HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

I hope my readers had a Merry Christmas; we’re now on to the holiday tournaments, another great part of this season that have a tendency to upend rankings and separate many of the contenders from the pretenders.

Instead of listing all of the possible options for future games, I will only make note of which tournament each team is participating in, then preview each tournament after the rankings. This would normally be a section-by-section rundown week, but I will delay that until next week, when we’ll know a lot more.

1. Wayzata (9-0)
-The margins in their recent games definitely do not suggest they are invincible, but it’s hard to argue with an undefeated team that’s beaten #2 and #3. Now they’re off to St. Louis Park, where they should waltz through the first two rounds before taking on a very good 6AA opponent in the tournament final. With their schedule, there’s no way they go undefeated; the question then becomes one of how far they drop when they do lose.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament

2. Duluth East (6-1)
-Another convincing performance pushes the Hounds even higher. Of course, they have an unfortunate tradition of getting Karl excited through most of December, then crashing in the Schwan Cup, so we come to the moment of truth. If they can put together a strong showing with the opponents they have to go through, there’s no doubt they belong up here--the two teams they’ll likely have to beat to get to the final are probably the only two in the state that have more depth than them.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

3. Edina (5-2)
-Did nothing this past week, but slide up by virtue of Eden Prairie’s loss. The first-round tourney matchup with Duluth East should be one of the highlights of the week; it’s unfortunate the loser will be relegated to the consolation bracket. We’ll see if they can build on that win over Eden Prairie, or if they revert to some of the bad habits that cost them earlier in the season.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

4. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (6-0)
-I’m second-guessing myself here; I know I had them at #2 last week, and that they remain undefeated. The Maple Grove win was good-but-not-great, and after watching them I’m just not convinced they’re better than East or Edina. Sheer logic based on who beat who might say they belong higher, but these are subjective rankings, and I’m allowed to throw in my honest opinion. Of course, if they go out and win their holiday tournament, they’ll go shooting back up. They probably have the most to gain of anyone this next week, since their schedule gets very easy in the new year, and it’ll be their last chance to match up with 6AA foes to decide the section seeding.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament

5. Eden Prairie (5-2)
-The Eagan loss stings, and starts to raise some questions about this team. Moreover, the schedule is very tough over the next few weeks, so if they don’t right the ship soon, things may start to snowball. This team has too much talent to let that happen, and need to prove it. Because of that, the Benilde game is huge for them, and also has big 6AA implications.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament

6. Eagan (3-2-1)
-It looks a bit strange to put a team one spot behind the team they just beat, but as impressive as the EP win was, they still have a loss to Lakeville North on the record. It may have been fluky, but championship teams need to avoid silly potholes like that. Eagan seems capable of winning a state championship, but also capable of getting upset in the section semifinals--and that has to make me think twice. Unlike most of the teams around them, they do not have a difficult holiday tourney, so they should just strengthen that record and be able to prep for their huge game with Apple Valley the following week.
This week: South St. Paul Premier Tournament

7. Burnsville (4-1-1)
-Piling up the goals in wins over mid-to-lower level SSC teams. There are a couple teams that could give them a run in the Schwan Cup Silver, but I think they’re in good position to win it. If there’s a worry, it’s that they seem to be giving up a lot of goals for a team that’s supposed to rely on its strong goaltending. We’ll see if that comes back to haunt them.
This week: Schwan Cup Silver

8. Hill-Murray (5-2)
-Finally, the Pioneers wake up as they shut down White Bear Lake to extend their streak in the rivalry. Despite the ranking, I think they have decent odds at winning the Schwan Cup, especially since they drew an easier first-round opponent in Breck. There’s too much talent on this team for them to continue to muddle around down here.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

9. Grand Rapids (8-1)
-As I mentioned last week, they’re hard to rank properly; they dropped 2 spots this week despite an impressive win over Brainerd. Such is life with a weak schedule--they just need to plug along and keep on piling up the big wins, as other teams around them will inevitably drop a few. Have an easier holiday tournament, so anything short of three wins will be a disappointment.
This week: Perpich North-South Challenge

10. Apple Valley (7-2)
-We might call them AA’s forgotten team right now, as things have gone more or less as predicted. Their holiday tournament was last week against a bunch of unknowns from North Dakota; lacking a post-Christmas tournament of their own, they’ll just be watching what’s going on around them for a few days. They do play a decent section opponent, East Ridge, this week, but their focus now has to be on the January 6th meeting with Eagan, which will be huge in deciding what direction the 3AA race goes.
This week: Thurs vs. East Ridge

