Curl the Zoo » Winter Olympics

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Citing “emotional and physical fatigue,” the men’s Olympic curling team has withdrawn from the US Curling National Championships.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The U.S. Olympic men’s curlers have withdrawn from next week’s nationals because of emotional and physical exhaustion.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

Kalamazoo Curling Club on the Nonchalant Café

Jason — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:58:44 +0000

Tune in to 89.1 FM TODAY during the noon hour for a conversation with the vice president (“vice skip,” as we like to say around here) regarding the Kalamazoo Curling Club, the 2010 Curling Nationals, the Olympics and all things curling. If you miss it, just check back later on the Nonchalant Café Hour’s web site, where you’ll more than likely be able to hear it again at your leisure.

Operation Recycle

Jason — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:27:56 +0000

Olympic curling won’t get underway until the 16th of February (see our full listing of curling at the Vancouver games), so you have a little bit of time to kill until you can watch curling in earnest. While you’re waiting, have a try at “Operation Recycle.” It’s a silly game of curling where the Olympic mascots try to curl recycling bins of paper, glass and plastic onto a target. Cheap thrills… and your kids might like it too…

The Science of Curling

Jason — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:42:04 +0000

Lots of people ask… why sweep? Why is the ice weird? Why all the yelling? Here’s a video that helps to explain the sport — and the science behind the sport — to people who are curious to know more… The Olympics are 3 days away!