Canada and Sweden rule the ice, we’ll have one tiebreaker, and the USA went out in ugly fashion as Olympic round-robin play ended.

Date: 17-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Last day of group play

How U.S. fared: Do we have to mention the final women’s game? After several close losses, this one got away early. Erika Brown whiffed on a double takeout, one of several wayward shots in the first end, to give up four points in the first. South Korea stole one in the second. Another double takeout miss in the fifth gave South Korea a steal of two. Down 9-1 at the halfway point, Brown and company were limited to a single in the sixth. When South Korea scored two in the seventh, Brown conceded.

So a women’s team loaded with Olympic experience finished last. Their 1-8 record was a game worse than 2010, when current vice-skip Debbie McCormick was the hard-luck skip. Since Kari Erickson (with McCormick and current lead Ann Swisshelm) made the playoffs and finished fourth in 2002, the U.S. women have five total wins in three Olympics.

John Shuster’s team simply couldn’t score more than a single in any end. Down 5-2 after seven ends, Shuster hit a solid double takeout with his first shot in the eighth to stay in it but then missed an open draw and gave up a steal. The USA scored one in the ninth to make it 6-3 but couldn’t steal a triple in the 10th.

What happened:

Morning session (women):

Britain and Russia played a wild one. Tied 3-3 after seven, Britain scored four in the eighth. Russia answered with three to stay in it, but Eve Muirhead hit a gutsy double takeout in the 10th to win 9-6.

Japan made things interesting in a game with no blank ends and no steals. The hammer scored in each end. But Japan had three triples to China’s one, and when Japan’s Ayumi Ogasawara removed two stones with her last shot in the 10th, China conceded the hammer. Japan took the 8-5 win to forge a three-way tie for fourth.

So with one game left for everyone but the USA and Russia (both out of the running), it was unbeaten Canada clinching first, then Sweden (6-2) safely in the playoffs. Britain (5-3) led the three fourth-place teams (China, Japan, Switzerland) at 4-4. Denmark and South Korea were just out of it at 3-5.

Afternoon session (men):

Funny quirk of the standings — while the bottom two teams would miss the last women’s session, the top two teams were idle for the last men’s games. Sweden (8-1) and Canada (7-2) already knew they would be in different semifinals on a course to meet in the final.

That left China (6-2) and Britain (5-3) playing a vital game. China could avoid the tiebreakers with a win or Norway (also 5-3) loss. Britain would make at least the tiebreakers with a win. And that was, appropriately, the last game of the session to end. That gave the crowd some time to calm down from Russia’s finale, with the home team beating last-place Germany 8-7.

Denmark waited patiently for its opportunity, blanking two ends before scoring a double in the ninth to go up 5-3 on a sublime shot from Rasmus Stjerne Hansen. With Norway holding shot rock (closer to the button than the others), Hansen’s hammer nudged that rock just enough to make a Danish rock count. The hammer also stayed in play.

Meanwhile, Britain escaped a potential big score for China in the seventh and gave up only one for a 4-3 deficit. But David Murdoch left a draw just short in the eighth end, giving China a steal of one. Murdoch fought back with two in the ninth to tie it, but Liu Rui nailed his precise draw in the 10th for a 6-5 win.

So China (7-2) advanced to face Canada in the semifinals. Norway and Britain will play a tiebreaker on Tuesday for the right to face Sweden in the semifinal.

Evening session (women):

China and Switzerland had a near-playoff game — each with a 4-4 record, the winner clinching at least a tiebreaker and the loser eliminated. And the Swiss took a big lead early, stealing three when Wang Bingju missed a draw in the second. China came back with a double and a steal of one to cut the lead to 4-3. Swiss skip Mirjam Ott got two with a pretty promotion takeout (bump one of mine in, one of yours out) in the fifth.

In the eighth, China lined up three stones several feet apart. Swiss vice-skip Carmen Schaefer removed two and bumped the other out of the way. Wang Bingyu then came up short on her final draw, and Ott drew for three and a 9-4 lead. China scored two in the eighth and put three in the house to make Ott draw to the eight-foot for the win, which Ott did with ease for the 10-6 win and the playoff berth.

Britain (5-3) was playing to ensure a space in the semifinals without going through the tiebreaker. Eve Muirhead dominated the house in the fourth, leaving Denmark’s Lene Nielsen with a difficult hit and roll just to hold Britain to one. Nielsen couldn’t leave her shot in the house, giving up a steal of two. Denmark fought back with two, then Britain scored three in the seventh and stole another one in the eighth.

But Denmark, despite being mathematically eliminated, wasn’t done. They blanked the ninth end and scored three in the 10th to force the game to an extra end. And Muirhead missed a tricky hit-and-roll in the 11th to give Denmark the 8-7 stunner.

By that point, though, Britain could see the playoffs. Japan (also 4-4) needed a win to stay in contention. But Ayumi Ogasawara missed a draw in the fifth for a steal of one and a 5-2 deficit. A Japanese steal in the seventh trimmed the lead to 5-4, but Sweden scored two and stole another to lead 8-4 after nine ends. Japan played into the 10th but had to concede.

So Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain advance to the semifinals. There will be no tiebreaker on the women’s side.

In the one game not affecting the playoffs. Canada got a bit of help in its bid to be the first team to go unbeaten in an Olympic women’s round-robin. South Korea scored doubles with its first two hammers to go up 4-1, then conceded six points over five ends without ever giving back the hammer. Down 9-4, South Korea conceded the 10th end.

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings | Recaps with diagrams

With one day of group play left, Sweden, Canada, China and Britain are in playoff position in each bracket. (Norway is tied with Britain on the men’s side.) The USA is running out the string.

Date: 16-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Day 7 of group play, with two men’s sessions and one women’s

How U.S. fared: John Shuster’s men played a back-and-forth thriller with Canada, stealing one in the eighth end for a 6-5 lead. Shuster was poised to limit Canada to a single in the ninth, but his last shot curled more than the one before it to his consternation, and Canada’s Brad Jacobs had a simple draw for two. Down one in the 10th but with the hammer, Shuster erred on his first shot, failing to get his rock near a Canadian rock close to the center. Brad Jacobs expertly froze his next shot at the center as well, leaving Shuster a difficult draw just to force an extra end.

Shuster gave it a good run, nudging the Canadian rock and leaving his own rock very close to the button. But Jacobs’ rock was ever so slightly closer, stealing one and taking the 8-6 win.

The schedulemakers gave us a USA-Canada doubleheader. The women’s game seemed like a mismatch — the USA was 1-6 coming in, while Canada was two games away from going unbeaten. But Erika Brown responded from a steal in the second to score three in the third, and the teams battled from there. Canada, its playoff place long secure, played with a bit of reckless abandon and misfired on occasion. Especially in the 10th — Brown left a stone near the button, and Jones’ hammer bumped into it a little short of the win. Tied 6-6, they went to an extra end.

One misplay gave Brown a chance to set up a steal. But her last rock sailed a couple of feet farther than she wanted, to the back of the four-foot circle.

Had she played it to the front, Jones would have needed a double takeout or an extraordinary draw for the win. Instead, she was able to follow the same path as Brown’s last rock, using that U.S. rock as an insurance backstop in case she was too heavy. She didn’t need to be perfect, but she was, winning by a couple of inches.

The U.S. women will play South Korea tomorrow for last place in the round-robin. Will we see alternate Allison Pottinger get some playing time?

John Shuster’s team did just that in the evening session, bringing Craig Brown (Erika’s brother) in place of vice-skip Jeff Isaacson to face Sweden. The tournament leaders scored three in the second end and stole one in the sixth to go up 5-2. Shuster could manage only a couple of singles in response, and Sweden took a 6-4 win.

What happened:

Morning session (men): Sweden moved to 7-1, momentarily ahead of idle China, with an 8-4 win over Russia, which conceded the 10th end.

The biggest game for playoff positioning was Britain (5-2) vs. Norway (3-3). Britain scored two in the ninth to tie the game 6-6 but relinquish the hammer to Norway. Britain couldn’t set up a steal, and Thomas Ulsrud made the simple takeout for the 7-6 win.

Afternoon session (women): Like Spinal Tap, a couple of games went to 11. The USA-Canada was one, and the erratic Swiss team got its second steal of the game in the 10th to take Japan to the extra frame. Japan got it right in the 11th for the 9-7 win.

Sweden-Russia also went down to the wire, with Sweden’s Maria Prytz clinching it on a clutch raise, bumping her stone dead on the button. Sweden had a second rock just a bit closer than Russia’s within the four-foot, good enough to score two and win 5-4.

The other game was all but over by the eighth end. South Korea couldn’t clear the traffic, and Denmark lined up three rocks across the top of the four-foot. Un Chi Gim had nowhere to go with her hammer, giving up three. They traded singles in the last three ends, leaving Denmark up 7-4.

Canada (8-0) and Sweden (6-2) have clinched playoff spots. China and Britain are tied at 4-3, ahead of Switzerland (4-4) and Japan (3-4). Game to watch tomorrow morning: Japan-China.

Evening session (men): The marquee game put China (6-1, second place) against Canada (6-2, third). China’s Liu Rui hit a difficult takeout for three in the fifth and stole one in the sixth when Brad Jacobs uncharacteristically missed an open draw. Canada made up the 6-3 gap by scoring two, stealing one in a complex eighth end, and stealing two more in the ninth. China finally made the hammer count in the 10th to tie it at 8-8, and we went to the extra end. Jacobs missed a double takeout, and China played a decent draw to give Jacobs only half of the button at which to aim.

“I think that’s there,” Jacobs said as he let his final shot go. And it was. Stopped perfectly in place for the 9-8 win.

While first-place Sweden met the USA (see above), other teams were fighting for survival. Denmark stayed afloat with a 6-3 win over Germany, stealing one in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Norway, which has the loudest pants in sports, played a quiet game against Switzerland. Neither team scored more than a single, and Norway stole one in the seventh by forcing Switzerland to attempt a double takeout. Sven Michel only got one, and Norway had a 4-2 lead. Thomas Ulsrud made the clutch draw for a 5-3 win.

Sweden (8-1) and Canada (7-2) have clinched playoff spots and are coincidentally idle in the final session tomorrow. The game to watch is China (6-2) vs. Britain (5-3), with Norway (5-3) facing eliminated Denmark (3-5).

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings | Recaps with diagrams

The men are two-thirds of the way through their round-robin, and three teams have separated — China, Britain and Sweden are 5-1. Canada is holding the last playoff spot at 4-2, with Norway at 3-3. The USA has a mathematical shot at 2-4 and missed being even by about an inch.

The women are all looking up at 5-0 Canada, then Sweden (4-1), China (3-2) and Britain (3-2). The USA, which brought its most experienced team ever, is completely out of it at 1-5.

Date: 14-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Day 5 of group play, with two men’s sessions and one women’s

How U.S. fared: The figure skaters had trouble hitting quads today, but John Shuster and the U.S. men hit two, scoring four in the third and four in the seventh. Up 8-4 after eight ends with the hammer, Shuster and company let it get a little too interesting by conceding a steal in the ninth and missing some takeouts in the 10th. But Shuster cleared the house pretty well with his first shot in the 10th, and Germany conceded the 8-5 decision.

Things can’t get any worse for the U.S. women. Facing winless Denmark, the USA gave up doubles and scored singles. Down 6-2 after six ends, Erika Brown came up well short on a draw to give up a steal of two in the seventh. Needing a miracle, Brown gave up another steal in the eighth and conceded, down 9-2. That’s the USA’s fifth loss, and they’re all but mathematically out of it.

Shuster was back in action in the evening and rebounded from giving up a steal but scoring three in the third with a nifty hit-and-roll and a solid takeout to tie it at 3. It all set up nicely from there: The teams traded doubles, the USA stole a point in the seventh, the eighth end was a blank, and Russia was held to a single in the ninth to make it 6-6. But a couple of wayward shots left Shuster needing to make a tough shot to squeeze a U.S. rock alongside two Russian rocks. Shuster’s rock rolled just slightly away from center. Both teams looked over the center of the house for a few seconds before Shuster tapped the Russian rock to concede that it was a hair closer. Russia 7-6

What happened:

Morning session (men): Canada put up four in the seventh and three in the ninth to wipe out Norway 10-4. Sweden and China were much closer than that, going to an extra end before Niklas Edin made the clutch draw for Sweden in a 6-5 win.

Afternoon session (women): Russia was in the closest game of the session, giving its enthusiastic fans a chance to pay full attention. The home team took a 6-3 lead into the 10th, and the fans roared as Anna Sidorova took out both Swiss stones to force a concession.

The other games were much less dramatic. China scored three points in three different ends — second, fifth and seventh — then stole two in the eighth to make South Korea concede an 11-3 decision. Britain took a 7-3 lead in the seventh, then stole five to beat Japan 12-3.

