#BetweenTheSheets: Top 9 of 2019
Which blog posts landed closest to the button this past year?
Your top spotify songs of the year unwrapped.
Your Top 9 on IG.
The top songs of the year. Top movies. Highest earning athlete. Most memorable sports moment.
The lists go on and on and on and on.....
So why shouldn't the #TwineTime blog continue the trend?
Welcome to the Top 9 of 2019 blog post where we discuss the top posts of the past year.
This is becoming an annual tradition. The blog started with a Top 6 of 2016 followed up by the Top 7 of 2017. Last year was the third edition with the Top 8 of 2018. And here we are getting ready for the 2019 release.
Past top posts include: The Sights and Sounds of The Masters (2016), BetweenTheSheets with Catlin Schneider (2017) and BetweenTheSheets with Bruce Mouat (2018).
So which post will be added into the Hall of Fame as the year-end #1 ranking?
Every day from now until December 31 another top post will be revealed as we start with #9 and work our way up the rankings until the reveal of the top post.
Will your favourite post crack the Top 9? What is your favourite post? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or via social media.
Numbers and stats are not why I operate this blog of course. But, just for information purposes or of interest to some, I can report the division line was 530 views. Each post on the countdown surpassed the division stat line.
Bring on the countdown!
On the final day of the year, the gold medal post of 2019 is revealed. Was there any doubt? 😉
1. #MenOfCurling 2020 Picks (June 25)
The old marketing slogan holds true in 2019: Sex Sells!
And why shouldn't it? Or why should we feel bad for it? We shouldn't and we won't.
The Men of Curling calendar is not just about eye candy and growing the sport, the REAL cause is to raise money for outstanding organizations selected by each curling model. THIS is what we truly embrace....while enjoying the eye candy right?
Before the official 2020 calendar was released, the blog though it would be fun to try and predict who could be in the calendar and draw attention to a few who should be in the calendar.
Curling has some very attractive athletes. ESPN embraces attractive athletes in their annual body issue. Curling does the same, while raising money for charity, through this annual calendar.
I did have a few people reach out asking if I was concerned being a male and complimenting the attractiveness of other men in this post. What if people found the subject matter uncomfortable? What if the curlers themselves were offended or upset with me?
My question back was, if I was a female blogger would you be asking the same question? This post was meant as a fun tongue-in-cheek list to keep the conversation around the sport going during the summer and to help entice people into the excitement for the official announcement at the beginning of the season.
I am completely comfortable with my masculinity and personal sexuality in writing and publishing this post. And apparently over 3200 people agree! This post has also become the #1 all-time most viewed post in the history of the blog. Thank You!!
The true gold medal here does not go to me or this post but rather the 12 men who drew the interest of curling fans in being named.
Can't remember who they were? Warm up your New Year with a steamy look back at who would have made the #TwineTime 2020 #MenofCurling calendar. Some even made the actual calendar.
If you haven't bought yours, hit up your favourite calendar model on social media and buy one. Support a great cause. And maybe, if you ask nicely, they might even sign it. Right #MrSmiles Kirk Muyres? 😉
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
2. 2019 #GoldenGranite Award Winners (May 28)
Unlike most sports, curling doesn't have official end of season awards to hand out. Enter the #TwineTime blog!
The Golden Granite Awards started in 2016. This past year was the 4th annual and leads us into the milestone 5th year anniversary at the end of the upcoming season later in 2020.
The 2019 edition attracted over 1800 views. Astonishing! Sure this may not be an impressive stat compared to mainstream media like Sportsnet or TSN or even CurlingZone but for a little blog with no sponsors and run by one person, I call it successful and impressive.
2019 also welcomed a few new awards including: Nation of the Year, Mixed Doubles Team of the Year, Wheelchair Team of the Year, #TeamUpset of the Year - Nation, Underachiever of the Year - Nation, #TeamUpset of the Year - Mixed Doubles and Social Team of the Year (voted by the fans).
Of course our regular categories were also handed out. Awards like Team of the Year, #TeamUpset of the Year and Underachiever of the Year.
Go back and celebrate our 2019 Golden Granite Award winners as we bring to a close the calendar year.
3. #PowerRankings FINAL (May 3)
Last. One. Standing.
Ok so this blog post might not be the last one standing on this countdown but it did answer the question as to who ended the 2018/19 curling season atop the #PowerRankings mountain.
The blog post reveals the Top 15 men's, women's and nation rankings including a brief resume for those within the Top 10.
Relive how your favourite team(s) did last season as we head into the second half of this season. Where did your top team finish? Your home nation?
On a personal note, it is great to see this post land on the countdown. The new #PowerRanking formula, coupled with the new #TourTier system, went into full effect last season. At first many were skeptical of the formula and the system. But as the season slid on, the interest seemed to grow and people seemed to slowly be more open to a different ideology.
Does this mean you like the #PowerRankings rock heads? Numbers don't lie....
4. #CMDCC2019 Preview (March 19)
But then I went back and read through it and actually fell in love with it all over again.
This post previews the 2019 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship....with a little March Madness feeling to it.
