Source: Belated CBC News – June 18, 2007

Olympic icemakers named

Canadian icemaking gurus Hans Wuthrich and Dave Merklinger will be the technicians in charge of the curling sheets at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the World Curling Federation announced Monday.

Wuthrich, of Gimli, Man., is generally acknowledged as the best icemaker in the world. The 50-year-old has been behind many big events during his career, but admits nothing compares to the Olympics.

“I’ve done so many events, I don’t know the actual number,” said Wuthrich, who will serve as the head technician. “I started keeping track of them in 1993, after I did my first big one, the men’s worlds in Geneva in 1992.

….

Wuthrich and Merklinger have worked together on more than 10 major curling events over the years, both overseas and across Canada.

Merklinger recently headed the ice crew at the 2007 Canadian men’s championship and the 2007 men’s world championship in Edmonton.

>> Read the rest of the article

Copyright © CBC 2007

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 | 12:40 PM ET
CBC News

Jamie Korab said he was surprised when he was kicked off the Olympic gold-medal curling team, one year after the rink won gold at the 2006 Olympic games in Torino, Italy.

Korab, former lead, says he had no idea it was coming until skip Brad Gushue told him the news during a team meeting April 4.

At the time, Gushue told the St. John’s Telegram that the decision to drop his longtime teammate had been discussed over the last couple of weeks and had nothing to do with Korab’s performance.

“The team chemistry was not there, not the way it has been in the past,” Gushue said of the decision.

Korab said he felt the chemistry hadn’t changed.

Korab said the only explanation he can come up with dates back to an exchange of words he had with Gushue after a match in British Columbia, noting the exchange marked the only time he had ever spoken back to Gushue.

Jamie Korab said he was surprised when he was kicked off the Olympic gold-medal curling team, one year after the rink won gold at the 2006 Olympic games in Torino, Italy.

Korab, former lead, says he had no idea it was coming until skip Brad Gushue told him the news during a team meeting April 4.

At the time, Gushue told the St. John’s Telegram that the decision to drop his longtime teammate had been discussed over the last couple of weeks and had nothing to do with Korab’s performance.

“The team chemistry was not there, not the way it has been in the past,” Gushue said of the decision.

Korab said he felt the chemistry hadn’t changed.

Korab said the only explanation he can come up with dates back to an exchange of words he had with Gushue after a match in British Columbia, noting the exchange marked the only time he had ever spoken back to Gushue.

Continue Article

“I didn’t raise my voice, I didn’t get in his face. He just basically said to me, ‘Guys we can’t give up on those,’ and I turned it right back around on him and said ‘Well Brad, it looked like you gave up on it.’”

Korab said Gushue responded negatively to his comment.

Korab says he’s looking for an opportunity to join another curling team.

The latest move leaves only Gushue and third Mark Nichols remaining from the Olympian rink.

Gushue’s second in Torino, Russ Howard, lives in New Brunswick and hasn’t curled for the St. John’s-based team this year.

The other member of the original squad, second Mike Adam, who was relegated to fifth in Torino, was let go just before Christmas after Chris Schille was brought in from Alberta.

SOURCE: CBC News

CBC.CA – Torino 2006 – Curling – Headlines – Gushue wins curling gold

Last Updated: Fri Feb 24 16:08:46 EST 2006
CBC Sports

Brad Gushue used steady play and one spectacular end to win Canada’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s curling.

The 25-year-old skip and his St. John’s-based rink of third Mark Nichols, second Russ Howard and lead Jamie Korab scored six in the sixth end to propel themselves to a 10-4 win over Finland in eight ends in the gold medal game on Friday in Pinerolo, Italy.

Clinging to a 4-3 lead going into the sixth, Canada got a key takeout from Nichols, who executed a dazzling run-back with his first stone.

Nichols, who curled a brilliant 97 per cent, converted another solid takeout with his second stone, one of several clutch shots the Canadian third made in the game.

Canada then caught a break when Finnish skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi rubbed a guard with his final stone of the end, leaving Gushue a free draw for seven. Gushue sailed his stone through the house and had to settle for six, but the game was essentially over at that point.

“I knew when (Uusipaavalniemi) missed the last shot that it was over and I had trouble composing myself,” Gushue later told CBC Sports.

Immediately after the win, Gushue was handed a phone to speak to his mother, Maureen, who underwent chemotherapy a few weeks ago and was unable to travel to Italy.

A sobbing Gushue had trouble replying when asked what she had said.

“She’s proud and I’m proud of the guys,” he told CBC Sports.

The win gave Canada its second-ever Olympic curling gold medal. The women’s team led by the late Sandra Schmirler finished first at the 1998 Nagano Games, where curling became an official medal sport.

It was also the second medal for Canadian curlers at the Torino Games. On Thursday, Shannon Kleibrink’s Calgary rink captured bronze in women’s curling with a convincing 11-5 victory over Norway’s Dordi Nordby, also in eight ends.

Team Gushue’s win brought Canada’s best-ever medal count at the Torino Olympics to 20, including six gold.

