Plenty of Nothing

Guardian of Traffic

Cleveland's major league baseball club takes its new name from the figures on the nearby Hope Memorial Bridge. Source.

Sir James Shaw

Downtown Kilmarnock, sometime between 1848 and 1929. Sir James Shaw is the bloke on the plinth. Source.

Kilmarnock host Greenock Morton.

Coming into today's games, Stranraer, Clyde and Kilmarnock can still earn 9 points, Morton 8, and East Kilbride 7. Do Morton still have a path to Round Two? Yes. If they take 3 points from Killie today and 3 points from Clyde on Saturday, while Killie beat Stranraer, then they will finish top of the group.

Getting drawn together in this League Cup group means that Morton and Killie will meet five times this season, Covid permitting. The record is six matches (four league and two cup) in 1992-93.

Morton's captain Kyle Jacobs played for Kilmarnock in 2013-14. Robbie Muirhead was with Killie from 2013 to 2015. Killie's Stephen McGinn played 8 games for Morton earlier this year, and Jason Naismith played 4 for Morton in 2012.

Judging by their Wikipedia pages Kilmarnock have twice as many players under contract as Morton have.

In the 2016-17 League Cup Kilmarnock were the top seed in Morton's group. Morton came to Rugby Park and beat them 0 - 2, with goals by Oliver and Quitongo. Morton went on to beat Hamilton and Dundee United before losing to Aberdeen in the semi-finals.

[Kilmarnock 1 - 1 Morton. Young McGregor scores for Morton. Killie wins on PK. Lithgow, Oliver and Ugwu scored in the shootout.]

The other match:

East Kilbride [2 - 2] Clyde [Clyde win on PK.]

Stranraer are off.

Group G standings after these games:

Stranraer         3    2    0    0    1    4    1   +3    6

East Kilbride    4    1    0    2    1    5    3   +2    5

Clyde               3    1    1    0    1    4    4     0    5

Kilmarnock      3    1    1    0    1    3    5    -2    5

Morton             3    0    1    1    1    1    4    -3    3

Elsewhere:

FC Edmonton [1 - 0] HFX Wanderers (tomorrow)

The Kickoff has highlighted a new problem for Canadian soccer -- summer temperatures. The season is already crammed into six or seven months because Canadian winter is too cold for soccer. But with daytime temperatures averaging 30 degrees as they have done through much of The Kickoff, when the games have been forced into the evenings, it looks like in parts of the country summer is too hot for soccer.

Beith Juniors [5 - 0] Largs Thistle (tomorrow)

Blooming [2 - 0] The Strongest (tomorrow)

UEFA Champions League 2QR first leg:

Celtic [1 - 1] Midtjylland

Olympic Women's Soccer, group stage:

Great Britain [2 - 0] Chile (July 21)

Japan [1 - 1] Canada (July 21)

[Scorers: Christine Sinclair (Canada), Mana Iwabuchi (Japan).]

Developments:

Serie A is banning green jerseys because they're hard to distinguish from the pitch on TV. It would never happen in Scotland.

Which clubs are in 2021-22 League One, and when did they know for sure?

April 17        Alloa Athletic

April 20        Queen's Park

April 23        East Fife

April 29        Peterhead

May 4          Falkirk

May 6          Clyde

May 11        Cove Rangers

May 11        Montrose

May 20        Dumbarton

May 21        Airdrieonians

When did they last join the division and was it from above or below?

2021    Alloa (above)

2021    Queen's Park (below)

2020    Cove Rangers (below)

2019    Falkirk (above)

2019    Peterhead (below)

2019    Clyde (below)

2018    Dumbarton (above)

2018    Montrose (below)

2016    East Fife (below)

2013    Airdrieonians (above)

In which divisions have the 2021-22 League One clubs played since 1994?

Falkirk                AABBBB      BBBBBAAAAA     BBBBBBBBBC     CC

Clyde                CCCCCC     BBBBBBBBBC     DDDDDDDDDC    CC

Alloa                  DDDDCC    BCBCCCCCCC    CDCBBBCCBB     BC

Dumbarton         CBCDDD    DDCCCCDDDC    CCBBBBBBCC    CC

Airdrieonians                               CCBBBCBB    CCBCCCCCCC    CC

East Fife            CCBCCD    DDDCDDDDCC    CCCCDDCCCC    CC

Peterhead         HHHHHH    DDDDDCCCCC    CDDDCCCDDC    CC

Queen's Park    DDDDDD    CDDDDDDCCD    DDDDDDCCDD    DC

Montrose           DCDDDD    DDDDDDDDDD    DDDDDDDDCC    CC

Cove Rangers   HHHHHH    HHHHHHHHHH    HHHHHHHHHD    CC

(A = tier I; B = tier II; C = tier III; D = tier IV; H = Highland League)

The Graf Zeppelin in Iceland

On July 17, 1930 the airship Graf Zeppelin flew into Reykjavik. Source.

Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln's first, less notorious vice-president, died on July 4th, 1891 in Bangor, Maine, where his statue can be seen today. Source.

Bring Me the Head of Egerton Ryerson

Source.

Lady Elgin

Lady Elgin in the Lord Elgin Hotel. Source.

Erasmus the Sailor Man

This wooden carving of Desiderius Erasmus was a stern figure on the Dutch galleon De Liefde, which was stranded in Kyushu in 1600. Source.

