Plenty of Nothing

Plato Cigarette Card

Source.

Shinto Shrine Layout

Source.

Hadrian's Library In Its Modern Context

Athens remembers the Emperor Hadrian as a friend and benefactor 1900 years after his reign. His Library stood to the north of the Acropolis in a space now crowded in by modern Greek life. The Manastikaki train stain is just off the bottom left of the photo. The narrow lane running up the left side from the domed building is a tourist market. The official AEK Athens store is at the upper left corner. If you explore the area on Google Street View it will give you a strong sense of how the site is an archaeological excavation -- the surrounding streets are a storey above it. Source.

Labradorite

Source. And.

Canso Spaceport Plan

Anatoly Zak at Russian Space Web is treating the spaceport in Guysborough County as a real thing, and so is the Ukrainian rocket industry, appararently.

Still, It's No San Starko

Milan's Arena Gianni Brera. You've got to be a damn fine sportswriter to get a stadium built in 1807 by Napoleon renamed in your honour. Fifth-tier Brera Calcio play there.

Morton visit Raith Rovers. Morton need a win to keep up with Falkirk. Raith need a win to keep up with St Mirren. Falkirk play St Mirren today.

Raith have not scored on Morton this season.

Morton, Falkirk and Dundee United's remaining games:

Morton: Raith (9th), Ayr (10th), Dunfermline (6th), Dundee United (3rd). (Cumulatively 28th.)

Falkirk: St Mirren (8th), Dunfermline (6th), Queen of the South (5th), Dumbarton (7th). (Cumulatively 26th.)

Dundee United: Ayr (10th), St Mirren (8th), Dumbarton (7th), Morton (4th). (Cumulatively 29th.)

Falkirk has slightly the toughest set of games, but Morton and Dundee play each other, which is to Falkirk's advantage, because they can't both win that game.

If Morton win today they will have swept Raith in league play. The most striking thing about this is that Raith swept Morton just last year.

Which clubs have Morton swept in league play since 1994?

1995-96            Hamilton

1998-99            Stranraer

2004-05            Arbroath

2005-06            Forfar

2006-07            Peterhead

2012-13            Airdrie United

2014-15            Stirling Albion, Dunfermline

Which clubs have swept Morton in the same period?

1996-97            St Johnstone

1998-99            Hibs, Ayr

2000-01            Livingston

2001-02            Forfar

2007-08            Dundee, Hamilton

2009-10            Dunfermline, Inverness CT

2013-14            Alloa

2015-16            Raith

Sweepers 11, sweepees 8.

What are Raith Rovers' best showings of the 21st Century?

Scottish Cup        semi-final    2009-10

League Cup        Round Three    five times

League                First Division, 2nd place    2010-11

Challenge Cup    won    2013-14

Is this Raith's worst season of the 21st Century? No, 2004-05 was way worse. Raith finish tenth in the division with only 16 points (3w 7D 26L -41GD) and spent the next four years in the Seaside League. The thing that makes this year look so bad for Raith is the fact that they occupied first place for the first three weeks of the season.

[Raith win 2 - 0. Hibs win the division.]

Which Championship/First Division club has finished eighth most often since 1994?

2015-16        Dumbarton

2014-15        Livingston

2013-14        Alloa

2012-13        Cowdenbeath

2011-12        Morton

2010-11        Ross County

2009-10        Morton

2008-09        Ross County

2007-08        Morton

2006-07        QoS

2005-06        QoS

2004-05        St Johnstone

2003-04        Raith

2002-03        Ross County

2001-02        St Mirren*

2000-01        Airdrieonians

1999-00        Morton*

1998-99        Raith

1997-98        Hamilton

1996-97        Morton

1995-96        Airdrieonians

1994-95        Clydebank

Answer: Morton.

(*Indicates a year in which ninth place was also safe from relegation.)

