The shocker so far from the U.S. curling championships: 2006 bronze medalist Pete Fenson (and top American on the 2012-13 World Curling Tour money list) is out. He finished in a five-way tie for third, then lost the first tiebreaker this afternoon to Heath McCormick.
In the women’s tournament, three teams tied for first, so they ditched the usual Page playoff system and had two semifinals, with the losers going to a third-place game and the winners to the final.
Between the five-way tiebreaker and the women’s muddle, the schedule is difficult to track, so here are the remaining games and broadcast times all in one place.
(Updated with Thursday results and Olympic trials qualification)
(Times converted to Eastern)
Thursday
9 p.m. (TESN.com stream)
– Men’s tiebreaker: Heath McCormick def. Mike Farbelow
– Women’s semifinal: Courtney George def. Alex Carlson
– Women’s semifinal: Erika Brown def. Allison Pottinger
Friday
10 a.m. (TESN.com stream)
– Men’s Page playoff 1-2 (winner to final, loser to semi): Tyler George vs. John Shuster
– Men’s Page playoff 3-4 (winner to semi, loser out): Brady Clark vs. Heath McCormick
9 p.m. (Universal Sports)
– Men’s semifinal: T. George-Shuster loser vs. Clark-McCormick winner
Saturday
10 a.m. (NBC Sports Network)
– Women’s final: C. George vs. Brown
4 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)
– Men’s final: T. George-Shuster winner vs. semifinal winner
About the women’s teams — two loaded with experience, two loaded with youth:
– Six-time national champion Erika Brown has an all-star team. Vice skip Debbie McCormick competed in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, then skipped a team to win the World Championships in 2003, then returned to the Olympics as a skip in 2010. She won the U.S. title each year from 2006 to 2009, going on to take silver at Worlds in 2006. Jessica Schultz won a 2005 world title and competed in the 2006 Olympics with the famous Cassie Johnson team (come on, you remember). Ann Swisshelm was on the 2002 Olympic team and has been to Worlds four times, winning with McCormick in 2003. Team won two of four events on the World Curling Tour.
– Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad and Natalie Nicholson are the other three-quarters of McCormick’s 2010 Olympic team. Pottinger also won the 2003 world title with McCormick and Swisshelm. Joraanstad was with McCormick through the four consecutive U.S. titles; Nicholson also was there and won a couple more before that. The lead is Tabitha Peterson. The whole team is the defending champion and played together at Worlds last year. Reached final of Iron Trail Motors Shootout.
– Alexandra Carlson took bronze at the 2010 World Juniors. Her teammates: Monica Walker and sisters Kendall Behm and Jordan Moulton.
– Courtney George was an alternate on Cassie Johnson’s 2006 Olympic team. Teammates Aileen Sormunen and Amanda McLean have World Junior Championship experience; Julie Lilla is a 21-year-old college student.
About the men’s teams:
– 2010 U.S. champion Tyler George (fourth at Worlds that year) actually doesn’t throw the final rocks — 2010 Olympic veteran and 2008 World Junior champion Chris Plys (an entertaining guy to follow on Twitter) handles that. Teammates: 2008 U.S. champ Rich Ruohonen, 2009 U.S. runner-up Colin Hufman. Won the Iron Trails Motors Shootout this season.
– John Shuster has been to two straight Olympics. He was on Pete Fenson’s bronze medalist team, then became a skip himself and made it back in 2010. Jeff Isaacson has been with him several years, including 2010. Jared Zezel and John Landsteiner are students who joined up last year. Won the St. Paul Cash Spiel this season and reached final of Madison Cash Spiel.
– Brady Clark plays a lot of mixed doubles with his wife, Cristin, finishing as high as fourth at Worlds as the couple won USA Curling’s Team of the Year honors. His teammates here are former pole vaulter Sean Beighton, Darren Lehto and Phil Tilker. Reached final of Seattle Cash Spiel.
– Mike Farbelow turns 50 next month but has had his best results in recent years, finishing second at 2010 nationals. Teammates: Kevin Dereen, Kraig Dereen, Mark Lazar.
– Defending champion Heath “Heater” McCormick has the same teammates as last year: Bill Stopera, Martin Sather, Dean Gemmell. Team wears garish jerseys with numbers and names, like a minor league hockey team.
Olympic implications:
(Earlier versions of this post didn’t quite have this right. See the full criteria if you want all the details.)
The top two teams from the 2012 have already qualified for the 2013 Olympic trials, to be held in November in Fargo, N.D. The team must have three of the same four athletes who earned the spot.
– McCormick, Stopera, Sather, Gemmell
– Pete Fenson, Shawn Rojeski, Joe Polo, Ryan Brunt
So here’s the situation:
Women: Only two spots remaining, and only the winner of the final is guaranteed a spot. A committee will choose the fourth team based on World Championships, World Curling Tour and U.S. Nationals in the past three years. This year’s runner-up would certainly be a contender, but so would Carlson (particularly if she wins bronze here) and Patti Lank.
Men: The men have five spots in the trials — maybe. There are two ways they get five:
1. The top two in this year’s nationals will qualify. If one of them isn’t McCormick, then that’s two new qualifiers for a total of four. All four of those teams will go to trials, and the committee will pick a fifth.
2. If McCormick is in the top two, then they’ll only have three qualifiers from the 2012 and 2013 nationals. They will get a fourth, selected by committee. They’ll only get a fifth if the USA has two teams IF the USA has two teams in the top 20 in the World Curling Tour Order of Merit over a two-year span. (This year, they’re nowhere near. And last year, they were nowhere near.)
So the bottom line is that both men’s finalists will make it to Sochi, and the committee will choose another. If McCormick is one of those finalists AND the USA can somehow get some teams into the top 20 (maybe Fenson and McCormick could play and win every remaining event), the committee will choose two teams.
Yes, this will be more of an evening thing from now on.
The week’s headlines:
– Jose Aldo defended his UFC featherweight title as Frankie Edgar suffered yet another close decision loss. The rest of the UFC 156 card scrambled the title chases in ways I’m still working out. Rashad Evans was supposed to fight for the middleweight title, but he lost a dreary light heavyweight fight to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In the heavyweight division, Alistair Overeem was supposed to fight for the title, but Antonio Silva knocked him out. And now lightweight contender Anthony Pettis says he wants to drop down to featherweight and fight Aldo.
