Plenty of Nothing

Alien Gargoyle

Alien gargoyle on Paisley Abbey.

Asuka Bijin

Four female figures from the Takamatsuzuka Tomb (c. 700 AD) discovered in the 1960s near Asuka, Nara Prefecture. They are big into Korean styles. Source.

Recreation. Source.

Mount Crow

Go to Tales of the Oak and read about Mount Crow, a corner of old Greenock associated with witches, hangings, and crows. I think the hill the same one later occupied by the Grosvenor Sports Club.

Morton host Ayr United. This is their second meeting of the season. The first ended in a 2 - 1 win for the Honest Men. Entering today's play Ayr are in sixth place with 14 points, Morton in seventh with 12 and a game in hand.

Morton's three wins came at the expense of Dunfermline, Raith and QoS. The latter two are in the top half of the division. Ayr's four wins have been against Morton, Hibs, Dumbarton and QoS, two of which are in the top half. Which goes to show that anyone can beat anyone in the Championship.

Morton have not lost at Cappielow since March 26th.

Morton's ground seems to attract increasing amounts of non-Morton activity these days: Celtic and the Scottish national team use it for their youth squads. Tuesday the draw for the third round of the Scottish Cup was staged there. (Morton drew Beith Juniors away.)

[Morton win 2 - 1. Goals by O'Ware and Oliver. Match report.]

1898-99. After having hosted Linthouse FC the previous week, Morton travelled to their park in Govan, and won 0 - 1.

The Atlantic League. This summer UEFA announced changes to future Champions League competitions that would increase the presence of top clubs from Spain, Italy, Germany and England, and squeeze out the champions of the smaller European countries. In reaction to this plan, top clubs from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Scotland have started to formulate an Atlantic League.

It seems that these clubs would not quit the Champions League, but rather their own domestic leagues, and form a sort of Premiership for northeastern Europe.

The upshot for Scotland would be that Celtic and Rangers would quit the SPFL, and probably only participate in the Scottish Cup, where no doubt they would whine for a bye into the quarter-finals, based on the superiority of the Atlantic League to the Scottish Premiership.

The advantage for a ten-team Scottish Premiership without Celtic or Rangers would be that the title would suddenly be within the grasp of any number of clubs.

If Celtic and Rangers had not played in the Scottish Premiership this century, who would have won the title each year? (This is a rough and dirty list that does not remove the Old Firm results from the table, but just notes who came second or third each year.)

2000-01        Hibs

2001-02        Livingston

2002-03        Hearts

2003-04        Hearts

2004-05        Hibs

2005-06        Hearts

2006-07        Aberdeen

2007-08        Motherwell

2008-09        Hearts

2009-10        Dundee United

2010-11        Hearts

2011-12        Motherwell

2012-13        Motherwell

2013-14        Motherwell   

2014-15        Aberdeen

2015-16        Aberdeen

How is the Swiss Challenge League like the Scottish Championship?

Like the Championship, the Challenge League plays through the winter. Both play a 36-game schedule. But there are no playoffs. There are no reserve teams. The greatest travel distance as the crow flies is 262 km, from Geneva to Wil. Average stadium capacity is 11,774. Average club age is 102.

"Scottish footballers" is one of Wikipedia's "Very large categories", and contains 6,156 pages.

October 26th it was Östersund 2 - 0 Hammarby. Monday: Örebro [1 - 5] Östersund

Tomorrow: Blaublitz Akita [0 - 1] Oita

Scottish Junior Cup Round Two matches postponed from last weekend:

Vale of Clyde [0 - 3] Beith Juniors

Linlithgow Rose [3 - 0] Clydebank

Banks O'Dee vs Kilbirnie Ladeside [postponed]

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic [3 - 1] Rossvale

Empress's Cup, Round Two:

Match No. 17, Nippon TV Beleza [12 - 0] Club Fields Linda

Match No. 18, Ehime Ladies [5 - 0] Sendai University

Match No. 20, JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies [4 - 0] JFA Academy Fukushima

Match No. 21, Albirex Niigata Ladies [4 - 1] Orca Kamogawa

Match No. 25, Vegalta Sendai Ladies [7 - 0] Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School

NTV Beleza have won the cup 11 times and will probably be in the final. Club Fields Linda are from Sapporo and are the female affiliate of Club Fields Norbritz. They wear orange and blue.

What is football? Football is any game involving a foot and a ball. Kicking a ball around has been codified into any number of sports, one of which is association football. Greenock Morton play association football and are part of the Scottish Professional Football League. They call what they do football or fitba. In England they will tell you that the name of association football is football and not soccer, though both football and soccer are nicknames for association football, and both nicknames were coined in England. In England they will tell you that everyone in the world calls the sport football or a variant of that, like Fußball (Germany) or futebol (Brazil). But in Iceland they say knattspyrna, and in Slovenia they say nogomet, and in Italy they say calcio. And in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Republic of Ireland they say soccer, because football is a different sport.

