Olympic Pool RESULTS

#BetweenTheRings: Winter Olympic Pool RESULTS

Who will win the #TwineTime pool GOLD medal?

FINAL PODIUM STANDINGS: February 25

The 2018 Winter Olympics men's and women's team events are underway in PyeongChang....well actually Gangneung.  We have already seen a few upsets and surprising results.  But the bigger question perhaps is how these results are affecting the outcome of the #TwineTime Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool?

As you may be aware, for this Olympic team competition I opened up the idea of running a 50/50 pool where 50% of the entry fees would be donated to the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association.  The remaining 50% would be divided up at the end of the competition to claim our Gold, Silver and Bronze pool podium finishers.

This pool is structured where your entry was divided into three parts: Round Robin, Final Standings, The Playoffs.  To participate you needed to pick the winners of all 90 men's and women's RR games for Section A.  You would then predict the final RR standings for Section B and, finally, the playoff brackets for Section C.

It may seem like a lot but, with this format, you can afford a few RR misses along the way and still have a shot at the overall gold if you could nail the standings and podium finishes.  It won't be easy but someone is going to survive the competition on the ice and take home a pretty sweet winner's cheque.

Thank you to all those who entered the pool.  While I may have come up short in my overall donation goal, the end result is always a positive.  We are helping support the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association!!  Providing a donation, of any monetary value, can still go a long way in helping continue the athletic dreams of Canadian children living with cerebral palsy and their families.  For more information on CCPSA and more background into why this is important to me, please visit the blog post announcing the pool HERE.

At the end of the day 21 people registered to participate, equaling $420 from entry fees.  Split down the line this would come out to donation of $210 for CCPSA.  However, through a few generous donations (two from participants and one from someone who just wanted to support the cause) we were able to bump up the donation to $300!!!  Sure it is not in the $1000-range or maybe not sound super impressive but this was the first time I have attempted to run a pool and am very happy with the support received and feeling of accomplishment in raising funds for a great cause close to my heart.  Of course, if you would like to see that donation amount increase, please contact me and we can add more to the pot anytime!!  #JustSayin

Also, for those interested in seizing up the #PyeongChang2018 men's and women's fields, check out the #TwineTime blog Men's Preview and Women's Preview for a Tale of the Tape on each of the 20 teams comprising this year's Olympic field.

For our participants, the podium payouts will be as follows:

GOLD - $105

SILVER - $63

BRONZE - $42

This blog post is going to be LIVE....as in it will be updated regularly with UPDATED POOL STANDINGS!  If you are entered in the pool or just curious to see how people are doing, come back often!  Time to stop sitting in the hack and time to slide out with the results.....

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25

What an end to an exciting two weeks of Olympic action! Sweden's Team Hasselborg erased the monkey off their back of closing out big championship games in dominating Korea's Team Kim to claim the gold medal.  Congrats to Team Hasselborg!

Their win however created a TIE in our final pool standings.  Who would have thought that heading into this event?  But does it ever add an extra level of excitement and intrigue.  In the end a TB procedure came into effect and our FINAL PODIUM STANDINGS look like this:

GOLD - Shona Barbour

SILVER - #TwineTime
BRONZE - 2 Girls and a Game

Congrats once again to #PolarPower Shona Barbour on winning the 1st #TwineTime Olympic 50/50 Pool!  Extra special prop to her as well for announcing on twitter yesterday she will be donating the funds to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, a foundation many of us (myself included) donate to and support on an annual basis.  Thank you for continuing the theme of giving back Shona!

After the last rock came to a rest and as Team Sweden celebrated Olympic gold, the two curling blog/podcast teams survived the play to find themselves on the podium.  The #TwineTime blog and 2 Girls and a Game podcast wound up tied for second but, after the TB process went into effect, #TwineTime would finish ahead by 1 point!  Go figure even in a TB it would THAT close folks!!

Here are the final standings:

Position	Name	Section A		Section B		Section C	Total
1	Shona Barbour	118	-	56	-	81	255
2	TwineTime	124	-	40	-	77	241
2	2 Girls & A Game	116	-	46	-	79	241
4	Heather Jensen	110	-	41	-	80	231
5	Zander Elmes	110	-	53	-	66	229
6	Matthew Hall	118	-	48	-	59	225
7	Christine Bennett	110	-	42	-	70	222
8	Aaron Shutra	118	-	42	-	59	219
8	Brad Thiessen	108	-	44	-	67	219
8	Marilyn Healey	104	-	56	-	59	219
11	Matthew Blandford	96		54	-	66	216
12	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108	-	53	-	51	212
13	Deb Lozinski	98	-	44	-	69	211
14	Reid Carruthers	112	-	40	-	57	209
15	Courtney Bice	114	-	35	-	55	204
16	Susan Runge-McKeen	94	-	36	-	66	196
17	Val Geiss	94	-	49	-	52	195
18	Matt Dixon	112	-	34	-	47	193
19	Kerry Koe	98	-	47	-	44	189
20	CurlingGeek	100	-	32	-	52	184
21	Steph LeDrew	100	-	35	-	35	170

Special props as well to Heather Jensen.  Jensen sat in 14th place after Section A and 12th place after Section B but had a killer Section C, finishing with the second most total points (80, behind our winner with 81) and moved up eight spots to finish in 4th place!  Further proof folks, never count yourself out of a pool!!

THANK YOU once again to each and every one of those names above for entering this pool and helping give back to a great organization helping Canadian children and families.  This pool, these results and the total funds raised would not be possible without all of your support.  Perhaps we can do this again sometime?!

In closing, I am happy and excited to end up with a silver medal (one Edin win away from gold!).  As was always the plan heading into this pool, should #TwineTime emerge on the podium the winnings would in turn be donated back to our main fundraising organization, Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association!

TOTAL DONATION TO CCPSA: $363!!  😊

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24

It has happened folks.  We have crowned our Gold Medal champion!!  With USA's historic #TeamUpset victory over Sweden coupled with Japan's amazing #StealPants bronze medal win over Greaet Britain one entry has officially pulled in front and cannot be caught.

Congrats Shona Barbour!!  #PolarPower rules the pool!  Barbour has, without question, been the most consistent player this entire pool having been in first place numerous times or hovering around the top of the podium the rest of the times.  It is quite interesting how this very blog uses a key theme in the weekly #PowerRankings and this same theme proved to be the deciding factor in winning this pool: Consistency!!  We know Shona is in Korea still cheering on all of #TeamCanada....but maybe she wants to stop by and buy some drinks for both Team Shuster and Team Fujisawa for helping her clinch this victory. :)

Position	Name	Section A		Section B		Section C	Total
1	Shona Barbour	118	-	56	-	81	255
2	TwineTime	124	-	40	-	77	241
3	Zander Elmes	110	-	53	-	66	229
4	2 Girls & A Game	116	-	46	-	64	226
5	Matthew Hall	118	-	48	-	59	225
6	Christine Bennett	110	-	42	-	70	222
7	Aaron Shutra	118	-	42	-	59	219
7	Brad Thiessen	108	-	44	-	67	219
7	Marilyn Healey	104	-	56	-	59	219
10	Heather Jensen	110	-	41	-	65	216
10	Matthew Blandford	96		54	-	66	216
12	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108	-	53	-	51	212
13	Deb Lozinski	98	-	44	-	69	211
14	Reid Carruthers	112	-	40	-	57	209
15	Courtney Bice	114	-	35	-	55	204
16	Susan Runge-McKeen	94	-	36	-	66	196
17	Val Geiss	94	-	49	-	52	195
18	Matt Dixon	112	-	34	-	47	193
19	Kerry Koe	98	-	47	-	44	189
20	CurlingGeek	100	-	32	-	52	184
21	Steph LeDrew	100	-	35	-	35	170

BUT the final two spots on the podium are still up for grabs and the result will come down to the final game in PyeongChang....exactly what we hoped would happen right?  Our current 4th place team picked Sweden to win the women's gold.  If Team Hasselborg does win tonight vs. Korea, our 4th place finisher will jump into a TIE for silver!  Yup you read that correct....we would have a TIE!  Here is what could happen:

• Sweden Wins Women's Gold - 2 Girls & A Game would move into a TIE for 2nd place with #TwineTime.
• Korea Wins Women's Gold - #TwineTime would win Silver and Zander Elmes would have his own #TeamUpset moment in claiming bronze.

You may also be wondering what changed from yesterday's update to today in regards to a Top 4 NOT a Top 3.  My bad on this one folks.  I completely forget we had bonus points available for predicting bronze and gold medal winners AND correct scores.  As luck would have it, two entries correctly predicted the Swiss men winning bronze by a score of 7-5.  One of those entries, Zander Elmes, used those bonus 5 points to move into 3rd place now which could be the difference.

