Registered: Sep 2011
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Honestly, I could see both of these teams fighting for the 2018 berth.

Shuster will likely give them a run for it on the Men's side...not sure at all who is gonna stand up against them on the women's side.

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Registered: Dec 2005
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As both Junior teams fight to get into the coveted Page 1v2 game, I have more Good Things to list:

PEOPLE THAT I DISAGREE WITH

Some of these people are good people with good ideas. The sport that I love is rich in tradition. Therefore, I can get mired in traditions. I can get to where I hate every new idea.

Leaders and people who care have taken our sport in the USA towards the future. I've often disagreed with it. Sometimes USA curling has had to be dragged into the future despite vocal majorities threatening rebellion. Simple (in hindsight) stuff like obeying the Steven's Act or realizing that we don't have enough quality teams to justify multi-site National Qualifiers.

I will likely continue to disagree with those who are choosing the paths forward. I don't think they've been anywhere close to perfect. I don't think they've even got half of it right. However, I've gotten plenty of it wrong and it's a Good Thing that leaders and decision makers have moved the game forward when I (and people like me) have been mired in the past.

Ben Tucker

(sidenote to Alan: Be clear in your thinking and writing. The USOC does have some monies available for building the future and we get some of that money and it has funded our Juniors. However, it is not the USOC staff and directors that decide to focus on immediate results. It is their mandate. If you want to change their direction, don't change the thinking. That's not allowed by statute. You'd need to change the statute and the mandate. While that would be best for USA curling, I doubt it's best for the entire USA Olympic team. As curling fans, that puts you and I in a tough spot...but such is the way of the world and the dollars that advertisers bring)

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quote:

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Originally posted by tuck
Simple (in hindsight) stuff like obeying the Steven's Act

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Both Junior teams have officially qualified for playoffs. One more game to win to get a slot in the 1-2 game, with what would most likely include a match against Canada (at some point). The girls were close most of the game against the Canadians, so I'm liking their chances in a rematch. The boys, well, they had to play Canada first, and I don't believe it was super close, but that could be because it's the first game; now that they're settled, it could go either way.

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On a different note, there definitely seems to be two tiers of teams if you look at the standings. The interesting thing is that some of the countries on the lower side are teams from countries that are typically on top (Scotland, Sweden, and Russia on the womens side). I wonder if this is from those countries essentially having a "national team" (i.e., curling is your job) and not focusing on juniors (or other teams) as much??

(yet another reason to build depth by building a good Junior program)

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Every game, by definition, has a winner and a loser (in curling at least, since we don't do ties...)

As such, on occasion, a team that "usually" does well will end up tossing up a stinker in a tournament.

That's one of the many reasons I *detest* "did you win a medal this past cycle?" as the mark of "Is the program strong enough to deserve continued funding?". Only three nations are gonna win medals in each of 2 events (well, okay, three next time around). 70% of the field isn't gonna medal.

Now...if the team *doesn't even qualify* for a couple rounds in a row...yeah...there's issues...but just because they came in 6th doesn't mean they suck...6th best in the World ain't all that bad, ya know? There's about 194 nations out there that would kill to be 6th best. We don't have a right to shiny medals...sometimes the luck's gotta go the other way.

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Registered: Dec 2005
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Curlky, I was referencing days long past. Before we were blessed with Olympic medal status, we had state/region requirements. Long, long ago. Then we were forced to change. Many decried the changes, but the law was obvious. That's just one example of how leadership had to drag us (kicking and screaming) into the new era.

Again, I remain firmly convinced that we've made some bad choices in the recent past; but I can't deny that some of the changes I was against ended up being totally necessary. (I was never in favor of remaining so far in the past that we'd violate the Stevens Act)

Ben Tucker

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US Junior Men guaranteed themselves a Bronze by making the 1-2 Page game...unfortuantely they lost to Scotland in a toughie...but Switzerland beat Canada...so US vs. Switzerland for a shot at the Gold.

US Junior Women beat Canada, managing the last end perfectly to take the two to win...they await the Semifinal winner (Canada vs. Hungary...who beat Korea in an old fashioned shootout 12-11).

So, out of two contests, we've got two medals....I'll take that ratio (Commentary about how the teams here won their way in will be saved for another time)

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No guaranteed medal for the men just yet: there is a bronze game.

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Huh? It's not the loser of the 2-3 game that gets the bronze?

Wow...okay...weird...

