Heimdallr Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 USA mixed doubles curling not starting so hot at the Olympics.... [ugh mixed doubles is such a terrible competitive event] If anyone has curling questions, let me know. I know both the sport and all the team USA members very well. If you think football is a game of inches, oh boy wait until you learn curling. EDIT: huge win for USA mixed doubles over Sweden tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 random things you probably don't know about curling: - A while back people got too good a sweeping (they could basically steer rocks), so for competitive events all brooms most have the same (yellow) fabric from the same producer, and it is really terrible stuff. At major events, teams will replace their broomheads after every game (or even mid-game) to try to get better friction. - Curling shoes have a teflon slider on one foot so you can slide while throwing. Most high-end curlers have custom shoes (either weightlifting or indoor soccer shoes make a good base for curling shoes). When not throwing, most people use a rubber "gripper" to cover the slider so they can walk normally on the ice. Some people sweep with grippers, some people sweep with sliders. - Competitive players will keep notes on every stone (ex: Sheet 6, stone 4 - runs straight) so they can change stones if certain players don't like certain stones. USA curling has dedicated stones that travel for major events. All curling stones are made from granite from specific quarries in Scotland and Wales. For competitive events the stones also have sensors in the handles to ensure there are no hog-line violations. - The same ice-maker from Canada is brought in for every Olympics. Proper ice making is a HUGE component of curling and it is MUCH different than hockey ice. Even at a casual level the difference between mediocre ice, good ice, and great ice is immediately noticeable. The ice is "pebbled" to allow for better movement. - A curling sheet is roughly ~140' feet from hack to hack (where the players throw from), and with 2 good sweepers sweeping the whole way, I would say they add roughly 15'-20' of extra distance. It makes a huge difference. Directional sweeping also makes a big difference on where the rock ends up. - Almost all competitive teams/players in the US are based in MN. Team Shuster (mens) that won gold last cycle and went to the last 5 Olympics is from Duluth, MN. Anyone serious about curling moves to either Minneapolis/St.Paul or Duluth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDrew Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 10 hours ago, Heimdallr said: random things you probably don't know about curling: - A while back people got too good a sweeping (they could basically steer rocks), so for competitive events all brooms most have the same (yellow) fabric from the same producer, and it is really terrible stuff. At major events, teams will replace their broomheads after every game (or even mid-game) to try to get better friction. - Curling shoes have a teflon slider on one foot so you can slide while throwing. Most high-end curlers have custom shoes (either weightlifting or indoor soccer shoes make a good base for curling shoes). When not throwing, most people use a rubber "gripper" to cover the slider so they can walk normally on the ice. Some people sweep with grippers, some people sweep with sliders. - Competitive players will keep notes on every stone (ex: Sheet 6, stone 4 - runs straight) so they can change stones if certain players don't like certain stones. USA curling has dedicated stones that travel for major events. All curling stones are made from granite from specific quarries in Scotland and Wales. For competitive events the stones also have sensors in the handles to ensure there are no hog-line violations. - The same ice-maker from Canada is brought in for every Olympics. Proper ice making is a HUGE component of curling and it is MUCH different than hockey ice. Even at a casual level the difference between mediocre ice, good ice, and great ice is immediately noticeable. The ice is "pebbled" to allow for better movement. - A curling sheet is roughly ~140' feet from hack to hack (where the players throw from), and with 2 good sweepers sweeping the whole way, I would say they add roughly 15'-20' of extra distance. It makes a huge difference. Directional sweeping also makes a big difference on where the rock ends up. - Almost all competitive teams/players in the US are based in MN. Team Shuster (mens) that won gold last cycle and went to the last 5 Olympics is from Duluth, MN. Anyone serious about curling moves to either Minneapolis/St.Paul or Duluth. Good info. I really didn't know much of the technicals. I learned the scoring and some of the terms from watching the movie Men With Brooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minutemancl Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 On 11/3/2021 at 3:48 PM, minutemancl said: Dads- what is something you did/wish you had done before you had kids? Looks like I've got about 6 months to do all that stuff you guys mentioned. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWil23 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 11/3/2021 at 3:48 PM, minutemancl said: Dads- what is something you did/wish you had done before you had kids? Appreciated a good nights sleep. Spent more time with my buddies and enjoying some spontaneous stuff, whereas now when it comes to a schedule, I’m about as flexible as a yardstick. I am glad my wife and I went to Mexico for a relaxing beach all inclusive trip when she was pregnant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) I promised myself to keep my post more PG in this thread - but I have to bend (not break) that rule. In Hou this weekend, stopped to get gas this morning. Notice a coffee shop. As I go to grab a cup of joe, I see a big sign "no pictures allowed". For a normal person, thats probably a red flag. My stupid brain thought "Thats funny, this owner hates people posting their lattes to facebook as much as I do".... .....thats not what they meant. The perky in Perky Cups was not referring to the caffeine. 8am on a Sunday, you expect people getting their morning cup before church. Not in that establishment. I feel like someone once told me these places where real, but my mind melted actually walking into one. Carmel Frap was a 4.5/5 though. Edited February 6, 2022 by Matts4313 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 11/3/2021 at 2:48 PM, minutemancl said: Dads- what is something you did/wish you had done before you had kids? - Travel. Get in as much as you can. - Sleep in. Every single day you can. - Binge watch TV. Get in all the good stuff now, you really can’t binge Ozark after the kids are around. - Late dinners at restaurants. Going late night to a Michelin rated steakhouse isn’t really kid friendly. - Drive a sports car. Can’t really fit a car seat in the back of a Camaro or Corvette. Ill think of more. Congratulations! Six months is gonna fly by… but it’ll be fine, promise. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamq Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 2/5/2022 at 11:12 AM, minutemancl said: Looks like I've got about 6 months to do all that stuff you guys mentioned. Be prepared to not sleep much for a couple months. Go somewhere fun because it's much more complicated when you have a kid in tow Buy an SUV/mini van/full size truck. Even if you don't have more kids, space for wagons/strollers/bikes is handy Sounds obvious, but spend a ton of time teaching.. my son walked, spoke, read books, etc way faster than the baby books said he would.. Simply because of all the time we spend working with him. It helped that my wife didn't work until he started school though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamq Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 17 minutes ago, ET80 said: - Drive a sports car. Can’t really fit a car seat in the back of a Camaro or Corvette. Disagee.. buy yourself the Camaro & your wife an SUV. If you only have one kid there's plenty of room back there to get them around 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 Just now, adamq said: 19 minutes ago, ET80 said: - Drive a sports car. Can’t really fit a car seat in the back of a Camaro or Corvette. Disagee.. buy yourself the Camaro & your wife an SUV. If you only have one kid there's plenty of room back there to get them around 😉 When we had 1, our cars were a Corvette and a Grand Prix. Rule was whenever going solo, you take the vette. When going with child take the grand prix. Even with two, it was a F150 and a Mustang. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 2/4/2022 at 12:07 AM, Heimdallr said: USA mixed doubles curling not starting so hot at the Olympics.... [ugh mixed doubles is such a terrible competitive event] If anyone has curling questions, let me know. I know both the sport and all the team USA members very well. If you think football is a game of inches, oh boy wait until you learn curling. EDIT: huge win for USA mixed doubles over Sweden tonight! Question 1. Can you play curling with a pushbroom and a bowling ball? Asking from Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 4 hours ago, Matts4313 said: Question 1. Can you play curling with a pushbroom and a bowling ball? Asking from Texas. In my experience a frozen turkey works better than a bowling ball 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVScout Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 16 hours ago, Heimdallr said: In my experience a frozen turkey works better than a bowling ball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 On 2/4/2022 at 12:07 AM, Heimdallr said: USA mixed doubles curling not starting so hot at the Olympics.... [ugh mixed doubles is such a terrible competitive event] If anyone has curling questions, let me know. I know both the sport and all the team USA members very well. If you think football is a game of inches, oh boy wait until you learn curling. EDIT: huge win for USA mixed doubles over Sweden tonight! Curling is on right now. Italy v SWE. I forgot that curling is actually kinda fun to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnChimpo Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 On 2/4/2022 at 12:07 AM, Heimdallr said: USA mixed doubles curling not starting so hot at the Olympics.... [ugh mixed doubles is such a terrible competitive event] If anyone has curling questions, let me know. I know both the sport and all the team USA members very well. If you think football is a game of inches, oh boy wait until you learn curling. EDIT: huge win for USA mixed doubles over Sweden tonight! I read that Jared Allen, Keith Bulluck, Michael Roos, and Marc Bulger have a curling team. Did they come anywhere near qualifying for the Olympics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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