Víctor Ugarte

Víctor Ugarte (1926-95), third-highest scorer for the Bolivian national team, has his name on the stadium in Potosí* and a lifesize Subbuteo out front. Source.

Playoffs:

Premiership semifinal, second leg:

Dundee [0 - 1] Raith Rovers

Raith are three goals down after the first leg. Winner will advance to meet Premiership club 11, and loser plays in the 2021-22 Championship.

[Dundee advance.]

Other matches:

Hamilton Accies [0 - 2] Kilmarnock (tomorrow)

Motherwell [1 - 2] Ross County (tomorrow)

It's the final matchday of the Premiership schedule. Ross County need only one point to escape relegation. But if they lose and Kilmarnock win, Killie will be safe and Ross County will go into the playoffs. If Hamilton beat Killie by something like 9 goals then Killie are relegated and Hamilton will go into the playoffs. [Hamilton are relegated; Killie go against Dundee in the playoffs.]

Luxembourg: Progrès Niederkorn 1 - 1 Rodange (May 12)

Differdange [0 - 3] Progrès Niederkorn (tomorrow)

3.Liga: 1.FC Saarbrücken [2 - 0] SV Meppen

Kriens 3 - 0 Winterthur (yesterday)

J2: Kyoto Sanga [1 - 0] Mito HollyHock (tomorrow)

UCD 0 - 0 Cork City (last night)

Faroes: IF  0 - 5  B36 (May 13)

B36 [1 - 1] 07 Vestur Sorvagur (tomorrow)

KPV 1 - 1 TPS (May 13)

Real Potosí vs The Strongest [postponed]

Copa Libertadores group stage, matchday 4:

Group B: Always Ready 1 - 2 Olimpia (May 13)

Group B is a four-way tie.

Group C: The Strongest 2 - 0 Barcelona (May 11)

Copa Sudamericana group stage, matchday 4:

Group B: Guabira 0 - 1 Bahia (May 13)

Group C: Bolivar 2 - 2 Jorge Wilstermann (May 12)

At this point Guabira cannot advance.

Historical matches:

May 15, 1993. Morton finished the 1992-93 season with a visit to Dunfermline, where they won 2 - 1. Alexander McEwan scored twice. Morton ended up in sixth position with 19 wins, 10 draws and 15 losses. Alex Mathie was the team scoring leader with 13 goals in league play and 8 in cup play. Rowan Alexander came second with 10 and 4. The highlight of the season was the Challenge Cup final. There was no Renfrewshire Cup that season.

Vale of Leven FC 1877-78:

1878/5/25      McDougall's team vs Campbell's team

These sides were chosen from the first elevens of Vale of Leven and Queen's Park.

1878/5/11      Vale of Leven 6 - 1 Vale of Leven 2nd XI

1878/4/29      Vale of Leven 2nd XI 9 - 0 Blackfriars (Glasgow)

1878/4/13      Wanderers 1 - 3 Vale of Leven          in London

This win over the English FA Cup winner effectively made Vale of Leven champions of the world.

1878/4/6        Vale of Leven 5 - 1 Renton         ("the return match")

1878/3/30      Third Lanark 0 - 1 Vale of Leven    Scottish Cup final

1878/3/23      Vale of Leven 6 - 0 Arthurlie

1878/3/16      Queen's Park 2 - 0 Vale of Leven (12,000 spectators)

1878/3/16      Vale of Leven 2nd XI 0 - 2 Jamestown

1878/2/16      Vale of Leven 2nd XI 2 - 0 Helensburgh 2nd XI

1878/2/16      bye                                                   Scottish Cup R7

1878/1/19      Vale of Leven 5 - 0 Parkgrove        Scottish Cup R6

1877/12/22    Vale of Leven 10 - 0 Jordanhill       Scottish Cup R5

1877/12/15    Vale of Leven 5 - 0 Rangers           Scottish Cup R4

1877/12/1      Rangers 0 - 0 Vale of Leven

1877/11/17    Vale of Leven 1 - 1 Rangers

1877/11/17    Rangers 2nd XI 1 - 1 Vale of Leven 2nd XI

1877/11/10    Vale of Leven 3 - 0 Lennox            Scottish Cup R3

1877/10/27    Vale of Leven 4 - 1 Dumbarton            Scottish Cup R2

1877/10/6      Vale of Leven 8 - 0 1st LRV

1877/9/29      Rangers 5 - 0 Vale of Leven

1877/9/29      Vale of Leven 2nd XI 4 - 1 Rangers 2nd XI

1877/9/29      Vale of Leven wo/scr Kilmaronock** Thistle    Scottish Cup R1

1877/9/22      Vale of Leven 4 - 0 Kilbirnie

*Vale's return match against Renton on April 6th points to an earlier fixture which I haven't found.

**It's a real place.

(Sources: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup; the Glasgow Herald for friendlies)

Glasgow Thistle 1877-78:

G     W     D     L     F     A      GD

15    11     1     3    48    12    +36

(Glasgow Herald, April 22, 1878, p. 9.)

Thistle FC existed from 1868 to 1894.

*Potosí is mentioned on page 962 of Don Quixote.

Lapu-Lapu

Today is the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mactan, in which the forces of chief Lapu-Lapu repelled the Spanish Empire and killed Magellan. Source.

Jamrach's Tiger

Read about it.