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I purchased four finals tickets from a corps back in April for section 138. When they arrived this week, they were for 638. The corps can't do anything for me at this point and DCI does not have any better tickets left to try to help me. So, I am looking for 4 tickets between the 30 yard lines in the 100, 200, 300, or 400 levels. I'll pay face value + fees. I'm already in Indy and available to pay in person. If you are looking to save a few dollars by downgrading, I have 4 $89 tickets in 638 that I'd be happy to exchange as part of the deal where I'd pay the upcharge to a higher tier. I've purchased tickets to San Antonio, Atlanta, Allentown and Indianapolis and after all of that investment, I'd like to be in great seats for the final night of the season.

August 7, 2018 vs. August 8, 2017 2018 Vanguard Cadets won its sixth DCI Open Class Championship and second in a row. Guardians put up the greatest score increase (2.325), good enough to pass two corps from Prelims competition to finish in seventh place, the corps' highest placement ever. 7th Regiment also increased by more than two points for the second year in a row at finals (2.188). Although this did not change placement at all, it separated the corps from the rest of the pack in what had been a very tight #6-#10 race. Last Night's Storylines: If Vanguard Cadets hold on and win, it will be the corps' first back-to-back championships. Check. Gold vs. Legends promises to be a battle for the bronze. They only competed head-to-head once and that was at Prelims where Gold won by a 0.050 point margin. Legends were the bronze medalists in 2017 while this would be Gold's first medal. Gold's highest previous placement is seventh. Gold won by 0.400 points to earn its first Open Class medal. Unless something crazy happens on Thursday, Gold will also make World Class Semifinals for the first time. Things are very tight in the #6-#10 spots with just about two points separating five corps. Based on results over the last week of the regular season, anything can happen here. There was some movement in this range from Prelims to Finals and if you read back over the last week or so of the season, you'll find a lot of excitement in this group. It is possible we will see additional placement changes at World Class Prelims on Thursday. 2017 Somewhat surprisingly, scores increased quite a bit for a finals competition with three corps moving up 2+ points: 7th Regiment (2.175), Gold (72.750), and Southwind (2.125) and no corps decreasing in score. This had an effect on relative placements compared to World Class corps. It will be interesting to see how that all shakes out on Thursday. The only in show placement change from prelims was Southwind defeating Guardians. Last Night's Storylines: Will Vanguard Cadets hold off Blue Devils B to win its 5th DCI Open Class championship? Yes! Will Legends hold off Music City to tie its best Open Class finish ever (3rd in 2016). Yes! Even in 4th place, Music City is poised for its best finish ever at 4th place in Open Class. The previous high water mark was 5th place in 2013. Music City finished in 4th place. The Spartans are a rare corps that took a year off to regroup in 2009 and came back as strong or stronger than ever. Since then, the corps has never placed lower than 5th in Open Class and is on track to maintain that standing this year. Status maintained. In only its second year competing at Open Class championships, Louisiana Stars is positioned for its highest placement ever at #6. In its only previous appearance, the corps placed 9th. This wound up being the case and the corps won "Most Improved" for the second year in a row. Guardians is looking to make its first appearance in the top 10 after placing 11th in its first visit to the big show last year Guardians dropped from #10 to #11 in finals.

Which year in DCI history do you believe had the "most interesting music" played by corps?

