Plenty of Nothing

Watch Out for Students

Nobody seems to remember exactly when or why these metal figures of uniformed students were erected next to roads in Iwami, Tottori Prefecture, but they're a tourist attraction now. Source.

Lego Himeji Castle

Source.

Fureai Sekibutsu no Sato

Businessman Matsuo Furukawa established a park in Toyama prefecture and filled it with statues of local people. It's not creepy at all. Source.

The Kounkan

Built in 1928 as the Komazawa University library, the Kounkan now serves as the home of the Museum of Zen Culture and History.  Source.

Canadian International School, Tokyo

You can get the equivalent of a Prince Edward Island pre-K to Grade 12 education at the Canadian International School in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo. Source.

Hirado

A reconstruction of the seventeenth-century Dutch trading post at Hirado in Nagasaki Prefecture. Source.

Engei Greenock

The only Japanese garden in Inverclyde. Source.

It's matchday five of the League Cup group stage. Morton host Edinburgh City. These two met on matchday five of the 2017-18 League Cup group stage: Morton won 5 - 0.

Edinburgh City were known as FC Edinburgh last season, but the fans weren't buying it so the name is Edinburgh City once more.

Edinburgh's goalkeeper is Sam Ramsbottom, who played goal for Morton in 2019-20. Kyle Jacobs (2019-22), at one time Morton's captain, is also a Citizen.

The last Morton player to score on Edinburgh was Bob McHugh.

The situation:

Edinburgh City have 0 points in three starts and no possibility of advancement. Stranraer are also out the running. Ross County need only 1 point to win the group. If Kelty can beat County before penalty kicks and Morton also win before penalties they'll all have 9 points and it'll come down to goal difference. Only two will advance, or maybe only one, depending on what happens in the other groups. Since 2016 twenty-eight teams have ended the group stage with 9 points, and all but three of them advanced to Round Two.

The final sixteen won't be known for sure until the Dundee/ICT Group E match is played tomorrow.

The other match: Ross County [3 - 3] Kelty Hearts [Kelty win on PK]

This is their first ever match.

[Morton win 4 - 1 on goals by Broadfoot, Crawford, King and Blues. Morton make the second round.]

Final Group D standings:

Ross County       4    3    0    1    0  13    6    +7   10

Morton                4    3    0    0    1   11    4    +7    9

Kelty Hearts        4    2    1    0    1   11    9    +2    8

Stranraer             4    1    0    0    3    3   11    -8    3

Edinburgh City    4    0    0    0    4    6   14    -8    0

Other matches:

NPL2 Vic: Preston Lions 1 - 2 Bulleen Lions (yesterday)

Bohemians 2 - 0 UCD (yesterday)

Tokyo Verdy [0 - 0] Mito HollyHock

Honda FC [2 - 0] Veertien Mie

Vonds Ichihara [1 - 1] Tokyo 23 FC

York United [0 - 2] HFX Wanderers (tomorrow)

All five of the Wanderers' wins this season have come at home [till now]. Five of York's wins have come away from home.

[HFX goals by Fernandez and Morelli.]

North Toronto Nitros [1 - 2] Scrosoppi

Morioka Zebra [3 - 3] Ganju Iwate

Gretna 2008 [2 - 9] Linlithgow Rose

Burntisland Shipyard [2 - 3] Peebles Rovers

East Craigie [3 - 2] Arbroath Victoria

NWCFL Premier Division: FC Isle of Man [2 - 0] Wythenshawe Town

BSC Glasgow [1 - 8] Morton Women (friendly) (tomorrow)

The Argos and Roughriders play at SMU today. [Toronto 31 - 13 Saskatchewan]

The Highland League starts today. Let's follow Banks o' Dee FC:

Banks o' Dee [4 - 0] Wick Academy

The West of Scotland League starts too:

Gartcairn [1 - 1] Largs Thistle

Carluke Rovers [0 - 1] Eglinton

2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League, 2QR, first leg (July 27):

Inter Club d'Escaldes 2 - 1 Hibs

The New Saints 1 - 1 Swift Hesperange (July 25)

B36 2 - 1 Haverfordwest County

Linfield 2 - 5 Pogon Szczecin

Crusaders 2 - 2 Rosenborg

Ballkani 3 - 0 Larne (July 25)

KA 3 - 1 Dundalk

Derry City 2 - 1 KuPS

Ferencváros 4 - 0 Shamrock Rovers

2023 Concacaf Leagues Cup:

LA Galaxy [1 - 2] Vancouver Whitecaps (tomorrow)

Atlas [1 - 0] Toronto FC (tomorrow)

[Vancouver Whitecaps advance. Montréal and Toronto are out.]

Scotland's UEFA coefficient year by year:

2023-24        36.900          9th

2022-23        33.375        11th

2021-22        27.875        14th

2020-21        22.125        20th

2019-20        18.625        26th

2018-19        18.925        23rd

2017-18        17.300        25th

2016-17        17.900        23rd

2015-16        16.566        23rd

2014-15        15.191        24th

Video: Rescuing a Half Dead Juniper.

Fujieda City Hall

Fujieda City Hall SC at Fujieda City Hall. Source.

HFX Wanderers host Valour FC of Winnipeg. The Wanderers have not won a game in nine attempts; they've earned six draws and two losses in league play, and they lost their only Canadian Championship game. The record for the worst start in the CPL is held by FC Edmonton who went twelve games without a win at the start of last season.

João Morelli is due back from injury soon, but Wanderers will have to drop a foreign player to make space for him on the roster.

[Wanderers 2 - 0 Valour. Two goals for Callum Watson.]

The Canadian Championship final was played Wednesday:

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 1 CF Montréal

Winner goes on to the Concacaf Champions' Cup, the new name for the Concacaf Champions League, but not really new because it was called that from 1962 till 2008.

Other matches:

Dundalk 4 - 1 UCD (June 5)

Shamrock Rovers 4 - 0 UCD (yesterday)

The League of Ireland schedule has passed the halfway mark. UCD are dead last.

NPL2 Vic: Preston Lions 2 - 2 Western United (yesterday)

Elfen Saitama [0 - 5] Urawa Reds

This ends the 2022-23 WE League schedule. [Elfen Saitama finish 11th out of 11.]

Montedio Yamagata [3 - 0] Iwaki FC (tomorrow)

Mito HollyHock [4 - 1] JEF United Chiba (tomorrow)

Honda FC [1 - 1] Verspah Oita (tomorrow)

Morioka Zebra [3 - 2] Shichigahama SC

Burlington [3 - 5] Scrosoppi (tomorrow)

Fujieda City Hall [1 - 1] FC Kariya (tomorrow)

UEFA Europa Conference final (June 7):

Fiorentina 1 - 2 West Ham United

UEFA Champions League final:

Manchester City [1 - 0] Inter Milan

Scotland:

The Conference League proposal was taken off the table Monday once it became clear that it would be voted down by SFA clubs.

Caley Thistle's trip to the Scottish Cup final should put them in the black for 2022-23. Source. 

Scottish Gas is the new sponsor of the Scottish Cup.

Mortonalia:

The League Cup group stage groups have been drawn. Morton are in Group D with Ross County, FC Edinburgh, Kelty Hearts and Stranraer.

Calum Waters has signed on for another year.

Morton has signed 38-year-old defender Kirk Broadfoot. Starting in 2002 he has played for St Mirren, Rangers, Blackpool, Rotherham United, Kilmarnock, St Mirren again, Kilmarnock again, Inverness CT and Broomhill.

Scott Tiffoney has moved on from cash-strapped Partick Thistle to newly promoted Dundee.

Carlo Pignatiello is back at Dumbarton after spending last season with Morton.

Liam Grimshaw (Morton 2022-23) played for Wrexham in the 32-team, 7-a-side TST tournament in Cary, North Carolina June 1 - 4. Wrexham were knocked out in the Round of 16.

What if the pyramid playoffs had always existed?

2011    Clyde vs Buckie Thistle or The Spartans

2002    Queen's Park vs Fraserburgh or The Spartans

1998    Dumbarton vs Huntly or Whitehill Welfare

1980    Alloa vs Keith or Whitehill Welfare

1972    Hamilton Academical vs Inverness Thistle or The Spartans

1961    Morton vs Elgin City or Gala Fairydean

Canadian teams in US leagues:

Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS)

Toronto FC (MLS)

CF Montreal (MLS)

Vancouver Whitecaps II (MLS Next Pro)

Toronto FC II (MLS Next Pro)

FC Manitoba (USL League Two)

Thunder Bay Chill (USL League Two)

SASA Impact (St Albert, Alberta) (United Women's Soccer)

Historical matches:

1944/6/10      Morton 3 - 3 Raith Rovers    Summer Cup R1, second leg

Morton advanced.

North American Soccer League:

1967/6/11      Hibs 1 - 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fujieda City Hall. Source.

Momofuku's Work Shed

A faithful reproduction of Ando Momofuku's work shed, where instant ramen was invented, at the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama. Source.

FM Kahoku 78.7

Community radio in Ishikawa Prefecture. Source. Listen.