Could this be the end of curling's pre-modern era? What started as a profanity-laced confrontation on the ice has exposed fundamental questions about tradition, fairness, and whether human officiating can keep pace with the precision required at the Olympic level.

The controversy ignited during a men's match when Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian third Marc Kennedy of "double-touching" the stone, a violation where a player's hand contacts the granite after the allowed point to influence its trajectory. Kennedy responded with an expletive-filled dismissal, telling Eriksson to "f*** off". Canada won the match 8-6, but footage from Swedish broadcaster SVT appeared to show Kennedy's finger grazing the stone after release, and the exchange caught on broadcast microphones earned Team Canada a warning for improper conduct.

The drama took a turn when Kennedy suggested Sweden had premeditated the plan to catch Canada in the act. Internet rumors swirled about intentional sabotage of the Canadians, though Swedish broadcaster SVT clarified the footage came from a standard camera filming from the stands after Swedish players raised concerns early in the match.

What followed was chaos. World Curling deployed two extra officials to stand directly at the hog lines, resulting in stones being removed from Canada's Rachel Homan and Great Britain's Bobby Lammie in subsequent matches. Homan was incredulous after her first stone was pulled during an 8-7 loss to Switzerland, stating there was a "zero percent chance" she touched it and suggesting officials were "making something up". The increased scrutiny became so distracting that World Curling rolled back the policy within 48 hours, now only monitoring deliveries if a team specifically requests it.

The pushback from athletes has been swift and divided. Great Britain's Hammy McMillan Jr. advocated for a challenge system similar to tennis, arguing it would ensure officials are "dead certain" before penalizing teams and make curling feel more "modernized." Team USA's Luc Violette noted that "the hand's quicker than the eye" and expressed strong support for embracing technology to catch split-second violations human officials might miss.

But traditionalists warn that video review would disrupt the flow of the game and erode the "Spirit of Curling," which relies on athletes' self-policing. Britain’s Sophie Jackson and Sweden's Johanna Heldin expressed concerns that reviews would slow down a sport already struggling to maintain pace for television viewers.

The question is no longer whether curling should modernize its officiating, but whether the sport can maintain its traditional identity while ensuring fairness at the highest level. The chaotic 48 hours in Cortina proved that human officiating at maximum scrutiny creates more problems than it solves, and the calls for technology are only getting louder.

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🏒 Value in Olympic Hockey Props

The Olympic men's hockey tournament has reached the qualification playoff stage, and the shift from round-robin to single-elimination creates a whole new dynamic. Olympic hockey compresses roles, expands ice time for top players, and forces teams into urgent, high-volume offensive approaches when facing elimination. Let's break down four player props where the matchup dynamics and role expansions create value.

Czechia vs Denmark: Nikolaj Ehlers Anytime Goal Scorer (+175)

Nikolaj Ehlers has been the engine driving Denmark's offensive production throughout Milano Cortina. He's coming off a clutch performance in Denmark's 4-2 victory over Latvia, where he netted his first career Olympic goal and the game-winner. His 19:51 average time on ice is the second-highest among all Danish forwards, and that heavy workload ensures he's on the ice for every critical offensive situation.

Ehlers' NHL production with the Carolina Hurricanes this season backs up his Olympic form: 43 points in 57 games with 14 Goals. He's shown a high ceiling for scoring outbursts, including a hat trick against Florida on January 16th. More importantly, Denmark has proven throughout this tournament that they can hang with the world's best. They led the United States 2-1 in the second period and they also pushed Germany to the limit despite a 3-1 final.

The Danish squad relies heavily on their NHL core of Ehlers, Lars Eller, and Oliver Bjorkstrand to generate offense. Ehlers will see power play time, critical offensive zone faceoffs, and likely north of 20 minutes. 

Sweden vs Latvia: Zemgus Girgensons Over 0.5 Assists (+110)

This is a classic case of role expansion creating betting value. While Girgensons serves as a bottom-six grinder for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL, his role in Milano Cortina is vastly different. He's currently Latvia's number one center, and the jump in his usage and production is staggering. He's averaging over 21 minutes on ice per game, more than six minutes above his Tampa Bay workload, and has set up 4 of Latvia's 7 tournament goals so far.

