Curling

[Fukui San]

I presume the top four teams for each group will play for medals, right? How do ties work?  Are there tie breakers or play-in games?

The US is in the odd position in both Men and Women's of being in fifth and needing to beat the current #2 team in their last round robin game to force a tie for fourth place. I don't know what tiebreaker status might be.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Fukui San

[Eyes High]

I read somewhere (CBC?) that with an increasingly competitive field, the Canadians can't expect to just show up and win anymore. The men and women's teams have gotten complacent, and it shows.

I always got the impression that (in Canada, at least) curling is like hockey: it's a scandal if the Canadians don't win. I expect a lot of teeth gnashing and soul searching in light of the women's team's failure to make the medal round.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Eyes High

[Cindyluwho]

There has been  a lot of discussion around Canadians going to other countries to coach and grow the sport. Many  people were afraid it would lead to us losing our dominance in the sport. Maybe That is partially what happened here, but I am more inclined to believe that Homan just curled like shit. 

[Garden Wafers]

2 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I presume the top four teams for each group will play for medals, right? How do ties work?  Are there tie breakers or play-in games?

The US is in the odd position in both Men and Women's of being in fifth and needing to beat the current #2 team in their last round robin game to force a tie for fourth place. I don't know what tiebreaker status might be.

Top 4 teams advance to the playoffs; in case of ties for qualifying spots, they'll go for tie breakers. The US men need to beat Great Britain for a chance at the playoffs; depending on other results, they can either be seeded 2, 3, or probably play against the Japanese team in a tiebreak. The US women need to beat Sweden and hope Switzerland beat Japan in order to force a tiebreak. The main World Curling Federation site has outlines all the possible scenarios for the playoffs. 

[Tanichka]

Does Homan being out mean that CBC is going to stop the 24-hour a day curing coverage?  So BORING.

[mtlchick]

Just now, Tanichka said:

Does Homan being out mean that CBC is going to stop the 24-hour a day curing coverage?  So BORING.

It does feel like that!  I mean, curling seems to be the event that starts the earliest overall, but you have Canadians competing in other events with a good chance of medals and we're watching Homan and company flailing.  I know little about curling, but I felt that they had an ego going in and didn't rectify that until it was too late. 

[Garden Wafers]

1 minute ago, Tanichka said:

Does Homan being out mean that CBC is going to stop the 24-hour a day curing coverage?  So BORING.

I thought it would actually be the opposite; not only is the men's team still in competition, but now there's the added spice of multiple "What Went Wrong" analyses for the women's team. Of course, I say this as an American with no access to the CBC. 

[Tanichka]

4 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

  I mean, curling seems to be the event that starts the earliest overall, but you have Canadians competing in other events with a good chance of medals and we're watching Homan and company flailing. 

Thank you!  I wanted to see other events.  NBC had women's skiing, which is almost as dull as curling.

 

3 minutes ago, Garden Wafers said:

Of course, I say this as an American with no access to the CBC. 

Lucky you!

[Quickbeam]

I hope Skaslien and Nedregotten (Norway) get the bronze for mixed doubles. If they don't penalize the Russians then the doping efforts mean nothing. 

[mledawn]

Watch CBC.ca - they have all the events going. You can even watch previous days' events. 

Homan was a huge disappointment and Koe is also crapping the bed. As someone above said, at least we still have the Norwegian pants.

[walnutqueen]

7 minutes ago, mledawn said:

As someone above said, at least we still have the Norwegian pants.

Sometimes, that's ALL we have ...  ;-)(

[SeanC]

36 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Homan was a huge disappointment and Koe is also crapping the bed. As someone above said, at least we still have the Norwegian pants.

Huh?  Koe had a rough patch, but his team is #2 overall, with an identical shot percentage to Sweden and only one more loss than them.

[Athena]

13 hours ago, Cindyluwho said:

There has been  a lot of discussion around Canadians going to other countries to coach and grow the sport. Many  people were afraid it would lead to us losing our dominance in the sport. Maybe That is partially what happened here, but I am more inclined to believe that Homan just curled like shit. 

I am not an avid curler nor curling watcher, but I am a casual fan and if I had more time and money, it's a sport I'd like to try. I am not good at analyzing the sport, but Homan seemed complacent in these games. I enjoyed watching Katilyn Lawes and John Morris more in mixed doubles. 

I think it's a good thing when Canadians go to other countries to coach and grow the sport, it benefits the sport in the longer term and adds more to the overall game and international participation. It does increase competition and it's interesting to watch non-traditional curling countries take to it so well like the Koreans.  Diversity in sport is a good thing. It did seem to me that Homan faltered in general. It's sad. 

[Cindyluwho]

2 minutes ago, Athena said:

I am not an avid curler nor curling watcher, but I am a casual fan and if I had more time and money, it's a sport I'd like to try. I am not good at analyzing the sport, but Homan seemed complacent in these games. I enjoyed watching Katilyn Lawes and John Morris more in mixed doubles. 

