Delacroix – Liberty Leading the People

It is done. FRA stormed the barricades in Москва, trouncing poor little CRO.  In my books, CRO are the real winners just because of their awesome chessboard jerseys.

Here are the final top rankings.  Dario P2 surged at the end, and edged out both Jim T and Phil A, who tied for second and must learn to share their winnings.  Congratulations Dario, Jim and Phil.

There were 6 first timers in the top scores, and while I’m sorry that Joep, Prash, Rachel, Jeroen, Dominik and Russ go home empty handed, I hope they will come back for the Euro Cup pool in 2020.  The rest of you too.

The race to the bottom was fierce.   Cindy and Heidi also have to learn to share.  And to Ray, Ana, Craig and Blair …  thanks for playing.

“Cheese eating surrender monkeys” – Bart Simpson

The winners….

Click HERE for the all the final standings

As promised, I donated the Group Stage prize to the Hoboken Shelter.  I also marked it up and ran it through our corporate matching program at work, so they ended up with a larger donation.

Canada vs. the World

If anyone cares about this, the Canucks were the clear winners, taking 3/4 of the prize money and finishing a solid 1.4 points ahead of the Foreigners.

Then there’s this guy.

Mothers – don’t let your children grow up to be this guy.

That’s it for the Beautiful Pool – ру̏скӣ edition.  I hope you enjoyed the ride, and I also hope to do this all over again for the Euro Cup in 2020.

See you starside.

Awww.  Poor English Lions (1).

So its FRA vs Bad Haircuts and BEL vs ENG.  Still not a done deal for Joep B, as several others still have the ability to win this thing;  although not previous two time winner Jim T (2).

We are going to have a tie last place, and both Heidi VW and Cindy B will get half their entry fee back.  Both Heidi and Cindy have entered every pool I have run (3).  Clearly, in some cases, practice does not make perfect.  Better luck next time.

There is not much drama in the global teams.  The Canucks are holding a solid 1.2 point lead.  Down a bit from last time.

Final standings and cash money will be revealed after the finals on Sunday.  There’s a rumour that some of us might be at the House of Que’ for the game.  If you are in Hoboken at that time, you should be there too.

Click HERE for the full standings

See you next time.

1. I didn’t see the game live, but only in ‘Murca would you be able to do as I did, and get all the way home, including a walk along Hoboken’s main drag, without seeing a single person celebrating the CRO victory. Fútbol is still not a thing here.
2. Whew!
3. God bless them.

It is nice to be back in Canada for a few days, because a) there is something on the news besides Donald J. Trump (1), and b) the flags attached to many cars provides some evidence that the general population is aware of the global sporting competition that is in full flight.

I’d say we have some very interesting quarter final results. Newcomer Joep B is hanging onto his lead, BUT….  Newcomers Rachel P and Prash N are close behind….  AND, Joep is out of ammo.  None of his picks for the upcoming matches are still in the running so he can’t get any more points.  Can Rachel and Prash elbow their way into first place.  You’ll have to check in after the semis to find out.

In the geopolitical arena, the Canucks are still hanging onto a solid 1.6 point lead, and seem to be assured of victory.  Unless of course, something unexpected happens (again).

There is also a bit of a scramble for last place, and return of the entry fee.  Alvaro V has been sitting pretty in this spot nearly since the beginning, but now Heidi VW is dropping down the standings at an alarming rate and may come out on top, er, bottom…  whatever.

Click HERE for the full standings

See you after the semi-finals.

1. Unfortunately much of what is on the news concerns local serial killers.  That, and interminable CBC explorations of what it means to be Canadian (Enough already!).

Holy moly folks.  Quite a few surprises in the Group of 16, to say the least. (1)  Who could have seen this coming?  Joep B, that’s who.  Joep is new to the Beautiful Pool and seems to know what’s up:  Due to his crystal ball, he has moved into the lead.  See below for the leader board.

In the international competition, the Canucks are building their lead.

Since Heidi and I are travelling this week, that’s all I’ve got time for.

Click HERE for a PDF with the complete standings.

See you after the quarter-finals.

1. I’m talking about England NOT losing on penalty kicks!