The Curling Hotline

It's the first full-length episode of the brand-new Curling Hotline podcast, and the phone lines are burning up! First, Joanne Courtney phones in to discuss her brand-new position on the TCG Broadcast Team, what she's most excited for in the booth, and some bold predictions for the season. And then Bruce Mouat joins John, fresh off of a busy summer where he bounced around the UK to celebrate his Olympic silver medal. We discuss Grant Hardie departing the squad, how they're preparing for this new life without him, and the early impact Robin Brydone has had on the team. Then we finish up with some of YOUR phone calls, discussing the ESPN+ broadcast and Lebanese Curling. Also, John says the word "fabulous" like 12 times in this episode for some reason. Just really excited, I guess. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. For all your curling needs, check out "The Choice of Champions" at goldlinecurling.com . Give us a call! 1-877-CURL-HOT ( 1-877-287-5468 ) to ask a question or tell us what's your mind. You can also email the show at thecurlinghotline@gmail.com .

The podcast is BACK! We just have a different name, and different cover art, and it's just John now. He explains everything in this little teaser episode, which also explains the show's new and exciting format, which includes YOU! Give us a call on The Curling Hotline at 1-877-CURL-HOT and let us know what's on your mind!

Eve Muirhead is returning to competitive curling to play mixed doubles with Bobby Lammie, and she sits down with John to discuss it all. We learn why now is the right time, why she didn't keep playing with Bobby after they won the 2022 World Mixed Doubles championship, what drove her to want to return, and what she hopes to achieve over the next four years (which she also announces she is committed to!). John also asks her about her Rock League experience and what she loved and didn't love about Season 1, with a look ahead to her reprising her role as Alpine CC's GM in Season 2. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Check them out at goldlinecurling.com.

We said we would only be back in case of emergency, and there's no question the #1 team in the world undergoing a change is such a case. Grant Hardie joins John to discuss shaking up the Scottish curling scene, as he moves to skip his own rink with Ross Whyte throwing fourth stone, and Robin Brydone goes the other way to join Team Mouat. After nine years, two Olympic silvers, and two World titles, Grant explains why it was time to move on from Team Mouat, and his desire for a new challenge reigning above the easy choice to stick with the program. We discuss why it was the right time, why he wants to return to skipping, the difficult phone call with his cousin Hammy McMillan, and Ross Whyte's emergence on the world stage allowing for this move. It's a conversation you won't want to miss. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. For all of your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com

John and Robbie convene for one last time to do a final curling news round-up, and who knew we'd be talking about a May that would be this busy? Niklas Edin announces retirement, Brad Gushue heads south of the border, Australia nets its first-ever World Curling medal, and a bunch of team change news all happened in the last few weeks, and we get to the bottom of it all. It's a been a long and great season and we put it all to rest in this one. A special thank you to you, the listener, for supporting us all season long. It's been a wild ride with all the Slams, Olympics, and Rock League coverage, and you've been amazing all year-round. We appreciate it so much and we'll see you back here in the fall (and maybe in the summer once or twice if something crazy happens). And a thank you as always to Goldline Curling for presenting this episode and a bunch of episodes throughout the season. Couldn't have done it without you! For all your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com .

It's an emergency podcast of sorts as we managed to snag a one-on-one with Brad Gushue, the brand new High Performance Director of USA Curling, on the eve of his first trip to the States in his official role. It was news that came as a bit of a shock to the curling world when it was announced yesterday, and we ask Brad all about it, from how the role came to be his, why he chose to come back into the curling world so soon after retiring from competitive play, and why he made the decision to lead the USA's program after so many years representing Canada at the highest level. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. For all of your curling needs, visit goldlinecurling.com.

John is joined for a two-pack of interviews with two men who have had quite the last few months, Paralympic gold medal-winning skip Mark Ideson and Matt Dunstone's new second, Mark Nichols. Mark Ideson is up first, and him and John discuss why this Paralympics was the most memorable of his career, how wheelchair curling continues to grow, Rock League, and of course, that final shot of the Paralympics that secured the gold medal for Canada. Then Mark Nichols joins the show to run down his incredibly busy year, right from the moment he found out his long-time teammate Brad Gushue was retiring until now, where he finds himself joining the reigning Canadian champions, Team Matt Dunstone. He reveals how close he was to actually retiring himself, what is keeping him motivated to keep playing, and what intrigues him about the partnership with Matt. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. For the high performance curler out there, be sure to head to goldlinecurling.com to register for their brand-new incentives program, a first in curling history. And while you're there, you can check out all the products you need to get ready for next season.

