Why it's a Bad Idea For Oregon to Join Big Ten

College Football is going through a massive change in it's system and I don't think its very good for the game. In 2012, a term called super conferences was thrown out there and at the time the understanding was that the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Pac 12 would all have 16 teams in each one day. This would set up eight divisions of eight teams. 

The College Football Playoff has significantly altered what is and what will be happening. With the power five setup, it leads to at least one conference being left out every year. I actually believe that Georgia who didn't make the CFB in 2018 was a better team than Oklahoma and gave Alabama a better game than Oklahoma. 

These quirks will work themselves out when Oklahoma and Texas bolt to the SEC in the coming years. USC and UCLA will pave the way for more madness in conference musical chairs. 

The Pac 12 isn't dead. I think the problem with the conference has always been the talent has been really well distributed and the different atmospheres on the road make it hard to run the table. Perhaps it will be easier to run the table without the LA schools. 

Adding a Nevada and San Diego State seems enviable. That would at least keep Bill Walton's favorite conference come sinking like the Titanic. 

From a non football point of view. Trying to invite a Gonzaga, St. Mary's Drake and Northern Iowa could make the Pac 12 an even better basketball conference. 

Oregon going to the Big Ten is my worst nightmare. For one, an 18 team conference would almost make
the conference  have a independent feel to it. Teams would barely play half the conference and Ohio State would only visit Eugene every four years if that. Some years, you would miss too many of the good teams for 11-1 to make the playoff and other years the gauntlet of a schedule would be too hard to finish 11-1. 

Best thing that any team can do is have a flashy offense and run the table and let better teams get upset at a night game on National TV and have the door open wide for you. It worked out well for Cincinnati last year. 

USC is making a money move. The schedules will be too crazy for them to go 15-0 anytime soon. 

/Unfortunately, other teams will make similar moves and this is about to get ugly. 

My Side Hussle

 Over my time since graduating high school, things have changed quite a bit. I have gone from part time student to full time student, unemployed, under employed, full time work to now mid-life crisis. 

When I wake up at 6:20am everyday to get ready for work, I feel like I'll be in the cycle forever. The advice that I have always been given was never to move to a city without a job. This advice really worried me because sometimes people with disabilities don't have the same opportunity to get the jobs that their peers desire. 

I want to create a Financial Literacy course that covers important topics that aren't covered in school or other places. 

Also, life coaching and career planning along with activates for young adults to keep them meeting friends and active in the community.  

 How will this happen? That I'm not sure. I've struggled with time management lately and it is killing me. 

Here is my unfinished website of what I want to accomplish in life/business. I will need a CEO type person that can guide me in the right direction and get this project legally registered. 

https://www.dvmhelps.com/ 

Please feel free to contact me at 604-825-0532 if you want employment. 

I look forward to hearing you. 

Has Canada Fixed Their Problems from Years Past?

 It's been six years since Canada fell to France at the last chance tournament for the 2016 Olympics. Since, FIBA has rebranded everything and has almost made the Olympic Tournament insignificant. They main focus is intended to be the World Cup which happens in a four year cycle. 

How did we get here? Massive lack of commitment from top players around the world forced this change. The system that mirrors FIFA's international break is intended to end tournaments where teams were playing eight games in eleven days. Instead, FIBA designates three or four weeks in a year where teams will play two games a week. Games are played in each country which briskly adds to the travel. 

Has it worked? The short answer is yes however we haven't seen increased commitment from the countries top players. Canada only had three NBA players last week when they capped off a 6-0 Semi Final stage with a 113-67 win over the Virgin Islands. The NBA doesn't release their players for the November and February windows so that handcuffs many teams and gives other teams an unfair
advantage. 

Some teams have 3-5 NBA players and a big drop off after that and therefore can't field as strong as a team as they would like. In contrast, other teams have no NBA players and can have their A team. 

Canada is fortunate that the quality that they have produced has also translated into the European leagues as well so we wouldn't have seen a drop off in production as we might have seen 15 years ago. Along with the likes of Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico all don't have access to NBA players also for most of qualifying. Canada has benefited from this changed but is hindered once we get to the World Cup as the NBA players that Canada has don't have experience playing together. Canada is a confederation best 18-2 since the format was changed. 

Canada currently since 18th in the FIBA rankings and is poised for a better draw next summer in Japan. This is where things get interesting. Russia at 14th is banned for obvious reasons, Poland shockingly got eliminated from Euro Qualifiers and Serbia, Slovenia and Czech Republic are on the verge of not qualifying. 

Here is the pots from four years ago and Canada got hijacked a Pot 5 spot for I'm not sure why.

