Plenty of Nothing

Miss Winnipeg 1923

Source. Photo by L. B. Foote (1873-1957).

The Greenock Destructor

The Greenock Electricity and Destructor Works on Dellingburn Street burned coal and refuse to generate the town's electricity. Source.

Morton host Queen of the South in a fixture rescheduled from December 14th. Morton are in seventh place with 27 points. QoS are eighth with 25 points. Ninth-place Alloa have 25, and bottom dwellers Partick Thistle enter today's action with 23. So any points lost by either Morton or QoS today will be sorely missed and probably referred to in social media for the rest of the season and possibly into next year.

Morton are 4 points out of the Premiership playoffs and 4 points away from automatic relegation. There are only 13 points separating second-place Inverness CT and tenth-place Partick.

Morton have scored 20 goals at home. QoS have scored 7 away from home.

Thursday Morton signed 33-year-old striker Kris Doolan, formerly of Partick, Clyde and Ayr United.

If at the end of the season Morton and Partick Thistle are relegated, and Cove Rangers and Edinburgh City are promoted from League Two, then next season Morton will be in a division with teams from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which has not happened since 1988.

[Morton 2 - 2 QoS. Morton goals by McHugh and Nesbitt.]

Also today:

Dundee [2 - 0] Partick Thistle

This match was moved forward from February 15th due to Partick's involvement in the Caramel Wafer Cup that weekend.

How many points have Morton had on February 8th each year since promotion?

2019    29

2018    34

2017    40

2016    24

It's the Scottish Cup, Round Five.

Ayr United [1 - 2] St Johnstone

These two have been matched in the Scottish Cup five times before. St Johnstone have advanced the last four times.

BSC Glasgow [1 - 4] Hibs (tomorrow)

These two clubs have never met before.

Inverness CT [1 - 0] Livingston

These two met twice in the Scottish Cup in the Nineties and each won once. Inverness CT are still alive in both the Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup.

Falkirk [0 - 1] Hearts

Hearts have won seven of their eleven Scottish Cup matches against Falkirk.

Aberdeen [0 - 0] Kilmarnock

These two have been paired eight times in the Scottish Cup, and Aberdeen have always advanced.

Clyde [0 - 3] Celtic (tomorrow)

These two clubs have met in the Scottish Cup many times, Celtic usually winning. The four times that Clyde won were 1910, 1955, 1958 and 2006.

St Mirren [1 - 1] Motherwell

These two have met up in twelve Scottish Cups. Motherwell are ahead seven to five.

Hamilton [1 - 4] Rangers

And these two have met up in fourteen Scottish Cups. Rangers have prevailed thirteen times.

Ross County are the only Premiership side missing from this round.

League One:

Clyde (8th) vs Montrose (5th) (postponed)

Dumbarton (6th) [0 - 0] Airdrieonians (3rd)

Falkirk (2nd) vs East Fife (4th) (postponed)

Peterhead (7th) vs Forfar (9th) [match abandoned]

Stranraer (10th) [1 - 1] Raith Rovers (1st)

1907-08. Morton visited Hibs for their Scottish Cup Round Two match and lost 3 - 0.

1963-64. Morton were at home to Montrose and won 2 - 0.

When did the 2019-20 Premiership clubs last lose at Cappielow?

2019/1/4        Morton 1 - 0 Ross County

2017/8/12      Morton 4 - 1 St Mirren

2016/4/9        Morton 2 - 1 Livingston

2015/9/22      Morton 3 - 2 Motherwell

2007/1/6        Morton 3 - 1 Kilmarnock

2006/9/12      Morton 3 - 2 St Johnstone

1999/2/20      Morton 3 - 0 Hamilton Academical

1988/4/9        Morton 3 - 2 Rangers

1984/12/1      Morton 4 - 0 Hibs

1984/11/3      Morton 2 - 1 Celtic

1982/4/17      Morton 2 - 1 Aberdeen

1981/3/21      Morton 3 - 0 Hearts

Reserve Cup: Dunfermline reserves 2 - 0 Morton reserves (Feb 4)

Lowland League: Berwick Rangers [1 - 5] East Stirlingshire

These two clubs played eight consecutive seasons together from 2008-09 to 2015-16. Their last SPFL meeting was a 0 - 0 draw.

Michael Tidser has joined Kelty Hearts! They are serious about getting into League Two.

