UnkNuk

Congrats to Mexico. Entertaining game. That being said, they mentioned on the after-game show that, unlike Canada and the US, that was Mexico's top team. I would have enjoyed seeing Canada's "A" team playing Mexico in that game.

A packed stadium always adds a lot to any game.

0-0 at the half. The first half hour was pretty evenly played. Mexico started to dominate in the last 15 minutes.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup Final between Panama and Mexico is on Fox today (Sunday) at 5:00pm.

After getting the 3-0 lead and LA losing a man, the Caps figured they had it wrapped up and went into cruise control. And that just about bit them. It was almost as if Vancouver felt it would be somehow upsporting to pad the score. They need to develop their killer instinct. Just keep pouring it on. Because, in all probability, that's what the other team would do to them. Having said that, they did win.

After this weekend's games and the All Star game on Wednesday, MLS shuts down for a month so the Leagues Cup Competition can take place. Some good news: according to TSN's schedule, at least the first Whitecaps game (against Leon) in this competition will be televised on TSN on July 21. https://www.tsn.ca/2021-mls-schedule-canadian-teams-1.1614016

Arsenal makes it official. Finally. Arsenal confirm Declan Rice signing from West Ham in £105m deal https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/15/declan-rice-west-ham-arsenal-105m-deal

Arsenal sign Jurrien Timber from Ajax on long-term contract Arsenal have completed the signing of defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax, the club announced on Friday. The 22-year-old, who can play either at right-back or centre-back, has signed a long-term contract with the North London club. Ajax confirmed that both clubs agreed on a €40 million ($45m) transfer fee which could increase to €45m through variables. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37939333/arsenal-sign-jurrien-timber-ajax-long-term-contract

Apparently Inter Miami have officially signed some new guy:

Not really archaeology but a guy was digging in the dirt so.... Kentucky man finds over 700 Civil War-era coins buried in his cornfield A Kentucky man got the surprise of his life while digging in his field earlier this year: a cache of over 700 coins from the American Civil War era. According to the Numismatic Guaranty Co. (NGC), which certified the coins' authenticity, and GovMint, where the coins were sold, 95% of the hoard is composed of gold dollars, along with 20 $10 Liberty coins and eight $20 Liberty coins. The rarest is the 1863-P $20 1-ounce gold Liberty coin. Just one of these coins can go for six figures at auction, and the Great Kentucky Hoard boasts 18 of them. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/kentucky-man-finds-over-700-civil-war-era-coins-buried-in-his-cornfield?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email#xenforo-comments-17473

"Back in 2013, Vancouver resident Andy Sward decided he wanted to trek across Canada on foot, leaving as little carbon footprint as possible, but as he started his journey in Tofino, B.C., he realized this trip was going to be so much more than a low-carbon vacation. Bothered by all the trash on the side of the road, he decided he wanted to do something about it. That's when he started the Million Bottle Pledge. Now on his fourth trip across the country, Andy's goal is to pick up a million bottles over the next 20 or so years. He rigged up a baby jogger with bags to store his trash, and so far he has collected over 100,000 bottles." {Video that I can't copy located here:} https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/lifestyle/community/how-this-canadian-is-cleaning-the-countrys-roads-one-bottle-at-a-time

NBA to implement flopping penalty, expand use of coach challenge The NBA Board of Governors has approved two new gameplay changes for the 2023-24 season, the league announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know: The NBA will implement an in-game penalty for flops, resulting in a technical foul free throw. Teams will also be awarded a second coach’s challenge if the first challenge is successful. https://theathletic.com/4684536/2023/07/11/nba-board-of-governorsnba-gameplay-changes-2023-24/?source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=7205700

Should be a challenging game. The Galaxy got off to a dismal start but have played better recently, winning their last two games (at home) against LAFC and Philadelphia - two of the best teams in the league.

Whitecaps 2 Austin 1 Whitecaps win! Cordova scores! (Interesting stat: the Caps have won every game that Cordova has scored in.)

I think The Animals were one of the most under-rated bands in the English Invasion in the 60s.

No mention of Vancouver but who knows? Adam Silver: NBA to weigh expansion in coming years, consider Las Vegas, Seattle, others Adam Silver gave his latest indications that the NBA will heavily weigh expansion in upcoming years, if not coming closer to saying that it will be coming to the league. Silver cautioned against any expectations that the league will act with any haste. It must first finish off its next media rights deal — its exclusive negotiating window with its current TV partners ends next April and this TV deal ends after the 2024-25 season — before it moves on to considering expansion. Seattle and Las Vegas are the two cities that have been floated most heavily as possible expansion sites for the NBA. https://theathletic.com/4681419/2023/07/10/nba-expansion-adam-silver/?source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=7205668

Well, that was invigorating!

Crap! So close. Americans win on penalties after 2-2 draw in regulation and overtime. Still and all a good game by our boys.

By "standings", do they mean regular season standings or tournament standings? Since there are six groups, shouldn't they be adding the two highest-finishing teams? Otherwise there will only be seven teams in the quarterfinals.

Top 10 most valuable goalkeepers in the world with Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale number one Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale has been named the most valuable goalkeeper in the world by the CIES Football Observatory. The CIES Football Observatory is a research group that was established in 2005 and focuses on statistical analysis in football. They have worked with the likes of FIFA, UEFA, Manchester City and Chelsea and, according to their statistical model, Ramsdale is valued at €79m (£67.5m). https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-ramsdale-most-valuable-goalkeepers-30424586?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking_arsenalfc_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid=d083d551-a419-44bb-9a23-04c26d4d9b9c