Registered: Mar 2014
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Might your tv have a "mute" button?

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Registered: Sep 2011
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Posts: 6002

Well im back, ending my hiatus sooner than i expected..a lot sooner. but having the time away was good and i decided i was ready to come back sooner than i thought.plus..as much as this place can be hard to come on at times i did miss having anyone to have a serious conversation about curling with.

While i was gone i did still watch the game so i do have some thoughts on what transpired:

1. world juniors - was a great showing for mary fay. what a year for this team. i can hardly wait to see them turn pro. For me however the story on the womens side was not canada or even the united states, it was hungary. what a great run for that team . its to bad they didnt win a medal to finish off the week but a fantastic result for them either way.

as for the men..well i know a lot of people were expecting dunstone to win gold but it was a really tough field so im not really surprised to see that they didnt walk away with gold. still a wonderful season for them. great way to end juniors for bruce mouat. the US did well in both events obviously but does that mean they have a great program developing youngsters? well the teams they sent were teams who'd been there 3 or 4 times before. i'd say the experience they got of going to repeated events helped more than anything. the true test will be if the teams that will be going for the first time will have anywhere near the same success.

2. brier - i was not hoping gushue would win going in but i was heartbroken for him watching that final, you see the dejected look in his eyes. obviously he had a great rebound at the elite 10 but i am starting to wonder if he will ever win. he never curled better than he did this past brier and it still wasnt good enough.

i am not happy at all for koe. he got off a number of times in the semi against northern ontario. they were out curled in that match but brad jacobs let them off the hook multiple times when he had opportunities for 2. not only that but to win in the way they did..off a measure of a biter was just really lucky. Im not a fan of that team in general anyway. they seem like good guys off the ice but the way that kennedy and hebert in particular act on the ice just disgusts me. the way hebert pouts every time things arent going well . you will see him literally launch rocks out of the house when an end doesnt go his way. will not be cheering for them this year and nor will i ever.
surprise of the event for me in a bad way was PEI. that is such a great young team but they just never looked like themselves during that week.

i dont think i have ever enjoyed a brier less in general. just the way teams were blanking away multiple ends was boring to watch and its getting out of control. the round robin game between northern ontario and newfoundland and the game of pei v.s quebec were insane. you shouldnt be able to blank away 60% of a game just because you dont want to take one.

3. womens worlds - am i surprised that chelsea didnt medal? no. I know losing that bronze medal game hurt but frankly, with their level of play during the week they should be pretty happy with where they ended up. people talk about how theat loss to korea cost them, they gave it away. but consider the number of times early on that teams had them and let them off the hook and everyone should be happy with their finish. denmark and switzerland both made dumb decisions late that cost them the match and in the game against germany they would have lost that too if not for chelsey making save shots every end. and they did get some help from the german skip herself in the 7th end when she chose to try and make a near impossible shot for 4 instead of the much more makeable shot for 2.

japan was a wonderful surprise and congrats to them for a great week and getting the country's first ever medal. im mostly surprised because i thought korea would be doing what they did. that korean team is the same that finished 4th twice here so i had them as dark horses but they never really got going.

very happy for switzerland as well especially hearing what irene has been dealing with.

2 questions for me: where does binia rank among swiss skips? i still rank mirjam ott number one. her superb olympic career and multiple european golds give her the edge but it may only be a matter of time before binia out does her.

what the hell is up with eve? she has won no major international championship in 3 years. she is hyped as the favorite at every event and always falls short. is she not as good as we all think?. is she tired after a long season and peaking atthe wrong times?. or is it anna sloan? in my opinion she does need a better third. anna is holding her back. problem is there arent a lot of great options in scotland to replace her.

4. mens worlds - think its hard to predict a final 4 because there are so many teams you could see getting there. canada, swede, switzerland,norway. united states,scotland ..even denmark and finland are dark horses not to be taken lightly. put on the spot i'll name this as my final 4:

canada
sweden
switzerland
scotland

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Registered: Feb 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 407

There's a lot of good information available -- including play-by-play of each game (live or archived) starting here:

http://www.worldcurling.org/wmcc2016/livescores

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Registered: Jan 2015
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Love mixed doubles! Love their playoff format. First in groups get a real advantage. No oopsies. No mulligans. No BS. Just straight single knockout. Real excitement as every game is life or death.

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Brandon
Posts: 1054

It will be hard watching all week - Koe is so painfully slow.

