Swiss are flying, crazy-mad

Here’s the very happy Swiss Olympic Men’s team right after yesterday’s Trials victory.

From left (standing) is skip Ralph Stoeckli, third Jan Hauser, second/third Markus Eggler, and lead Simon Struebin.

Crouching in front is the coach, Thomas Lips (left) and aternate Toni Mueller.

We have some exclusive quotes from some of the boys.

“I’m flying,” an elated Eggler told The Curling News.

“You can’t believe how I am feeling. The old man is back to the Olympics. For me it’s just like a dream after I stopped curling after the world championships in Victoria (2005).

“It is also a big moment for me, because it shows me that you can reach something when you work hard for it. When our team started 1,000 days ago, our goal was to play in the Olympics, and now we did it!”

Here’s more about the excitable Eggler, specifically a recent curling milestone.

Struebin, meanwhile, tells a funny story from late in the final game, which was played at a curling club. The athletes were the only ones allowed onto the vast and otherwise empty ice surface during the competition.

“I saw this club curler who wanted to practice on sheet one during the seventh end of our last game,” laughed Struebin.

“He went totally crazy-mad, when the umpire told him that he is not allowed to go on the ice. It was hilarious!

“No kidding. A scene for the ages.”

Team Stoeckli now jets to Toronto for next week’s Grey Power World Cup of Curling in nearby Mississauga, followed by further training excursions in Canada.

[Swiss Curling Association photo by Joerg Leunenberger]

Stoeckli to Vancouver Olympics

It’s all over in Arlesheim as Team Ralph Stoeckli defeated Team Stefan Karnusian 7-4 to win the Swiss Olympic Trials by a 4-1 games margin.

With the scored tied 3-3 in the sixth end, Stoeckli’s foursome scored the game’s third deuce and then added a pivotal steal in the seventh.

Equally important was a force in the eighth. Stoeckli added a single in the ninth and then blasted his way home for the trip to Vancouver in February... and to Canada next week, for the Grey Power World Cup in Mississauga.

It’s the first Olympic qualification for youthful third-rocker Jan Hauser, and Olympic trip number two for Stoeckli and lead Simon Struebin (Pinerolo 2006) and second/third Markus Eggler (Olympic bronze at Salt Lake 2002).

Ford World Curling: Farewell

MONCTON – The Moncton Coliseum was full to the rafters Sunday night, and I was able to witness a rather amazing 50th anniversary men’s world championship final.

From my part, I'd like to thank gk for the opportunity to blog from this event. It was a blast!

Kudos for Moncton for the organization: everyone here ensured that the event is a success. Even the nightlife of a relatively small city offered plenty of entertainment throughout the week and I must tell you, those long nights are starting to show.

To quote the three-year-old daughter of a Finnish curling legend: “Mommy... Daddy smells like curling again!”

Thankfully, I’ve got no spouse nor kids waiting at home.

In addition to sleep deprivation and liver poisoning, I will go home with plenty of memories and new friends. After seeing a major curling event in Canada, I’m definitely tempted to come and check out another... perhaps next year’s Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax?

While I was disappointed for my brother Kalle (with me in the photo) and the Finnish team, I know they enjoyed themselves, from the moment they started their training camp in nearby Amherst, Nova Scotia to the final round of drink tokens in Sunday night’s Keith’s Patch.

And now that the week is over, it is also time to announce the winner of our “Hottest Player of Worlds 2009” vote.

Although I felt like an utter and complete bimbo for organizing it, the people in Moncton seemed to enjoy a bit of cheeky fun... and even the local media was happy to feature it to emphasize a different aspect of these big curling events.

When choosing my list of candidates, I consulted the media guys who were happy to help, once they had gotten the “I’m not gay, don’t ask me!” out of their system.

In addition to the voting possibility here at the blog – check out the first six candidates (and comments) here, and the final six candidates here – there was a paper vote available at the arena, and hundreds of ballots were cast.

For starters, all 12 nominated players received votes so there truly is an abundance of hot men in this game!

Also, three other gentlemen outside of our vote had caught the eye of the female spectators, and are nited for the record: Switzerland’s Markus Eggler, French front-ender Jan Ducroz and Scottish third Ewan MacDonald.

The result of the balloting went down to the wire. The difference between the winner and the player who came second was only two votes and our top two hotties hogged more than half of all the votes for themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Top 5:

1. Thomas Ulsrud (Norway)
2. John Morris (Canada)
3. David Murdoch (Scotland)
4. Andreas Lang (Germany)
5. Tied: Thomas Dufour (France), Jan Hauser (Switzerand) and Jiri Snitil (Czech Republic).

Thank you Moncton... and farewell!

Ford World Curling: Hotties part II

by Katja Kiiskinen

MONCTON – The editor apologizes for the delay, but apparently the Canadian Prime Minister arrives this morning – big curling fan that he is – and that seems to have quite a few people scurrying about.

And here we are, finally, with the rest of our hotties who are easy on the ice... or should that read eyes?

7. NORWAY

The entire curling world knows he is gorgeous, so maybe it would have been time to go with someone else... but then all of you Thomas Ulsrud fans out there would have been raising a riot. With the addition of the young and talented Petterson and Svae on the front end, Ulsrud’s impressive curling career seems to be picking up the pace with every year that passes by.

8. UNITED STATES

We were very tempted to go with the sweetheart skip of the team, John Shuster, but ultimately decided we would let you vote on third Jason Smith, who spends half the year charming the Floridians.

9. SWITZERLAND

Our Swiss playa has got an inexplicable way with the ladies. Any members of the cuter sex who have been in his vicinity will know this. If there’s a girlfriend reading, you should not be alarmed – despite his amazing charisma, Jan Hauser always behaves.

10. SCOTLAND

This hot piece of crumpet and his team are responsible for offering us some of the most enduring moments of curling. That’s right, we’re talking about Scotland’s very own David Murdoch. He is known for his incredible versatility as a player and an intense focus on the game, which make him oh-so-captivating to watch.

11. JAPAN

Look at this cutie! Say hello to Kosuke Morozumi, the brother of Japan skip Yusuke Morozumi. He’s only 20 – the average age of this young team is only 22 – and they were targeting the 2014 Olympics when they surprised the field at the Japanese final.

12. GERMANY

We were tempted to go with alternate Daniel Herberg, but we simply cannot resist the lure of Andreas Lang. He first arrived with the veteran Team Kapp to install some youthful vitality to the squad, and just like that, the squad is confirmed to represent Germany next year in Vancouver.

So, there they are! Your nominees for the hottie vote. Be sure to check out the first group, if you haven’t already, and leave a comment so you can make someone’s day!