Where does Canada Stand in Women's Soccer?

The Canadian Women's soccer team has picked up right where they left off in the 2012 Olympics as they have captured two vital victories against Australia and Zimbabwe that has put Canada in a great position to defend their Olympic Bronze medal they scored in 2012. 

After all of that, Canada is still not recognized as one of the top women's soccer countries in the world. 

Currently ranked 10th in the world, John Herdman's group certainly doesn't play like it. Their 2-0 win against Australia being down to 10 players might as well be one of their biggest win in team history. 

It will all be meaningless if Canada bows out in the Quarterfinals this time around. As Women's soccer stands now, they are 5-6 teams that are capable of winning the Gold Medal. Those countries would be USA, Brazil, Germany, Japan, France and Sweden. 

Canada wants to be in the conversation, and the next week will be a huge measuring stick of where Canada sits at an international level. 

More importantly, with Canadian hero Christine Sinclair at the age of 33 one has to wonder how many good opportunities she has left to make a splash on the world stage. 

If Canada wants to be in the elite of Women's soccer, finding a way to back their Bronze medal in 2012 and their 2015 Quarterfinal appearance in absolutely crucial. 

The time is now, as Canada looks to win Group F of the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, getting destroyed this afternoon would be a frustrating two steps back for a country trying to build a powerhouse that will be just as good as USA. 

EPL Week 1

Week 1 of the EPL season is upon us as the most competitive league in the world begins on Saturday. The EPL is a 20 team league that will be represented from 17 teams from last year's EPL season and three more that got promoted from Tier Two in England. 

Important to note, Saturday mornings will start at 7:30 AM ET instead of the traditional 7:45 AM ET. This will be a good change as it will give the panel an extra 15 minutes to talk about the 10 AM ET.

Opening Day is always filled with anticipation. At the end of the 38 game season, three teams will be relegated which will be a crushing blow to the soccer club. Middlesbrough, Hull City and Burnley, are the three teams that were promoted last year and will be in tough to stay up. 

Nevertheless, seeing the reaction to the promoted team's fans when their team comes on to the pitch for the first time is priceless.  

Thanks to the Rio Olympics, the second 10AM games on Saturday are slim with games on TV. Both  the Middlesbrough and Tottenham games that were selected for TV look intriguing.  All the singleton games shouldn't disappoint as on Monday Chelsea tries to turn around what was a disaster of a season last year. 

I'm looking forward to a great season and will have lots more to come on this blog. 

Saturday, 13 August 2016
Time/Result	Home	Away	TV
7:30 AM ET	Hull City	Leicester City	TSN5
10:00 AM ET	Everton	Tottenham Hotspur	TSN5
10:00 AM ET	Middlesbrough	Stoke City	SN360
10:00 AM ET	Southampton	Watford	TSN GO
10:00 AM ET	Crystal Palace	West Bromwich Albion	None
10:00 AM ET	Burnley	Swansea City	TSN GO
12:30 PM ET	Manchester City	Sunderland	SN360
Sunday, 14 August 2016
Time/Result	Home	Away	TV
8:30 AM ET	Bournemouth	Manchester United	TSN5
11:00 AM ET	Arsenal	Liverpool	SN WORLD
Monday, 15 August 2016
Time/Result	Home	Away	TV
3:00 PM ET	Chelsea	West Ham United	SN WORLD

Longevity And Realistic Odds For The New York Mets

For the past week or so, the moans and groans from the fan base would indicate that the New York Mets’ season has taken a nightmarish turn.

As a matter of fact, the season has been anything but that. Currently the Mets are one game ahead of the pace they were on last year and they are coming off their fifth World Series Appearance in franchise history. Speaking towards that stat alone is something that 28 other teams wish they could claim.

More importantly, their record of 49-42 has served them well thus far, good enough to grant New York the second National League Wildcard spot – which they share with divisional foe Miami Marlins. Being tied for the second wildcard is a luxury that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Despite an abundance of injuries to their starting rotation, for instance Matt Harvey, a starter whose only taken part in 20% of the Mets’ games this season.

While losing Harvey for the rest of the season stings. It’s totally understandable to feel that way. However, when glancing at his numbers at the surface, the Mets could be better off without him. First off, his WAR is a microscopic o.1 for the season. Let’s be clear, that is nothing to fawn over. To continue, his ERA this season is 4.86. If you’ve kept track throughout his career with the Mets, that would make this season alone 1.94 runs per game higher than his career ERA of 2.94.

Because the Mets play in the National League, games are generally lower scoring and consequently closer. This indicates that any game that Harvey has pitched where the run margin has been either one or two, the Mets have wasted his start. At 6.5 games back from the division, the Mets are prime for missing the NL East crown this year, although there’s still 70+ games of baseball to be played. Even if the Mets don’t win the division that doesn’t mean they aren’t good enough. It’s because other teams are better. The Mets would be in a different position had they taken care of business against the East-leading Nationals last weekend.

Not only has the NL East grown to be more formidable than it has been in the past, but the whole National League is deeper, too. Case in point, seven of the league’s 15 teams have over .500 records. This alone would make the Mets look foolish to go out and acquire a big-time bat (like Cespedes last year), or a front-line starter (that’s self-explanatory for New York which has the third best ERA in baseball). With the Marlins improving, and the Phillies and Braves building for the future, it would be quite a risk to mortgage the farm system.

While the Mets continue to scratch and claw amidst the log-jammed wildcard race. Pending turnarounds remain: can Jose Reyes hit like he once did early in his career? Can Curtis Granderson flash the power at the plate that he so often flashed in 2015? These are questions that the Mets must answer in order to achieve a sterling second half.

Champions League Action

Match day one of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League is complete. The day was dominated by the home teams that went 6-2-2. The one big surprise was Lincoln Red stunning Celtic FC.

The good news for most teams is that all games this morning were relatively close games. Therefore, there is a lot to play for when the second leg will take place next week.

Tomorrow, or depending where you are in the world, later tonight the other first leg games take place.  The marquee game tomorrow is Rosenborg taking on Swedish champion Norrköping.  The Sweden side will end their 51 year Champions League drought when they travel to Norway . 

Seattle Mariners fans think they are hard done by having a 15 year playoff drought. Could you
imagine if they went 51 years without making the playoffs??

It should be a pretty big day for Norrkoping fans tomorrow. Going 51 years without playing in Europe's top tournament

is almost a lifetime ago for some fans. Anyone under the age of 63 at least has no memory. 

Other notable teams that start their campaign are Astana FC who competed in the group stage and København from 

Denmark. Both teams have aspirations of sneaking into the group stage this year. 

The first legs will be played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs will be played on 19 and 20 July 2016. Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg Qarabağ   F91 Dudelange 2–0 20 Jul Hapoel Be'er Sheva   Sheriff Tiraspol 3–2 19 Jul Olimpija Ljubljana   Trenčín 13 Jul 20 Jul Red Bull Salzburg   Liepāja 1–0 19 Jul Vardar   Dinamo Zagreb 1–2 20 Jul The New Saints   APOEL 0–0 19 Jul Zrinjski Mostar   Legia Warsaw 1–1 19 Jul Ludogorets Razgrad   Mladost Podgorica 13 Jul 19 Jul Dinamo Tbilisi   Alashkert 2–0 19 Jul Žalgiris Vilnius   Astana 13 Jul 20 Jul Partizani Tirana   Ferencváros 13 Jul 20 Jul BATE Borisov   SJK 2–0 19 Jul Valletta   Red Star Belgrade 1–2 19 Jul Rosenborg   IFK Norrköping 13 Jul 20 Jul Dundalk   FH 13 Jul 20 Jul Lincoln Red Imps   Celtic 1–0 20 Jul Crusaders   Copenhagen 13 Jul 19 Jul