Mount Crow decrowed. Lawn bowling is played with balls, but not feet, so it's not football. Source.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help (1966)

Rocky Loma

Ivy Levan performs "Science Fiction Double Feature" in front of Casa Loma in Fox's remake of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Films referenced in the song:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) with Michael Rennie

Flash Gordon (1936, with sequels in 1938 and 1940)

The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains

King Kong (1933) with Fay Wray

It Came From Outer Space (1953)

Doctor X (1932)

Forbidden Planet (1956) with Anne Francis

Tarantula (1955) with Leo G. Carroll

Day of the Triffids (1962) with Janette Scott

Night of the Demon (1957) with Dana Andrews

When Worlds Collide (1951) by George Pal

RKO Pictures operated from 1928 to 1957.

Ducts

Biting the Holy Wood

    Before the sun is up, the dismissal takes place At the Cross, and those with the energy then go to Sion to pray at the column at which the Lord was scourged, before going on home for a short rest. But it is not long before everyone is assembled for the next service. The bishop's chair is placed on Golgotha Behind the Cross (the cross there now), and he takes his seat. A table is placed before him with a cloth on it, the deacons stand round, and there is brought to him a gold and silver box containing the holy Wood of the Cross. It is opened, and the Wood of the Cross and the Title are taken out and placed on the table.

    As long as the holy Wood is on the table, the bishop sits with his hands resting on either end of it and holds it down, and the deacons round him keep watch over it. They guard it like this because what happens now is that people, catechumens as well as the faithful, come up one by one to the table. They stoop down over it, kiss the Wood, and move on. But on one occasion (I don't know when) one of them bit off a piece of the holy Wood and stole it away, and for this reason the deacons stand round and keep watch in case anyone dares to do the same again.

    --Egeria describing Easter services at Jerusalem c 381-4 AD

    John Wilkinson, Egeria's Travels, pages 136-7.

The Common Man

The Common Man was the signature character of Indian political cartoonist R. K. Laxman, who was born on this date in 1921 and died last year. The top three bronzes are in Mumbai, the bottom one is in Pune. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus, the famous assassin of the dictator Julius Caesar, died on October 23rd, 42 BC, after losing the Second Battle of Philippi. 

In 54 BC while he was in charge of the mint Brutus issued this coin in memory of his ancestor L. Junius Brutus, who founded the Roman Republic. It's hard not to see it as an example of contemporary political messaging.

Source.

2016-17 Scottish League Cup, Semi-Final

Morton meet Aberdeen in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup. This is Morton's first semi-final since 2007, when they reached the final four of the Challenge Cup. It's their first League Cup semi-final since 1979. Who did Morton play in 1979? Aberdeen. Who won? Aberdeen.

This is the tenth year Morton and Aberdeen have met in the League Cup. In group stage action Aberdeen have taken five wins, Morton two, with one draw. Plus Aberdeen have knocked Morton out five times. Morton have never knocked Aberdeen out of the League Cup.

Morton and Aberdeen's last encounter was four years ago in Round Two of the 2012-13 League Cup. Aberdeen won. The last time Morton beat Aberdeen in any competition was April 17th, 1982, in Premier Division play.

Today's game starts at 12:15 local time because it's on BT Sport. Thus Morton simultaneously accomplish two of our goals for them this season: No. 3, make the semi-finals of any cup, and No. 7, get on TV.

When did the 2016-17 Championship clubs most recently reach the League Cup semi-finals?

2016-17    Morton

2015-16    Hibs

2014-15    Dundee United

2012-13    St Mirren

2011-12    Falkirk

2011-12    Ayr United

2005-06    Dunfermline

1994-95    Raith Rovers

1970-71    Dumbarton

1960-61    Queen of the South

Has any club appeared in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, League Cup and Challenge Cup in the same year? Yes, the old Airdrieonians, 1994-95.

[Morton lose 0 - 2, but they make Aberdeen earn it. Match report.]

In the Championship. If there's any fixture that characterizes the Scottish Championship it's Falkirk vs Raith (or vice versa). These two have played each other 53 times in this division since the four tier format was adopted in 1994. Falkirk have 25 wins, Raith have 15, with 13 draws in that time. They meet today in Falkirk. [Falkirk 2 - 4 Raith.]

Morton's regularly scheduled match against St Mirren is pushed to November 1st.

It's Round Two of the Scottish Cup. The winners from Round One mix it up with League Two, plus East Stirlingshire, Spartans, Formartine United and Cove Rangers. Let's watch:

Annan Athletic [0 - 0] East Stirlingshire

Cowdenbeath [0 - 1] East Kilbride

Bonnyrigg Rose [2 - 1] Cove Rangers

BSC Glasgow [0 - 1] Beith

Despite their relegation to the Lowland League, East Stirlingshire were still invited to all the cup competitions. They were knocked out of the first round of the Challenge Cup by Montrose, 0 - 3. And they finished bottom in the League Cup Group F, with no points, 1 goal for and 11 goals against. Presently they are 3rd in the Lowland League.