11. Maple Grove (5-2-1)
-Gave Benilde a nice run, which is an encouraging sign; they seem capable of giving anyone in the state a close game, at the very least. They’re in an interesting position in St. Louis Park, as they’re a step behind the 6AA teams, but should beat anyone else. Their odds at a 3rd-place finish are pretty good.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament

12. Blaine (5-0-2)
-Tied Minnetonka to remain undefeated, and they’re in the interesting position of being the highest-ranked AA team on their side of the Schwan Cup Gold bracket. They’re not blowing anyone away, but things sure seem to be falling into place for the Bengals so far this season. We’ll see how long they can keep that act up.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

13. Stillwater (4-1-1)
-Beating Minnetonka is a good way to get noticed, even if they had to scrape by. Now they’re in a good position to do some damage in the Silver division of the Schwan Cup, thanks to a forgiving first-round matchup. As with Blaine, things are lining up well for the Ponies right now, and they need to take advantage of this opportunity.
This week: Schwan Cup Silver

14. Minnetonka (4-2-1)
-It’s been a rough past two weeks for the Skippers; the growing pains are rearing their ugly heads right now. We’ll have to wait and see if their struggles carry over into their second game with St. Thomas; after the win the first time around, a loss would be a problem.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

15. White Bear Lake (5-2)
-Two meetings with other top teams in the state, two three-goal losses. They need to prove they can do things against other good teams. Still, they are on the right side of the Schwan Cup bracket to prove they really can run with said good teams. With SEC opponents (who also happen to be in 4AA) on the rise, it’ll be worth watching a number of their important conference games.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold

Worth Watching
St. Cloud Tech
-Slide out of the rankings through no fault of their own; like Rapids, they just need to keep on winning big.
Roseville
-Gave Wayzata a pretty good game, and the loss to Stillwater looks a little better now that the Ponies have edged into the rankings, but I’m not getting overly excited yet over a team whose best win was against Virginia.
Bemidji
-Still undefeated, but seeing the one good team they played and tied (Moorhead) get whipped by Duluth East isn’t encouraging.
Bloomington Jefferson
-The convincing win over Centennial was a big step in the right direction. We’ll see if they can carry that success over in St. Louis Park.
Lakeville South
-Have spent the past two weeks being the whipping boy for AA powers; now that they face somewhat less daunting opposition, we’ll get a chance to see what they’re made of.
Lakeville North
-The win over Mayo was a bit close for comfort, considering what other AA powers have done to Rochester teams this year. But they are still in good position in a weak section; their trip up north this weekend should tell us a lot more about their ability.

Now we visit all of the tournaments involving the top 30 or so teams in AA.

Schwan Cup Gold
Wed-Sat
14 Minnetonka
St. Thomas Academy
12 Blaine
15 White Bear Lake
Breck
8 Hill-Murray
2 Duluth East
3 Edina

-Once again, the Schwan Cup Gold is the deepest tourney in the state. Unfortunately the bracket is also not very balanced, with DE, Edina, and Hill all trapped in the same group. That does have some advantages, though, and by the end of the tourney we should be able to say who the best non-6AA team in the state is. The top half of the bracket, on the other hand, is wide open--there’s room for some important moves in the rankings there. I’m also curious to see how the A teams compete.

St. Louis Park Tournament
Tues-Thurs
Elk River
11 Maple Grove
4 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
5 Eden Prairie
Bloomington Jefferson
Moorhead
Centennial
1 Wayzata

-I see this as two tourneys within a tourney, as the three 6AA teams are in a league of their own. Wayzata has a pretty easy path to the final, while the winner of the EP-BSM game, though they may face a pretty good Maple Grove team, should also be playing in the late game on the tournament’s final day. Any other losses by those three teams will drop them in the rankings. Beyond the 6AA derby, we have some interesting matchups; this is Maple Grove’s opportunity to make something of a statement beyond the NWSC, and the other teams will be jockeying for a chance at being ranked. If I had to pick one of them to pull an upset, I’d go with Elk River.

Schwan Cup Silver
Wed-Sat
Rogers
13 Stillwater
Certin-Derham Hall
Lakeville South
7 Burnsville
Holy Angels
Blake
Roseville

-An interesting mix of teams. There are three SEC teams in this one; two have piled up nice records so far and are looking to make a move in the rankings, while the other needs to right a sinking ship. As the only elite team in the field, Burnsville has to be the heavy favorite, and conference rival Lakeville South has potential to make some waves (they jumped onto the map by demolishing CDH in this tourney last year). Blake is a pretty good A team, and Holy Angels is lurking there as a wild card as well.

