#BetweenTheSheets: Defend, Defend, Defend
Pressure is on. Can teams defend the points earned a year ago?
The point system and ranking debate rages on rock heads. More "elite" curlers are discussing the hot topic. More journalists are now writing about it. More athletes are being interviewed and being more forthcoming with their opinion and thoughts.
And #TwineTime is over here going, "Where was all this 3 years ago?!?" This blog has been making the same comments, drawing attention to the same inequalities and issues for 3 years. Frankly it is about time this topic hits the ice. The current system does not work. Point. Blank. Period.
But rather than continue making the same talking points over and over and over again, lets focus on another aspect of the #TourTier system often overlooked. The #DefendTheIce position.
With the proposed #TwineTime system, teams only collect points based on a 52-week period. So points earned over the same weekend last year are now erased from your team point total this year. This can be both an advantage and disadvantage depending what happened one year ago.
For a team who struggled, or did not compete, consider it your lucky day. You can now erase those measly 10 points earned from picking up 1 or 2 wins at an event (again depends on the event) and reach the playoff round this year to see you pick up 45 or 90 or 180 or 360 or 500 or 1000 points. You can jump up the rankings this year with a nice deep playoff run or tournament win.
But lets look at the flip side. What if you were the winner last year? You picked up those 500 or 1000 points. Now the pressure is on you to #DefendTheIce and retain those points. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose. As the blog says, consistency, consistency, consistency will be the key to now only climbing the #PowerRankings mountain but having longevity on it.
Lets take a look at a few teams competing this weekend who have almost little to gain but lots to lose based on their results.
At the Swiss Cup, Team Edin comes in as defending champion. This is a #Tour1000 event. They need to #DefendTheIce to retain those 1000 points. If they falter and only reach the SF, they pick up 360 but lose the 1000, meaning a SF result actually costs them 640 ranking points. On the current #PowerRankings, only 500 points separates 4th place Edin from 7th place Team Paterson. A SF result this weekend, coupled with strong results from Paterson and Team De Cruz, could see Edin fall to #7 or lower. With a SF finish!
The similar fate could happen to Russia's Team Kovaleva in Vernon. They are the defending champs of a #Tour1000 event. They are returning to #DefendTheIce. The pressure is on them to hold onto those valuable ranking points or risk falling further down the ranking mountain. There is pressure one year later to continue producing strong results.
Lets go one level deeper. Look at two defending champions this weekend: Team Carruthers (now known as McEwen) and Team Dunstone. Both of these teams decided to compete in South Korea this week. Both will not #DefendTheIce in Toronto and Vernon respectfully.
For Team McEwen, they will not defend the 1000 points earned from winning the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard last season. Yes they did pick up the tour title in South Korea but that event was only a #Tour500 event. They claimed another championship the same week as a title they won last year BUT they actually lose 500 ranking points from it. This is scheduling at its finest. The team made the decision to compete in South Korea rather than defend points earned at a bigger event.
For Team Dunstone, they decided to not defend the 500 points earned winning the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic but rather try to win the 500 points in South Korea. They failed to make the playoffs over seas and their ranking points will take a hit because of it. Now, to be fair, they could have played in Vernon and had a similar result so the decision to play in South Korea seems less of a direct impact compared to McEwen.
And yes I get this is all hypothetical and, as one curler from a team mentioned above pointed out to me a few years ago, "your rankings are not what matter anyway." Very true! But the point being made is still of value.
This proposed system puts extra emphasis on proper scheduling coupled with the pre-determined #TourTier system. Teams can make the choice to #DefendTheIce at a Tour 500 or Tour 250 event or take the risk and compete at a higher event hoping to make up ranking ground on those above them. Or, vice versa, teams can make the choice for the experience of competing at a different event in a new country but own the risk of losing ranking points for the experience. #Choices
Agree? Disagree? The conversation is at least happening now. But the situations identified above are the real-time results of a #TourTier system. Some like it. Some do not. To have fair discussions on new ideas, we have to look at it from all angles.
