VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

The NHL pro hockey league will be using curling’s famed Eye on the Ice system for the annual outdoor Winter Classic at famed Wrigley Field on New Year’s day.

You can see the field of play being finalized here, also captured above, via web-cam.

The electronic system was created by curling ice maestro Hans Wuthrich, and despite the go-slow approach of NHL facilities guy Dan Craig, it’s only a matter of time – and money – before the system makes its way into each NHL building.

As it should.

The story itself is located here.

Shortly after Chicago, Wuthrich will jet to Ontario for round two of the Casino Rama Curling Skins Game, a TV extravaganza we covered last year a) rather b) extensively (and in many blogposts in between) …

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]

This Sunday evening, an episode called Test the Nation: Sports will be aired, featuring contestants assembled into various teams to battle each other – and with the Canadian public also getting in on the action, either via TV or online.

The teams are:

Refs & Umps
Armchair Athletes
Sportscasters
Cheerleaders & Mascots
Olympic Medallists
Team Extreme

There are a few celebrities hanging out – like former NHL star Paul Coffey – and you can see some behind-the-scenes action in this video.

What’s the curling angle? Well, Team Olympic Medallists features no less than five curlers, in addition to a nifty mixture of other Olympians from various eras, and at various levels of fame.

“It was a ton of fun being part of the show,” says 2006 gold medal champion skip Brad Gushue. “There was trash talking, jokes flying around and we were treated great. It was great to be part of it.”

Joining Gushue were fellow 2006 curlers Amy Nixon, Glenys Bakker and Christine Keshen – the entire support staff for bronze medal women’s skip Shannon Kleibrink – and 2002 Olympic silver men’s medallist Don Bartlett.

So… Brad… any curling questions?

“There were a couple curling questions,” Gushue acknowledged. “One about the Patch and one about the correct terminology for a burnt rock. One of the answer options for that was Gushue. Pretty funny… I had to sacrifice a wrong answer on that one!”

So, who wins?

We’ll all have to tune in to find out. According to a survey on the show website, Sportscasters are the top pick to win with over 30 per cent of the vote, while Armchair Athletes rank second (over 25 per cent) and the Olympians third (over 15 per cent). Interesting that Refs & Umps get no respect, with less than 10 per cent!

Another opinion says the Olympians “are so engorfed in their own sports…” Wow. check out the video at 3:41 for that hilarity.

Canadians can tune in or log on Sunday night at 8:00pm eastern time, while outlanders can also take part via the show website.

VN:F [1.9.11_1134]