Disclaimer: CurlingZone does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any Content posted on any Forums area and you acknowledge that any reliance upon such Content shall be at your sole risk. Any Content placed on any Forums area by users and anonymous posters are the views of the user posting the statement, and do not represent the views of CurlingZone or our partners, advertisers or sponsors. By posting anonymously, you are allowing your IP address to be displayed for identification purposes. CurlingZone reserves the right to remove any post at its discretion without warning or explanation.
03-22-13 08:48AM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
2013 Mens World
Brady, Sean, Darren and Phillip will soon be taking the short trip to Victoria to represent our country.
Actually, they are there this weekend as well. They are prepping for Worlds by playing in the Victoria Curling Classic...formerly the Bear Mountain. Same town as Worlds, but (I believe) not the same arena.
It is an incredible field. Our guys started out with a loss to Gushue. Actually, they got pounded. They rebounded, however, to pound the Finnish team. Next up in this 3KO event is a very good team from Sweden.
Ben Tucker
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-22-13 11:07PM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Brady and Boys lose to the Swedes, but rebound to beat Laycock (a dang good rink out of Sask). Sitting in the C event, they await the loser of Thomas Ulsrud and some guy named Kevin Martin. Yogi Bear Martin is up one with the hammer as I type, so it looks like it will be Ulsrud.
Our guys are doing OK...looking like they belong. Good prep work for Victoria Worlds.
Ben Tucker
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-24-13 03:15PM |
|
jhcurl
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2002
Location: US - CT
Posts: 1431 |
teams and comments
Not as good as Tuck but here goes. Oly points in parens. Of the teams not playing with Oly points, only New Zealand is ahead of the US with 8 points. If the US tied with them the US would get the tiebreaker which is most recent World appearance. Top 7 make the Olys.
Canada (14) Obvious favorite, home country, home ice (sort of), unlike Homan will not have to deal with foreign food, ice and rocks.
china (7) Played a bunch in Canada this year. Looked good at times. Pressure on them to stay on the Oly spot.
czech republic (1) Played well at the Euros. They can win games when they shouldn't. Keep gaining experience and no longer overwhelmed.
denmark (6) Stjerne the younger returns. Not a bad showing last year.
finland (0) First kick at the can in a while since Markku retired. Made it through Euros so they are somewhat battle tested. Don't think they made any trips to Canada this year.
japan (0) Don't know this team at all but they helped the US by eliminating New Zealand.
norway (9) If they stay healthy, always a threat.
russia (0) In the Olys so this is a tune-up. Don't see them doing much. Wonder if they will do the line-up switcheroo like the women?
scotland (12) The WCF site has Murdoch listed as skip. I thought Brewster was skipping? I could look up what happened at Euros but I will leave that to others. Obviously a threat but don't think Jacobs will throw away a rock ala Martin.
sweden (10) Edin gets better every year. Could this be his year?
switzerland (4) They had a decent year and did okay at Euros. Never know with the Swiss teams. They have figured out that the best coaches come from Canada, something the US might want to think about.
USA (5) Close to home. Mr. Clark played in BC a few times and did pretty well. Same time zone I think really helps this team. Also, they should have great support from the fans (at least I hope a bunch will be there). Playoffs, maybe not, TB possible. The important thing is a top 7 finish to ensure the Oly spot. The big games are China, Denmark and Switzerland.
JH
USA! USA! USA!
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-24-13 04:06PM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
I look for Sweden and China to vie for the gold. Canada, Scotland and Norway to chase them into the playoffs.
Switzerland and the USA can spoil the party.
That leaves me with the Czechs, Japan, Denmark, Finland and Russia on the outside.
I see our Olympic spot as safe. Finishing ahead of Denmark would help. Finishing at least 10th to pass New Zealand would help. Not having the Czechs surprise the field and finish way ahead of us would help...same for Japan and Finland who have to finish close to the playoffs while hoping we finish near the bottom.
I am worried about Team USA. They did have some good results in the cashspiels this year and that is great. They certainly have the talent at all four positions. Still, they are a relatively new team with limited international exposure.
One thing gives me great hope, however: They strongly remind me of the Birr rink that medaled at Worlds in BC. Both rinks were smart. Both rinks featured a skip who is mentally strong and a lock to make that pressure shot in the final end. Brady Clark does not even see pressure...he only sees that the spotlight is on him and it is an opportunity to showoff his skills.