Evening session (men): Denmark surrendered a 5-1 lead at the halfway point against Britain, giving up three in the sixth and then a steal in the ninth. They still only trailed 7-6 with the hammer in the 10th. It came down to one shot in which Denmark could potentially score five or give up one. They gave up one, and Britain won 8-6.

The other two games were also close. China scored one with the hammer in the 10th against Norway to win 7-5, and Germany held Switzerland a single in the 10th to win 8-7.

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings | Recaps with diagrams

The U.S. women finally got one on the board, while the Canadian women and surprising Chinese men remained unbeaten.

Date: 13-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Day 4 of group play, with two women’s session and one men’s.

How U.S. fared: The damage for the U.S. men was done in the third end. John Shuster missed two hit-and-roll attempts, letting Britain steal two points and take a 3-0 lead. The teams scored nothing but singles the rest of the way, and Britain won 5-3.

The U.S. women, idle in the morning session, finally put together the game they needed. Erika Brown pounced on a Japanese mistake in the fourth end and lined up a phalanx of rocks in the house, stealing two and leading 4-2. After trading singles, Brown scored two in the eighth to go up 7-4, kept Japan from posting a big number in the ninth, then held her nerve on an open draw in the 10th for the 8-6 win.

What happened:

Morning session (women): Unbeaten Canada took on winless Denmark, and you can guess the result. Tied 3-3 after three, Denmark could do anything with the hammer in four straight ends, giving up two steals to fall behind 5-3. Denmark finally tied it in the eighth but gave up three in the ninth, then conceded.

The other two games were tied heading into the 10th, and each team with the hammer scored one for the win. Britain moved to 2-2 with an 8-7 win over China, and Sweden handed Switzerland its first loss in a 9-8 decision.

Afternoon session (men): Denmark gave Canada a good game but needed a steal in the 10th with the game tied at 6. Danish skip Rasmus Stjerne Hansen missed the whole house with his last shot, giving Brad Jacobs the easiest possible draw. He convered for a 7-6 win, moving the Canadians up to 3-2.

Norway trailed 5-3 in the 10th and made a cheeky attempt at a nearly impossible shot. With no rocks in the house, Thomas Ulsrud needed to bump one of his guards into the rings AND somehow get his shooter in there as well. He got the bump but couldn’t quite keep the shooter. That’s Norway’s first loss, and Sweden is 4-1.

The shocker was winless Russia against one-win Switzerland. The Swiss had it locked down — up 6-4 with the hammer heading into the 10th. But Sven Michel’s hammer slid a couple of feet too far, giving Russia a steal of THREE and a 7-6 win.

Evening session (women): Switzerland had been 3-0 through three days, but after a loss in the morning session, Mirjam Ott’s rink had to come back against Canada. The Canadians stole a couple of points to lead 5-2 through six, made things interesting by conceding a steal of two in the eighth, then slammed the door by scoring three in the ninth. Final: 8-5.

South Korea put another damper on the Russian fans’ spirits with a comfortable 8-4 win over the hosts, and Denmark stayed winless by missing a tough draw in the 10th to fall 7-6 to Sweden.

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings | Recaps with diagrams

The U.S. men’s drought is over at last. The U.S. women are still winless.

Date: 12-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Day 3 of group play, with two men’s sessions and one women’s.

How U.S. fared: Strange game for the U.S. men, but they’ll take it. John Shuster only had the hammer twice in 10 ends. Denmark got three with the hammer in the first end, Shuster answered with two, and then we saw either a blank or a U.S. steal for six straight ends. Denmark finally scored two in the ninth end to cut the lead to 7-5, but Shuster scored two in 10th, proving his hammer wasn’t rusty. (Sorry.) They had a bye in the evening session, so they couldn’t build on their momentum.

The U.S. women are just in a puzzling hole. Their decisions backfire. Their shots are ever so slightly off. Erika Brown just slightly missed a double takeout (not an easy shot) in the fifth end, giving China an easy shot for two and a 3-2 lead. In the sixth, China got a lot of rocks in the house and forced Brown to make a difficult draw for one. She made it, but China got another break when Brown’s hit-and-roll in the eighth was just an inch or so shy of where it needed to be, and China picked up another deuce. Brown and Debbie McCormick needed to hit big shots in the ninth and 10th, and they couldn’t quite do it. China 7-4.