August 6, 2018 vs. August 7, 2017 2018 Let's start with the final night of regular season World Class competition. Phantom Regiment returned to competition for the first time in five days and put up a 2.800 point increase in score, returning the corps to the Top 8 in ranking. The only head-to-head movement was between Boston Crusaders and The Cavaliers. Shadow makes Open Class finals after placing 13th in both 2017 and 2016. Shadow Golden Empire makes Open Class finals in its first time attending. These two corps replace Music City and Raiders from last year's list of finalists. Tonight's Storylines: If Vanguard Cadets hold on and win, it will be the corps' first back-to-back championships. Gold vs. Legends promises to be a battle for the bronze. They only competed head-to-head once and that was at Prelims where Gold won by a 0.050 point margin. Legends were the bronze medalists in 2017 while this would be Gold's first medal. Gold's highest previous placement is seventh. Things are very tight in the #6-#10 spots with just about two points separating five corps. Based on results over the last week of the regular season, anything can happen here. Last Night's Storylines: Bluecoats have won all 17 competitions versus Carolina Crown this year. Has Crown surged enough to move into the #3 ranking? No. In fact, Bluecoats won by over one point. The Cavaliers now lead 9-3 over Boston Crusaders. Who wins the final match-up headed into finals week? Boston Crusaders take the final regular season match-up. Blue Knights have won all nine competitions versus Mandarins with last night's gap only 0.800. Can Mandarins make the case for the #8 spot? Blue Knights won, but it was by the smallest margin of the season. Vanguard Cadets have won the last six (of nine) competitions versus Blue Devils B and come into Open Class prelims as the favorite. After that, it gets very interesting with Legends, Gold, and Spartans all in the running for the #3 spot. Gold and Legends are separated by just 0.050 for the bronze medal. This is where the most excitement should be tonight. 2017 Generally speaking, scores stabilized or decreased at Open Class prelims compared to the last regular season scores and went up more in the World Class corps. This is not the same as what happened last year where it was the other way around. In head-to-head competition, Vanguard Cadets edged Blue Devils B by almost 1.300 points, its largest margin of victory of the season. Les Stentors put up the largest score increase in the circuit at 5.600. There were several non head-to-head rankings changes that will be flushed out once everyone is on the same field on Thursday. It may be notable that the top corps in the Erie, PA show had larger score increases than anyone at the Massillon, OH show. Congratulations to Southwind which made Open Class finals in its first year in championship week competition since 2007. The other finalist corps were all there last year as well. Southwind takes the place of Genesis, which moved to World Class this year. For the second year in a row, and the second time in two appearances, Shadow just missed the finalist cut by placing 13th. Last Night's Storylines: It is day 1 of Finals Week! The main story has to be Blue Devils B vs. Vanguard Cadets in the fight for the gold medal. The two corps account for 8 of the last 9 Open Class championships (Oregon Crusaders in 2012 is the exception). There is also a fight for the bronze medal with Legends and Music City neck and neck. Vanguard Cadets have made a strong case for the gold medal. Legends also has a pretty good lead over Music City for the bronze. Tonight is the final pre-Indianapolis opportunity for corps to make statements. The top 7 (minus Blue Devils) are head-to-head. No changes in placement. The most significant scoring changes were Carolina Crown closing in on Santa Clara Vanguard and The Cadets closing in on Boston Crusaders.

Congratulations to Golden Empire on making Open Class finals on their first trip to Indianapolis!

Did anybody catch Shadow's score? I've been watching and following here but somehow missed it.

August 5, 2018 vs. August 6, 2017 2018 The only back-and-forth in head-to-head competition was between Boston Crusaders and The Cavaliers. However, there are some interesting spots developing that could play out over finals week. 1) Carolina Crown scored higher than Bluecoats in non head-to-head competition. Almost exactly this time last year Bluecoats began falling from a medal spot. Could it be happening again? 2) The #8-#10 spots are up for grabs. Beyond just making finals, Mandarins may be pushing for #8. 3) Although Madison Scouts seem to have fallen out of the Top 15 discussion, the #13-#15 spots appear to be open for competition. Last Night's Storylines: Blue Devils margin of victory over Bluecoats was highest at their last meeting on July 29. Both corps have been out of competition for several days now. Can Bluecoats tighten the spread? The gap was slightly smaller (1.150) than it was on July 29, but that is still the second largest spread of the season. The Cavaliers hold the season advantage over Boston Crusaders 8-3, but Boston has won three of the last four. Tonight is night two of three days in a row head-to-head. The Cavaliers won night two by 0.050. Blue Knights and Blue Stars have each won one head-to-head match-up this year. Who takes the #8 position into Indianapolis? Blue Knights edged Blue Stars by 0.500. Madison Scouts closed the gap with Colts a bit on Friday night. Can they continue inching towards the Top 15? No. Colts extended its lead. Tonight's Storylines: Bluecoats have won all 17 competitions versus Carolina Crown this year. Has Crown surged enough to move into the #3 ranking? The Cavaliers now lead 9-3 over Boston Crusaders. Who wins the final match-up headed into finals week? Blue Knights have won all nine competitions versus Mandarins with last night's gap only 0.800. Can Mandarins make the case for the #8 spot? Vanguard Cadets have won the last six (of nine) competitions versus Blue Devils B and come into Open Class prelims as the favorite. After that, it gets very interesting with Legends, Gold, and Spartans all in the running for the #3 spot. 2017 No changes in rankings. Score increases/decreases were very small, just like last year. The most significant change was Genesis going down by 1.175 points. In the medal hunt, Blue Devils had the best night as it opened up its lead over Santa Clara Vanguard ever so slightly. Bluecoats also cut down on the gap with Carolina Crown. Across shows, The Cavaliers gained some ground on Bluecoats as well. Last Night's Storylines: From my view on the 50-yard-line, it felt like Boston Crusaders were on the rise and The Cavaliers were not at the top of its game last night in Allentown. As the top of the bill tonight, can Boston Crusaders make a case for the top 5? That did not happen at this show and the gap to get up to the top 5 may be too large to overcome at this point. Blue Stars are closer to Phantom Regiment than they have been all season. Phantom Regiment has not placed in double digits since 1986. Even at its current position of #9, it would tie as the corps' lowest placement in 3 decades with 2009. Phantom Regiment gained another 0.125 of breathing room. Mandarins get a chance to make a statement head-to-head with Madison Scouts. Will Madison Scouts cement its lead or will there be a battle this week to see who will be the last corps standing? (See what I did there?) Madison Scouts opened up its lead in the battle for #12 by another 0.325 points.

