[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Feb 20 2006, 03:24 PM\'][quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Feb 20 2006, 12:12 PM\']Allow me to be the next person in line to agree with this. I like watching it, but the next step is to visit Wikipedia to find out the official rules and scoring on it so I can be as well educated as possible.
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The scoring is cake. Basically, once all of the rocks are thrown, the team with the rock closest to the button, they are the only team who can score, and they score a point for each rock that is closer than the OTHER team's closest rock. That's all. Team that scored in the last end throws first in the next one. Repeat ten times.
The Wiki article will likely be a good read for the small details like the free-guard zone, but ultimately it is a very simple game.
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The scoring might be cake, but as new viewers, the lovely Hayley and I were sitting last week, watching a USA/Norway men's match, and had the following conversation:
M: "Team USA has last rock."
H: "What?"
M: "They get to throw last, which I think is an advantage, because they keep talking about it."
H: "Oh."
[Team USA throws last rock.]
M: "Look, I think we just scored, like, five points."
H: "But the score only says we scored two."
M: "WTF. I'm gonna break out Wikipedia."
H: "And why do we lose last rock if we just scored with it? And what the heck does 'blank end' mean, and why is that a good thing?"
M: "Hold on, I'm looking."
Once we figured it out, cake. Haha. Now don't get me started on cricket, a sport that I ignorantly make fun of (WICKETS?!) simply because I don't understand the rules.