VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Sweeping. Broomstacking. The hog line.
No, we're not talking about tidying up a pig pen. These are terms from curling, an ancient winter sport at the Vancouver Olympics.
Here are five things to know about curling:
-- The sport often is compared to shuffleboard on ice. The Olympians play 10 ends, or innings (yes, like baseball), and the team with the most points at the end wins.
-- After a 42-pound granite stone is sent sliding down the ice, two players use sweeping motions to control it -- to make it go faster or slower, or to change its direction, or "curl." The goal is to get the stone as close as possible to the center of a series of concentric circles.
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-- Don't even think about knocking the curlers for not being athletes. Although curlers like to have fun, counting the social aspect of the sport as a big part of the experience they love, curlers around the world have taken their fitness to a new level in preparation for these games. They have personal trainers, high-intensity training camps, sports psychologists and more. The teams that don't work out hard off the ice are the ones that fall behind everybody else.
-- Behave yourself. This sport, dating to 15th-century Scotland, prides itself on a tradition of sportsmanship and good manners. The Chinese women didn't talk to the media after Sunday's practice in order to keep their focus, and it caused an uproar of sorts. On Monday, when they passed the media, they smiled and said "hi."
-- The terminology is foreign to say the least. There's broomstacking, the post-match ritual of heading to the lounge with the opponent for a friendly drink. (Traditionally, the winners buy the beers.) The "button" is the inner-most circle within the "house" -- the area the stone must cross into to be in play.
And don't forget the "hog line." That's the first far line the stone crosses just before reaching the house.
Men's Curling Glance
Country W L
Canada 2 0
France 1 0
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Switzerland 1 0
Sweden 1 0
Germany 1 1
Norway 1 1
China 0 1
Denmark 0 1
Britain 0 1
United States 0 2
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At Vancouver Olympic Centre
Tuesday, Feb. 16
Sweden 6, Britain 4
Canada 7, Norway 6
Germany 7, United States 5
Switzerland 6, Denmark 5
Canada 9, Germany 4
France 6, China 5
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Norway 6, United States 5
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Britain vs. France, 5 p.m.
United States vs. Switzerland, 5 p.m.
Denmark vs. China, 5 p.m.
Germany vs. Sweden, 5 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 18
Denmark vs. United States, Noon
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Germany vs. Norway, Noon
Canada vs. Sweden, Noon
Britain vs. Switzerland, Noon
Sweden vs. China, 10 p.m.
Britain vs. Denmark, 10 p.m.
Norway vs. Switzerland, 10 p.m.
France vs. Canada, 10 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 19
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Germany vs. Switzerland, 5 p.m.
Denmark vs. Canada, 5 p.m.
France vs. United States, 5 p.m.
Norway vs. China, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 20
Norway vs. Denmark, Noon
France vs. Germany, Noon
China vs. Britain, Noon
Sweden vs. United States, Noon
Switzerland vs. China, 10 p.m.
Sweden vs. France, 10 p.m.
Canada vs. Britain, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 21
United States vs. Britain, 5 p.m.
Norway vs. Sweden, 5 p.m.
Switzerland vs. Canada, 5 p.m.
Denmark vs. Germany, 5 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 22
France vs. Norway, Noon
Canada vs. United States, Noon
Germany vs. China, Noon
Switzerland vs. Sweden, Noon
Germany vs. Britain, 10 p.m.
France vs. Denmark, 10 p.m.
China vs. United States, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 23
China vs. Canada, 5 p.m.
Sweden vs. Denmark, 5 p.m.
Britain vs. Norway, 5 p.m.
Switzerland vs. France, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), Noon
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), 5 p.m.
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 25
Semifinals, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Bronze Medal, Noon
Gold Medal, 6 p.m.
Women's Curling Glance
Country W L
Canada 1 0
Germany 1 0
Japan 1 0
Sweden 1 0
China 0 0
Britain 0 0
Denmark 0 1
Russia 0 1
Switzerland 0 1
United States 0 1
At Vancouver Olympic Centre
Tuesday, Feb. 16
Japan 9, United States 7
Sweden 6, Denmark 5
Germany 9, Russia 5
Canada 5, Switzerland 4
Wednesday, Feb. 17
China vs. Britain, Noon
Germany vs. United States, Noon
Switzerland vs. Sweden, Noon
Japan vs. Canada, Noon
Russia vs. Denmark, 10 p.m.
Britain vs. Sweden, 10 p.m.
China vs. Switzerland, 10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 18
Canada vs. Germany, 5 p.m.
China vs. Japan, 5 p.m.
Russia vs. Britain, 5 p.m.
Denmark vs. United States, 5 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 19
Germany vs. Britain, Noon
Russia vs. United States, Noon
China vs. Denmark, Noon
Denmark vs. Canada, 10 p.m.
Sweden vs. China, 10 p.m.
Britain vs. Japan, 10 p.m.
Switzerland vs. Russia, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 20
Sweden vs. Russia, 5 p.m.
United States vs. Britain, 5 p.m.
Denmark vs. Switzerland, 5 p.m.
Germany vs. China, 5 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 21
Britain vs. Switzerland, Noon
Germany vs. Denmark, Noon
Canada vs. United States, Noon
Russia vs. Japan, Noon
China vs. Canada, 10 p.m.
Japan vs. Germany, 10 p.m.
United States vs. Sweden, 10 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 22
Russia vs. China, 5 p.m.
Japan vs. Switzerland, 5 p.m.
Sweden vs. Canada, 5 p.m.
Britain vs. Denmark, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Japan vs. Sweden, Noon
Switzerland vs. Germany, Noon
United States vs. China, Noon
Canada vs. Britain, Noon
Switzerland vs. United States, 10 p.m.
Canada vs. Russia, 10 p.m.
Japan vs. Denmark, 10 p.m.
Sweden vs. Germany, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), Noon
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), 5 p.m.
Tiebreaker Games (if necessary), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 25
Semifinals, Noon
Friday, Feb. 26
Bronze Medal, Noon
Gold Medal, 6 p.m.