East Kilbride lead the Lowland League with 11 wins in 11 starts. Going back to March and counting cup games, EK have a streak of 23 wins going. Read about that.

This is the fifth match in the tournament for both Bonnyrigg and Beith.

What's Cove Rangers' Scottish Cup record in the 21st Century?

 2015-16   PR1   Golspie Sutherland 1 - 6 Cove Rangers

                 PR2   Cove Rangers 7 - 2 St Cuthbert Wanderers

                  R1    Banks O'Dee 2 - 3 Cove Rangers

                  R2    Fort William 0 - 4 Cove Rangers

                  R3    Formartine United 1 - 1 Cove Rangers

                           Cove Rangers 4 - 1 Formartine United

                  R4    Motherwell 5 - 0 Cove Rangers

2014-15     PR    Glasgow University 1 - 9 Cove Rangers

                  R1    Cove Rangers 9 - 0 Hawick Royal Albert

                  R2    Cove Rangers 1 - 2 Annan Athletic

2013-14    R2    Brora Rangers 1 - 1 Cove Rangers

                          Cove Rangers 0 - 3 Brora Rangers

2012-13    R2    Cove Rangers 7 - 0 Golspie Sutherland

                 R3    Partick Thistle 2 - 1 Cove Rangers

2011-12    R1    Glasgow University 0 - 4 Cove Rangers

                 R2    Vale of Leithen 3 - 2 Cove Rangers

2010-11    R2    Nairn County 0 - 1 Cove Rangers

                 R3    Cove Rangers 0 - 3 Berwick Rangers

2009-10    R2    Cove Rangers 2 - 1 Annan Athletic

                 R3    Stenhousemuir 5 - 0 Cove Rangers

2008-09    R2    Cove Rangers 1 - 0 Whitehill Welfare

                 R3    Airdrie United 3 - 0 Cove Rangers

2007-08    R1    Brora Rangers 0 - 5 Cove Rangers

                 R2    Cove Rangers 3 - 0 Keith

                 R3    Cove Rangers 1 - 0 Edinburgh University

                 R4    Cove Rangers 2 - 4 Ross County

2005-06    R2    Gretna 6 - 1 Cove Rangers

2004-05    R1    Cove Rangers 4 - 1 Dalbeattie Star

                 R2    Cove Rangers 1 - 7 Greenock Morton

2002-03    R2    Gretna 3 - 0 Cove Rangers

2000-01    R2    Peterhead 3 - 0 Cove Rangers

It's also Round Two of the Scottish Junior Cup. Let's watch:

Yoker Athletic [2 - 3] Irvine Victoria

Greenock Juniors [2 - 1] Vale of Leven

Kirriemuir Thistle [3 - 1] Whitletts Victoria

Vale of Clyde vs Beith Juniors [postponed]

Linlithgow Rose vs Clydebank [postponed]

Banks O'Dee vs Kilbirnie Ladeside [postponed]

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic vs Rossvale [postponed]

Port Glasgow [1 - 1] Thorniewood United

Annbank United [1 - 2] Auchinleck Talbot

1898-99. Today in 1898 Morton were at home against Linthouse FC and lost 1 - 2. Linthouse were a club that existed from 1881 to 1900, and played at Langlands Park in Govan in the west of Glasgow. They wore blue.

How does the Slovenian 2. SNL compare to the Scottish Championship?

Both the Championship and the 2. SNL are winter leagues. Greatest travel distance as the crow flies is 186 km. There are playoffs. There are no reserve clubs. But the 2. SNL plays a 27-game schedule. Average stadium capacity is 5,921. Average club longevity is 70 years.

UEFA Champions League Group C: Celtic 0 - 2 Borussia Moenchengladbach

CAF Champions League final, second leg: Zamalek [1 - 0] Mamelodi Sundowns. [Mamalodi win on aggregate, and are the champions of Africa.]

Sweden: Malmö [0 - 3] Östersund

Faroes: B36 [5 - 2] TB. [This concludes the Effodeildin schedule. B36 finish 4th.]

Japan: Cerezo Osaka U23 [1 - 2] Blaublitz Akita

And it's the First Round of the Empress's Cup. How about:

Match No. 2, Fujieda Junshin High School [1 - 2] Sendai University

Match No. 4, JFA Academy Fukushima [8 - 1] Shikoku Gakuin University

Match No. 6, Norddea Hokkaido [1 - 4] Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School

Match No. 12, Bunnys Kyoto SC [1 - 0] University of Tsukuba

Match No. 16, Daisho Gakuen High School [1 - 0] Niigata University of Health and Welfare