#PowerRankings W21

#BetweenTheSheets: A Ranking Mountain Rockslide?

Some teams made a serious climb while others took a major fall

Another slam in the books. Ok not just another slam but the second major of the season. The Boost National brought its final rock to a spinning halt Sunday afternoon at Conception Bay South Arena.

In the end two familiar teams were left standing above the rest. It was a case of deja vu for curling fans who may have rubbed their eyes a bit and asked if they were suffering from Groundhog Day Syndrome seeing the same two teams lift the championship trophy as we saw back in November at the last slam.

But the slam results were not the only rumblings rocking the curling house this past weekend. If you followed the #twitterspiel, which you all should be doing by now, you would have seen a familiar topic of discussion turns its rock handle once again.

Rankings, Rankings, Rankings. The topic that never dies.

The conversation this past weekend focused on the actual factual realization that there are in fact TWO ranking systems being employed on the curling ice now.

It has been anything but nice so they thought lets do it twice?!

The World Curling Tour has a ranking system.

The World Curling Federation has a ranking system.

This is not new news. We have known about these two different ranking systems for awhile. But it seems to finally be sinking in with some curling fans and athletes alike that this may not be the best idea to help #growthesport.

Really? You think? No kidding!

To be honest, I am not going to get into the discussion on the difference between the two. It has been discussed before. It will be discussed again. If you are unsure, just google search it.

I am a bit over the discussion. There are people, this blog included, who have tried to suggest new ideas. Heck some of the ideas are not even that new. The #TwineTime ranking system certainly is not. It is just a curling-specific way of adopting the #TourTier system used in tennis.

But does anyone want to look at new ideas or try to make the adjustments to the current system to have it make more sense. Nope. Rather lets just have a second ranking system in place. That won't confuse people at all.

Remember when NCAA football never had a playoff and just had the AP and Coach's polls to crown their national champion. Boy didn't that work great. Remember when the season ended and each poll would crown a different #1. Yay...wasn't that exciting for ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!!

Maybe curling can do the same. Maybe we can end the year with one team finishing atop the WCF ranking and a different team atop the WCT ranking. Wouldn't that be fun and exciting for the sport? Ugh....

Anyway, lets not discuss this anymore. Or at least not for right now. Lets see how it all plays out. And lets see if anyone, anyone (Bueller, Bueller) wants to support a different concept. Its ok...I will just sit here waiting for my call that will never arrive. 😉

How about we go back to focus on actual results on the ice? Results we do not have to debate. Sound good rock heads?

Before we look up, wayyyyy up, at #PowerRankings mountain, lets make the quick runback towards the some of the high's and low's of the past week on the ice.

