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Canada wins curling gold

Canadian Press

Latest comment posted at 8:27 PM EST 30/03/08

Winnipeg skip Jennifer Jones won her first world women's championship, beating upstart China 7-4 in Sunday's final ...Read the full article

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  1. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    A great win!

    Kudos to the Jones team, who took a lot of second-guessing and criticism this week.

    That trophy is well deserved today.
  2. Republic of Saturn from Canada writes:
    It's a good match.

    Chinese team seem to be a little bit nervase.
  3. Rob C from Canada writes: watch out for the chinese down the road....Curling? is nothing uniquely canadian? They live and train in BC....I hope that doesn't come back to roost in two years? (Why are we training them again?...This helps us how?)
  4. Sev Scott from Cowtown, Canada writes: Another reason why Canada starts with 'CAN'.l Wonderful victory. Heck if the Chinese all live and train here, why don't they immigrate and improve BC curling?Another interesting issue that concerns me. Why was no reporting done on the break-in at the teams' hotel in which many of the international teams lost their clothes, money and jewellery? What else do the newspapers of this country decide we are not to hear about?????
  5. Steve . from Western Canada, Canada writes: Damn, we're good!
  6. CD W from Canada writes: It was fun to watch.
  7. Republic of Saturn from Canada writes:
    You guys are just dumb. It's a good investment for Canada to train Chinese team here. Canada can earn handsome money from it without much effort, they pay for it.

    Besides, it promotes curling in China in which only dozen play that today. If the sport becomes popular in Chinese then you can start to mine some gold from it, just look at NBA.

    Look at soccer, British were so arrogant in that sport they refused to take part in soccer world cup in old days, now they're almost nobody in that sport. It's Italian, Brazilian and French dominating soccer today.
  8. Republic of Saturn from Canada writes:
    And, today Chinese top athletes are very rich, they won't come to Canada to have a 'pathetic' life as their Canadian sport fellows.

    Many Chinese sport stars 'retire' to Canada these days, I can name quite a few Olympic champions.
  9. Shawn W from Toronto, Canada writes: China has a curling team?
  10. Pretty Much Sane from Canada writes: Of course I am unbiased with today's game. Excellent curling and I was glued to the TV for most of it, barring the commercials. Just a break for a 'Soda Pop'. Congratulations to Canada's team.
    ARJAY
  11. saucer mcsaucerton from Canada writes: It's common for athletes to train outside of their native countries. Many Canadian track & field athletes live and train in the southern USA. If your native country can't provide you with optimal facilities/conditions, you go where you can find them.
  12. Henry Allen from East Bank, Don River, Canada writes: A huge congrats to Team Canada, all of them, and a special pat on the back for Cathy, who had to battle the flu through the first two-thirds of the tournament. This team has no quit in them and seemed to build positive energy from playing in Canada for the World Championship.
  13. BSG Rocks from Calgary, Canada writes: Congrats to team Canada. Some nailbiters leading up to this one but all around a very solid effort. Hard to believe Jennifer Jones hasn't won a world championship before. She is such an awesome skip. It would not surprise me if this young Team China wins a world Championship or an Olympic Gold in the future. They are solid and just need a little bit of fine tuning which will come with experience.
  14. Roop Misir from Toronto, Canada writes:
    Congrats!

    Some of us prefer to curl up in the sofa with a good book; others, in bed!
  15. Keith Conley from Calgary, Canada writes: We here at our son's home ,were rooting hard for the Jennifer JONES TEAM victory today, all of you did us proud.

    Those tears today were worthwile, as you have earned this long awaited title and I find it amazing to have been able to watch the whole week, and follow your team to a well deserved win.

    World Champions, Jennifer JONES TEAM, that has a good ring to it.

    Wow !!!!!!!!!

    Joyce Conley.
  16. runner danchuk from Canada writes: Great Job Jones. You deserve the Gold. I watched all the curling games and I was very concerned when you lost to Alberta Team. They were very confident and they beat you by alot.
    Your team has class and empathy.
    Thanks.
  17. james cyr from Balmertown, Ontario, Canada writes: Best congratulations to the Canadian womens' curling team for their victory!! A job well done!!
  18. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Curling a sport?