Swiss Challenge League: Schaffhausen [1 - 0] Winterthur

It's the Fuji Xerox Super Cup, between J League champion Yokohama F. Marinos and Emperor's Cup winner Vissel Kobe. The Japanese football season is beginning early this year because everything will shut down for the Tokyo Olympics in August. [3 - 3. Vissel win on PK.]

Iwaki FC have a training match against Criacao Shinjuku of the Kanto league. Criacao are up-and-comers who have gone from the Tokyo league to Kanto Division 2 to Kanto Division 1 in three consecutive seasons. [Iwaki 7 - 3 Criacao.]

Copa Libertadores, Second Stage, first leg (Feb 5):

The Strongest 2- 0 Atlético Tucumán (Argentina)

Copa Sudamerica, First Stage, first leg (Feb 4 - 6):

Vasca de Gama (Brazil) 1 - 0 Oriente Petrolero

Blooming 0 - 3 Emelec (Ecuador)

Nacional Potosí 0 - 2 Melgar (Peru)

Millonarios (Colombia) 2 - 0 Always Ready

The Copa Sudamericana is the Conmebol equivalent of the Europa League. 54 clubs compete for a place in next year's Copa Libertadores. Normally the winner would also face the winner of the J. League Cup in a glamour friendly, but that game is off this year because of the Tokyo Olympics.

This year's four Bolivian participants are Oriente Petrolero, Blooming, Nacional Potosí, and Always Ready.

The tournament runs from February to November. There is no group stage. Ten of the participants are clubs that have crashed out of the Copa Libertadores.

The Copa Sudamericana has been around since 2002 when it replaced the Copa Merconord and Copa Mercosud, both of which ran from 1998 to 2001 and themselves replaced the Copa Conmebol (1992-99). No Bolivian club has won any of these competitions.

Bolivian league: The Strongest [0 - 1] Jorge Wilstermann

Both clubs are off to bad starts this season, with 1 win and 2 losses apiece.

SWF Championship South: Morton [5 - 0] Stenhousemuir (tomorrow)

Morton Women so far:

             G     W    D     L       F      A       GD    Pts    Pos

2017    20    18    2      0    122      8    +114    56      1st, SWFL 2 West

2018    22      2    0    20      18    79      -61       6    11th, SWFL 1 South

2019    14    14    0      0    105      4    +101    42      1st, SWFL 2 W/SW

Source.

Canadian Premier League. So the question swirling around Canadian soccer this week is: Will Atletico Ottawa get shoehorned into the 2020 Canadian Championship? And if so, how? If things work out the way they did in Scotland when the English clubs were admitted to the Challenge Cup in 2018, the smallest clubs (in this case Blainville and Master's FA) will find out they now have to play an extra qualifying round against each other for a chance to advance to play the new invitee.

HFX Wanderers have signed goaltender Jason Beaulieu from Montreal Impact.

Rostock Piranhas versus Tilburg Trappers

Advertisements in the Eishalle. Source.

Tilburg Trappers visit Rostock Pirahas at the 2000-seat Eishalle Rostock on the Baltic coast. The Trappers are in first place in the Oberliga Nord; the Piranhas are ninth.

Canadian Chris Stanley plays for Rostock.

The institutional history of Rostock Piranhas is a good example of how things often go in German sport:

1953    BSG Motor Rostock was founded.

1954    BSG Motor Rostock was taken over by SG Dynamo Rostock.

1956    SC Empor Rostock was founded.

1962    SC Empor Rostock took over SG Dynamo Rostock.

1970    SC Empor Rostock was dissolved and reestablished as VSG Rostock.

1972    VSG Rostock were taken over by BSG Chemie 70 Rostock.

1985    BSG Schifffahrt/Hafen Rostock was founded.

1990    VSG Schifffahrt/Hafen Rostock and BSG Chemie 70 Rostock merged into Rostocker EC.

2006    Rostocker EC took on the nickname Piranhas.

Rostock Piranhas came up to the Oberliga in 2010.

(German Wikipedia is the source for most of this.)

[Rostock win 4 - 3.]

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) was the sister of the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edgar Aetheling, who inherited the crown after Harold was killed at Hastings but never got to wear it. She was born in exile in Hungary but came into her own when she married Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070. She was made a saint in 1250, and her relics moved to Dunfermline Abbey. They were scattered and destroyed during the Scottish Reformation. The Jesuits later chipped in for this scrumptious marble statue which stands in the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Farm Street in London. Source.

