I thought not.  The internet phenomena of today will be forgotten tomorrow.  Meanwhile, John Shuster will still be curling competitively, winning some games and losing others.  The facts are that he is young, he’s a really good curler, and despite a statement made in frustration to the contrary, he does not “hate this stupid game”.

For a more detailed account of Shuster’s history and future, please read the post on the MonkeySee blog by Linda Holmes, “Being John Shuster“.  It is a great story.

-Andy Skildum

I don’t think anyone who has ever, you know, actually curled, would call it a “slow-poke game”.  This is journalism, apparently.  Well done Eric Dash!  But for real examples of curling stories that are both slapdash and mean spirited, its tough to beat the Duluth News Tribune.

UPDATE: Fox doesn’t like the Simpsons clips on YouTube, so I’m trying to embed from Hulu. To watch the official version of the Simpsons’ “Boy Meets Curl”, follow this link to FoxTV.

For this you get the ability to play against a computer or friends at home or over the internet. If the video above is representative of the graphics and rock physics in the actual game, it will be awesome. I especially like the design choice to trade cheesy cartoon characters and pseudo-stadium settings typical of most console curling games for the more serene outdoor setting. I am eagerly awaiting the release of this game!

$5!

And speaking of Olympians, Canada will be represented by Kevin Martin and Cheryl Bernard in Vancouver.  Tough competition.

Tonight (Thursday, Oct. 21) at 7pm CST, John Shuster takes on Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue in the first draw.  You can see end-by-end scoring at this link.  Good luck John!

Thursday morning update:

Good start, Team USA!

But CurlDuluth is not dead!   Stay tuned for fresh posts soon.

P.S.  Thank you Duluth News Tribune, for including results of the Team Trials and the Over 40 ‘Spiel in the Sports section!

In the first draw last night in Green Bay, WI, a battle between Duluth rinks was very one sided: Amy Wright shut out Aileen Sormunen 8 to 0 in five ends. Meanwhile, Marjorie Smith had a loss to Madison powerhouse Deb McCormick. And the Alexandra Carlson rink (with lead Sophie Brorson of DCC), fresh off their victory in the Minnesota Junior Championships, lost to Cassie Potter 6 to 3. The second draw begins at 1pm today (friday), and you can see end by end scoring at this link.

The Mens’ qualifiers are in full swing too, with two draws completed yesterday. In Green Bay, John Shuster’s rink is undefeated, with lopsided wins over Bill Morehouse and Jeff Wright. Last year’s Junior World Champion Chris Plys had a loss to Jay Packard. Draw three is underway this morning, but there are no Duluth teams playing– Shuster and Plys play next at 2pm this afternoon in draw 4. You can catch the live scoring here.

Tyler George’s rink is playing in the Midwest North Region in Grand Rapids, MN, and is undefeated after two draws with a wins over Chisolm’s Aaron Wald and Greg Persinger (the latter game won with the comfortable score of 9 to 1 after four ends). Draw 3 begins at 1pm this afternoon, and live scoring is at this link.

Good luck Duluth curlers– next stop Denver!

Duluth curler Sophie Brorson also helped Alex Carlson, Tabitha Peterson, and Tara Peterson (of the St. Paul Curling Club) go undefeated to win the playdown. These young ladies have been curling together for four years, and this is their third state championship. The Alex Carlson rink will compete next week in Green Bay in the qualifying round for Olympic Trials. Nice work Sophie, and good luck next week!

Friday night (tonight!) at the Duluth Curling Club, Ken and Joanne Docteur host a one night mini-spiel named “The Fun Night Before Christmas“. The event begins at 6pm and is open to the public. Ken and Joanne began these mini-spiels two years ago, and they are a lot of fun– last year’s event coincided with the Women’s Frozen Four (that’s hockey or something?), and the Harvard Pep Band came out to try curling– and they brought some great exposure for the DCC back to the East Coast. So if you have friends who are curious about curling and the off-ice action after the curling is done, bring them down!

Curl Mesabi is hosting the Super One Shootout, a major cash-spiel with a $20,000+ purse. The Super One Shootout is part of the World Curling Tour, and is attracting some big names to Eveleth– the DCC is well represented. 2008 Coach of the Year Phil Drobnick is organizing the event. The first draw is 2pm Friday, and the final is 3pm Sunday. You can watch live scoring at this link.

One big time curler who would probably be in Eveleth this weekend if he wasn’t otherwise occupied is last year’s national champion Craig Brown. He and his team are currently participating in the Continental Cup, an event modeled on golf’s Ryder Cup, in which teams from North America compete against teams from the rest of the world in a variety of curling formats. The games started yesterday, and North America had a few good games: Craig Brown beat Scotland’s David Murdoch 6 to 3, and Kevin Martin of Canada delivered a bruising to Fengchun Wang of China, winning 10-1 (could that be payback for this game?)
The World is currently way ahead of North America in points, leading 36 to 18, but there are a lot of games left. If you want to stay updated on the scores, CurlTV is probably your best bet.

And finally. . . Santa Spiel?

]]> http://www.curlduluth.com/2008/12/it-is-friday-and-it-is-snowing/feed/ 0 http://www.curlduluth.com/2008/12/weekend-update/ http://www.curlduluth.com/2008/12/weekend-update/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:41:31 +0000 andy http://www.curlduluth.com/?p=312 Friday (and sub-zero air) has arrived in the Twin Ports. Anything going on?

On Saturday the Duluth Curling Club hosts their annual Mixed Doubles Bonspiel. This one-day event features two-person teams battling it out in the increasingly popular mixed doubles format. You can see a video demonstration of mixed doubles at this link.

Did you hear about the big storm headed to Duluth? One foot of snow? Yikes! If you are stuck inside, and your broadband connection isn’t knocked out by the weather, why not spend the weekend watching curling from the Great White North? Access to CurlTV is free with your membership to the Duluth Curling Club, and this weekend they are broadcasting live games from the Canada Cup qualifiers in Ottawa, Ontario.

Oh yeah, if your broadband connection is knocked out by Old Man Winter, remember that the Duluth Curling Club has free WiFi.

And finally, in case you missed it the first time, a little light hearted fun: Here is the video of the Fab Four curling in the Swiss Alps from the movie Help! Have a great weekend!

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