I thought I'd follow up on this... San Antonio - I purchased my tickets from Crossmen on February 5 and received the tickets in May. The tickets were excellent and exactly where I requested. There was a wide mix of fans of various corps in the section and even as an alumnus of the corps wearing a Crossmen shirt, I did not feel like I was in a Crossmen "section." Atlanta - I purchased my tickets from Madison Scouts on April 14 and received the tickets in May. The tickets were excellent and exactly where I requested. There was a wide mix of fans of various corps in the section although there was a noticeable Madison Scouts presence (mostly because they were complaining about the corps...). This was definitely not a "homer" crowd and was a great place to be. Allentown - I purchased my tickets from Phantom Regiment on February 11 and received the tickets in April. I ended up selling the tickets, but they were excellent seats exactly where the corps advertised. Indianapolis - I purchased my tickets from Colts on May 19 and received the tickets on August 4. The tickets are not in the section I requested (638 instead of 138). I had to send numerous emails about the status of the tickets despite the fact the website says tickets would be mailed beginning on April 15. I was told that my section was changed based on "first come first served" and the number of requests for lower seating. I am extremely disappointed given the fact that I ordered the tickets 2.5 months ago and could have been given this information at the time so that I could have chosen to purchase the tickets elsewhere. Since Colts appear unable to assist me, I am reaching out to DCI customer service (which is phenomenal by the way) to see if there's anything I can do. Lesson learned - do not buy tickets from Colts.

