World Curling Federation

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Brier Recap & Women's Worlds Preview

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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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Best Active Rivalries

In the midst of the Season of Champions, we take a break from the on-ice results to discuss some of the best matchups that we're looking forward to seeing over the next few months. From cross Canada competition to international matchups, we go across the globe to identify some of the best active rivalries around the curling world.

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Bold Predictions for 2024!

In another one of our favourite annual traditions, we offer up some bold predictions for 2024! From who will win to big event changes, we offer up some thoughts on what could transpire in the world of curling over the next 12 months. We then wrap up with a couple great emails we received over the holidays!

Do you like our predictions? What do you foresee for the year? 

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

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Euros Recap: Best Bad Beer Bet Result Ever!

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The Euros are done and the results of the Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond are in and we are excited! We talk about all the action from Scotland, including who is getting promoted, who is getting relegated, and who won! We also finish by briefly talking about the Canadian Club Curling Championship.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

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European Championship Preview & Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond

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It's that time of year again where the top curling teams in Europe gather to determine the European champion, the teams heading to the world championship, and who will be promoted/relegated next year. It's also the time of year where we go head to head and pit our picks against those of our friends at Rocks Across the Pond. With Jonathan playing in the event this year, we had to do things a little differently so Ryan is flying solo as we preview both the men's and women's events. We go through all the teams in the A events, including some interesting stats that could have a significant impact on the week, before chatting about some of the B event teams that we expect to make a serious push towards promotion. Who do you like this week?

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

November News Update

We're back to talk about what has been a busy week in the world of curling. We start by wrapping up the Pan Continental Championship, including talking about who was relegated, promoted, and qualified for the world championship. We then chat about some of the familiar names in contention at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, John Morris' new team, and the start of this week's grand slam. We wrap up by talking about a weird game we played in this week and how our season is going.

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Kelowna Controversy

We get together to talk about what has been an eventful week at the Pan Continental Curling Championship in Kelowna. We break down TSN's decision to move the games off teevee and exclusively to streaming, Brad Gushue offering some strong criticism for the World Curling Federation, and what this all says about the state of the event, now in its second year. Following that, we talk about the games being played, including both Canadian teams qualifying for the playoffs, the world qualifiers, and the great story being written by Jamaica on the women's B-side.

Check out the Belgium Women's and Men’s Challenger Events early next year!

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

We Sponsored a Team!

Sean is joined by the members of Team Davies, the University of Alberta U21 Men's Team. We have joined their list of sponsors for this season, so Sean chats with them about their expectations for the year, how the curling program works at the University of Alberta, and the financial challenge junior teams face in raising funds. The discussion is followed by Sean discussing the PointsBet Invitational and the World Mixed Curling Championship.

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Name that Shot: Progressive Trivia Edition

We're back from a mid-summer break for another edition of Canada's Fastest Growing Game Show, Name That Shot! This time we're doing a progressive trivia version of the game, so play along with Scott as Sean gives clues that get increasingly easier and let us know how you scored.

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What's Curling's Best Playoff Format?

After some time away from the mic, we're back to kick off our summer season of episodes! This week, we answer an interesting listener question: what is the best playoff format? Scott has gone through the numbers to see whether certain formats offer an unfair advantage and we also chat about the various formats that have been used and how we feel about them from a fan perspective. 

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Postseason Power Rankings

We're back to start wrapping up the season that was in 2022-23! We start by stacking up all the teams in the 4-person game and seeing how they stack up against each other in our power rankings. Sean gives his list of the top 10 teams in the world while Scott offers up his feedback, including some honorable mentions. Let us know who you think we missed out in our rankings.

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Sherry Anderson Does It Again! What does Mixed Doubles gold mean for USA Curling?

We're back to talk about what was an exciting weekend in Korea as the world senior and mixed doubles titles were decided. We talk about Sherry Anderson winning her fourth senior world title and what an impressive stretch she is on the event before discussing the all-Canada sweep of the event. We then chat about the world mixed doubles event by debating what the win means for USA curling and whether this influences our perception of specialists v. non-specialists in the discipline.

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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.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

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The Era of Dynasties: Swiss Women Win & Swedish Men Take Their Turn

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We're back to talk about all the action at the Women's World Curling Championship. We talk about the dominance of Team Tirinzoni, a surprise silver for Norway, and the week that was for Team Canada. We also go through the rest of the field and talk about the narratives that emerged about the ice before talking about the Canadian Mixed Doubles and Juniors. We then turn our attention to the Men's Worlds, which kick off on Saturday. We go through all 13 teams in the field, discuss how they can navigate the week, and make our picks for who will emerge as the 2023 World Champion.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

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Women's Worlds Preview: Beat the Streak?

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We're back to talk about the Women's World Curling Championship, which starts on Saturday in Sandviken, Sweden. We chat about the 13 teams in the field, including Silvana Tirinzoni and Switzerland going for their fourth straight title. We also talk Anna Hasselborg's chances at getting her first world title, whether this is the year for Kerri Einarson, and if Satsuki Fujisawa can take what has been a strong season and make it a great season as we debate each team's chances.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com 

High Performance v. Grassroots, Curling Canada Launches Streaming, & ChatGPT Curling Storytime

It's been a big week in the world of curling, both on and off the ice. The guys start by talking about some of the provincial finals from the weekend and currently on going, including a phenomenal game winning shot from Kayla Skrlik. They then discuss Curling Canada's review of the high performance program and the attention (or lack thereof) on the grassroots level in Canada. They also give their thoughts on Curling Canada+, the new streaming service for all non-Season of Champions events. They wrap up by sharing a curling story from ChatGPT.

Check out Scott's AI generated curling image here.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

2023 Bold Predictions

The guys are back with one of their favourite annual traditions - bold predictions for the year to come! They start by recapping which of last year's predictions came true and then give 13 bold predictions for 2023. They go from championships to breakups to off the ice stories to outline what could be some of the biggest stories of the year.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

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.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com