DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 July 17, 2018 vs. July 18, 2017 2018 The long-awaited head-to-head-to-head match-up with the Top 3 occurred with Santa Clara Vanguard taking the win. 2017 Blue Devils maintains its undefeated season with a 0.50 margin victory over Santa Clara Vanguard, the smallest gap in head-to-head competition between the two corps this season. Carolina Crown put up the biggest increase in score at 1.300, good for #3, with The Cadets decreasing most at -1.300, dropping the corps to #7 in the rankings. There is one show tonight featuring 6 Open Class corps including the season debut of Les Stentors and the final show for Heat Wave. Comparison Santa Clara Vanguard's margin over Blue Devils is nearly the same as Blue Devils margin over Santa Clara Vanguard this time last year for the top 2 spots. This year's third place corps (Bluecoats) is down by 1.275 compared to last year's third place corps (Carolina Crown) that was down by only 0.900 points. Santa Clara Vanguard broke 90 four days before the San Antonio regional which was the date that threshold was crossed last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 July 18, 2018 vs. July 19, 2017 2018 There were no shows. Storylines for July 19: In their last head-to-head match-up in St. Louis, The Cavaliers trailed Carolina Crown by 0.900. Can they close the gap? Crossmen and The Academy match-up for the first time in what could be a preview of the battle for the #12 spot. Colts and Troopers match-up for the first time with the two corps currently sitting at #16 and #17. 2017 There was one Open Class-only show at which scores jumped considerably. When this happens, there is typically a correction within a couple days. Louisiana Stars saw its score improve the most (4.800), but all corps went up by at least 1 point. Louisiana Stars gained 7 spots in the rankings as well, moving from #34 to #27. Heat Wave closed out its season with a 57.400 and a #33 ranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 (edited) July 19, 2018 vs. July 20, 2017 2018 Neither show was scored due to adjustments related to the heat. Tonight's Storylines: Santa Clara Vanguard's victory over Blue Devils on July 17 was its smallest margin of the season. Where will they stand heading into the first all-in regional? In their last head-to-head match-up in St. Louis, The Cavaliers trailed Carolina Crown by 0.900. Can they close the gap? The Battalion is making a trip to California. Where will the corps line up against the long list of California-based Open Class corps? 2017 One show seems to have seen a much larger increase in scores than another and the Blue Devils being off make it wise to approach July 20 scores with extreme caution when talking about relative position across the shows. However, there are a few things to highlight. Crossmen saw the largest score increase (3.600) with Pioneer also above the 3 point improvement mark (3.300). No scores decreased. Pioneer increased in the rankings by the most, going from #35 to #29. Guardians made its season debut in the #34 spot. In addition to the predicted storylines explained below, the tie between Colts and Troopers for the final movie theater broadcast spot of #15 should be noted. Last Night's Storylines: The corps currently ranked #10-#16 in World Class are all head-to-head tonight. Most notable is the first match-up of Mandarins and Madison Scouts. Who holds the edge in the race for the last finalist spot? Mandarins takes the first match-up by a margin of 0.850. Trivia question - when was the last time a new corps made finals for the first time in back to back years? Blue Knights and Phantom Regiment have traded 0.100 victories in their last two meetings. Who comes out on top tonight? Blue Knights made a statement with a 1.300 victory. Edited July 20, 2018 by DrumCorpsRadio Added Tonight's Storylines 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 July 20, 2018 vs. July 21, 2017 2018 There were huge score increases in the California Open Class show where several corps had been off for an extended period of time. In total, seven corps had an increase of two or more points: The Battalion (5.250), Watchmen (4.800), Golden Empire (4.000), Vanguard Cadets (3.600), Blue Devils B (3.200), Impulse (2.850), and Gold (2.550). Blue Devils was the only corps to decrease in score (-0.125). There was also some significant movement in the rankings. The Battalion (+7 to #27), Watchmen (+6 to #37), and Golden Empire (+5 to #28) led the way. For the first time this season, Bluecoats defeated Blue Devils. The margin was extremely slight at .075. There were no other placement changes reflecting movement in head-to-head competition. Last Night's Storylines: Santa Clara Vanguard's victory over Blue Devils on July 17 was its smallest margin of the season. Where will they stand heading into the first all-in regional? Santa Clara Vanguard won by its largest margin of the season (1.050). In their last head-to-head match-up in St. Louis, The Cavaliers trailed Carolina Crown by 0.900. Can they close the gap? No. Carolina Crown opened the gap to 1.350. The Battalion is making a trip to California. Where will the corps line up against the long list of California-based Open Class corps? The Battalion matched up very well placing between Gold and Golden Empire. 