As you can see below, Canada should have been in Pot five instead of Iran. This would have likely given Canada a group of Spain, Turkey, Canada and Japan insted of their gauntlet that they went through in 2019. 

So the key question becomes, will Canada get hijacked into pot 6 again next spring? Canada is close to a Top 16 ranking as they only trail Venezuela and Brazil by just a few points. 

Just something to keep an eye on in the next nine months.   

Groups A, C, E, and G

Groups B, D, F, and H

Pot 1	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 8
China (19) (host)(Group A) United States (1) (Group E)  Spain (2)  France (3)	Puerto Rico (16)  Turkey (17)  Dominican Rep. (18)  Venezuela (20)	Germany (22)  Czech Republic (24)  Poland (25)  Iran (27)	Japan (48)  Jordan (49)  Tunisia (51)  Ivory Coast (64)
Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 6	Pot 7
Serbia (4)  Argentina (5)  Lithuania (6)  Greece (8)	Russia (10)  Australia (11)  Brazil (12)  Italy (13)	Canada (23)  Montenegro (28)  Philippines (31)  South Korea (32)	Nigeria (33)  Senegal (37)  New Zealand (38)  Angola (39)

2022 NHL Mock Draft

 This is a really exciting day for the Vancouver Canucks fans. Gone our the days of us picking 5th overall and then waiting a full offseason to see what other messy situation the Canucks can get into. 

The 2020 season was ruined by Covid. That year was really fun for us and it's like we got a cliff hanger ending. 2021 was disapointing but because of the circumstances, I didn't want to overrract when we only played a quarter of the teams. 

Last year was tough to watch but was also a good reminder of how important every game is. we finished eleven games above 500. and felt good to get out of the rebuiled. This week is not a question of who the Canucks pick but rather where J.T. Miller goes. The Canucks can replunish their dry prospect pool with the right return. My asking price is a roster player, prospect and pick. However, if the pick is a 1st than the prospect could be a B level prospect. 

Would love to see a juicy return but not getting my hopes up. The qunity doesn't have to be there if the quality is. Think Bo Horvat trade.

My Top 15 mock draft is below as follows. This is by no means who I think each team needs as I'm not  an expert at what holes every team has but I'm ranking the players as best available. Will be fun in 10 years to revisit this blog post. 

Round one

#	Player	Nationality	NHL Team	College/Junior/Club Team
1	Shane Wright		Montreal Canadiens
2	Juraj Slafkovsky		New Jersey Devils
3	Simon Nemec		Arizona Coyotes
4	Logan Cooley		Seattle Kraken
5	Cutter Gauthier		Philadelphia Flyers
6	David Jiricek		Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago)1
7	Matthew Savoie		Ottawa Senators
8	Kevin Korchinski			Detroit Red Wings
9	Joakim Kemell		Buffalo Sabres
10	Jonathan Lekkerimaki		Anaheim Ducks
11	Conor Geekie		San Jose Sharks
12	Kevin Korchinski		Columbus Blue Jackets
13	Marco Kasper		New York Islanders
14	Frank Nazar		Winnipeg Jets
15	Denton Mateychuk		Vancouver Canucks
16			Buffalo Sabres (from Vegas)2
17			Nashville Predators
18			Dallas Stars
19

 

April 7th 2022 Mets 5, Nationals 1

 I will be trying to put together a sports diary of my thoughts of being a New York Mets fan but also other things that are going on in my life. 

I work in an Elementary school. I desperately wanted to take the day off to watch Opening Day off but I didn't knew it wasn't the right thing to do. 

At this time last year I wanted to sell everything I had and start fresh in a new country. I would have kept stuff that was important to me but it would have had to fit in a suitcase. Of course, because Covid was ruining my enjoyment for what I wanted to do most, I didn't. 

Luckily for me, today's Mets game was delayed over four hours and I was able to watch the whole game live. It's just one game but it is so nice to see the Mets get a win. It has became almost a foregone conclusion over the last few years that the Mets win their opener. 

I'll be curious if the Mets can buy a Championship in the Steve Cohen era. The Dodgers couldn't until the bubble. Yankees haven't won for awhile so it is not a given. With the extra playoff spots means that every game becomes a bit more important to avoid the one game playoff. 

This team has failed before with good players on their roster so fingers crossed. 

Mentally I feel good and I want to document the Important things in my life that keeps me motived. I have Cerebal Palsy so I've had my ups and downs but I feel like trying to put my distractions behind me and writing about my favourite baseball team like I had intended to in 2015 which never came to fruition because the smallest things drive me crazy. 

Mets win 5-1. 

Did the Canucks Miss a Golden Opportunity Today?

 Today started with a walk around my block with a stop at Tim Hortons to get set for the day. My day consisted of watching Trade Centre on Sportsnet and TSN in hopes the Canucks make a big splash and move some valuable assets at peak price. 

When I checked Twitter I thought I saw the Canucks shipping Connor Garland to Boston for a player and a pick. This was just a rumor as things unfolded. 

I'm disappointed about how things turned out. Just a fourth and younger defenseman added over the last 30 hours. 

To me, this means that the management believes that the run that this team has been on is not a fluke and it is sustainable next year. They decided not to break up the core that was established by Jim Benning over the last seven years. 

At this point of rollercoaster that the Canucks have been on since 2011 it is hard not to interrupt that its not playoffs or bust in 2023. 

Without playoffs, their would have to be player movement. The coach doesn't look like it will ever be a problem. Won't be able to fire the GM for at least two full seasons and we can't fire the owner. 

The other thing to look at is this team won't be young forever. Are top players minus Pettersson and Hughes will be entering their prime the next couple of years and this is the NHL of 2022 where 30 is almost feels old nowadays in a league dominated by U25 players. 

Here is a look at where the Canucks stand next year for forwards: 

Garland	Pettersson	Boeser
Pearson	Miller	Hoglander
Dickenson	Horvat	Podkolzin
Lammikko		Highmore

 Eleven forwards are under contract. Next trade deadline will be very interesting if the Canucks are not in the playoff race next year. We will still need a fourth line Center but that shouldn't be too difficult. Full disclosure, these are not projected lines, just laying it out as easily as possible. There will also be trades, I don't expect all eleven to be on the team next year. 

We are deep at Center and still thin on defense. I can talk about the Defense later but we have a imbalance of players on this team. That needs to be sorted out eventually. 

It's too early to judge this day. However, if things don't pan out, this day will be looked at as a huge missed opportunity. At 29, I would have loved to get a player under 24 and a third a bare minimum. 

We need to keep every door open but now I can't wait for the offseason. I love the rebuild that Benning put together and it was completely ruined by Covid. The Bubble Tournament didn't quince my thirst for playoff hockey and I think if we would have had electric nights at Rogers Arena in the 2020 playoffs it would have been more easier to be more patient today.  

 

No Davies but Hopefully No Embarrassment Like 2012

 The Canadian Men's soccer team is on an incredible run of success and they will get a mental test tonight in the country that has gave them their most fits. 

Sometimes in sports two rivals that have no geographical ties at all sometimes become huge rivals. For me, my favourite non geographical rivalry is the Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks from 2009-2011. They met in the playoffs three straight years and Vancouver finally slayed the dragon in 2011 Game Seven. 

For the Canadian Men's soccer team, Honduras and the Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula is that dragon. I believe tonight is the final hurdle. A win tonight and I have a hard time seeing them not qualifying. We have seen them go toe to toe with every other team since our resurgence. 

The number I have to qualify for Qatar is 24. That's eight points in six games. Worst case I see us losing four games. So as long as we at least tie in two of those four than we should be ok. At least tie in El Salvador next Wednesday. Jamaica should be a win and everything else we need to avoid defeats. 

Not having Davies will be felt more for the USA game. We have tons of speed elsewhere on the pitch for us to counter. Honduras will need a win so I expect lots of goals. 

I believe 2012 was an anomaly. 2016 was more like what we are capable of. That being said, 2016 could have easily been 5-1 if it weren't for a few amazing Milan Borjan saves. 

The other thing is that the previous two games were in the daytime and during the Honduras League season. This one will be at night and during most of Honduras' players off season. 

We play at a pace that is special. In 2016, I don't think we were as talented. If you remember where you watched the 2012 game and 2016 game then this day is important to you. These are the days you live for as a sports fan. 