Perpich North-South Challenge
Tues-Thurs
9 Grand Rapids
Hibbing
Virginia
Lakeville North
Mahtomedi
Spring Lake Park

-A fun little tournament idea here, as the three northern teams face off against each of the three southern teams. The Wednesday matchup between Grand Rapids and Lakeville North is the one that grabs my attention; LVN may be the second- or third-toughest AA opponent left on Rapids’ schedule. Should be a good week of hockey.

South St. Paul Premier Tournament
Mon-Wed
6 Eagan
North St. Paul
Hastings
Woodbury
Hopkins
St. Paul Johnson
Anoka
South St. Paul

-Eagan should roll in this one, as they did last year. I’m intrigued to see how Woodbury does, since they seem to be coming on as of late. The SSP-Anoka game could also be good.

Granite City Classic
Tues-Thurs
Little Falls
Prairie Centre
Mound-Westonka
St. Cloud Cathedral
Detroit Lakes
St. Cloud Apollo
Sauk Rapids-Rice
St. Cloud Tech

-This is St. Cloud Tech’s chance to showcase what it can do; there’s some adequate A competition, but I see Tech beating Little Falls in the final of this one, barring a large upset.

Roseau Classic
Tues-Thurs
Alexandria
Lake of the Woods
Mandan, ND
Roseau

-Roseau gets a nice little opportunity to beef up that record in this round robin, though Alexandria is okay, and LOW can steal a game with their goalie.

Heritage Classic
Tues-Thurs
Andover
Forest Lake
Buffalo
Rosemount
Bemidji
Cloquet
Duluth Central
New Prague

-Bemidji is the favorite in this Duluth tourney; the enigmatic Forest Lake and relative unknown Cloquet are in the picture. Duluth Central would be the sleeper pick.

Kiwanis Festival--AA Bracket
Tues-Thurs
Eastview
New Richmond, WI
Brainerd
Rochester John Marshall
Fargo South, ND
Rochester Century
Prior Lake
Rochester Mayo

-Some extreme fringe bubble teams here. The likely semifinal between Eastview and Brainerd is the most important game for our purposes. It’ll also be interesting to see if a Rochester team can distinguish itself; there have been encouraging signs after some ugly starts for those teams.

There you go--enjoy the tournaments, and get ready for some big shifts next week.

You drop Benilde behind Duluth East based on what? East does not warrant the #2 spot over Benilde. Benilde is undefeated and the game you watched BSM play Quale was in net for only his second varsity start. East has only beaten one team in your top 15 and that was #15 White Bear Lake. Benilde has beaten #8 (Hill Murray), #11 (Maple grove) and #14 (Minnetonka) from your own rankings. The week before you placed Benilde at #2 because they were still undefeated. Benilde is still undefeated Karl. Where's the logic?

[quote="puck81"]You drop Benilde behind Duluth East based on what? East does not warrant the #2 spot over Benilde. Benilde is undefeated and the game you watched BSM play Quale was in net for only his second varsity start. East has only beaten one team in your top 15 and that was #15 White Bear Lake. Benilde has beaten #8 (Hill Murray), #11 (Maple grove) and #14 (Minnetonka) from your own rankings. The week before you placed Benilde at #2 because they were still undefeated. Benilde is still undefeated Karl. Where's the logic?[/quote

You're not calling Karl a Homer are you?

[quote="puck81"]You drop Benilde behind Duluth East based on what? East does not warrant the #2 spot over Benilde. Benilde is undefeated and the game you watched BSM play Quale was in net for only his second varsity start. East has only beaten one team in your top 15 and that was #15 White Bear Lake. Benilde has beaten #8 (Hill Murray), #11 (Maple grove) and #14 (Minnetonka) from your own rankings. The week before you placed Benilde at #2 because they were still undefeated. Benilde is still undefeated Karl. Where's the logic?[/quote

You're not calling Karl a Homer are you?

I was kinda shocked to see that Karl you have east at #2 but yes the schwan cup will decide where east should be in the rankings haha but for now I don't mind it

Yeah, I expected the "homer" comment this week.

