Curling: new darling of Olympics

    A Canadian pastime has received considerable airtime from NBC during its second stint as an event during the Winter Olympics.

   Curling, not referring to hair styling, has dominated the daytime broadcast.

   Most people simply will change the channel, but for those willing to learn about this sport, a lot of insight is being provided by the commentators.

   Curling is comparable to shuffleboard in technique.

   The general premise of slinging a rock to be the closest to the center of the bullseye seems easy enough to understand.

   However, many nuances make this game difficult to understand, with terms like hog lines, ends, sweepers, skips and hack.

   Curling pits two teams, made up of four players, against each other.

   A game consists of 10 ends. (Think of an end as an inning in the American pastime game.)

   Only one team is awarded points during an end, in which they deliver eight stones per team on alternating shots.

   Each stone weighs 42 pounds and is curled, or curved, down the track to achieve position.

   Sweepers contribute to the success of the team. They have the ability to speed up and increase the distance that the stone travels.

   They also can prevent the stone from curling too much.

   Sweeping slightly melts the surface of the ice and clears any debris that may prevent the travel of the stone.