The U.S. men's team is proving that curling can be dramatic too.
Team captain Tim Somerville's perfectly placed tap on the final shot of the game gave the Americans a 5-4 victory over Japan on Saturday, sending them into the Olympic semifinals against powerful Canada.
The United States, seemingly headed for a low finish in the inaugural Olympic curling tournament, has won three consecutive matches to reach the semifinals and is one victory away from a medal.
The Americans had to beat Britain in their final round-robin match and Sweden in a tiebreaker late Friday just to reach the second tiebreaker against Japan only 12 hours later.
Even if the United States loses later Saturday to Canada, the Americans can win a medal by beating the other semifinal loser--either Norway or Switzerland--in Sunday's bronze medal match.