Girgensons has a 100% hit rate on this prop through the preliminary round. With his assist against Denmark, he tied the legendary Sandis Ozolinsh for the most career Olympic assists (4) by a Latvian skater in the NHL era. Tomorrow's game against Sweden gives Girgensons a chance to stand alone as the most prolific Latvian playmaker in Olympic history.

Latvian captain Kaspars Daugavins has emphasized that while they're underdogs, they remain "disciplined, physical, and opportunistic." Latvia famously upset Sweden 3-1 in the 2023 World Championship quarterfinals. While rosters have changed, the belief in the Latvian locker room is high, and Girgensons is the player they rely on to facilitate offense.

At +110, you're getting plus money on a prop that has cashed in every preliminary game, driven by a player whose ice time and role expansion make him central to every Latvian offensive possession.

🌲 The Pine Line

🏀 The best player doesn’t care about the all-star game. And he’s probably not going to change. 

👑 Michael Jordan is a champion again. This ring didn’t come on the hardcourt.

⛷️ Even the world’s greatest make mistakes. Not all of them have such an epic collapse.

🏒 Skaters need to remember this isn’t the NHL. The International Hockey Federation doesn’t love what they’re seeing.

🏎️ Lights out in three short weeks. We could be in for a bumpy start to the season. 

⛸️ Olympic Speed Skating Best Bets

by Ed Egros 👉️ Follow on X @EdWithSports

For those upgrading TV subscription services and staying up all night to track down where the Americans would medal, speed skating is near the top of the list thanks to skaters like Jordan Stolz.

Meet Jordan Stolz

Even before Milan lit the torch, a lot was expected from the Wisconsin native.  At 18 years old, he became the youngest champion of the 500-meter event at the 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships.  

At this year’s games, he’s already set Olympic records in the 500m and 1000m en route to a pair of gold medals.  

And he may not be finished.  Stolz is a -3000 favorite on FanDuel in the 1500m and a more modest -125 favorite in the mass start.  It hasn’t happened often, but Stolz could snag four gold medals in a single Games, just one shy of the record held by American Eric Heiden in 1980.  

Should You Bet on Stolz?

While the 1500m seems like a sure thing, there’s too much variance for me to feel comfortable betting the favorite for the mass start.  Because so many skaters are competing simultaneously and generating tons of chaos, some participants can work as a team to block the obvious favorite from putting together his signature sprint.  It has nothing to do with Stolz, it has everything to do with how unpredictable the mass start is.

However, there are several other events where money can be made.  Here’s what Jaxon’s AI tools and I have identified: 

Men’s Team Pursuit to Win Gold: United States (-115)

Stolz is just one example of how elite the speed skating program is in the states.  Several other speed skaters have performed admirably these Games, and the team’s pursuit should be no different.  

Emery Lehman, Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran are executing a revolutionary American strategy for competing in this event, where three skaters line up mere inches apart and literally push the skater in front of them throughout the race, hand on their rear, staying in complete sync.  It’s akin to bump drafting in NASCAR.

It’s been largely successful; it helped vault the U.S. from eighth in the world to first.  However, Italy has only slightly longer odds to go with home-ice advantage and a win over the Americans as recently as the semifinals.  Still, Lehman, Dawson and Cepuran have arguably shown more consistency leading up to the Olympics.  

The race should come down to these two teams, and I’m backing the Stars and Stripes.

Women’s 1500m Short Track to Win Gold: Xandra Velzeboer (+200)

Xandra Velzeboer has already won gold in the 500m and 1000m.  Fellow Dutch skater Jens van‘t Wout has also collected hardware.  Velzeboer has been excellent at navigating crashes and showing elite speed.

The Netherlands has historically dominated long-track speed skating, having won 133 Olympic medals prior to these Games (at least 40 more than any other country).  However, Velzeboer is showing the Dutch know how to dominate short-track as well. Her natural skills combined with the team around her suggest another gold medal is coming her way.

Have you been watching?

Let us know which Olympic Events you’ve been making money on, or even just watching for enjoyment, by tagging us on X @PineSports_AI! Are you signing up for beginner lessons at your local curling center yet?