August 4, 2018 vs. August 5, 2017 2018 Generally speaking, ignore movement changes in World Class. Even when Allentown goes perfectly according to plan, it is challenging to compare scores from night to night (even though this is an official practice of DCI for this show). With the partial rainout and several other rainouts during the week, corps are all over the place. Open Class is also extremely volatile with corps trading spots or even multiple spots on any given night. Outside of Blue Devils B and Vanguard Cadets, there is a great deal of movement happening which should make Monday and Tuesday exciting in Michigan City. Five corps increased their score by 2+ points: Jersey Surf (2.825), Louisiana Stars (2.750), Shadow (2.350), The Cadets (2.125), and 7th Regiment (2.100). Two corps saw score decreases of 1+ point: Golden Empire (-2.300), and Heat Wave (-1.200). Last Night's Storylines: The ongoing battle between Boston Crusaders and The Cavaliers for the #5 spot is the top story in DCI East night two. The two corps face off for three nights in a row heading into Indianapolis. Boston Crusaders take the first battle by 0.625 points. If The Academy or Spirit of Atlanta are going to make a move for finals, tonight is the night with both corps and Crossmen all in competition. Crossmen put some space between it and the #13-14 corps. There's no reason to think the #10 ranking will hold when Mandarins and Phantom Regiment are in action, but the spread of 1.375 over 13th place is pretty strong. Can Gold continue to gain on Spartans or even overtake the corps for the #3 ranking? Gold defeated Spartans for the first time in the corps' history by a margin of 1.450 points. River City Rhythm made a big statement last night beating not only Golden Empire but also Louisiana Stars after previously falling to Louisiana Stars three times by by an average score of 3.950. Will it hold tonight or can Golden Empire and/or Louisiana Stars make a move? Louisiana Stars reclaimed its spot ahead of both corps while River City Rhythm held its lead over Golden Empire. 7th Regiment and Guardians have now traded wins. Who wins the rubber match? 7th Regiment took the third match-up. Tonight's Storylines: Blue Devils margin of victory over Bluecoats was highest at their last meeting on July 29. Both corps have been out of competition for several days now. Can Bluecoats tighten the spread? The Cavaliers hold the season advantage over Boston Crusaders 8-3, but Boston has won three of the last four. Tonight is night two of three days in a row head-to-head. Blue Knights and Blue Stars have each won one head-to-head match-up this year. Who takes the #8 position into Indianapolis? Madison Scouts closed the gap with Colts a bit on Friday night. Can they continue inching towards the Top 15? 2017 The 3 2+ point score increases all came in one show: 7th Regiment (5.250), Music City (4.513), and Southwind (3.550). Les Stentors decreased 5.650 points. The only world class corps to move more than 1 spot in the rankings was Pacific Crest, which dropped from #20 to #23 while not in competition. Last Night's Storylines: The currently ranked #4-#8 are all on tonight. Can The Cavaliers further close the gap with Carolina Crown? Can The Cadets overtake Boston Crusaders and reclaim a spot in the top 6? Will Madison Scouts make a run at Crossmen for #11? The Cavaliers did not close the gap as its score stayed exactly the same from its previous competition. Boston Crusaders increased 0.388 versus The Cadets' improvement of 0.338. Crossmen expanded its lead over Madison Scouts. Then there are the across night questions. Where does Santa Clara Vanguard end up relative to Blue Devils heading to Indianapolis? Are Bluecoats really in medal contention now or will Carolina Crown move up to #3? Crossmen have been beating Blue Stars. If that continues, is there a tight 3-way race for #9? Santa Clara Vanguard finished 0.513 points behind Blue Devils, slightly closer than the average difference between the two corps but not nearly as close as Santa Clara Vanguard was a week ago. Carolina Crown seems to have the edge. Blue Stars scored higher in Allentown and both Blue Stars and Crossmen seem to be within striking distance of Phantom Regiment. There could be some interesting competition in this grouping.

Actual reported Allentown scores mean that Boston Crusaders would have been the #5 seed in prelims but will instead be the #6 seed.

Last year's #24 was Music City. I'm a HUGE fan of their show this year so I'd be happy to see them continue upwards :)

In the Lucas Oil Stadium-era (2009-present), there's nothing even remotely like this. The closest I can find are: Legends - 34 in 2011 then 30, 29, 29, 25, 24, 22 (+12) Music City - 32 in 2011 then 31, 25, 27, 27, 27, 24. (+8) Genesis - 30 in 2011 then 29, 23, 23, 22, 23, 23 (+7) Vanguard Cadets - 23 in 2011 then 22, 21, 18, 16, 20, 16 (+7) *2011 is the starting point for most corps because that is when the current model of all play on prelims day came into being. If you'd like...here's the other direction: Pioneer - 21 in 2009 then 23, 27, 27, 28, 30, 29, 29, 33 (-12) Jersey Surf - 20 in 2009 then 21, 25, 20, 22, 22, 28, 26, 27 (-7)

Some local news about the flooding in the region: https://www.nj.com/warren/index.ssf/2018/08/water_rescues_fair_closed_musikfest_flooding_3-plu.html

Right - that's why the spreadsheet shows prelim seed as the average of San Antonio and Atlanta. The other data is just there per the questions from the OP.

Did something quickly and included received Allentown scores. Will update with tonight's results.