Personally I like the 52-week ranking system with events pre-determined under the #TourTier system. I think it cleans up a lot of the speculation and guessing game under the current system. It puts ownership back in the hands of the teams and athletes. They schedule as they want. #DefendTheIce or don't. You know the risks of how you make your season schedule from the beginning. Smart scheduling, strong results and consistency, consistency, consistency can lead a team to the apex of the Power Ranking mountain.
Ok back to the ice and what to expect this weekend.
Are you ready for a full weekend of curling action. We have #Tour1000 events, #Tour500 events and #Tour250 events. We have events in Canada, USA, Switzerland and Finland. Welcome to October....or maybe we should just call it ROCK-tober!
#TourLifePredictions
MEN
#SwissCup Basel (Tour 1000)
Basel, SUI
2018 Champion: Team Edin
Format: 32 team triple knockout with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Mouat, Team Edin, Team De Cruz, Team Paterson, Team Muirhead, Team Schwaller
#Fav:
Have to go with the defending champs as the favourites here. The #SwedishVikings will look to #DefendTheIce and the 1000 points that go along with winning this event. Team Edin do enter with a bit of a question mark though. We have only seen them once this season and that was WAY back in Week 5 competing in Baden, where they lost the final. Most of their competition this weekend have been on the ice a lot more than the world champs. Will the time off hurt or hinder them? Edin has won this event two of the past three years (2016, 2018) and reached the QF back in 2017. Expect to see this team in the playoffs.
#TeamUpset:
In a 31 team field there has to be a few upset contenders ready to fly the flag right? This is quickly becoming a tradition for this section of the event previews but it has merit. The #NextGen movement could be strong in Basel, led by a strong young Norwegian skip. Magnus Ramsfjell is the four-time defending Norwegian junior champ, including winning a world bronze in 2017. He has teamed up with former Team Ulsrud vice Torger Nergaard this season, a perfect mentor for the young skip. With their draw, do not be surprised to see them in an A-side SF. A few other skips who competed at the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships could surprise here as well. Switzerland's Marco Hoesli has a new front-end but the same Hoesli-combo back end, joined by brother Phillip. Remember Hoesli reached the world junior final last year, coming up short against Canada's Team Tardi. Also keep an eye on Germany's Sixten Totzek. Totzek skipped the Germany junior team at the world championships and this season he is partnered back up with Marc Muskatewitz. They come here fresh off a SF appearance last weekend in Estonia.
Of course do not forget the #TeamUpset flag bearer from last year's event either, Spain's Sergio Vez. Vez became the first Spaniard to skip his team into a #wct playoff bracket. It was an unfortunate QF ending of course when the team could not actually play their QF game due to being unable to push back travel/work plans, handing their opponent (Team Edin) a walkover W. If Vez can win the opening round game he would draw Edin in the second round. The QF we never saw!
#W2W4:
This is a strong European field. All the big boys are here, most looking to defend major points from a year ago. There are a handful of #TeamUpset contenders as well. But also a long list of teams who sometimes fly under the radar when an event is full of the "big names". Netherlands' Team van Dorp is a great example. They have had success here in the past. QF result last year. SF result the year prior. Finalists in 2015. They could draw De Cruz in their second round match. And what about Scotland's Team Muirhead? We have not seen them at all this season but they sit #11 on the Power Rankings. Last year they only picked up 2 wins here so this is a great opportunity for them to do better and gain some big ranking points, especially against a few teams currently ahead of them on the mountain. And watch out for Russian champ Sergei Glukhov. Glukhov won a tour event last season and finished 9th at the 2019 world championship. The curling world has not been accustomed to seeing a strong competing men's team from Russia but this could be the time for a break through.
And what about Team De Cruz? The story line remains the same for the top Swiss team. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Bronze at the world championships, three times over (2014, 2017, 2019). SF at two #gsoc events last year (Tour Challenge, Players' Championship). And three straight SF finishes at this event. Earlier this season they also had SF finishes in Baden and at the Shorty Jenkins. Can this team finally overcome the SF haunting?
Qualifiers: Team De Cruz, Team Edin, Team Mouat, Team Schwaller, Team Paterson, Team Ramsfjell, Team van Dorp, Team Muskatewitz
Championship: Team De Cruz def. Team Edin
#StuSellsTO Tankard (Tour 1000)
Toronto, ON
2018 Champion: Team Carruthers
Format: 24 team triple knockout with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Koe, Team Epping, Team Gushue, Team Jacobs, Team Gunnlaugson, Team Muyres
#Fav:
Most people may tag the defending Canadian champs as the favourites here but there is another top contender who has a claim to the favourite title. Team Gushue has had great success at this event in the past. They won this event in 2017 and 2016. Well 2016 was skipped by Mark Nichols while Brad Gushue was recovering from his injury. But still a championship for the team from The Rock nonetheless. We have only seen this team once this season, reaching the QF at the Shorty Jenkins (same as Team Koe). They are in the same top half of the bracket together too so we could see an A-qualifier battle between two of the top contenders.
#TeamUpset:
First glance you go with the #TeamUpset flag bearer from last season right? Nova Scotia's Stuart Thompson is back and looking to defend his points from the finals appearance in 2018. The Bluenose boys also come to Toronto fresh off a #wct title last weekend in their home province. A second round battle with Team Jacobs could be fun.
But also lets keep our eyes on two #NextGen teams in the field. Scotland's Ross Whyte is the two-time defending Scottish junior champ. The past two years he finished with a 9-0 RR record at the world juniors only to be "upset" in the final (2018) and SF (2019). There is a lot to like about this team and they are quite capable to pushing those top teams who have more experience. They also reached the SF at the KW Fall Classic a few weeks ago. Speaking of the KW Fall Classic, another playoff contender there could factor into the playoff picture here. Jacob Horgan is out on his own after playing with brother Tanner and is quickly building a solid resume. His team reached the QF in Kitchener-Waterloo and could surprise a few teams here. Imagine a R2 battle of #NextGen vs #YoungBucks Team Dropkin.
#W2W4:
Advantage who? This event has been dominated by Reid Carruthers/Mike McEwen over the past few years. Outside of the two years Team Gushue won the title, the only other team to win here in the past 5 years is #McCarruthers with Reid skipped two wins (2018, 2014) and Mike skipping one (2015). Team McEwen, as they are finally known, decided to skip defending the Tour 1000 event to compete in South Korea this week. Their loss could equal someone else's gain.
We could also get the next chapter in the Epping vs. Jacobs rivalry this weekend. Epping got the better of Jacobs in the Shorty Jenkins final (after Jacobs won the RR battle). They are drawn into the bottom half of the bracket here and could face off in an A-qualifier and perhaps again in the playoffs.
And there are a few #TwineTimeFam members in this field the blog will be keeping a close eye on. Kirk Muyres is back, first time competing since the announcement of being a two-time #MenOfCurling calendar model. Jason Gunnlaugson has been heating up the ice already this season. And Mark Kean is back with a new team, already reaching the playoff bracket at two events.
Qualifiers: Team Gushue, Team Jacobs, Team Koe, Team Epping, Team Gunnlaugson, Team Muyres, Team Whyte, Team J. Horgan
Championship: Team Gushue def. Team Jacobs
#PrestigeCurlingClassic (Tour 500)
Vernon, BC
2018 Champion: Team Dunstone
Format: 10 team RR with 2 pools of 5. Top 4 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: Team Tardi, Team Cotter, Team Morozumi
#Fav:
Co-favourites? Tardi, the future of B.C. curling. Cotter, the present face that runs the place. The two big names of B.C. curling find themselves in opposite pools, meaning they will not face off until the SF at the earliest, assuming both qualify of course. The last time we saw both of these teams entered in the same event, the King Cash Spiel, advantage went with experience when Cotter reached the final while Tardi lost in the QF. We talk about budding rivalries. This is one we will be watching all season...hopefully culminating in a B.C. Tankard final for a spot in the Brier next March.
#TeamUpset:
The field? Outside of Japan's Team Morozumi, the rest of the field could be considered #TeamUpset contenders. This is a B.C.-led field, again minus Morozumi. So again a great opportunity to see how the rest of the B.C. landscape can stack up against the co-favourites. Sean Geall fired the first shot when he won the King Cash Spiel. Can he back up the W with another tour title in Vernon? Jeff Richard reached the SF at the same event and is back competing this weekend, also looking for a similar or better result. And what about those who underperformed at the King Cash? Can Team Wenzek missed the playoffs and will be looking to regain some momentum against provincial foes.
#W2W4:
The focus may be on the B.C. teams but do not be surprised if the one non-provincial team steals the title this weekend. Japan's Morozumi already has two tour titles this season during their comeback tour and are quickly building themselves back up to the world challenger team we knew them to be before. Yusuke's partnership with Masaki Iwai as the back-end combo is proving to be a successful one. Iwai started turning some heads at the 2018 world championship, representing Japan and finishing 3-9. This team is quite capable to reaching the world championships once again and being a podium threat. But first they need to keep building momentum as a new team and this is the perfect event to add to the winning streak.
Qualifiers: Team Morozumi, Team Tardi, Team Cotter, Team Geall
Championship: Team Morozumi def. Team Cotter
Lets Cure #LupusCashSpiel (Tour 250)
St. Paul, MN
2018 Champion: Team Stopera
Format: 13 team RR with 2 pools of 4 and 1 pool of 5. Top 6 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: Team Ruohonen
#Fav:
Team Ruohonen appears to be on a mission this season to reclaim the US title and get back to representing USA at the world championships. While the Olympic champs Team Shuster still garner much of the media attention, Ruohonen has been out competing week in and week out for the beginning part of the season. They recently won the US Open event, knocking off rival Team Dropkin in the final. They also reached the SF at the Oakville Fall Classic and the QF at the Icebreaker. This team has quickly established themselves to be the real deal threat to the Shuster throne atop USA Curling's mountain. With Shuster competing in South Korea and Dropkin electing to compete in Toronto, this is another opportunity for Ruohonen to pad some more victories against US rivals. Smart scheduling by this team this season too by the way!
#TeamUpset:
Watch out for Luc Violette. We have only seen this team on the competitive ice once this season but they rocked and rolled into a #TeamUpset flag bearer position when they reached the SF at the US Open - Championship event. Who saw that coming? Maybe we should have though. Violette is a 4-time US junior national champ (2014, 2017-2019). He also won a world junior silver medal in 2017 and a silver at the 2016 Youth Olympics. He is the #NextGen face of US Curling. He has momentum and some confidence right now, a dangerous combination for a young team competing in an experienced field with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
#W2W4:
Can anyone step up and add their name into the US men's curling conversation? Shuster. Ruohonen. Dropkin. These are the top teams. Can USA Curling be more than a one-, two- or three-trick pony show though? There is certainly room for growth seeing 12 other teams entered here (outside favourite Ruohonen). But who will step up? Scott Dunnam won the US Open - Contender event a few weeks back and reached the QF at the US Open - Championship event. His team looks to be the front-runner for the #4 spot. Similar for Dominik Maerki, fresh off a SF appearance at the US Open - Championship event. This event will tell us a lot about which team is ready to step into the spotlight to challenge the Big 3.
Qualifiers: Team Ruohonen, Team Dunnam, Team Violette, Team Maerki, Team Sinnett, Team Brundidge
Championship: Team Ruohonen def. Team Violette
#AvonairCashSpiel (Tour 250)
Edmonton, AB
2018 Champion: Team Sturmay
Format: 23 team RR with 3 pools of 5 and 2 pools of 4. Top 10 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: NA
#Fav:
Team Sturmay is back to #DefendTheIce and hold on to the 250 ranking points they earned last season. The team has competed at two big events already this season, Stu Sells Oakville and Shorty Jenkins. While they failed to qualify for the playoff round, they were able to pick up a few wins and come close. This is a team quickly developing itself into a contender. Remember last year's provincial championship? They lost their opening two games before going on a roll to qualify out of the #CSideGrind before losing the 3vs4 game to eventual champ Team Koe. This is a good team and a dark horse contender in Alberta. A strong result here against mainly provincial competition would make a loud statement.
#TeamUpset:
Sign this blog up for being on the Cole Adams train folks. We are buying full stock in this young team. After seeing Team Adams reach the final at the Good Times Spiel a few weeks ago, why shouldn't we be? Similar to buying low on the rise of Team Skrlik on the women's tour, Team Adams is a U21 team from Alberta drawing lots of attention. They are leading the new #NextGen movement in Alberta. It is worth mentioning here another #NextGen team to start watching. The U of Alberta's Team Jacques is an up and comer. It will be interesting to see how they fair against provincial counterparts this weekend.
#W2W4:
Everyone knows about the Koe vs. Bottcher rivalry. The faces of Alberta curling. The favourites. The #1 and #2 ranked teams on the most recent #PowerRankings. But if you are Ted Appelman, are you asking "What about me?" or are you quite content to fly under the radar? Remember last year's provincial championship? Appelman qualified from the A-side, knocking off Bottcher in the A-final. He then defeated Bottcher again in the A vs B page playoff game to book a direct spot in the provincial final, where he would come up short to Koe. Should Team Appelman not be in the conversation for the Alberta title? With Koe earning the auto berth in the 2020 Brier, is Appelman now the clear #2 behind Bottcher (who he had no trouble with last year)? This is a *mostly* Alberta field this weekend. If Appelman wants to put his provincial rivals on notice, as well as maybe start making some noise, a win in Edmonton this weekend would be a good start. Plus Appelman is a former champ here (2013).
Qualifiers: Team Sturmay, Team Appelman, Team Sluchinski, Team Usui, Team Pahl, Team van Amsterdam, Team Cross, Team Adams, Team Vavrek, Team Scoffin
Championship: Team Appelman def. Team Sturmay
#MCTClassic (Tour 250)
Winnipeg, MB
2018 Champion: Team R. Smith
Format: 15 team RR with 3 pools of 5. Top 8 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: NA
#Fav:
We talked about Jacob earlier, now lets talk about Tanner. About that Horgan family? Remember sister Tracy? The curling genes are strong in this clan folks. Tough to find a new team this season already making bigger waves than Team Tanner Horgan. 3 events, 3 qualifiers. They started the season with back-to-back QF appearances at the Icebreaker and Oakville Fall Classic before reaching their first final together at the Mother Club a few weeks ago. This team is pushing towards a Top 30 spot on the rankings mountain....and that is just the beginning it feels like for this team. With teams like Gunner and McEwen being the perceived top contenders for the Buffalo, a championship run here could continue to push Horgan into the conversation (alongside Calvert of course).
#TeamUpset:
Riley Smith was the #TeamUpset winner last year at this event, can he replicate the performance and #DefendTheIce? Smith struggled at the Mother Club, only picking up 1 W, so a strong result here would be nice. Also keep your upset eyes on regular mention Ty Dilello, another possible playoff contender. And what about Jordan Smith? He just missed qualifying at the Mother Club but did put together a solid opening start to the season. Do not forget about Ryan Wiebe too. Wiebe surprised a few people with his playoff run at the Mother Club, falling in the SF to eventual champion Gunnlaugson. All four of these teams are capable of making playoff runs this weekend.
#W2W4:
This is the Manitoba Curling Tour Classic, meaning we get to see the next group of contenders in the province battle it out. With Gunner, McEwen and Calvert not competing here, this is the opportunity for these 15 teams to make a name for themselves and put themselves in the Buffalo Hunt conversation. Who really is the next threat in Manitoba? Can one of these teams make a name for themselves by knocking off provincial rivals and put the Big 3 on notice? Teams look for that one event during the season where they can look back and say that was the turning point. This is the event that could become one team's turning point.
Qualifiers: Team Horgan, Team Chambers, Team Bohn, Team Ryan, Team Dilello, Team R. Smith, Team J. Smith, Team Wiebe
Championship: Team Horgan def. Team Bohn
WOMEN
#PafMasters (Tour 500)
Aland, FIN
2018 Champion: Team Wrana
Format: 9 team RR with 3 pools of 3. Top 6 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: Team Wrana
#Fav:
The defending champs are back to #DefendTheIce and retain their 500 points earned last season. Sweden's Team Wrana come to Aland off a tough Euro-qualifier series against rivals Team Hasselborg. They were swept in 4 straight games, losing out on a chance to represent Sweden as the home team at the European Championships this November. Chalk it up to hopefully a learning experience for the young team. But what it also might do is put some fire under them for the rest of the season. Would you want to be facing an angry Team Wrana this weekend?
#TeamUpset:
Wrana, a former world junior champion, seems like an old pro now when we look at our #TeamUpset / #NextGen flag bearer this weekend. Russia's Team Rumiantseva are the current world junior champs and this is a great opportunity to see how they stack up against a few more experienced teams, Wrana included. Rumiantseva was a bit of a #TeamUpset winner at the world juniors so perhaps the team actually thrives more under the radar. There are some bigger name competitors in Aland, thus leaving the ultimate advantage to the young world champs to fly under the radar and make a deep playoff run. The other advantage is some of these teams may not have seen or competed against them before, making them harder to scout and prepare for. Being the unknown in the field can be a blessing in disguise.
#W2W4:
This is a smaller field than what we are used to in Finland. It is a bit disappointing. This is the 3rd year of this event and it is great to see more events in more countries on tour. You want to see the #growthesport movement not just happen in the big countries like Canada, USA, China ect. Finland seems like a great backdrop for curling too. The purse is certainly there with 18,000 Euro up for grabs. Advantage for those who came to compete though. This event also seems to be a #NextGen event with Wrana, Rumiantseva, Switzerland's Team Witschonke, Scotland's Team Jackson and Sweden's Team Sunberg. Lots of rising young teams competing this weekend so even though the field is small keep your eyes on those competing. This is the next crop of Euro stars folks!
Qualifiers: Team Wrana, Team Schori, Team Rumiantseva, Team Witschonke, Team Wilson, Team Virtaala
Championship: Team Wrana def. Team Schori
#StuSellsTO Tankard (Tour 500)
Toronto, ON
2018 Champion: Team Brunton
Format: 20 team RR with 4 pools of 5. Top 8 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: NA
#Fav:
Can Team Murphy be the next real challenger to Team Homan in Ontario? The second-year team sure seems ready to step up their game. And this is the perfect event for them to flex their muscles against, for the most part, provincial opposition. The team has been improving each event this season too. They started slow, missing out on qualifying at the Oakville Fall Classic. They went one better at Stu Sells Oakville losing the PO game (to Tirinzoni) and reached the SF at their last event, KW Fall Classic. A nice steady incline after three events and, if it continues, we should see them compete for the championship this weekend.
#TeamUpset:
When the #PolarPower is entered into an event we often classify Team Galusha as a #TeamUpset nominee. No more rock heads. Galusha is not a #TeamUpset team. They are moving up to dark horse contender now and should be viewed as a playoff threat each time they step on the tour ice. So if Galusha has made her way out of the #TeamUpset category, who should we be watching? Well lets stick with a team mentioned earlier this season: Quebec's Team St-Georges. Still considered a #NextGen team and the strong future for Quebec female curling, this team could surprise a few teams this weekend. Ok they struggled earlier in the season at both Oakville events, going a combined 1-7 but they did rediscover their sliders on the ice in Blaine, MN at the US Open where they went 3-2 and reached the SF. They have some momentum and hopefully some confidence coming to Toronto.
#W2W4:
For the most part this will be an Ontario battle. There are 5 non-Ontario teams in the field, including the defending champions representing technically Northern Ontario. The remaining 15 teams are from Ontario. Consider this event almost as the pre-season provincial qualifying event. We already know Homan is the favourite in Ontario. But who are the teams ready to challenge her? Murphy is already listed as the favourite here. Team Duncan is here, a former champion. Team Inglis is here, a former Ontario finalist. What about Kaitlyn Jones, with most of the original Team Flaxey? Will they finally find their grip and bust into Ontario contenders? And what about Jacqueline Harrison? Cathy Auld? Megan Balsdon has put together a nice start to the season as well. This may not be a Top 10 or Top 15 ranked field but there are still a lot of very strong teams competing, all wanting (or needing) to push themselves into the conversation of who can challenge Homan next!
Qualifiers: Team Brunton, Team Murphy, Team Duncan, Team Jones, Team Balsdon, Team Galusha, Team Harrison, Team Inglis
Championship: Team Murphy def. Team Duncan
#PrestigeCurlingClassic (Tour 1000)
Vernon, BC
2018 Champion: Team Kovaleva
Format: 17 team RR with 2 pools of 6 and 1 pool of 5. Top 6 qualify.
Top Teams Entered: Team Carey, Team Kovaleva, Team Rocque
#Fav:
The reigning Canadian champs make their second tour appearance of the season this weekend and should be considered strong favourites for a deep playoff run. We have only seen Team Carey at one event, which they went 7-1 reaching the final at the Booster Juice Shoot-Out in Edmonton. They also knocked off their strongest challenger in this field, defending champ Team Kovaleva, in the SF. Now that was almost a month ago mind you so there may be a bit of lag on the sliders this weekend too. And you know every team you face will step up their game wanting to take down the Canadian champs. This is still one of the strongest teams in Canada and they should be playing for another tour title this weekend.
#TeamUpset:
Is it fair to list Cheryl Bernard as a #TeamUpset nominee? Bernard has been to the Scotties four times, winning silver in 1996. She represented Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, again winning silver. And we see her every season in the TSN booth. But we haven't seen her a ton on the competitive ice since her retirement in 2014. But what was the one event she played post-retirement back in 2016? This event....and she reached the final (l. to Marla Mallett). Could she find lightning in the bottle again in Vernon? She is a 3-time champion here remember (2004, 2005, 2010). We haven't seen her on the ice in some time yet she comes back and competes in the same event she reached a final in after retiring. And there is a very familiar name on the ice with her. Laine Peters, who won a Canadian title with Chelsea Carey, will be throwing second stones this weekend. Imagine the story if Bernard makes the final and knocks off defending Canadian champ Carey with former Carey teammate Peters?
#W2W4:
This field is mostly comprised of home province teams. But all the favourites and contenders are non-B.C. teams. Time to see how the home province can stack up against bigger competition. It has been discussed every Scotties about B.C. curling still needing to step back up into the contender role, as we saw in the past with Kelley Law and Kelly Scott. Since then no team has really come close to that level. There are some strong teams here for sure, notably Corryn Brown, Sarah Daniels, Sarah Wark and Karla Thompson, but can they compete with the likes of Carey, Bernard, Kelsey Rocque, Kovaleva and Daniela Jentsch? In the past 15 years there have only been 2 B.C. champions at this event: Marla Mallett (2016) and Kelley Law (2006). In that same time span, the city of Calgary has produced 6 champions alone (3 of those belonging to Bernard of course). Japan has as many champions as the host province. Can 2019 finally be the year B.C. curling reclaims the title?
Qualifiers: Team Carey, Team Richards, Team Kovaleva, Team Rocque, Team Jentsch, Team Brown
Championship: Team Kovaleva def. Team Rocque
Yowzers! Our plates are full this weekend rock heads. There is curling EVERYWHERE! And as fans we are living for it, right?! Who are you cheering for this weekend? Have a few #TeamUpset picks you think could make playoff runs? Share your thoughts on social media or the comment section below and continue the conversation. To continue to #growthesport we have to keep the conversations going.
Also worth noting, if you are wondering where Team Bottcher is this weekend you can find the skipper playing a mixed doubles event in Sherwood Park. A team of note they could face is Canadian legend David Nedohin (who is competing with daughter Alyssa).
#StayTuned
The blog returns next week with the fallout from the weekend. Should we expect some big changes on the Power Rankings mountain? With all the points on the ice this weekend, it wouldn't be surprising.
Enjoy the weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment