Brier Recap & Women's Worlds Preview

In the midst of the very busy Season of Champions, we're back to recap the week that was at the Brier and look ahead to the Women's World Curling Championship. We start by recapping the Brier, including Gushue's run of dominance, a great week for Saskatchewan, and some of the best stand out performances of the week. At 31:05 we look ahead to the Women's Worlds by previewing all 13 teams in the field, including Silvana Tirinzoni going for her 5th consecutive title. We wrap the show by talking about our attempt to watch curling at Montana's during the Brier.

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Biggest Brier Preview

The Season of Champions is in full swing withe the first ever Montana's Brier set to kick off on Friday. We talk about the format, the storylines, and all 18 teams heading to Regina before making our picks for who will stand tall at the end of the week.

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Cross Country Checkup

The Scotties field is set! The Brier field is taking shape! This week we go coast to coast to coast to discuss all the goings on in the provincial playdowns over the past couple of weeks! From first time champs to returning veterans, we discuss the teams that are moving on and how they got there.

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Provincial Playdown Excitement!

It's provincial and territorial playdown season across Canada, so we go coast to coast to coast to discuss some of the biggest storylines we're looking forward to following. From deep fields to up and coming teams to the CTRS points, we talk about what will be a fun few weeks as the Scotties and Brier fields are rounded out.

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*recorded Wednesday January 17

The Ascension of Team Jacobs: Ten Years Later

We're turning the clock back a decade as it was 10 years ago this week that Team Jacobs made their incredible undefeated run through the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. We discuss the team's rise to prominence, whether the Trials (in particular this shot) represent the team's peak, and what came after the Olympic gold medal.

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Schedule Watch 2023

We're back from our summer break and looking ahead to the upcoming curling season! This week,  we go through some team schedules to see how the new Brier and Scotties qualification rules are impacting how teams pick their events. We talk about the defending champs, some established squads, and some up and comers to see if we can spot the differences in how they are approaching a new season. 

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Curling Canada Makes Changes

After a week off, we're back to talk about some of the changes Curling Canada made to Olympic, Scotties, and Brier qualification. We briefly touch on the world mixed doubles and senior championships before getting into the Curling Canada changes. We talk about what we like (a lot) and what we don't like (less) and how this could impact things moving forward.

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Brier Recap: Another Dynasty

We're back to recap what was an eventful week in London. We talk about Brad Gushue capturing his fifth Brier title, the cruelty of small misses that cost Matt Dunstone, and Marc Kennedy's stellar play. We also talk about the format, Kevin Koe's tough loss, and breakthrough performances by the Horgan brothers. We wrap up by talking about Colin Hodgson and Ryan Fry's departures and David Murdoch's tough position.

Be sure to check our socials for our giveaway of an Ailsa Craig print by Daniel Martin

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Brier Update: Strategy Talk, Playoff Expectations, & New Merch Store

The Brier playoffs are set and we're here to talk about what we've seen so far and the playoffs coming up this weekend in London. We talk about Thursday morning's game between Quebec and Wild Card 1, the dominance of the top 4 teams, and how things are stacking up heading into the weekend. We then chat about some of the other stories of the week before talking about our new Merch store and what is now available.

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Big Brier Preview

We're back to preview the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier! We talk about all 18 teams in the field in London, ON, including the favourites, the young teams trying to establish themselves, and some of the new and returning faces. We also make our picks for the week and announce the winner of our Ailsa Craig print. If you didn't win, have no fear, we're doing another giveaway for the Brier!

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News Roundup & First Timer Live Event Tips

There's been a lot going on in curling, so Sean and Scott roundup all the news, including the Grand Slam, provincial results, and some lineup changes. They also dish out some tips for first timers heading to live events during the Season of Champions.

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Smaller Curling Venues, Interesting Masters Outcomes, & We're Playing Weird Games Lately

Curling Canada announced this week that the 2024 Brier will be held in Regina, prompting the question of whether the days of Briers in NHL arenas are behind us? And does that impact the fan experience? We then talk about this week's Grand Slam and what winners would make for the most interesting storylines going into 2023. The show wraps up by talking about some of our recent games, including a big strategy decision and what makes for major momentum swings in rec level games.

