Game of Stones Podcast

Do you play to win the game, or to win the event? This week, Sean and Scott use the Dunstone–Bottcher extra-end controversy to explore what happens when a tournament’s rules reward teams for something other than winning right now. They look at similar dilemmas across sports, the unintended consequences of rule changes, and where strategy meets the spirit of the game.

Plus, they discuss Molson’s involvement with the Grand Slams, Nolan Thiessen’s invitation to help shape the future of Canadian curling, and the new European Championships format.

Where do you draw the line...

What makes a great place to watch curling? This week, Sean and Scott revisit the arenas they’ve experienced as fans, volunteers and media, from Montreal and Saskatchewan to Ottawa, Kingston, London, Halifax and Las Vegas. They weigh sightlines, seating, atmosphere, downtown locations and one crucial ingredient: how easy it is to get to the Patch.

Plus, they compare their favourite venues, share a first-game win to start their own season, and report back on trying the Ice Intel app on the ice.

What’s your favourite curling venue, and what makes it special?

F...

Back in May, the three governing bodies of curling in Ontario merged into a single entity. On this week's episode we catch up with Matt Allen and Laura Forget to hear about how it's going and what (if any) impact there will be on players at both the recreational and competitive levels.

You can keep up with Curling Ontario at curlingontario.ca/ and @curlingontario on all the major social media platforms

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

This week, we talk about some of the best ways to improve your technical performance when you hit the ice this fall. We start by looking at The Idiot's Guide to Curling's suggestions for a clean delivery before hearing some real experts on how to strengthen your technical skills. Hear from Heather Nedohin, Reid Carruthers, Colton Lott, and Shannon Kleibrink about how they and their teams practice and get ready for high level events and get their tips on how to get better yourself. Interviews were conducted at the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.

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This week Dale Neufeld, who writes the Curling by the Numbers Substack, joins the show to talk about his new app Ice Intel. In the app you can track linescores, keep a rock book, and even calculate player shooting percentages. You can also use the split times to keep track of rocks, which includes predictive AI that will give an estimated weight call based on the split times, which adjusts to the specific ice conditions during your game. The app is current available on the Apple App Store. For Android users, you can reach out to Dale if you w...

We're back after a bit of a break to discuss the latest news in the world of curling. From Sportsnet and CBC signing a new deal with the Slams to the new high performance program at Curling Canada to the sport going to a single rulebook, we go around the sport to catch up on all the goings on. 

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

It's the midst of the summer, which is the perfect time for a listicle! We're looking at 12 events that are no longer part of the curling calendar of giving our rather subjective rankings of them. From how good they were to how much we miss them to how original they were, join us for this stroll down a curling memory lane.

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In going through so old stuff, Sean found a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Curling, which opens with a list of the 10 reasons why curling is so popular. Originally printed in 1998, we go through the list to see which ones still hold up, which ones are out of date, and which ones are right on the money.

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This past week saw a major shakeup as Grant Hardie announced that he was leaving Team Mouat and joining forces with Ross Whyte, thus creating what should be a fun rivalry for the next quad. We break down the implications for both new teams and how that will shape the landscape of Scottish men's curling before turning our attention to the best rivalries in the sport and which matchups we are most looking forward to over the next four years.

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When going through some old files, Sean came across a rather interesting parody document from the 1980s or 1990s offering some tips on how to be a popular curler when play with your friends at the local curling facility. On this week's episode, we go through the list and glossary and discuss the strategies that may (or may not) make you the most popular players in your league.

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We're back from a bit of a hiatus to recap all of the big summer news from the world of curling. From the final events of the year (including a historic world title for Australia) to some major retirements to lineup changes to Brad Gushue's new job, we go rapid fire to touch on the biggest stories across the sport.

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After a week off, we're back to talk about the last big events of the 2025-26 curling season. We start by looking back at Niklas Edin's 8th world championship and all the rest of our takeaways from the Men's World Curling Championship. We then shift our focus to the debut of the Rock League and talk about what we liked and didn't like from the inaugural edition. For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

When I heard the news Vic would be announcing his final game this past weekend, I knew we couldn’t sit idly by. With Sean away, we’re reposting our episode from 2019 paying tribute to the GOAT announcer, TSN’s own Vic Rauter.