– Steve Holcomb’s four-man sled set a track record in the fourth and final heat to take bronze in the World Championships.
– Noelle Pikus-Pace took silver in the skeleton World Championships.
– Erin Hamlin and Chris Mazdzer each placed sixth in their events at the luge World Championships. They, along with doubles team Matthew Mortensen/Preston Griffall, placed fifth in the team event.
– The U.S. men struggled past Brazil in the Davis Cup. Turned out to be a great first round for North America, with Canada upsetting Spain.
– Katie Compton was second in the elite women’s race at the cyclocross World Championships.
– Helen Maroulis was the Outstanding Wrestler at the Dave Schultz Invitational.
– U.S. sailors at the World Cup stop in Miami: Five golds, three silvers, three bronzes.
– Upcoming: Biathlon and Alpine skiing world championships, some of which will be televised. Also the U.S. men vs. Honduras as World Cup qualifying’s Hexagonal starts.
Updated Dec. 31; overhauled, really. Other updates Jan. 21 and Feb. 3. And again when Shaun White withdrew from slopestyle Feb. 5.
Not the easiest sport to predict, given that the top halfpipe and slopestyle folks often don’t bother with FIS World Cup events or even World Championships. We have to compare across the X Games and other events. Thankfully, the World Snowboard Tour computes something like that.
The parallel events at least have a bit more info available, though I’ve yet to find any real trends in which some people are better at “special slalom” (do they eat Big Macs before they start?) or giant slalom.
Also considered: Danny Davis (USA), Taylor Gold (USA), Ayumu Hirano (Japan), Taku Hiroaka (Japan), Markus Malin (Finland), Peetu Piiroinen (Finland)
2013 World Championships top 8: Podladtchikov, Hiroaka, Malin, Christian Haller (Switzerland), Ryo Aono (Japan), Scott James (Australia), Nathan Johnstone (Australia), Piiroinen
2013-14 World Cup standings: Bretz, Hiroaka, Gold, Hirano, Janne Korpi (Finland), Johann Baisamy (France), Haller, Ben Ferguson (USA)
2013 X Games Aspen: White, Hirano, Malin, Scotty Lago (USA), Bretz, Louie Vito (USA)
2013 X Games Tignes: Vito, Arthur Longo (France), Hiroaka
World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): White, Podladtchikov, Hirano, Hiroaka, Bretz, Vito, Gold, Lago
2010 Olympic medalists: White, Piiroinen, Lago
Women
Gold: Kelly Clark (USA) Silver: Torah Bright (Australia) Bronze: Arielle Gold (USA)
Also considered: Queralt Castellet (Spain), Holly Crawford (Australia), Kaitlyn Farrington (USA), Sophie Rodriguez (France), Hannah Teter (USA)
2013 World Championships top 8: Gold, Crawford, Rodriguez, Farrington, Castellet, Li Shuang (China), Mirabelle Thovex (France), Sun Zhifeng (China)
2013-14 World Cup standings: Clark, Li, Bleiler, Cai Xuetong (China), Rebecca Sinclair (New Zealand), Gold, Rodriguez, Clemence Grimal (France)
2013 X Games Aspen: Clark, Hight, Gold, Bright, Teter, Castellet, Farrington
2013 X Games Tignes: Clark, Hight, Gold
World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): Clark, Bright, Gold, Bleiler, Rodriguez, Hight, Chloe Kim (USA; too young for Olympics), Liu Jiayu (China)
2010 Olympic medalists: Bright, Teter, Clark
SLOPESTYLE (new Olympic event)
Men
Gold: Mark McMorris (Canada) Silver: Staale Sandbech (Norway) Bronze: Max Parrot (Canada)
Also considered: Roope Tonteri (Finland), Sebastien Toutant (Canada). Removed bronze medal pick Torstein Horgmo (Norway), who was injured in practice in Sochi, and silver medal pick Shaun White (USA), who was also mildly injured and dropped out.
2013 World Championships top 8: Tonteri, McMorris, Janne Korpi (Finland), Billy Morgan (Britain), Clemens Schattschneider (Austria), Robby Balharry (Canada), Ryan Stassel (USA), Adrian Krainer (Austria)
2013-14 World Cup standings: Sandbech, Horgmo, White, Emil Andre Ulstetten (Norway), Chas Guldemond (USA), Sven Thorgren (Sweden), Stassel, Brandon Davis (USA)
2013 X Games Aspen: McMorris, Max Parrot (Canada), Seppe Smits (Belgium), Guldemond, White, Peete Piiroinen (Finland)
2013 X Games Tignes: Toutant, McMorris, Piiroinen
World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): McMorris, Horgmo, Toutant, Sandbech, Parrot, Guldemond, Piiroinen, Thorgren
Ty Walker rides at Worlds. Photo by Oliver Kraus/FIS via USSA
Also considered: Torah Bright (Australia), Sina Candrian (Switzerland), Silje Norendal (Norway), Enni Rukajarvi (Finland), Ty Walker (USA)
2013 World Championships top 8: O’Brien, Candrian, Bright, Merika Enne (Finland), Walker, Jenny Jones (Britain), Isabel Derungs (Switzerland), Shelly Gotlieb (New Zealand)
2013-14 World Cup standings: Anderson, Pancochova, Cheryl Maas (Netherlands), Derungs, Jones, Rukajarvi, Elena Koenz (Switzerland), Jenna Blasman (Canada)
2013 X Games Aspen: Anderson, Pancochova, O’Brien, Rukajarvi, Candrian, Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (Norway), Norendal
2013 X Games Tignes: Norendal, Anderson, Buaas
World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): Anderson, Pancochova, Rukajarvi, Norendal, Derungs, O’Brien, Buass, Walker
SNOWBOARDCROSS
Men
Gold: Alex Pullin (Australia) Silver: Markus Schairer (Austria) Bronze: Pierre Vaultier (France)
Also considered: Tony Ramoin (France), Omar Visintin (Italy). Removed Seth Wescott (USA), who didn’t qualify.
2013 World Championships top 8: Pullin, Schairer, Stian Sivertsen (Norway), Vaultier, Andrei Boldykov (Russia), Alessandro Hemmerle (Austria), Nick Baumgartner (USA), Robert Fagan (Canada)
2013-14 World Cup standings: Jarryd Hughes (Australia), Schairer, Konstantin Schad (Germany), Visintin, Kevin Hill (Canada), Alex Deibold (USA), Paul Berg (Norway), Sivertsen
2010 Olympic medalists: Wescott, Mike Robertson (Canada; retired), Tony Ramoin (France)
Not many 2013-14 World Cup results yet, so we’re using 2012-13 standings. Abbreviations are PGS for parallel giant slalom and PS for parallel slalom. Parallel slalom is a new Olympic event.
Men’s PGS
Gold: Roland Fischnaller (Italy) Silver: Andreas Prommegger (Austria) Bronze: Benjamin Karl (Austria)
Also considered: Zan Kosir (Slovenia), Rok Marguc (Austria), Simon Schoch (Switzerland), Vic Wild (Russia)
2013 World Championships top 8: Karl, Fischnaller, Wild, Kosir, Prommegger, Schoch, Kaspar Fluetsch (Switzerland), Rok Flander (Slovenia)
2012-13 World Cup standings: Prommegger, Fischnaller, Marguc, Ingemar Walder (Austria), Kosir, Lukas Mathies (Austria), Schoch, Sylvain Dufour (France)
Also considered: Caroline Calve (Canada), Isabella Laböck (Germany), Amelie Kober (Germany), Marion Kreiner (Austria)
2013 World Championships top 8: Tudegesheva, Kummer, Kober, Engeli, Kreiner, Laböck, Natalia Soboleva (Russia), Takeuchi
2012-13 World Cup standings: Kummer, Kober, Calve, Kreiner, Tudegesheva, Dujmovits, Svetlana Boldykova (Russia), Laböck
BIOS
Men
Halfpipe and slopestyle
Peetu Piiroinen (Finland): 2010 Oly silver halfpipe. 2013 Worlds eighth halfpipe. 2013 X Games bronze in slopestyle.
Shaun White (USA). Two-time defending champion, six straight X Games Aspen titles … yeah, he’s the favorite in halfpipe. Also has five X Games slopestyle wins.
Halfpipe
Greg Bretz (USA): Competed in 2010 Olympics at age 19, finishing 12th. Tied with Hiroaka for early World Cup lead in 2013-14.
Ayumu Hirano (Japan): 2013 X Games runner-up at age 14.
Taku Hiroaka (Japan): Competing in World Cup since 2011, when he was 16. Second in 2013 Worlds. Winner at World Cup stop in Sochi.
Iouri Podladtchikov (Switzerland): World halfpipe champion. Fourth in 2010 Olympics. Landed the first-ever Cab double-cork 1440 at X Games Tignes 2013 (then crashed on his next trick). Nicknamed I-Pod.
Markus Malin (Finland): Hat trick of impressive third-place finishes: 2011 Worlds, 2013, Worlds, 2013 X Games.
Scotty Lago (USA): 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, with a couple of X Games medals as well. Left 2010 Games early after controversial party photos popped up. Did not qualify for Games.
Louie Vito (USA): Fifth in 2010 Olympics. Won a couple of X Games Europe (Tignes) competitions and many Dew Tour and Grand Prix stops. Did not qualify for Games.
Slopestyle
Chas Guldemond (USA): Has a World Cup win. Fourth in 2013 X Games.
Max Parrot (Canada): Teen finished second to McMorris at 2013 X Games.
Mark McMorris (Canada): X Games 2012 and 2013 champion (the latter with a record score of 98); 2013 Worlds runner-up. Just turned 20.
Seppe Smits (Belgium): 2011 world champion at age 19. Third in 2013 X Games.
Roope Tonteri (Finland): 2013 world champion in slopestyle and big air.
Snowboardcross
Alex Pullin (Australia): Two-time defending world champion. Also plays in a reggae band. (No, I couldn’t find any video.) Nicknamed “Chumpy.”
Tony Ramoin (France): 2010 bronze medalist. Ninth at 2013 Worlds.
Markus Schairer (Austria): 2009 world champion. Second in 2013 Worlds.
Pierre Vaultier (France): Three-time World Cup champion (2008, 2010, 2012). Fourth in 2013 Worlds.
Omar Visintin (Italy): Third in 2013 World Cup.
Seth Wescott (USA): Two-time defending Olympic champion. Second at 2011 Worlds. Recovering from multiple injuries suffered in a freeriding accident and in some doubt for Sochi.
Parallel events
Roland Fischnaller (Italy): 2013 Worlds PGS runner-up; also third in PS. Third in 2011 Worlds PGS. Disappointing in three Olympics (best finish: 13th). Five World Cup PS wins.
Benjamin Karl (Austria): 2013 world PGS champion; sixth in PS. Swept world titles in 2011. 2010 PGS silver medalist.
Zan Kosir (Slovenia): Sixth in 2010 Oly PGS. Fourth in 2013 Worlds PGS. Early leader in overall parallel events in 2013-14 World Cup.
Rok Marguc (Austria): 2013 PS world champion, finishing medal collection from 2011 (2nd PGS, 3rd PS).
Andreas Prommegger (Austria): 2012 and 2013 World Cup parallel events champion; no worse than fourth in Cup standings since 2008. 2013 Worlds: 4th PS, 5th PGS. Ninth in 2006 and 2010 Games.
Justin Reiter (USA): 2013 PS Worlds runner-up, a stunning result for the 31-year-old with only one World Cup podium. Prepping for the Games while living in his truck.
Simon Schoch (Switzerland): 2006 silver medalist, losing in the final to his older brother, Philipp. 2011 world PS runner-up. 2007 world PS champion. Two podiums at 2003 Worlds: 2nd PGS, 3rd PS. In 2013: 5th PS, 6th PGS.