Ben Tucker
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-24-13 05:04PM |
|
jhcurl
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2002
Location: US - CT
Posts: 1431 |
Um, dude, I know you are The Tuck and all but that was in Edmonton (2007). I was one of the 10 US supporters there. We were having a nice dinner with some curlers when the US beat Canada. Besides, that is unforgettable as Mrs. JHcurl was having a good time getting drunk with Peja and others.
JH
I think the curlers were Dave and Heather? But I don't follow curling so not sure.
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-24-13 06:39PM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Dude, get over it. One poster said one untrue thing. It's not like they changed the TV from curling to hockey. Let it go.
I think the Swiss or the Americans or both will be the teams to surprise the field and the fans. I fear that Norway might be the team to surprise us with a sub-par disappointment.
Ben Tucker
I've been called an idiot far more often than JH
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-29-13 12:29AM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Team USA starts off with two games that look to be winnable...Denmark and Japan. Then comes a (possibly) big game (with Olympic berth implications) against the Swiss.
Hopefully our guys will be 3-0 or 2-1 at that point, because next is a tough four-game stretch against Sweden, Canada, China and Scotland. It would be great to pick up one of those games...win two of those four and we are Playoff Bound.
The remaining schedule looks favorable...Finns, Czechs, Russians and finishing against Norway.
Then again; who's to say what part of the schedule will be toughest? Team Heater played poorly at the beginning of Worlds last year against teams the ended up at the bottom of the standings, but played well against the teams in the second half of the draw that finished high.
It's curling. Who can say? Same teams but two weeks later and it's an entirely different finish.
In order, I like:
Sweden-Gold
China-Silver
Canada-Bronze
Scotland
Switzerland
USA
Norway
Denmark
Japan
Russia
Czechoslovakia (thank you, Spell Check)
Finland
#2 thru #7 you could just throw into a hat...they could come out in any order. This is just my Two Cents worth. My heart says that Clark and Company will pass up the Swiss and the Scots, but this is the list my head made.
I fear the combined talent of the Scottish team and their international experience. I watched them play early in the season with Murdoch at third. In an eight sheet club, he appeared to be enjoying the game more than any other curler out there. If they jell (and they have yet to jell for any real success), they could make life tough in this Worlds and in the next Olympics.
Ben Tucker
Cheering hard for the USA
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-29-13 11:13AM |
|
TJNCJ
Swing Artist
Registered: Nov 2008
Location:
Posts: 209 |
I just can't see throwing Jacobs in that pack of " pull out of a hat" positions 2-7. To say six teams will finish in front of team Canada is a bit hard for me to agree with. They are curling at home, beat out half of the top ten teams in the world already at the Brier and are not new to this kind of pressure.
Oh, and they are 3-0 against Edin winning 6-1, 5-4 and 6-2 this year.
I might give you 3-7 and a hat to pull them from, but Team Eazy Express isn't one of them.
TJ
Last edited by TJNCJ on 03-29-13 at 11:20AM
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-29-13 02:13PM |
|
jhcurl
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2002
Location: US - CT
Posts: 1431 |
Back to the Oly qualifying. I have searched all over the WCF site and cannot find the answer. What happens in the event of a tie in points, say US and Swiss end up tied. I know one TB is most recent World appearance, obviously that would not apply.
Anyone?
JH
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-29-13 08:13PM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
TJNCJ is backin' Jacobs. Cool. I can see your thinking.
I, on the other hand, could see Canada finishing behind teams like Scotland, Switzerland and Norway. I could see them having a tough week and missing the playoffs.
In support of your point of view: I don't ever recall Canada finishing worst than a tie for fourth in Mens. Certainly not on their home soil.
In further support: This is a good team. Anyone who was "shocked" by their Brier win just hasn't been paying attention. Check out Al Hackner's pre-Brier picks in the Canadian Curling News. True, the Iceman is a Northern Ontario homer...but he called it closer than anybody else. Kinda eerie how he called it dang near right on.
It will play out and TJNCJ will type "I told you so." I did pick Canada for the bronze...but if they stomp the round robin, I'll eat some crow.
