Last Place Update - July 1

An early Happy Fourth of July to you all!! Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. They fight, they claw their way, and refuse to give up on themselves to keep winning. No, this isn't the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won nine straight. Then who?

   The 29-51 Miami Marlins continue their winning ways and are in a virtual tie with the 30-52 defending Kings of the Cellar champion Houston Astros. The 33-45 New York Mets won six of their last ten games and got booted from third place by the 32-48 Milwaukee Brewers, who are three games behind the Marlins.Miami is 7-3 in their last ten games and 13-7 since June 8. Houston, alas, is 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last three. This week's newcomer, the Brewers, are also 3-7 in their last ten games, but they lost five straight.

   Since the last update, Miami went 4-1, Houston went 1-4, and the Mets went 3-3. The Marlins fared better in their last ten games than all of their NL East rivals. They also did better than the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks and the AL East leading Boston Red Sox. Will Miami leave the beer in the cellar fridge to Houston or will they start to collapse again?

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 39-42 San Francisco Giants. They are 2-8 in their last ten games and 6-13 since June 11. The Giants are on the road this week to play a four game series with the Cincinnati Reds and return home to a three game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They swept the Dodgers the last time they played in San Francisco, but this is the first time they are facing the Reds.

   So how is Miami doing against the '62 Mets and the '03 Tigers? The Marlins are only eleven games behind the Mets' total wins from their inauspicious inaugural season. The '62 Mets were 23-57 after 80 games, but they actually won game number 80, the first in a doubleheader. They lost the second game. The '03 Tigers were doing  worse, with a record of 19-61 after 80 games. They, too, won game number 80 and they won game number 81 to bring their win total to 20. And yes, Miami also won game number 80.

Other Stuff...

   Local New Orleans broadcaster and former New Orleans Saints sideline reporter for WWL 870 AM, Kenny Wilkerson, died this past weekend. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Wilkerson family.

   On the drum corps front, today in 1967, the Des Plaines Vanguard won a contest in Kenosha, WI with a score of 78.80. The Kilties came in second place (74.80), followed by the Blue Stars (74.60), Norwood Park Imperials (74.00), SkyRyders (63.70), and the Madison Scouts (54.70). Of these corps, the Blue Stars and Madison Scouts still compete today. The Kilties compete in the DCA circuit.

   Today in 1985, the Blue Devils won the DCI contest in Norman, OK with a score of 86.90. The Santa Clara Vanguard came in second (84.90), followed by the Phantom Regiment (72.70), Freelancers (58.50), Velvet Knights (58.40), and the California Dons (48.10). The top three still compete at the highest levels today and are current or former DCI champions.

Who will win the catfight between Miami and Houston for the beer in the cellar? How long will the '62 Mets and '03 Tigers' records hold out for until they're safe for another year? Or will there be a collapse by one of the bottom three?

Stay tuned. Have a great day!!!

 

DCI Finals 2012

This would usually be an entry for a past Drum Corps International World Championship Finals competition and its trivia, but not today. Instead, let's focus on tonight's DCI finalists and enjoy a little DCI era trivia from where they are now. The trivia will focus on their current placement and past Finals finishes.

   Before we list the finalists, there are a few corps of note who didn't make Finals this year.

• The Blue Stars missed Finals for the first time since 2008 and by 0.3 points.The last time they were in 13th place was in 1980, after making every DCI Finals since 1972. North Star beat them for 12th place by 2.3 points.
• The 2012 DCI Open Class Champion Oregon Crusaders placed 19th in World Class, with a score of 77.45.
• The Seattle Cascades rounded out the World Class competition, placing 25th, with a score of 68.75. 

   There was a time when making the Top 25 was considered elite. and the twenty to thirty corps below 25th and the Class A & All Girl corps wished they were good enough to place there. Sadly, the combination of challenges, mostly financial, caused the number of corps to dwindle to a number so low. If someone finds a way to greatly reduce the cost of fielding a corps to an affordable level, the numbers will rise again.