Vic Wild (Russia): Third in 2013 Worlds PGS. As you can guess from the name, he grew up in the USA but changed his nationality after marriage. Only one World Cup podium.
WOMEN
Halfpipe/slopestyle
Torah Bright (Australia): 2010 Olympic champion and two-time X Games champion in halfpipe. Fourth in Aspen 2013. In slopestyle: third in 2013 World Championships. Possibly competing in halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboardcross? Or boycotting because of safety concerns.
Halfpipe
Gretchen Bleiler (USA): 2006 silver medalist. Four-time X Games winner. Did not compete due to injury rehab at 2013 X Games but reached the podium in first two World Cup events of 2013-14. Did not qualify for Games.
Queralt Castellet (Spain): Frequent X Games invitee. Injured in 2010 Olympics after good qualifying runs. Fifth in 2013 Worlds.
Kelly Clark (USA): 2002 gold medalist also has 2010 bronze and the last three X Games Aspen wins.
Holly Crawford (Australia): 2011 world champion; runner-up in 2009 and 2013. Eighth in 2010 Olympics.
Arielle Gold (USA): World champion at age 16. Third in 2013 X Games.
Elena Hight (USA): Two-time Olympian is still in early 20s. X Games runner-up 2012 and 2013. Did not qualify for Games.
Sophie Rodriguez (France): Fifth in 2010 Olympics. Third in 2013 Worlds.
Hannah Teter (USA): 2006 gold medalist, 2010 silver medalist. Third in 2012 X Games; fifth in 2013. Active in humanitarian work.
Slopestyle
Jamie Anderson (USA): Four-time X Games winner; seven X Games podiums in eight years. Solid favorite.
Sina Candrian (Switzerland): 2013 Worlds runner-up. Fifth at 2013 X Games.
Spencer O’Brien (Canada): World champion. Third at 2013 X Games, her third X Games poidum.
Sarko Pancochova (Czech Republic): 2013 X Games runner-up; 2011 Worlds runner-up. Competed in 2010 Olympic halfpipe.
Enni Rukajarvi (Finland): 2011 world and X Games champion. 2012 X Games runner-up; fourth in 2013.
Ty Walker (USA): Fifth in 2013 Worlds at age 15.
Snowboardcross
Lindsey Jacobellis (USA): Three-time world champion (2005, 2007, 2011); seven-time X Games champion. 2006 silver medalist. Yes, she fell on the board grab, blah blah blah. Still the sport’s all-time best, winning 26 of the 48 World Cup events in her career through December, when she capped her comeback from a knee injury with yet another win.
Dominique Maltais (Canada): 2012 X Games winner, 2013 Worlds runner-up. 2006 bronze medalist. Four-time World Cup champion, including 2011-2013.
Helene Olafsen (Norway): Fourth in 2010 Olympics. 2009 world champion. Third in first two races of 2013-14.
Maelle Ricker (Canada): Defending Olympic and world champion. Also took a couple of X Games wins when the X Games still considered snowboardcross (or “Snowboarder X”) worthwhile.
Eva Samkova (Czech Republic): 2013 world junior champion has a couple of World Cup wins as well, including one in December 2013.
Chloe Trespeuch (France): 2013 world junior runner-up; fourth in 2013 World Championships.
Parallel events
Caroline Calve (Canada): Getting better in her mid-30s. First World Cup win was in 2011; third was in December 2013.
Julia Dujmovits (Austria): 2013 Worlds PGS runner-up; 10th in PS. Two World Cup wins; 11 podiums (through December 2013).
Hilde-Katrine Engeli (Norway): Fourth in both 2013 Worlds events. 2011 PS world champion. Got first World Cup win in March 2013.
Ekaterina Ilyukhina (Russia): 2010 Oly PGS silver medalist. World Championship best: 11th. World Cup best: 3rd.
Isabella Laböck (Germany): 2013 world PGS champion; sixth in PS. Five World Cup podiums. Police officer spurred on by memory of her late brother.
Amelie Kober (Germany): 2006 Oly PGS silver medalist. 2010 Oly PGS quarterfinalist while pregnant. Third in 2013 Worlds in both parallel events. Twelve World Cup wins, seven in PGS.
Marion Kreiner (Austria): 2010 Oly PGS bronze medalist. 2009 world PGS champion. 2007 world PS runner-up. Also works as a graphic designer.
Patrizia Kummer (Switzerland): 2013 Worlds PS runner-up. Third in 2009 Worlds PGS. Eight World Cup wins. 2012 and 2013 World Cup overall parallel events champion; early leader in 2014.
Nicolien Sauerbreij (Netherlands): 2010 Oly PGS gold medalist. 2011 world PS runner-up. Three-time Olympian — flag-bearer for Netherlands in 2002 opening ceremony.
Ekaterina Tudegesheva (Russia): 2013 world PS champion. 2007 world PGS champion. Fifth in 2006 Oly PGS; 10th in 2010. World Cup parallel events champion in 2011.
Quick peek at the calendar shows us a couple of items to consider for 2014 medal projections:
12-27: Handball, Men’s World Championships
14-27: Tennis, Australian Open 18-27: Snowboarding, World Championships
19-Feb. 10: Soccer, African Cup of Nations
20-27: Figure skating, U.S. Championships
24: Bellator: Askren vs. Amoussou (welterweight title) 24-27: Winter X Games Aspen 25-Feb. 2 Bobsled/skeleton, World Championships
A few details:
SNOWBOARDING (worlds and X)
Reminder of the ever-expanding Olympic snowboarding program: halfpipe, snowboardcross, parallel giant slalom, slopestyle (new) and … parallel slalom (also new)?
The World Championships, underway in Stoneham, Quebec, have all those events, plus big air. The only problem is that a lot of top riders, especially Americans, have skipped the World Championships to prep for the X Games in Aspen, which will be heavily televised.
In slopestyle, the new world champs and runners-up in men’s and women’s slopestyle will make the trip — Roope Tonteri (FIN), Mark McMorris (CAN), Spencer O’Brien (CAN), Sina Candrian (SUI). Just a guess: Shaun White will get a bit more attention.