Now that the craziness from Rock League has died down, John and Robbie reconvene to discuss all the team changes they missed over the last few weeks. And there was a lot! From Mark Nichols joining Matt Dunstone all the way to the Middaugh family becoming a curling team, we talk through just about every major change and give our opinion on it all. And speaking of changes, Goldline CEO Pete Townshend then joins the show to discuss their new sponsorship model. Curling fans have questions and Pete has answers about how their new merit-based system is going to work, what it means for every tier of the game (including juniors!) and why they feel it's the best move for both Goldline and the game of curling itself.

Rock League Season 1 is now in the books and John and Robbie sit down to discuss it all. We talk about Shield CC's big win, Typhoon's surprise run to the final, and recap some of the biggest surprises and disappointments on the ice this week. And of course we also talk about everything that was decided before a rock was thrown: the format, the rules, what can be improved for next season, and more. All the details you wanted about Rock League but were afraid to ask! This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Get your last-minute curling shopping done before the summer kicks into high gear at Goldlinecurling.com .

In Part 2 of our chats with the Rock League GMs, John sits down with Maple United's Glenn Howard, Shield Curling Club's Carter Rycroft, and Northern United's Christoffer Svae. John starts with Glenn, who played in a pro league once and gets the inside scoop on how that compares to now and why the Rachel Homan/Xenia Schwaller pairing is exciting for both the team and curling in general. Then we find out what Carter and Bompi have been up to for the last few years, how Carter prepared to get involved at the highest levels of the game again, and why Bompi thinks entertainment is just as important as winning in Rock League. We are less than one week away from first rocks at Rock League and we are ready to go! This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Their end-of-season sale is happening NOW with a ton of great deals and free shipping on any order over $150. Check it out at goldlinecurling.com .

We are just over a week away from Rock League's debut, and a lot of fans are asking about the rules and what exactly is going to differentiate Rock League as a live experience from curling events in the past. Thankfully, John sits down with The Curling Group's rules guru Brent Laing and the CEO himself to get the scoop on what exactly the rule changes are, why they were made, and what has Nic very excited–and a little nervous–as we head into the first-ever Rock League season. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Their end-of-season sale is happening NOW with a ton of great deals and free shipping on any order over $150. Check it out at goldlinecurling.com .

John and Robbie are back together to discuss the recently completed 2026 Women's World Championships, and how impressive 23 year-old Xenia Schwaller and her Swiss rink's run to the title was. Rattling off 13 straight wins to capture the title, are they guaranteed to be the sport's next big thing? We also discuss Kerri Einarson's silver medal and what the future might hold for that team before we switch into talking about a bunch of team's futures as the team change news has come fast and furious since the last time we recorded. The men's picture is starting to take shape and we break down all the teams named there, and we tease where we think the women's scene might be heading. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Their end-of-season sale is happening NOW with a ton of great deals and free shipping on any order over $150. Check it out at goldlinecurling.com .

The first of two episodes interviewing all six Rock League General Managers, John sits down with the GMs of the Alpine Curling Club (Eve Muirhead), Typhoon Curling Club (JD Lind), and Frontier Curling Club (Chris Plys) franchises to get the inside scoop on their respective clubs. Who is gonna play Mixed Doubles? What does each GM love about their team? And why is Rock League going to be the thing that changes the sport? All that and more as we get ready for Rock League's inaugural 2026 season in just a few weeks in Toronto, ON. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Their end-of-season sale is happening NOW with a ton of great deals and free shipping on any order over $150. Check it out at goldlinecurling.com .

The boys are back in town and there's a new badge on the Brier trophy as Matt Dunstone captures his first Brier title in St. John's. We recap all the action from Kevin Koe turning back the clock to Brad Gushue's emotional retirement, and we give Matt, Colton, and the Harnden brothers their flowers for what was a fantastic week and a particularly fantastic final. Then, we shift our focus to the team changes. Korea's women's program goes haywire with almost every player shifting teams, some Canadian teams start to make hints at their plans, and we take a few guesses at where we could see everything ending up over the next month or so as new teams take shape. And finally, in this mega-stuffed episode of the show, we briefly discuss the new Slam formats for next season, with the introduction of the GSOC Invitational and the brand-new Slam Qualifier Events. It's all here! This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Their end-of-season sale is happening NOW with a ton of great deals and free shipping on any order over $150. Check it out at goldlinecurling.com

John is here to announce all the locations for next year's Slams, as well as to explain the brand-new Grand Slam of Curling format for the 2026-27 season. We have some new events, some new ways to qualify for them, and we have partnered with a slew of World Curling Tour events to bring a whole new meaning to Tier 2 curling. This explainer is also available in video format at https://youtu.be/qlyieNNVcLc .