Do I really think East is the 2nd-best team in the state? No, I don't. Not at this point. But I do think, based on what they've achieved so far this season, it's not a stretch. I'm not alone in my opinion--FTP has had East at #2 since last week, and the latest PS2 ratings also have East at #2.

Since I've started ranking, I've never been hesitant to put teams with numerous losses ahead of teams with very few losses, and even undefeated teams.

PS2 also has Benilde at #11 in AA. For me,that raises a red flag. PS2 may be wrong; it has been in the past. But it's usually in the ballpark. The Tonka and MG wins are good, yes, but they don't separate BSM from the field in any way. That leaves us with the Hill win, which I do give them a lot of credit for--without that win, BSM is probably about #10.

East's one loss came to the undisputed #1, in overtime, on the road in their first game of the season. There's not much shame in that.

We don't have much grounds for a comparison between the two yet--no common opponents, only a few games played, and so on. That means we have to be subjective, and yes, I do think East is a better team than Benilde right now (and that conclusion has little to do with the goalie used in the MG game). East rolls 3 strong lines; BSM has 1 great line and a second pretty good one. BSM has a couple of strong defensemen, but it drops off after that; East has a little more depth and a world of potential. When faced with a choice between depth and star power, I'll nearly always go with depth--and with some of the point totals East's 1st line is putting up, the gap in star talent between these teams may be a lot closer than most think, though I will wait to judge that until after East has played a few more top teams.

The other thing we can fall back on in such difficult cases are preseason rankings--I had East at 5 and BSM at 6 there. Some people called me a homer then, but does anyone out there really doubt East (at the very least) belongs in the top 5 right now?

Otherwise, I'll fall back on my record--the Elk River fans might like to accuse me of homerism, but with all due respect, I think the results last year speak for themselves.

East is no guarantee. I can easily see them not doing well in the Schwan Cup. I still think Edina and Hill are scarier teams. But they have lost to teams they shouldn't have early in this season, and the rankings reflect that. East hasn't, nor has Benilde. There is no obvious #2 in the state right now, and given East's lack of slip-ups and the make-up of the team (again, I like depth) they're my choice to move up into that void...for now.

Karl,
You are using pagestat to bolster the number 2 rank you give East but PS has Grand Rapids at a 5 this week and you drop them to the 9 spot. That is okay though, I prefer this team to fly under the Hounds radar especially in late February

Very nice write up this week.

You can never make everyone happy......I think you do a wonderful job.
My boys out of the mix for the first time in a long time. A couple of bounces their way and a few less rebounds sitting on the goal line and they would be 3-0 and things would look different.
Hopefully starting Wednesday they get a few bounces their way and we see them back in the top 15.

Come on Karl, I didn't call you a Homer. Puck did. I just merely pointed out what he was trying to say. If you really believe your rankings stand by them, don't do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUvSfF6Ke0

My rebuttal:

If you don't think East is the #2 team at this point then why rank them #2? Makes no sense.

PS2 rankings have Benilde at #10 which is a complete joke. They also have Eden Prairie at #1 which I don't agree with. Edina is better then Eden Prairie not to mention Wayzata. PS2 also puts Wayzata at #3? What's with that? PS2 has Hill-Murray ahead of BSM and we all know how that one went. I think PS2 needs to rewire the hardware. Myfoxhockey.com has BSM at #2 and Let's Play Hockey has BSM at #3 and East at #4 so there are many opinions out there.

I don't think Benilde has put together a solid complete game yet but they still find a way to win. A sign of a good team. We'll find out tomorrow against Eden Prairie if they can put together that "complete" game. They better or they will drop in the rankings but for now they are the #2 club.

Am I saying East is bad? Certainly not. They have a great history and are always tough. It's great for high school hockey that the northern clubs are strong (Grand Rapids included here). Just don't think they deserve that #2 ranking this week.

Finally, I did call Karl a "homer", but for this week. Perhaps Karl dipped into the Christmas eggnog (which was heavily spiked) and got carried away with visions of Greyhounds dancing in his head.

puck81 wrote:You drop Benilde behind Duluth East based on what? East does not warrant the #2 spot over Benilde. Benilde is undefeated and the game you watched BSM play Quale was in net for only his second varsity start. East has only beaten one team in your top 15 and that was #15 White Bear Lake. Benilde has beaten #8 (Hill Murray), #11 (Maple grove) and #14 (Minnetonka) from your own rankings. The week before you placed Benilde at #2 because they were still undefeated. Benilde is still undefeated Karl. Where's the logic?