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It's a new era of curling as the inaugural edition of the Rock League kicks off on Monday. We talk about the format, the new rules in place, and the team lineups as we look ahead to this new chapter in curling.

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The Season of Champions rolls along and before talking about this week's Men's World Curling Championship, we look back to the Women's World Curling Championship. We talk about Xenia Schwaller's win, what Canada's silver means for Team Einarson's run, and a big breakthrough for Dilsat Ylidiz. We then look ahead to the men's worlds (33:25) which kick off on Friday in Ogden City, Utah. We talk about all 13 teams in the field, how they each stack up, and make our predictions for who will be at the top of the podium at the end of the week.

The 2026 Paralympics wrapped up this past weekend and we're here to recap all the goings on. From a crazy gold medal game in the 4-person event, a great week for Canada, and another medal for Wang Haitao and Team China. We then move on to the mixed doubles event, where China won the first ever gold, an absolutely bonkos bronze medal match, and Latvia's strategic lineup choice paying off. We wrap with a brief discussion of some news out of Ontario with the merging of the various provincial associations.

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As the Season of Champions rolls along, we look back at what was a fun Brier out in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. From Brad Gushue's final game to Team Jacobs running out of gas to a Kevin Koe renaissance to Matt Dunstone getting over the hump, there was a lot going on at the 2026 Brier and we recap it all. From there (42:05) we look ahead to the 2026 Women's World Curling Championship, which starts Saturday in Calgary. We talk about all 13 teams in the field - many of which are different from those that played at the Olympics...

Even though the 2026 Paralympic Games don't officially start until Friday, the curling is already underway in Cortina and we're here to talk about all the goings on at what will be a very fun event. We start by previewing the 8 teams in the mixed doubles field as it the discipline makes its Paralympic debut. We then talk about the 10 teams competing in the 4-player competition and make our picks for who will be on the podium. We wrap by discussing Emma Miskew's comments about the inequity in the opportunity to play in the national championship betweenthe men's and women's...

The 4-person events are in full swing at the 2026 Olympic Games and it has been quite an eventful week! We start by talking about the drama between Oskar Eriksson and Marc Kennedy and the 'double-touch controversy (4:00) before getting into whether a double touch would actually help you make a shot (20:41). We then discuss Brad Jacobs' comments following Canada's win over the USA (29:15) and what else is happening in the 4-person event. We then wrap up by talking about the mixed doubles (38:57), including Sweden's gold medal, a great week for the Americans, and a tough week for the Canadians.

With the mixed doubles in the books, it's time for the 4-person Olympic competition. We go through the 20 teams (10 men's and 10 women's) in the field in Cortina, identify some key trends for each team, and look at some of the critical factors that will shape how the week plays out. Following that, we offer up our picks for who will be standing on the podium at the end of the week.

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The 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is in the books and Kerri Einarson has her 5th title. We talk about the week that was in Mississauga before turning our attention to the Olympics (30:47), which kicked off earlier this week. We talk about some of the things to look out for when watching the games, from the vocabulary to the times to strategy.

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The 2026 Olympic Winter Games are nearly here as the Mixed Doubles Curling competition kicks off on Wednesday February 4, two days before the Opening Ceremony. It's a very deep 10-team field, as almost all the teams have a good shot at ending up on the podium. We go through all the teams and talk about the 20 players who will be taking to the ice while also offering up our picks for who ends up on the podium.

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The 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts kicks off on Friday in Mississauga, Ontario and we got you covered! We talk about all 18 teams in the field, which includes plenty of rookie and under-30 skips, and what to expect in what we could look back on as a pivotal event in the development of women's curling in Canada.

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We're back with one of our favourite annual traditions as we make some bold predictions for this upcoming year. From the worlds to the Slams to the Olympics and more, we dust off the crystal ball to take a stab at what's coming up in the world of curling.