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Registered: Dec 2014
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Both Junior teams in the gold medal match! That's good.

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Great week for USA curling but not so much for curling fans. With directional sweeping, tick shots and the take out game there are very few rocks in play every end and the Brier has become almost unwatchable. And as well as Korey and his mates are playing, their games as similarly boring -- lots of high, hard ones, few rocks in play most ends and lots of blank ends. If this is what winning curling becomes, we will not have to worry about USA performance keeping curling on TV because the games will be so boring that nobody will want to watch.
Having said that, great week for Dropkin and Christianson teams -- best of luck tomorrow.

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Registered: Feb 2014
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Very nice job by the US rinks-hope that they will be able to stay together-it augers well.

Of course the women have to beat our ladies...

BTW, what does anybody know about the Hungarian team?

Also kudos to Kyle Doering and Wayne Ford of Team Canada for their heroics in saving the life of the construction worker!

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/03/...-life-at-worlds

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Jim

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The skip of the Hungarian women's team (Dorottya Palancsa) has won a couple of world mixed doubles titles with Zsolt Kiss. That's all I got.

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Thanx SP-btw both US rinks finished with silver. Scottish men win 6-3 (Canada gets bronze) and Canadian women win 7-4 with Korea getting bronze. This is definitely something for you folks to build on! Congrats.

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Last edited by Jimbobogie on 03-13-16 at 05:44PM

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Nothing wrong with a pair of silvers at all.

Good things coming for all of those players if they stick with it, I think.

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Two silvers? Now THAT's a GOOD THING.

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quote:

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Originally posted by tuck

(sidenote to Alan: Be clear in your thinking and writing. The USOC does have some monies available for building the future and we get some of that money and it has funded our Juniors. However, it is not the USOC staff and directors that decide to focus on immediate results. It is their mandate. If you want to change their direction, don't change the thinking. That's not allowed by statute. You'd need to change the statute and the mandate.

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quote:

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http://www.teamusa.org/about-the-usoc/inside-the-USOC/HistoryThe USOC was also tasked with promoting and supporting physical fitness and public participation in athletic activities by encouraging developmental programs in its member organizations.

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quote:

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The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

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quote:

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Originally posted by rbi
Two silvers? Now THAT's a GOOD THING.

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My understanding from talking to the Clawson team is that the entire Dropkin team ages out (at least the entire back end, and I'm pretty sure the front end too).

As for succession...well...the Clawsons don't age out for 2 more seasons...and when they do, it's gradual...and there's another in the wings not even playing with the big kids on the circuit yet, so they could be forces for the next 4-5 years.

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quote:

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Originally posted by AlanMacNeill
My understanding from talking to the Clawson team is that the entire Dropkin team ages out (at least the entire back end, and I'm pretty sure the front end too).

As for succession...well...the Clawsons don't age out for 2 more seasons...and when they do, it's gradual...and there's another in the wings not even playing with the big kids on the circuit yet, so they could be forces for the next 4-5 years.

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The entire Dropkin rink, all five of them, age out this year. On the women's side, Cory Christensen and the Anderson sisters age out. So of all the recent HP junior players, only Madison Bear and Christine McMakin are still eligible for juniors next season.

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quote:

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Originally posted by SPMFromPCC
The entire Dropkin rink, all five of them, age out this year. On the women's side, Cory Christensen and the Anderson sisters age out. So of all the recent HP junior players, only Madison Bear and Christine McMakin are still eligible for juniors next season.

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Well yes...but...they also want medals...and I'll bet good money that if you ran a regression on World's success, you'd find that average age of team was the best predictor of success (okay, maybe total years of curling experience, but that is likely darned close to the same thing).

So if you take a team full of 20 year olds...you are likely to have success over a team of 16-18 year olds...all else being equal at least.

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Registered: May 2011
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There is not going to be enough room on the good ship HPP for everyone in 2017. Some juniors that were good enough to win Silver will be dropped or shuffled off to play with strangers; some oldsters will be dropped to make room for members of Team Cory and Team Korey. This could be the most difficult year yet for deciding who gets HPP funding and who gets cut.

But first, we have men's and women's worlds to enjoy.

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quote:

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Originally posted by TNH
But first, we have men's and women's worlds to enjoy.

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__________________
Recreational curler & resident armchair curler at Windy City Curling Club.

Co-host of the NerdCurl podcast & occasional blogger.

http://www.nerdcurl.com

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