It's the Bronze Age in the Homan Empire as Team Homan second Emma Miskew joins John for a wide-ranging interview that covers a variety of topics. We start with their big bronze medal win as Emma takes us inside the Team Homan camp and what it was like facing down 7 must-win games in a row at the Olympics. She details how they dealt with outside noise, getting caught in the "Boopgate" crossfire, and how they rebounded from the semifinal loss to play their best game in the bronze medal matchup against the USA. And then we turn our focus to the Scotties. With the Olympics now in the rearview mirror, Emma speaks candidly about her team's disappointment in being unable to defend their Scotties title, and what needs to be done over the course of the next quad to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again in 2030. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling, Canada's official outfitter at the 2026 Olympics and curling's largest manufacturer of apparel and curling goods. For all your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com .

History was made in Cortina in the 4-person events as a whopping SEVEN players joined curling's prestigious "Double Gold" club, with Brad Jacobs finding his way atop the podium for Canada to become the nation's only two-time gold medal-winning skip, and Anna Hasselborg becomes just the second complete team to win two golds, joining her countrymate Anette Norberg in the feat. It was a wild tournament full of twists and turns, some surprise 4th-place finishers, and of course: boopgate. We put a bow on all of that, wonder what it might mean for some of the teams moving forward, and we give a very quick Brier preview to cap it all off. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling, Canada's official outfitter at the 2026 Olympics and curling's largest manufacturer of apparel and curling goods. For all your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com .

We have reached the halfway point of the Olympic tournament for both men and women and John and Robbie are here to break down what has been an unexpectedly drama-filled affair. Rachel Homan stumbled out of the blocks but has been gathering momentum. Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, and the Swedes have been tied up in Boopgate. And after that, a lot of your favourites are jostling for playoff positions with a few surprises tucked into the mix as well. We break it all down here, including our thoughts on the curling scandal that's gripping the world and where we think the medal rounds might end up. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling, Canada's official outfitter at the 2026 Olympics and curling's largest manufacturer of apparel and curling goods. For all your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com .

The Mixed Doubles tournament at the Olympics has concluded, and history has been made as Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wranå stand alone atop the podium at the end of a crazy and chaotic week in Cortina. Rasmus becomes the seventh curler to win a second Olympic gold, Sweden becomes the second nation after Canada to win a gold in all three curling disciplines, and Cory Thiesse becomes the first American woman to win a curling medal. And what a final it was, as Bella put up a 97% stat line to carry the Swedes to the gold in a wonderful game of curling. This week also felt like the breakout party for Korey and Cory stateside and we discuss the discourse around Korey's exuberance. We also take a look at the Bronze Medal game between Italy and Great Britain, and how much it meant for the Italian curlers to win on home soil. And of course, it was a disappointing Olympics on the Mixed Doubles side for Canada, so we give our thoughts on what went wrong and respond to some of the criticism online about Canada's approach and weigh in on where things might have to change moving forward. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling, Canada's official outfitter at the 2026 Olympics and curling's largest manufacturer of apparel and curling goods. For all your curling needs, please visit goldlinecurling.com.

In our final preview of the Olympic curling event that gets underway this week, we bring it to the home front and look at Team Homan and Team Jacobs' chances in Cortina. Brad Jacobs will look to improve on last year's World Bronze and Rachel Homan is searching for her first success at the Olympics. Standing in Team Jacobs' way is World #1 Bruce Mouat, who is the defending World champion and has been the World #1 for almost the entirety of this quadrennial. And as one of the lower-ranked teams in the event, can Rebecca Morrison make her mark or is it one quad too early? We'll take a look at Great Britain's chances on both sides of the sheet, how much it might affect three of these teams to have some of their players involved in the Mixed Doubles event, and what Canada will need to do right to make the podium in Cortina. Plus, since it is our last preview, John and Robbie do the brave thing and make their final predictions for who ends up with the hardware. Special thank you to doubletakeout.com for the rankings and Shoreview Sports for the analytics. This episode is brought to you by Goldline Curling. Check out goldlinecurling.com for all your Canadian Olympic apparel, equipment, and on-ice apparel needs.