August 3, 2018 vs. August 4, 2017 2018 DCI East had a partial rain-out. I included the scores of the corps that performed since they were announced and posted on the DCI website. The interesting action was in Open Class this night. Three corps improved by 2+ points: Heat Wave (6.700), Golden Empire (4.750), and River City Rhythm (3.950). Four corps saw score decreases of 1+ point: Shadow (-3.400), Louisiana Stars (-1.600), 7th Regiment (-1.350), Cascades (-1.275). These adjustments are important as they represent several first time match-ups as the Open Class tours merge on their way to Michigan City. Although the gold medal seems like a two-corps fight between Vanguard Cadets and Blue Devils B, there now appears to be a three-way battle for the bronze among Spartans, Legends, and Gold. Last Night's Storylines: Rained out Rained out Heat Wave returns to action for the first time since July 14 and Golden Empire for the first time since July 21. Can they make Shadow-like improvements in their score and ranking? Heat Wave improved by 6.700 points and six places in the rankings while Golden Empire improved by 4.750 points and seven places in the rankings. Tonight's Storylines: The ongoing battle between Boston Crusaders and The Cavaliers for the #5 spot is the top story in DCI East night two. The two corps face off for three nights in a row heading into Indianapolis. If The Academy or Spirit of Atlanta are going to make a move for finals, tonight is the night with both corps and Crossmen all in competition. Can Gold continue to gain on Spartans or even overtake the corps for the #3 ranking? River City Rhythm made a big statement last night beating not only Golden Empire but also Louisiana Stars after previously falling to Louisiana Stars three times by by an average score of 3.950. Will it hold tonight or can Golden Empire and/or Louisiana Stars make a move? 7th Regiment and Guardians have now traded wins. Who wins the rubber match? 2017 From my vantage point on the 50 yard line in row 17 at J. Birney Crum Stadium, night 1 of DCI East was awesome and it seems to me that placements are where they ought to be. I thought Blue Stars might have been on top of Phantom Regiment and I was not at all surprised to see Colts make a jump relative to Troopers. The two big score increases were in the other show of the night: Colt Cadets (3.250) and Spartans (2.525). Colt Cadets gained 4 spots in the rankings to move to #36. Last Night's Storylines: Phantom Regiment has led Blue Stars in all 5 meetings this season by an average score of 2.295 yet the two corps are just 0.200 points apart in the rankings heading into tonight. Blue Stars are making a push to claim the #9 spot. Colts and Troopers continue to battle for the #15 spot. Colts made a strong statement that #15 is going to the corps from Iowa. Can Mandarins set up the weekend with a high enough score to be in the mix for a top 12 performance order spot at Prelims? It does not look that way. Madison Scouts would need a pretty decent decrease in score to slot Mandarins into the #12 spot.

August 2, 2018 vs. August 3, 2017 2018 Another day, another rainout. There was only one show, but it did have some score movement: The Academy (2.150), Troopers (2.050), Jersey Surf (-1.600) and The Academy moved ahead of Spirit of Atlanta after two shows of reverse finishes. Last Night's Storylines: Spirit of Atlanta had a phenomenal last week of July. The Academy looks to make a move to return to the #13 spot and the Top 12 discussion. The Academy won the head-to-head match-up by 0.700 points and moves into the #13 spot. Tonight's Storylines: The Top 3 are all in the same night of DCI East. Can Santa Clara Vanguard sweep the regionals? Phantom Regiment has won all four head-to-head match-ups with Mandarins with only a 0.100 spread in the last meeting. By score, Mandarins are now ahead. Where will things land tonight? Heat Wave returns to action for the first time since July 14 and Golden Empire for the first time since July 21. Can they make Shadow-like improvements in their score and ranking? 2017 There were no large score swings in either of the two shows. The Cavaliers tightened things up in the top 5 and are now only 0.700 points from a medalist spot.