Ben Tucker
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-29-13 09:47PM |
|
AlanMacNeill
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2011
Location:
Posts: 1064 |
quote: Originally posted by jhcurl
Back to the Oly qualifying. I have searched all over the WCF site and cannot find the answer. What happens in the event of a tie in points, say US and Swiss end up tied. I know one TB is most recent World appearance, obviously that would not apply.
Anyone?
JH
Higher placement this year takes the spot.
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-30-13 10:00AM |
|
jhcurl
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2002
Location: US - CT
Posts: 1431 |
For those who are not there or don't have access to TSN, Universal sports will have games online. However, ONLY if you have Universal on your cable/satellite provider. That leaves out a whole bunch of people.
The World Curling channel on Youtube will also be showing games. Not sure which ones will be available here if any.
JH
happy to have the satellite system
Last edited by jhcurl on 03-30-13 at 10:43AM
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
03-30-13 10:30AM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Universal seems scheduled to mostly cover Sweden. Are they big in Sweden? TSN will, naturally, focus on Team Canada. Bottom line: I shoulda flown to BC. Lovely part of the world and nice guys rep-ing the USA. I'm an idiot...but my kids are home for Easter and I didn't want to miss out on that.
As for my comment "#2-#7 you can throw into a hat"...poorly said and TJNCJ called me on it.
How would one properly say, "I wouldn't be a ton of money...even if you gave me good odds...on any of those teams finishing ahead of any of those other teams"? I'm not saying "Canada might even finish seventh" as much as I'm saying "I have Norway finishing seventh, but it wouldn't shock me if they finished ahead of Canada and/or China".
Put another way: Here are all 12 teams listed in my predicted order of finish...but I'm not very confident in the order of #2 through #7.
Ben Tucker
Idiot for not flying out there
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 08:27AM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Easter Sunday was more like Black Sunday for USA curling. Losing to both Japan and Switzerland sets us back to 1-2.
Now begins a stretch of tough games...if you think we know which teams are tougher and which teams are weaker.
The good news is that the "tough" teams haven't been looking very tough. Both Scotland and Canada struggled with weight in the first half of their game last night. Canada only looks incredible when they have a lead. Scotland doesn't, yet, look like a lock for a medal. China and Sweden don't have line scores that strike fear into the heart.
Better day today? Kinda need one win out of the these two tough matchups.
Ben Tucker
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 03:21PM |
|
GregJP
Swing Artist
Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 378 |
quote: Czechoslovakia (thank you, Spell Check)
Surely you realize that Czechoslovakia hasn't existed as a country in over 20 years.
You do realize there's also no Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, West Germany. Do you?
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 04:41PM |
|
jhcurl
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Sep 2002
Location: US - CT
Posts: 1431 |
quote: Originally posted by GregJP
Surely you realize that Czechoslovakia hasn't existed as a country in over 20 years.
You do realize there's also no Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, West Germany. Do you?
That might be the best post I have ever read on here about curli.....wait, what?
JH
North Umbria has also gone away, too bad they made good curling stones.
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 05:47PM |
|
Frykenstein
Harvey Hacksmasher
Registered: Mar 2009
Location:
Posts: 61 |
quote: Originally posted by GregJP
Surely you realize that Czechoslovakia hasn't existed as a country in over 20 years.
You do realize there's also no Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, West Germany. Do you?
Lighten up, Francis. Tuck still farms his little corner of the Dakota Territory with oxen. Besides, he's in good company. If I had a dollar for every time somebody on this site wrote "parody" when they meant "parity" I could buy Tuck a really nice world atlas. From 1989.
Last edited by Frykenstein on 04-01-13 at 05:53PM
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 09:41PM |
|
tuck
Super Rockchucker
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: St. Thomas, North Dakota
Posts: 2613 |
Great. I finally learn to spell Czechoslovakia and now it doesn't exist anymore.
Ben Tucker
Still learning in my old age...learned about Latvia last week
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
04-01-13 10:28PM |
|
mr. lucky
Hitting Paint
Registered: Nov 2007
Location:
Posts: 142 |
Just watched Cambridge vs Oxford in rowing on NBC Universal...riveting
It was a tie. I think they called it parody.
Last edited by mr. lucky on 04-01-13 at 10:30PM
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
|
|
All times are GMT. The time now is . |
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is OFF
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|