So, we need a Tiebreaker Formula it would appear.  Hmmm I wonder if this is how Curling Canada felt during the Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trials when they realized a whole bunch of teams were now tied for playoff spots and they needed to come up with a solution last minute?

Here is the TB procedure I believe is fair to everyone:

• Add up the TOTAL points predicted from ALL FOUR medal games (men's and women's gold and bronze medal) for each tied entry
• Add up the TOTAL ACTUAL points scored from ALL FOUR medal games in PyeongChang
• The entry with the TOTAL PREDICTED score closeest to the TOTAL ACTUAL score WITHOUT GOING OVER would win the TB.  If both entries predict over, the closest to the actual would win.

I think that process seems fair and balanced?!  As I have never hosted a pool of this format, please let me know your thoughts if you agree or disagree?  I did post this TB procedure on social media last night as well after the men's gold medal result when I noticed the tie potential heading into the women's medal games.  Crazy to see that after 98 total games played between the men's and women's draws it all comes down to one game.  Also worth noting had Sweden prevailed in the men's final (and staying with Japan winning women's bronze of course) our champion would have actually lost the gold medal by 1 point to our current second place entry (UGH!! So close).

I hope I have also mentioned this enough in the past but I want to do it again here.  THANK YOU to each and everyone one of our participants for taking the time to submit a entry and, more importantly, support the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association.  I wish I could thank each of you in person!

#StayTuned.....our FINAL podium positions are still TBD!!!  #Drama

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23

We have reached that pivotal stage of the 1st #TwineTime Olympics 50/50 Pool folks.  The podium is now within reach for some and the Olympic pool gold medal dream has officially come to an end for many.  A few days ago it was noted the bronze medal games could be the deciding factor and it appears that was a VERY accurate statement.  The Top 3 look to be our podium finishers....but the medal hanging around their necks is still to be determined.

#ButFirst the women's SF game between Sweden and Great Britain ended up having the largest impact on the top of the standings.  A Great Britain win would have changed the standings.  Unfortunately for some (and fortunate for our current leaders) Sweden dominated the game and punched their spot into the gold medal game.  The result leaves those who have Great Britain winning bronze in the driver seat.

As well, Switzerland's men's bronze medal win added crucial points to a few entries and, in one instance, moved an entry into the Top 3 and stave off elimination.  Props to 3 entries though who have scored HIGH points for a very difficult to predict Section C:

1. #TwineTime - 72 points
2. Shona Barbour - 71 points
3. Christine Bennett - 70 points

All three of these entries could add to to the already impressive Section C point totals depending on the women's medal games and the big men's gold medal game.

Here are the updated standings after the men's bronze medal game and the women's SF results:

Position	Name	Section A		Section B		Section C	Total
1	Shona Barbour	118	-	56	-	71	245
2	TwineTime	124	-	40	-	72	236
3	2 Girls & A Game	116	-	46	-	64	226
4	Matthew Hall	118	-	48	-	59	225
5	Zander Elmes	110	-	53	-	61	224
6	Christine Bennett	110	-	42	-	70	222
7	Aaron Shutra	118	-	42	-	59	219
7	Brad Thiessen	108	-	44	-	67	219
7	Marilyn Healey	104	-	56	-	59	219
10	Heather Jensen	110	-	41	-	65	216
10	Matthew Blandford	96		54	-	66	216
12	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108	-	53	-	51	212
13	Reid Carruthers	112	-	40	-	57	209
14	Courtney Bice	114	-	35	-	55	204
15	Deb Lozinski	98	-	44	-	59	201
16	Susan Runge-McKeen	94	-	36	-	66	196
17	Val Geiss	94	-	49	-	52	195
18	Matt Dixon	112	-	34	-	47	193
19	Kerry Koe	98	-	47	-	44	189
20	CurlingGeek	100	-	32	-	52	184
21	Steph LeDrew	100	-	35	-	35	170

Looking ahead, here are the results to impact the FINAL STANDINGS:

• Sweden Wins Men's Gold - #TwineTime would pick up the 15 points and move into 1st place (for now!)
• Women's Bronze Medal Game - This could be the decider.  #TwineTime and 2 Girls & A Game have Great Britain winning.  Shona Barbour has Japan winning.  This result could be the deciding factor (depending of course whether or not Sweden win's men's gold)
• Sweden Wins Women's Gold - If the results fall in favour of 2 Girls & A Game way (USA wins men's gold, Great Britain wins women's bronze) a Sweden win over host Korea would hand the gold medal to the curling podcast team!

So there you have it.  The Top 3 have pulled away from the pack BUT Gold, Silver and Bronze position is still anyone's game.  For our current leader, a USA men's gold win and Japan women's bronze would close out the title!

#StayTuned folks.....


THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22

WOW!  As the men's SF rocks stopped spinning in the house we were left with two very different story lines.  We have the pre-event co-favourite #SwedishVikings with Team Edin defeating Switzerland to advance to their first Olympic gold medal final after winning the bronze medal four years ago in Sochi.  We also have #TeamUpset flag bearer USA's Team Shuster, who knocked off (again!) Team Canada to continue their own Miracle of *Curling* Ice.

Tonight we have the toughest game in team sports when Switzerland battles Canada for bronze.  We also will see the women's SF games between #PACC rivals Korea vs. Japan and Euro rivals Sweden vs. Great Britain.

From our Olympic Pool perspective, the first part of Section C has been added to the on-going results.  These points were based solely on correctly slotting in each team into their actual spot in the men's and women's playoff bracket.  Our leader actually increased her lead and is closing in on the gold medal.  The Top 5 saw change though and the chasing group is very tight but still trailing by even more than yesterday.  But with two podium spots still on the line, who will emerge?  And can someone actually overtake our leader?  #StayTuned

Position	Name	Section A		Section B		Section C	Total
1	Shona Barbour	118	-	56	-	6	180
2	Matthew Hall	118	-	48	-	4	170
3	Zander Elmes	110	-	53	-	6	169
4	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108	-	53	-	6	167
5	2 Girls & A Game	116	-	46	-	4	166
5	TwineTime	124	-	40	-	2	166
7	Aaron Shutra	118	-	42	-	4	164
7	Marilyn Healey	104	-	56	-	4	164
9	Matthew Blandford	96		54	-	6	156
10	Brad Thiessen	108	-	44	-	2	154
10	Reid Carruthers	112	-	40	-	2	154
12	Christine Bennett	110	-	42	-	-	152
13	Heather Jensen	110	-	41	-	-	151
14	Courtney Bice	114	-	35	-	-	149
14	Kerry Koe	98	-	47	-	4	149
16	Matt Dixon	112	-	34	-	2	148
17	Deb Lozinski	98	-	44	-	4	146
18	Val Geiss	94	-	49	-	2	145
19	Susan Runge-McKeen	94	-	36	-	6	136
20	Steph LeDrew	100	-	35	-	-	135
21	CurlingGeek	100	-	32	-	2	134

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21

My apologies for the Standings Update friends!  Long work day coupled with an epic women's hockey gold medal game equal delay of results.  First off, props to Team USA on the gold medal win and congrats to Team Canada on winning silver.  Speaking as a Canadian, we congratulate the US players and say see you at #Beijing2022!

Now back to curling.  Yesterday (or the day before yesterday?) the RR wrapped up thus ending Section A of our pool.  Overall it was a very successful day for the vast majority of pool participants.  It was a positive way to end the RR too considering the day before was a struggle.  Our leader held onto top spot at the end of Section A:

Position	Name	Section A
1	TwineTime	124
2	Aaron Shutra	118
2	Matthew Hall	118
2	Shona Barbour	118
5	2 Girls & A Game	116
6	Courtney Bice	114
7	Matt Dixon	112
7	Reid Carruthers	112
9	Christine Bennett	110
9	Heather Jensen	110
9	Zander Elmes	110
12	Brad Thiessen	108
12	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108
14	Marilyn Healey	104
15	CurlingGeek	100
15	Steph LeDrew	100
17	Deb Lozinski	98
17	Kerry Koe	98
19	Matthew Blandford	96
20	Susan Runge-McKeen	94
20	Val Geiss	94

But what have I been telling all of you since the beginning?  Section A will not win nor necessarily lose you this pool.  Section B could ultimately become the deciding factor.  Section B was the triple threat in point possibility with points not only awarded for predicting each playoff team but bonus points on the line for predicting the final placement of each team in the tournament (after RR of course) and correctly pinning down each nation's Win/Loss record (never an easy feat).

A few props need to be made here.  Here were the highest scoring entries for each of the three Section B point opportunities:

Win/Loss:  Marilyn Healey - 14 points (2 points/correct record)
Ranking:  Phil Darin and Zander Elmes - 18 points (3 points/each correct standing position)
Playoff Teams:  Shona Barbour - 35 points (5 points/playoff team)

Amazing results and all 4 of you should buy lottery tickets this week.  This was a TOUGH field on both men's and women's sides and being that accurate on each of these headings is no easy task.  Worth noting, Shona Barbour nailed 7 of 8 overall playoff participants folks!  THAT is incredible.

Here were the top point winners for JUST Section B:

Position	Name	Section B
1	Marilyn Healey	56
1	Shona Barbour	56
3	Matthew Blandford	54
4	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	53
4	Zander Elmes	53
6	Val Geiss	49
7	Matthew Hall	48
8	Kerry Koe	47
9	2 Girls & A Game	46
10	Brad Thiessen	44
10	Deb Lozinski	44
12	Aaron Shutra	42
12	Christine Bennett	42
14	Heather Jensen	41
15	Reid Carruthers	40
15	TwineTime	40
17	Susan Runge-McKeen	36
18	Courtney Bice	35
18	Steph LeDrew	35
20	Matt Dixon	34
21	CurlingGeek	32

A giant happy spin of the rock to Marilyn Healey and Shona Barbour for their strong Section B results.  For Marilyn, she entered the day in 12th place and, after Section A results were tabulated, was sitting in 14th place.  Yet, look at that strong Section B result of 56 points!  And Shona Barbour....well this just seems like her pool to win perhaps?  She has been the most consistent since the beginning sitting at or near the top of the standings the entire time.  Amazing!  As for our Section A leader, well I struggled mightily here.....threw that rock right through the house when I could have had an open draw for a big lead.  Might just be my own demise though.

When we add up our Section A and Section B results, here is our new Leaderboard:

Position	Name	Section A		Section B		Total
1	Shona Barbour	118	-	56	-	174
2	Matthew Hall	118	-	48	-	166
3	TwineTime	124	-	40	-	164
4	Zander Elmes	110	-	53	-	163
5	2 Girls & A Game	116	-	46	-	162
6	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	108	-	53	-	161
7	Aaron Shutra	118	-	42	-	160
7	Marilyn Healey	104	-	56	-	160
9	Brad Thiessen	108	-	44	-	152
9	Christine Bennett	110	-	42	-	152
9	Reid Carruthers	112	-	40	-	152
12	Heather Jensen	110	-	41	-	151
13	Matthew Blandford	96		54	-	150
14	Courtney Bice	114	-	35	-	149
15	Matt Dixon	112	-	34	-	146
16	Kerry Koe	98	-	47	-	145
17	Val Geiss	94	-	49	-	143
18	Deb Lozinski	98	-	44	-	142
19	Steph LeDrew	100	-	35	-	135
20	CurlingGeek	100	-	32	-	132
21	Susan Runge-McKeen	94	-	36	-	130

As expected based on Section B (and as I have been saying for a few days), we have a NEW leader heading into the final part of our pool.  Well not new to the top so maybe we have a familiar name regaining the lead I should say.  Shona Barbour has an 8 point lead and, with accurately predicting 7 of the 8 playoff teams, she also has the most points to gain in Section C.  Can anyone catch her?  While our Section A winner has dropped into the bronze medal position overall.

We have a very tight battle for our silver and bronze podium positions.  My assumption here is this pool may just come down to which teams take home the men's and women's bronze medals.  Weird to think Olympic bronze will decide the #TwineTime Olympic Pool gold?!

The playoff round gets underway tonight with the men.  We have Sweden (Team Edin) taking on Switzerland (Team de Cruz), fresh off their earlier TB win over Great Britain.  And we have another #BorderBattle between Canada (Team Koe) and USA (Team Shuster).

Who needs sleep right?

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20

First off, my apologies for the delay in updating the standings.  Back to work today and could not get to the update until I got home.  And a pre-warning for tomorrow folks.....I have a 14 hour work day so the final Section A and Section B updated standings will be delaying until later in the evening.  BUT I promise to get the update done!!  Bare with me though please :)  I actually have back to back 14 hour work days coming up....ugh.....

Well collectively the PyeongChang results dominated our entry field with the top score being 6 out of 10 with the majority of entries going 50%.....we even had a few pocket only 2 or 3 out of 10.  It was a tough day for our poolers.  Poolers?  Poolsters?  What is the correct term here?

Anyways....we have 3 entries cracking the 100 point plateau and we have 1 outright leader heading into the final day of RR play.  This is FAR from over though folks.  The Section B results could actually prove to be the different maker between a podium position and a millennial participation ribbon.  Before revealing the updated standings, I thought it would be worth summarizing the Top 4 predictions collectively made by our entries.

MEN'S TEAM	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Canada	11	9	1
Denmark			1
Great Britain			1	2
Norway		1	1	8
Korea			1	1
Sweden	10	10	1
Switzerland		1	14	1
USA			1	9

WOMEN'S TEAM	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Canada	13	5	3
Great Britain	2	8	2	4
Japan			1	4
OAR				1
Korea			1	2
Sweden	4	8	7	2
Switzerland	2		6	7
USA			1	1

The selections for finishing in first after the RR are overwhelming for the women: Canada!  While Great Britain and Sweden securing a tie for most votes in second.  Canada and Sweden are also the only women's teams to receive a Top 4 vote on every entry!  And look at Korea....only 3 people even have them reaching the playoffs and they are going to finish top of the standings.  #TeamUpset!!

As for the men, as expected Canada and Sweden basically split the votes between first and second and also show up as playoff teams in all received entries.  Apparently the vast majority of us thought the Swiss were a good bet to finish 3rd....what a crazy one-sided stat!  And Norway/USA were the top bets to round out the playoff bracket.  Sweden has already locked up first place so those 10 entries must be feeling really confident right now.  A Canada victory over Denmark tonight would solidify them in 2nd.  That one random 3rd place vote?  Yup that was me....I'll own it!  It matches the lone Swiss vote for second though LOL  I thought the Swiss would defeat Canada in the RR and, when they finished tied with identical records at the end of the RR, Swiss would own the TB to be awarded 2nd...almost happened!

Ok so what are the standings now you ask?  While I also added a bit of extra info into the standings.  Besides the current point totals, you will also find below the predictions for the Gold and Bronze medal winners per entry.  Combine that info with the info above, factor in your own predictions, and you can start to make some assumptions on how you are looking heading into the home stretch....and perhaps which teams you may want to be cheering for to help you land the Gold Medal of this pool.

Position	Name	Total	GOLD - MEN	GOLD - WOMEN	Bronze - Men	Bronze - Women
1	TwineTime	104	Sweden	Canada	Switzerland	Great Britain
2	Aaron Shutra	100	Canada	Canada	Norway	Great Britain
2	Shona Barbour	100	Canada	Canada	USA	Japan
4	Matthew Hall	98	Canada	Great Britain	Switzerland	Sweden
5	2 Girls & A Game	96	Canada	Sweden	USA	Great Britain
5	Christine Bennett	96	Canada	Canada	Switzerland	Great Britain
5	Courtney Bice	96	Canada	Canada	Norway	Great Britain
5	Matt Dixon	96	Canada	Canada	Switzerland	Sweden
5	Reid Carruthers	96	Sweden	Canada	Korea	Great Britain
10	Zander Elmes	94	Canada	Canada	Switzerland	Sweden
11	Heather Jensen	92	Canada	Sweden	Switzerland	Switzerland
12	Brad Thiessen	90	Canada	Canada	Switzerland	Great Britain
12	Marilyn Healey	90	Sweden	Canada	Switzerland	Switzerland
14	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	88	Sweden	Canada	USA	Switzerland
15	CurlingGeek	86	Canada	Canada	USA	Switzerland
16	Kerry Koe	84	Canada	Canada	USA	Great Britain
16	Matthew Blandford	84	Canada	Canada	USA	OAR
16	Steph LeDrew	84	Canada	Canada	Sweden	Switzerland
19	Deb Lozinski	82	Canada	Canada	Norway	Japan
20	Val Geiss	80	Canada	Canada	Norway	Sweden
21	Susan Runge-McKeen	78	Canada	Canada	Switzerland	Switzerland

When we break it down, only 4 people selected Sweden's Niklas Edin to take home the gold....which could also play as a deciding factor in the final result.  Everyone selected Canada's Rachel Homan to take gold except Matthew Hall (Great Britain) and Heather Jensen (Sweden), which also could be a different maker.  Add in the factor both of them selected Canada's Kevin Koe to take gold.

The true wildcard may be the bronze medal though.  Switzerland, USA and Norway almost split the votes here but with Switzerland/USA still fighting for their playoff lives and Norway eliminated, who knows what will happen?  Similar for the women.  Switzerland and Great Britain seemed to be the overall top choice for the bronze medal; however the Swiss are already eliminated and Team GB is still fighting to make the playoffs.  Basically, anything can still happen here folks!

Can we give props to Matt Blandford for selecting OAR to take home the women's bronze Reid Carruthers for selecting Korea to take home the men's bronze?  See folks...these are two well-respected curlers on tour and even they can miss the mark sometimes!  :)

Enjoy the final day of RR action and Good Luck!!

MONDAY FEBRUARY 19

Is the field getting the best of our pool participants?  It sure feels that way over the past few days.  But this should have been expected as well.  The men's and women's fields are very close and, regardless of overall record right now, don't we still have the impression any team can beat any other team every draw?  Nobody is really pulling away.  Canada's men and women are going in opposite directions still, with the men now on a 3 game losing streak and the women winning.  Sweden's men suffered their first loss while the women have now dropped two in a row.  And how many of us saw Korea's women sitting in first place?  Looking at the draw, they may not lose another game heading into the playoffs.  What a story!!  Did you pick them to make the playoffs?  I know some entries did!

Looking at our standings, we have a logjam at the top.  Yesterday's leader barely stayed on top but is joined by someone who held down the top of the mountain a few days ago.  In fact that entry has been at or near the top of the table every day proving to be the most consistent and accurate of all.  But will she hold on and claim the gold at the end of the competition?  Wait and see!

Our Top 5 is very similar to the day before with a few dropping back but a few rising up.  We are also seeing some separation between the Top 10 and the Bottom 10 now.  Can those ranked outside the Top 10 make a late push to get back into contention or will those at the top stay in the money hunt?  Lots of curling still to come....and remember start paying attention to your Section B predictions.  Those could move you from 18th place to 3rd VERY quickly!

1	Shona Barbour	92
1	TwineTime	92
3	2 Girls & A Game	90
3	Aaron Shutra	90
3	Matthew Hall	90
6	Matt Dixon	88
6	Zander Elmes	88
8	Christine Bennett	86
8	Courtney Bice	86
8	Reid Carruthers	86
11	Heather Jensen	82
11	Marilyn Healey	82
13	Brad Thiessen	80
13	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	80
15	CurlingGeek	78
15	Deb Lozinski	78
17	Steph LeDrew	76
18	Kerry Koe	74
18	Matthew Blandford	74
20	Val Geiss	72
21	Susan Runge-McKeen	70

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18

Wow yesterday was a tough one for most of the pool participants.  The average score for the day was around 10, meaning most entries only correctly predicted 5 of the 10 matches played.  Yesterday's leader remains in the money position but a new leader emerged posting a perfect 10/10 yesterday.  Further proof, you only need one strong day to get you right back in this competition curling fans....just ask Team Homan!!

This is where things get interesting.  As the RR continues, upsets will occur.  Teams fighting for the Olympic playoff lives could rise up and wither under the pressure.  Can those nations at the top stay there or do they start feeling pressure as well?  And did our entrants accurately predict the upsets we know are coming in the next few days?

Take note as well, regardless of where you stand now pay more attention to your Section B Final Standings picks.  Even if you have an average result in Section A, if the results still pan out and the final standings and playoff teams you predicted end up correct there are LOTS of points on the board waiting for you.  Perhaps start cheering for your final standings over your RR W/L predictions?

1	TwineTime	80
2	Shona Barbour	78
3	Matthew Hall	76
4	2 Girls & A Game	74
4	Aaron Shutra	74
4	Christine Bennett	74
4	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	74
8	Courtney Bice	72
8	Matt Dixon	72
8	Zander Elmes	72
11	Reid Carruthers	70
12	Deb Lozinski	68
12	Heather Jensen	68
12	Marilyn Healey	68
15	Brad Thiessen	66
15	CurlingGeek	66
15	Kerry Koe	66
15	Steph LeDrew	66
19	Susan Runge-McKeen	64
20	Matthew Blandford	62
20	Val Geiss	62

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 17

We headed into the ice centre with a 5-way tie for first place yesterday and, when the final rock settled on three draws of play, one emerged with the overall lead.

Three entries also went 10 for 12 with their predictions, including our new overall leader and another entrant who moved into the Top 3.  We are starting to see some separation from the top to the bottom; however, one strong day can put you right back into money contention.  The other tie for the top entry?  Lets just say he isn't all about writing on the sport....he may know a thing or two as well ᷾😏

We saw Team Canada's women pick up their first win, which was pretty unanimous across the board.  China's women went 2-0 and caused a bit of a #TeamUpset result.  And, interestingly enough, most of the participants actually predicted a Swedish men's W over Canada!  Bit surprised there.

Always remember though #NoLeadIsSafe in this type of pool structure.  Could we see a new leader emerge once again after today's three draws or can our current leader fight off the pack?

1	Shona Barbour	68
2	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	66
3	2 Girls & A Game	64
3	Matthew Hall	64
5	Christine Bennett	62
5	Zander Elmes	62
7	Aaron Shutra	60
7	Matt Dixon	60
7	TwineTime	60
10	Courtney Bice	58
10	Heather Jensen	58
10	Marilyn Healey	58
13	Brad Thiessen	56
13	Deb Lozinski	56
13	Kerry Koe	56
13	Reid Carruthers	56
13	Steph LeDrew	56
18	CurlingGeek	52
18	Matthew Blandford	52
18	Susan Runge-McKeen	52
21	Val Geiss	50

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16

We have a shake-up on the leaderboard folks.  As mentioned yesterday, nobody should feel too comfortable with their position this early in the tournament.  Yesterday's leader took a tumble while a crop of contenders seized the opportunity and rose to the top.  In fact, we know have a 5-way tie for 1st place!!

Nothing was rotten in the state of Denmark yesterday!  Denmark can take some credit for the up's and down's of pool participants.  While nobody saw the Denmark women winning vs Canada, the men's victory over Italy was the real game changer of the day.  Those who predicted the Denmark win gained ground while those who predicted an Italy win took a small tumble.

Lots of games left folks.  As is the case with mixed doubles, I think we can assume the motto of this pool is going to be #NoLeadIsSafe!

1	Christine Bennett	48
1	Matthew Hall	48
1	Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	48
1	Shona Barbour	48
1	Zander Elmes	48
6	Aaron Shutra	46
6	Steph LeDrew	46
8	2 Girls & A Game	44
8	Courtney Bice	44
8	CurlingGeek	44
8	Heather Jensen	44
8	Kerry Koe	44
13	Brad Thiessen	42
13	Deb Lozinski	42
13	Marilyn Healey	42
13	Matt Dixon	42
17	Susan Runge-McKeen	40
17	TwineTime	40
17	Val Geiss	40
20	Reid Carruthers	38
21	Matthew Blandford	36

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 15

The opening two days of competition are complete with both the men and women completing three draws apiece.  There were certainly a few upsets over the opening two days weren't there?  Who would have thought Team Canada's Rachel Homan would be 0-2?  None of our participants that's for sure!  What about Japan's women being 3-0?  Switzerland's men and women struggling out of the gate?  And how about Italy's men?  They are 2-1 right now....and only 1 of our entrants predicted them to defeat USA yesterday!

Now, as everyone knows, predicting each correct W along the RR gains you 2 points.  But this competition really will not be won or lost in Section A.  I have participated in this type of pool before and, after Section A, I was in the middle to bottom of the pack.  However, I was almost 100% correct on Section B and nailed most of Section C to come back and win the entire pool.  What I am saying is, don't let these early results and standings rattle you!  This is a long competition and this drive for the podium is far from over!!

Nobody is batting 1.000....and who could given Homan is 0-2, Italy is 2-1 and Japan is 3-0?!  We have a VERY close race after the opening 6 draws.  A familiar face is sitting at the top though.  #TwineTime fam member Kerry Galusha has the early lead....by a very slim 2 point margin (or 1 game) over a crowded 6-person tie for second.  On the flip side, the bottom of the standings have a few familiar names and might be surprising.  We have two upcoming #Brier2018 participants, a #TwineTime fam member....oh and the blog host himself #ugh

Here are the current standings:

Kerry Koe	34
Aaron Shutra	32
Courtney Bice	32
Matthew Hall	32
Shona Barbour	32
Steph LeDrew	32
Zander Elmes	32
2 Girls & A Game	30
Christine Bennett	30
CurlingGeek	30
Marilyn Healey	30
Matt Dixon	30
Phil Darin (NerdCurl)	30
Deb Lozinski	28
Heather Jensen	28
Susan Runge-McKeen	28
Val Geiss	28
Matthew Blandford	26
Reid Carruthers	26
TwineTime	26
Brad Thiessen	24

Quite the logjam really and with only 24 of 90 RR games played, expect a lot of movement....unless you are Kerry Galusha perhaps?  She may just sit at the top of the table for the entire duration.  She did knock off #TwineTime in the Olympic Trials preview earlier this season remember.  Plus, she is in Korea cheering on brother Kevin and the #TeamCanada brigade.

Again thanks goes out to each of these people for taking the time to submit an entry and supporting a great cause.  I truly do wish you all the best of luck.....but still maybe one or two wins behind me (if I ever start getting these picks correct that is?!).

#StayTuned folks!!