Surprising Results

Less than five days away from kicking off the 2019 Women's World Cup and some friendlies have had some surprising results.  On Saturday, #3 and Group D top seed England lost to #19 New Zealand (Group E), 1-0, and #6 and Group C top seed Australia got hammered by #8 Netherlands (Group E), 3-0.  On Sunday, a couple of friendlies in France saw #7 Japan (Group D) rally to tie #13 Spain (Group B) while #12 Norway was the least surprising in thrashing #49 South Africa (Group B) 7-2.  New Zealand will be the last World Cup team to play a friendly, traveling to face Wales on Tuesday.

We have 16 entries thus far, certain to surpass 2015's total of 22 and likely pass the 27 we got for Euro 2016.  We are a long ways off in catching the men's World Cup total of 79 entries last year but we shall see.  Because the World Cup 2018 pool started just five days before, technically we have more entries for the Women with five days to go (16 to zero) ;-)

Remember, you have until noon PDT on Friday to enter the pool.  Enter online now!

Not so easy bracket

Apparently, this was the old version but is still live on FOX's site

Well, the Women's World Cup is 11 days away and if you thought you could just find the Knockout Stage brackets easily, you'd be wrong.  The FIFA one uses this inverted vertical version of a bracket.  Other sites just have an empty bracket.  And Fox Sports has, after several hours of trying to verify, an incorrect one.  But in trying to verify, apparently I came across an old FIFA regulations guide that also had conflicting matchups and likely is the one FOX used to map the teams.  But the latest FIFA regulations guide now has the "correct" matchups that align with their website and pdf schedule.  Yet if you go the Fox Sports Fan Guide now, it's still incorrect, which is curious considering FOX is the TV broadcaster of all matches.  But this could also be why hardly anyone else wants to put out a bracket until they are sure those are the correct Round of 16 matchups. 

Well, our pool will go with the FIFA matchups and bracket.  I do have bottom bracket inverted (e.g., IV v III instead of III v IV) since it makes more sense to me the next numerical match number (38) should go first.  But it won't affect any of your picks as the matchups are still the same. 

Issue 1.0.1 "Le Moment de Briller" (5/27)

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Monday, May 27, 2019

     WILL EQUAL PAY LAWSUIT DISTRACT #1 USWMT FROM 4TH TITLE?
Equal opportunity exists, with the women taking center stage; 2nd HWCI Women's WC Pool deadline is Friday 6/7 Noon PDT

FREMONT, CA (smt) -- On International Women's Day (March 8), the 28 U.S. women's national team (USWMT) players sued the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for gender-based discrimination in an attempt to level the playing field with their USMNT brethren.  Considering their success as 3-time and defending World Cup champions vs the USMNT who failed to qualify for the last World Cup, it's odd the USSF continues to downplay the USWMT and pick this fight rather than at least offering significant merit-based bonuses.  But at least some sponsors are correcting their ways, with LUNA Bar and Adidas now giving equal bonuses to both teams.  At least the U.S. women will play in the WWC as Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg will sit out the WWC in protest (since '17) over lack of respect for female players in Norway. 

Will this be a distraction to the #1 ranked team in the world?  Will host France (ranked #4) do what their men's team did when they last hosted the WC ('98), win the Cup?  Will USA coach Jill Ellis coach correctly from the start instead of experimenting (remember those 0-0 draws at halftime?) and waiting for the fans to cause the course-correction like in '15 (maybe not, as 273-cap Carli Lloyd is not happy being on the bench)?  Will #7-Japan bounce back from their shellacking in the final in '15?  Will English-speaking countries of #3-England, #5-Canada, and #6-Australia make a splash finally?  Will current Olympic champion #2-Germany win their 3rd WC to equal the U.S.?

Issue #9.2.5 "Efficiency Beats Effort" (After Final)

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25th HWCI NCAA Basketball Pool March 2019 Our Silver Anniversary!

2nd HWCI FIFA Women's World Cup Soccer Pool May 2019 Can USA repeat?

3rd HWCI UEFA EURO Soccer Pool May 2020 No host nation, Europe hosts!

7th HWCI FIFA Men's World Cup Soccer Pool November 2022 World Cup in the winter!

2018 World Cup Champion	2018 Winningest Region
FRA - France (Les Bleus) Fédération Française de Football	UEFA - Europe Union of European Football Associations
#7 | C1 | Group C Winners | 6-0-1 | 14 GF-6 GA 3rd Finals ('98, '06) 2nd Championship C1: Beat Australia 2-1 C3: Beat Peru 1-0 C5: Tied Denmark 0-0 R16: Beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 QF: Beat 1A-Uruguay 2-0 SF: Beat 1G-Belgium 1-0 F: Beat 1D-Croatia 4-2	UEFA | 10 Teams | 13 Wins | 13-9 Qualified: 2A-RUS, 1B-ESP, 2B-POR, 1C-FRA, 2C-DEN, 1D-CRO, 2E-SUI, 1F-SWE, 1G-BEL, 2G-ENG R16: 50-FRA, 51-RUS, 52-CRO, 54-BEL, 55-SWE, 56-ENG QF: 57-FRA, 58-BEL, 59-CRO, 60-ENG SF: 61-FRA, 62-CRO F: 64-FRA

CROATIA HUSTLES BUT FRANCE IS ON TARGET FOR 2ND TITLESacre Les Blues, Sokkerbix, and Krispy Kremer join Walleye and BigRedSquare in winner circle 

BERLIN, DEUTSCHLAND  (smt) -- D1-Croatia started off strong and had most of the possession but C1-France finished when needed in winning their 2nd World Cup title, 4-2.  France was so efficient that at halftime they had 2 goals on just one shot on goal.  The hero from the semifinal, Mario Mandzukic, accidentally headed the ball off a FRA set piece into his own goal to give the French an early lead.  Croatia would equalize on Ivan Perisic's goal but before halftime Perisic would be called for a handball in the box and Antoine Griezmann buried the PK as France headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead.  VAR played its final review on that PK with its ~10th pro-PK overturn of the ref (there were about 4 PKs taken away from the ref).  Like in the ARG match, FRA struck often and quickly, with two great strikes 6 minutes apart for an insurmountable 3-goal lead, though FRA GK Hugo Lloris would try to help with a horrible misplay allowing Mandzukic to capitalize to the cut the lead to two with 21 minutes left.  CRO ran out of gas and didn't have many chances after that.  While CRO outshot FRA 15-8, only 3 were on target while 6 of 8 FRA shots were on target.  CRO played nearly 3 times as many opportunities into the attacking third but FRA were deadly on their limited chances.  The second-youngest team in the tournament can now be thinking about EURO 2020 and a repeat in 2022.

All four who picked FRA to win it all managed to

Final: FRA v CRO (Live!) (7/15)

REFRESH periodically, as this post will be updated throughout the day and match.

1:00 am:  The tiebreaker total goals is currently at 2.  The goals scored today in regulation and Extra Time will be added.  This is important for those in a tiebreaker situation to win money.  If CRO wins, then there is a tie for 2nd place and 4th place.  BigRedSquare gets 2nd if total goals in 3rd place & Final matches is 5 or less and Blitzkreig813 gets 2nd if the total goals is 6 or more.  Bigblue2 gets 4th if the total goals is 5 or less and FernandoHeirrosArmada gets 4th if the total goals is 6 or more (note the loser ends in 5th which is zero prize money).
For the $40 Bonus, if FRA wins, then Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split the $40 prize ($20 each) if the total goals is 6 or less, they will split with Krispy Kremer (3-way tie or $13.33 each) if the total goals is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win the Bonus if the total goals is 8 or more.  If CRO wins, then Flying Elvi wins if total goals is 5 or less (because Bigblue2 will win 4th and be ineligible for Bonus), Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split ($20) if total is 6, will split 3-ways ($13.33) with Krispy Kremer if total is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win if total goals is 8 or more.

1:25 am:  Coincidentally, all four who picked FRA will finish 1-2-3-4 if FRA wins.  Sokkerbix, who got a worst 17 of 48 group matches correct (but tied a high getting 14 of 16 Round of 16 teams), would jump to 109 pts, two more than

FFB 18.05 "World Cup Field Report - Belgium Round of 16" (7/14)

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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Click the picture to view the wild video!

Check out some pics & videos from the public screening of the July 2nd Quarterfinal Round of 16 game of Belgium v. Japan in Bruge, Belgium (Flanders).  We timed it to be in Belgium to watch them play a quarterfinal knockout game.  

A fun atmosphere with thousands of people, where the rest of town seemed empty.  The place was full of beer stands, and like what you saw from other public viewings of games, there tended to be

Third Place: BEL v ENG (Live! ) (7/14)

REFRESH periodically, as this post will be updated throughout the match (hopefully).

2:40 am: In the pool, this third place match is not picked.  However it does play into any tiebreaker situation and we have a few.  If CRO wins the final, then there is a tie for 2nd place and 4th place.  BigRedSquare gets 2nd if total goals in 3rd place & Final matches is 5 or less and Blitzkreig813 gets 2nd if the total goals is 6 or more.  Bigblue2 gets 4th if the total goals is 5 or less and FernandoHeirrosArmada gets 4th if the total goals is 6 or more (note the loser ends in 5th which is zero prize money).

For the $40 Bonus, if FRA wins tomorrow, then Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split the $40 prize ($20 each) if the total goals is 6 or less, they will split with Krispy Kremer (3-way tie or $13.33 each) if the total goals is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win the Bonus if

Issue #8.2.4 "It's Not Coming Home" (After Semifinals)

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Thursday, July 12, 2018 

2018 World Cup Final - Luzhniki Stadium - Moscow
	vs.
FRA - France (Les Bleus) Fédération Française de Football		CRO - Croatia (Vatreni) Croatian Football Federation
#7 | C1 | Group C Winners | 5-0-1 3rd Finals ('98, '06) C1: Beat Australia 2-1 C3: Beat Peru 1-0 C5: Tied Denmark 0-0 R16: Beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 QF: Beat 1A-Uruguay 2-0 SF: Beat 1G-Belgium 1-0		#20 | D3 | Group D Winners | 4-0-2 1st Finals (-) D2: Beat Nigeria 2-0 D3: Beat Argentina 3-0 D6: Beat Iceland 2-1 R16: Beat 2C-Denmark 1-1 (3-2 PSO) QF: Beat 2A-Russia 2-2 (4-3 PSO) SF: Beat 2G-England 2-1 (AET)

ENGLAND RUN ENDS IN EXTRA TIME; FRANCE HOLDS ON

Walleyewins the pool, BigRedSquare in money, but 5 vie for final two spots

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) -- For all the hype f bringing the Cup back home to 2G-England, tiny D1-Croatia's effort and heart won out in a 2-1 win after Extra Time.  ENG started strong and got a free kick goal, their 9th set piece goal, in the 5' but Croatia tied it in the second half to send it to extra time.  With ENG no longer afraid of the PSO and with CRO playing their third-straight extra time match, things looked good for the team that really isn't a country.  But then CRO's Mario Mandukic was in the right place for an opportunistic laser strike in the 109' to put CRO up for good.  It was CRO's second time scoring in Extra Time but this time their defense held down the stretch.  ENG only had one shot on goal (their free kick) though Harry Kane had a couple of point-blank opportunities (save then left post off the GK) on the same play and although ruled offsides, probably would've been overturned by VAR if he had actually scored.  CRO, the second smallest country to make the final and began play just in '96, advances to their first final while ENG is still overjoyed by the lads effort in this World Cup.

In the battle of giants, 1C-France (ranked #7) just needed

Run of play (7/11)

LA GALAXY FREE NACHOS AT EL TORITO IN MANHATTAN BEACH, CA -- 2G-England can go home again, but without the Cup in hand.  1D-Croatia became the sixth team to win after allowing the first goal, this time beating ENG 2-1 in Extra Time to reach their first final.  An opportunistic strike by Mario Mandzukic in the 109' in front of a slow to react ENG defense was the difference.  CRO becomes the first team to win three straight matches that went into Extra Time and even scored in their last two.  With ENG now confident in the PSO, CRO wouldn't allow them to get there.  A strong start by ENG with Kleran Trippier's bend-it-like-Beckham free kick, the ENG's 9th off of a set piece, in the 5' had their fans in a frenzy.  A rare double-miss by Harry Kane at point blank range (he was eventually ruled offside, but if it went to VAR, it likely would've been overturned) with the second off the post, off the GK, and still not finding the net, almost gave ENG a two-goal cushion.  With all the set piece goals lately, CRO used two run-of-play goals to seal the match.

The 20th ranked CRO team is the

Set Piece + Header (7/10)

NIKKA RAMEN, GOLETA, CA -- Samuel Umtiti headed in the tourney's 32nd headed goal off the tourney's 69th set-piece hat lead to a goal in the 51' giving 1C-France its fourth one-goal victory, 1-0, over 1G-Belgium.  Belgium had scored at least 2 goals in four of their five previous matches but their famous counter-attacks never materialized.  FRA advanced to their 3rd final and will seek their 2nd World Cup ('98).  In this battle of giants, defense and goalkeeping ruled as FRA picked up their 4th shutout and 14-goal BEL were shut out for the first time.

FRA was picked by 18 to advance to the Final.  This propelled Walleye to

Issue #7.2.3 "The Greatest Showman" (Semifinal Preview)

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Monday, July 9, 2018

FRANCE-BELGIUM THE REAL FINAL
Final four feature teams who have not won the Cup in at least 20 years

HILTON SANTA BARBARA BEACHFRONT RESORT, CA (smt) --  The first semifinal will feature the two best teams of the tournament, a pre-final of sorts, with Group C winners France facing off against Group G Belgium, both undefeated in regulation and both ranked in the top 7.  France rallied from a 2-1 2nd half deficit to beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 and Belgium rallied from a 2-0 2nd half deficit to beat 2H-Japan in their Round of 16 matches so they have been tested.  The second semifinal features 1D-Croatia which needed to PSO wins against non-group winners to advance and 2G-England which barely beat G3-Tunisia but did get the PSO monkey off their back in beating 1H-Colombia.  Only 2 of the 8 teams on this side of the bracket were ranked in the top 11.  So will the Final be anti-climatic?  The current odds:  France 2:1, Belgium 2.5:1, England 2.75:1, Croatia 4:1. 

