Call the Cops! The Americans are Stealing the Worlds!

Check out the number of stolen ends and points from stolen ends during the 2006 Women's World Curling Championship games. Through seven games (11 draws), the U.S. team has stolen 23 points on 16 stolen ends [update: 27 points on 18 ends after eight games]. Those numbers mean that, on average, the U.S. steals more than two ends per game and gets more than three points per game from steals. The U.S. leads the field in these categories.

Wow! That's pretty impressive and indicative of a very strong front end that can set up these steals [addendum: and a very good skip, who can cash in on the opportunities].

At the other extreme, it looks as if the Netherlands team is being stolen blind.

These stats are from a section at Curlcast. Click on "Reports" across the top, and then click on "Scoring Analysis" to see more.

I think I'll take a nap this afternoon (lucky thing I have a flexible work schedule!) so I can be sure to stay awake for the U.S. - Canada match, which begins at 9:30pm tonight, although the telecast may be delayed a bit by a hockey game.... grrr... 8-(