Though I still don't understand it.
25. Curling and speed skating
Traditional speed skating, not the short track.
I got hooked in curling in 2010 and now follow it every year, not merely in Olympic years.
A few notes on this year's curling:
* Some American fans will be sick when they see that John Shuster is again Olympic men's skip. He became known as a choke artist the past two Olympics and especially 2010, due to frequent misses on shot rock. It goes with the territory. After the disappointments of Sochi 2014 the Americans put together a so-called High Performance Camp to identify the best and strongest curlers, trying to emulate the Canadian style of more athletic curlers and not beer bellied guys. Shuster did not receive an invitation. That was an incredible slap, given his accomplishments. He was also on the 2006 Olympic team as lead for Pete Fenson's bronze medal team.
Instead of sulking or giving up, Shuster realized he had to get in shape. He lost 30 pounds and put together his own team, since it was not a closed process despite the High Performance push. Shuster's team won the American championship each of the past two years and earned a bronze medal in the 2016 World Championships, followed by 4th place in the 2017 World Championships.
* Shuster is not a medal favorite but he is bunched among many teams behind favorites Canada and Sweden. It would be somewhat shocking if either of those teams did not win the gold medal. Nicolas Edin of Sweden is probably the best player in the world right now. But Canada is overall stronger so Kevin Koe's team is favored above Edin and Sweden. Third choice would probably be Switzerland, which has a young guy who is technically not the skip but he throws fourth and is very, very clever especially on draws. That Switzerland team denied Shuster the bronze medal at worlds last year.
* Tyler George the American third is a legitimately great player. The second is Matt Hamilton, who is currently playing mixed doubles with his sister.
* Mixed is difficult to describe, if you have never seen if before. Rocks put in play before any rocks are thrown. Quicker game and higher scoring per end
* Rachel Homan of Canada swept through the world championships unbeaten last year but barely survived the Canadian Olympic Trials to earn this berth. Homan had a slow start and then had to get past 2014 Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones in the Canadian semifinals and then edged previously unbeaten Chelsea Carey in the finals. The Canadian Trials are the highest level of curling you will ever see. Teams that are completely unknown outside the country give the high profile teams absolute fits. The depth is so strong that 2014 Olympic gold medalist Brad Jacobs did not make the playoffs at the Olympic trials and defending world champion Brad Gushoe was ousted in the semis.
* Homan is a young unapologetic curling killer. She is great on hits. Her strategy isn't perfect but she has such a methodical approach with very few misses that she wears teams down and has many lopsided games. The second on that team -- Joanne Courtney -- is the closest thing you'll ever see to a guy on a women's curling team. She is very strong, enabling incredibly powerful sweeping.
* It was shocking when Homan chose Cheryl Bernard as alternate. Bernard was the early 40s red headed cougar who skipped Canada in 2010 and did a great job until blowing two relatively easy shots for the gold medal in the 10th and 11th end of the final. She is now early 50s and has been a prominent curling commentator for years. When she got the call from Homan, Bernard thought it was advice on how to handle the Olympics. Nope -- we want you to be our alternate.
* Sweden would be second choice, but more of an underdog than the Swedish men. Very good team top to bottom. Third choice would probably be Eve Muirhead, the famous Scottish curler who competes for Great Britain in the Olympics. Muirhead is right there with Homan for best in the world but her team is overall not as strong as Canada. BTW, two of Muirhead's brothers will compete for Great Britain on the men's curling team. They got the Olympic nod in somewhat of a surprise, causing long time British curler David Murdoch to retire when his rink was not chosen.
* Nina Roth will skip the Americans. She is a young short haired blonde and more than capable. Roth can defeat anyone on a given day but plays a conservative style and will probably finish middle of the pack.
* The babe factor took a hit when Anna Sidorova lost a 7 game playoff for the Russian berth. I don't know much about the Russian team that emerged other than they blasted Sidorova's team 4 games to 1 and now the Russian team is receiving quite a bit of wagering support on sites that book the curling odds.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181043084
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