2017 Blue Devils put up the biggest score increase (2.250) after being off a couple days and reclaimed the #1 spot. Crossmen was the only corps to see a decrease (-0.250) after the large increases the day before. Last night's storylines: Will the Top 5 reshuffle to its July 18 order with everyone in the same show on the same night? Yes. Can The Cavaliers use this opportunity to get itself more closely grouped to the top 4 so the discussion of potential medalists includes the corps? No. The Cavaliers did not see any increase in score so the gap opened up from the top 4. By score, Crossmen are ranked higher than Phantom Regiment, but Phantom Regiment has one each of the two head-to-head match-ups by more than 2 points. Is the ranking accurate or will there be a reset? There was a reset with Phantom Regiment winning the match-up by 1.750, its smallest margin of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) July 21, 2018 vs. July 22, 2017 2018 As I did last year, I will begin with non-San Antonio information. 7th Regiment and Spartans returned to competition for the first time since July 3 and put up 5+ point increases. In both points and movement, this was much less of a jolt to the system as last year. Legends put up a 7+ point increase after just five days off. Several corps put up significant point increases in California with no breaks: Vessel (4.200), Watchmen (2.400), Gold (2.300), Blue Devils C (2.300), Blue Devils B (2.050). Vessel and Incognito have concluded their 2018 seasons. Raiders returned to competition for the first time since July 5 and increased by only one point. No corps outside of San Antonio decreased in score. I watched San Antonio live and in-person so I will interject some of my own commentary. Unlike last year, scores increased significantly for a few corps at this show: Cascades (2.775), Pacific Crest (2.575), Colts (2.400), Blue Stars (2.363), Boston Crusaders (2.300), The Cadets (2.238), Oregon Crusaders (2.113). Guardians (-0.825) and Crossmen (-0.400) decreased in score. Santa Clara Vanguard won with a decisive margin of victory. Well deserved, in my opinion. Blue Devils reclaimed the #2 spot with a 0.300 lead over Bluecoats and Carolina Crown returned to medalist conversation. From my vantage point, it is Santa Clara Vanguard's to lose and the other three corps are going to battle it out for silver and bronze. I might have had Blue Devils as low as fourth. For those watching only on television, Carolina Crown is exceptionally more exciting and engaging live. The Cavaliers and Boston Crusaders seem to be in a lock for the 5-6 spots. I would have had the order reversed. The movement in the 8-12 range rankings isn't really movement as these results reflect previous head-to-head competition. Colts moved back ahead of Madison Scouts. Given that this is the fight for 15th place, I believe this battle will have implications for the theater broadcast at prelims. If the season ended today: Santa Clara Vanguard would have its first world championship since 1999. Phantom Regiment would have its lowest finish in the Lucas Oil Stadium era and its lowest finish since 1986 (10th). Mandarins would top its highest finish ever (#13 in 2017) and make finals for the first time. California would have three corps in the Top 12. This would be the first state had that distinction since 1992 when California had four finalists (Blue Devils, Freelancers, Santa Clara Vanguard, Velvet Knights). Madison Scouts would have its worst finish in DCI history. Music City would have its best finish ever in its inaugural year in World Class. Oregon Crusaders would tie its lowest placement since moving to World Class in 2011. Gold would tie its highest placement in corps history. Cascades would have its lowest placement in the Lucas Oil Stadium era and its lowest finish ever in World Class. * The corps was inactive for the 2008 season. 2017 Let us begin with non-San Antonio information. 7th Regiment and Spartans returned to competition for the first time since July 3 and put up 11+ point increases, each moving up 12 spots in the rankings. Five other corps in non-San Antonio competition also improved by more than 2 points: Shadow (7.700), River City Rhythm (6.900), Raiders (5.700), Colt Cadets (5.300), and Les Stentors (2.650), most after multiple days off. The rankings begin their annual adjustment so that the corps no longer in competition move down as other corps begin their partial-season tours and take their places. In San Antonio, score movement was much more muted. Only two corps put up 2+ point increases: Madison Scouts (2.125) and The Cavaliers (2.100). Blue Knights (-0.050) and Blue Stars (-0.025) decreased in score. In Top 12 action, there were two shifts in placement from previous head-to-head competition. Phantom Regiment beat Blue Knights by 0.825 after losing by 0.700 just the night before. This is just the second time in 10 meetings than Phantom Regiment has defeated Blue Knights this season. Crossmen beat Blue Stars by 0.200 after a 0.250 win two days earlier in head-to-head competition. These represent 2 of the 3 wins Crossmen has over Blue Stars in 10 meetings this season. Further down in World Class, there was one additional movement in placement. Troopers regained an edge over