East's only loss was away, in OT to the #1 team in the state. Not sure what more you could want. You play the teams on your schedule.

Why rank someone you don't think is that good that high? It's because you rank them on what they have done, not on the quality you see. It's called being objective. I do it all the time. I see a couple teams play and think they are good or bad, but at the end of the day, I do my rankings based on the numbers and the opponents.

I understand the argument that I'm flip-flopping--it's something I nearly always try to avoid. But I also don't take things for granted. I look at each team each week, and see if I might have made a mistake the previous week. In this case, I do think I made a small one. So rather than mis-apply my own standards again, I corrected it.

puck81 wrote:If you don't think East is the #2 team at this point then why rank them #2? Makes no sense.

Because if I ranked simply where I thought teams belonged, these rankings would be awfully boring, and just a bit too arbitrary. The teams I think belong at #2 (EP, Edina, maybe Hill) haven't proven they belong there due to losses to teams that are ranked lower than them, or were ranked lower at some point. East doesn't have any such losses. Unless we want to throw out the results, East and Benilde are the only teams that really then have a claim to #2.

I won't try to get into nuts and bolts on PS2, and I agree it has its limitations, especially when we're trying to aruge A-beat-B but it has B ahead of A, or when it flips around a few relatively even teams near the top. But it does have a very good track record when it comes to catching teams that many human rankers have over-or underrated, so I consult it to look for those. Benilde qualifies in this situation--there is a huge difference, and I think that is worth noting. I do think Benilde is better than PS2 says it is, obviously, but there's at least some chance it's on to something.

I also find it interesting that when I did the exact same thing with Hill at some point last year, no one raised a finger. But with East, it's a different story...

I can beat my old lines to death, I suppose: I have nothing to gain from ranking East higher than where they should be--in fact, as this board shows, the slightest hint that I've done so leads to immediate accusations. (And lest I sound like I'm whining, that does have value--for good or ill, I open myself to just about any criticism on here; the others don't really do that. That interaction is part of the reason I like my rankings, and why I think it's valuable to have them on here.) I don't need these rankings to make me feel good about the high school hockey team that I happen to like. If any of them read this, I doubt any of the Hounds would appreciate being overrated. And I can go back and find plenty of posts in which I critique East, or express skepticism about their chances.

I understand it if other rankings put Benilde at #2. They have a pretty good case. But I don't think putting East at #2 is really any less defensible.

And I'm still too young to get into the eggnog.

karl(east) wrote:I understand the argument that I'm flip-flopping--it's something I nearly always try to avoid. But I also don't take things for granted. I look at each team each week, and see if I might have made a mistake the previous week. In this case, I do think I made a small one. So rather than mis-apply my own standards again, I corrected it.

puck81 wrote:If you don't think East is the #2 team at this point then why rank them #2? Makes no sense.

Because if I ranked simply where I thought teams belonged, these rankings would be awfully boring, and just a bit too arbitrary. The teams I think belong at #2 (EP, Edina, maybe Hill) haven't proven they belong there due to losses to teams that are ranked lower than them, or were ranked lower at some point. East doesn't have any such losses. Unless we want to throw out the results, East and Benilde are the only teams that really then have a claim to #2.

I won't try to get into nuts and bolts on PS2, and I agree it has its limitations, especially when we're trying to aruge A-beat-B but it has B ahead of A, or when it flips around a few relatively even teams near the top. But it does have a very good track record when it comes to catching teams that many human rankers have over-or underrated, so I consult it to look for those. Benilde qualifies in this situation--there is a huge difference, and I think that is worth noting. I do think Benilde is better than PS2 says it is, obviously, but there's at least some chance it's on to something.

I also find it interesting that when I did the exact same thing with Hill at some point last year, no one raised a finger. But with East, it's a different story...

I can beat my old lines to death, I suppose: I have nothing to gain from ranking East higher than where they should be--in fact, as this board shows, the slightest hint that I've done so leads to immediate accusations. (And lest I sound like I'm whining, that does have value--for good or ill, I open myself to just about any criticism on here; the others don't really do that. That interaction is part of the reason I like my rankings, and why I think it's valuable to have them on here.) I don't need these rankings to make me feel good about the high school hockey team that I happen to like. If any of them read this, I doubt any of the Hounds would appreciate being overrated. And I can go back and find plenty of posts in which I critique East, or express skepticism about their chances.

I understand it if other rankings put Benilde at #2. They have a pretty good case. But I don't think putting East at #2 is really any less defensible.

