Plenty of Nothing

97th Emperor's Cup, Fourth Round

Jihei, "Nagoya", with grampus-related text. Source.

There are sixteen teams left, twelve from J1, two from J2, one from J3, and one from the Kanto University League. None of the northern clubs are left so let's follow the underdogs:

Match No. 73: Matsumoto Yamaga (J2) [0 - 2] Vissel Kobe (J1)

Match No. 75: Cerezo Osaka (J1) [1 - 0] Nagoya Grampus (J2)

Match No. 76: Tsukuba University (Kanto University League) [0 - 2] Omiya Ardija (J1)

Match No. 78: Nagano Parciero (J3) [0 - 1] Jubilo Iwata (J1) 

Which current J1 clubs have never won the Emperor's Cup?

Kawasaki Frontale, Vissel Kobe, Sagan Tosu, Vegalta Sendai, Consadole Sapporo, Omiya Ardija, Albirex Niigata.

Which of those clubs are still in it this year, coming into Round Four?

Kawasaki Frontale, Vissel Kobe, Omiya Ardija.

Which current J2 clubs have won the Emperor's Cup?

Shonan Bellmare, Tokyo Verdy, JEF United Chiba, Nagoya Grampus, Kyoto Sanga.

Which of those clubs are still in it this year?

Nagoya Grampus.

Have two clubs from Kansai ever met in the final?

1953: All Kwangaku (Kwansai Gakuin University, Hyōgo Prefecture) vs Osaka Club.

Vegalta Sendai in the Emperor's Cup:

96回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 5 Grulla Morioka

95回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 3 - 2 Sendai University

                R3        Vegalta Sendai 0 - 0 Omiya Ardija (Vegalta won on Penalty kicks.)

                R4        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 1 Matsumoto Yamaga FC

                QF        Vegalta Sendai 3 - 3 Kashiwa Reysol (Reysol won on penalty kicks.)

94回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 Nara Club

93回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 3 - 0 Blaublitz Akita

                R3        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 1 Mito HollyHock (Vegalta won on penalty kicks.)

                R4        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 FC Tokyo

92回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 0 Sony Sendai

                R3        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 Roasso Kumamoto

91回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 1 Sony Sendai

                R3        Vegalta Sendai 3 - 1 Avispa Fukuoka

                R4        Cerezo Osaka 1 - 1 Vegalta Sendai (Cerezo won on penalty kicks.)

90回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 0 - 1 Sony Sendai

89回        R2        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 0 Zweigen Kanazawa

                R3        Omiya Ardija 1 - 2 Vegalta Sendai

                R4        FC Tokyo 0 - 3 Vegalta Sendai

                QF        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale

                SF        Gamba Osaka 2 - 1 Vegalta Sendai

88回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 0 Giravanz Kitakyushu

                R4        FC Tokyo 2 - 1 Vegalta Sendai

87回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 Juntendo University

86回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 0 Roasso Kumamoto

                R4        Nagoya Grampus 1 - 0 Vegalta Sendai

85回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 2 Sendai University (Vegalta won on penalty kicks.)

                R4        Yokohama F. Marinos 4 - 0 Vegalta Sendai

84回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 2 - 0 Sagawa Printing

                R4        FC Tokyo 1 - 0 Vegalta Sendai

83回        R3        Albirex Niigata 2 - 1 Vegalta Sendai

82回        R3        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 0 Ventforet Kofu

                R4        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 JEF United Ichihara

81回        R1        FC Primeiro 0 - 4 Vegalta Sendai

                R2        Vegalta Sendai 4 - 1 FC Kyoken Kyoto

                R3        Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1 - 0 Vegalta Sendai

80回        R1        Kwansei Gakuin University 2 - 1 Vegalta Sendai

79回        R1        Honda Lock SC 0 - 5 Vegalta Sendai

                R2        Vegalta Sendai 1 - 2 Mito HollyHock

Prior to 1999 Vegalta Sendai were known as Brummell Sendai.