   Here are tonight's finalists in reverse order of finish in Semi-Finals:

• 12th - Crossmen  (84.90) - Congrats for making DCI Finals for the first time since 2004. They first made DCI Finals in 1977. They only came in 12th place one other time, in 1989. Their highest ever finish was 6th place in 1992.
• 11th - Spirit of Atlanta (85.65) - Last year's 12th place corps moved up one notch. Spirit only placed 11th one other time, in 1990. They first made Finals in 1978. Their highest ever finish was 4th place in 1980.
• 10th - Blue Knights (87.65) - This is their ninth consecutive appearance in Finals.Their first appearance in DCI Finals was in 1991. Tenth is a familiar place to the Blue Knights, placing there three other times, in 1993, 2004, and 2005. Their highest finish was 6th place in 2000.
• 9th - Madison Scouts (88.80) - The Scouts are also one of the only two all male corps left. They first made DCI Finals in 1973. Of all the times Madison made Finals, this is only their second appearance in 9th place. Their only other time was in 1990. Their highest finishes were two DCI Championships in 1975 and 1988.
• 8th - Boston Crusaders (89.30) - This is BAC's 14th consecutive and ever appearance in Finals. This is also their second consecutive and ever 8th place. Their highest placement was 5th in 2000 and 2002. 
• 7th - The Cavaliers (89.40) - What? Wow! This is the Cavies' lowest placement since 1997, when they also placed 7th. It's not as bad a fall as the 2009 Phantom Regiment, but definitely a surprise. This is the second of the two remaining all male corps in the activity. The Cavies first made Finals in 1972. They have made every Finals since 1979. The Cavaliers came in 7th place three other times; 1976, 1977, and of course, 1997. They won the DCI Championship seven times, the last time in 2006.
• 6th - Bluecoats (92.80) - Happy 40th anniversary Bluecoats!! At this point, the bottom six are no threat to the top six. This is the Bluecoats' 13th consecutive appearance in Finals. They first made DCI Finals in 1987 and made it every year except in 1999. The Bluecoats came in 6th three other times, in 2004, 2008, and 2009. Their highest finish was 3rd in 2010.
• 5th - Santa Clara Vanguard (93.70) - This is the only corps to appear in every DCI Finals. From 1972-89, they only placed below 3rd once, in 1980 (7th). They were also the first DCI Finalist to have a soft ending instead of a loud one, in 1983. The Vanguard placed fifth five other times: 1994, 1996, 2003, 2007, and 2009. They won six DCI Championships; 1973, 1974, 1978, 1981, 1989, and 1999.
• 4th - The Cadets (94.10) - This is the (formerly Garfield) Cadets' 33rd consecutive DCI Finals appearance. They placed 4th four other times: 1986, 1988, 1999, and 2004. The Cadets also made Finals in 1975 and 1977. In 1978, they were the first corps to sing on the field, singing the word "amen", but were penalized, because talking on the field was not allowed then. You can't blame George Hopkins for this one, because he was on the Crossmen's snare line that season. The Cadets won ten DCI Champions and are defending DCI Champions.
• 3rd - Phantom Regiment (95.70) - The Regiment has made every DCI Finals except for the first two. Of all their Finals finishes, they only placed 3rd four other times, in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 2005. Phantom finished below 6th place only nine times since 1974, the last time in 2009 (9th). The Phantom Regiment won two DCI Championships, in 1996 and 2008.
• 2nd - Carolina Crown (97.45) - This in the highest placing corps in Semi-Finals to never win a DCI Championship.  Crown is also the youngest corps in Finals, first competing in 1990. They made every DCI Finals since 1995, except one (2002). Carolina Crown came in second place one other time, in 2009.
• 1st - Blue Devils (98.20) - Like the Phantom Regiment, the Blue Devils have made every DCI Finals since 1974. However, the Devils placed 4th and above every year since 1975. Their lowest placement in Finals was 9th place in 1974. The only time they were in first in Prelims or Semi-Finals and lost was in 2008, when the Phantom Regiment came from behind and won. The Blue Devils won 14 DCI Championships, more than any other corps, their last one in 2010.

   There will probably be changes in placement for a few corps in this evening's competition. The most common places are in the bottom six, with some in the 3rd-6th slots. There is a chance the Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, Boston Crusaders, Santa Clara Vanguard, Cadets, and Phantom Regiment could see some movement. Unless the Carolina Crown members have the performance of their lives and/or the Blue Devils falter, the  Devils should win their 15th championship.

   The corps names above are links to their home pages.

   Good luck to all the corps tonight!!