Issue 2.1.1 "Are We Stable Now?"

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Friday, July 10, 2020

     AFTER ALL THE HOOPLA, MLS REVERTS TO TRADIATIONAL 24 TEAM TOURNEY
In 1st MLS pool, 5 entries from 12 people try their hand in our first Major League Soccer Pool

SAFER-AT-HOME DRIVE-IN: "PINOCCHIO", CA (smt) -- A lot of rust as the first four matches featured scoreless first halves including two 1-0 matches and one nil-nil match.  Orlando City FC, de facto host of the tourney, rallied to beat fellow Floridian Inter Miami CF 2-1 thanks to Nani's goal and assist.  The Philadelphia Union outlasted New York City FC 1-0 while the New England Revolution upset Impact de Montreal 1-0.  Big underdog San Jose Earthquakes held defending MLS champ Seattle Sounders FC to a scoreless draw.

The NYCvPHI was the first 9 am EDT match and it still felt like 99 deg F.  Just miserable with high humidity 24 hours a day.  Within minutes of the opening whistle, players and the ref were drenched with sweat.  The matches at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex take place on 3 natural surface fields as there could be as many as 3 matches a day (first time is July 12). 

Part of this experiment is a completely uneven broadcast with fake ads on the far sideline and behind the goals and a horrendous Adidas logo at midfield (that thankfully shrunk from the first match).  Not having fake crowd noise is a plus IMHO and it reminds me of the early matches of doubleheaders of less attended events like U-23 Gold Cup or something.  You can hear the players which is cool and the cheering became loud after Nani's stoppage time game-winner.  Seems more and more people are in the crowd.  Hearing instructions from coaches and players being yelled into the field is some neat behind-the-scenes action.  The opening match 8:46 tribute was powerful in its ambient noise of machinery chugging away in the background.

Nil-Nil (7/10)

HOMEMADE PIZZA AND SAUCE DRIVE-IN, CA -- It seems the only players in shape are the goalkeepers as Seattle Sounders FC's Stefan Frei made 8 saves and San Jose Earthquakes' Daniel Vega made 6 to end the match in a 0-0 tie to kick off Group B.  Remember, Group B now has Chicago Fire FC who will play their first match on July 14 against SEA.  If there's anything to say besides all 4 matches have been scoreless in the first half is at least the Adidas logo has shrunk.  Still weird along with the fake virtual ads and "fan interaction" video boards.

At least when watching the alternate AT&T 5G Aerial Cam broadcast you don't get any virtual shenanigans, a better uncompressed stream, and about 4-6 seconds ahead of the main broadcast feed. 

So it looks like we'll be official with 15 entries from 12 people.  Should be fun.  If you want to know who everyone picked, what the standings are, what the group standings are, who is who, and which teams did everyone picked, they are now all on the homepage.

No one got this match correct (14 picked SEA and 1 SJ) leaving the top 3 the same.

Back to Familiar Groups (7/9)

MY WIFE'S OFFICE -- While Group A still had 6 teams, Philadelphia Union picked up a crucial three points in a 1-0 win over New York City Football Club.  NYC pressured hard at the end but couldn't come up with the equalizer as PHI's Andre Blake made 7 saves.  Despite a 9 am EDT start, temps still felt like 99 deg F.  Yesterday, with an 8 pm ED start, within minutes, players were drenched in sweat.  Bet they wish they were in Utah with the NWSL.

Now that Group A has 4 teams (as expected, Nashville Soccer Club withdrew as they had 9 confirmed COVID-19 positive tests which resulted in a reshuffling, with Chicago Fire Football Club moving to Group B, giving it 4 teams once again).  So there are 24 teams in six groups, just like last year's Women's World Cup.  And like the WWC, the top 2 in each group and four best 3rd place teams will make the Round of 16.  We'll see if the bubble holds and no more teams withdraw.  CHI will now face SEA (7/14), SJ (7/19), and VAN (7/23) while PHI will now face MIA (7/14) and ORL (7/20) and NYC will now face ORL (7/14) and MIA (7/20).  SEAvVAN moved from 7/20 to 7/19.

While waiting for the evening match, I emailed all the participants and most can keep their Round of 16 bracket intact as it does not matter if you have a team in the right position or not, just that they made the Round of 16.  Thus, it doesn't matter if you placed CHI as 1st A, 2nd A, 3rd A, 4th A, 1st B, 2nd B, or 3rd B, you still get 3 points.  Only four of 13 entries HAD to change as they either had 7 Group A and Group B teams (max is 6) or had NSH in the Round of 16 (just one entry).  But everyone still has a chance to tweak their bracket (in case they care about match-ups and want to tweak who advances to the quarterfinals, etc) until the fourth match, 6 pm PDT Friday.

