SEASON PREMIERE: In case you haven’t watched any of the previous seasons of this program, know two things. One, that it covers team play of various countries working their way to the Olympic games. Two, that curling is one of the most oddly soothing and hypnotically addicting competition events on television – right up there with darts and putting sheepdogs through their paces, but you have to watch British TV to see that stuff most of the time. This coverage of curling, that strange hybrid of shuffleboard and bowling on ice, became an Olympic sport in 1998, which is when David Letterman started making fun of it, and I started watching it in earnest, courtesy of Olympic coverage from Canada’s CBC. Tonight. For the season opener, men’s curling teams compete, representing the U.S. and China.