Like most viewers, Kodiak Technology Group CEO Daniel Field had no idea what the heck was happening the first time he saw a curling match on national television. Now, 12 years later, Field has curling fans from around the globe equally puzzled about a product his company recently helped launch: an official curling condom.

What the heck?

In a partnership with the U.S. Curling Association, Kodiak Technology Group debuted the Hurry Hard Condom in December. Named after the common chant -- "hurry hard!"-- that curlers yell at teammates to encourage faster ice sweeping, the provocative product lends a racy edge to an often-overlooked sport.

The condom is actually a fundraiser in disguise. Sold on eBay for $4.99 each, the condoms' proceeds are split between the U.S. Curling Association and Monterey County AIDS Prevention, a California organization that focuses on HIV and AIDS education.

The fundraiser/publicity stunt has already garnered international media attention, and Field expects many sports fans will buy the condom simply as a collectible or gag gift.

So what does a software holding company in Chicago have with curling? And, more importantly, curling condoms?

After the curling broadcast piqued Field's interest, he gave the sport a try about 10 years ago. The infatuation lasted. Soon Field became a team sponsor -- and spotted opportunities to corner a niche market. Kodiak Technology's holdings include Web hosting and IT startups. So Field built curling Web sites and launched the first live, online audio casting of the sport, with ex-curlers serving as announcers.

It turns out curling fanatics are a small and friendly bunch. Field says he's met a surprising number of small-business owners through the sport, some of whom have become clients.

Now a curling fan to his core, Field says the Hurry Hard condom is not about making big bucks. It's a way to spread awareness of curling, help a good cause -- and get a few clients to "laugh their butts off."

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP)—A men’s Olympic luger from Georgia crashed during training Friday and is receiving emergency treatment.

Officials said Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled, went over the wall of the track and appeared to hit a steel pole near the finish line at the Whistler Sliding Center.

Rescue officials rushed to the scene and were performing chest compressions as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Kumaritashvili was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter was summoned and was in the area over the track about eight minutes after the crash.

International luge officials did not have an immediate update on his condition. Members of the International Luge Federation were quickly called into a briefing.

It was unclear how fast Kumaritashvili was going at the time of the crash, although many sliders have reached speed in excess of 145 kph (90 mph) on the track, which is considered to be the fastest in the world—and has had several Olympians questioning how safe it truly is in recent days. More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training.

Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.

...It was a tragedy some saw coming on the super-fast track that had produced a dozen training wrecks already and had athletes wondering whether they were being put into harm’s way in a sport already built on attaining near impossible speeds. “I think they are pushing it a little too much,” Australia’s Hannah Campbell-Pegg told the Associated Press on Thursday after she nearly lost control in training. “To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we’re crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives.”

Campbell-Pegg’s words should haunt these Games. News of the death Friday reached the downtown torch relay and cast a pall on the run-up to the Opening Ceremony. It needs to force the International Olympic Committee and the local organizing committee to immediately rededicate these Games to safety. IOC president Jacques Rogge was non-committal on what would happen next with the luge, although the IOC promised a later press conference. “It’s a time of sorrow,” Rogge said. “It’s not a time to look for reasons.”

Kumaritashvili was clocked at 89.44 mph just before losing control as he exited what is called the Thunderbird turn. Some lugers have said speeds near 90 mph make maintaining control of the sled almost impossible.The track at Whistler is arguably the world’s fastest, and the danger is everywhere.

The week already had seen one incident where Italian gold medalist Armin Zoggeler lost control and had to be taken off the track with medical attention (he returned) and another that left a Romanian woman unconscious.....