Plenty of Nothing

Sylvester (1924)

Lupu Pick's 1924 film Sylvester takes place on New Year's Eve, or Sylvester as they call it in Germany. Source.

Goryōkaku in the Snow

Goryōkaku is Hakodate's five-pointed fort. It was built in 1866 and attacked during the Boshin War in 1869. Source.

Dog Sled by Sylvia Hahn

Source.

Qing Dragon Vase

At the Flint Institute of Arts.

Usagi Yojimbo Stop Motion Animation

See here.

2022 Spengler Cup

Alexandre Daigle played for Davos against Team Canada in the 2006 Spengler Cup. Source.

It's the 2022 Spengler Cup. This year's teams are HC Davos, IFK Helsinki, Örebro HK, Sparta Prague, Team Canada and HC Ambri-Piotta.

Host Davos are currently sixth in the Swiss league, and Ambri-Piotta are tenth. Örebro are fourth in Sweden. Sparta are fifth in Czechia. IFK are tenth in Finland.

Team Canada has 14 players who play in the Swiss league, 8 who play in the AHL, and one who plays in Finland. SC Bern has four players on Team Canada, Lugano three, and Ajoie two.

12/26    Game 1: Ambri-Piotta [5 - 2] Örebro

12/26    Game 2: Sparta Prague [3 - 2] Team Canada

12/27    Game 3: IFK [2 - 5 Örebro]

12/27    Game 4: Davos [2 - 1 Team Canada]

12/28    Game 5: [Ambri-Piotta 7 - 3] IFK

12/28    Game 6: [Sparta Prague 9 - 2] Davos

12/29    Game 7: [Örebro 3 - 1 Team Canada]

[This is the first time Team Canada have come to the Spengler Cup and not won a game.]

12/29    Game 8: [Davos 3 - 2 IFK]

12/30    Game 9: [Sparta Prague 4 - 3 Örebro]

12/30    Game 10: [Ambri-Piotta 5 - 0 Davos]

12/31    Game 11: [Sparta Prague 2 - 2 Ambri-Piotta] [Ambri-Piotta win in the shootout.]

Sparta Prague vs Team Canada in past Spengler Cups:

2010/12/29    Team Canada 4 - 3 Sparta Prague

2005/12/30    Sparta Prague 2 - 8 Team Canada

2004/12/29    Team Canada 2 - 4 Sparta Prague

2002/12/28    Sparta Prague 1 - 4 Team Canada

2001/12/28    Sparta Prague 1 - 4 Team Canada

2000/12/30    Team Canada 5 - 4 Sparta Prague

[Pension Plan Puppets asks what Team Canada would look like if it were made up of former Leafs playing in Europe.]

Plenty of Nothing coverage of previous Spengler Cups:

2021 was not played.

2020 was not played.

2019 when Team Canada won.

2018 when KalPa won.

2017 when Team Canada won.

2016 when Team Canada won.

2015 when Team Canada won.

2014 when Genève-Servette won.

2013 when Genève-Servette won.

2012 when Team Canada won.

2011 when Davos won.

2010 when SKA won.

Hakodate Christmas Tree

Halifax doesn't just send Christmas trees to Boston. Every year Hakodate, Hokkaido gets one too. Source.

Poetry atop the Palais Garnier

Source.

Art Deco Kirkcaldy

Raith Cinema. Source.

Morton travel to Kirkcaldy for a Christmas Eve Eve match against Raith Rovers. These two teams met just thirteen days ago in the Challenge Cup Round Four, when Raith won on penalty kicks. Morton are fourth in the division with 29 points, Raith sixth with 23.

Dougie Imrie has been Morton manager a full year, and is 17th out of 42 in terms of seniority among current SPFL managers.

Rumour has Lewis Strapp going to Dinamo Tbilisi.

[Raith Rovers 2 - 2 Greenock Morton. Robbie Muirhead scored for Morton and there was an own goal.]

The other Championship matches:

Arbroath (9th) [1 - 4] Queen's Park (3rd)

Ayr United (1st) [0 - 2] Dundee (2nd)

Cove Rangers (8th) [2 - 0] Hamilton Academical (10th)

Partick Thistle (5th) [5 - 1] Inverness CT (7th)

Other matches:

Gala Fairydean Rovers [1 - 3] The Spartans

Forres Mechanics [1 - 0] Lossiemouth

Elfen Saitama [1 - 2] Nojima Stella (December 25)

Canada:

HFX Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar has brought in his assistant coach from Vaughan Azzurri, Jorden Feliciano. As Stephen Hart built his team around a group of Trinidadian players, so Gheisar is bringing in the Vaughan Azzurri talent, signing Azzurri forward Massimo Ferrin. Former Wanderer Elliot Simmons has signed with Vancouver FC.

The CPL is now talking about talking to the players' union.

Historical matches:

December 24, 1966    Arbroath 0 - 0 Morton

Morton played Arbroath three times this season and each game ended 0 - 0.

December 24, 1977    Dundee 3 - 1 Morton

Morton goal by George Anderson. After 20 games Morton were in second place, three points behind Dundee.

Morton's record on December 23rd:

2017    Morton 1 - 0 Inverness CT

2006    Morton 1 - 0 Raith Rovers

1989    Morton 1 - 1 Raith Rovers

1978    Morton 1 - 0 Celtic

1972    Aberdeen 3 - 0 Morton

1967    Morton 0 - 4 Celtic

1961    Morton 1 - 0 Berwick Rangers

1944    Morton 1 - 3 Motherwell

1939    Albion Rovers 3 - 1 Morton

1933    Morton 1 - 0 King's Park

1922    Hibs 0 - 1 Morton

1916    Morton 3 - 0 Hamilton

1911    Celtic 1 - 1 Morton

1905    Celtic 4 - 0 Morton

1899    Ayr FC 1 - 4 Morton

1882    Morton 2 - 1 Thornliebank (protested)

Morton's record on Christmas Eve:

2016    Morton 1 - 0 Queen of the South

1988    Morton 1 - 1 Forfar

1977    Dundee 3 - 1 Morton

1966    Arbroath 0 - 0 Morton

1960    Falkirk 3 - 0 Morton

1955    Morton 1 - 1 Alloa

1949    St Johnstone 1 - 1 Morton

1938    Morton 0 - 2 East Fife

1932    Morton 3 - 1 East Stirlingshire

1927    Morton 1 - 0 Arbroath

1921    Morton 2 - 1 Aberdeen

1910    Morton 1 - 1 Celtic

1904    Kilmarnock 1 - 0 Morton

1898    Morton 6 - 1 Hamilton Academical

1892    Morton 7 - 3 Dykebar

1887    Morton 11 - 0  1st RRV

Morton's record on Christmas Day:

1971    Kilmarnock 4 - 2 Morton

1965    Celtic 8 - 1 Morton

1954    Third Lanark 4 - 1 Morton

1948    Partick Thistle 1 - 0 Morton

1943    Morton 3 - 2 Falkirk

1937    Dundee 2 - 2 Morton

1930    Morton 4 - 2 St Mirren

1926    Dunfermline 1 - 1 Morton

1920    Airdrieonians 3 - 2 Morton

1915    Morton 0 - 1 Partick Thistle

1909    Motherwell 5 - 0 Morton

1886    1st RRV 1 - 12 Morton

Plzeň

Jaroslav Špaček pushes the home brew at the Sochi Olympics. Source.

You may know Plzeň as Pilsen, the birthplace of pilsner beer. Plzeň is another one of those Czech towns with a central square crying out to be transformed into a rink for the Winter Classic.

Plzeň go back to 1929. They won the Czech championship in 2013.

Jaroslav Špaček started and finished his career with HC Plzeň.

Previous result:

2022/11/2      Plzeň 4 - 0 Sparta Prague

[2022/12/22    Sparta 3 - 0 Plzeň]