English fans are going bonkers over England's success thus far, especially finally winning a penalty shootout, they believe they are destined.  They are going almost as crazy as buying albums of The Greatest Showman, which spent 11 straight weeks at #1 in the U.K. tying Adele of all people.  My son got me to buy the digital version of the movie as he saw it with his neighborhood friend and after resisting for a long time, got to watch and LOVE it (ignore the biopic liberties taken).  I should never doubt Hugh Jackman (I highly enjoyed The Boy From Oz and saw him live on Broadway) in a musical again.  So to link the topics together, below is the actual track list from the movie (all great songs and damn addictive, even my son and daughter are humming the tunes) and how it relates to the 2018 World Cup.  BTW, each title is linked to the song courtesy of Atlantic Records.  Enjoy!

The Greatest Show: Where it's covered in all the colored lights; Where the runaways are running the night; Impossible comes true, it's taking over you; Oh, this is the greatest show.  Indeed, the World Cup is the greatest show on earth and this particular one has seen the "runaways" running the show with

Issue #6.2.2 "It's Coming Home" (After Quarterfinals)

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Sunday, July 8, 2018 

ENGLAND ON A HIGH, HOSTS NO MORE
Flying Elvi holding on to lead; 14 still alive

STUBHUB CENTER, CARSON, CA (smt) --  2G-England scored a goal before and after halftime in shutting out 1F-Sweden, 2-0 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since '90.  English fans are going crazy as they hope this is the run that will erase 52 years of bad memories including '16's Euro loss to tiny Iceland.  While I wore my '09 era Beckham England home jersey, I got so many compliments at the Camarillo Premium Outlet including shouts of "we're bringing it back home" referring to the World Cup trophy.  Forgot how many tourists go to these outlets so a lot of soccer fans.  

The last of the giants were put down, as 1G-Belgium used

Bonus Possibilities

With only UEFA (European) teams left, that means every match from now on will be won by UEFA.  That means UEFA will be the Winningest Region with 13 wins (of the 15 knockout matches).  Only 3 entries had this by the way they picked their bracket.  Krispy Kremer wins the Bonus if the total goals scored in the 3rd place and Final matches is 8 or more (not including PSO goals).  Note that if Croatia beats France and the total goals (3rd+Final) is 5 or less, then Bigblue2 will win 4th and won't be eligible for the Bonus.  There is also a chance of a 3-way tie for some scenarios if the total goals is 7 (that would be $13.33 each).  Here are the simplified Bonus Possibilities:

2018 HWCI Men's World Cup Pool - Bonus Possibilities
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If FRANCE beats CROATIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Flying Elvi (tiebreak: 5.5 | Tied if <=6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
                Bigblue2 (tiebreak: 5.5 | Tied if <=6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
           Krispy Kremer (tiebreak: 8.5 | 3-way Tie if =7 | Wins if >=8)
If CROATIA beats FRANCE in the final, then the possible winners are...

Final Four Possibilities

Despite all the heavy favorites bowing out, no one has been guaranteed money yet.  14 entries still have a chance to win money while Flying Elvi, Walleye, and Stillcryin4USA will battle it out to win the pool.  Here are the Final Four Scenarios (8 possibilities).  If France beats Belgium in the Semis, then Walleye will win the pool; if Belgium wins their 1st Cup, then Stillcryin4USA will win the pool; and if Belgium loses in the Final, Flying Elvi, despite picking Germany as his champ, will win the pool.

2018 HWCI Men's World Cup Pool - Final Four Possibilities
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If FRANCE beats CROATIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
                   Walleye Score: 124 (place 1 winner)
              BigRedSquare Score: 121 (place 2 winner)
           Sacre Les Blues Score: 115 (place 3 winner)
                 Sokkerbix Score: 109 (place 4 winner)
If CROATIA beats FRANCE in the final, then the possible winners are...

Back to Back PSOs (7/7)

CAMARILLO PREMIUM OUTLETS, CA -- 1D-Croatia was determined not to go PSOs again and became the first team to score in Extra Time to take a 2-1 lead.  But 2A-Russia, which had survived on PSO as well, answered back and the match ended on a 2-2 tie. There was a scare in that the CRO GK seemed to pull a hamstring minutes before Extra Time and stayed in and was tested right way and made the saves.  Host RUS started the PSO first and things went well until their ET game-tying savior, Mario Fernandes, became the first person this tourney (62 PKs) to completely miss the target, his shot going wide left.  CRO closed out for a 4-3 PSO win to make their second semifinal and first since '98.  Teams who kicked first in the PSO are now 0-4.

2G-England rolled over