    The champion skip is a full time lawyer and the second place rink comes from a country with 500 participants and one curling rink.

    Curling is a pass-time. Professional golf is even more demanding.

    That's nice ... they won .... yawn.
  19. Dani Ho from Toronto, Canada writes: Not sure why there is 'why we training THEM?' sentiment in some of the posts. Someone has already said that a team should train where there is the best talent. Canada is a powerhouse when it comes to curling. To those canadians training outside of Canada (ie Donovan Bailey in his day, numerous Canadian swimmers / track & field athletes) -- does that make them 'less Canadian'? Should they have joined the country where they train instead of compete for Canada? So if a foreign team trains here, how is that any different?

    Anyway -- glad that Jones got out of her funk at the right time. She has been a choker at the big show but she came out on top today. Great composure, even at that critical shot (double-raise).

    I do think that young Chinese team learned a lot from today, even if they were at the short end of the stick. They are young ... their day will come. And yes -- maybe they will bring curling back to China, perhaps develop a program in their native land and make international curling that much more exciting to watch in the future.
  20. Robert Fisher from Canada writes: It's a shame really, for many reasons.

    It would have been good to see an emerging country in the game win the World Championships. The Chinese team played a different game today than throughout the tournament. They were more conservative, more tentative. Had they come out with the same aggressive style as they'd played up till today, they may well have won.

    The Jones rink was a poor representative for Canada. Their sportsmanship (sportswomanship?) was poor. The whining and sniveling that Clapham did after the round robin game with China was incredibly immature. They were extremely lucky to be in the gold medal game at all. While I am Canadian, I would have preferred that this team didn't win. It's an unfortunate day for Canadian curling that this team won.
  21. Go Oilers Go! from Canada writes: Robert Fisher from Canad....You're pathetic.

    Congrats to the Jones' rink.
  22. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Fisher - saw each game start to finish. Have no clue what you're trying to refer to.

    This team scrapped all week. When they weren't playing well, they fought through it and found ways to win. Period. I saw no outright lack of sportsmanship from any of the teams, really. I honestly think people are nit-picking with microscope, any reason to try and make Jones' victory seem less than deserving.

    Sheesh....I haven't seen this much unjustified resentment towards a Canadian champ since....the last team named Jones.
  23. Child of the North in Canada from Canada writes: To Sev Scott: It was reported on the CBC news about the break-ins earlier in the week. You should get out more!

    To Robert Fisher: Anxious to see your team at the men's!

    Congratulations to the Jone's team. You did Canada proud.
  24. diane marie from Canada writes: Sev Scott:-- I caught coverage of the thefts on TV - the CBC? One of the members of the Chinese team - perhaps the coach? - mentioned (with a charming smile) that they hadn't suffered any loss because the robbers probably knew that they, the Chinese, had nothing to steal. But, the break-ins were an embarrassment.
  25. Keith Conley from Calgary, Canada writes: The Jones Team has the skill, and yes Curling is a sport, which some of you faint hearted congratulatory messages and non congratulatory messages may not have the skill to be forthright in being proud that a Canadian team has won the World's Title in the Sport of Curling. Yes throwing the rocks take a great time of getting to know the timing and where to put the broom and this takes a lot of practise. The sweeping takes skill and lots of exurtion on the sweepers for the rock to get to the place indicated and demands knowledge of the game, and The Jones team has this , but not sure those of you who do not think it is a sport, may never have experienced the satisfaction of the game of Curling, and felt the success of winning. In Golf the Caddy carries the golf clubs and gives advice to the golfer he or she carries the golf clubs for, and the golfer does the rest, but in Curling the whole team is part of the game and strategy, with only 2 time outs for advice from the Coach, whereas in Golf the Caddy gets a say after each shot, especially if their rapport is such that the golfer relies on his input on the game, which is something Curling a game is where the curlers make the choices, except for the 2 times out allo Curling is a Sport of knowledge and skill and sweeping is an exertion on the sweepers, and certainly is not a past time. Joyce Conley
  26. Keith Conley from Calgary, Canada writes: The Jones Team has the skill, and yes Curling is a sport, which some of you faint hearted congratulatory messages and non congratulatory messages may not have the skill to be forthright in being proud that a Canadian team has won the World's Title in the Sport of Curling. Yes throwing the rocks take a great time of getting to know the timing and where to put the broom and this takes a lot of practise. The sweeping takes skill and lots of exurtion on the sweepers for the rock to get to the place indicated and demands knowledge of the game, and The Jones team has this , but not sure those of you who do not think it is a sport, may never have experienced the satisfaction of the game of Curling, and felt the success of winning. In Golf the Caddy carries the golf clubs and gives advice to the golfer he or she carries the golf clubs for, and the golfer does the rest, but in Curling the whole team is part of the game and strategy, with only 2 time outs for advice from the Coach, whereas in Golf the Caddy gets a say after each shot, especially if their rapport is such that the golfer relies on his input on the game, which is something Curling a game is where the curlers make the choices, except for the 2 times out allo Curling is a Sport of knowledge and skill and sweeping is an exertion on the sweepers, and certainly is not a past time. Joyce Conley
  27. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Yeah, the break-ins were widely reported:

