Issue 1.0.1 "The Quarantine Pool" (7/7)

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Just realized I never posted this (though it was in the Archive).  So here it is... Issue #3 will come out after tonight's match as then all 24 teams will have played at least one match.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

     MLS IS BACK! FIRST POOL IN QUARANTINE ERA

Our 11th HWCI soccer pool will be free to all!

SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt) -- With the 2020 HWCI NCAA and 2020 HWCI EURO pools cancelled this year due to the pandemic (COVID-19), Major League Soccer has come back with an interesting concept.  A World Cup style tournament with group stage and knockout stage.  There are some key differences such as this pool is FREE (up to 2 entries per person) as who knows what will happen (DAL has already withdrawn due to 10 player COVID-19 positive tests) and handling money/refunds is not desirable.  Thus, FREE!  I'll see what kind of MLS/soccer swag I may have and will mail stuff out to the top 3 if shipping prices are reasonable.   Also, no Web Entry is not available yet... so print or take a photo or edit and email back to me at worldcup@hwci.com.  Hopefully this will bring some a distraction from the craziness of life. 

All teams are quarantined at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort (pretty nice, stayed there a couple times) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and all matches will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee.  Nashville moved to the Eastern Conference for the rest of the year which means 14 teams in the East and 12 in the West.  Groups A, C, and E have teams from the East and Groups B, D, and F have teams from the West.

A Delay, a Rally, and a Shutout (7/12)

DAUGHTER THINKS DE-ICING FRIDGE IS SNOW, CA -- The day started with potentially more team troubles with testing but it turned out the players re-tested negative delaying the Toronto FC and D.C. United match by 24 hours.  The evening saw Sporting Kansas City with lots of possession and a one-goal lead but a GK challenge ended in the tourney's first red card turning the tide.  Minnesota United FC took advantage and scored two stoppage time goals, the first on an own goal by SKC's scorer Khiry Shelton (yes, he scored for both teams) and the last in the 90'+7' by Kevin Molino giving MIN a 2-1 win.  For the first time, VAR overruled the call for the first time denying MIN a goal in the 64' as Molina was deemed to interfere while offside.

Real Salt Lake beat the Colorado Rapids for the 4th straight time, a 2-0 win that would have been worse if not for the PK and follow-on shot saves by COL GK Clint Irwin.  It was the first PK of the tournament.  Group D now sees RSL on top with +2 GD over MIN's +1.  

TORvDC's delay means their 2nd matches are also delayed a day with TORvMTL moving from 7/15 to 7/16 and DCvNE moving from 7/16 to 7/17.  Two matches will be played at 5 pm PDT July 17, one on FS1 and one on ESPN.  The SJvVAN time changed from 7:30 pm to 6 pm PDT on 7/15.

In the pool, 5 got MIN and 8 got RSL but only Six Foot Box got both.  3 got both wrong.  Six Foot Box moves into a tie for first with Kona Coast Fauci's and Kona Coast Sliders with 4 points.  Deutschland = Koenig got RSL snapping an 0-7 start and is tied with BigRedMessi2 for last.

Another match postponed

PLANTING TOMATO PLANTS, CA -- The Sunday 6 am match between Toronto FC and D.C. United was postponed at kickoff due to one "initial unconfirmed positive COVID-19 case" and one "inconclusive test".  To be safe, the match was postponed.  With Toronto FC getting into Orlando late (which is why this match was originally delayed from July 10), new testing was done Saturday.  The hope would be that the players will later test negative (such as the case with PGA golfer Cameron Champ).   And even if they do, this is not a false positive as these tests are more likely to give a false negative meaning the players MUST have had some low levels of COVID-19 that dissipated quickly.  Or that is what the spin doctors say.

Or more players will test positive on subsequent tests.  Then, the question is, was this a burst in the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort/ESPN WWOS Complex "bubble" or did the players get it in TOR or DC before the flight?  Trying to seclude themselves from COVID-19 like Prince Prospero did in "The Masque of the Red Death" only to succumb in the fake security.  We'll see.

With the max of 3 fields (though there is a spare training field that could also be used) and the brutal weather, scheduling becomes tough as it bumps into the knockout rounds.  Even TOR's original 3 1/2-day rest (next match is July 15 evening) seemed not to be in the players' best interest.  But by having everything at one site, flexibility is easier and no fans to worry about (maybe TV).  

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.

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!