#GunnerRunabck

#INturn

• Happy Hasselborg - It will be Happy Holidays around the Team Hasselborg Christmas tree this year. The #SwedishVikings are on a roll. After knocking off Jennifer Jones in the #BOOSTNational final this weekend, the team has now won their past three major events. Add it up to two #gsoc titles, including a major, and the European title equals happy smiles around the tree for the holidays. Hasselborg went 6-1 on the weekend with their only setback being a RR loss to surprise QF Team Stern (more on them in a moment). Anyone want to argue against this being the #1 team in the world right now? Hmmm wonder what the Power Rankings will say?!?
• Deja Vu - Hasselborg wasn't the only one able to go back-to-back this weekend. Team Jacobs did the same, taking home their second straight #gsoc title when they knocked off Euro champs Team Edin in the championship final. Jacobs also defeated Edin in the RR en route to entering the playoffs as the #2 seed (Edin ended up #1 oddly enough). Jacobs may not have won over any new fans on The Rock though when he defeated home province fav Team Gushue in the SF. But something tells me these boys aren't looking to add to their facebook friend count.
• Good Things Come in 3 - If Japan's Team Fujisawa did not have 3 as their lucky number before, they certainly should now. The team came to Conception Bay South down a player, missing lead Yurika Yoshida due to illness. But the remaining 3 came to play and did they ever. They managed a 2-2 RR record, survived a TB and then destroyed previously undefeated Stern in the QF before coming up short in the SF against eventual champ Hasselborg. Fatigue had to catch with them eventually (plus it is Hasselborg after all) but to make a SF run at a slam with only 3 players is quite a feat. And look who they defeated: Jones, Scheidegger, Einarson (TB) and Stern. Plus how could you not cheer for them with every high-five, hug and smile after each win. They almost seemed more surprised than anyone with their deep playoff run. Fujisawa has also reached back-to-back slam SF and made the QF at the Masters. Is this the best team to not win a slam....yet?!?
• #TeamUpset - How about Switzerland's Team Stern? Who saw that coming? After a QF appearance at the Masters, their first time qualifying at a slam, they go 0-for at the Tour Challenge only to rebound and go 4-0 in the RR at the National. Included in those 4 victories: Homan, Hasselborg, Silvernagle and Yoshimura. Ok they came up lame against a strong Fujisawa trio but if they ignore the QF debacle and look at the collective week result, they have to be leaving Canada full of extra Christmas joy. Nobody predicted them to go 4-0 in the RR. This was a true #TeamUpset!
• Dumfries Champs - There was other curling action this weekend outside of NL of course. Across the pond at the Dumfries Challenger in Dumfries, SCO the home nation celebrated another tour win for Team Whyte. The boys picked up their second title of the season when they defeated Switzerland's Team Lottenbach in the championship final. For Lottenbach this would be the second consecutive runner-up finish at this event.
• #QRollCall - Special shout out and congrats to the following teams for making the playoff bracket this weekend. Reaching the SF: Team Fleury, Team Mouat (National), Team Muirhead, Team Gallacher (Dumfries). Making the QF round included: Team Muirhead, Team Carey, Team Silvernagle, Team Bottcher, Team Koe, Team De Cruz, Team McEwen (Natonal), Team Bryce, Team Craik, Team Hess, Team Gempeler (Dumfries).
• Provincial/Territorial Playdowns - Many provinces held provincial qualifying events this past weekend. It is that time of the season folks. The Scotties/Brier dream becomes more of a reality for some and remains just a dream for others. Congrats to all those teams who punched tickets to their provincial championships. And best of luck to those teams who are still in contention looking for those final few spots over the next few weeks.

#OUTturn

• Homan Slam Struggles - Don't look now but Team Homan has failed to reach the playoff bracket at a #gsoc event this season. In fact, after winning three straight slam titles last year (Tour Challenge, National, Canadian Open) they have only advanced to the playoff round once since (SF, Champions Cup). 1 playoff appearance in their past 5 slams. This is the longest non-playoff streak on Homan's resume. Back in the 2017-18 season they also missed the playoffs at 3 slams but not 3 consecutive. Is this cause for concern? Maybe pump the brakes on going that far. They did just win the Canada Cup, which carried arguably a better top prize of a spot at the Olympic trials. But it is raising some eyebrows. Are teams just catching up? Is Team Homan just struggling at slams now? Not a major story line right now....but keep your eyes on them in 2020 and see what happens at the remaining 2 slams this season.
• Dunny Isn't Always Money? - Speaking of struggles, what is going on with Matt Dunstone? The team wins the Masters, a first slam for Duntone, Schneider, Kidby, but then have faltered ever since. They go 1-3 at the Tour Challenge, 0-6 at the Canada Cup and 1-3 at the National. Coupled in between was a #wct event in Penticton where they went 3-3 overall, losing a TB. Add it up and it is only 5 wins in 4 events since the Masters title. And 15 losses. If we look at their season record they are sitting barely above .500 at 24-22. There may be no team on tour looking more forward to the holiday break than Team Dunstone right now. Maybe the #gsoc hangover is real and they are still feeling it. Maybe they are feeling the pressure of being a major champion. Or maybe they just need to relax, put less pressure on the themselves and just go back to the basics that won them the slam in the first place. Good teams win. Great teams win often. We know this is a good team. We (along with all of Saskatchewan) is waiting to see if this team can become a great team. The talent is there. Now we need more of the results.
• Masters Jinx? - Or maybe Dunstone's results are due to a slight Masters jinx? Look at Japan's Team Yoshimura. Since their Masters final loss, they are a combined 1-7 at the past two slams. They played a tour event in Kemptville right after the Masters, where they went 3-0 in the RR but then lost in the QF (losing to #106 ranked Team Harvey). They have 1 win since. Are they also struggling with higher expectations? Or maybe feeling the pressure watching national rival Team Fujisawa continue to put up consistent results? As for those other two teams who played in the Masters final, Team Gushue lost the Tour Challenge final and was eliminated in the SF last weekend. Similar for Team Fleury, a SF loss last weekend after the QF loss at the Tour Challenge. At least they are both making the playoff bracket.

We know the results of the past weekend in Conception Bay South and Dunfries, Scotland. Some teams did quite well. Some teams struggled to find their slide on the ice. Did the results cause a shake-up on Power Rankings mountain?