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Bad Beer Bet Win & A Very Busy Week in Curling

Sean and Scott start off by celebrating their win in the annual Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond. They then get into the European championship playoffs and who is heading up and down next year as well as who booked their spots in the world championship. They then go through what is a very busy week in curling, including the Canadian club championship, the Canadian senior championship, and the world mixed doubles qualifying event. They finish up by talking about which beers they should pick for Ryan and Jonathan.

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Madeleine Dupont Proves Scott Wrong! And What's the Value of Rankings?

In this episode, Sean and Scott talk about a fun week so far at the European Championships. They discuss Madeleine Dupont's incredible run, the women's final, and the crowded middle of the women's field. They also chat about the men's side and how things look heading into the second semi final. They then look at the current CTRS, Ken Pom, and Twine Time rankings and debate about the value of ranking systems and whether they warrant so much attention.

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Diversity & Inclusivity Initiatives After Curling Canada Symposium

In this episode, Sean is joined by Sabena Islam about diversity and inclusion initiaitves in curling. They talk about Curling Canada's 'Changing the Face of Curling' symposium and some of Curling Canada's DEI initiatives. The discussion ranges from how these program's came about, where they stand now, and what steps the curling community can take moving forward.

Please check out some of the resources available:

United we Curl: https://unitedwecurl.com/

Curling Canada: https://www.curling.ca/files/2021/03/Full-Resource-Kit-Eng.pdf

Goldline: https://blog.goldlinecurling.com/we-can-all-changethefaceofcurling-introducing-the-unitedwecurl-brooms/
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Best Games of the Quad

This week, Sean and Scott look back at the best games from the past four years. From worlds to Olympics to national championships, they talk about the most exciting matches that still hold some re-watchability. Agree with their list? Be sure to let them know what they missed.

To see the list, including links to watch the game, check out the accompanying blog post.
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Who Gets on Teevee?

This week, Sean and Scott look at the data from the past four years to determine how teams get on TSN? Does winning matter? How important is name recognition? Do certain provinces gets hosed? The guys break it all down.

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Diversity in Curling Roundtable

With the Brier and Paralympics in full swing, Sean and Scott wanted to re-visit their discussion with Auria Moore, Porsche Stephenson, and Jason Chang on the state of diversity in the sport. In the roundtable, which was held in 2020, they each discuss their experiences in the sport and strategies we can all implement to make the sport welcoming to everyone who comes to a curling facility.

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Brier & Paralympic Mega Preview!

It's a major week of curling around the world with both the Brier & Paralympic Curling starting on the weekend and Sean and Scott have got you covered. They start by talking about the Brier, including whether there is a stronger of the two pools (4:30) before exploring the key storylines for each team in both Pool A (8:31) and Pool B (32:07). They then discuss what some of the most fun scenarios that could happen over the course of the week (49:55) and make their picks (54:40).

They then look at the wheelchair curling field at the 2022 Paralympic Games. They talk about some of the key stats for each of the 12 teams in the field (55:40), the uncertainty surrounding Russia's participation, and make their picks for who will top the podium (1:21:50).

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Play to Win the Game: Provincial Champions, Mixed Doubles Confusion, & More Wild Cards

This week, Sean and Scott go through all the news in the world curling. They start by talking about the results of the weekend's provincial championships (2:25) before going through the now completed Scotties field (20:36), with the exception of the somewhat confusing Ontario situation and why Team Homan won't be allowed to play if Rachel Homan is selected for the Olympics (24:40). They then move on to who Curling Canada should select as the mixed doubles team at the Olympics and whether the rankings should be the ultimate decided factor (27:00). They then finish the show by talking about the push to add more wild card teams to the Scotties and Brier and the pros and cons (36:56).

For more, be sure to visit us at GameofStonesPod.com