Plenty of Nothing

Vintage Row

Columbano, Patron Saint of Brown

The Lion's Group (1885) by portrait painter Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro.

Spend five minutes looking at Columbano's work, and for the rest of the day your eyes will see the brown in everything.

 

A Hibs Game

A plan of Leith, showing the French fortifications of 1560. Source.

Morton visit Hibs at Easter Road. This game was originally scheduled for March 4th but got bumped by Hibs' Scottish Cup quarter-final against Ayr.

The situation. Hibs sit atop the division, ten points ahead of second-place Falkirk and third-place Morton, and eleven ahead of Dundee United. The very worst Hibs could finish is fourth. After Saturday's win against Falkirk coupled with Dunfermline's win at Cappielow there's little chance of Hibs not winning the division title.

Morton want to get points off Hibs to finish second and leap over the playoff quarterfinals. Morton do not yet have a league win against Hibernian. Dundee United got one, but Falkirk got none. Both of those clubs have played their four Hibs games; Morton have two left including today's.

[0 - 0. The single point lifts Morton into second place. Match report. Because it's Hibs the Scotsman has three articles on the game.]

What are the 21st-Century highlights for Hibernian FC?

Scottish Cup        won    2015-16

League Cup        won    2006-07

League                Premier League, 3rd place    2000-01, 2004-05

Challenge Cup    Round Four    2016-17

Which clubs have played the most games against Hibs in the 2010s?

24                Hearts, St Mirren

19                Rangers, Dundee United

18                Aberdeen, Kilmarnock

16                Inverness CT, Falkirk

How are Hibs like Greenock Morton?

Leith is a port town.

What was Morton's record against Gretna FC?

Gretna entered the SFL in 2002 and resigned in 2008. During that brief time they marched from the Third Division to the Premier League, fueled by Brooks Mileson's millions or perhaps hundreds of thousands or maybe less. Their rise corresponded closely to Morton's more modest recovery from financial crisis, and the two clubs found themselves in competition on several occasions.

2002-03 found them both in the Third Division. Morton won two league matches with two draws against Gretna. Morton won the division; Gretna finished sixth.

Two years later they met in the first round of the League Cup. Morton won.

In 2005-06 they met in the first round of the Challenge Cup. Morton won. They were also now both members of the Second Division. Gretna beat Morton twice, Morton took one win, and there was a draw. Gretna finished in first place and were promoted. Second-place Morton lost to Peterhead in the newly-instituted promotion playoffs. Had this been 2004-05 Morton would have been promoted automatically.

In 2007-08, Gretna's Premier League season, they met in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. The first game ended in a tie. Morton won the replay.

Which clubs have won the Scottish league title? Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Dumbarton, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Dundee United, Third Lanark.

Which clubs have won the Scottish league title and the Scottish Cup? Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Dumbarton, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Dundee United, Third Lanark.

Which clubs have won the Scottish league title, the Scottish Cup, and the League Cup? Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Dundee United.

Which clubs have won the Scottish league title, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, and the Challenge Cup? Rangers, Dundee, Dundee United.

Which clubs have won the Scottish title, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, the Challenge Cup, and the Forfarshire Cup? Dundee, Dundee United.

Other news:

Invergordon FC have won the North Caledonian Football League. Although the North Caledonian league is one step below the Highland League there's no formal promotion mechanism between them.

Queen's Park Shield semi-final:

Heriot-Watt Univ [1 - 2] Univ of Stirling

Leith 1870. Source.

Ottawa Streetcars Stuck in the Snow, 1942

This is Bank Street at Patterson's Creek Park. The apartment building, Ambassador Court, is still standing. Watch footage.

In Full Cry

In Full Cry (1931) by Sybil Andrews. Source. Put this on the cover of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man.

Prince Kūhiō Day

Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi was the only royal to also be a member of the US Congress. He worked on behalf of Hawaiian statehood, and is one of two native Hawaiians to have an annual holiday named after him. The other is King Kamehameha. Source.

Yokohama F. Morton

A Meiji-era map of Yokohama, housed in the McLean Museum, Greenock. Source.

Morton host Dunfermline. This match was originally scheduled for a midweek evening earlier in the month, but when both teams' original opponents for today wound up in the Challenge Cup final Morton and Dunfermline jumped at the vacant Saturday. This is their third meeting of the year. Each side has a win so far.

Morton are hot, with only one loss in league play in 2017. The Pars are a little cooler, with two 2017 losses. They specialize in playing higher-up clubs to a draw, and are prepared to play the spoiler.

Morton have played 27 of their 36 scheduled league matches. They have 13 wins, 9 draws and 5 losses, and are on track for a 64 point season. If they win or draw today they will have avoided defeat at Cappielow for over a year.

[Morton 0 - 1 Dunfermline. Match report.]

Match of the day is Hibs vs Falkirk. This is Falkirk's last chance to get a win against Hibs. Morton still have two games to play against the division leaders. Falkirk's Fraser Aird, the star of this week's Scotland-Canada friendly (see below), will be playing, but two of Hibernian's squad who play for Scotland, not Canada, are away on international duty. [Hibs 2 - 1 Falkirk.]