Also, 9 group matches will not count (games involving DAL, CHI, and NSH) and there is no need to pick the new games (unless you want to brag!).  So there will be 30 points possible in the group stage.

The evening match saw Gustavo Bou's blast into the upper net give the New England Revolution a 1-0 win over Impact de Montreal to start off Group C play.  A third straight scoreless first half and a third straight match with the horrible Adidas logo.  

Only 2 got PHI correct and only 3 got MTL.  No one is a perfect 3-0 with Kona Coast Fauci's, Kona Coast Sliders, and Super League on top with 2 points.  Three are 0-3.

Nani, Nani (7/8)

One match down, hopefully 50 to go (maybe less as NSH has now registered 9 positive player COVID-19 cases).  The night started off with a powerful 8:46 tribute and then kicked off with a horrendous virtual Adidas logo on the field (well, at least it was black, going with the theme).  Sigh.  No pomp and circumstance as no MLS anthem, no introductions, and no National Anthem since there were... no fans.

After a really sloppy first half, the second half started well with Juan Agudelo (remember when he was the future) scoring giving expansion Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami the lead over fellow Floridian Orlando City Soccer Club.  A scary injury to MIA's Andres Reyes in the 58' seemed to turn the tide as ORL tied it in the 70' off a great assist by Nani.  With 10 minutes of extra time, Nani broke the tie in the 90'+7' with an opportunistic put back.

No second match as Nashville Soccer Club and Chicago Fire Football Club was postponed due to NSH's nine positive COVID-19 cases.  Football Club Dallas had 10 and withdrew.  No word yet on NSH.  So the next game is at 6 am PDT featuring New York City Football Club and Philadelphia Union.  The 5 pm match features Impact de Montréal and New England Revolution.  The 7:30 pm match was cancelled between DAL and Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club.

So this match was played on Field 17 as expected but apparently there are 3 full fields that will be used, hopefully the technology to project an Adidas logo was lost on the other two fields.  VAR is available for these matches if needed.

As for the pool, unofficially we have 13 entries from 11 people with 8 picking ORL.

Admin's Picks

NOT WORKING FROM HOME -- You would think I would have more insight into MLS than the NCAA or World Cup/Euro pools since I do gamedays with the LA Galaxy (my 25th year!) and have a season ticket with LAFC (my 3rd year).  But, no.  Haven't had any time to think about the pool since putting feelers out there a month ago due to work commitments, but likely most teams will be rusty so will the powerhouses of ATL, TOR, SEA, and LAFC survive their groups.  Looking at the map, it looks like Field 17 a the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  Didn't read if it was turf or not but having 3 matches in one day could take a toll.

So, here are my two picks.  The first represents the 11th soccer pool we have done and the 11 players on each team on the pitch.  The second is a reference to the six-yard goal box in which case during these safer-at-home protocols, becomes a six-foot box.

Futbol Fabone Eleven
The Six Foot Box

I'll be emailing your picks in this format as well later.  With 2 hours left, good luck!

Web Entry is Live!!! Deadline 5 pm PDT!

BACK IN QUARANTINE AT HOME -- Maybe just to get a little practice in but I was able to create the online entry and it is now live!  So Enter Now!  It's Free!  Of course, you can still print and send in your picks to me via the email on the form  (Word | PDF) as several have done.  Again, as MLS struggles to decide what to change, if anything in the MLS is Back Tournament, we will adapt.  So there is a soft deadline of 5 pm PDT Wednesday so if you're late, enter anyway!  The Web Entry button is also in the menu at the top.  Good luck!

Quick rules.

Here is a quick look at the pool:

WHAT:              1st HWCI MLS is Back Tournament Soccer Pool (11^th overall soccer pool, 36^th overall pool)

FEE:                 FREE per entry (max 2 entries per person)

DEADLINE:       5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 8, 2020

WHO:               Anyone with interest!  Invite friends!  No more than TWO entries per person.

INFO:               HWCI World Cup Pool:  1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018

                        HWCI EURO Pool:  2012 | 2016

                        HWCI Women’s World Cup Pool:  2015 | 2019

PRIZES:           Something I can mail, got lots of old/vintage soccer stuff – maybe top 3.  Winners will be determined by points, not correct number of games (see Points section).

POINTS:           39 Round Robin matches=         1 point each (you can now pick ties!)

                        16 Round of 16 teams=             3 points each

                        8 Quarterfinal picks=                 4 points each

                        4 Semifinal picks=                     6 points each

                        2 Final picks=                           8 points each

                        1 Champ pick=                         12 points

                        -----------------------------------------------------

                        Total possible points=               171

Nashville tip-toeing and Toronto delayed

SANTA BARBARA, CA -- More changes as five players on Nashville SC have tested positive with a few in waiting so their first match July 8th vs Chicago Fire FC has been postponed.  Toronto FC is late getting into Orlando so their first match vs D.C. United has been moved to July 12th.

