The First Draw

The first draw ended in very dramatic fashion with Canadian Skip, Kevin Martin, drawing to the button to beat the pesky Norwegians who had forced an extra end. The crowd was really revved up as Martin got ready to throw his final stone. It was quiet when he slid out of the hack, but as the rock slid slowly down the ice the crowd started to come to life. By the time it entered the house, the Canadians were going bananas and pandemonium erupted when it came to rest on the button.

I have to admit it was pretty awesome.  This is the biggest crowd I have ever seen watch curling and it was really cool to see every soul in the place standing and cheering.

Unfortunately, Team USA took it on the chin losing to Germany in the 10th. It was somewhat a sloppy game in the beginning with neither skip curling their best. As the match wore on, Andy Kapp, the German Skip found his game, executing a couple of very key double take-outs.  Team USA needed to steal two in the tenth to force an extra end but when that proved to not be in the cards, American skip John Shuster extended his hand to Kapp, conceding the contest.  

Next up for our Men's team is Norway and their whacky pants which would probably make even John Daly jealous.

Other winners in the first draw:  Sweden over Scotland and Switzerland over Denmark.