Not quite there for men’s curling

I guess it took benching skip John Schuster two days ago to wake the men’s curling team up.  They got their first win without him on Friday, then won again with him back on the ice yesterday.  I can hardly blame Schuster for taking a day off.  Being called the “Bill Buckner of curling” online had to sting pretty badly. Today’s match against Great Britain had the Brits up 3-1 in the 8^th end. The US team managed to save the 8^th and score one more, closing the gap to 3-2.  No score in the 9^th made for a tense final end. Great Britain didn’t have to score, just keep the US from getting any points. Jason Smith slid a rock to a nice tucked-away spot on the green circle of the house, but Great Britain landed a nice shot and won 4-2. Throughout the low-scoring match, Schuster made sure all the important shots were well discussed with his whole team.  They were deliberate and thoughtful, but the World Champion British team bested the US with their superior accuracy and strategy. It’s doubtful the US will advance to the finals, but at least they played well and got a couple of wins under their belt.