78回        R1        Nirasaki Astros 2 - 3 Brummell Sendai

                R2        Brummell Sendai 2 - 1 Kansai University

                R3        Yokohama Marinos 0 - 1 Brummell Sendai

                R4        Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3 - 0 Brummell Sendai

77回        R1        Brummell Sendai 7 - 0 Yamaga Club

                R2        Brummell Sendai 0 - 1 Juntendo University

76回        R1        Matsuyama University 0 - 11 Brummell Sendai

                R2        Brummell Sendai 4 - 1 Tokai University

                R3        Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 - 0 Brummell Sendai

75回        R1        Brummell Sendai 2 - 1 JEF United Ichihara

                R2        Gamba Osaka 4 - 1 Brummell Sendai

Prior to 1995 Brummell Sendai were known as Tohoku Electric Power FC.

73回        R1        Tohoku Electric Power 3 - 2 Sanyo Electric Sumoto

                R2        Kashima Antlers 6 - 1 Tohoku Electric Power

Team badges, part two.

Urawa Red Diamonds were formerly known as Mitsubishi Urawa FC. When they went professional they dropped the name of their corporate sponsor Mitsubishi but kept its diamond motif. (Mitsubishi means three diamonds.) Urawa is a part of Saitama City, in Saitama Prefecture, itself part of Greater Tokyo. The team badge includes a couple of local Saitama references. The red flower is the Sakurasō primrose grown in Saitama Prefecture. Along the top of the crest is a rendering of the Hōshōkaku, the main building of the Saitama Elite Teacher Training College, where soccer was first introduced to the district.

Urawa's crosstown rivals Omiya Ardija are known as the Squirrels, and have a squirrel on their badge. The club website connects the stripes on the other side of the badge to the stripes on a squirrel's back, which would lead you think that what they're calling a squirrel is really the Siberian chipmunk.

Nagoya Grampus has an orca instead of a grampus (aka Risso's dolphin) on its badge. The name actually refers to no real sea animal but to the shachi-hoko, a mythological creature with the head of tiger and the body of a carp, reputed to have the power to cause rain, and often used as a roof ornament and a charm against fire.

Shachi-hoku, or grampus, or orca. Source.

The Train Job

Tomorrow marks the fifteenth anniversary of the "The Train Job", the first episode of Firefly to be broadcast. Like Star Trek's "The Man Trap" it was not intended to be the first episode shown. But TV execs know best. 2017 is also the minus 500th anniversary of Firefly, which is set in 2517. It's nice to think that as the human race abandoned Earth That Was, someone thought to bring alone Chinese checkers. Source.

Fidélité

This monument was erected in 1925 in Bennwihr, Alsace, to commemorate the war dead of World War One as well as the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine by France. The bullet holes date from December 1944 when the American 36th Infantry and the German 189th Infantry fought over the town. Source.

White Pine

Montreal has added a white pine to its flag in recognition of the first people to live there. Source.

Calcio

Abruzzo was the northernmost part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and has Europe's southernmost glacier. The poet Ovid was born in Sulmona in 43 BC. In medieval times everybody moved into fortified towns in the hills. Canadians captured Ortona from the Germans during the battle nicknamed "little Stalingrad" in December 1943. Before Italian unification Abruzzo was divided into three parts, hence its alternate plural name, Abruzzi.

What are the soccer clubs of Abruzzo, and which leagues do they play in?

Serie A:                          none

Serie B:                          Delfino Pescara 1936

Lega Pro, Group B:        S.S. Teramo Calcio 1913

Serie D, Girone F:          Pineto, San Nicolò, Vastese, Avezzano, L'Aquila, Francavilla

Eccellenza Abruzzo:      Acqua & Sapone Montesilvano, Alba Adriatica, Amiternina, Capistrello, Chieti, Cupello, Martinsicuro, Miglianico, Montorio 88, Paterno, Penne, Real Giulianova, Renato Curi Angolana, River Chieti, Sambuceto, San Salvo, Spoltore, Torrese.

Let's follow the six Abruzzese teams in Serie D and see how they do against each other.

Abruzzo derby games in Serie D, Girone F so far:

Vastese 1 - 0 Avezzano (Sept 10)

Tomorrow:

Pineto [1 - 0] Vastese

Francavilla [0 - 1] San Nicolò

I'll keep track of the derby games and make a table from the results at the halfway point and the end of the season.

Morton travel to Palmerston Park to face Queen of the South.

QoS are third in the division, with wins against Brechin, Dumbarton and Falkirk -- the bottom three clubs. Queens' top goalscorer is Stephen Dobbie who put in 19 for them in league play last year and has three so far in 2017-18. QoS also have Derek Lyle who played half of 2010-11 for Morton, so there's a goal for them.

Morton come into today's game in fifth place with two wins, two draws and a loss. The Ton's two wins have come at the expense of the clubs currently first and second in the table. So things aren't so dire. A win today would put Morton in the playoff zone.

Morton have visited Palmerston 21 times in the 21st Century. Record: 8W, 3D, 10L.

Palmerston Park is in Dumfries, in the historic county of Dumfriesshire, now part of the council area of Galloway and Dumfries. If you say Dumfriesshire properly with the emphasis on the second syllable, and with a Received Pronunciation, it sounds a lot like Dumfriesia, which would make an excellent name for a small country or possible a house plant.

[Morton win 1 - 2. Goals by Forbes and Quitongo. Morton are in third place.]

Other match of the day: Dumbarton versus Brechin. These two can leave Falkirk in last place with a draw today.

When did Dumbarton and Brechin last appear together in the second tier? 1993-94, in the last year of the three-division set-up. Dumbarton finished eighth, Brechin twelfth. Both were relegated to the new third tier (named Second Division naturally). Morton finished eleventh and were also relegated.

[Dumbarton 2 - 1 Brechin.]

1978-79. On Wednesday, September 13th Morton hosted Oldham Athletic in the Anglo-Scottish Cup quarter-final, first leg. 3560 fans turned out at Cappielow to watch the Ton defeat the Latics 3 - 0. Morton scorers were Alistair Scott (2) and Bobby Thomson.

At the time Oldham Athletic were members of England's Division Two (genuinely the second tier), but these days they're in League One (the third tier). Oldham is a suburb of Manchester. The club was founded in 1895 as Pine Villa FC. They wear blue, and have Chaddy the Owl as their mascot. Like Morton, they went through an insolvency crisis at the start of the 21st Century.

On Saturday, September 16th Morton travelled to Tynecastle and played Heart of Midlothian to a 1 - 1 draw. Bobby Thomson was the Morton scorer.

1933-34. Morton travelled to Cliftonhill and beat Albion Rovers 0 - 1.

1944-45. Morton were at home to Partick Thistle and won 2 - 0.

Morton's best first six games in the First Division/Championship since 1994:

1996-97        WLWDWW        13 points

2011-12        DWDWWL         11 points

2012-13        DDLWWW         11 points

1999-00        WDLDDW            9 points

2015-16        DLDWWD            9 points

Morton enter today's game with 8 points (DWDLW). [So, DWDLWW for 11 points.]

Fitbastats has a new feature called League Tables On Date. So:

In which years did Morton occupy first place on this date?

1899        Div Two (2/2)

1909        Div One (1/2)

1912        Div One (1/2)

1928        Div Two (2/2)

1933        Div Two (2/2)

1950        Div One (1/2)

1977        Div One (2/3)

2003        Div Two (3/4)

2006        Div Two (3/4)

2011        Div One (2/4)

Special investigation: Which club was most inconvenienced by Rangers being sent down in 2012?

Definitely not Queen of the South, who had five home dates against Rangers that they would not otherwise have had, four in league play and one in the playoffs.

Not Falkirk, Raith, Dumbarton or Livingston, who each had four home dates against Rangers.

Not Peterhead, Queen's Park, Berwick, Elgin, Montrose, Stirling Albion, Annan, Clyde, East Stirlingshire, Dunfermline, Stranraer, Ayr, Stenhousemuir, Airdrieonians, Forfar, Brechin, East Fife, Arbroath, Alloa, Cowdenbeath or Morton, who each had two home dates against Rangers.

Not Hibs. They were below the split in 2012-13 and 2013-14, so they missed out on probably three home dates against Rangers, but they were in the Championship with Rangers in 2014-15 and 2015-16, where they enjoyed a solid four against them, plus one in the playoffs. (I assume throughout this that if Rangers had not been sent down they would have finished above the split each year.)

Not Celtic, who won the league title every year Rangers were absent.

Not Dundee, who were promoted to take Rangers' place.

Not Albion Rovers, who did not play Rangers at all, but who wouldn't have anyway.

St Mirren missed out on four or five home dates below the split in 2012-13, '13-14, and '14-15, but got two back in the Championship in '15-16.

Hearts missed out on probably five home dates in the Premiership, but got back two in the Championship.

Hamilton missed out on about three home dates.

St Johnstone missed out on seven or eight home dates, but enjoyed three Europe League home dates they might not otherwise have had.

Partick missed out on four or five home dates.

Aberdeen missed out on seven or eight home dates, but enjoyed three 2014-15 Europa League home dates that they might not otherwise have had.

Kilmarnock missed out on probably six home dates.

Ross County missed out on six or seven home dates.

Motherwell missed out on probably seven home dates, but got one back in the 2014-15 playoffs in what was perhaps their most glorious win of the 21st Century.

Dundee United missed out on seven or eight home dates.

Inverness CT missed out on seven or eight home dates.

Rangers missed out on eight home dates against Celtic, plus Europe. Rangers were the club most inconvenienced by Rangers' demotion.

What was the attendance at QoS' five home games against Rangers?

12 Dec 2014            6,185

  9 April 2015           5,093

  9 May 2015           5,224

30 Aug 2015            5,858

21 Feb 2016            5,449

Average attendance at Palmerston in 2013-14 was 1,724. In 2016-17 it was 1,857.

UEFA Champions League group B:

Celtic 0 - 5 Paris Saint-Germain (highlight)

UEFA Europa League group J:

Zorya Luhansk 0 - 2 Östersund

It's the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores. Let's follow the last remaining Bolivian team, Jorge Wilstermann, named after the Bolivian aviator.

Jorge Wilstermann 3 - 0 River Plate

CONCACAF League semi-finals, first leg:

Árabe Unido (Panama) 0 - 0 Santos de Guápiles (Costa Rico)

Plaza Amador (Panama) 1 - 7 Olimpia (Honduras)

AFC Champions League, quarter-final, second leg:

Urawa Red Diamonds 4 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale

Reds advance.

Also in Japan:

Vanraure Hachinohe [1 - 1] Nara Club

Ryutsu Keizai University [2 - 2] ReinMeer Aomori

We're halfway through the second stage of the JFL season. Vanraure and ReinMeer sit second and third respectively.

Morioka Zebra [1 - 1] Blancdieu Hirosaki

In the Tohoku League Div. 1, Blancdieu are third and Morioka Zebra fourth.

SWFL Div 2 West: Morton [6 - 0] United Glasgow

SJFL West, First Division: Largs [1 - 0] Shettleston

Germany:

VfR Wormatia Worms [1 - 4] 1. FC Saarbrücken (Monday)

European Ins and Outs for 2017-18

Matt Towe of Guildford. Source.

KHL: Medveščak Zagreb leaves for the Austrian EBEL. Metallurg Novokuznetsk drops to the Supreme Hockey League.

Sweden: Mora comes up to the SHL, Leksand goes down to the HockeyAllsvenkan. Troja/Ljungby comes up to the HockeyAllsvenskan, VIK Västerås goes down to the Hockeyettan.

Finland: There's no change in the Liiga. The Mestis reduces itself from 13 to 12 teams, relegating JYP-Acatemia.

Germany: No change.

Czech Republic: Dukla Jihlava is in, Energie Karlovy Vary is out.

Slovakia: No change.

Switzerland: No change.

Austria: HDD Olimpija Ljubljana withdraws from the EBEL to be replaced by Medveščak Zagreb. HK Olimpija Ljubljana (HDD's farm team) joins the Alps Hockey League.

Norway: No change.

Britain: The Elite Ice Hockey League expands to twelve clubs, taking in Guildford Flames and Milton Keynes Lightning from the collapsed English Premier Ice Hockey League. The third tier National Ice Hockey League is now by default the second tier.

Geranium

Alsace and Lorraine

Bronze figures representing the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine, in Place Maginot, Nancy. Source. The sculpture has been given a good cleaning in the last few years, judging by this post.

Irises, Queen Street

Masonic Jewels by Alphonse Mucha

From the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.