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We're back and kicking off 2026 with some news that came out this week as World Curling announced new sweeping rules. We then look back at the 2021-22 Slam season to see if the results predicted the Olympic results, and then wrap up by going over the betting odds for next month's Olympics.

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This week we're revisiting some of our favourite moments from 2025!

3:10 - Northern Ontario Curling Association Laura Forget on streaming

6:09 - Jeff Salmons on how the Sawtooth Outdoor Bonspiel makes ice

10:53 - Scott goes on a picks heater

13:23 - The Roarin' Game's description of women players

15:27 - Enjoying playing at the rec level and the place of alcohol in curling

21:08 - AITA - Not shaking hands after a disagreement

25:01 - Goldline CEO Pete Townshend on developing equipment of rec level players

30:06...

It's a tradition like no other - The Stoney Awards! We're back to give out the prestigious Stoney in 10 categories covering the best and brightest from the world of curling this past year. 

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The fields are set for the four person competition at the 2026 Olympics! We talk about the results for the last-chance qualifier in Kelowna, the teams that qualified for the Olympics, and what happens now for the teams that didn't qualify.

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Canada's Olympic Curling teams have been determined and there are new European champions and we're here to talk about it. We start with the Canadian Trials and Team Homan and Team Jacobs' wins, how the Finals played out, and other takeaways from the week in Halifax. We then chat about the Swedish sweep at the European championship and how things played out in the race to qualify for the world championship.

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The round robin is completed at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials and we are recapping the goings on of the week so far as well as our time at the Trials. We break down the playoff teams and hear from, Mike McEwen, Brett Gallant, Jocelyn Peterman, Rachel Homan, Selena Sturmay, Marc Kennedy, Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, Christina Black, Kaitlyn Lawes, Heather Nedohin, Reid Carruthers, and Shannon Kleibrink. We also talk about the tragic passing of the great Colleen Jones.

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The Canadian Olympic Curling Trials are finally here as they kick off on Saturday in Halifax. To get you set, we go through all 16 teams in the field and talk about their best and worst results on the season before making our picks for who will wear the Maple Leaf in Italy.

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It's a huge week in the world of curling as the final edition of the European Championship (under the current format) kicks off on Saturday. We're joined by The Professor of Peel, Jonathan Havercroft of Rocks Across the Pond as we go through all 20 teams on the A side and highlight some of the 26 teams competing in the B side.

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This week we talk about all the news in the world of curling, including the Canadian Pre-Trials, the final Pan Continental Curling Championship, and the Grand Slams. We also talk about a new curling skills app and give a heartfelt tribute to the now dearly departed Pan Continental Championship.

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Goldline and Hardline CEO Pete Townshend joins the show to talk about the Goldline's acquisition of Hardline this summer and what the implications are for equipment development and recreational players. From brooms to shoes to headgear, we talk about how equipment is designed, what rec players should be looking for, and how to ensure you have the proper equipment when you take to the ice.

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We're back this week and it's time to catch up with some curling news by playing a Letterman classic, Is This Anything? We're go around the world of curling to talk about whether the PointsBet Invitational, the new Canadian wheelchair high performance program, the new blank end rule at the Slams, and the new world championship structure are anything.

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The Grand Slam of Curling season has started out in London, ON and we talk about some of our early impressions. We then use AI to analyze the pod and ask it some of the pressing questions we have about the show.

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This year we're taking a different approach to our schedule watch episode. Instead of looking at team schedules, we're going through the rather packed calendar of curling events to talk about what fans can expect over the course of the season. From the annual events like Scotties and Brier to the events that only come around every four years like the Olympics to the new variations on some of the Slams, it is a stacked season in curling and we talk about what events need to be circled on your calendar this winter.

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This week we're taking our inspiration from the popular Am I the A**hole reddit thread. Using stories sent by listeners, we go through the scenarios to determine if the person is or is not an a**hole - at least in that particular circumstance.

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