Post-Olympic Power Rankings

#BetweenTheSheets: Post-Olympic Hangover or Excitement?

How did the results in PyeongChang shake up the Power Rankings

Take a deep breath curling fans.  The four-year buildup of competition, anticipation and excitement over the 2018 Winter Olympics has come and gone.  Perhaps as fast as a #GunnerTakeout?!  Curling was the only sport to compete daily during the full duration of the Olympic calendar but it still feels like it went by quick did it not?

The results are in.  The podium is complete.  And now we are left with the after effects.  Are you suffering from the post-Olympic hangover or a new sense of post-Olympic excitement?

There were certainly a number of stories to capture the world's attention.  We had #TeamUpset results.  We had controversy.  We welcomed a new discipline.  We saw social media explode, for the good and the bad.  When we add it all up was the 2018 Winter Olympic curling competition a perfect hit for two, a boring first end blank or an open miss?  Let's summarize what happened....and update our #PowerRankings!

PyeongChang2018 Curling Midterm Grades

#BetweenTheRings: Curling Midterm Grading

Who is passing, who is sliding by and who is failing?

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics have turned the corner and are in the final few ends of play, culminating with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday February 25.  As everyone is well aware by now, curling has been the top sport for Olympic coverage (well at least in Canada....where are you NBC???).  The sport of curling at this year's Olympics spanned the full gauntlet of competition days, starting before the Opening Ceremony and ending the day of the Closing Ceremony.

But with all those days of Olympic pressure, stress and competition, how has the sport been holding up?  Are the teams competing surviving?  Who are the top story makers at this pivotal turning point of the competition and who have been underperforming?

The #TwineTime blog has been watching the competition closely, or as close as possible given the time difference and having to actually work, and has cracked open good ole Lucky Red to see just who is making the grade in PyeongChang and who is falling short.

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.

PyeongChang2018 Women's Curling

#BetweenTheRings: Women's Curling Preview

Canada looking to #DefendTheIce in South Korea

It is time to slide out of the hack with our focus on the women's team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics.  The men's preview (found HERE) touched on a strong yet perhaps divided field with a small handful of teams being pre-event favourites for the podium.  The women's preview is a bit more up in the air.

We have an equally strong women's team field but also find a few more question marks pebbling the ice.  We have some teams with little to no international experience yet have made big names for themselves on tour over the past few seasons.  We have some teams with Olympic and World Championship experience looking to stake their claim at the top of the curling mountain.  And we have some teams who are Olympic rookies but could be considered some of the strongest teams in the women's game we have seen in recent history.

Which side wins out?  International experience?  Rookie luck?  Or perhaps a #TeamUpset emerges and turns the curling stone on its head by shocking the world?  One thing for certain, this competition will be anything but a straight draw to the rings for the win!

PyeongChang2018 Men's Curling

#BetweenTheRings: Men's Curling Preview

Can Canada #DefendTheIce in Gangneung, Korea?

The first-ever mixed doubles Olympic curling competition has just finished cleaning the house at the Gangneung Curling Centre and here we are ready for 12 more days of Olympic curling competition with the upcoming start of the men's and women's team tournament.

As we are all well aware by now, curling is the only sport running the full duration of #PyeongChang2018.  In fact, since mixed doubles started the day before the Opening Ceremonies and the women's gold medal is the same day as the Closing Ceremonies, curling will actually run longer than the official competition schedule (based on days the Olympic flame is lit anyways).  Total days of curling action: 18 consecutive days!

When Canada and Switzerland stepped onto the ice for the mixed doubles final, both nations knew they would not only create history in being named the first mixed doubles Olympic champions but they would also open the door for more history to possibly be created in just over a week's time.  The winner would accomplish step one of the overall curling plan: Own the Podium!  Can one nation win all three 2018 Winter Olympic gold medals?

#PyeongChang2018 MD Preview

#BetweenTheRings: Mixed Doubles Debut

Curling adds the new discipline to the Olympic roster in Korea

Welcome back into our lives Olympic Games!  It has been just under two years since the world united under the Olympic rings and this week the Olympic spirit will reign supreme once again when the 2018 Winter Olympics hit the global viewership from PyeongChang, South Korea.

The Opening Ceremonies are slated for Friday February 9 at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, a temporary 35,000 seat pentagonal design structure.  But while the official start of the games will be when the Olympic flame is lit at Olympic Stadium, the actual competition will begin a day earlier.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will kick-off with the welcoming of a new Olympic discipline added to the roster: Mixed Doubles Curling!

#TeamWC Debate

#BetweenTheSheets: It's A Wild Wildcard Debate

#TeamWC - Yay or Nay for the future of the sport in Canada?!?

Congratulations to Kerri Einarson and her team from Manitoba on reaching the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship this past Sunday.  The Manitoba-based team put up a fight to the finish but ultimately succumbed to...Team Manitoba, skipped by Jennifer Jones.

So Team Manitoba defeated Team Manitoba?  Well, not exactly.  Team Einarson was wearing the title of Team Wildcard en route to the Scotties final, a new addition to the national championship format.

This weekend wrapped up the first iteration of the wildcard inclusion into a national championship....and the results were mixed.

From a competitive perspective, the results were extremely positive and successful.  From a #growthesport perspective, there are still many questions/concerns lingering behind.

Brier2018 Playdowns

#BetweenTheSheets: Road To Regina

Men's playdown pressure packs the ice across the country

"The Queen City".  The capital of Saskatchewan.  The home city of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The homeland for curling legend Sandra Schmirler.  And the original upraising for #TwineTime!  Oh yes, many great people bleed the green of Saskatchewan and call the City of Regina their home.  And from March 3 - 11, the best curlers from around our great nation will call Regina their temporary home as well when they arrive to compete in the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier!

Everyone is well aware of the new format this year, moving away from a single round robin and playing a dual round robin mini-pool with the top four teams advancing to the championship pool for a shot at the title.  We also see the increase to a 16-team field with all 3 territories having equal representation, in addition to the traditional Northern Ontario representation and relatively new Team Canada entry.  And of course the addition of the (controversial?!) Team Wild Card!  But more on that below....

Before we can even break down the format and discuss what will go down in the Brandt Centre at the beginning of March, we first need to fill out the field right?  Well this weekend will surely do so with six provincial championships hitting the ice to slide down the #RoadtoRegina.