Plenty of Nothing

Prillar Guri

This statue commemorates the legendary Prillar Guri who alerted the people of Otta of the approach of several hundred Scottish mercenaries on their way to join Swedish forces in the war against Norway in 1612. The locals ambushed the Scots in a narrow valley and wiped them out. Source. 

Siegfried and the Dragon

Source.

Norwegian Mittens

Source.

Lottene

On February 1st 1945 the British navy evacuated to inhabitants of the island of Sørøya in Norwegian Lappland to Scotland. But several dozen Norwegians remained behind to harass the occupying Germans, including these members of the Norges Lotteforbund, a volunteer women's organization modelled on the Finnish paramilitary Lotta Svärd. Source.

Lillehammer Winter Olympics Sweater

Designed by Margaretha Finseth. Source.

Stad Ship Tunnel Test Tank

The Norwegians are planning to cut out a bit of difficult coastal navigation by digging the Stad Ship Tunnel though a peninsula to connect two fjords. But first they have to master the art of sailing through tunnels without scraping all the paint off the side of the boat. Source.

Troll Supercupe

Read about Norway's sports car. Source.

European Ins and Outs for 2018-19

Ringerike get one past Narvik. Source.

KHL: Lada Togliatti and Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk are out, reducing the number of teams to 25. Wayne Gretzky has joined Kunlun Red Star as hockey ambassador.

Sweden: Karlskrona drop down from the SHL; Timrå come up from the Allsvenskan. Troja-Ljungby drop down from the Allsvenskan; VIK Västerås come up from Hockeyettan.

Finland: No change in the Liiga. In the Mestis, Espoo United went bankrupt and were replaced by KOOVEE.

Germany: No change in the DEL. Deggendorfer SC comes up to DEL2 from the Oberliga. SC Riessersee, a venerable German hockey club, have suffered a financial crisis and drop to Oberliga Süd. I just realized that 14-time Dutch champions Tilburg Trappers now play in Oberliga Nord and have won the Oberliga the last three years.

Czech Republic: HC Dukla Jihlava drop down to 1. liga and HC Energie Karlovy Vary come up.

Slovakia: The Extraliga expands to thirteen teams, taking in top Hungarian clubs DVTK Jegesmedvék and MAC Budapest.

Hungary: The Erste Liga loses its top two clubs DVTK Jegesmedvék and MAC Budapest, and takes in DEAC Hockey, HC Vasas and KMH Budapest, plus a Romanian club CS Progrym Gheorgheni, increasing from nine to eleven teams altogether.

Switzerland: EHC Kloten drop down to the NLB and SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers come up.

Austria: No change in the EBEL. Milano Rossoblu join the Alps Hockey League.

Norway: Kongsvinger go down to 1. divisjon, Ringerike come up. [Lørenskog were denied a license and the league played 2018-19 with nine teams.]

Britain: Edinburgh Capitals have folded, leaving the EIHL with 11 teams. Braehead Clan have changed their name to Glasgow Clan.

Camp Morton, Svalbard

Camp Morton, Svalbard, offers 24-hour sunlight and state of the art facilities for your summer training needs. Source.

Morton (4th) host Ayr United (10th).

The situation: if Morton lose all of their remaining games, and either Dunfermline or Queen of the South win all of theirs, Morton are out of the playoffs. But Dunfermline have not won three in a row all season, and QoS haven't since September. Morton are on their longest winless streak of the season, but their successes earlier on have left them in a position of strength. Usually at this time of year Morton are the ones clinging to a faint hope.

To reiterate: as soon as Dunfermline and Queen of the South lose or draw, they are out of the playoff hunt.

Ayr need a win to help them get out of the division basement.

Morton's last two home games have each drawn over 4,000 spectators.

Dundee United (3rd) host St Mirren (8th). This puts Morton and St Mirren supporters in the awkward position of wishing each other's team success.

What have been Ayr United's peak performances of the 21st Century?

Scottish Cup            semi-final    2001-02

League Cup             final            2001-02

League                    First Division, 2nd place    2000-01

Challenge Cup        semi-final    2007-08

What was Ayr United's record against Gretna?

Like Raith, Ayr only ever met Gretna in the 2005-06 Second Division. Gretna took three wins, but Ayr managed a draw.

How is Ayr United like Greenock Morton?

They are both in the west of Scotland. Ayr have never won the Scottish Cup, League Cup or Challenge Cup, against one, none and none for Morton. Somerset Park is quite similar to Cappielow though one of the ends is roofed.