August 1, 2018 vs. August 2, 2017 2018 Sometimes really interesting things come up by looking at two years of data at once. On the same night last season, there were several huge score swings. This year, Shadow led the way with the largest increase documented in the three years I have been doing this (12.825). The corps had not competed since July 15. That said, on that previous date, Shadow trailed Colt Cadets by about half a point. This time, Shadow led Colt Cadets by 4.300 points. This is a massive swing. It cannot even be explained away by scoring at that show as every other corps had an increase between 0.350 and 1.600. It seems like Shadow made significant and legitimate progress over the past few weeks. Scores went up a lot in the other Open Class show with five of six corps seeing increases over two points. When this happens, there is usually an adjustment within a day or two so do not expect all of the placement changes to hold. Based on the East meets West match-ups in Open Class, it seems that it will be another California year at the top with Vanguard Cadets holding a solid lead. While Blue Devils and Blue Devils B have swept World/Open Class in the past, this would be the first time Santa Clara Vanguard/Vanguard Cadets did the same if both corps held on and won their respective classes. Last Night's Storylines: Bluecoats have defeated Carolina Crown 16 out of 16 times this season, but the margin of victory was narrowest in their last meeting. The margin of victory was a little larger for Bluecoats however Carolina Crown is still within one point. After winning the first seven match-ups of the season, The Cavaliers have fallen to the Boston Crusaders in the last two contests. The Cavaliers won by the razor thin margin of 0.050. Vanguard Cadets and Spartans match up for the first time this season, #1 and #3 in current Open Class rankings. Vanguard Cadets won this match-up by a margin of 3.350. Blue Devils B and Legends match up for the first time this season, #2 and #4 in current Open Class rankings. Blue Devils B won this match-up by a margin of 2.750. Tonight's Storylines: Phantom Regiment has defeated Crossmen 13 out of 13 times this season by an average margin of 1.660 points. Oddly, the last meeting was the tightest (0.887) while the meeting before that was the widest (2.875). A Crossmen victory would bring Phantom Regiment into the discussions of Top 12 vulnerability. Spirit of Atlanta had a phenomenal last week of July. The Academy looks to make a move to return to the #13 spot and the Top 12 discussion. 2017 One show was rained out so several storylines remain mysteries for the time being. There were some wild score swings; I'll just highlight those that were 3+ points: Louisiana Stars (9.300), Blue Devils B (4.250), Music City (3.850), Legends (3.000), Colt Cadets (-3.400). On the rankings side of things, Louisiana Stars moved up 8 spots to #27. Blue Devils B and Shadow moved up 4 spots each to #18 and #39 respectively. Colt Cadets lost 6 spots to drop to #40 and Impulse dropped 5 spots to #42. Last Night's Storylines: Boston Crusaders and The Cadets meet up again after a 0.075 margin of victory for Boston Crusaders on July 30. Can The Cadets even up the season record to 5-5? Boston Crusaders won by 1.175. Blue Devils B comes out of a few rehearsal days aiming to regain the lead in Open Class. Although Blue Devils B saw a large score increase (4.250), it was not enough to catch Vanguard Cadets, which won the show by a 0.500 margin. Three Open Class corps sitting within 1 point of each other meet up tonight. Who comes out on top? 7th Regiment, Guardians, or Music City? Music City was the clear winner in the group with a 4+ point margin over the other two groups.

Thank you! Fixed!

So everyone knows - I still have 2 tickets available for Saturday only.

July 31, 2018 vs. August 1, 2017 2018 One show was rained out with no scores. There was no movement in the rankings involving corps in head-to-head competition. Five of the six highest score increases came in the same show. The leading two were River City Rhythm (2.800) and Louisiana Stars (2.500). The only corps to see a decrease was Colts (-0.175) after a very large increase the night before. Tonight's Storylines: Bluecoats have defeated Carolina Crown 16 out of 16 times this season, but the margin of victory was narrowest in their last meeting. After winning the first seven match-ups of the season, The Cavaliers have fallen to the Boston Crusaders in the last two contests. Vanguard Cadets and Spartans match up for the first time this season, #1 and #3 in current Open Class rankings. Blue Devils B and Legends match up for the first time this season, #2 and #4 in current Open Class rankings. 2017 As you can see from the color coding, all shows were not created equal last night. 7 of the 8 lowest score increases on the night came at one show (Annapolis). As a result, there is some movement in the rankings that is unlikely to hold once the corps are back on the same field. That said, River City Rhythm returned to competition for the first time since July 22 with a 6.600 increase, good for 7 spots in the rankings from #38 to #31. Les Stentors (2.900), Genesis (2.500), and Guardians (2.200) also had 2+ point increases. No scores decreased, but Pioneer did have a 0.000 change in score. Last Night's Storylines: Colts and Troopers. Most recent score puts the two corps 1.050 apart with Colts in the lead. Head-to-head match-ups give Troopers the edge with a 4-1-1 record. Colts defeated Troopers for the second time this season by a 0.200 margin. Genesis and Seattle Cascades is the closest head-to-head competition of the night. Genesis has a 4-0 record, but less than half a point separated the two corps in their last meeting. Genesis won handily with a 1.900 margin. An unanticipated storyline emerged when Oregon Crusaders defeated Pacific Crest by a 0.200 margin. This is the third time in 9 meetings that Oregon Crusaders won the match-up and the first time since July 20.

July 30, 2018 vs. July 31, 2017 2018 One show was rained out with no scores. Colts (2.025) and Phantom Regiment (2.000) had the greatest score increases. Both corps had score decreases in their last outing. Oregon Crusaders decreased the most (-0.600). There were no changes to placements in head-to-head competition however Colts appeared to make a statement that it is in the 12-15 hunt and no longer in a back-and-forth battle with Madison Scouts. 2017 No scores increased by more than 2 points, my usual threshold for reporting. The Academy had the largest increase at 1.775. Seattle Cascades was the only corps to decrease (-0.150). The only placement change in head-to-head competition was Blue Knights claiming the #8 spot with a defeat of Phantom Regiment. Last Night's Storylines: Blue Knights and Phantom Regiment are head-to-head with Phantom Regiment having won the last 3 meetings. Blue Knights won the match-up by nearly a full point. Blue Stars and Crossmen are head-to-head with Crossmen having won the last 3 meetings. Crossmen prevailed by a slim 0.150 margin, its smallest margin of victory yet.

June 29, 2018 vs. June 30, 2017 2018 There is a lot of movement in rankings between corps that performed in South Carolina and corps that did not when looking solely at scores. It is unlikely that these placement changes will stand as they do not reflect the record in head-to-head competition. The largest increases went to Colt Cadets (4.900) and Blue Devils B (3.550), two corps that have been out of competition for awhile. In head-to-head competition, Santa Clara Vanguard opened up its lead on Blue Devils a bit and Carolina Crown significantly closed the gap on Bluecoats. Boston Crusaders expanded on its win over The Cavaliers by quite a bit as well. 2017 Legends had the greatest score increase of the night (1.650) and the most positive movement in the rankings (#25 to #23). Legends also defeated Spartans in the two corps' first head-to-head match-up of the season. Raiders decreased the most (-2.050). There was no movement in rankings in the top 12 other than Phantom Regiment and Blue Knights now having the same score. There's no question that the biggest storyline is the Blue Devils - Santa Clara Vanguard battle. In the month of July Santa Clara Vanguard has chipped away at the lead little by little and now stands just 0.013 points behind. The last time Santa Clara Vanguard defeated Blue Devils was June 20, 2007. Blue Devils won by a 0.350 margin, the largest in a week. Boston Crusaders get back in the mix with the top 5 tonight. Boston Crusaders maintained its hold on the #6 spot, but the margin with The Cadets is small. The Cadets had the greatest score increase among top 15 in Atlanta. This follows their greatest loss to Boston Crusaders on the season just a few days earlier. With just two weeks to go, are The Cadets making a move to get back into the top 6? The Cadets had the greatest score improvement of any world class corps so it certainly appears that the corps is making a push. The Phantom Regiment/Blue Knights competition has remained tight with Blue Knights cutting the gap steadily since San Antonio. Scores are now tied. After winning the first 2 match-ups, Mandarins fell to Madison Scouts on July 27. Who holds the last finalist spot with one regional to go? Madison Scouts won, but the gap tightened. Don't underestimate the importance of the Colts/Troopers battle. The two corps are fighting it out to make the nationwide movie theater broadcast. Troopers hold a 3-1 edge with 1 tie. Troopers extended its lead to 4-1 in head-to-head competition.