    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080325/theftscurling080325/20080325?hub=Canada

    http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/25/5099366-cp.html

    Also was reported in the B.C. national section on the Globe.

    Happy ending - the town raised a bunch of money to help the affected teams recoup their losses.
  28. Keith Conley from Calgary, Canada writes: Follow up;allo should be the full word of allowed. I did not finish that word.

    Joyce Conley
  29. Counterspinner tells the truth from Canada writes: Congratulations Western Canada!
  30. Child of the North in Canada from Canada writes: Counterspinner: On no, a nasty troll looking for a reaction. Did you have a bad weekend?
  31. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Child....huh?
  32. Allan Eizinas from Simcoe, Canada writes: .
    Congratulations Canada!

    Let us enjoy our win, it may be our last one for a very long time.

    If you just compared sheer numbers, Canada has always been pulling beyond our weight because the other countries with far greater populations did not compete in our North American sports.

    Korea and China have now taken over the professional women’s golf circuit. If Canada would not have lucked out in these curling semi-finals it would have been a Japan - World championship final.

    The world is changing.
  33. Woody Forrest from Out in the Sticks, Canada writes: Congratulations to Jennifer Jones' team. They had to work hard and come through under pressure - quite an accomplishment!

    Curling is a great sport. It's also a great social activity to take part in during a long Canadian winter. There are more curlers in Canada than the rest of the world combined. Unfortunately it's not as popular in central Canada as it is out west (don't know about the status in the Maritimes).

    I hang out with a group of friends at the local pub on Saturday afternoons. There is wide spread of ages and professions in this group. Often some sport is playing on the bar TV's, but we usually ignore it. On Saturday we were all glued to the curling and exited about the win over Japan. Apparently all of us have curled before - one more shared Canadian experience.

    Oh, and is it just me, or is Jennifer Jones really gorgeous!
  34. Rob C from Canada writes: By 'them', I was referring to the Chinese curlers...is that grammatically incorrect....OHHHH! You think it's a racist term to refer to a group of people as 'them'. (What a self righteous boob you must be). To the poster who referred to 'mining gold' there is no real money in pro curling now. Lots of $ for the networks, not much at all for the players. So if you think pro curlers from china are going to make the sport richer, good luck with that!
  35. Henry Allen from East Bank, Don River, Canada writes: Ed Long, you took time to read the piece and then post a sarcastic comment. Small minds play small games. Grow up.
  36. Babbleon ! from Canada writes: Ed Long you are probably useless at both sports curling and golf!
  37. P cheng from ottawa, Canada writes: Rob C from Canada writes: By 'them', I was referring to the Chinese curlers...is that grammatically incorrect....OHHHH! You think it's a racist term to refer to a group of people as 'them'. (What a self righteous boob you must be). To the poster who referred to 'mining gold' there is no real money in pro curling now. Lots of $ for the networks, not much at all for the players. So if you think pro curlers from china are going to make the sport richer, good luck with that!
    =========>
    Interesting comment. It is a challenge sport like golf. If you don't like it, you don't know they keep saying 'Hurry' 'hard'. When you play once, you know that it is a challenge. So respect the sport. They are not making money just like Hockey; but people paying it have fund.
  38. Robert Fisher from Canada writes: Child, I curled competitively for over a decade. Played against the likes of John Kawaja, John Base, Dave and Andrea Laws. Can't play anymore because of bad knees. I'm probably the only commenter on this story who has played the game or at least who's played the game at a level beyond the club level Friday night mixed league. That aside, what does that have to do with whether or not I support Jones' rink? What does that have to do with whether or not I think it would be good for an emerging country in the sport to win a major title?