The men’s halfpipe has the top five from Worlds — Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI), Taku Hiraoka (JPN), Markus Malin (FIN), Christian Haller (SUI), Ryo Aono (JPN). But again, we’ll guess Shaun White will get the attention. And Louie Vito and Scotty Lago.
Do you know me? I’m a world champion at age 16. Photo by Oliver Kraus, FIS via USSA
The women’s halfpipe (or SuperPipe, as they call it) features the big names: Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teter and Aussie Torah Bright, who finished third in slopestyle at Worlds. The fourth- and fifth-place halfpipers in Quebec — USA’s Kaitlyn Farrington, Spain’s Queralt Castellet — will go to Aspen, while 16-year-old world champ Arielle Gold is an alternate. As Lane Myer said when he heard Ricky and Monique were speaking “the international language of love,” that makes sense.
But Aspen won’t have the races. The World Championships have snowboardcross, parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom all to themselves. Two-time Olympic snowboardcross champion Seth Wescott is on the U.S. team along with 45-year-old Lynn Ott. Multiple-time world champion Lindsey Jacobellis is recovering from an ACL injury suffered in last year’s X Games.
The other Oly-related events to watch in Aspen: freestyle skiing’s skicross, slopestyle and half/superpipe. Yes, they’re adding a lot of the X events in Sochi.
BOBSLED/SKELETON
Actually just bobsled this week, the Zweierbob Frauen and Zweierbob Manner. There is a Team Wettkampf on Sonntag, so maybe I should translate the official site or check the FIBT site for a full preview and timetable — ah, that’s the bobsled/skeleton team event.
Switzerland’s Beat Hefti is the favorite on home ice, particularly here at St. Moritz, the only natural ice track in the world. Some of its idiosyncrasies are in this fun video, where you can see how it’s carved out of the snow instead of built up like other bobsled runs:
Defending champion Steven Holcomb had a great start to the two-man season but has dropped off considerably over the last two months. The U.S. women have bounced on and off the podium — Elana Meyers is third in the World Cup, Jamie Greubel fifth and Jazmine Fenlator eighth.
The USA also is the defending team champion.
Lolo Jones? Nope, not on the U.S. team for this one. She has done pretty well in her races and kept her sense of humor after a crash:
boBsled crasH.was shaken up but thn World Champ @StevenLangton hugged me & asked if I was ok.I told @jazminefenlator to crash me more often
No Evan Lysacek, no Johnny Weir, no problem. For your U.S. Championships viewing pleasure, check the TV schedule; for your amusement, keep these predictions in mind:
Men: Jeremy Abbott, Ross Miner, Richard Dornbush
Women: Ashley Wagner, Mirai Nagasu, Gracie Gold (yes, Christina Gao had better Grand Prix results, but Gold has the higher score)
Pairs: Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir, Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim, Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin (defending champ Caydee Denney/John Coughlin pair is out injured)
Dance: Meryl White/Charlie Davis, Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani, Madison Chock/Evan Bates
SPEEDSKATING
World Sprint Championships, the least interesting of the three championships the long-trackers hold each year but a fun event to catch if you happen to be in Salt Lake City this weekend.
The long-awaited second installment of Myriad Questions features cross-country skier Holly Brooks, who has the typical Olympic story: College athlete who never attracted much attention, then found work coaching in Alaska after graduation. Then after a couple of years, she suddenly realizes she’s starting to get pretty good and ends up in the Olympics, then finishing in the top five in a World Cup and third in a relay a couple of seasons later.
Wait … maybe that’s not so typical. That’s the winter-sports equivalent of The Rookie.
She keeps up a lively blog of the World Cup travel grind, and she answered a few questions for us from somewhere along the road.
(This weekend, though, the World Cup circuit comes back to North America for sprints in Quebec City — USSA will broadcast online at 2 p.m. ET Friday and 1:15 p.m. ET Saturday. The Friday race is a team sprint; Brooks will be paired with Ida Sargent. Next week, the World Cup moved to Canmore, Alberta, which will feature some of the distance races — Brooks’ strength.)
ABSOLUTELY NOT. Three years ago I was coaching junior skiers…. I had no real race aspirations of my own and I certainly wasn’t a member of the USST, attending World Cups, etc. Three years ago I was just starting to compete nationally. I was a regular in the Anchorage Cup Town Series. The opening weekend in Gallivare blew my mind. If I can be fifth in a World Cup then I’m pretty sure it can happen to anyone!
2. Can you describe the “reindeer chair” in which you were sitting while you had the lead?
It’s basically a chair, covered in blankets and furs….. it’s stationed right at the finish line so you can have a view of all the current splits, see different shots from around the race course and get an idea of whether your time will hold up or not. I’ve never sat in that chair before and the night before the race when I heard I was bib #6 I made it a priority to land there! I thought I would be there for five minutes… not 25 minutes so I didn’t change out of my wet race clothes or anything. It was one of the more exhilarating moments of my career as a skier!
Our team picked them up at a convenience store in Germany in the middle of the Tour de Ski last year. Our team was actually stopped in a small town in order for me to get a removable cast (I broke my wrist on Christmas four days before Tour de Ski – then finished 9 races with broken bone!) ….. We wore them for the first time in the Czech Republic relay when we had our “best ever” 5th place….. after that, they became a staple. We like to spruce up the relays with face paint, face glitter & socks. There is certainly a correlation between having fun and skiing fast – both of which are priorities for our team.
4. You had a lot of banners supporting you at the Olympics. Have you had some support on the World Cup circuit this season?
The Olympics were awesome because Vancouver was half way between where I live – Alaska – and where I grew up – Seattle. I had friends, family & people that I coached… I must have had 40 people specifically cheering for me in the 30k. The World Cup isn’t quite the same because it’s so far from home. I’m really looking forward to the World Cups coming up here in Canada because we’ll have a bunch of people specifically cheering for us. “Home Course” advantage!
5. Aside from fans and family with banners, do you have a lot more support for your career now that you’ve been in the Olympics and have World Cup experience?
