading each of the games. There is a hint of optimism in the air.
19:44 - It’s the fourth end break on all the sheets. The stands are emptying, the team benches are emptying. The media bench is expressionless.
19:18 - The clocks on Sheet C aren’t working - both teams have palms facing up talking to the umpires wondering what is happening. If only a similar situation had already happened this year and given Curling Canada an opportunity to come with a backup plan. Don’t worry, it will be fine for the Scotties, right?
19:16 - Tonight’s games are worth two points each, so Team North American can cut an 11 point lead to a 5 point lead and give the crowd some hope. At this point in the weekend they have all lost a bunch of money gambling and are slightly hungover/drunk/not feeling great from too many buffets. They need something to hold on to at this point.
19:02 - He got through the port and removed the Team World stone, but also chipped out his own and only scores one. Perhaps they were both right.
19:01 - Facing one, John Shuster yells down to the other end to ask if the front end thinks there is a shot through a port for 2. Monica Walker quickly says no. With that counsel, Shuster says that he thinks it is easy and is going to play the shot.
18:41 - The evening games are underway with a mixed scramble
Sheet A has Brad Gushue, Kaitlyn Lawes, Brett Gallant, and Dawn McEwen against Bruce Mouat, Jennifer Dodds, Bobby Lammie, and Lauren Gray.
Sheet B (TV game) features Rachel Homan, BJ Neufeld, Joanne Courtney, and Ben Hebert going up against Anna Hasselborg, Oscar Eriksson, Agnes Knochenhauer, and Christoffer Sundgren.
Sheet C is a partial rematch of the afternoon draw as John Shuster, Jamie Sinclair, Matt Hamilton, and Monica Walker are going toe to toe with Benoit Schwartz, Alina Patz, Peter de Cruz, and Melanie Barbezat.
18:14 - This ad for the Orleans buffet has confounded me for the past two days
0 Likes, 0 Comments - Game of Stones Podcast (@gameofstonespod) on Instagram: "So many question about this ad for the Orleans buffet. Why is the guy not looking at the cake he is..."
17:48 - Time for the first adult beverage of the day at the Patch, which is remarkably empty. One can only wonder what was said…
17:26 - Just completed an interview with Brian Chick, author of Written in Stone: A Modern History of Curling for the History Slam podcast. Ain’t nothing like recording in an arena!
16:28 - The now empty arena is eerily quiet. To be fair, Team World has done a pretty good job of quieting this building all week, so it’s not as jarring as it would be otherwise.
16:10 - I talk to Bruce Mouat about the burned rock controversy in his game and he mentions that he was reluctant to move the stone, in part, because the camera angles weren’t great to see if the burned rock would have taken out the rock that was sitting third. Really tough spot for him, especially since the crowd was heavily in favour of the North American team. He also conceded that it may have impacted his next shot, where he was heavy, which led to a big end for Koe.
16:02 - Niklas Edin needs a big scrub to get his final rock to the button, but they get it there and it’s a tie on Sheet B and a split of the points in the afternoon draw. That’s good for Team World given their big lead.
15:51 - Kevin Koe cracks a big number in the 7th end and it’s handshakes on Sheet A.
15:43 - Niklas Edin, short on time, rushes down the ice to pitch his last one through and concede the steal of 1 to go down 4-3 to the 8th end. Not sure why he rushed when letting the clock run out we have led to the same conclusion.
15:37 - Brett Gallant suggests a corner freeze on Sheet A at the same moment as Brad Gushue tells his front end he will play a corner freeze on Sheet B. Kismet.
15:26 - Shuster scores single and it’s hand shakes on Sheet C as Team World picks up another point. The crowd provides the most begrudging applause I may have ever heard. If anything, I think the people next to the sheet are excited to have a clearer view of the other 2 games.
15:24 - Gushue eschews a thin double for 3 in favour of a draw for 1 to tie the game with Edin at 3. Isn’t this supposed to be a fun event? They’re called teevee shots for a reason. Give the people what they want!
15:15 - Shuster misses an angle raise for 2 and gives up another steal to go down 6-1. De Cruz actuially mixed it up in that end, but now it’s peel o’clock. Given the two games on that sheet today, the folks with tickets on that side might consider moving to the other side of the building.
15:12 - The stone is eventually moved about a foot. Mouat jams his shot and Koes has an open hit for 3 to take a 4-2 lead. That was exhausting.
15:06 - Kevin Koe makes a pistol angle-double takeout but the shooter hits Ben Hebert. Some discussion on whether it would have moved the stone that currently is 4th shot. Hebert standing at the Team North America bench and not participating in the conversation.
14:58 - John Shuster is light and gives up a steal of 2 to go down 5-1. Second time today that an American skip is getting blown out on Sheet C
14:47 - Half way through the draw and Team World is up in 2 of the 3 games. We’ve seen this before.