    Ricky, apparently you weren't paying that close attention.
  39. James C from Shenzhen, China writes: "Robert Fisher from Canada writes: It's a shame really, for many reasons. It would have been good to see an emerging country in the game win the World Championships. The Chinese team played a different game today than throughout the tournament. They were more conservative, more tentative. Had they come out with the same aggressive style as they'd played up till today, they may well have won."

    ----------

    robert, you could also say if canada had played in the preliminary round the way they did today then the chinese team might not have made it to the final. first timers to championship rounds in many sports often dont win, thats part of the learning curve. it was good to see a new team in the final, the chinese team will get another chance...

    "Allan Eizinas from Simcoe, Canada writes: congratulations Canada!
    Let us enjoy our win, it may be our last one for a very long time. If you just compared sheer numbers, Canada has always been pulling beyond our weight because the other countries with far greater populations did not compete in our North American sports."

    ---------

    allan, a bit early to be announcing the downfall of canadian curling i think. i have a feeling that curling will at best be a niche sport in china, the majority of chinese will never lay eyes on a sheet of ice, and most other chinese have other pursuits that take up their minimal free time.
  40. Dave C from Edmonton, Canada writes: Big Deal! It's curling, I could care less about curling, hockey or Tim Horton's. The three things this country seems to cherish as our National Identity.
  41. Mark P from Saint John, NB, Canada writes: Dave C from Edmonton, Canada writes: "Big Deal! It's curling, I could care less about curling, hockey or Tim Horton's. The three things this country seems to cherish as our National Identity."

    Good for you Dave. That's great! Then why write a comment about this article? Why should we care to know what you don't care about?
  42. Roger S from Canada writes: I am sure China only have less than 10 people playing Curling, less than 100 people knew the existence of the sport.
  43. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: If a nation with five hundred curlers and one curling rink comes second to Canada in a round robin one week tournament, a nation with an estimated 1.3 million curlers and 94% of the global participants ... just how competitive are Canadians and why is this considered a world sport?

    It's a wonderful pass-time bringing together all ages for a physical and social activity. My parents have curled their whole life and do so to this day. Think of it as the Canadian equivalent of bowling.

    BTW .... I have a picture of me at age two sitting on a curling rock at the Regina Men's Bonspiel in 1951. My mother grew up curling with the Richardsons in Stoughton, Sask. and my father was from Lewvan, Sask. close to Milestone, the home of the only person I consider a curling athlete, Bob Pickering, because he raised the rock above his head on the his backswing.
  44. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Dave C ... Hockey is figure-skating until the second round of the play-offs.

    Until then ..... Two and A Half Men reruns.
  45. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Robert - you make some assumptions that are arrogant, at best.

    You're the only person who's mentioned sportsmanship issues AT ALL - in fact there's been no mention of ANY issues between Canada and China ANYWHERE in the media, during the telecasts, or in ANY discussions I've seen.

    So a lot of people are obviously "not paying attention".
  46. nobel savage from Canada writes: Dave C. I'd rather Canadians be interested in the three things you mentioned instead of the 3 things the Chinese Government is interested in: MONEY, MALEVOLENCE, and MURDER!

    i.e. Lead Painted Toys, Tainted tooth paste etc. etc. Shooting unarmed protesters etc.
  47. Elmo E from winnipeg, Canada writes: A real nail biter! Way to go Team Canada! You are a gracious and talented group. A real inspiration to us all. As for some of the negative comments posted here, please, get a life.
  48. James C from Shenzhen, China writes: "nobel savage from Canada writes: Dave C. I'd rather Canadians be interested in the three things you mentioned instead of the 3 things the Chinese Government is interested in: MONEY, MALEVOLENCE, and MURDER! i.e. Lead Painted Toys, Tainted tooth paste etc. etc. Shooting unarmed protesters etc."

