Sunday, July 10, 2016

#bb18 Power Rankings(Week of July 8th)

While generally this blog is dedicated to discussing the happenings in the world of sports, a little diversity never hurt anyone and I felt it was appropriate to divulge into another strong passion of mine, that being the world of reality television, particularly Big Brother(Canada and U.S.A). With Big Brother 18 well into the swing of things, I've surmised that it would be enjoyable to dedicate a weekly posting to my thoughts on the game itself and how I would rank the positioning of each player in the house. These weekly rankings won't necessarily be notated based on who I like the most, but largely based who I think is in the best spot at the current time. With CBS going public pertaining to this summer's twist classified as the "Battleback", which who are kidding, it's code for "Redemption Island", I won't include the already evicted houseguests on full disclosure that one could conceivably come back after the special July 22nd episode. How I usually like to organize these lists are in descending order from least likely to win to which houseguest is controlling the dynamics presently.

Enjoy!


13.Tiffany-Pure strategical placement has led me insert Tiffany at the bottom of these rankings. Tiffany's feud with Frank created the strong likelihood that either him or her would be the one biting the bullet this week coming up but with Frank's adversary Bridgette HOH, barring a miraculous turn inside the confines of the house, I can't draw up a scenario where she'll stay and will need to resort to the battle back.

12.Natalie-Natalie hasn't done anything particularly that would lead most to such a drastic downfall in these rankings other then the fact that I'm starting to notice she's trending towards being classified  as something that normally is a sign of endearment, but not in the Big Brother universe,and that is a goat. She's essentially fallen into the trap that most on Social Media have perceived Bridgette is stuck in which by no means am I in agreeance and that's in a position where she's hiding behind a veteran, in this circumstance James. I see Natalie has fallen for James purported Southern charm and for that we give a prevailing thumbs down. Natalie has the "Spy Girls" alliance to fall back on, but I'm beginning to sense mistrust is creeping in and that bond is a thing of the past, at the very least a failed dominant, to reference terminology coined by the great Stephen Fishbach, voting blocks. Once again, I must remind readers that these rankings aren't where I expect a houseguest to be evicted necessarily as there's no way Natalie is going home next week but the 411 is that Natalie has found herself in the unenviable position of having no chance to win this summer. Hope the showmance,or budding showmance was worth it. 

11.Michelle-I think Michelle is someone that's,an easy person to root for due to her super fan background but as a super fan she's either blinded by some of her past "heroes" or she's one of those super fans who's only goal is to reach jury, if the latter is correct than she'll reach her desired placement but if she has an inner belief of triumphing this summer, her strategical outlook must warp ASAP. Michelle over the course of them last couple weeks has grown close to Nicole, Zakiyah and Da'Vonne and unless I'm on a planet on my own that's a catastrophic position to be in as the aforementioned three are three of the most conniving game  players this season. They will chop her so fast when the appropriate time arises. I know she's built this petty feud between herself and Bridgette but sorting through their differences immediately will benefit both greatly as Bridgette has numbers that Michelle could really use.

10.Frank- What a difference a week makes for Mr.Eudy. Last week's number one on my board, the house has turned on it's head to describe it bluntly and Frank's path to the end has closed with  no time frame given for re opening. Frank's rumoured friendship with Mike Malin outside of the house has seeped into his game from the perspective of he rolled through the doors with the egotistical mindset the would lead and everybody will follow. This is flawed logic on a multitude of levels. For starters when recollecting the game of Mike this strategy was a colossal disaster in season two and fourteen and only worked in Big Brother seven all-stars because the level of adoration for his partner in crime Will Kirby reached Gina Marie Zimmerman-Nick Uhas levels. The game play that was successful for chill town, to steal a sporting analogy as this after all is primarily a sports blog, but is a one and done approach as Frank comes nowhere near in the persona department to that of Will. All of this negativity brought upon Frank may be all for not with the "battle back" subject to commence of the 22nd of July however one can't expect to live off of a twist. I'm of the opinion if was ever a player in the Big Brother house, you leave the game under any premise then you've just rescinded my ability to vote for you. Frank's saving grace could be in Da'Vonne continues to over strategize and over complicate the conversations, then it could be Da'Vonne and not Frank meeting with Julie next week.

9.Bronte-Seen as a weak commodity, but why? Because the alliance she chose in the first couple days decimated quicker than the BB Takeover did last summer? Here's my analysis on the game of Bronte. She's feisty like no other, the girls aside from those in the fatal five(or four) aren't susceptible to engaging in any tangible conversation as I'm getting the impression that her quieter demeanor(at least on the feeds) is masking her eagerness to get her hands in as many pots as humanly possible. She's tight with Bridgette, Natalie, their's a mutual respect that's held true since day one between herself and Paul, and lastly she's not on anyone's radar unless by radar you're referring to houseguests willingness to use her as a pawn and I'm fairly sure that mantra suited the likes of Spencer Clawson just fine. This is how I project the rest of the game playing out, she'll breeze by the next few weeks as the eight pack begins to shuffle and take swings at themselves then at about the final seven or six, herself and Bridgette will come to the conclusion that they're valuable votes and will be the power players. It's because I have the other half of this future dynamic duo winning the game(spoiler alert) is why I have Bronte lower then I should. An easy win against in the final two shouldn't equate to an overly high ranking.

8.Da'Vonne- As a continuation of Frank's struggles, Da'Vonne and Frank share a similar trait stemming from over confidence. I'll go on a little tangent here when I scribe that I don't care for Da'Vonne's me against the world attitude. Don't construe this as anything but an indictment for how she conducts herself within the house. For someone that was the second boot last summer, the sense of entitlement she exudes is offputting as she expects the other players, especially the first timers to bow down to her every move. I live for the day that Zakiyah or Nicole turns their back on her because ultimately I truly don't think she's an honourable individual. I don't necessarily agree with most, especially those who are given the gift of announcing their platforms on RHAP that have you believe that Da'vonne is playing any better then before. I'm not advocating for Frank's reported behaviour in the house but you begin to surmise that with the amount of confrontations she's a part of, it's important that we assign fault to the proper parties. I'm aware I'm straying away from Big Brother here but with the type of allegations being bantered about in the house, in life it's important that operate under the innocent until proven theory principle and just realize sometimes things aren't how they seem. To summarize my thoughts on Da'Vonne, the mouth has hampered in the past and it appears has continued to hamper her again. Best case scenario she's an early jury boot.

7.James-Captain Camo who, from now on I shall coin the phrase of "precocious Prankster" when pertaining to James. As a point of clarification, there's nothing precocious about James comedic abilities as I find his whole act tedious and annoying beyond anything else. I've said this before and will continue to opine this, but why was James cast? Was it because he can jump out of the closets, if so I better get on the next season of Big Brother Canada because I can do that and be a whole lot more tolerable and entertaining then him.  I don't understand his strategy other then to say that similarly to Bronte, he's on no ones radar which deserves credit in itself. There is a way however where James can keep climbing these rankings, I mean after all last week I had him ranked dead last and that's at a certain point it would be advised if he left the dictator that is DaVonne and take more of a leadership role alongside Natalie and Bronte. It would be a fascinating final three having no idea how the jury would swing if they were left with a James, Bronte and Natalie final three. Survivor Samoa all over again and I'm starting to imagine this not so far fetched final scenario as a distinct possibility

6.Paulie Presuming Frank has exited the house over the next three weeks, where does this exactly leave Paulie? Big Brother is sometimes mistook for a game that favours physical competitors, and this observation couldn't be further from the truth yet new players come in every year and are immediately intimated by these kind of builds. Once again, understand that this players breakdown is assuming Frank encounters a quick demise but because Paulie is a noble competitor and hates throwing competitions just like his brother Cody is why him winning the game or getting to the end may turn into a herculean task. I'm resigned to lump Paulie and Cory in the same category and one of the reasons I vaulted Corey ahead of Paulie this week because I get the sense and I could be way off base here by saying I think Corey has been throwing all the competitions thus diminishing this challenge competence perception. Paulie is coming across a very likable personality and one of the few that I'm pulling wins this game but the issue and the reason for the six ranking to put this in a Big Brother loop, he has the body of Jeremy McGuire but yet the strategical mindset of Kent from Big Brother 2 which is a terrible combination.