I have some really supportive sponsors who have joined up to help fund me. At this point I am an entirely self-funded athlete. This winter on the World Cup is forecasted to cost me $25,000 and I couldn’t do it without help from Carlile Transport, The Rhyneer Clinic, Northern Fruit Company & Conoco Phillips. All of our European competitors are horrified when they find out that a handful of us are self funded – and that we’re away from our homes for five months, November – March.
6. What’s the dirtiest tactic a fellow skier has used in competition?
For the most part cross country skiers have great sportsmanship. Perhaps my favorite part of the sitting in the Reindeer Chair in Gallivare was the fact that most competitors came up to shake my hand and congratulate me on my good race. It was an incredible experience and I was really impressed! As far as dirty tactics, cutting you off, blocking, shoving….. it can get aggressive out there!
7. Which cross-country skier would be best in roller derby?
I would put my money on Ida Ingemarsdotter of Sweden. She’s really big and really, really aggressive.
Yes – NO JOKE. I LOVE brussel sprouts to the extent that I actually bought some at the grocery in Sweden and hauled them to Finland where we had a cabin and I could cook them up. Having a “little taste of home” can do wonders for making you feel more comfortable on the road. Plus, brussel sprouts are an amazing source of iron which is important for energy levels.
9. What’s the worst food you’ve had on your travels?
The food was horrendous last year in Rybinsk, Russia. I like to call the buffet on the world cup the “food trough.” It’s kind of like pigs coming to feed…. sometimes you just entirely lose your appetite. I’m not a big fan of raw beef… that was rough.
10. You actually update your website, unlike a lot of athletes I could mention. Do you get a lot of feedback on it?
Yeah, I do. It’s my way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I don’t have a phone or anything that works in Europe so things like Facebook and my blog are really important for not dropping off the face of the earth. I try really hard to update my site but internet can be scare. I’m hoping that someday a big sponsor will drop out of the sky and fund an international, world wide cell phone. I’m married and five months away from my husband is a bit rough at times.
11. Are the ads on European television funnier than the ads on American television?
I absolutely LOVE seeing my fellow World Cup competitors on TV in ads. Sometimes they’re funnier or maybe even cooler, partially because you can’t understand what they’re saying. I really wish that I spoke German or Swedish because we really miss out on a lot of the “media stuff” not being able to understand.
12. What was the most inconvenient timing you’ve ever experienced on a drug test?
Two minutes after you’re peed in the morning is pretty darn inconvenient. I’ve shared entire pots of coffee with testers trying to drum up a sample… This fall in Park City USADA came for urine and blood for at least 10 athletes on the team. That equated to a wasted morning of training delays.
13. Who’s the best athlete in Alaska history?
That’s a really difficult question. I suppose it depends on what sports you value and what accomplishments you think are most notable. We have incredible dog mushers in Alaska…. but I’d be tempted to say that my teammate Kikkan is high on the list. I admire people who set big goals and attain them – especially when they do things that have never been done before.
From the chessboard to the cross-country ski trails, Norway had a very good weekend.
Tora Berger was a mild surprise. She’s one of the world’s best biathletes, with a handful of Olympic and World Championship gold medals to prove it. But biathletes typically don’t win three races in the same weekend, which is exactly what she did in neighboring Sweden.
Marit Bjoergen, on the other hand, does this sort of thing on occasion. She won most of the cross-country skiing events contested the 2010 Olympics and 2011 World Championships. She, like Berger, took the natural hat trick this weekend.
But for epic all-time greatness, the big Norwegian winner is Magnus Carlsen, who can now stake a claim to being The Best Chess Player of All Time, at least unofficially. By rating, he has now slightly surpassedGarry Kasparov‘s record rating of 2851. Not bad for a guy who just turned 22. (If you like to dive into the methodology, start at this roundup of various attempts to rate the best ever, then call Nate Silver.)
Also, Aksel Lund Svindal leads the men’s Alpine World Cup standings over the USA’s Ted Ligety. He won it in 2007 and 2009. Seems like he’s been around forever, but he won’t turn 30 until later this month.
Here’s what else happened over the weekend while we were mourning Georgia’s SEC loss and watching Beckham’s back-to-back …
ALPINE SKIING
Women’s World Cup, Lake Louise, Alberta: Lindsey Vonn — the same Lindsey Vonn whose general health was in serious question a couple of weeks ago — won a downhill. And another one. And then a super-G. Vonn is the first skier to win three races at the same venue in two different seasons.
Here she is:
If you’d prefer to see her scramble out of trouble, check this one:
And more U.S. women were in the mix — Stacey Cook was second in each downhill, Julia Mancuso was second in the super-G, and the USA had six of the top 20 in the second downhill (Vonn, Cook, Mancuso 9th, Alice McKennis 11th, Laurenne Ross 18th, Leanne Smith 20th).
The USA has four women in the World Cup top 10: Vonn 3rd, Cook 5th, Mancuso t-6th, Mikaela Shiffrin 10th.
Men’s World Cup, Beaver Creek, Colo.: Ted Ligety joked after Saturday’s super-G:
Have to smile. Another superg wooden spoon. Good crowd on hand. http://t.co/JVoRjoLr
Isn’t the wooden spoon typically last place, not fourth? In any case, he can quit fretting about it now: He won Sunday’s giant slalom so convincingly that his rivals called him “unbeatable” in the event.
The speed events were much better for the Italians than the Americans: Christof Innerhofer won the downhill, and Matteo Marsaglia won the super-G.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: Unique format this weekend — a three-race mini-tour with a sprint, a short freestyle (5k women/10k men) and a classical pursuit (10k/15k). Maret Bjoergen took away the need for any math by winning all three events on the women’s side.
Among Americans — Kikkan Randall has suddenly flipped from contending in the sprints to contending in the distance races, finishing second in the freestyle and holding on for fifth overall despite being knocked out in the sprint semifinals. Ida Sargent also made the sprint semis and took 18th overall. The others were all in the top 24: Liz Stephen 17th, Holly Brooks 22nd, Jessie Diggins 24th.
In the men’s event — yet another Norwegian? Yes, it was Petter Northug taking the overall. Only three of the six Americans finished the last event. Noah Hoffman had the only top-20, finishing 19th in the freestyle.