Spoiler: A new team sits atop the apex!!

#PowerRankings

WOMEN

1. Team Hasselborg - 6750 (LW: 4)
2. Team Tirinzoni - 6165 (2)
3. Team Fleury - 5488 (5)
4. Team Homan - 5424 (1)
5. Team Einarson - 5294 (3)

Hon. Mention: Team Fujisawa, Team Carey, Team J. Jones, Team Walker, Team Muirhead

The streak is over and our #1 has fallen off the top of the mountain for the first time this season.

The teams in the Top 5 stay the same but the standings look very different. Hasselborg's second slam of the season, coupled with the Euro win, vault her to the #1 spot. Hasselborg is the first team to knock Homan out of the top spot this year and becomes only the second team to attain the #1 ranking.

While Tirinzoni, who failed to reach the playoffs at the National, oddly enough stays in the #2 spot. Tirinzoni may have lost big points from the SF run last year; however, those previously in front of her (Homan, Einarson) lost more points because they failed to replicate their final appearance from a season ago.

Fleury's consistent slam results continue to move her up the mountain, now sitting at a season high ranking of #3. She did not compete in the National last season so every win this year was just cherry on the rankings cake for her. With Homan and Einarson both failing to make the playoffs, their point loss was Fleury's ranking gain.

Of course Homan and Einarson retain their spot within the Top 5. In fact Einarson has a 1700+ point lead on #6 Fujisawa. Safe to say we have our Final Five for the season. But where they finish is another story. Less than 1500 points separate #1 from #5 and we still have a few #gsoc events to play, including the final two majors, and a world championship.

The second group of five within the Top 10 retain their spots as well with a minor adjustment seeing Jones move back into #8 after her run to the final, swapping spots with now #9 (and National teammate) Laura Walker.


MEN

1. Team Bottcher - 7645 (1)
2. Team Koe - 5225 (2)
3. Team Edin - 5115 (HM)
4. Team Jacobs - 5020.25 (HM)
5. Team Mouat - 4714 (3)

Hon. Mention: Team De Cruz, Team Epping, Team Gushue, Team McEwen, Team Matsumura

Still rollin' is the motto of Team Bottcher and the motto fits the ranking. Bottcher's QF appearance at the National helps retain the #1 ranking. Remember this team also did not compete at the National last season so, similar to Team Fleury above, each win was just extra ranking points to pad their lead atop the mountain. But remember, they have HUGE points to defend in the second half of the season.

The National finalists, Team Edin and Team Jacobs, were the big winners. Both moved from the Top 10 into the Top 5 with their run to the championship. Edin's runner-up appearance moved his from #6 last week to #3 this week and right on the heels of rival Koe for the #2 spot.

And right behind the Euro champ is Jacobs. Winning back-to-back slams moved the boys from Northern Ontario up to the #4 spot from the #9 spot they occupied last week. Similar to Edin, Jacobs is within striking distance of the Koe.

Scotland's Bruce Mouat failed to reach his 3rd straight National final; however, a run to the SF still keeps him within the Top 5 although a drop from the previous #3 spot.

From the remaining Top 10, De Cruz's QF run moved him up one spot to #6 while Epping, who failed to reach the playoff round, takes the biggest tumble from #5 to #7. Gushue and Matsumura retain their spots from last week at #8 and #10 respectfully.

And we welcome a new team to the Top 10. Team McEwen used a QF run to vault them into the #9 spot. Interestingly enough, their victory over defending champ Team Paterson in the TB is what ultimately knocked Paterson out of the Top 10.  Paterson now sits #11, just over 200 points behind Matsumura.

What say you rock heads. Agree with the updated rankings? How are your favourite team(s) doing? And if you do not see your favourite(s) within the Top 10 but are curious as to where they do rank, send me a message in the comment section below or on social media and I will be happy to let you know where they stand.

Hmmm, maybe we do a year-end Top 50 ranking list just for kicks? What do you think?

#StayTuned

The blog will now take a brief break for the Christmas holiday. We will return before the end of 2019 though for the annual top blog post ranking list from the past year: The Top 9 of '19. And maybe one final Power Rankings post just to list the Top 50 heading into the second half of the season.

From the #TwineTime blog to all you rock heads, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season. Enjoy the time with family, friends and loved ones and cherish the moments you have together.

And, as always, thank you for your continued support of this blog. It does mean alot.