The 32 teams competing in Fredericton were seeded for this preview, similar to the NCAA basketball tournament. All 4 pools were equally previewed, discussing the #Favs, #TeamUpset and #W2W4. Plus projected pool standings and playoff predictions, including an almost accurate championship final.
A nice surprise on the year-end blog post countdown. Plus the published date was my mom's birthday so that is kind of cool.
5. Dear White People (July 21)
We cannot have a countdown without a bit of controversy right? Bring on the "Dear White People" post back in July.
When the "Make Curling Great Again" documentary slid into our houses, it polarized the curling community.
Some called it a perfect draw to the button. Others were trying to sweep it right through the house and out of play.
This blog was on the defensive team. The content of the documentary may have been with positive #growthesport intent but, at the end of the day, when you purposefully select a title drawing comparisons to the MAGA-movement in the United States you are losing half your audience.
And rightfully so! As the blog post states, Actions >>>> Words. Point. Blank. Period.
This blog post has a ton of meaning and importance to me. And this is also a blog post I am very proud of. I am unapologetic for my thoughts here. It warmed me to see this post crack the Top 5. But also, selfishly I will admit, I was disappointed this post was not higher up on the list.
As we know history is deemed to be repeated if not discussed and learned from. Rather than hide the polarizing argument, I say bring on the discussion. You may disagree with me. Great! But I am still going to take a stance. And this is one blog post where the content is almost 100% personal and editorial.
Enjoy!
6. #STOH2019 Preview (February 15)
Toss on the dancing shoes and head to Big Dance itself: The 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts!
This blog post breaks down the entire field BUT with a VERY SPECIAL GUEST.
The blog added a new member to the #TwineTimeFam when Michelle Englot sat down to not only help preview #STOH2019 but also discuss her Hall of Fame worthy career.
Ironic to have her inclusion into the fam come in at 6 considering 6 is one number not associated with her resume. Her resume does read off like the start of a Christmas countdown song....or at least the start of a curling blog countdown:
9 Scotties appearances
8 Provincial championships
7 Saskatchewan titles
6th most viewed blog post of 2019
Being a Sasky boy at heart, any time a Sasky curler sits down with this blog it is a special moment. When the curler also happens to be someone I personally grew up watching both live in person and on TV, well can words really explain the excitement?
This was a special post. Welcome once again to the fam Michelle!
7. Playdowns Preview III (February 7)
We got the party started with the #9 post on the countdown and now we have the after party post come in at #7.
The provincial/territorial playdowns entered the after party stage at the beginning of February. The 2019 Scotties field was finalized the weekend prior as congratulations went out to the final 3 provincial winners (B.C., Northern Ontario, Ontario) and we discovered which teams advanced to the Wildcard match up in Sydney.
The women's national championship field was finalized while the 2019 Brier field was just starting to take shape. 4 more provincial champs were crowned (B.C., Northern Ontario, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador). And the after party kicked off with the preview of the remaining provincial/territorial championships (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NWT) and predicting who would compete for the Team Wildcard berth in Brandon.
This blog post also welcomed the return of two #TwineTimeFam special guests: Catlin Schneider and Kirk Muyres. Schneider talked about Team Dunstone's Curling World Cup victory while Muyres helped preview the Saskatchewan Tankard. Hmmmm, Muyres ended up winning the provincial title as well so perhaps the #TwineTime blog was good luck?
Maybe this year we can get players wanting to do a quick tanking preview interview for good luck? Yes?!?
8. #WMDCC2019 Preview (April 19)
This was a historic preview for two reasons:
(a) A record amount of nations (48) competed at the 2019 world championship
(b) 2019 marked the final year the championship would be an open-invite event
The blog questions the idea behind deleting the open-invite option under the #growthesport mentality. The idea proposed is similar to what we see at the European Curling Championship or at the IIHF world championship level. Should we see an A, B, C and D-division for mixed doubles in the future?
Promotion. Relegation. Oh no....or should we be seeing "Oh yeah"?!
Plus the post provides a #HistoryLesson on the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in addition to a preview of the 6 pools of action on the ice in Stavanger, Norway including predictions.
9. Playdowns Preview (January 22)
This was a bit of a surprise entry into the Top 9. But also an entry that warms my little blogging heart. The playdown preview blog posts are one of the main reasons why I started blogging in the first place. As a curling fan I love the provincial/territorial playdowns. This is what teams are playing for all season. The opportunity to represent your home province/territory at a Canadian championship.
This post previews provincial Scotties action in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and predicts the Scotties Wildcard match. Also featured were the provincial tankard fields in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Did the blog predict the winners? Check out the post to find out....but *spoiler* some (not all) were correct!
This blog post was also the first in a series of playdown preview posts. Will another crack the Top 9?
#StayTuned
The #PowerRankings will return on January 1 to reveal the Top 50 men's, women's and nation rankings heading into the start of 2020.
As always, THANK YOU all for continuing to support the blog and read the posts. I appreciate the interaction as we continue to #growthesport through fan and athlete engagement.
Enjoy the holiday season!
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