I think it's a good thing when Canadians go to other countries to coach and grow the sport, it benefits the sport in the longer term and adds more to the overall game and international participation. It does increase competition and it's interesting to watch non-traditional curling countries take to it so well like the Koreans.  Diversity in sport is a good thing. It did seem to me that Homan faltered in general. It's sad. 

I am a former semi-competitive curler...and still curl for fun. I agree that growing the sport in other countries makes us better. We have to keep improving to stay on top. We can't just rest on our laurels. 

Not sure what happened with the team, and Rachel especially. Were  they too confident?  Maybe, but you would think they would have snapped out of it after the first 2 losses.  Other than the Trials, they didn't really have a stellar season. They really picked a bad week to fall apart. 

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, Cindyluwho said:

I am a former semi-competitive curler...and still curl for fun. I agree that growing the sport in other countries makes us better. We have to keep improving to stay on top. We can't just rest on our laurels. 

I would believe that.  I remember hearing at one point that women's hockey would be taken out because it will always lead to a Canada/USA final.  Ok, it still does, but there has been progress in other countries.   I think it's a sport that would appeal to someone who isn't fully "fit" but stays active and loves strategy games.

[Daisy]

I was soo disappointed in Homan's performance. like they all stank.  this is the one little "eh" i have about trials, I don't think they would have been the team I would have sent (because they've always been inconsistent)-but they put it together that day. (well period LOL). first time Canada doesn't medal in this event. boo. 

[Quickbeam]

I just love saying "shot rock". I try and work it into my every day conversation. Plus we have WI in the house! 

[AshleyN]

18 hours ago, Eyes High said:

I read somewhere (CBC?) that with an increasingly competitive field, the Canadians can't expect to just show up and win anymore. The men and women's teams have gotten complacent, and it shows.

I always got the impression that (in Canada, at least) curling is like hockey: it's a scandal if the Canadians don't win. I expect a lot of teeth gnashing and soul searching in light of the women's team's failure to make the medal round.

 

That's been the case for awhile now though: Homan's win at last year's World Championships (where she actually went undefeated) was Canada's first for a women's team in almost a decade. Tbh, when it comes to the women in particular I don't think we've every been as dominant as a lot of Canadians probably assume we are. I guess the big difference though is in the depth of the competition -- there aren't really a lot of gimme wins anymore to get you through when you're struggling.

I imagine this was more a case of the pressure getting to her, then getting rattled and panicky when things started to go badly.

Edited February 21, 2018 by AshleyN

[Bort]

7 hours ago, mledawn said:

As someone above said, at least we still have the Norwegian pants.

Not anymore, Norway is out too. 

[mledawn]

9 hours ago, SeanC said:

Huh?  Koe had a rough patch, but his team is #2 overall, with an identical shot percentage to Sweden and only one more loss than them.

Well sure, now. I guess I was still reacting to the USA loss. Go Koe!

[Garden Wafers]

So happy for Shuster and the USA team, but I wouldn't want to be in Koe's shoes right now. 

[mtlchick]

The upside is that Team USA is going to make Kirstie Alley eat her words that curling is "boring." 

[SeanC]

Disappointing for Koe and co., but of course they can still medal, even if some will criticize them for it.

Good job by the USA, though the Swedes have to be considered the favourites at this point, which would be their first gold in men’s curling.

[RHJunkie]

On 2/20/2018 at 10:31 PM, Cindyluwho said:

There has been  a lot of discussion around Canadians going to other countries to coach and grow the sport. Many  people were afraid it would lead to us losing our dominance in the sport. Maybe That is partially what happened here, but I am more inclined to believe that Homan just curled like shit. 

How satisfying is winning when you have little to no competition? Growing the game makes competitions more meaningful. As a country, we should take pride in the fact that we can contribute to growing the game, and that should equally make us motivated to keep us learning and growing. I only watch curling during the Olympics and so I never look at Canada as the obvious favourites for gold but I carry the assumption that they are usually a favourite to medal. Falling short of that is probably evidence that either Canada is not growing along with the sport, or like you mentioned, in some isolated manner, Homan squandered her Olympic opportunity.

Edited February 22, 2018 by RHJunkie

[NUguy514]

Wait, we beat Canada in curling????  Uhhh....

[mtlchick]

We will always have mixed doubles gold I guess. 

[Tanichka]

On 2018-02-22 at 9:11 AM, mtlchick said:

The upside is that Team USA is going to make Kirstie Alley eat her words that curling is "boring." 

She’s not wrong, tho.

[Cindyluwho]

7 minutes ago, Tanichka said:

She’s not wrong, tho.

To each his own. To the casual observer, someone who watches only once every 4 years, it may seem boring. For those of us who grew up watching and participating in the sport, we appreciate the skill, mental sharpness, and top fitness level required to play this sport at a competitive level.  

 

One of the things I love about the sport at a non competitive level is that it truly is a sport for life.  My uncle played weekly up to the age of 88.