Shackleton's Antarctic Car

Shackelton took an Arrol-Johnston with him to Antarctica in 1907. Source.

2019-20 Champions Hockey League Final

Mountfield HK meet Frölunda Indians in the 2019-20 Champions Hockey League final at ČPP Arena in Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic.

These two teams played each other twice in the group stage. The results were:

Frölunda 2 - 3 Mountfield

Mountfield 3 - 4 Frölunda

You'll notice that the visitor won both times.

If Frölunda win, it will be their fourth championship in the short history of this tournament. If Mountfield win it will be the first championship for a Czech club.

[Frölunda win 3 - 1.]

2020 Serie del Caribe

Hiram Bithorn. Source.

This year's Serie del Caribe began February 1st and runs 'til February 7th. The host country is Puerto Rico, and the games take place at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan. That's the home field of Cangregeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican league. Hiram Bithorn (1916-51) was the first Puerto Rican to play in the Major Leagues.

The tournament goes forward despite the Puerto Rican earthquakes of January 6th to 11th, which were centered on the south side of the island.

The teams are:

Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela)

Tomateros de Culiacán (Liga Mexicana del Pacifico)

Toros del Este (Dominican Republic)

Astronautas de Chiriquí (Panama)

Vanqueros de Montería (Colombia)

Cangregeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)

Leñadores de Las Tunas, 2019 champions of the Cuban league, should have been included, but the Cubans have been left out this year over some kind of visa bullshit.

Cangregeros de Santurce have won the Serie del Caribe five times -- in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993 and 2000. Tomateros de Culiacán won in 1996 and 2002.

[The final, Feb 7: Cardenales de Lara vs Toros del Este.] [Toros del Este win 9 - 3.]

Black Dragons versus Tilburg Trappers

SC Turbine Erfurt back in the day. Source.

Erfurt is the capital of Thuringia in the southwest of the former GDR, putting it near the geographical centre of the combined Germany.

Erfurt entered the Oberliga from tier IV in the big reorganization of 2010 and played in the Oberliga Ost until the big reorganization of 2015 when Ost, Nord and West were amalgamated. They finished last season in eleventh place out of thirteen.

You might already have noticed that there's no Berlin club in the Oberliga Nord. ECC Preussen Berlin dropped down to the tier-IV Regionalliga Ost at the end of last season.

The Black Dragons play at the Kartoffelhalle (Potato Hall) which can accommodate 1200 spectators. There are no Canadians on the squad.

The Trappers hold first place with 88 points; Erfurt are eleventh with 30.

[Tilburg win 4 - 2.]

Ardgowan Castle

Ardgowan Castle on the Shaw-Stewart estate overlooking Inverkip.  Source.

Morton (7th) host Dundee FC (4th). This is their third meeting of this season. So far each side has a win and a loss. If Morton are able to win by four goals today, and Dunfermline and Arbroath both lose, Morton will take over fourth place.

Dundee did not score a goal in the month of January.

Dundee's Paul McGowan played for Morton in 2006-07. Declan McDaid started out in the Morton youth squad and made one appearance for the first team in 2012-13.

John Sutton played for Dundee in 2004-05. Jim McAlister was a Dark Blue from 2012 to 2015.

Morton have signed defender Sean McGinty, previously of Partick Thistle and before that a lot of English teams named Town and United. Also signed is midfielder Craig McGuffie, formerly of Ayr United, Glenafton and Raith Rovers. [Adam Livingstone has returned to Motherwell.]

Why are there no Scottish football clubs named Town? Like, literally none.

Jai Quitongo has joined Dumbarton. So has Ross Forbes. Former Morton players on Dumbarton: Quitongo, Forbes, Conor Brennan, Ruaridh Langan, Stefan McCluskey, Joe McKee.

The other Championship matches:

Partick Thistle (10th) 1 - 1 Ayr United (3rd) (last night)*

Dundee United (1st) [0 - 1] Arbroath (6th)*

ICT (2nd) [1 - 1] Alloa (9th)

QoS (8th) [2 - 3] Dunfermline (5th)

[Morton 1 - 1 Dundee. Morton goal by McAlister.]