And I'm still too young to get into the eggnog.

I hope you did read my posts giving you accolades on the job you do with the rankings. You do put yourself out there for criticism and kudos to you for that. I've enjoyed the back and forth exchanges which is what the site is all about. Good debate about high school hockey.

Karl,
Nice job, I really appreciated puck81's last post. For a moment or two I was thinking he was an obstinate poster that no matter what anyone said he would just sit on his stump and take exception. This is the type of interaction I really enjoy on this board. This topic and discussion is about as good as it gets. Congrats to everyone on this topic who make me want to come back and read and participate.
Should be a great week of hockey which will bring tremendous opportunities for more discussion and opinions.

Karl. I too think you do a great job with the rankings and your insight is dilligent and comprehensive.......until it comes to EAST. They are clearly a very good team. But as you have said, they always let you down when it comes to the Schwans Cup....The reason is they just haven't been as good as the elite teams (in either class) from the cities. That by no mean is meant to be disrespectful, just reality. They surely are a top 10 team, but by your own admission, you don't think they are the second best team in the State. Wayzata and Benilde, until they are beaten should remain 1-2, and to take it a step farther, they should remain 1-2 no matter who loses their likely matchup at the SLP tourney.

In my opinion, DE may be going home his week with only one victory due to the tough draw they have. My prediction is that the Gold champs are going to be one of the three privates.

Goldy23 wrote:Karl. I too think you do a great job with the rankings and your insight is dilligent and comprehensive.......until it comes to EAST. They are clearly a very good team. But as you have said, they always let you down when it comes to the Schwans Cup....The reason is they just haven't been as good as the elite teams (in either class) from the cities. That by no mean is meant to be disrespectful, just reality. They surely are a top 10 team, but by your own admission, you don't think they are the second best team in the State. Wayzata and Benilde, until they are beaten should remain 1-2, and to take it a step farther, they should remain 1-2 no matter who loses their likely matchup at the SLP tourney.

In my opinion, DE may be going home his week with only one victory due to the tough draw they have. My prediction is that the Gold champs are going to be one of the three privates.

Likely match up? You missed this one by a country mile Goldy!

I wish you luck with next week's rankings Karl, this has been a fantastic (and interesting for ranking) week so far.

hockeyfan893 wrote:I wish you luck with next week's rankings Karl, this has been a fantastic (and interesting for ranking) week so far.

Agreed. I'm dreading sorting out the class that is not quite as deep at the one he ranks

hockeyfan893 wrote:I wish you luck with next week's rankings Karl, this has been a fantastic (and interesting for ranking) week so far.

I was thinking the same thing, it'll be a very tough, time-consuming job this week. Then again that's why they pay Karl the big bucks!

MNHockeyFan wrote:

hockeyfan893 wrote:I wish you luck with next week's rankings Karl, this has been a fantastic (and interesting for ranking) week so far.

I was thinking the same thing, it'll be a very tough, time-consuming job this week. Then again that's why they pay Karl the big bucks! :wink:

Not that hard, just use a lot of ties in the rankings this week...

MNHockeyFan wrote:

hockeyfan893 wrote:I wish you luck with next week's rankings Karl, this has been a fantastic (and interesting for ranking) week so far.

I was thinking the same thing, it'll be a very tough, time-consuming job this week. Then again that's why they pay Karl the big bucks!

Hmm, I seem to have missed a paycheck or two...

It'll be a difficult week, to be sure...I've already started messing around with things, though of course we'll probably have something completely unexpected happen today or tomorrow to top it all off. The parity at the top this year is incredible.

And I promise, no ties...I have to give you all something to argue about.
(I think ties in subjective rankings are lame. Seriously, if you're free to analyze every little element of a team, you can find some way to differentiate it from another. Better to take a stand and touch off an argument.)

At this point, I am pretty set on making Eden Prairie #1 for next week.

After that, I am willing to listen to arguments for #2. I may take them into account, I may not, but I'm curious to hear what people have to say. Benilde? Duluth East? Edina? Wayzata? Eagan? Grand Rapids? You have until midnight or so, if you want to make a case to me...

If Hill Murray wins tonight, they have to be a serious contender for second or third spot.

Not sure what happened to Edina and Blaine game. Say that it was tied, not sure who won it. If Blaine won, that would put Wayzata ahead of Edina in my books.

Eagan is making a strong push up in the rankings. Maybe too early to go higher than a 5 spot.