Thursday, April 2, 2009

For those of you scoring at home...

It appears our beloved Rose City All Stars/WoJ has moved up one notch, in the Power Rankings published by DNN today. Though I certainly have issues with some of DNN's reporting habits, they are currently the best source for Derby news around the country. (or the country east of the Rocky Mountains)

Those dirty Oly girls entered the charts at the 10 spot based soley on their win over WoJ. And those poor Ratz dropped 6 slots from the lose to Rose City...now ranked below Woj on the DNN big board. Check out that debate here.

Oh I know these are not offical WFTDA rankings and not "perfect" but at least DNN is trying to show team movement through out the season and even the "ineligable" can get a ranked. It does give us "Derby Degenerates" something to talk about and DNN is like reading a passionless version of Elwood's blog, LOL!

5 comments:

George said...

Two questions: 1.) If we were eligible for WFTDA ranking at this time, what would be our ranking in our division? 2.) How many chances do we have to increase our rankings within our division before regionals in October (i.e. how many higher ranked leagues do we bout before the second quarter 2009 rankings are posted before regionals)?

I don't have a problem with DNN. They always have kind words for my hometown league, the Steel City Derby Demons. But you're right Coroner, not nearly as exciting of a read as Elwood's stuff.

the_mad_nader said...

As far as that actual-factual stuff, nobody, but nobody compares to DNN (imho).

But when it goes subjective (as derby commentary is wont to do), I think their writers suffer from the same problem all derby fans (and skaters, for that matter) face - how do you rank, compare, or prepare for leagues that you rarely if ever see?

Everything reverts to rumor and innuendo, exaggeration and overstatement: good becomes great, great becomes mythical; likewise a stumble becomes the fall of Rome.

If you look at the "guiding principle" behind their Power Rankings (If two given teams meet today, which one do you think is more likely to win?) I'd have to say that I believe WoJ would beat Denver, Boston, and Charm City - all by healthy margins. I also think they'd probably win 3 out of 5 against Carolina.

So, yeah it's fun to read, think about, and discuss this stuff, but really it's all just talk until the ladies strap on the skates and hit the track. Oly sounds like "the team to beat" in our region, but until they've proven themselves in a tourney I'm not ready to hand them the crown just yet.

JeLLyPiG said...

Take'n a shot at George's two questions:

1) If Rose City was eligible for Regional rankings last quarter I would imagine they would be in the thick it. Any number I offer would be subjective and let's face it, I am a homer.

Flattrackstats.com had Rose City ranked 3rd for the same quarter the WFTDA Q4 08.(Before the check cleared). As of 3/22/09 they show WoJ in the 4 spot, having lost one position to Duke.

FTS rankings are based on the math and is not as subjective as the DNN Power Rankings. It provides balance to DNN ranks of opinion and worth the time to check out.

http://www.flattrackstats.com/index.php?nav=rankings&subnav=rankings_today

2) WFTDA Q1 Regional rankings should be published this month and the second quarter rankings in July. So the Rose City All Stars have until then to really impact seeding in Denver.

As for the Mad one's comments.

I think Oly is tough and should be watched but you are right about tournament play. I wouldn't hand them a crown either.

Let's face it, the regionals called very tightly and sloppy play rarely advances.

And yes they "HAVE TO" strap'em on and skate'em to make'em matter.

The Coroner said...

Just a note for George, the blog post was by JellyPig, and not by me, not that I would mind credit for the original derby drunk's words, just that it would be immoral for me to take it.

George said...

Thanks, Coroner. I noticed that immediately after I posted. Sorry JeLLyPIg.

Thanks for the link to FlatTrackStats, JeLLyPIg. That is an awesome website designed specifically for the derby geek! Love it!

Okay, let me be more specific with regards to my question #2. How many sanctioned bouts do we have scheduled between now and the publication of the second quarter rankings in July? I know that we play San Francisco and Sacramento in August, but that’s too late to increase our rankings for Regionals. So what I want to know is if it’s mathematically possible for us to be at a high enough ranking to go to Regionals in October, based upon the bouts that we have scheduled with other leagues between now and then? I think that I’m stating that correctly.