    ----------

    take this post to the tibet thread if you want. no place for it here. you could have found a better way to reply to a lame poster like dave c from edmonton i think.

    obviously some people dont care about curling and these are the trolls you can find on any thread on internet forums. curlings not my favourite game either, but like to watch from time to time.
  49. mike sty - from Canada writes:

    Team Canada had their a$$es kicked in round robin and 1vs2 games against China. The semi-final vs Japan yesterday......wow....late game comeback, two steals in the 9th and 10th ends. Congratulation Team Canada
  50. Robert Fisher from Canada writes: In point of fact there have Ricky. And in this very publication to boot. As I said, maybe not paying as close attention as you think. ;)
  51. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Robert - you failed to back up your claim with evidence, in the form of links or articles. I searched a bunch of terms here and only came up with the "China broom incident"....where Canada expressed more surprise than anything. Aside from that, nothing.

    Oh, I did find a chat room where curling enthusiasts debate every microscopic detail of every curling game everywhere. But even there, only a smattering of comments, mainly from the same person. Is that you?

    Your continuing "not paying attention" comment is useless if you can't back it up.

    So either provide some proof of this supposed sportsmanship scandal, or go away.

    If you provide some evidence, I will read it carefully.
  52. walter hankin from Canada writes: Women today!
    You tell them to clean house and they go out and come back with a world curling championship.
    Sheese.
    I'm almost afraid to ask her to fix that hole in one of my socks.
    Seriously cheeeeeeeeeeeeers! You are so good, in fact, the best.
  53. Offshore Reg from Worthing, Barbados writes: Roger S: the word is 'fewer'...............not 'less'. Both times.....
  54. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Lovely sing song Chinese accented voice saying, "Hurry, Hard ..."

    Yeah, I could get into that.
  55. James C from Shenzhen, China writes: "Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes: Robert - you failed to back up your claim with evidence, in the form of links or articles. I searched a bunch of terms here and only came up with the "China broom incident"....where Canada expressed more surprise than anything. Aside from that, nothing."

    ----------

    all i could find was this (natl post) probably the incident from a previous game that ricky referred to:

    "The only sour note was the way the excited young Chinese team celebrated Jones' crucial miss on the final end - a glaring breach of curling etiquette. "I'll speak with them about that," said Montreal's Dan Rafael, who is currently coaching both the Chinese men's and women's teams. "They're young and they were just excited."
  56. walter hankin from Canada writes: You noticed that too. eh.
    All the different teams in many different languages had the same sing song. stop, go, hard, real hard, yiyiyiyi.
    The sound track would do really well commercially.
  57. dan vanman from vancouver, Canada writes: Mr Fisher...I have played the sport, though I doubt you did at the level you purport. Your lack of understanding of the game leads me to believe that. The way you brag about it, like you know better, with such smugness...proves it.

    There was no "whining" after the match against China in the round robin. Watched it head to tail, and the Canadian team was like they always are, polite and good sports.

    Jones just played better when the chips were down.

    I was stunned at how good and how fast China reached such a high level. They will be winning it all very soon, don't you worry.

    Not sure why you would post such negative comments, except that I have noticed on the various threads on the G&M, there are a small minority of people who say outlandish things so they can get a reaction from others. We call them trolls.

    Hello TROLL!
  58. James C from Shenzhen, China writes: hey dan, there are some (a lot?) of people on this forum who are ALWAYS negative. man, how do these people go through life?
  59. James C from Shenzhen, China writes: "dan vanman from vancouver, Canada writes: I was stunned at how good and how fast China reached such a high level. They will be winning it all very soon, don't you worry."