July 28, 2018 vs. July 29, 2017 2018 Blue Knights (1.250) and Cascades (1.200) had the largest score increases while Troopers (-1.988) and Pacific Crest (-1.525) had the largest score decreases. The Top 3 remained consistent with Santa Clara Vanguard winnings its second regional of the year followed closely by Blue Devils and Bluecoats. The margin between gold and silver is just 0.200. Remarkably, this is a larger spread than this time last year when Blue Devils were just 0.013 points ahead of Santa Clara Vanguard. Changes from San Antonio: Boston Crusaders moved up to #5 and The Cavaliers dropped to #6. Blue Stars moved up to #8 and Blue Knights dropped to #9. Spirit of Atlanta moved up to #13 and The Academy dropped to #14. Cascades moved up to #22 (in World Class) and Jersey Surf dropped to #23. 2017 The 4 corps in the small Open Class corps had the 4 highest score increases on the night, led by Raiders at 9.800, good for 10 spots in the rankings from #43 to #33. The 3 other corps with increases of 2 points or more were at the other Open Class show, led by Gold (3.450) in its first competition since July 16. Blue Devils B decreased most at -0.550. Of the corps in competition in Atlanta, Pacific Crest made the greatest gain in placement from #21 to #18. Pioneer lost the most ground going from #29 to #31. Last Night's Storylines: Blue Devils B and Vanguard Cadets meet again after Vanguard Cadets pulled to within just 0.150 points. Vanguard Cadets won the match-up for the first time on the season with an impressive 1.200 margin of victory. Imagine the excitement in northern California as the Blue Devils and Santa Clara Vanguard organizations battle it out with the closest of margins in both World Class and Open Class tonight. Could Santa Clara Vanguard take the lead in both competitions on the same night? Will Blue Devils hold off the approaching challengers? Half and half, but it is close! Phantom Regiment has pulled to only 1.500 points behind The Cadets, the closest margin of the season. Can it continue closing the gap? The Cadets implemented some changes and had the greatest score increase in the top 15, opening up a little more space from Phantom Regiment.

July 27, 2018 vs. July 28, 2017 2018 I am sure all eyes were on Tennessee to see how the Top 3 matched up and while there were no placement changes, it remains very interesting indeed. It was a bad night (scorewise) for Blue Devils as both Santa Clara Vanguard and Bluecoats had larger score increases meaning that the gap to first grew and the gap to third shrunk. This tied as the second largest margin of victory for Santa Clara Vanguard (1.050), which previous occurred on July 20 and July 23. I'm sure there is a lot of discussion about Blue Knights significant point decrease (-2.325), but keep in mind the corps improved by 2.800 points the day before and the spread with The Cadets is pretty close to the last head-to-head match-up so it's more likely the higher score on July 26 was the anomaly. Don't forget to keep an eye on the other World Class show though. There was some placement movement there. Six days ago Oregon Crusaders defeated Genesis in its only head-to-head match-up by 1.863 points. Tonight, Genesis won by 0.250. After winning their previous two head-to-head match-ups by slim margins, Jersey Surf fell to Seattle Cascades tonight. Finally, in Open Class competition, after days of razor thin margins, Spartans opened up a spread on Legends, winning by 1.900 points. There's only one show and it's the Southeastern Regional from the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. I'll be there in the 200 level on my regional tour around the country. There was no directly comparable show last year with the stadium construction situation in Georgia so I will not have quite the same year-to-year analysis that regionals typically provide. 2017 Guardians made a huge 5.050 score improvement just two days since its last performance. Blue Devils B returned to competition for the first time since July 16 with a 3.450 point increase. The two corps gained the most ground in the rankings as a result with Guardians moving from #33 to #27 and Blue Devils B moving from #22 to #18. Music City's score decreased 1.850 for a loss of 2 spots in the rankings (#23 to #25). Southwind decreased 1.100 points and 3 spots (#30 to #33). Last Night's Storylines: Can Santa Clara Vanguard close the gap on Blue Devils? The closest the two have been all season was 0.400. Yes! Santa Clara Vanguard pulled with 0.100 points. Bluecoats have pulled even with Carolina Crown in score but trailed in the last 4 head-to-head match-ups. Where will things wind up tonight? It is a little tighter than it was the last time the two corps were head to head, but Carolina Crown remains in the bronze medal spot. Phantom Regiment and Blue Knights have been going back and forth all month. Tonight kicks off 3 match-ups in 4 days. Who is on top to lead it off? Phantom Regiment wins the first night by the margin of only 0.350. By score Genesis is ranked higher than Pacific Crest. The two corps have met only once previously with Pacific Crest winning by 2.775 points. Pacific Crest took the win by a smaller margin of victory this time at 1.700. Blue Devils B return to competition for the first time since July 16. How high does its score jump? Will the corps be in the Top 15 talk again this year? With a 3.450 point increase, Blue Devils B is back atop the Open Class rankings in the #18 spot overall. This time last year Blue Devils B was ranked #21 before finishing at #15. Don't miss the fact that its 0.150 margin of victory over Vanguard Cadets is the smallest of the year.