What happened: 

– Morning session: Only three games instead of the usual four in this one, including the USA’s win. The other two games were tied going into the 10th, and the teams with the hammer won — China 5-4 over Switzerland, and the flashy-panted Norwegians 8-5 over Germany.

– Afternoon session: The showdown between contenders Canada and Britain came down to this in the fifth end. Tied 3-3, Canada had the hammer. Britain’s final shot left this:

So that yellow rock (Britain’s) in the blue circle looks good, right? Canada would have a difficult shot just to get one, let alone anything more than that. Right?

Canada’s response:

So the rock Jones threw hit one of her own red rocks (see the empty circle), knocked it nearly straight ahead and set off a combination that removed the yellow rock. Got it?

(Diagrams from this World Curling Federation site that generates one of these images for every shot. Great stuff.)

Meanwhile, Sweden had little trouble with South Korea in a 7-4 win, and Japan silenced the Russian crowd (if that’s possible) with an 8-4 decision.

– Evening session: Canada took four in the fifth and never looked back against Russia, winning 7-4. China led 8-7 with the hammer going into the 10th and took advantage of Germany’s necessary aggression to take three for the 11-7 win. Britain and Sweden scored nothing but singles, with Britain winning 4-2.

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings

A couple of contenders faced off, while it looked more and more like the USA will not be among them.

Date: 11-Feb

Sport: Curling

Event: Day 2 of group play, with two women’s sessions and one men’s.

How U.S. fared: Russian curling fans are a bit like Clemson basketball fans. They may not fully understand what they’re watching, but they’re going to bring the noise. Erika Brown’s rink took three in the third end for a nice early lead, but Russia stole two in the fifth to go up 5-4. The rest of the way, Russia got two with its hammers while the USA got one. Final: Russia 9-7.

John Shuster and the U.S. men shot a bit better, but China made the big shots and the USA didn’t. A wayward Shuster shot in the third gave China a good shot for three, which they barely converted. Shuster seemed to be in good shape for a steal or only conceding one in the fifth, but China tossed a fast-moving stone that somehow dislodged all the U.S. rocks while leaving two Chinese rocks in scoring position.

The U.S. women came back to face Britain, one of the tournament favorites. In the fourth end, someone on the team said, “Maybe we can hold her to two.” Nope. They gave up seven. The USA gamely played two more ends but gave up three more in the sixth, then conceded a 12-3 decision.

What happened:

– Morning session: Canada’s women could hardly have had a more emphatic win, trading doubles for singles with fellow contender Sweden before icing the game with three in the eighth end. Sweden conceded for a 9-3 final.

South Korea and Japan, not expected to contend, were tied 7-7 after seven ends. But South Korea scored two with the hammer, then stole one to put Japan in a big hole. With Japan needing a big three, South Korea instead stole two more to win 12-7.

Switzerland and Denmark had the game of the session, with each skip shooting a strong 85%. Switzerland had the hammer first, and with only one end blanked, they had it again in the 10th and won 7-6.

– Afternoon session: Other than the U.S. game, the men played some close ones. None was closer than the Canada-Sweden contenders’ showdown, where it all came down to one last shot in which Niklas Edin’s draw was just a hair closer to the center than the top Canadian rock. Sweden 7-6.

The last shot went the other way on another sheet, with Britain stealing one in the 10th to beat Germany 7-6.

The Norway-Russia game looked closer than it was. Russia needed four in the 10th end and got three for a 9-8 final.

– Evening session: The Britain-USA game was over early. So was Denmark-Japan, where Japan stole points in the second, third and fourth ends to take a 5-0 lead. They traded singles, then deuces, and then Denmark conceded down 8-3 after eight.

Switzerland scored two in the fifth and stole three in the sixth to take control against South Korea, which cut the lead to 7-6 but needed a steal in the 10th. Switzerland defended with the hammer and won 8-6.

Once again, the Russians played a dramatic encounter for the raucous home crowd. China led 6-4 into the ninth end but could only get one on a double takeout attempt, leaving the house open for Russia to score two and tie it up. But Russia missed a wide-open draw, leaving China in the lead with the hammer.

Russia did a nice job getting rocks in the house with guards out front. (Look, I can’t keep translating — you’re going to have to learn curling lingo.) But China made the clutch draw for the 7-5 win.

Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings