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!

And not just because of the sad Germans (1).

There was a famous episode at the 1988 Grammy award, when Little Richard and Buster Poindexter were presenting the award for best new artist.  Little Richard announced that “the best new artist is…. ME“, and then he pranced around the stage. You can look it up on YouTube.  Obviously, it wasn’t true.

That’s kinda how things are in the Beautiful Pool, except it is true.  Sherman H faded and, thanks to my blind faith in the people from the only country in the world where I’ve had my pockets picked (ARG), somehow, I ended up with the most points at the end of the group stage (2).

I know what you are thinking: that I’ve been doing this for so long that I’ve picked up some match-fixing skills from the evil brains at FIFA; that this is a rigged system designed to extract hard earned cash from the gullible.  Not true.  It’s just dumb luck.

Anyway, just so there is no taint of corruption nor hint of scandal, I’m going to donate my C$97.50 Group Stage winnings to the Hoboken Homeless Shelter.

Here is the leaderboard, after the group stage.

There was also a noticeable change in the global competition:

🍁 Les Canadiens 🍁 have pulled into the lead.

The race for last place is on too!  Remember, the lowest score gets their entry fee refunded. Right now that’s Alvaro V, but Ana G and Cindy B are also in the running.

Click HERE for the complete results

Look for another update after the “Round of 16” wraps-up next Tuesday.  But, be warned, HVW and I are driving back to the Great White North on Tuesday, so the posting of results might be a bit delayed.

See you next time.

1. But I mean, come on, seeing GER lose to KOR was one for the ages, wasn’t it?
2. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Now that every team has completed two matches, I thought it would be good to let you know how things are shaping up.

Sherman H, step forward and take a bow.  If there are no changes to the standings after the 3rd matches (1), Sherman will be the group stage winner, just like he was 2014.   Sherman, what is your secret?

Here is the leader-board:

Newcomers Joep B, Dave&Shanel and Prash N are making their presence in the Beautiful Pool felt.  Craig B, who came dead last (3) in the 2014 Brazil-edition is off to a much stronger start.

Geographically, it’s dead heat:  Canuck taxpayers have an average score of 29.4, while ROW (2) comes in at 29.1.

Click HERE for a PDF with everyone’s provisional results.

Thought for the day:

England’s support can be roughly split into two categories – the blindly optimistic and the morbidly fatalistic.

Scott Murray in The Guardian

See you next time.

1. Officially 0.00001% probability BTW, because ARG is going to rise up from the ignominy of losing to CRO, and take everyone down.
2. Rest of World
3. I had to find a way to mention that!

Due to an administrative SNAFU, one entry was left off the original tallies.  So I have fixed it and updated the page with all the entries.  Say hello to the 43rd participant, Tak F, who is joining the Beautiful Pool for the first time.

Click HERE to see all the entries (1)

The same list is now available in PDF, if that is what you have been waiting for.

That is all.

1. For real this time

I hope you’ve been able to catch some of the games (between work and driving to/from Washington this weekend, I haven’t).

Nevertheless, the first round of match-fixing is over, and the giant brains at FIFA have come up with a stunning script.  According to my calculations, RUS is in first place, followed by BEL and CRO (Croatia!!!).  Ignoring the groups, here is the list of teams that didn’t lose, ranked in the same order for group standings (Points, then Goal Difference, then Goals For).

If you want more analysis, then don’t listen to me;  there is all kinds of rationalizing going on out there on the interwebs.  Even English hopes are still alive.

Entry deadline is 24 hours away!

At this point, I don’t know what to tell you.  If you want in, now’s the time to make your picks and send them to me.

Since I have a weak spot for los Albicelestes, who placed 2nd in the 2014 World Cup and then again in the 2015 and 2016 Copa Americas, it’s tempting to believe that this is their moment.  Watch this Argentine beer commercial and don’t be afraid to believe.

Entry deadline is 48 hours away.

For what I believe is the 4th straight World Cup, Goldman Sachs is calling for Brazil to take home the trophy.   Now I have to be careful what I say because we might have one (or more) Goldman Sachs participants in the pool.  So, I’m not going to make any allusions to vampire squids, or God’s work, or anything like that.

Here is their report…

The essential absurdity of football is nine- tenths of the poetry

Phil Ball  – Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football

There are just 72 hours left (give or take) to get your picks in for the Beautiful Pool – ру̏скӣ edition.  Like the bloke who decorated his house in the picture below obviously believes, at this point anything is possible.

Anything is possible – 3 Lions edition

To those who have already signed-up.  Thanks and good luck.

While we are all laser-focussed on making smart picks for the 2018 World Cup, don’t forget that on 13 June, FIFA will select the site for the 2026 tournament, it’s down to Morocco and a joint USA/Canada/Mexico bid.   Morocco has the inside track because, well FIFA makes the decision, and it pays to remember that…

Nothing triggers kickbacks, bribery, and general venal behaviour like an ill-equipped nation trying to build a dozen new enormous white elephant stadia.

Roger Bennett (Men in Blazers)

Also, FiveThirtyEight.com is starting their World Cup – ру̏скӣ coverage here….

https://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/2018-world-cup/

If you are having trouble deciding who’s going to advance, this will add to your confusion.

You’re welcome.

Read the rest of this entry »

You could, and some have, decide to pick the World Cup winners using a more unorthodox system.  Say, by which team has the best jerseys (or kit).

This beautifully shot video introducing the Icelandic kit is a good place to start.

Or you could browse through this encyclopaedic listing:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/ranked-every-2018-world-cup-kit-show-russia-summer

Or here:

https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/world-cup-2018/2018/5/30/17408000/world-cup-2018-jersey-rankings-nigeria-brazil-korea-germany-australia

Sa Ma Sin Wa Lo (1) Super Eagles.

Whatever works for you.

Time’s running out.

1. Roughly translated as ‘Lead us into battle

It’s 1998 all over again.  France will win the World Cup 2018 – according to Fidante Partners (whoever they are).

Here is their report.

Games begin in 10 days.  Time to work on your entry.

Just a heads up that the Guardian newspaper is publishing a series of reports on each team, in collaboration with each country’s local media. So far they have done Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay and Russia.

I think they are very good, FWIW.

I have 3 entries so far

13 days to go.

— Read on www.theguardian.com/football/series/world-cup-2018-guardian-experts-network

… is the “U”.

In the interests of helping you make your picks, here is some fútbol advice from the geniuses at UBS.  Their conclusion is that the winner will be:

Here is their full report, mixed in with some promotional…um…BS.