    ----------

    dan, i was surprised too. i've been in china for four years and never heard of them. but then i found out they have a couple of canadians on the coaching staff, and they've played quite a bit in canada, so in the end, its no surprise china played well.
  60. g chan from Canada writes: Kudos to both TeamCanada and China for entertaining series. We are witnessing how adaptively adept NewGuard NewChina is, how quickly they master new challenges from sports to economics ... like morphing Peking into Beijing ... perhaps a concern in times to come.
  61. Henry Allen from East Bank, Don River, Canada writes: Ed Long, drop the superior, snotty attitude. Your attempts at sarcastic put-downs are, at best, boring.
  62. nobel savage from Canada writes: Sorry James FREEDOM in this country, so give your orders over there, not here! Team CHINA are on the curling ice 8 hours a day five days a week in Montreal with a Canadian coach. They have rinks in China why not practice there????.....I know with track you need weather so you go down south to train etc.

    James are you a PRO-PRC STOOGE TOO? The Globe & Mail site is full of STOOGES like you that try and pose as 'average joes' and search for any article CHINESE and justify or cover up any negative press. i.e. Toys, food etc. etc. What erks me is when the negative press is obviously too much some of your comrades will even 'attack' the G&M (& western media) saying its biased. The funny thing is just last year the G&M ran its WHOLE WEEKEND EDITION on CHINA, all cast in a HONEST & FAIR light. That comrade, is not the actions of an anti-China news source.

    ps. GO read your CHINA daily if you want to hear 'sweet nothings' on China!
  63. joseph Cheng from Toronto, Canada writes: For too long, we Canadians thought we were among the best, if not the very best, in all winter sports. We were shocked by the Soviet hockey team in the seventies and even today, the hockey player who is the leading scorer is a player from Russia. If we keep on patting our own backs and keep looking for excuses when we don't do well, we will be left further behind in competitive sports, including winter sports which we have long called our own. Our curling team was very lucky indeed to have won when they played Japan. If we continue to sit smug, a huge disappointment may very well be coming for our athletes come 2010 in Vancouver.
  64. Robert Fisher from Canada writes: Mr. Vanman, "Tied 7-7 after nine ends against China, Jones had a chance at the victory but came up heavy on a draw with her final shot. The Chinese players let out yelps of excitement, and one of them even tossed her broom in the air.
    The gesture didn't set well with members of the Jones foursome.
    "I don't think the broom was necessary," said Canadian third Cathy Overton-Clapham. "But they were quite excited to sweep the rock to win the game, so...", there's the quote from a CP piece earlier in the week. Clapham's comment smacks of bitterness and immaturity.

    I'm not sure why or how pointing out that I know and understand the game and that I played the game at a fairly high level when questioned on it is bragging or being smug. That's interesting.
  65. Erik D. from Canada writes: To dan vanman from vancouver: The chinese team is a professional team, their job is to curl, they do it full time and train for it, whereas in Canada curling is more of an activity, as the players pretty much all have full time jobs.
  66. Bob Beal from Edmonton, Canada writes: Robert Fisher: I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. The Chinese got a little excited and Overton-Clapham reacted a little bit. No big deal.

    What bothered me much more was that many of the Vernon fans cheered Chinese misses yesterday. That did not used to happen in this game.

    The determination of the Canadians in the semi-final and final impressed me. The shotmaking of the Chinese impressed me all week.

    I, too, was once a serious curler (emphasis on "once"). I come from a curling family in southern Ontario. My dad won two Ontario championships and my great-uncle won two. I won a grand total of zero, but not from lack of trying.
  67. philip j. fry from Hamilton, Canada writes: In the round robin game, after the final shot that Jones missed, she picked up the brooms and water bottles rather than shake hands. The Chinese skip had to walk down the ice to shake her hand. That's poor sportsmanship. Jennifer Jones is a great sport....when she wins.
  68. g chan from Canada writes: Well said joseph Cheng "For too long, we Canadians thought we were among the best, if not the very best, in all winter sports ... If we keep on patting our own backs and keep looking for excuses when we don't do well, we will be left further behind in competitive sports, including winter sports which we have long called our own."

