Attention sports fans!

So have y'all been watching the Olympics? Based on the published TV ratings, probably not. But I have, especially curling! In fact, I'm watching curling right now. The sport/game is sort of like chess, or billiards, or shuffleboard, on ice. There's a great deal of strategy and skill involved as teams of four try to finish each "end" (like an inning in baseball) with as many "rocks" (actual 42-pound granite stones from Scotland, fitted with plastic handles) closer to the middle of the "house" (looks like a archery target with concentric circles painted under the ice) than the opposing team's rocks. NBC's Olympic curling page has all the info, including a tour of the tiny hometown of the "skips" or captains of both the USA men's and women's "rinks" or teams.

The unofficial U.S. curling capital of Bemidji -- pronounced "buh-MID-jee" -- lies on the southwest shore of Lake Bemidji in north-central Minnesota, about 90 miles from the Canadian border. It measures roughly 13 square miles in size. Bemidji's population is about 12,000, but some 40,000 live in the surrounding area. Its name is derived from "Bay-may-ji-ga-maug," a word in the Ojibwe language that means "lake with cross waters," a reference to the Mississippi River, which begins 30 miles south in Itasca State Park, then briefly heads north and flows through Lake Bemidji (6240 acres in size, about 76 feet at its deepest). According to legend, Lake Bemidji -- along with all of Minnesota's 10,000-plus lakes -- was formed by Paul Bunyan's footprint. Bemidji is the first city encountered by the Mississippi. Experts estimate that a drop of water in Lake Bemidji would take about three months to reach the Gulf of Mexico after a winding journey of about 2300 miles.

One of the things I like about watching curling is that they have the players mic'ed up so you can hear everything they say to each other. There's nothing like watching a bunch of Minnesotans stand around on the ice "sheet" discussing the best approach for their next "rock." :P And the furious ice sweeping is cool - the brooms reduce the friction at the leading edge of the stone, causing it to travel faster and straighter. Teams are often knocking opponents' stones out of the house and/or setting up "guard" rocks to block future shots. Curling is just so interesting. Oh, and the shoes! Curlers wear one teflon shoe for sliding and the other shoe for traction. I totally want to try curling! Or at least go see it played live. So if you know of any Boston-area curling clubs, let me know.

According to Timothy D. Jacques's article on allsports.com, the origins of curling are ancient and uncertain.

The precise beginnings of curling are a bit of a mystery. Its origins are hotly debated between the Scots and Continental Europeans. Was it a purely Scottish invention or was it imported by Flemish travelers under the reign of King James VI? Recent discoveries of lost artwork, diaries and archaeological finds has sparked a number of theories, but nothing is conclusive.

The earliest of graphic curling records center around 16th century Dutch paintings by Pieter Bruegel and R. de Baudous. The paintings show a number of winter motifs with background characters playing a game of "ice shooting". Other paintings have children sliding wooden discs or frozen clumps of earth along a frozen pond.

In Scotland, a 16th century diary of a Scottish monk describes a challenge between two friends with "stones-on-ice". In the early 17th century, an entry in a Glasgow Assembly records tells of a incident where a local Bishop is accused of a terrible act: He was a curler on the ice on the Sabbath.

Though the debate still rages on in some quarters, it's generally acknowledged that Scotland was the country that developed the game of curling in today's recognizable form.

Ah, Scotland! Thanks for your contributions of whiskey, golf, and curling to the world.

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In other sports-related news, MLB's spring training has begun! Yea! The Red Sox have three new World-Series-ring-wearing former Marlins this year (Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Alex Gonzalez). So they should have an improved defense this season, and it will be fun to watch Beckett pitch. Meanwhile, Fenway Park is still under renovation. I snapped this one from the Brooks drugstore parking lot yesterday. You're looking at the right field roof area.