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Registered: Apr 2015
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Posts: 17

quote:

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Originally posted by Frozencanuck
Love mixed doubles! Love their playoff format. First in groups get a real advantage. No oopsies. No mulligans. No BS. Just straight single knockout. Real excitement as every game is life or death.

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Registered: Apr 2015
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Posts: 17

quote:

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Originally posted by CURLER1
It will be hard watching all week - Koe is so painfully slow.

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Registered: Mar 2014
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Posts: 48

quote:

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Originally posted by Russ



Disagree. Mixed doubles is boring. I predict it will dry up after it is cut from the Olympics.

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Registered: Jan 2005
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Posts: 371

quote:

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Originally posted by Russ


They seem to have mastered the carving aspect of the game. Their broom management skills are to be admired. I love that they are also monitoring the usage/wear of their opponents brushes.

Denmark is out shooting them, but they didn't manage their brushes well enough.

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Art M

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Registered: Oct 2013
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Posts: 559

quote:

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Originally posted by ott-am


Do heads only last 8 ends now? Kevin's team was saying Denmark's heads were going in the 8th or 9th. Also, does the carving impact the ice such at draw weight is difficult to find?

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Registered: Mar 2015
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If this team struggles as bad with higher ranked teams.. could be trouble in the medal dept.

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Registered: Feb 2014
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Posts: 538

Looks like Mr. Shuster has found his game today.

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Jim

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location: Southern Manitoba
Posts: 154

Yet another slow 1st half of the game for Koe, this time against the Americans.

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Registered: Feb 2014
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Posts: 538

Win or lose (looks like the former) this could be an important game for US curling. Shuster has been full value.

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Jim

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location: Southern Manitoba
Posts: 154

What in the world? After making that great shot in the 9th end, the US had a very easy double for the win. Instead, can we say CHOKE and an ugly win for Koe! Yikes!!!!!

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Registered: Jan 2011
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Posts: 313

Shuster blew that game... A bad line call on Georges 1st stone on the peel and how did he miss that easy double in the 11th end..Incredible And on his last rock in the 10th end he should have made that double to end the game..That is a double attempt Jacobs/Edin/Koe make 8 times out of 10.. Shuster just doesn't have what it takes skill wise to lead the USA to a championship

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Registered: Mar 2014
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Posts: 570

This is sports. In nine,, he he makes a shot that is a once in thirty, and then he misses a shot he makes 29 in 30.

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Registered: Jan 2011
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Posts: 1962

Shuster needs to stop bopping around like he's on a pogo stick. Let your sweepers do their job. The loss was all on him,

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Registered: Apr 2016
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USA might be having better success if their national champions, Brady Clark rink, represented their country. Having Shuster makes the championship a sham.

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Registered: Feb 2011
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 1418

quote:

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Originally posted by Tomago
USA might be having better success if their national champions, Brady Clark rink, represented their country. Having Shuster makes the championship a sham.

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Registered: Mar 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 60

quote:

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Originally posted by guido


I will NEVER understand countries that don't send their champion.

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Registered: Mar 2015
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Posts: 960

quote:

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Feb. 13, 2016 - Brady Clark rink wins 2016 National Men’s Championship title

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) – Seattle’s Brady Clark rink won the men’s final of the 2016 USA Curling National Championships in convincing fashion with a 10-4 victory over John Shuster tonight at Veterans Memorial Arena.

It was the third time the two sides met this week with Clark (Lynnwood, Wash.) and his team of Greg Persinger (Fairbanks, Alaska), Colin Hufman (Seattle), and Philip Tilker (Seattle) prevailing all three times against Shuster’s defending champions.

Despite the loss in the national championship title game, Shuster (Duluth, Minn.) and his team of Tyler George (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.), and John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.) have earned enough points in the season-long qualification to represent the U.S. at the 2106 World Men’s Championship April 2-10 in Basel, Switzerland.

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Registered: Apr 2015
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Shooting skills aren't as important as brush management. It's all about knowing when to use the fresh brushes to curve rocks into impossible positions. It's also crucial to not use up your sharp brushes before your opponents.
Curling has become a very different game. It's a shame.

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Registered: Feb 2011
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 1418

quote:

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Originally posted by wsj28


USA
Germany
Norway
Sweden

Any others?

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Registered: Apr 2016
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Posts: 2

HotRocks:

Doesn't seem fair for a team from the west coast & Alaska, as they have to incur significant more money & travel time to accumulate points.

Isn't that why you have a national championship?

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