[Morton 1 - 1 Ayr. Morton goal by Shankland. Dunfermline and QoS both lose, so Morton have made the playoffs. Match report. Falkirk and Dundee United both win, so it's very unlikely that Morton will finish in second place. Dunfermline and QoS book their places in next year's Championship, both of them simultaneously avoiding both relegation and promotion.]

It's also the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.

Celtic [2 - 0] Rangers

Hibs [2 - 3] Aberdeen

Has this set of four clubs met in the semi-finals before?

1979-80    Rangers vs Aberdeen; Celtic vs Hibs

When was the last time that the four Scottish Cup semi-finalists went on to be the top four finishers in the league?

1995-96    Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts

Was there ever a year when all four semi-finalists were from Glasgow?

1893-94    Rangers, Celtic, Queen's Park, Third Lanark

Four possible Scottish Cup finals can come from this weekend's semi-finals. How often have they occured before?

6 times            Celtic/Hibs

6 times            Celtic/Aberdeen

6 times            Rangers/Aberdeen

2 times            Rangers/Hibs

It's the second leg of the Scottish Junior Cup semifinals:

Bonnyrigg Rose [0 - 1] Glenafton Athletic

Auchinleck Talbot [1 - 0] Linlithgow Rose

Linlithgow Rose play at a 3,500-capacity park in a 19,000-person town with a medieval palace. Why haven't they made the move up to senior football? Discuss.

[Glenafton and Auchinleck advance to an all-Ayrshire cup final.]

1898-99. Today in 1899 Morton hosted Ayr Parkhouse and won 2 - 1. (Glasgow and West of Scotland Football League.) Today was also the final of the Scottish Cup. Celtic beat Rangers 2 - 0 at Hampden Park.

Since the establishment of four divisions in 1994, has any division had the same assortment of clubs more than one year?

Premier League/Premiership           Yes.*

First Division/Championship            No.

Second Division/League One          No.

Third Division/League Two              Yes.**

*Falkirk were denied promotion at the end of 2002-03, making Premier Division membership the same for both 2002-03 and 2003-04.

**Forfar, Montrose, Ross County, East Stirlingshire, Alloa, Inverness CT, Arbroath, Queen's Park, Cowdenbeath, and Albion Rovers made up the Third Division in both 1994-95 and 1996-97.

How many times has each club made the Premiership split?

17    Celtic

13    Rangers, Hearts

10    Aberdeen

 9     Dundee United, Motherwell

 7     Hibs

 6     St Johnstone

 5     Kilmarnock

 3     Dundee, Dunfermline, Inverness CT

 2     Ross County

 1     Livingston, Partick

When have Morton, Celtic, and East Stirlingshire played together in the one division?

1932-33.

What was the last time Morton finished in each position in the table?

1     2014-15    (League One)

2     2012-13    (First Division)

3     2004-05    (Second Division)

4     2003-04    (Second Division)

5     2015-16    (Championship)

6     2008-09    (First Division)

7     2010-11    (First Division)

8     2011-12    (First Division)

9     2000-01    (First Division)

10   2013-14    (Championship)

11   1993-94    (Division One)

12   1987-88    (Premier Division)

13   1971-72    (First Division)

14    1973-74    (First Division)

15    1951-52    (Division A)

16    1930-31    (Division One)

17    1974-75    (First Division)

18    1929-30    (Division One)

19    1960-61    (Second Division)

20    1937-38    (Division One)

21    never

22    never

The Lowland League wraps up today. How did the two university teams fare against each other?

Oct 8, 2016                Stirling U 1 - 0 Edinburgh U

Jan 10, 2017              Edinburgh U 1 - 3 Stirling U

The Highland League also finishes today. [Buckie Thistle beat Strathspey Thistle 9 - 0 to win the league. Buckie will face East Kilbride in the pyramid playoff. Strathspey Thistle finish in 18th place.]

Copa Libertadores, Group B:

Sporting Cristal 0 - 0 The Strongest

Santa Fe 0 - 0 Santos

Swiss Challenge League: Servette [2 - 3] Winterthur

SWFL Division 2 West tomorrow: Westerlands B versus Morton [postponed]

Europa League quarter-finals, second leg:

Genk 1 - 1 Celta Vigo

Celta Vigo advance.

The Lord Lyon has been on the back of Ayr United about their pseudo-heraldic badge, so they replaced it this week with a round one. Source.

Draken Harald Hårfagre in the Faroes

This spring the dragon ship Harald Hårfagre crossed the Atlantic from Norway to Newfoundland, making stops along the way. Here they are in the Faroes. Read about it here and here.