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Milan Borjan	October 23, 1987 (age 34)	58	0	Red Star Belgrade
	GK	Maxime Crépeau	April 11, 1994 (age 27)	14	0	Los Angeles FC
	GK	Jayson Leutwiler	April 25, 1989 (age 32)	3	0	Oldham Athletic
	DF	Doneil Henry	April 20, 1993 (age 28)	41	1	Unattached
	DF	Steven Vitória	January 11, 1987 (age 35)	28	2	Moreirense
	DF	Sam Adekugbe	January 16, 1995 (age 27)	24	0	Hatayspor
	DF	Richie Laryea	January 7, 1995 (age 27)	22	1	Nottingham Forest
	DF	Alistair Johnston	August 8, 1998 (age 23)	18	1	CF Montréal
	DF	Kamal Miller	May 16, 1997 (age 24)	18	0	CF Montréal
	DF	Derek Cornelius	November 25, 1997 (age 24)	14	0	Panetolikos
	DF	Scott Kennedy	March 31, 1997 (age 24)	5	0	Jahn Regensburg
	DF	Cristián Gutiérrez	February 18, 1997 (age 24)	0	0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
	MF	Atiba Hutchinson	February 8, 1983 (age 38)	90	8	Beşiktaş
	MF	Samuel Piette	November 12, 1994 (age 27)	60	0	CF Montréal
	MF	Jonathan Osorio	June 12, 1992 (age 29)	49	7	Toronto FC
	MF	Mark-Anthony Kaye	December 2, 1994 (age 27)	30	2	Colorado Rapids
	MF	Stephen Eustáquio	December 21, 1996 (age 25)	18	3	Porto
	MF	Liam Fraser	February 13, 1998 (age 23)	11	0	Deinze
	FW	Cyle Larin	April 17, 1995 (age 26)	44	22	Beşiktaş
	FW	Junior Hoilett	June 5, 1990 (age 31)	39	13	Reading
	FW	Lucas Cavallini	December 28, 1992 (age 29)	28	16	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
	FW	Jonathan David	January 14, 2000 (age 22)	24	18	Lille
	FW	Tajon Buchanan	February 8, 1999 (age 22)	16	3	Club Brugge
	FW	Liam Millar	September 27, 1999 (age 22)	14	0	Basel
	FW	Iké Ugbo	September 21, 1998 (age 23)	1	0	Genk

Will Conmebol and Concacaf Merge for 2026 ?

 Despite this week being an international break with qualifying games being scheduled for the 2022 World Cup, I wanted to discuss something that will be a topic of conversation for 2026 World Cup Qualifying. 

Conmebol is scheduled for six berths in a ten team confederation and I will be very disappointed if they have the same qualifying format. They would basically have 18 game qualifying and there would be way too many teams playing meaningless games. 

The way to fix it isn't easy. My fear is that they don't even fix it at all. I really hope there will be some kind of change. In most Confederations, dropping points at home two or three times is almost the death of a country trying to qualify. 

Concacaf is set to have six teams qualify. Currently, there are 35 teams and so there is still a very competitive competition formats available. 

Move the Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Guatemala to Conmebol in exchange for  Ecuador, Venezuela  and Peru. 

As crazy as it sounds. The competitive balance is I think almost equal. Conmebol would have 13 teams which is a odd number but they would still be competitive qualifying. 

Concacaf could have 32 teams and have a number of different potential formats. I know it's not perfect but a complete merger isn't very realistic logistically with travel. The easiest thing for Conmebol to do would be to have one Hex and a seven team group for qualifying. I am aware seven team group isn't ideal but UEFA does five team groups and they have done seven team groups in the past. 

From a Regional Cup point of view I would love to have a Gold Cup every four years and combined Cup competition the other odd years. This would make a Cup to look forward to three out of four years. 

How likely is this to happen? Not likely but I have a fun imagination. This weeks games in both confederations are goin to be intense.   

                                                                    

Put half of your surplus after every month into a separate savings account

 Recently, I wrote a blog post about how we really don't need to be knee deep in a 9-5 job if we don't want to be. We do it because society says we have to. 

My first step was "Step 1 - Put half of your surplus after every month into a separate savings account.

So, when your first 18, this might entail you getting a job but remember, the goal eventually is to find a side hustle that can make you money when you don't have your money.

Two possible worst case secnario's that might come up.

1. Parents insist that you head to University and that might delay the side hustle

2. Your parents don't have the money to keep you at home and your forced to move out and fend for yourself.

For the first point: This option isn't all bad. However, if they are paying for college, that means they can tell you to not drop out. It's also hard to feel financially free if they are helping you out.

This will pass eventually. It does suck at the time especially when you see classmates get to do fun things like drop out and get jobs elsewhere. Remember though that the parents are doing this because they care.

Option two. No one wants this option but this might end up being a sling shot if you are able to set yourself up successfully.

If you turned 18 and were kicked out with only $20 in your pocket, I believe that there are organisations that can help. This is why most foster children can't get kicked out until 19.

The point is, put your your money aside. Even if it's just $100 in 20 years it will add up.

If your in a deficit than ask yourself why. Some reasons are worth it like having a kid.

I would say the key part to getting yourself set up yourself is being as flexible as possible. I'll touch on this in other steps.