#BetweenTheSheets: Scotties Red Marker Time

The midterm grades are in....who is passing and who has work to do?

The opening long weekend of the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is in the books...and what a weekend.  We saw a few upsets.  We saw some tears.  We saw some great shots.  We saw some bad misses.  We saw the provincial and territorial pride shine.  And we said goodbye to the R-word (relegation that is!).

As is the case every year with the Scotties, we see some highlights and lowlights from the opening few days of action.  I am confident all of you did the same throughout the long weekend, I put some more butt grooves in my couch and anxiously watched each rock thrown down the ice in St. Catharines.  There have certainly been many storylines coming out of the weekend and with #MovingDay arriving quickly on Wednesday, it is time for the annual tradition of midterm report cards.  The Big Red marker rolled out from under the couch, cracked its lid and starting handing out the grades.

#BetweenTheSheets: Scotties Preview with Nadine Chyz

Will #TeamUpset show it's face in St. Catharines?

Valentine's Day is over curling friends...time to put down the cinnamon hearts for a different type of heart.  The Scotties Tournament of Hearts I mean of course!

It is that time of the curling season to watch the best women's curling teams from across our great country compete for the coveted title of Team Canada and the right to wear the red maple leaf at the upcoming Women's World Curling Championships in Beijing, China.  We have a very eclectic field hitting the house in St. Catharines, Ontario this week, ranging from past Canadian champions to Olympic representatives to all-out rookie teams.  Will the favourites survive and run the table?  Will #TeamUpset continue to shock the curling world once again?

The Scotties is a very special event and, as such, deserves more special attention than this one blogger can provide on his own.  It is for this special reason it gives me great pleasure and honour to welcome the newest member of the #TwineTime family, Nadine Chyz, to help with the #STOH2017 preview.

Let's not hesitate my curling friends.  Settle into the hack and let's get this preview rolling from my house to yours!

#BetweenTheSheets: World Juniors Hit The House 

In South Korea

The 2018 Olympic venue plays host to the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships

The #Roadto2018 is now officially underway curling fans.  The venue for the Olympic curling event will see it's first competitive curling rocks slide down the ice when the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships get underway in Korea this week.

The Gangneung Curling Centre in Gangneung, Korea will serve as the test event for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics curling competition.  As was the case back in 2013 in Sochi, Russia, the top world junior curling teams will be the first to hit the ice on an Olympic venue.  How cool of a moment and memory is that for a junior player?  You know you are sliding out of the same hack that will see some of curling's top stars in a year's time.

#BetweenTheSheets: #TeamUpset Taking 

Provincial Playdowns?

Can the favourites survive or are we in store for more surprises this season?

Well my #curling friends, I have missed you I must admit.  It has been almost a month since we have connected.  While I took a much needed vacation to the Land of OZ for three weeks, the curling rocks continued to run, spin and freeze their way all over the house.  The beaches, hot sun (boy did I burn!), Great Barrier Reef and Australian Open experience was #BucketList worthy without a doubt but it is time to get back in the hack and put some points on the curling scoreboard.

Much has occurred during my little blogging hiatus.  We crowned new grand slam champions at The Canadian Open.  A few high profile #wct events took place around the world.  Canadian junior curling champions were crowned.  The Winter Universiade handed out curling medals.  The Brier field started to take shape.  AND the Scotties field was completed (more on that later though).

As is custom with the #TwineTime blog, and with much respect to Manitoba's own Jason Gunnlaugson, let's take a quick #GunnerRunback at what has happened over the past month of curling action: