Behind the Scenes of the Canadian Junior Program

In 2021, Curling Canada announced that it was changing the timing of the Canadian Junior Curling Championship, allowing teams that win a full season to prepare for the world championship. That puts junior champions in a unique situation as they have access to resources that were not previously available to Canadian champions. This week, Adam Naugler, the lead for Team Johnson Tao, joined Sean to talk about the team's season as the Canadian junior champions. He talks about the challenge of balancing curling and school, the pressure of the Junior B championship to qualify for the world juniors, the resources available to them from Curling Canada, and the state of junior curling in Canada.

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Brier Recap & Women's Worlds Preview

In the midst of the very busy Season of Champions, we're back to recap the week that was at the Brier and look ahead to the Women's World Curling Championship. We start by recapping the Brier, including Gushue's run of dominance, a great week for Saskatchewan, and some of the best stand out performances of the week. At 31:05 we look ahead to the Women's Worlds by previewing all 13 teams in the field, including Silvana Tirinzoni going for her 5th consecutive title. We wrap the show by talking about our attempt to watch curling at Montana's during the Brier.

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Biggest Brier Preview

The Season of Champions is in full swing withe the first ever Montana's Brier set to kick off on Friday. We talk about the format, the storylines, and all 18 teams heading to Regina before making our picks for who will stand tall at the end of the week.

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Scotties Recap: Passing the Torch

We join you nearly live from the Ottawa Curling Club, home of Team Homan, to talk about an action packed week at the Scotties. From Rachel Homan capturing her fourth title to Kerri Einarson's remarkable streak coming to an end to the retirement of Jennifer Jones, there was a lot going on in Calgary and we try to cover it all.

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The Ascension of Team Jacobs: Ten Years Later

We're turning the clock back a decade as it was 10 years ago this week that Team Jacobs made their incredible undefeated run through the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. We discuss the team's rise to prominence, whether the Trials (in particular this shot) represent the team's peak, and what came after the Olympic gold medal.

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Kelowna Controversy

We get together to talk about what has been an eventful week at the Pan Continental Curling Championship in Kelowna. We break down TSN's decision to move the games off teevee and exclusively to streaming, Brad Gushue offering some strong criticism for the World Curling Federation, and what this all says about the state of the event, now in its second year. Following that, we talk about the games being played, including both Canadian teams qualifying for the playoffs, the world qualifiers, and the great story being written by Jamaica on the women's B-side.

Check out the Belgium Women's and Men’s Challenger Events early next year!

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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.

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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.

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Brier Recap: Another Dynasty

We're back to recap what was an eventful week in London. We talk about Brad Gushue capturing his fifth Brier title, the cruelty of small misses that cost Matt Dunstone, and Marc Kennedy's stellar play. We also talk about the format, Kevin Koe's tough loss, and breakthrough performances by the Horgan brothers. We wrap up by talking about Colin Hodgson and Ryan Fry's departures and David Murdoch's tough position.

Be sure to check our socials for our giveaway of an Ailsa Craig print by Daniel Martin

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Brier Update: Strategy Talk, Playoff Expectations, & New Merch Store

The Brier playoffs are set and we're here to talk about what we've seen so far and the playoffs coming up this weekend in London. We talk about Thursday morning's game between Quebec and Wild Card 1, the dominance of the top 4 teams, and how things are stacking up heading into the weekend. We then chat about some of the other stories of the week before talking about our new Merch store and what is now available.

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Big Brier Preview

We're back to preview the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier! We talk about all 18 teams in the field in London, ON, including the favourites, the young teams trying to establish themselves, and some of the new and returning faces. We also make our picks for the week and announce the winner of our Ailsa Craig print. If you didn't win, have no fear, we're doing another giveaway for the Brier!

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Scotties Recap: Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back

We're back to review an eventful 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. We start by talking about Kerri Eirnarson's 4th straight Scotties title and her final win over Jennifer Jones. We then discuss another podium finish for Krista McCarville and a breakout week for Christina Black before going through some of the highlights from the rest of the field. 

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Scotties Trends Heading into Playoffs

We're back to chat about some of the trends we've seen this week at the Scotties. We discuss the playoff scenarios, the increase in scoring from last year, and time management for teams with more active front ends. We wrap up by talking about the rather interesting measures we've seen, the ice conditions, and the new look TSN booth. 

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Super Scotties Preview

It's time for our favourite event on the curling calendar, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. We talk about Joanne Courtney joining the TSN booth for the week and how strong the field is before turning our attention to each team. We go team-by-team through the pools to talk about the lineups, the favourites, and who we think will stand tall at the end of the week. We wrap up by talking about our special Scotties giveaway.  

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News Roundup & First Timer Live Event Tips

There's been a lot going on in curling, so Sean and Scott roundup all the news, including the Grand Slam, provincial results, and some lineup changes. They also dish out some tips for first timers heading to live events during the Season of Champions.

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What's the Word? New Team Edition

This week, Sean and Scott go through some of the biggest new teams announced during curling's free agent frenzy. They go through 10 women's and 10 men's teams and give their words to describe each of the new lineups. They also talk about how they think the teams will stack up next year and how some of the most competitive provinces will look as we enter the new Olympic quad.

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The Arena Club Experience with Palmetto Curling & the last big Events of the Season

In this episode, Sean flies solo as he goes around the world of curling as the season inches to its conclusion. He starts by discussing the Champions Cup (1:15) and EJ Harndon joining Team Gushue, including the residency implications (9:45). He then talks about the U18 Canadian championship (11:35) and looks ahead to the World Junior Curling Championship (17:08).

He's then joined by Brian Champion-Westcott of the Palmetto Curling Club (23:00). They chat about the impact of the Olympics on the club, recruiting members in the southern United States, and the challenges of being an arena curling club, including the struggle to set up the ice and inconsistent ice conditions. 

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Is the Power Play Good for Mixed Doubles? Plus, More World Championships & the Final Grand Slam

In this episode, Sean and Scott go around the world of curling to discuss the latest developments. They start by talking about the World Senior Curling Championships (2:40) and the Mixed Doubles World Championship (5:23). They then do a deep dive into the Power Play statistics and debate whether it helps or hurts the mixed doubles discipline, particularly when it comes to keeping games close (14:04). They finish up by chatting about the Canadian U18 Championship (31:55), previewing the Champions Cup (33:55), and how to watch the Wheelchair Mixed Doubles World Championship (43:05).

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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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(Nearly) Live from Men's World Curling Championship

In this week's episode, Sean talks with some of the players at the 2022 Men's World Curling Championship.

Hear from Ross Patterson, Oskar Eriksson, Korey Dropkin, Brad Gushue, Amos Mosaner, Magnus Ramsfjell, Lukas Klima, Craig Saville, Yannick Schwaller, Niklas Edin, and Brett Gallant as they talk about the ice conditions, world championship debuts, Olympic hangovers, and the state of the world championship in a sport so focused on the Olympic Games.

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