Gushue, Nichols and Korab became the first Newfoundlanders to win a medal at the Winter Olympics since Dwayne Norris of St. John’s won silver with Canada’s men’s hockey team at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

Howard was born in Midland, Ont., and now resides in Moncton, N.B.

The team received plenty of support from Newfoundlanders, including thousands of school kids who were given the afternoon off by Newfoundland and Labrador Education Minister Joan Burke.

She called Friday’s match a historic moment for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Offices closed early across the province and a crowd of about 6,000 was expected to gather at Mile One Stadium in St. John’s to watch the final.

After the game, Gushue expressed his appreciation for the well-wishers in his home province.

“I just want to say thanks,” he told CBC Sports. “I love you all.”

The 50-year-old Howard, who threw second stones and called shots for Gushue, praised his young teammates from Newfoundland, none of whom are over 26.

“What a thrill, it’s unbelievable,” Howard told CBC Sports. “When we first started, I thought, ‘Oh my God, am I babysitting? Are the guys going to accept me?’ These guys just curl so well and they’ve got such a good attitude, it’s infectious. . . . It was just a pleasure to be with them.”

Howard, a two-time world champion skip, called it the greatest moment of his career.

“Number one by a mile, baby,” he said. “Absolutely.”

Howard joined the team prior to the Canadian curling trials when erstwhile second Mike Adam, who served as alternate at the Olympics, graciously stepped aside to make room.

“Mike has put his heart and soul into this team, but he realized that our chances of winning were better with Russ than without,” Gushue told CBC Sports Online before the Games. “Having a teammate like that means a lot and it made the decision a lot easier that he handled it that well.”

The gold medal game opened with Finland and Canada trading two-point ends.

Uusipaavalniemi, who had last-rock advantage in the first, made a take-out to score two, though he was trying for three. Gushue evened the game in the second by drawing to the four-foot for two.

Gushue went up 4-2 with steals in the next two ends.

With Canada lying four in the third, Uusipaavalniemi attempted a delicate angled tap-back put couldn’t bump his stone close enough to the button, giving Gushue a steal of one. Uusipaavalniemi then missed on a draw attempt to close the fourth, handing another point to Gushue.

Uusipaavalniemi got one back in the fifth, converting a tricky takeout by scraping his first rock past a Canadian guard to knock out Canada’s shot stone on the eight-foot. Uusipaavalniemi then had a chance to count two but came up short on a draw, leaving Gushue with a 4-3 lead after five.

After Canada all but wrapped up the game with its six-point sixth end, Finland blanked the seventh. The Finns picked up one to make the score 10-4 before conceding after the eighth, the earliest an Olympic game can be called.

Steady shotmaking at the top (Korab and Howard curled 88 and 75 per cent, respectively) allowed the Canadians to execute the aggressive strategy they planned to counter Uusipaavalniemi’s strong takeout skills.

With the house often littered with rocks, Uusipaavalniemi struggled to play a finesse game. He curled 50 per cent on his draws, compared to 75 per cent on takeouts.

Copyright © CBC 2006

UPDATE: THIS SCORE IS NOW FINAL!

Congratulations Team Canada / Team Gushue!
THANK-YOU GUYS! YOU PLAYED GREAT!

skip – Brad Gushue (aka 4th)
3rd – Mark Nichols
2nd – Russ Howard (real skip)
lead – Jamie Korab
Alternate – Mike Adam

Canada vs Finland

END 1 – FIN 2, CAN 0
END 2 – FIN 2, CAN 2
END 3 – FIN 2, CAN 3
END 4 – FIN 2, CAN 4
END 5 – FIN 3, CAN 4
END 6 – FIN 3, CAN 10
END 7 – FIN 3, CAN 10
END 8 – FIN 4, CAN 10
(concession after 8th ends)

TEAM CANADA WINS GOLD!

FINAL: Canada 10, Finland 4
Results

Here are the stats..

“Chris” will be watching Team Canada Men’s Final GOLD Match later this morning (17:30 local torino time) IN ATTENDENCE at Pinerolo Palaghiaccio and uploading pictures at the Splash Blog or www.splashblog.com/curling/ for those reading in your RSS feeds … I know I’ll be checking this site often while I am live blogging at “the other site”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Picture Reference by Marcos Tulio (see comments!) // Thanks!