5.Nicole-Nicole lacks that killer instinct to be deemed a potential winner of this game. I had mixed feelings about this heading into the season. From the first few weeks what's apparent is even though she says all the right things in the diary room, her tendency that needs correcting is that she relies heavily on others opinions and isn't willing to make the bold move to bolster Nicole's game and Nicole's game only. I'm beginning to form the realization that while Cody burned Nicole in an indirect way in Big Brother 16, Nicole doesn't seem to hold the expected amount of resentment towards Paulie which is dangerous waters because Paulie has eggs in different baskets that don't include. They say in life that repetition precedes you and this good girl image will prove to be here Achilles heel in this house.

4.Corey-The most clueless A & M alum to be spotlighted in the public eye since Johnny Manziel? Fortunately for himself his cluelessness is working to his advantage because he's a physical giant yet being confused for a 5'4 weakling with no upside in this game. Being  Canadian and not having complete access to the feeds I must preface this by saying that my judgement of Corey is solely based on the television edit but am I the only one believing he's playing dumb? This man has a A & M education for gosh sakes but as I write this I harken back to Manziel being Aggie educated too so really doesn't say much. This naivety that he's presenting to fellow housemates is aiding him tremendously as like I touched on last week, he's going to turn on the jets in the competitions as we get deeper in the game and he's seemingly well liked. Unless the dynamics change drastically over the next few weeks, the Corey Brooks winner angle is one I can't ignore.

3.Paul-Paul has grown on me substantially since the first two episodes. No longer do I hold the opinion of inclination that Paul only arrived on my television set to aggravate me more then people who believe the Montreal Canadians are a lock for the playoffs next year. He's been the comic fodder in the early parts but his budding relationships with Paulie and Frank are serving him extremely well. Paul, because he is so light hearted and self deprecating is someone that whether it has a negative impact on their game they don't want to get rid of. Paul is a possible winner, hense the top three position if he does the following. While he's acting all buddy buddy with Paulie and Frank now, he has to show the rest of the house who in reality control the majority that he's willing to play ball. Something along the line of meeting with Da'Vonne and Zakiyah and agreeing that if he were to win the HOH that he'd nominate Frank. He's spent the first stage of this game in the minority, I'd hate to see him spend the rest of the game in one.

2.Zakiyah-Controlled sass. No idea if that's a correct usage of speech, probably not but for the lack of a better word that's how I describe Zakiyah. I ranked her relatively low a week ago but I've seen nothing but positive vibes over the last week and a half.  The reserved temperament even though it was visibly clear that the situation involving Frank and Da'vonne was internally eating at her but how she played it off was that of an elite Big Brother contestant. She spilled her true thoughts to those in her immediate inner circle(Nicole and Michelle) but laughed it off with the likes of Paulie and Natalie ete etc. I was contemplating her at number one and the reason I didn't was due to the perception that she resides in a majority alliance unlike the lady I have ranked number one, and the jury seems to side with the underdog, see Ian Terry in Big Brother 14.

1.Bridgette-I was tempted to slot her in at number one a week ago but had no qualms about doing it this week. This soft spoken demeanor I think is misunderstood for most of the cast. Bridgette's game is more underrated then that of Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Golden Tate who I maintain is the most underrated receiver in football. I know some of these sport comparisons are way over some heads but that's par for the course when dealing with my sports encyclopedia memory. Let's analyze some of these relationships, she's tight with Natalie and Bronte. Paulie and Frank treat her like a little sister. Da'Vonne doesn't think she exists as she' stated several times that she's Franks puppet. Michelle holds a grudge but is so far removed from the decision making element that this gripe is virtually irrelevant. Paul and Bridgette are joking around with each other all the time and genuinely enjoy each other's company. James wishes he was a honourary "Spy Girl" so that goes without saying. Bridgette's going to coast and Frank's likely removal from this game soon will only further assist, to steal a Survivor coinage, winner's edit.




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