Semi-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup, leg one:

Glenafton Athletic [1 - 0] Bonnyrigg Rose

Linlithgow Rose [0 - 0] Auchinleck Talbot

Auchinleck have won the cup eleven times, Linlithgow Rose four times, Bonnyrigg Rose twice, and Glenafton once.

1898-99. Morton visit Ayr Parkhouse and play to a 2 - 2 draw.

When did the current Scottish Championship clubs last play in the bottom division?

2008-09        Dumbarton                Third Division

2002-03        Morton                      Third Division

1993-94        Queen of the South   Division Two

1987-88        Ayr United                 Division Two

1986-87        Raith Rovers             Division Two

1985-86        Dunfermline              Division Two

1979-80        Falkirk                       Division Two

1974-75        St Mirren                   Division Two

1959-60        Dundee United          Division Two

1932-33        Hibs                           Division Two

Goal average. There have been three different methods of breaking statistical ties used in Scottish fitba. Today, if two clubs end the season with the same number of points, the club with the better goal difference is ranked higher. The original SLF method was to schedule a playoff game. The drawback there was that the glory inherent in finishing thirteenth instead of fourteenth was sometimes not enough to draw a good crowd; plus, extending the season could create conflicts with other competitions like county cups.

So the league went to goal average as a tiebreaker. Whereas goal difference subtracts a team's goals conceded from goals scored, goal average divides goals scored by goals conceded. The obvious advantage of goal difference is that you can do it in your head, while goal average requires a paper and pencil.

The Scottish league dumped goal average for goal difference in 1971. If goal difference had been in place before that, would any trophy have gone to some other team? Yes. In 1964-65 Kilmarnock ended the season tied with Hearts for first place. Kilmarnock won the league on the strength of their superior goal average. Hearts, who had the better goal average, finished second. Today it would be the other way around.

Read an article on the switch from goal average to goal difference in England here.

How many years have Morton, St Mirren, and Kilmarnock all played in the one division? 45 years: 1900-01 to 1926-17; 1929-30 to 1932-33; 1937-38; 1939-40; 1945-46 and 1946-47; 1964-65 and 1965-66; 1968-69 to 1970-71; 1975-76; 1979-80 and 1980-81; 1982-83; 1992-93. Those three years in the early 1980s they were in the ten-team Premier Division, which should count as the apex of their collaboration.

How did Raith Rovers fare against Gretna?

They played four games in the 2005-06 Second Division. Gretna won all four and went on promotion. Raith finished seventh.

Round Four of the AFC Champions League group stage.

Group E: Brisbane Roar 2 - 1 Kashima Antlers

Group F: Urawa Red Diamonds 1 - 0 Shanghai SIPG 

Group G: Kawasaki Frontale 0 - 0 Guangzhou Evergrande

Group H: Jiangsu Suning 3 - 0 Gamba Osaka

Elsewhere:

Winterthur [4 - 1] Le Mont

ReinMeer Aomori [2 - 1] Nara Club

Vanraure Hachinohe [1 - 0] MIO Biwako Shiga

SWFL Division 2 West tomorrow: Morton versus St Roch's [Or maybe not. I think St Roch's may have dropped out of the league.]

Beith 3 - 2 Largs Thistle

Europa League, quarter-finals, first leg: Celta Vigo 3 - 2 Genk

OFC Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Auckland City [2 - 0] Tefana

Team Wellington [7 - 1] Magenta

The two New Zealand teams move on to the final.

Derby della Madonnina: Inter 2 - 2 AC Milan

Crocuses of 2017

Horse and Rider

A Celtiberian horse and rider brooch at the Museo Numantino in Soria, Spain. Source.

Where Europe's Foreigners Come From

The Vennel

The Vennel was one of the oldest streets in Greenock, connecting the West Dock to the old Inverkip Road, and ran up the west side of the block containing the Town Hall. It's now somewhere under the A78. It was reportedly quite toney in the 18th century. Despite the Union Jack in that poster, Odol was a mouthwash invented in Germany. Source.

Morton host St Mirren in a match originally scheduled for March 25th. A win today will lift Morton back into second place. A win for St Mirren will put them in eighth ahead of Raith Rovers.

What a peculiar season St Mirren have had. They've spent most of the year dead last. It took them until December 6th to get their first league win, and they just climed out of tenth on Saturday. To date they have seven league wins. But in cup play they've done really well. They reached the final of the Challenge Cup, the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, and they won three of their four League Cup group stage games.

Despite playing in the Premier League most of the past decade, St Mirren have not had a winning season since 2005-06. Their next nearest rival is Kilmarnock, who have not had a winning season since 2006-07; then Montrose (2008-09). If you glance at the Lowland League you'll notice East Stirlingshire enjoying their first winning season since 2009-10.

How is St Mirren like Greenock Morton?

They're both in Renfrewshire. Greenock and Paisley are both post-industrial towns. St Mirren have three Scottish Cups to Morton's one, one League Cup to Morton's none, and one [check] Challenge Cup to Morton's none. St Mirren have a slight edge in Renfrewshire Cups won. Paisley 2021 Stadium is new -- it's even named after the future -- and Cappielow is old.

What are St Mirren's peak performances of the 21st Century?

Scottish Cup       semi-final    2008-09

League Cup        won    2012-13

League                Premier League, 8th place    2006-07, 2013-14

Challenge Cup    won    2004-05

How many Scottish League matches have St Mirren played against the other 2016-17 Championship clubs?

Hibs                         200

Falkirk                     178

Morton                    136

Dundee United        128

Raith Rovers            118

Ayr United                  99

Dunfermline               92

QoS                           78

Dumbarton                 52

Draw a diagram in which each 2016-17 Championship club points to the other 2016-17 Championship club it has met most often in Scottish League play, why don't you?

Falkirk, St Mirren, Hibs and Raith are pointed to twice, Morton and Dundee United once, and Dumbarton, Dunfermline, Ayr United and Queen of the South not at all.

What was St Mirren's record against Gretna?

Gretna knocked St Mirren out of the 2005-06 Scottish Cup Fifth Round.

They both played in the 2007-08 Premier League. St Mirren took two wins, with two draws. They both finished below the split.

Morton's last ten scoreless draws:

March 29, 2017            Hibs 0 - 0 Morton

Nov 19, 2016                Morton 0 - 0 Dundee United

July 16, 2016                Albion Rovers 0 - 0 Morton (decided on penalty kicks)

April 23, 2016               Morton 0 - 0 Hibs

April 2, 2016                 Dumbarton 0 - 0 Morton

March 1, 2016              Livingston 0 - 0 Morton

Sept 12, 2015               Morton 0 - 0 Dumbarton

Aug 21, 2015                Morton 0 - 0 St Mirren

Nov 1, 2014                  Morton 0 - 0 Airdrieonians

Jan 11, 2014                 Morton 0 - 0 Raith

2016-17 Championship versus Yoker, the record:

September 9, 1882        St Mirren 8 - 0 Yoker

October 2, 1886             Dumbarton 4 - 0 Yoker

The Victory Cup 1919

This cup was played in March and April of 1919, to fill the gap between the end of the war and the revival of the Scottish Cup in 1919-20.  Eighteen Scottish League clubs and eight West of Scotland League clubs participated.

Morton's record:

R1        Morton 2 - 1 Clydebank

R2        Motherwell 2 - 1 Morton

St Mirren's record:

R1        St Mirren 0 - 0 Dumbarton

            Dumbarton 0 - 1 St Mirren

R2       St Mirren 3 - 2 Clyde

R3       St Mirren 1 - 0 Celtic

SF       Hibs 1 - 3 St Mirren

F          St Mirren 3 - 0 Hearts

[St Mirren win 1 - 4. Morton goal by Murdoch. Morton fall to fourth place, St Mirren rise to eighth. Pictures.]