Great Britain vs United States

END 1 – GBR 0, USA 1
END 2 – GBR 1, USA 1
END 3 – GBR 1, USA 4
END 4 – GBR 2, USA 4
END 5 – GBR 2, USA 4
END 6 – GBR 2, USA 6
END 7 – GBR 5, USA 6
END 8 – GBR 5, USA 7
END 9 – GBR 6, USA 7
END 10 – GBR 6, USA 8

USA GETS THE BRONZE MEDAL

FINAL: United States 8, Great Britain 6
Results

I am live blogging on the other site LightTheTorch.net but will be posting the final results back here .. this will be for both games .. it’s in the 7th end of the Bronze Medal Match at the moment in GBR vs USA

Sorry .. I should have posted this message earlier .. / HART

FINAL SCORE: Sweden 7, Switzerland 6
Results

Here’s How it went:

END 1 – SWE 0, SUI 0
END 2 – SWE 2, SUI 0
END 3 – SWE 2, SUI 2
END 4 – SWE 3, SUI 2
END 5 – SWE 3, SUI 2
END 6 – SWE 4, SUI 2
END 7 – SWE 5, SUI 2
END 8 – SWE 5, SUI 4
END 9 – SWE 6, SUI 4
END 10 – SWE 6, SUI 6
(extra end)
END 11 – SWE 7, SUI 6

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES

It was great watching you ALL play in the Finals!

Sweden – Gold Champions
Skip – Anette Norberg
3rd – Eva Lund
2nd – Cathrine Lindahl
Lead – Anna Svaerd
Alternate – Ulrika Bergram

Switzerland – Silver Champions
Skip – Mirjam Ott
3rd – Binia Beeli
2nd – Valeria Spaelty
Lead – Michele Moser
Alternate – Manuela Kormann

Anette Norberg is now the 2nd person in history to be both the WORLD Champion and the OLYMPIC Champion at the same time .. (after Canada’s Sandra Schmirler being the first).

I bet there’s gonna be a lot of new “Hearts on Fire” after this win!

CBC News

CBC.CA – Torino 2006 – Curling – Headlines – Kleibrink wins curling bronze

Last Updated: Thu Feb 23 10:03:14 EST 2006
CBC Sports

Canada’s Shannon Kleibrink regrouped from a tough semifinal loss to win the bronze medal in women’s curling on Thursday at the Torino Olympics.

Kleibrink defeated Norway’s Dordi Nordby 11-4 in eight ends to earn the bronze, a day after seeing her gold-medal chances evaporate with a loss to Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott.

“You just think of everybody back home, all the fans here that supported us,” an emotional Kleibrink said after the game. “Thanks to everybody for your support.”

It was Canada’s second consecutive bronze medal in Olympic women’s curling, after Kelley Law of British Columbia won bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Kleibrink was born in Norquay, Sask., but now curls out of Calgary along with third Amy Nixon, second Glenys Bakker, lead Christine Keshen and alternate Sandra Jenkins.

The late Sandra Schmirler of Regina remains the only Canadian skip to win an Olympic title. She won gold at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first time in the modern era that curling appeared as an official Olympic event.

Kleibrink jumped on Nordby immediately on Thursday, scoring four in the first end and picking up a steal of one in the second.

Nordby got one back in the third and stole one more in the fourth before Kleibrink all but wrapped up the game in the fifth.

With Kleibrink lying four, Nordby sailed a draw attempt through the house. That allowed Kleibrink to put another stone in the rings and score her second four-point end of the game to go up 9-2.

Nordby recovered from her gaffe in the next end, making good on a draw to the four-foot to count two and cut Kleibrink’s lead to five.

Klebrink regained her seven-point lead in the seventh, converting a free draw for two to go up 11-4.

Nordby picked up one to make the score 11-5 and the teams shook hands following the eighth end, the earliest a game can be conceded.

The women’s gold medal game between Sweden and Switzerland goes later on Thursday (TSN, 11:30 a.m. EST).

Canada’s Brad Gushue will play in the men’s gold medal game against Finland on Friday (CBC, 11:30 a.m. EST), while Great Britain and the U.S. will battle earlier in the day for bronze (7:00 a.m. EST).

Copyright © CBC 2006

As I mentioned on a preliminary post, I was live blogging on this site … and it was too hard to do both … Here are the final results though..

~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: ALL SCORES ARE FINAL AND LIVE BLOGGING IS FINISHED

United States vs Canada

END 1 – USA 1, CAN 0
END 2 – USA 1, CAN 2
END 3 – USA 2, CAN 2
END 4 – USA 2, CAN 4
END 5 – USA 3, CAN 4
END 6 – USA 3, CAN 6
END 7 – USA 3, CAN 6
END 8 – USA 5, CAN 6
END 9 – USA 5, CAN 11
(concession after 9th end)

FINAL: Canada 11, United States 5
Results

Finland vs Great Britain

END 1 – FIN 0, GBR 0
END 2 – FIN 1, GBR 0
END 3 – FIN 1, GBR 0
END 4 – FIN 1, GBR 0
END 5 – FIN 1, GBR 1
END 6 – FIN 3, GBR 1
END 7 – FIN 3, GBR 2
END 8 – FIN 3, GBR 2
END 9 – FIN 3, GBR 3
END 10 – FIN 4, GBR 3

FINAL: Finland 4, Great Britain 3
Results

~~~~ Tidbits while I am Live Blogging ~~~~~

Markku U-15 Draws to the button! Finland Wins! – it will be CAN vs FIN for Gold/Silver! Great Britain and USA will play for the Bronze – Both games will be on February 24, 2006