[Quickbeam]

Looks like the Norwegian mixed double team will get the bronze at the ceremony. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/23/norwegians-could-get-curling-bronze-before-games-over-after-russian-doping-sanction/366044002/

[galaxygirl76]

That makes me happy because they were robbed of that experience by cheating not! Russians. 

[Irlandesa]

I hold no opinion about whether or not curling is boring.  In some ways I think it is but in other ways, once I start watching a match, I can't seem to stop until it's over. 

But I do think it feels like it's the unexpected sport of the Olympics in the USA.  Anecdotally, I feel as if there has been more curling talk than I remember in the past.  So there's something about it that's working and I wouldn't be surprised if it trended tonight during the gold medal round.

[NUguy514]

Holy.  Shit.

[biakbiak]

Woot! USA For curling gold!

Edited February 24, 2018 by biakbiak

[dankesean]

Wow. Two weeks ago if you told me that would happen I'd have thought I was crazy. Not you, because I'd believe that nobody would ever be crazy enough to actually predict a U.S. gold in curling, so obviously the insanity would lie in my ability to perceive the world.

Amazing job, guys.

[Garden Wafers]

I wonder if shustering will be given a new definition now. 

[Mittengirl]

I still don’t have a firm grasp on the game, but that was very cool!

Edited February 24, 2018 by Mittengirl

[Bama]

I literally understand nothing I just watched for the last few hours but damn if I wasn't tense and nervous.

Shuster looks really slim now and how cool that he had such an unfortunate reputation for choking and he's the one to bring it home.  USA!

[Souris]

NBC's website gave it the headline "Miracurl on Ice." I could not possibly love that more.

Wow. Way to go!

I think curling fever is gonna be sweeping the U.S. Hee.

[Cindyluwho]

Congrats to Team Shuster on their gold medal. Hopefully this will grow the sport  and give American curlers a bit more credibility with other Americans. 

[KenyaJ]

6 hours ago, Souris said:

I think curling fever is gonna be sweeping the U.S. Hee.

I was really shocked and amused last night when I saw Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs tweeting his support to the team before their match. And so many of the people I follow were tweeting about how they were up at 3 a.m. (like me) on the edge of their seats.

[Quof]

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.  It's just a big game of crokinole, and who hasn't played that?

[walnutqueen]

It was a thing of beauty to watch the Americans win that gold.  I cried happy tears, and forgot all about the Canadian "losses".

 

1 minute ago, Quof said:

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.  It's just a big game of crokinole, and who hasn't played that?

They may think that until they actually try it.  (And I've never even heard of crokinole!).

[Quof]

What???? Aren't you Canadian?  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crokinole

And for the truly Canadian

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/two-games-better-than-one-412718253.html

[Cindyluwho]

12 minutes ago, Quof said:

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.  It's just a big game of crokinole, and who hasn't played that?

I have curled much more than I have played crokinole.

[walnutqueen]

13 minutes ago, Quof said:

What???? Aren't you Canadian?  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crokinole

And for the truly Canadian

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/two-games-better-than-one-412718253.html

Yes, I.AM.CANADIAN.  

And I never lived under a rock (or a bridge, for that matter).   ;-)

[xaxat]

36 minutes ago, Quof said:

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.

I would be an awful curler, but I did like the part when the US was tossing stones all the way through the house to keep them out of play.

Because that, I think I could do.

I also loved how one of the US team just could not stop laughing after he realized what they had done.

[Souris]

5 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

I was really shocked and amused last night when I saw Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs tweeting his support to the team before their match. 

I saw that tweet and was like "WHOA!" People at work have been talking more about curling than any other sport these Olympics.

The Carolina Panthers' head coach even went to learn how to curl (video-documented). 

[Darknight]

5 hours ago, Quof said:

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.  It's just a big game of crokinole, and who hasn't played that?

Not me. I can't even play bowling 

Never watched curling but made an exception.

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Quof said:

Curling is the only Olympic sport that everyone watching feels they could really do.  It's just a big game of crokinole, and who hasn't played that?

I think it's the one sport that everyone thinks they could really do.  Although I bet some of us think bobsledding or skeleton are feasible too.

4 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

I can't wait for this to be made into a movie. Hooray USA Curling! <3 

I was just thinking this could be right up the Cohen Brothers' Alley.  The four characters include 3 Minnesotans and 1 Wisconsinite.  There's the quirky story of the one teammate whose parents made him sleep in a bucket at their curling club.  There's the redemptive arc of the elite athletes getting chosen to go to the big US training program while none of them got invited.  So the skip got back into shape and put together a "rejects" group that won gold. 

[walnutqueen]

2 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I think it's the one sport that everyone thinks they could really do.  Although I bet some of us think bobsledding or skeleton are feasible too.

I was just thinking this could be right up the Cohen Brothers' Alley.  The four characters include 3 Minnesotans and 1 Wisconsinite.  There's the quirky story of the one teammate whose parents made him sleep in a bucket at their curling club.  There's the redemptive arc of the elite athletes getting chosen to go to the big US training program while none of them got invited.  So the skip got back into shape and put together a "rejects" group that won gold. 

Oh, yah.  I would SOOO love this movie!