Day 4 (6/22) UEFA Super Clubs Win Easily

GARDENING AT HOME, CA - 13 combined goals were scored by club powerhouses #22 G4-Juventus, #7 H1-Real Madrid, and #8 G1-Manchester City.  JUV's 4-1 win over #235 G2-Wydad AC followed by MCI's 6-0 rout over #402 G3-Al Ain sent both teams to the Round of 16 with an epic matchup between them coming up Thursday.  It didn't look good for RMA coming off a surprise draw to #67 H2-Al Hilal with a red card in the 7', but it was all RMA after that as they took care of #144 Pachuca, 3-1 to eliminate them.   A nice toe flick off a cross gave RMA a 3-0 lead.  HIL picked up their second draw, this time a scoreless one with #143 H4-FC Salzburg.

All 16 picked JUV, MCI, and RMA while just 3 picked the SALvHIL draw, thus 3 went 4-0.  BigRedMessi was one of the 3 to move into a tie for first with 1 Billion Cash Grab and Sweet Futbol Fabone with 12 pts.  

Four have clinched spots in the Round of 16 (BAY, FLA, JUV, MCI) but you won't the 3 pts each until after their group has completed play.  Mauihammy (tied for last (12th) with 9 pts) was the only entry to lose a team in the R16 between AIN (his pick), WAC, and PAC.

On a sunny Sunday, did some gardening in the backyard and found a few plums (which were plentiful in 2023 and disappeared in 2024).  I wore my 2005 Juventus away jersey celebrating its 100 years.

Day -1 (6/18) Harsh call but save! + Admin Picks!

POACHED, DOWNEY, CA - The last day of the first group stage matches saw #8 G1-Manchester City and #22 G4-Juventus take care of business while in Group H, #143 H4-FC Salzburg (so sad FIFA doesn't allow named sponsors so they couldn't use FC Red Bull Salzburg) found itself topping the group as #67 H2-Al Hilal's GK Bono saved a PK in second-half stoppage time after a long VAR.  VAR deemed a foul just inside the upper corner of the box (so harsh it resulted in two yellows for dissent on HIL) but the save preserved a 1-1 draw with #7 H1-Real Madrid.  

With the first group matches done, just a few surprises (draws), a couple of long weather delays, and passionate fans and empty stadiums.  The quality of play has been good as these are "teams" and not we had two-weeks-to-practice national teams.  

Just 9 hours left to enter the pool and please use this link for the Web Entry.  We have just 9 entries so if you enter now, you have a pretty good chance to win (unlike Auckland City).

For the first time in 16 soccer pools, I have entered the max 3 times.  That just means losing $30.  Here are my picks:

Scott	T (1)	Sweet Futbol Fabone
Scott	T (2)	1 Billion Cash Grab
Scott	T (3)	Inter's Revenge

Poached is a really good breakfast place and it is one of the restaurants served by Resy, which is where I can redeem my $10 and $20 credit card credits every month.  I wore my 2022-23 Al Hilal home jersey and has the badges in a great blue pattern made by Mouj, who I have never heard before making jerseys.