(*Championship League Cup semi-final.) (Partick advance on the corner kick rule.) [The finalists are Partick Thistle and Arbroath.]

League One:

Airdrieonians (3rd) [0 - 1] Raith Rovers (1st)

East Fife (4th) [4 - 2] Dumbarton (6th)

Forfar (9th) [2 - 1] Clyde (7th)

Montrose (5th) [4 - 3] Peterhead (8th)

Stranraer (10th) [1 - 1] Falkirk (2nd)

Scottish Cup Round Four replays (Jan 28):

Falkirk 2 - 0 Arbroath

Hibs 4 - 2 Dundee United

Since 1994, how many years has each of the 2019-20 Championship clubs spent in tier III?

14        Alloa

13        Ayr United

12        Arbroath

  9        Queen of the South

  7        Morton

  4        Partick Thistle

  3        Dunfermline

  2        Inverness CT

  0        Dundee

  0        Dundee United

1963-64. Morton travelled to East Fife and lost 1 - 3. It was the Ton's first and only loss of the season in league play.

The last time Morton finished higher than the other 2019-20 Championship clubs:

1967-68    Dundee United

1995-96    Dundee

1998-99    Inverness CT

2017-18    Ayr United

2018-19    Partick Thistle

2018-19    Dunfermline

2018-19    Alloa

2018-19    Queen of the South

2018-19    Arbroath

Years that Morton finished higher than Dundee FC:

1900-01        Morton (4th, Div 1), Dundee (7th, Div 1)

1911-12        Morton (6th, Div 1), Dundee (8th, Div 1)

1913-14        Morton (4th, Div 1), Dundee (7th, Div 1)

1914-15        Morton (4th, Div 1), Dundee (14th, Div 1)

1915-16        Morton (3rd, Div 1), Dundee (8th, Div 1)

1916-17        Morton (2nd, Div 1), Dundee (16th, Div 1)

1946-47        Morton (6th, Div A), Dundee (1st, Div B)

1967-68        Morton (6th, Div 1), Dundee (9th, Div 1)

1977-78        Morton (1st, Div 1), Dundee (3rd, Div 1)

1978-79        Morton (7th, Prem), Dundee (1st, Div 1)

1979-80        Morton (6th, Prem), Dundee (9th, Prem)

1980-81        Morton (8th, Prem), Dundee (2nd, Div 1)

1981-82        Morton (7th, Prem), Dundee (8th, Prem)

1995-96        Morton (3rd, Div 1), Dundee (5th, Div 1)

SPFL Reserve Cup: Dunfermline vs Morton (Jan 27) [postponed -- snow-covered pitch]

Swiss Challenge League: Winterthur [3 - 2] Chiasso (tomorrow)

[Winterthur hold fifth place.]

AFC Champions League East, playoff round (Jan 28):

FC Seoul 4 - 1 Kedah

Shanghai SIPG 3 - 0 Buriram UNited

FC Tokyo 2 - 0 Ceres-Negros

Kashima Antlers 0 - 1 Melbourne Victory

Kashima Antlers are out!

Copa Libertadores, first stage, second stage (Jan 29):

Guaraní 4 - 0 San José

San José are out.

Iwaki FC play their first game of the year tomorrow: a training match against Sakushin Gakuin University. [Iwaki 1 - 0 Sakushin.]

Bolivian league:

The Strongest 3 - 2 Real Potosi (Jan 29)

Always Ready [4 - 1] The Strongest (tomorrow) (today)

Can there be a better fixture than Always Ready vs The Strongest? No.

The Canadian Premier League announced its expansion into Ottawa Wednesday. The new club will be owned by Atlético de Madrid of the Spanish league, who also have a team in the Mexican league, Atlético San Luis. From the way they're talking it looks like Ottawa will begin play in the Spring Season.

The inclusion of Ottawa should reduce the HFX Wanderers' travel bill. Last season they flew to the Western provinces ten times. This year, assuming they get knocked off by Montreal Impact in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals, they'll fly out West eight times.

In contrast, York9 were able to travel by bus to at least three of their fixtures last season.

HFX Wanderers have signed Jamaican winger Alex Marshall.

The province is pushing a plan to build a multi-level parkade on the site of the Museum of Nature's parking lot, which would involve encroaching on the Wanderers Grounds and the Junior Lancers' paddock.