The ugliness of the late February weather scored an unwelcome victory over what had been planned as a Friday night of high school playoff basketball. Schools had been closed and games cancelled.

With options limited and the TV remote in my hand, the channel lineup was perused seeking some type of sporting action to fill the void left by Mother Nature. With even those options greatly limited, my curiosity momentarily paused on the strange scene of women with brooms frantically sweeping the ice ahead of a sliding stone whose thrower kept yelling, "harder, harder."

Until that moment, I had only caught snippets of action from the XXI Winter Olympic Games being played north of the border. Curiosity had me watch segments of the opening ceremonies and much of the first round hockey action as the USA surprised the favored host Canadians. But now the highlight of a Friday evening centered in on two teams of ladies casting stones across a frozen surface. Aghast, a chick flick on ice.

For the next hour I watched mesmerized as the women’s curling gold medal game was not decided until the last stone was cast. The yellow-clad Swedish ladies out slid Canada’s crew to capture the gold medal and gain a new fan for a little-known sport – at least for one Friday evening. I knew nothing about the competition, or the rules of the game, but my curiosity was peaked; especially about that stone with the handle attached to its top.

I have since learned the object of my attention is a thick stone disk weighing between 38 and 44 pounds, traditionally made from a specific type of granite, called "ailsite" and found on an island off the coast of Scotland. The handle, that allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release, is secured by a bolt running vertically through a hole in the center of the stone. The island where the rare granite is found is now a wildlife reserve and the quarry is closed, resulting in sky rocketing prices for the best stones. Current prices range as high as $1,500.

Curling became an official sport in the Winter Olympics in 1998. It first appeared in the games of 1924 but had been considered a demonstration sport in the years since. It is a team sport in which stones are slid across a sheet of carefully prepared ice, which must have relatives in the shuffleboard family.

The game features two teams of four players taking turns sliding the granite stone across the ice towards a target called the house. Each team has eight stones. The game consists of eight or ten ends (similar to innings in baseball) with the winner determined by which team gets the most stones closest to the house.

Its origin dates back to the 16th century in Scotland where the climate provided good ice conditions in the winter. Its history calls for the game to be played with great sportsmanship with a tradition of the winners buying liquid refreshment for the losers. Come to think of it, maybe that’s a remedy that could be instituted today to help rid our sports of sore losers.

While not a devotee of Olympic intricacies, I was struck by the sportsmanship and overall friendliness of the competitions filling my TV screen. Of particular note was the classiness of two of Canada’s native sons, long cheered as sports stars in our county, who helped welcome the world to Vancouver’s big show. Wayne Gretzky, dubbed "the great one" most often hailed as hockey’s greatest player and Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) two-time NBA MVP, were featured lighters of the Olympic torch.　

　 Both the USA and Canada can rightly claim Olympic glory via the medal count their athletes registered. When the flame was extinguished Team USA gathered the most honors with 37 medals (9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze) outdistancing second place Germany (30). It marked the first time in Olympic history Uncle Sam’s contingent stood atop a medal count at the Winter Games. But the Canadians could proudly puff out their chest by winning the Game’s best 14 medals of the gold variety.　

For the hosts, it was clearly the gold medal won in the Games last contested contest that provided them the most satisfaction and the rest of the world with one of the best hockey games ever witnessed. In what many have called the greatest collection of hockey talent on display at one time in one place, the wearers of the Maple Leaf triumphed over a determined USA team 3-2 in overtime.

The game-winning goal was netted by Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who cemented his legacy for all time in Canadian hockey lore. The accomplishment topped a remarkable year for Crosby as he also wore the hero’s mantle in last year’s Stanley Cup championship performance for the Penguins. Ironically, Crosby was not chosen by his country to be a member of their Olympic team roster the last time around in 2006. That year Team Canada finished an embarrassing seventh.

All that is now just a distant memory as this Canadian Club is toasted as Olympic champions.

I was glad I tuned in. Now if I can just find those reruns of those stone tossing, broom sweeping curling crews!

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