Top 7 of '17

#BetweenTheSheets: Top 7 of '17

The countdown to the top #TwineTime blog posts of 2017

It is almost time folks.  Time to say goodbye to 2017 and celebrate the anticipation of 2018.  Don't you just love the week between Christmas and New Year's?!  Every sports media outlet is releasing their Top 10 stories of 2017.  Or Top 10 athletes.  Or Top 10 plays.  Or Top 10 blunders.  Every music outlet has their own Top 10 songs of year.  The news outlets all release their own Top 10 stories.  Or Top 10 disasters.  Or Top 10 hits and misses.  It is countdown season!

And #TwineTime is no different.  Last year the blog released the Top 6 of '16 and it seemed to be met with great interest and high praise.  So why not do it again this year right?  And lets up the list one shall we?  Time to unveil the Top 7 of '17!!!!

Casey Scheidegger

#BetweenTheSheets With Casey Scheidegger

Olympic trials experience, grand slam champion and....Christmas rapid fire

The sport of curling has been an interesting one to watch during the 2017 calendar year.  We have seen favourites go on storied runs towards championship glory.  We have seen a few teams stumble along the path to success.  And we have have watched the evolution of the #TeamUpset movement.

A skip serving as flag bearer for the movement and waving the #TeamUpset flag with pride is Alberta's Casey Scheidegger.  What a 2017 this team is having!  As the 2016 year came to a close the team had competed in the Tour Challenge Tier II event and picked up a few big wins on tour.  When the calendar flipped over, Team Scheidegger planted the #TeamUpset flag on the button picking up their first grand slam title, The Meridian Canadian Open, in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

The win catapulted the team from Roar to the Rings Olympic pre-trials dark horse conversation to Roar of the Rings team to watch out for.  And now, Casey Scheidegger is welcomed with open arms into the #TwineTime family.

#PowerRankings W19

#BetweenTheSheets: Week 19 Power Rankings

The 2018 Winter Olympics field slides into place

The close of the 2017 calendar year is fast approaching and with it brings a mixed bag of emotions.  We have reasons of celebration.  We have reflection on the ups and downs of the previous 12 months.  We have tears of joy and tears of sorrow over the events in our past.  We also have excitement towards the unknown of 2018.  And we have anticipation for milestone moments.

A big cause of excitement and anticipation for athletes, nationalists and sports fans will be the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics.  From a curling perspective, the end of 2017 brings an end to the 4-year qualification cycle.  A select collective curling family will emerge from PyeongChang as Olympians.

The family filled out the remainder seats at the celebratory table this past weekend but not without a bit of drama, intensity, disappointment and....head scratching?  Just like a normal holiday family get together for most of us right?

#OQE2017 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Who Claims The Final Olympic Tickets?

The final curling spots in PyeongChang will be decided in Pilsen

The time for talking is over.  The preparation and build up towards the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang has been focused on who will qualify and who will compete for Olympic gold.  It truly has been three years down the #Roadto2018.

But the end of the road is now within clear and visible sight....almost as easy to see as staring across the entire province of Saskatchewan on a beautiful summer afternoon.  The twists and turns along the road are now in the rear view mirror.  We knew the host nation, South Korea, would be awaiting at the end of the road but who would be joining them at the station with punched Olympic tickets?

The field in PyeongChang is close to being finalized and the final two nations will pick up their official invites on Sunday December 10.  We have arrived curling fans.  The final Olympic Qualification Event is here!

#ROTR Women's Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Roar of the Rings Women's Preview

#PolarPower returns to #TwineTime to sort out the women's draw in Ottawa

Hark how the rocks,

Sweet granite rocks,

All seem to say, 

Throw well today.

Roar of the Rings is here,

Bringing good cheer,

To young and old,

Meek and the bold.

Hurry hurry hurry hurry,

Skips all yell with furry,

With intense feeling,

This is Curling Caroling!

One seem to hear, 

Words of good cheer,

From everyone,

Filling in the air.

Are you ready curling fans?  While Christmas music starts to fill the airwaves, the screams of skips, the yells of sweepers and the cheers from adoring sports fans are about to fill the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The beginning of December may be meant to officially kick off the countdown to Christmas but for the next week the focus will be on crowning the next #TeamCanada representative for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Bring on the roar....the Roar of the Rings!