UnkNuk

The Vancouver Whitecaps made some moves: TRANSACTION: On August 5, 2021 Whitecaps FC acquire midfielder Pedro Vite via transfer from Independiente del Valle. Vite agreed to a contract through 2025. Vite will occupy an international roster spot and an MLS U22 Initiative spot. He will officially join the club's roster pending receipt of his work permit and visa. Pedro Vite Pronunciation: vee-tay Position: Attacking midfielder Height: 5-06 Weight: 152 pounds Date of Birth: March 9, 2002 in Babahoyo, Ecuador Hometown: Babahoyo, Los Rios, Ecuador Citizenship: Ecuador Status: International Last Professional Club: Independiente del Valle (2020-2021) Instagram: @pedrojeampierre Twitter: @PedroVite99 Acquired: Signed by Vancouver Whitecaps FC via transfer from Independiente del Valle on August 5, 2021_ *************************************************************************************************** TRANSACTION: On August 6, 2021, Whitecaps FC acquire defender/midfielder Florian Jungwirth from San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for $200,000 in General Allocation Money. The Earthquakes could receive up to an additional $100,000 in conditional GAM. San Jose will retain a portion of the player’s 2021 salary budget charge. Florian Jungwirth Position: Defender/Midfielder Height: 5-11 Weight: 174 pounds Date of Birth: January 27, 1989 in Gräfelfing, Germany Hometown: Gräfelfing, Germany Citizenship: Germany Status: Domestic (Green Card) Last Professional Club: San Jose Earthquakes (2017-2021) ********************************************************************************************************************* Also, forward Theo Bair has been loaned out: TRANSACTION: On August 6, 2021 Whitecaps FC loan Theo Bair to Hamarkameratene in the Norwegian 1. divisjon through the end of the 2021 season.

Good point.

Thanks for the link! I can see how a hockey fan with some time on his hands could have fun with that site. BTW: did you know that Hughes, at 53.57%, had the fourth highest consistency rating among Canuck players with more than 1 game played. Whatever the heck 'consistency' means.

I find that surprising. Seems to me that, when a team has five skaters (plus the goalie) to the other team's six skaters (and no goalie), the former team has the advantage. Without any statistics whatsoever to back me up, it seems to me I've seen a lot more empty net goals scored than I've seen scored by the team with the extra skater.

Are goals scored on an open net included in a player's +/-?

Thank you @BigTramFan! Much appreciated! One technical question: You write: "For example, Hughes was -24 right? He spent 49% of his even strength ice time paired with Hamonic, together as a pair they were only -1. When paired with Myers (18% of EV time) they were -14. When paired with Benn (17%) they were +2." Those three pairings combined constitute 84% of his even strength ice time. Each pairing is considerably over the overall -24 that Hughes registered. Any idea what on earth happened in the remaining 16% of his ice time? Whatever pairing(s) he had must have been atrocious to drag his overall rating down to -24. Or am I misunderstanding the math? Thanks. Also, you wote: "However, let's all temper our expectations. OEL is joining a new team, will take time to gel and will likely regress as a player over the next 6 years as he gets older." I agree! If we can get three of four years out of OEL as a good first line defenceman the trade will have been a success.

Well, I guess that answers that. Thanks!

And so the 2021 Gold Cup is in the books and a game that should never have gone into extra time went into extra time. Both Mexico and the US had several good chances to score in regulation and the ball just refused to go in. So into the extra 30 minutes it went. The US scored a nice goal from a set piece late in the second half and won the game 1-0. Congrats to them. Listening to the announcers, it seems Mexico had most of their 'A' team in this tournament while the US had their 'B' team. Which raises interesting possiblities for the upcoming World Cup qualifying round starting in September. Could Mexico be vulnerable or will this loss galvanize them to be even better than expected? Answers should be forthcoming in a few weeks.

So +/- is a useful stat? So +/- isn't a useful stat? I may be misunderstanding your two posts but they seem to contradict one another. Should we be concerned, in your opinion, about OEL's low ranking in +/- stats? Thanks.

What stats are most useful, in your opinion, to rank a defenceman? (And a correction to my previous post: last year OEL at -17 ranked 265/274 in defensemen. Also, I note that Quinn Hughes at -24 was 272/274 in defensemen. I hope you're right that +/- isn't a great stat for offensive Dmen!)

And a further question: I notice OEL's +/- last season was -17 which ranked him 265/270 in defensemen. Do you chalk this up to his being on a poor team? Also, while your stats show his offensive play is holding steady, are there any comparable stats that show how his defensive skills are doing? Apologies if this has already been discussed in this rather long thread.

Actually, that's exactly right. BigTramFan's post was an eye-opener for me and very welcome news.

I stand corrected. Thank you.

And the Caps were gifted a 2-2 draw in a so-so game. In extra time the Caps were awarded a penalty kick. Watching the play in real time and again in replay, I thought Dajome ran into the Minnesota player. But you have to take advantage of the breaks when given and they did. Otherwise, the highlight of the game was the announcement that the Whitecaps have signed a new designated player - attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld. From the Caps website: Whitecaps FC midfielder Ryan Gauld One of only three players last season to feature in the Portuguese Primeira Liga’s top 10 in both goals and assists - ranked sixth in assists, while leading SC Farense in goals and was ninth overall Nine goals, seven assists and three penalties won in 33 starts in 2020-21 2020-21 Primeira Liga leader in key passes per game, expected assists, shot opportunities created, while landing in the top five in shots, corners, free kicks, and penalty goals scored Portugal's 2019-20 Liga Pro Player of the Year while leading Farense to promotion and Position: Attacking midfielder Number: 25 Height: 5-07 Weight: 150 Date of Birth: December 16, 1995 in Aberdeen, Scotland Hometown: Laurencekirk, Scotland Citizenship: Scotland Status: Designated Player, International Youth Clubs: Brechin City Boys Club, Dundee United Previous Club: SC Farense (Portugal ‘19-’21) If Gauld can add some goal scoring to this team I think the Caps have a shot at the playoffs.

Sorry, that phrase went over my head. What does it mean?

I'm a casual EPL fan rather than a diehard so I'm unfamiliar with both White and Varane and didn't realize there was this comparison between them going on in the soccer world. Which, after some googling, there apparently is. So, as a fair-minded fan, I'll just hope both players prove to be worth their transfer fees.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12367954/raphael-varane-real-madrid-defender-bids-farewell-ahead-of-manchester-united-transfer Prospective Manchester United signing Raphael Varane has looked ahead to "a new chapter" ahead of his transfer from Real Madrid. The clubs have agreed a fee believed to be worth £41m including add-ons for the France defender, subject to a medical and player terms being finalised. Varane, a 2018 World Cup winner, is set to join England winger Jadon Sancho, whose move from Borussia Dortmund for £73m was completed last week, in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad ahead of the new season. *********************************************************************************************************************** Every now and then it's good to pause and realize how much money is involved here. It's mind-boggling.

Can we at least agree on:

Some progress seems to be being made on the drinking water problem: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ottawa-first-nations-reach-settlement-in-class-action-suit-over-water/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Breaking News&utm_content=2021-7-30_15&utm_term=Ottawa, First Nations reach settlement in class-action suit over water quality&utm_campaign=newsletter&cu_id=t7%2BP3rI%2Bt%2FYx5Iui%2B6yRZxVYYZ6TE%2BGK Federal government settles with multiple First Nations over safe drinking water lawsuits Ottawa is committing nearly $8-billion to settle two class-action lawsuits from First Nations over unsafe drinking water and to fix water-quality problems on dozens of reserve communities across the country. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller announced the agreement in principle on Friday along with the leaders of three plaintiff communities – Curve Lake First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation and Tataskweyak Cree Nation – who expressed cautious optimism for the deal’s potential to end decades of health and social issues on reserves. “For hundreds of years now, Canada has enjoyed vast wealth while Indigenous people lack access to even the basic necessities of life like drinkable water,” said Curve Lake First Nation Chief Emily Whetung. “Today, we have come one step closer to reconciling this long history.

NASA has a free ebook available about stars. Some cool pictures. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-s-new-hubble-focus-e-book-provides-a-front-row-seat-to-a-sky-full-of-stars NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope team has released a new edition in the Hubble Focus e-book series called “Hubble Focus: The Lives of Stars.” This e-book highlights the mission’s recent discoveries and observations related to the birth, evolution, and death of stars. “Hubble has scoured the skies for more than 30 years, revealing untold celestial wonders,” said Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope. “In this new e-book, readers are transported across space and time to take a closer look at the stunning and chaotic processes stars undergo.”

Canada loses to Mexico 1-2 in the Gold Cup semi-final. If a loss can be encouraging, that was an encouraging loss. Canada was in the game, against a tough opponent (#11 in the world), in a stadium full of Mexican fans. And they could've won. An entertaining (and spirited) game which, unfortunately, was not available on network tv. Nor will the upcoming World Cup qualifying games be on network tv. Which is even more unfortunate because there's a good thing developing here and it should be fun to watch starting this September.

And wouldn't it be ironic if Eriksson was the player who got rejuvenated by a change in location and scored 30 goals.

Very good. But just to delve into this a bit more: You're right - every trade is a gamble. And the longer the contract and salary cap hit involved, the greater the gamble it is. It's OEL's six year contract with a $7 million cap hit that makes this trade a big gamble That's not to say that the Canucks or other teams shouldn't make trades that are big gambles. But we should recognize those trades for what they are. If OEL continues his downward spiral for the next six years, Benning has handed this franchise an anchor. It's hard enough to put together a Cup contender without having a $7 million salary cap handicap. On the other hand, if OEL rebounds and plays like a good first line defenseman (not a Norris candidate but a good first line defenceman) and Garland turns out to be the.solid player many people predict, then Benning has pulled off one of the best trades in Canuck history. It's a big gamble and one that is going to make this upcoming season very interesting to watch.

And you'd be right to doubt it: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/31913980/sec-unanimously-votes-invite-texas-oklahoma-join-conference The 14 SEC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously on Thursday to extend invitations to Big 12 co-founders Oklahoma and Texas to join the league, leaving one final formality before the deal is done: OU and Texas have to officially accept the offer, which could happen as soon as Friday.