Women's Curling

Imagine my excitement when I turned on USA this afternoon to find Russia vs. USA in women's curling. So many unanswered questions caroming around in my head: Is the curling sheet the same length as in men's competition? Is the stone lighter? Is it still called a stone, or maybe an egg? Are women better at curling because they're better at cleaning floors than men?

Let's get something out of the way first-- the Russian women's curling team are total sexpots. Anna Sidorova (pictured) could probably do for curling what Anna Kournikova has done for tennis, which is to inspire thousands of drunk American men to watch the sport while killing time at Chili's (that's where I was when first saw Kournikova compete).

Sidorova is unbelievable. Her delivery approach is part swan, part Russian battleship-- brutal elegance. Her teammates are no slouches either. The Privivkova-Sidorova-Fomina-Galkina quartet stacks up nicely with the all-time Olympic foxy foursomes, none of which are immediately coming to mind, but take my word for it. These girls could melt the ice off a Gulag snowshovel.

Wow, I think the match is tied after regulation. Extra ends? Break Point? Sweep-off? I won't tell you what I'm hoping for.