What are Dunfermline's 21st-Century highlights?

Scottish Cup        runners-up    2003-04, 2006-07

League Cup        runners-up    2005-06

League                Premier League, 4th place    2003-04

Challenge Cup    runners-up    2007-08

How often have Dunfermline met the other 2016-17 Championship clubs in league play?

Dundee United        138

Hibs                         105

Raith Rovers             97

Ayr United                 96

Falkirk                       93

Morton                      91

St Mirren                    91

Dumbarton                 84

QoS                           71

How is Dunfermline Athletic like Greenock Morton?

DAFC has two Scottish Cups to Morton's one, they have been runners-up in the League Cup three times to Morton's once, and have been Challenge Cup runners-up once to Morton's once. They have been to Europe nine times to Morton's once.

East End Park is a modern all-seater, but it is the Championship stadium closest in capacity to Cappielow, and it has natural grass. While Greenock is a former shipbuilding town; Dunfermline is a former weaving town.

The Pars are recently returned from the Seaside League, like Morton.

Also, it's the final of the Challenge Cup: Dundee United vs St Mirren at Fir Park in Motherwell.

St Mirren beat the Tangerines in league play ten days ago.

St Mirren won the Challenge Cup in 2005-06, and also reached the final in 1993-94. Dundee United made the final in 1995-96. Both clubs have spent large swaths of time in the Premier League and thus have been out of Challenge League competition.

Nine different clubs have won the Challenge Cup in the past decade, the two-time winner being Ross County.

Has the Challenge Cup final ever come down to the two clubs that would finish first and second in the First Division/Championship? Yes. In 2009-10 the final was between Dundee and Inverness CT. Dundee won the cup, but Inverness won the division.

[Tangerines 2 - 1 Buddies.]

Last over first. Since 1993-94, when the ten-team second tier now called the Championship began, has any team finished last but with a winning record against the first-place team? No. The closest thing was in 2008-09 when last-place Clyde took a win and a draw from first-place St Johnstone. Since 1993-94, how many different clubs have won the division? Sixteen. How many different clubs have finished last? Seventeen. How many have done both? Two. Raith Rovers and Ross County.

Scotland played Canada at Easter Road Wednesday. 1 - 1. Match report.

Watch "When the Sun Shines", a documentary about Cowdenbeath's Central Park.

Cumnock [3 - 2] Largs Thistle (Ayrshire Cup, Round One)

Queen's Park Shield semi-finals:

Univ of Edinburgh 1 - 2 Univ of Abertay Dundee

Heriot-Watt Univ vs Univ of Stirling [postponed]

The University of Edinburgh has a team in the Lowland League. Heriot-Watt University has a team in the East of Scotland League. The University of Stirling has teams in the Lowland League and the East of Scotland League.

Edinburgh has won the Queen's Park Shield 28 times, Stirling 12 1/2 times (they shared it with Dundee in 1984), Heriot-Watt 6 1/2 times (they shared with Glasgow in 1973), and Abertay never has.

All-time Queen's Park Shield standings:

28            Edinburgh

20            Aberdeen

18 1/2      Glasgow

12 1/2      Stirling

6 1/2        Heriot-Watt

3              St Andrew's

3              Strathclyde

2              Edinburgh Napier

1 1/2        Dundee

What are the mottos of the semi-finalists?

Abertay: Beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam (Blessed is the man who finds wisdom)

Edinburgh: Nec Temere Nec Timide (Neither recklessly nor timidly)

Stirling: Innovation and Excellence (which would be: Innovatione et virtute)

Heriot-Watt: ain't got one (Non habent)

SWFL Division 2 West tomorrow: Morton [9 - 0] Stranraer

After three weeks Vanraure are second in the JFL with 9 points and a +4 gd. ReinMeer are ninth with 4 points and a -1 gd.

Maruyasu Okazaki [0 - 2] Vanraure Hachinohe

FC Imabari [0 - 1] ReinMeer Aomori

Aomori Prefecture championship, second round:

Blancdieu Hirosaki [0 - 0] Gonohe SC [Blancdieu win 4 - 2 on penalty kicks.]

Hachinohe Gakuin University AFC [7 - 0] Athletic Club Hirosaki

Geography class. How many cities in Aomori Prefecture do we know now? Aomori, Hachinohe, Gonohe, Hirosaki.

Football in Yokohama. Yokohama is a port city of 3 or 4 million people a little southwest of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture. It has three J League clubs.

Yokohama F. Marinos play in J1, and are the result of the 1999 merger of Yokohama Marinos (founded in 1972 as Nissan Motors FC) and their crosstown rivals Yokohama Flügels (founded in 1964 as All Nippon Airways FC).

Disaffected Flügels supporters formed Yokohama FC in 1999. They are currently in J2.

YSCC (Yokohama Sports and Culture Club), founded in 1986, play in J3.

Amateur soccer is governed by the Kanagawa Football Association.

How the Greeks Learned Latin

Watch a Roman Society lecture by Eleanor Dickey on ancient Latin as a second language instruction.

Edo Castle, 1607

Source.

Fragment of a Queen's Face

At the Met.