    However, I beg to differ with you regarding, "If we continue to sit smug, a huge disappointment may very well be coming for our athletes come 2010 in Vancouver." The Canadian populous may be smug, but what hurts Canadian athleticism, or for that matter any endeavour of excellence including economics, is that we are spoilt by excesses, undriven by hunger, laxadasical attitude/approach to Darwinian's "Survival Of The Fittest"
  69. Larry Hill from Canada writes: Robert Fisher from Canada writes: Mr. Vanman, "Tied 7-7 after nine ends against China, Jones had a chance at the victory but came up heavy on a draw with her final shot. The Chinese players let out yelps of excitement, and one of them even tossed her broom in the air. The gesture didn't set well with members of the Jones foursome. "I don't think the broom was necessary," said Canadian third Cathy Overton-Clapham. "But they were quite excited to sweep the rock to win the game, so...", there's the quote from a CP piece earlier in the week. Clapham's comment smacks of bitterness and immaturity. Is that all you have, Robert?? I would have to say that you completely over reacted then. philip j. fry from Hamilton, Canada writes: In the round robin game, after the final shot that Jones missed, she picked up the brooms and water bottles rather than shake hands. The Chinese skip had to walk down the ice to shake her hand. That's poor sportsmanship. Jennifer Jones is a great sport....when she wins. Agreed, Philip. That is more a serious breech of curling etiquette than Roberts example. Jennifer does have a rep. for being less than considerate to her opponents, however. Shall we give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she was regaining her composure after a such a miss.
  70. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Fisher - the reaction to the "broom incident" is all you base this on?

    Not good enough.

    Let me ask you this....if Sandra Schmirler had said those things - or Joan McCusker perhaps....would you have called them bitter and immature?

    And please don't resort to the pathetic "well she wouldn't have done that."
  71. Robert Fisher from Canada writes: Ricky, that was simply one incident. Mr. Fry points out another. If you followed the game, you would understand that Ms Jones and her third do have a history of this sort of thing. Were the issue after the Chinese game the only time such a thing had occurred then it wouldn't have been a problem. When there's a history of it; however, it is a problem.

    You seem to imply by your comments that I'm being biased against Jones and Clapham with your follow up question. I'm not. If the late Sandra Schmirler or Joan McCusker or anyone else for that matter had a history of such actions then yes, I'd call them to task for it. If it were a one time thing then I'd cut them the slack they deserve.

    And please, don't resort to name calling or personal invective. If you want to discuss the issue at hand or curling in general, that's fine. If you're going to continue with insults and innuendo then I'm not interested.

    As another point of clarification on your "Not good enough." remark, I don't have to justify myself to you and it really doesn't matter whether I have your approval or not. Please don't let your ego cause you to think that I do.
  72. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Fisher - your arguments are weak.

    You seem to be grossly in the minority.

    That's my point.

    Sure, you don't have to justify yourself to anyone.

    Nor do I for pointing out the obvious flaws in your reasoning.

    Speaking of ego....who was it that stated:

    "Child, I curled competitively for over a decade. Played against the likes of John Kawaja, John Base, Dave and Andrea Laws. Can't play anymore because of bad knees. I'm probably the only commenter on this story who has played the game or at least who's played the game at a level beyond the club level Friday night mixed league. "

    Next!
  73. David M. from Kelowna, Canada writes: I think someone needs to have a look at how the Chinese team even got to be in the world championships in the first place. Sure they are skilled curlers, thanks to training and coaching in Canada. But, to get to the so-called world championship and represent your country, shouldn't there be some rigorous process to go through to earn a berth in the world championship? I mean, how did they become the "China' team anyway? Because they are Chinese heritage? Because they once lived in China? Surely there should be some evidence that they slogged their way through league play or preliminary bonspiels or something along that line to demonstrate they are the champions of China curling, and therefore can legitimately represent China at the world champoinship level. The folks who organize these world champoinships should breathe a sigh of relief that the China team didn't win this thing, as it would have made a mockery of the whole thing. It's like the Bermuda bobsled team winning the world chamionship of bob sledding. It wouldn't make sense to anybody, and diminishes the sport. I think the organizers should have some criteria for entry into the world championships. Otherwise what's next - 4 Nigerians living in Canada get together and form a team and therefore become the Nigerian team in the next world championships? Crazy, man...
  74. MR. oz from Canada writes: Congratulations Jennifer and your team. what a gal!

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