Bruce Mouat

European Championship Preview

It's time for the 2024 European Curling Championship! Ryan from Rocks Across the Pond joins Sean and Scott for the 5th Annual Bad Beer Bet! They go through the fields for both the A & B events before giving their picks for who will win, who will get relegated, and who will be promoted. For more, join us at GameofStonesPod.com

What's the Value of Streaming & In-Season Lineup Changes

Sean and Scott chat about last weekend's Grand Slam before talking about the state of streaming in the world of curling, including the World Curling Federation's new season pass. They debate the value of streaming games and whether it's a good idea to keep all games behind a paywall. They then discuss a couple of big - and rare - in-season lineup changes for Teams Koe and Gushue and chat about what this trend could mean for the sport moving forward.

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3rd Annual Stoney Awards

It's a tradition like no others - the Stoney Awards! We're back to honour the best in the year in curling. As in the past, we have 10 categories - ranging from Departure of the Year to Team of the Year. Let us know who you would have presented a prestigious Stoney Award for 2023.

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Euros Recap: Best Bad Beer Bet Result Ever!

The Euros are done and the results of the Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond are in and we are excited! We talk about all the action from Scotland, including who is getting promoted, who is getting relegated, and who won! We also finish by briefly talking about the Canadian Club Curling Championship.

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European Championship Preview & Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond

It's that time of year again where the top curling teams in Europe gather to determine the European champion, the teams heading to the world championship, and who will be promoted/relegated next year. It's also the time of year where we go head to head and pit our picks against those of our friends at Rocks Across the Pond. With Jonathan playing in the event this year, we had to do things a little differently so Ryan is flying solo as we preview both the men's and women's events. We go through all the teams in the A events, including some interesting stats that could have a significant impact on the week, before chatting about some of the B event teams that we expect to make a serious push towards promotion. Who do you like this week?

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Postseason Power Rankings

We're back to start wrapping up the season that was in 2022-23! We start by stacking up all the teams in the 4-person game and seeing how they stack up against each other in our power rankings. Sean gives his list of the top 10 teams in the world while Scott offers up his feedback, including some honorable mentions. Let us know who you think we missed out in our rankings.

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New Kids on the Block: Men's Worlds Recap

We're back to recap what was a fun week at the men's world curling championship in Ottawa. We talk about Bruce Mouat getting his first world championship, Brad Gushue earning his third silver medal, and steps forward for Italy and Switzerland. We also debate where Niklas Edin's spinner ranks on the list of all-time greatest shots, the vibe in the building, and how the Patch was this week.

Be sure to check out the Goulden Carolus Classic over in Belgium.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

The Era of Dynasties: Swiss Women Win & Swedish Men Take Their Turn

We're back to talk about all the action at the Women's World Curling Championship. We talk about the dominance of Team Tirinzoni, a surprise silver for Norway, and the week that was for Team Canada. We also go through the rest of the field and talk about the narratives that emerged about the ice before talking about the Canadian Mixed Doubles and Juniors. We then turn our attention to the Men's Worlds, which kick off on Saturday. We go through all 13 teams in the field, discuss how they can navigate the week, and make our picks for who will emerge as the 2023 World Champion.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

2023 Bold Predictions

The guys are back with one of their favourite annual traditions - bold predictions for the year to come! They start by recapping which of last year's predictions came true and then give 13 bold predictions for 2023. They go from championships to breakups to off the ice stories to outline what could be some of the biggest stories of the year.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

20 Years of the World has Caught Up to Canada!" Plus, it's Sherry Anderson's World & Another Slam in the Books

At last week's Grand Slam, only 7 of the 16 playoff teams were Canadian, including only 2 on the men's side. This led to a fresh round of declarations that the world has caught up with Canada. This prompted us to look back at 20 years of this declaration and whether it's (finally) time to retire this narrative.

We also talk about Sherry Anderson winning her fifth(!!!!) consecutive Canadian senior championship and the ways the finals played out at the Masters.

To see the articles mentioned in the episode, check out this blog from our website: A Brief History of "The World has Caught up to Canada'

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Bad Beer Bet Win & A Very Busy Week in Curling

Sean and Scott start off by celebrating their win in the annual Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond. They then get into the European championship playoffs and who is heading up and down next year as well as who booked their spots in the world championship. They then go through what is a very busy week in curling, including the Canadian club championship, the Canadian senior championship, and the world mixed doubles qualifying event. They finish up by talking about which beers they should pick for Ryan and Jonathan.

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Madeleine Dupont Proves Scott Wrong! And What's the Value of Rankings?

In this episode, Sean and Scott talk about a fun week so far at the European Championships. They discuss Madeleine Dupont's incredible run, the women's final, and the crowded middle of the women's field. They also chat about the men's side and how things look heading into the second semi final. They then look at the current CTRS, Ken Pom, and Twine Time rankings and debate about the value of ranking systems and whether they warrant so much attention.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Men's Euros Preview & Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond

In this crossover episode, Sean is joined by the Professor of Peel, Jonathan Havercroft, to preview the men's A & B fields for the 2022 European Curling Championship, which starts Saturday in Ostersund, Sweden. They go through the A division team by team and discuss how each team looks heading into the week before making their picks for who books their spot in the world championship and who gets relegated. They then chat about the B division, which teams stand out, and who may have the edge for promotion.

For a full preview of the women's field, be sure to check out Ryan and Scott's preview on Rocks Across the Pond.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Best Games of the Quad

This week, Sean and Scott look back at the best games from the past four years. From worlds to Olympics to national championships, they talk about the most exciting matches that still hold some re-watchability. Agree with their list? Be sure to let them know what they missed.

To see the list, including links to watch the game, check out the accompanying blog post.
For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Curling World Roundup

In this episode, Sean and Scott go around the curling world to catch up on all the goings on over the past couple of weeks. They start by talking about Niklas Edin's 4th straight world championship (2:15) and hear from Oskar Eriksson and Niklas Edin on what the win means for the team (10:04). They then discuss Sean's experience in Las Vegas, the crowd size, and Vegas' future as a host city for curling events (12:25).

That's followed by a chat about the Players Championship, including Bruce Mouat and Anna Hasselborg's wins (17:09) before moving on to previewing the Mixed Doubles World Championship (24:39) and World Senionr Championship (36:38), both of which kick off this weekend in Geneva.

They finish by looking at the lineup announcement for the new Team Bottcher (40:07) and breaking down their own results as their season starts to wind down (44:49).

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That's a Wrap! Full Olympic Curling Recap

The Beijing 2022 Olympics are done, but Sean and Scott are just getting started as they look back at all the curling stories from the past 3 weeks. They start by talking about the women’s field (5:45), including Eve Muirhead’s dominant performance in the gold medal game, a great week for Satsuke Fujisawa, another medal for Anna Hasselborg, and what went wrong for Team Canada. They then break down the men’s field (33:30) from Niklas Edin capping his career, a Bruce Mouat’s silver, a great week for the Americans, and the end of Team Gushue’s remarkable run. They wrap up by reflecting on the mixed doubles event (57:25) and how Team Italy dominated the field, the strange circumstances of Team Australia, and what the expectations should be for Canada moving forward, including the role fans have in supporting the athletes.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Biggest Stories of the 2022 Olympics...So Far

In this episode, Sean and Scott look at all the curling goings on at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. They start by giving their overall impressions (1:34) before moving on to some of the biggest stories of the week. They explore why Silvana Tirinzoni and Niklas Edin sit at the top of the table (3:45), whether Jennifer Jones & Brad Gushue's struggles at last stone draw are overstated (8:00), the problems with the broadcast (13:00), and the ice conditions at the Ice Cube (22:15).

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Who Ya Got? Each Team's Strengths Heading into the Olympics

In this episode, Sean and Scott talk about the 4-person team competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. They start by discussing their level of excitement heading into the week and the challenges of how long the event will be. They then go through the field team by team, starting with going through the strengths and potential weaknesses for all 10 women's teams before making their podium picks(3:30). They wrap up by playing some word association for the 10 men's teams as they debate who stands out as the favourite and make their picks (32:16).

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High Expectations!?! Who has the Edge in Mixed Doubles at the Olympics

In this episode, Sean and Scott look ahead to the mixed doubles competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They go through all 10 teams competing in Beijing and discuss what will constitute a successful week. They also go through some key stats for each team and make their picks for who will stand on the podium at the end of the week.

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10 Burning Questions Heading into the Olympics

In this episode, Sean and Scott look ahead to 2022 Winter Olympic Games by addressing some of the biggest questions heading into the competition.

Will everyone be able to play? (5:20)

How will the ice conditions be? (9:36)

What is the magic number for losses to still make the playoffs? (13:16)

Will one player win two medals? (14:57)

How will the Chinese curling team perform? (18:33)

What style of play should we expect? (23:07)

Is this the best American curling contingent ever? (28:10)

Will there be an upset? (32:33)

Does Canada have to win a medal? (35:20)

Will one country sweep the gold medals? (42:02)

Are there any players you want to see win? (44:15)

Let us know what you think of these burning questions on social media @GameofStonesPod

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com