Again, don't worry about filling out an outdated bracket.  There is time to make corrections even after the first match is played.  However, once the first match is played, any team that drops out affects everyone.  Well, good news is the LA Galaxy have increased their chances :-)

Calos Vela Out, NWSL Goes On

WALKING THE BEACH IN SANTA BARBARA  -- Losing a team in the tournament hasn't stopped the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from continuing their Challenge Cup in Utah with 8 of their 9 teams.  The Orlando Pride withdrew June 22 due to 6 positive COVID-19 player cases and the tournament still kicked off June 27 with 8 teams.  The NWSL was the first major team sports league to get started back up in the USA.  Though you never hear about it.

So the MLS, with five teams still left to travel to Florida, may still be able to start July 8th as planned with 25 of the 26 teams after FC Dallas withdrew.  It could be Group B will just have 2 games per team with just the top 2 of the now 3 team group advancing.  As for the regular season, FC Dallas will be 3 games short and Seattle, Vancouver, and San Jose will be one game short (knockout matches do not count towards regular season records).

Meanwhile the reigning MLS MVP, LAFC's Carlos Vela will skip the tournament with a newborn on the way.  Considering players have to be quarantined for 30 or more days with no contact with family is tough and Vela being across the country from his wife made this a respectable decision in these pandemic times.  So we've lost one team and one superstart... who's next?

FC Dallas Pulls Out!

GOLETA, CA -- With FC Dallas registering 10 player positive COVID-19 tests, the team has withdrawn from the MLS is Back Tournament.  What MLS will do with the slot is still unknown but this is one of the challenges of trying to restart in a pandemic world.

So how does this affect the pool?  Nothing for now.  You will get a chance to change your DAL is champion pick, even after the tournament starts.  But if other teams withdraw after the tournament starts, that would just be bad luck.

Remember to download (Word | PDF) and send page 3 or a picture to the email address on the form.  Deadline is Wednesday 5 pm PDT!

MLS is Back!

HILTON BEACHFRONT RESORT, SANTA BARBARA, CA -- Okay, those aren't my words but what the new Major League Soccer tournament is actually called.  "MLS is Back" is a World Cup-style tournament where all the group stage matches will count in the official regular season standings.  The hope is, that if this tournament goes off without too many surprises, the rest of the MLS regular season can proceed afterwards, likely without fans, but in hometowns.  This tournament will all take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida.  Due to hot and humid weather expected, matches will start at 9 am, 8 pm, and 10:30 pm local time (EDT).

So with the 26th HWCI NCAA Tournament Pool and 3rd HWCI EURO Pool both cancelled due to COVID-19, this MLS tournament, an official one as group matches will count towards regular season play, presented an interesting opportunity to get ONE pool done in 2020.  Of course, the problem is, there is so much uncertainty (the DAL-VAN match has already been postponed due to 8 FC Dallas players testing positive), there is no way for me to handle payments/refund headaches if the tournament gets shortened, postponed, or re-designed mid-tournament.

Thus, for the first time, the HWCI pool is FREE.  You will be limited to two entries instead of three but hopefully this will present a distraction from the chaos of everyday quarantine and life.  As for prizes, I have some old MLS/Galaxy/Chivas USA swag that if shipping is decent enough, I can send to the top 3 finishers.

This runs like the regular World Cup/EURO pools and more in line with the 2019 Women's World Cup where you have to pick 3rd place finishers.  There are key differences to note:

• Group A has 6 teams instead of 4 (like Groups B/C/D/E/F)
• Thus, the top THREE teams in Group A make the Knockout Stage (Round of 16)
• The top TWO teams in Groups B/C/D/E/F make the Round of 16
• The next THREE best teams make the Round of 16 -- that could be the 4th place team in Group A or the 3rd place teams in Groups B/C/D/E/F
• The seeded teams in each group are the 2019 MLS Playoff Semifinalists (Atlanta, LAFC, Seattle, Toronto), the next best 2019 point earner in the Western Conference (Real Salt Lake), and host Orlando
• Group A teams will play 3 games like everyone else, but because there are 6 teams in the group, there are 9 games in Group A
• Thus, there are 39 (instead of the usual 36) matches to pick in Group play
• In the Knockout Stage, there is no Extra Time so if a match ends in a tie in regulation, they go straight to Penalty Kicks
• There is no 3rd place match, so like EURO, the Total Goals Tiebreaker is 3 matches (2 Semis and Final) - as always, in 1/2 goal increments and only in regulation (no Extra Time)

So download the form (Word | PDF), fill it out the 3rd page and send it to worldcup@hwci.com.  The deadline to enter is 5 pm PDT Wednesday, July 8th.  Hopefully, following this we will have EURO 2021, World Cup 2022, and Women's World Cup 2023.  Good luck and stay safe!