14:22 - A somewhat successful voyage up to the concourse led to the discovery of Elvis, mini-donuts, and people who are here from Australia.
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14:01 - 2-time world champion/Team North America coach Jeff Stoughton is dispatched to the locker room to get Colton Flasch’s throwing broom. It’s a glamorous gig.
13:42 - Seems like the crowd is a little lighter this afternoon than this morning. Some folks perhaps enjoying the sun while they can. Why I am inside again?
13:22 - The scramble match ups have been set:
Sheet A (TV Game) has Kevin Koe, Chris Plys, Brett Gallant, and Ben Hebert vs. Bruce Mouat, Sven Michel, Bobby Lammie, and Valentin Tanner
Sheet B - Brad Gushue, BJ Neufeld, Matt Hamilton, and Geoff Walker vs. Niklas Edin, Grant Hardie, Ramus Wrana, and Hammie McMillan
Sheet C - John Shuster, Mark Nichols, Colton Flasch, and John Landsteiner vs. Benoit Schwartz, Oscar Eriksson, Peter de Cruz, Christoffer Sundgren
12:54 - Back in the arena and some brave souls are already in the stands. None of the players are out on the ice yet, but the people are here.
12:16 - I am standing in the sports book at the Orleans and wondering if I should put down a parlay on the Raptors and Celtics tonight. Who messes that up for me?
11:38 - The Patch is poolside today and all 6 women’s teams are here signing autographs. Pretty big crowds despite the chill in the shade.
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10:57 - Rachel Homan puts a draw through the house, Anna Hasselborg peels out the shot stone and wins 6-5. Team World wins the morning draw 2.5 to 0.5 to take an overall 16-5 lead. Several North American players avoid the media scrum area and, frankly, who can blame there. There is nothing to say.
10:48 - She makes it and the crowd has its biggest cheer of the day. That everyone is that excited about splitting points is biggest indictment on how bad Team North America has been to this point.
10:47 - Eve Muirhead responds with a double, but Jones has an open hit for 3 and the tie.
10:44 - Eve Muirhead, up 3 in the 8th end, crashes on a guard with her first throw and is now in danger of giving up 4 to lose the game. Since Team North America hasn’t given the crowd anything to cheer about, they cheer the miss.
10:24 - The team skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni gets a single and it’s hand shakes on Sheet C as Team World gets the win 8-3.
10:23 - Hasselborg responds by drawing the button against 3 to score a single. Thousands of dreams dashed in an instant.
10:20 - Anna Hasselborg flashes an open hit. The crowd gasps in shock, which is followed by each of them thinking that, since they also flash hits, maybe they will be able to win an Olympic gold medal too.
10:16 - Eve Muirhead misses and Jennifer Jones steals one. Across all three sheets Team North America has scored the last 7 points, confirming again that curling is a game of runs.
10:11 - Jamie Sinclair draws for two, reminding a majority of the crowd that that game is, in fact, still going on.
10:03 - Team North America scores its first points in about 45 minutes as Jones posts a single and Homan cracks a 3. Nevertheless, Team World is in good shape to sweep the draw (again).
9:42 - This is what Rachel Homan faced with the last rock of the fourth end. In related news, she is now down 5-1.
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9:36 - After a lengthy discussion and timeout, Jennifer Jones looks towards the North American bench to ask what the men think. Ben Hebert shrugs. It’s Saturday morning for everyone.
9:19 - We have what could generously called a subdued crowd on hand this morning. Overall attendance is down from past years - there are lots of empty seats in the corners - and the fact that the North American squad hasn’t given them much to cheer about has meant a quiet atmosphere here. Saturday morning in Vegas could also account for this.
9:06 - As has been the theme so far this week, Team World is off to a good starts, leading in two of the three games.
8:45 - This morning’s games are women’s scramble with some interesting pairings on the North American side
Sheet A (TV game) has Jennifer Jones, Sarah Anderson, Jocelyn Peterman, and Monica Walker against Eve Muirhead, Alina Patz, Vicki Chalmers, Melanie Barberzat
Sheet B - Rachel Homan, Kaitlyn Lawes, Joanne Courtney, and Dawn McEwen against Anna Hasselborg, Jennifer Dodds, Agnes Knochenhauer, and Lauren Gray.
Sheet C - Jamie Sinclair, Emma Miskew, Taylor Anderson, and Lisa Weagle against Silvana Tirinzoni, Sara McManus, Esther Neuenschwander, and Sofia Mabergs
8:42 - Welcome to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada! We will be here all day covering the team scrambles as Team North America tries to come back from the 9-point lead that Team World has built over the first two days.