SKI JUMPING
World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: No Americans made the trip. Germany won the team event and the individual (Severin Freund).
NORDIC COMBINED
World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis, while American Bryan Fletcher kept up a string of promising performances with a 14th-place finish.
SPEEDSKATING
World Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan. Shani Davis was the only U.S. skater competing, and his win in the 1,500 meters broke up a Dutch men’s sweep. Jorrit Bergsman won the 10,000; the Netherlands won the team pursuit.
Canadian women had two wins — the team pursuit and Christine Nesbitt in the 1,500. The Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova won the 5,000.
SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING
World Cup, Nagoya, Japan: Not a great weekend for U.S. women — none made a final, and Jessica Smith‘s seventh-place finish in the 1,500 was the top result.
A but better for the men: J.R. Celski (2nd, 1,000 and 7th, 1,500) and Travis Jayner (3rd, 500) made finals. Jeff Simon made a pair of semifinals.
BIATHLON
World Cup, Oestersund, Sweden: Jean Philippe Le Guellec is the first Canadian man to win a World Cup event, shooting cleanly to win the sprint. For the Americans, Tim Burke showed some signs of snapping into form, finishing 18th in the sprint and 15th in the pursuit. Susan Dunklee was the only U.S. woman to qualify for the pursuit, finishing 39th.
Tora Berger (see above) won all three women’s events; France’s Martin Fourcade won the men’s individual and pursuit.
LUGE
World Cup, Koenigssee, Germany: The host country swept the men’s podium, with Chris Mazdzer 16th and Taylor Morris 22nd. And they took four of the top five places in the women’s race, interrupted only by Canada’s Alex Gough in third. American women finished in pairs: Erin Hamlin and Emily Sweeney 11th/12th, Kate Hansen/Julia Clukey 20th/21st.
And in the doubles, it was … Germany, 1-2. Matthew Mortensen/Preston Griffall finished 11th; Jake Hyrns/Andrew Sherk 17th.
CYCLING
Cyclocross World Cup, Roubaix, France: It’s all about Katie Compton, who came back on the last lap for her third win of the World Cup season.
GYMNASTICS
World Cup, Stuttgart, Germany: Elizabeth Price, an alternate for the 2012 Olympic team, won the all-around. Danell Leyva had the highest score on horizontal bar and placed fifth in the all-around.
WEIGHTLIFTING
American Open, Palm Springs, Calif.: This was held. Not sure what’s up with results.
MMA
Bellator: Andrey Koreshkov, whose name sounds like a former Yes keyboardist but isn’t, remained unbeaten in winning the welterweight tournament final over Lyman Good. And we welcome Kala Hose back to … what? Knocked out in 22 seconds by Doug Marshall?
BAMMA: Alex Reid — to my knowledge, the only MMA fighter to fare better on Celebrity Big Brother than on The Ultimate Fighter — is back with a win.
KSW: UFC veterans Kendall Grove and Rodney Wallace traveled to Poland and lost. Grove at least lost to a strong opponent — Mamed Khalidov, the highest-ranked middleweight outside the UFC and Strikeforce.
Cage Contender: TUF alum Martin Stapleton won an old-school, one-night tournament that would never be allowed in the USA today.
RUGBY
Sevens World Series, Dubai: Samoa beat New Zealand 26-15 in the final. The USA beat Spain and put up good fights against France and South Africa but was oddly blown out by Canada.
Friendly: One of England’s “great victories in their history,” the BBC’s Tom Fordyce says, as New Zealand fell 38-21.
JUDO
Grand Slam, Tokyo: Didn’t see any Americans in the top eight.
It was Thanksgiving weekend in the USA, which explains why most MMA circuits were quiet.
But internationally, it’s prime skiing, skating and sliding time. The top stories of the weekend:
Marco Sullivan (By Tom Kelly, U.S. Ski Team)
1. Lindsey Vonn had a decent weekend considering her recent hospitalization. But the U.S. Ski Team had a surprise elsewhere: At age 31, Marco Sullivan hadn’t finished in the top 10 in a World Cup race in nearly three years. Saturday in Alberta, he picked up his fourth World Cup podium. Alan Abrahamson has the story on how Sullivan kept his career alive in the offseason.
2. The U.S. women’s cross-country skiers had been a force in the sprints for a few years. But this weekend, they had a double breakthrough in Sweden. First, Kikkan Randall was on the podium in a non-sprint race for the first time, and Holly Brooks was a career-best fifth in a 10K freestyle. The results might have been even better if not for the rough course wiping out other U.S. skiers who were poised for top-10s. Then on Sunday, Randall, Brooks, Jessie Diggins and Liz Stephen combined for third in a mixed relay.
3. Our first Myriad Questions subject, Sarah Hendrickson, was second in the World Cup season opener and her first competition since knee surgery.
4. We’ve already covered figure skating, where the USA will send Ashley Wagner and Meryl Davis/Charlie White to the Grand Prix Finals, which will have a heavy Russian and Japanese presence.
5. And we’ve already covered chess, where we’ll have a new women’s world champion until Hou Yifan takes back the title next year.
Elsewhere, the USA had more good results in men’s bobsled, Julia Clukey returned to luge action with a promising result, cyclocross star Katie Compton shook off jet lag for another win, and other U.S. sliders had a rough run.
Sport-by-sport results (if no parentheses, the athlete is from the USA):
Yuzuru Hanyu packs a lot of jumps into a short program. The Japanese teen’s leaping prowess gave him a world record 95.07 points in the short program at Skate America. Then he beat that this weekend in his home country with 95.32.
He won the NHK Trophy and qualified for the Grand Prix Final in Sochi, the 2014 Olympic site. But he won’t have an easy time getting back there in 15 months. FOUR of the six qualifiers for the men’s Final are from Japan.
Canada’s back-to-back world champion Patrick Chan is officially first, tying at 28 points (one first place, one second) with Hanyu and Takahiko Kozuka. Then it’s Tatsuki Machida at 26 points, tied with Daisuke Takahashi. Spain’s Javier Fernandez has the last spot with 24 points.