Colts after a tie in the two corps' last match-up. If the season ended today, there would be several notable finishes related to the Top 12: Santa Clara Vanguard last finished in the top 2 in 1999 when it won the championship. Incidentally, watching that corps live in 1999 inspired me to march in DCI. Bluecoats moving from 1 to 4 in a season would add it to a long list of DCI champions who follow up a championship year with a 4th place or lower finish. In fact, this has been the case 17 out 44 times (39%). The most recent first-time champion, 2013 Carolina Crown, finished in 5th place in 2014. Amazingly, this has been the case only once for Blue Devils (1986-87) despite its 17 opportunities to follow up a championship. Boston Crusaders would finish in 6th place, its highest finish since 2003. This would be the greatest movement from 12th place since 1990 when Crossmen finished in 7th after a 12th place finish in 1989. Interesting note: Velvet Knights and Spirit of Atlanta also made 12->7 movement earlier in the 1980s. The only corps ever to improve greater than 12->6 was Blue Stars who went from 12 to 5 from 1973 to 1974. The Cadets would finish in 7th place, its lowest finish since 1981, which was a very different feel for the corps as it was followed with a rise to prominence that has been expected ever since. This would mark the fourth year in a row for Crossmen finishing as a finalist, the longest streak since being knocked out of finals in 2005. This would mark the fifth year in a row for Blue Stars finishing as a finalist, the longest streak since leaving top 12 status in 1980 after having been a founding member of the DCI elite. The closest Mandarins have come to Top 12 was a 16th place finish in 2001. This would represent the second year in a row that a corps made finals for the first time following The Academy in 2016. The last time there were first-time finalists two years in a row was 1993-1994. Colts and Glassmen both finished in the Top 12 for the first time in 1993 and Carolina Crown and Magic of Orlando both finished in the top 12 for the first time in 1994. California would have 3 corps in the Top 12. This would be the first 1 state had that distinction since 1992 when California had 4 finalists (Blue Devils, Freelancers, Santa Clara Vanguard, Velvet Knights). Edited July 22, 2018 by DrumCorpsRadio 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 thanks for doing this! always an interesting read and part of each day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 July 22, 2018 vs. July 23, 2017 2018 Although there was only one show with just four corps, there is some interesting action. Spartans defeated Legends after finishing in the reverse order the night before. In non head-to-head competition, this could be a battle for the bronze medal in Open Class. Tonight's Storylines: The Top 5 are all head-to-head in Texas. Can Blue Devils and/or Bluecoats close in on Santa Clara Vanguard? Will Carolina Crown stay in the hunt for a medal position? 2017 There were no shows. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 There are a lot of threads I skip over on the WC forums, but not this one. Thanks for all your efforts! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 July 23, 2018 vs. July 24, 2017 2018 There were no ranking changes in head-to-head match-ups. Spirit of Atlanta made the biggest move with a 2.812 point increase bringing the corps within just 0.150 points of The Academy in head-to-head competition. This could make the fight for 12th place a little tighter as The Academy was 1.125 points behind Crossmen in San Antonio. Louisiana Stars returned to competition for the first time since July 14 with a 2.100 point increase. Top scores continue to outpace 2017 by over two points. Blue Devils and Bluecoats remain extremely tight and closed the gap a bit on Santa Clara Vanguard while Carolina Crown lost a little ground compared to the top 3. Tonight's Storylines: The Battalion, Impulse, and Watchmen conclude their seasons. 2017 Blue Devils opened up its lead over Carolina Crown while Bluecoats closed the gap with the top 3. The Cadets cut its deficit with Boston Crusaders to just 0.050. Colts beat Troopers after falling in San Antonio. Madison Scouts had the greatest score improvement at 2.750, good for movement into the #12 spot although not in head-to-head competition with Mandarins. Pioneer was the only corps to have a score decrease (-0.325). There is only one show tonight. The key match-up is between Carolina Crown and Santa Clara Vanguard. Santa Clara Vanguard holds a 3-0 record on the season, but all three contests were settled by less than 1 point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 July 24, 2018 vs. July 25, 2017 2018 One corps in each show had a score increase of two or more points: Guardians (2.775) and Madison Scouts (2.275). Boston Crusaders closed the gap with Carolina Crown to its smallest margin since the corps tied on July 8. 2017 There was only one show. Seattle Cascades had the greatest score improvement (1.700). No corps had a score decrease; Carolina Crown increased the least (0.400), dropping from #2 to #3 and losing some ground to Santa Clara Vanguard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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