Plenty of Nothing

Christie MacDonald

Singing sensation Christie MacDonald was born in Pictou NS on this date in 1875. Source. Biog. "Sweethearts."

Juno Lego

NASA's Juno probe to Jupiter carries aluminum Lego figures representing Jupiter, Juno and Galileo. Source.

Třinec

Radek Bonk played for Třinec in 2004-05 and from 2009-10 to 2013-14. Source.

Sparta Prague visit HC Oceláři Třinec at the Werk Arena. Sparta are third with 92 points, Třinec sixth with 77.

The club was founded as SK Třinec in 1929. They did not reach the top tier of the Czechoslovak league until 1986 and have been in the Czech Extraliga since 1995. They won the championship in 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Třinec is a town of 34,000 in the Silesian foothills, near the point where the Czech, Slovak and Polish borders meet. It has a steel plant. Třinec is the birthplace of astronomer Petr Pravec, who discovered several hundred asteroids, including 15907 Robot.

The town of Třinec was annexed by Poland briefly from 1938 to 1939. SK Třinec played one season in the Silesian league under the name KS Zaolzie before Poland itself was broken up.

Previous games this season:

2022/10/16    Třinec 4 - 2 Sparta Prague

2022/11/16    Třinec 2 - 1 Sparta Prague

2022/11/29    Sparta Prague 1 - 0 Třinec

[2023/2/26     Sparta Prague 4 - 2 Třinec]

The Earl of Morton's Door

The door of the Earl of Morton's House, Blackfriars Street, Edinburgh. Albumen print, mid-19th century. Source.

Cove Rangers visit Cappielow. Morton are fourth with 37 points and Cove are eighth with 26. Morton have won both prior meetings.

Cove have the Championship's worst goals allowed total with 51. Morton are second-best with 28. 

Robbie Muirhead is Morton's scoring leader with 8 goals. Connor Scully and Mitch Megginson each have 8 for Cove Rangers.

The season is two-thirds over. If Morton stay to form they will finish with 55.5 points, probably good for fourth place.

It's Week 26 and there are only 22 points between first and last place in the Championship. League Two is nearly as tight, with a difference of 24. League One has a spread of 42 points, and the Premiership 53.

[Morton have signed midfielder Ali Crawford on loan from St Johnstone.]

[Morton win 2 - 1. Goals by Muirhead and R. Crawford.]

Other Championship matches:

Hamilton Accies 2 - 1 Inverness CT (February 21)

Raith Rovers (6th) 0 - 0 Ayr United (3rd) (last night)

Arbroath (10th) [0 - 0] Partick (5th)

This is a Plenty of Nothing Championship League Cup semi-final. [Arbroath advance on the yellow card rule.]

Dundee (2nd) [1 - 1] ICT (7th)

Hamilton (9th) [1 - 4] Queen's Park (1st)

Tomorrow it's the League Cup final at Hampden Park:

Rangers [1 - 2] Celtic

[Two goals for Kyogo Furuhashi.]

Celtic vs Rangers so far this season:

2022/9/3        Celtic 4 - 0 Rangers

2023/1/2        Rangers 2 - 2 Celtic

These two have met in the final fifteen times before, Rangers winning nine times, Celtic six. Altogether Rangers have won the cup 27 times, Celtic 20. The League Cup has been around since 1946-47, long enough now that very club in the 2022-23 Premiership has won it at least once.

Other matches:

UCD 2 - 3 Sligo Rovers (yesterday)

Gala Fairydean Rovers [2 - 3] Bo'ness United

Forres Mechanics 0 - 0 Clachnacuddin (February 22)

Wick Academy [1 - 1] Forres Mechanics

Prestwich Heys [1 - 0] FC Isle of Man

NPL2 Vic: Werribee City [0 - 1] Preston Lions

Ayr [2 - 0] Morton Women (tomorrow)

Servette [1 - 1] Winterthur (tomorrow)

Mito HollyHock [2 - 2] Iwaki FC (tomorrow)

Tokyo Cup, Round One (tomorrow):

Tokyo 23 FC [3 - 0] Keio BRB

Tokyo United FC [5 - 0] FC Eco-Plan

Aries FC [1 - 0] Hitachi Building Systems

Nankatsu SC [1 - 2] Cerveza FC    Upset

Tokyo 23, Tokyo United and Nankatsu are members of the Kanto Soccer League Division 1. Aries and Hitachi Building Systems are in Division 2. Cerveza FC, Keio BRB and FC Eco-Plan are the winners of sections A, B and C of the preliminary competition, which started in December. Keio BRB have won the Emperor's Cup eight times.

News

Ghanaian Footballer Christian Atsu, who was playing for Hatayspor of the Turkish Süper Lig, was killed in the earthquake of February 6.

Canada

A CPL franchise must be worth money because there's a $10-million lawsuit over the Saskatchewan one. Read.

HFX Wanderers have signed midfielder Armaan Wilson from Providence College, and Nigerian forward Kosi Nwafornso from Vaughan Azzurri. The roster now stands at 23 players.

Wanderers held a U23 camp this week. All 42 invitees have played for a college or university team in Atlantic Canada.

Breakdown by school:

9    St FX

7    Cape Breton

6    St Mary's

4    Dalhousie

4    Acadia

4    Memorial

2    UNB

2    Moncton

1    King's

1    NB Community College

1    St Thomas

0    UPEI*

0    Mount Allison

*Evidence that the 2020 Island Games had no residual benefit for soccer in PEI.

Historical matches:

February 25, 1967    Morton 6 - 0 Alloa

This was Morton's third 6 - 0 win of the season.

February 25, 1978    Arbroath 2 - 2 Morton

Morton goals by George Anderson and Andy Ritchie.

Sort the current SPFL clubs according to when they were last in the same division as Morton:

2022-23    Arbroath, Ayr United, Cove Rangers, Dundee, Hamilton Academical, Inverness CT, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park, Raith Rovers

2021-22    Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, Queen of the South

2020-21    Alloa, Hearts

2019-20    Dundee United

2018-19    Falkirk, Ross County

2017-18    Dumbarton, Livingston, St Mirren

2016-17    Hibs

2015-16    Rangers

2014-15    Airdrieonians, Forfar, Peterhead, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion, Stranraer

2008-09    Clyde, St Johnstone

2003-04    East Fife

2002-03    Albion Rovers, Elgin, Montrose

1987-88    Aberdeen, Celtic, Motherwell

 not yet     Annan, Bonnyrigg Rose, FC Edinburgh, Kelty Hearts

When have Morton had three consecutive matches against the same opponent?

May 2017                   Dundee United        league match + 2 playoff games

February 1997            Dundee                   ScCup + replay + league match

February 1992            Livingston               league match + ScCup + replay

Jan/Feb 1985             Rangers                  ScCup + replay + league match

February 1907            Celtic                      ScCup + 2 replays

Dec 1901/Jan 1902    Third Lanark           league match + ScCup + replay

April/May 1899           St Mirren                 RCup + replay + Western League

Feb/March 1885         Arthurlie                  RCup + 2 replays

(abandoned and protested matches not included)

Dietrich and the Dragon

Dietrich saves Sintram from a dragon on a capital in Basel Minster. Source.

Kodaiin

Shigehime, later named Kodaiin, first wife of Tokugawa Ienari, shogun 1787-1837. Source.

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line

The recent coup plot in Germany has shone a light on Reuss, which was the smallest principality within the Germany Empire (it was about half the size of Kings County, Nova Scotia) and was divided into Younger and Elder halves to accommodate the two branches of the ruling house, a family that for centuries had only ever named its male children Heinrich. This coin worth two marks was struck in 1884 in the time of Heinrich XIV of the junior line. Source.

Soma Yaki

Source.

Caracas, 1948

Source.

Liberec

Liberec Zoo has a white tiger breeding program. Source.

Sparta Prague visit Bílí Tygři Liberec at the Home Credit Arena (capacity 7,500) in Liberec.

Liberec last joined the Extraliga in 1995 and won the championship in 2015-16.

Liberec is in the very north of the Czech Republic, near the German/Polish border. Ferdinand Porsche was born there.

Results so far:

2022/11/25    Sparta Prague 3 - 1 Liberec

2022/12/6      Liberec 0 - 1 Sparta Prague

2023/1/6        Sparta Prague 2 - 5 Liberec

[2023/2/19     Liberec 2 - 1 Sparta Prague]

The Champions Hockey League final took place yesterday:

Luleå 2 - 3 Tappara

Sparta Prague versus the World, 2022-23:

2022/8/18      Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Slovan Bratislava (exhibition)

2022/8/19      Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Lukko (exhibition)

2022/8/21      Davos 6 - 1 Sparta Prague (exhibition)

2022/9/2        Sparta Prague 2 - 3 Aalborg (CHL)

2022/9/4        Sparta Prague 2 - 3 Luleå (CHL)

2022/9/9        Aalborg 2 - 6 Sparta Prague (CHL)

2022/9/11      Luleå 5 - 2 Sparta Prague (CHL)

2022/10/4      Jukerit 3 - 0 Sparta Prague (CHL)

2022/10/11    Sparta Prague 3 - 6 Jukurit (CHL)

2022/12/26    Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Team Canada (Spengler)

2022/12/28    Sparta Prague 9 - 2 Davos (Spengler)

2022/12/30    Sparta Prague 4 - 3 Örebro (Spengler)

2022/12/31    Sparta Prague 2 - 3 Ambri-Piotta (Spengler)