Forget March Madness: Curling Is in the House

Matt Bosley — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:12:40 -0400

If you noticed the subtle pun in the headline, good for you! If not, don't feel so bad. A month ago, I wouldn't have got it either.

When the average American sports fan hears the word "curling," probably the first thing that comes to their mind is the cylindrical iron owned by their wife/girlfriend/sister.

The next thing that comes to mind might be a laughable sport involving ice, brooms, and large rocks.

Ice, brooms, and large rocks, eh? Sounds more like a house party gone horribly wrong than an Olympic sport, doesn't it?

Wait? Did you just say "Olympic sport?"

Yep. Curling has been a full-blown Olympic sport ever since the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. It has enjoyed just an occasional sliver of coverage in the United States ever since, despite surprisingly high TV ratings during Olympic coverage.

But living in a small town less than one hundred miles from the U.S.-Canadian border means that I don't need to count on American television to get my curling fix. Around here, the CBC is broadcast on basic cable.

And when you only have basic cable, it's not uncommon for curling to be the most interesting thing you'll find while channel surfing.

At first, I reacted to it in the same way that most Americans react to something foreign; I made fun of it. It seemed so absurd to watch these so-called athletes exhibit such intensity over sliding a chunk of granite across a long sheet of ice. Even more senseless was how their teammates swept tenaciously in front of it, not appearing to have any significant impact on its speed or direction.

But there was a crowd. And they cheered! Not just your average, half-hearted applause from the gallery, either; I'm talking Tiger-Woods-on-the-eighteenth-hole cheered.

Not only that, but it was women's curling. Pardon my sexism, but about half of those girls are pretty darn gorgeous! Don't believe me? Just try googling Cassie Johnson, Jennifer Jones, or Moe Meguro. With these women lunging and sliding across the ice, who wouldn't watch long enough to be intrigued by the game? Rowrrr!

It's not just the foxy ladies that make it interesting to watch, though. Since curling is a sport centered around accuracy and strategy instead of speed, strength, and agility, internationally acclaimed curlers do not look like the stereotypical athlete.

Take the guy in this photo, for example. Does he look like an Olympic athlete to you? Believe it or not, he's considered one of the best curlers in the world! In what other sport besides bowling or golf could a 40-year-old bald guy be a national icon?

No. Curlers look like, and often are, regular people. There's really no such thing as a professional curler. Though there are some major curling events that have cash prizes, most curlers have day jobs. Even those who compete internationally usually have regular careers in the off-season.

Watching these "regular people" compete for a World Championship in anything is interesting to watch; if only because it makes you think, "If they can do it, why not me?"

Thus, I soon found myself trying to understand the goals, rules, and strategy involved in curling. I made futile attempts at deciphering terms like 'ends' and 'hammer' frequently spewed by commentators. I struggled to understand what the sweeping was all about and why they didn't always try to get their stone to land in the center of that big bulls-eye.

Perhaps if one watches any nationally televised sport long enough they will come to appreciate the amount of skill involved. The same goes for curling.

After a while, it's hard not to be amazed at how the thrower can put just enough force and spin on a stone to get it to stop in just the right place. When you realize just how precise they have to be in order to pull off a double takeout, watching someone attempt a clutch free-throw in the NCAA tournament pales in comparison.

Heck, I was just in awe over how they were able to move down the ice and frantically work their brushes without tripping over the stones already in play!

Slowly I began to understand, and suddenly it was even more fun to watch and cheer for those cute Canadian twenty-somethings as they made their way to a 2008 World Championship title.

These next few weeks will feature the men's World Championship tournament, and I must say that I'm looking forward to catching a few games on CBC. The eye-candy factor will be lacking, but the curling should be at least as exciting.

For those of you who don't have the privilege of accessing Canadian television, don't fret. It won't be long before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games are upon us, sure to give everyone in the States yet another peek into a truly endearing sport.

2008 NBA Draft: Cleveland Cavaliers Analysis, Pt. 1

Matt Bosley — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:30:31 -0400

As the Cleveland Cavaliers coast, or rather, sputter towards the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference following a huge deadline trade, Cleveland fans like myself have to wonder what their next major roster move will be.

It won't be long before the 2008 NBA Draft is upon us, and with the Cavs on track to win around 45 games, it's very likely that their first round pick could end up in the top 20. Picking in the high teens probably doesn't sound like a big deal to most people, but this draft is looking deeper with each passing game of the NCAA tournament. For Cleveland, first round picks have been a rarity in recent years. Thanks to previous GMs trading away pick after future pick, Danny Ferry has had just one shot at a first-rounder since beginning his tenure in 2005.

To trade or not to trade?

Especially since the Cavs have missed out on the first round so often lately, it's crucial that they do not trade this pick. The Cavs got marginally better after the deadline trade, but they also got older. They need more talented youth to balance out their roster. Unless they get an offer involving a truly great player or an opportunity to trade up in the draft, they should avoid trading this pick at all costs.

What position?

Some people might look at the Cavaliers' roster and think, "They still need a point guard," and though there may be some truth in that, it's not the position they need to draft for. As deep as this draft is getting to be, there simply won't be a NBA-starting quality point guard available as low as the Cavs will be picking.

The Cavs should not be drafting for immediate impact, but rather for the not-so-far-off future when their aging frontcourt begins to really show its age. Finding an eventual replacement for franchise center Zydrunas Ilgauskas should be their mission. Ilgauskas, currently the Cavs' second leading scorer, will be turning 33 in June. After having gone through surgery on both feet earlier in his career, it's a wonder how he's still playing 30 minutes per game. Just this past month he missed several games due to a bulging disc in his back. You don't need a crystal ball to see that Big Z will be lucky to keep up his current pace in the two seasons that remain on his contract after this one, after which he will likely retire and watch his number 11 be hung in the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena.

Though Cleveland's frontcourt currently looks like one of the deepest in the NBA, its future looks grim.

The Cavs have tried (and failed) a few times to get a replacement for Ilgauskas. One of Ferry's first moves as GM in 2005 was to trade for Martynas Andriuskevicius (try saying that three times fast). It didn't take long to see that "Marty," as he's often referred to, wasn't going to pan out into much. It's beginning to look much the same for Dwayne Jones, the third string Center whom the Cavaliers have been trying to mold into an NBA player for the past couple years.

Anderson Varejao shows glimpses of potential to someday be a starter at the 5, but issues over his contract could lead to his exit from Cleveland in the next year or two. Then there's Ben Wallace, who seems to have lost much of his explosiveness over the years and, like Ilgauskas, has been struggling with back problems recently. If there's any place where Cleveland needs more youth on their roster, it's in the frontcourt.

The choice is quite clear. The Cavs need to draft a center, preferably one that they can develop to help fill the big shoes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas within the next few years.

Then it's just a matter of who...

Check out Part 2 of Matt's series on the Cavaliers Draft Strategy

Bleacher Report - Articles by Matt Bosley

Forget March Madness: Curling Is in the House

2008 NBA Draft: Cleveland Cavaliers Analysis, Pt. 1