Japanese men won four of the six Grand Prix events. That’s one each for Hanyu, Kozuka and Machida, then one for Takahito Mura. But Mura had a bad run at Skate Canada, finishing eighth, so he’s only the third alternate. Fernandez and Chan have the other wins.
The U.S. skaters aren’t totally out of it. Jeremy Abbott (second in France, fifth at Skate America) is the first alternate. Ross Miner beat Fernandez to reach the podium at the NHK Trophy, which I still keep typing as “NHL Trophy.”
Check the men’s standings, and we’ll move to the others. Yes, the USA will be represented at the Final. Not as much as Japan. Or Russia.
Women
Ashley Wagner won in the USA and France. Japan’s Mao Asada won in China and Japan. They’re 1-2 headed into the Final. Then it’s Finland’s Kiira Korpi and another Japanese skater, Akiko Suzuki. Then two Russians, Julia Lipnitskaia and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.
Two more Americans, Christina Gao and Mirai Nagasu, are the first two alternates, ahead of yet another Japanese skater and another American, Agnes Zawadski. Add Gracie Gold in 12th, and the USA has five skaters in the top 12 along with three Russians, three Japanese skaters and Korpi. Shall we start a team event? (Women’s standings)
Ice dance
If you read the season preview, you won’t be surprised to see that the USA’s Meryl Davis/Charlie White and Canada’s Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir won their events. France’s Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, third in last year’s Worlds, won the other two.
Then three other pairs each took second in their events. That’s your Grand Prix Final field. The top two alternates each placed third in their two events, but the USA’s Shibutani siblings (Maia and Alex) messed everything up by finishing third and fourth in their events.
Check the standings — this event is nothing if not predictable.
Pairs
Almost as predictable as ice dance. Russia’s Tatiana Voloshozhar/Maxim Trankov won both of their events.
Russia’s Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov and China’s Pang Qing/Tong Jian won the events without Voloshozhar/Trankov and finished second in the events with the top pair.
Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirmov won without the top three and finished second to Pang/Tong.
Canada’s Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford finished second in each event — once to Kavaguti/Smirnov, once to Germany’s Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy.
The Germans only competed in one event, leaving space in the top six for one more pair. Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch finished fourth in China, then placed second when only one of the top five pairs competed in Japan.
That squeezed out the USA’s Caydee Denney/John Coughlin, who finished third in each event.
Check the standings if you want to see all that in chart form.
Countries
So the 24 entries in the Grand Prix Final are set, pending injuries and illness. Country-by-country:
You may have heard Lolo Jones got second in her World Cup bobsled debut with driver Jazmine Fenlator, but U.S. success went farther than that. Elana Meyers and Tianna Madison, the latter also a track and field Olympian, took third.
The men weren’t bad, either. Steven Holcomb/Steve Langton and Cory Butner/Chuck Berkeley finished 1-2 in the World Cup two-man opener. Holcomb was second in the four-man, with Nick Cunningham taking third in just his third World Cup race.
The skeleton crew had a few top-fives: John Daly and Kyle Tress 4-5 in the men’s race; slider/weightlifter Katie Uhlaender fifth in the women’s race with the best time of the third run.
Figure skating
Gracie Gold at Skate Canada last month: 151.57 points, seventh place.
Gracie Gold at the Rostelecom Cup over the weekend: 175.03, second place. Just 2.16 out of first. That’s what skating insiders would call “an improvement.”
Agnes Zawadzki also had a bit of an improvement, posting a personal-best 166.61 for third place.
Caydee Denney and John Coughlin also reached the podium, finishing third in pairs. Ice dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani were fourth.
The men didn’t do quite as well. Johnny Weir had a rough time in the short program, then withdrew. Richard Dornbush was sixth.
Alpine skiing
Well she’s … speedy and 17! Our U.S. ski-slalom queen!
Yes, she’s far too young to get that Stray Cats reference, but Mikaela Schifrin was on the World Cup podium this weekend, finishing third in a slalom somewhere near the North Pole. Ted Ligety was 13th in the men’s race.
Wrestling
Big win for Tervel Diagnev over Russia’s Magomedgadzhi Nurasulov, who scored less than 0.05 points for every letter in his name, at the New York Athletic Club Invitational. Austin Trotman also beat one of the invited Russians and was named outstanding wrestler of the meet.
Basketball
Ready for a World Cup that won’t be sullied by the Netherlands’ negativity? Basketball is moving its world championship to soccer’s off-years and rebranding it as a World Cup. Better than World Series, at least.
A few members of the U.S. luge team checked in today from Sochi (or, technically, Rzhanaya Polyana), and we learned the following:
– The track has some substantial uphill portions, which can be a bit of a challenge for people getting their bearings. “It does kind of affect your vision coming uphill to a crest, especially going blind into a curve,” said doubles slider Matt Mortensen and his echo. “That curve goes back downhill.” (On a related note: Phone connections from the mountains were a little spotty.)
– It’s not a particularly difficult track. (Easy for them to say, sure.) Finding speed might be tough.
Want to see for yourself? Here’s 2010 Olympian Chris Mazdzer when he got some time on the track in March (the big uphill is between Turns 14 and 15, so … count carefully):
– Mazdzer says construction is still going on at a frenetic pace, but at least now, you can see progress on things like windows.
– Erin Hamlin says, in response to a question about fears from the fatal accident at Whistler in 2010, that she feels quite safe on this track.
– It’s relatively warm in the area at the moment, which makes the track a little frosty.
The U.S. men’s team had a rough time last winter, but Mazdzer posted a few good results after missing the first three World Cup races. Then 17-year-old Tucker West, the best of a promising group of young sliders, tied Mazdzer for first place in the recent national championships. Ties don’t happen often in a sport timed to the 0.001 of a second.
The women welcome back Julia Clukey, who had surgery to correct a spinal condition in 2011. She upset former world champion Hamlin in the national championships.
Mortensen and Preston Griffal will be the top U.S. doubles team in the absence of Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman. Niccum is recovering from surgery and may be back for the World Championships. Both teams were in the World Cup top 10 last season.
Audio is posted at USALuge.org. You may need to change a “1” from a “2” in the URL to hear Part 2.
Duresport.com 