Curling (1/30/06)

One winter's day in the dim past, someone saw that a lake had frozen over and said, "Let's go out on the ice and slide rocks at a target." Those humble beginnings begat curling, the world's most exciting slow-motion sport. Curlers of all ages love to find a bonspiel, lace up their sliders, step up to the hack, and throw 44-pound stones down the ice at the house. There's more to curling than just sliding rocks, though -- team members also get to scrub the ice with brooms! The team that ends the game with the most stones close to the target wins. If they manage to get all their own rocks and none of their opponents' in the house, though, they score that rarest of feats, an 8-ender -- comparable to a 300 game in bowling. For those with the bug for freezing, wearing funny shoes, and trying not to fall, it's heaven on ice.