PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The 40-pound granite stone at the heart of curling is nearly impossible to lift — heavier, somehow, than any 40-pound bag of garden mulch or dog food because its entire mass is crammed into a rock no bigger than a bistro chair cushion with a small handle attached. But the point […]
Olympics
Posted inNational Sports
Olympic FAQ: What is curling?
Curling is contested on ice – called a sheet – with targets at either end, referred to as the house. The house is made up of 12-, 8- and 4-foot rings and the center, called a button. Teams take turns sliding a large granite stone, sometimes called a rock, from one end of the sheet […]
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Mikaela Shiffrin is the world’s best female skier; Is that good enough for gold?
The numbers are plain, and they lay out the case that’s as easy to argue as the sky is blue or rock beats scissors. Mikaela Shiffrin is the best female Alpine ski racer in the world. Not yet 23, she is on a pace that could leave her as the most decorated World Cup racer […]
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NBC Olympic coverage available on air and online
NEW YORK (AP) — Fresh off the Super Bowl, NBC begins more than two weeks of Winter Olympics coverage on Thursday with a new host, some new wrinkles and the hope that its business model keeps pace with the different ways people experience events on television and online. Some skiing and figure skating competition takes […]
Posted inNational Sports
Why has no U.S. woman won Olympic figure skating gold since 2002?
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Kimmie Meissner spent her childhood trying to keep up with three older brothers in soccer and lacrosse, so they’d let her join their teams. After figure skating became her passion, she tried keeping up with the best in the world. “I definitely wanted to push the sport a little bit technically,” […]
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Think you could be an Olympic curler? Don’t make these women laugh
LONDON, Ontario — American curling champion Tabitha Peterson has heard it all: Anyone can curl. My grandmother can curl. The Swiffer sport. Housekeeping comes to the Winter Games. “Everyone thinks they can go to the Olympics in curling because they think it’s so easy,” she says, shaking her ponytail. She’s sitting in a nearly empty […]
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Face Time: Former U.S. Ski Team coach Bob Harkins
Bob Harkins has always loved the outdoors, and pursued that love in his occupations, including a registered Maine guide, general manager of Mt. Abram ski area and a coach for the U.S. Ski Team. When he wasn’t instructing hopefuls for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Harkins was also the director of athlete development, for […]
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Victims' father tries to attack former gymnastics doctor in courtroom
CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) — A father of three victims tried to attack Larry Nassar in a Michigan courtroom on Friday after a judge declined his request for a few minutes alone in a locked room with the “demon” former sports doctor. He was blocked by an attorney and tackled by sheriff’s deputies. Two of the […]
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Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar sentenced to 40 to 175 years for molesting athletes
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The former sports doctor who admitted molesting some of the nation’s top gymnasts for years was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison as the judge declared: “I just signed your death warrant.” The sentence capped a remarkable seven-day hearing in which scores of Larry Nassar’s victims were able […]
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North Korea’s Olympic lineup varied
TOKYO (AP) — North Korea won’t be dominating any medal counts when the Winter Olympics come to Pyeongchang in South Korea next month. But it’s hoping to grab as much of the spotlight as it can with what might be an Olympic first in ice hockey and a flamboyantly crowd-pleasing all-female cheering section to liven […]