Loud-panted Norsemen make noisy comeback

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/04/2011 (5588 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — Their pants were loud, but it was Norway’s comeback against Korea here on the opening draw of the World Men’s Curling Championship Saturday afternoon that made an even bigger bang.

Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud — the 2010 Olympic silver medallist — was trailing Korea’s unheralded Dong Keun Lee 7-3 after seven ends — and facing the very real prospect of being on the losing end of a huge upset — when Norway finally found their game and Lee lost his.

After scoring a deuce with the hammer in the eighth end, Ulsrud promptly stole the ninth, 10th and extra ends to author an unlikely 8-7 victory.

“I thought it was over for sure,” said Ulsrud. “And he had a couple of easy shots there to win. But I guess he was feeling the pressure a little bit too.

“I cannot remember ever coming back from a situation like this before. I was sure it was going to be over.”

Ulsrud said third Norway third Torger Nergard is battling a flu bug, but he had no such excuse for his shaky performance against Korea. “I’m healthy. I wish I could blame sickness.”

The Norwegians are once again here sporting the ostentatious Loudmouth golf pants that were such a hit for them at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Ulsrud said the team has several different coloured pairs with them this week and must abide only by a restriction that the colours in the pants match the red, white and blue Norwegian colours.

— — —

THERE are a couple of notable rule variations at World Curling Federation events, notably a shorter break between ends and a strict restriction on any communication with coaches other than during timeouts or at the fifth end break.

Breaks at the worlds are just two minutes, instead of the three minutes allowed teams at the Brier. And the coaches sit up in the stands, instead of on the ice with the players like at the Brier.

Canada skip Jeff Stoughton doesn’t like either of those two rules, saying the shorter time breaks require a mid-game sprint if a player needs a bathroom break and the strict rules on contact with coaches and their placement in the stands makes no sense.

“I never figured that one out,” Stoughton said of the coach’s rule. “Imagine Kobe Bryant coming off the court and (L.A. Lakers coach) Phil (Jackson) can’t talk to him? Or a hockey player coming off and, ‘Oh no, can’t talk to the coach.’ They’re kind of quirky little things, but oh well, no big deal.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

— — —

THE Chinese completely revamped their lineup prior to their opening game Saturday night.

Skip Luan Chen was demoted to lead, second Yansong Ji was promoted to skip, third Guangxu Li became the second and alternate Dexin Ba was promoted to third.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca