Curl the Zoo » Winter Olympics

Kalamazoo’s Connection to the Brier

Jason — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:01:43 +0000

Well, the news came out today that the Olympic champion Kevin Martin has picked his 5th for the upcoming Brier in March. Marc Kennedy (the second for Martin’s team) and his wife are expecting a child right about the same time that the Brier is happening, so an alternate for the team is of utmost importance. They have selected Dustin Eckstrand, who plays regularly with Martin in a league in Alberta. If the Eckstrand name sounds familiar to you… it should! Kalamazoo Curling Club secretary Garnet Eckstrand is Dustin’s uncle. So if you needed any more reasons to follow the Brier… there it is!

Kalamazoo Curling Club updates…

Jason — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:15:57 +0000

First things first… the holiday season is among us, and it sure was refreshing to see curling included on the 2010 Lego Advent Calendar! If only they had included some curling mini figures or little Lego stones. For those, you have to be creative, and if you want to see a fantastic Lego curling set-up, take a look at this. It was done around the same time as the 2010 Winter Olympics, but it’s still pretty impressive for those nerdy enough to enjoy Lego AND curling. And if you’re interested in some fantastic Lego curling, take a look at the last end of this fantastic Lego curling match. The last shot is truly unbelievable!

Okay… now for some serious stuff. We have an extra sheet available during our Monday Super League™. Interested curlers can use the ice from 8-10 p.m. each Monday night. Cost for non-members is $20; members get the ice for $10 each. We do have a limit of 8 people, so if you are interested, be sure to show up in a timely manner.

Our Friday night league Winter session will get underway on February 11. There is still time for you to get your team together to join our next session. Visit the league page for more information.

Also, there has been a call for some open curling dates, and we have worked some out.

Sunday, 12/26, 5-7 pm
Friday, 1/14, 7-9 pm
Friday, 1/21, 7-9 pm
Saturday, 1/29, 8-10 pm
Saturday, 2/26, 9-11 pm
Saturday, 3/5, 8-10 pm

One or more of these will offer learn-to-curl opportunities too. We’ll learn more about that in the next day or two, and post that information here as well.

Check the calendar for more information about more bonspiels in the area. We’ll be posting more there in the next few days.

Debbie McCormick in Ft. Wayne

Jason — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:48:30 +0000

Our friends at the Fort Wayne Curling Club are lucky enough to be hosting the 2010 Olympian Debbie McCormick in early November. You may remember her as the skip for the US team at the Olympics in Vancouver. Anyhow… she will be in Fort Wayne selling some curling goods and offering some instruction too. Details will be more… detailed… as the event gets closer. But for now, put Sunday, November 6 and Monday, November 7 on your calendars if this sounds like something you could be interested in. More details will surely be found on the Fort Wayne Curling Club web site.

From the Twitter…

Jason — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:12:44 +0000

A little something that was seen on the old fashioned “Twitter” thing:

Team Shuster Withdraws

Jason — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:44:36 +0000

Citing “emotional and physical fatigue,” the men’s Olympic curling team has withdrawn from the US Curling National Championships. It is believed that Team Shuster will be replaced by Wes Johnson’s rink out of Seattle. The most recent draw has been posted to the USA Curling web site.

[UPDATE] – From the AP:

The U.S. Olympic men’s curlers have withdrawn from next week’s nationals because of emotional and physical exhaustion.
Lead John Benton said he brought up the idea after the team’s disappointing performance in Vancouver but insists it had nothing to do with the Americans’ last-place finish at 2-7.

The lineup already was to be without vice skip Jason Smith, with Olympic alternate Chris Plys set to replace him.

“We all underestimated the drain that this would be,” Benton said. “It’s kind of convenient to say based on our results that we might have pulled out. I can’t say that even if we had done well we wouldn’t have made the same decision. It’s just so physically and emotionally taxing. I think it’s just a relief to everybody to be done and put it to bed.”

Benton said he will enjoy playing a no-pressure league game Tuesday back home in Minnesota.

The eight-day national tournament starts next weekend in Kalamazoo. By skipping nationals, this team can’t qualify for the 2010 world championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, held from April 3-11.

The men’s team accepted the invitation to nationals before the mid-December deadline, but Benton said if the players had known how tired they would be now they probably wouldn’t have done so.

Skip John Shuster’s team will be replaced at nationals by the next squad in line from this season’s national playoffs, Wes Johnson’s team from Seattle.”

Curling Pageant?

Jason — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:47:55 +0000

Everyone knows that sex sells… and the curling world can’t be immune to that, it would seem. With all of the exposure that the Olympic games are bringing to the sport of curling here in the United States, it was only a matter of time before the athletes were ranked according to their skin-deep beauty. This is America, after all. But hey, maybe this is one of the ways that the sport can establish a foot-hold… take a look at the Huffington Post’s “judge a curler by their looks” vote.

WOW. That’s high praise!

Jason — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:11:35 +0000

Okay, so they get their digs in about the possibility that curlers are still somehow less than “real” athletes… but here is yet another voice that speaks the high praise of the game now that the Olympics have shared this sport with our country. It comes from the Michigan Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Michigan. For at least one person there, curling saved the Winter Olympics!

The Curler You Won’t See…

Jason — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:45:39 +0000

…and yet, of any of the curlers on Team USA, Chris Plys seems to be the most ubiquitous. You’ll find him on Twitter. You’ll find him on MySpace. You’ll find him on Facebook. He’s been on reality TV shows, and he keeps popping up on all sorts of coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Chris Plys is the alternate for the US Olympic Curling Team, so unless there is an injury, or one of his teammates starts really playing badly, we probably won’t see him out on the ice during the Olympics. But we sure are seeing him everywhere else… Today, we find him on the front page of CNN.com.

Something to Watch For…

Jason — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:23:09 +0000

Well, the US Men have lost their first match 7-5 against Germany. They’ll be playing again this evening against Norway. Now, the thing to keep a VERY close eye on will be Team Norway’s pants. They may not be easy to spot, so you might need to do some eye exercises to help you see them. Okay, this might not be entirely true. They’re actually attracting quite a lot of attention, and hopefully Team USA won’t be too distracted by them. Want a pair for yourself?

Hurry! Hurry! HARD! D’oh!

Jason — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:17:44 +0000

You may recall that at one point, Springfield was due to host the Olympic games. Homer was prepared to make a killing selling Olympic mascot souvenirs (all kids love Springy the Spring!). Alas, Bart wrecked it all, and the IOC awarded the games to Shelbyville. D’oh! Well, tonight the Simpsons get another chance at the Olympics, as Homer and Marge qualify for the US Olympic curling team. Tune in to FOX at 8 p.m. to find out how Marge manages to hurt her arm… do the Simpsons bring home gold for Team USA?

[UPDATE] Simpsons win gold!!

[UPDATE 2] Spoiler alert!

[UPDATE 3] D’oh!

[UPDATE 4] Video