Canada starts Golden Generation For Real Tonight

 Canada is in a great position to qualify for the World Cup. To be honest, this feels more like the last dance rather than the first dance because of how different the landscape will change over the next six years. Canada more than likely will automatically qualify for 2026 and than by 2030 Qualifying, the whole landscape will have changed. 

Honduras is Canada's biggest rival and despite beating them 1-0 in Qualifying in Vancouver back in 2015, trying to duplicate that result will be the challenge. Canada feels like the hunted and not the hunters now. Holding serve is crucially important. 

I don't feel nervous but maybe I should be. The fact that we have never seen this qualifying format is what makes me feel that there will be surprises. 

If anything, what makes me curious about the next 14 games is that Canada hasn't been tested since the 2018 Qualifiers because most teams don't put together their A teams for the Gold Cup. This is concerning but I'm trying to tell myself that a draw today doesn't eliminate us or put us behind the eight ball. Our roster is good enough to go into Panama, Honduras or El Salvador if we have to. 

The worst part of the format is the old semi final stage was some of the most intense soccer that I have ever seen and the 1-0 win At Cuba hooked me on soccer nine years ago. Since 2012 we have had this slow and steady rise. Junior Hoilett was the turning point to this program. If he picks Jamaica or England I don't know if other players follow. 

We are a stacked team and I seriously believe that we the world will start to look at CONCACAF as a three country league and not the two headed powerhouse that it has been known for since the late 90's. 

We have to realize that the Qualifying isn't determined on paper and Mexico almost missed out in 2014 and USA missed out on 2018. Every game matters and it starts with tonight. I love this roster but the Canadian Men's team has always had some kind of Toronto Maple Leaf Syndrome that has hunted this team whenever we have reached the tipping point. In fact, Canada is 8-3-1 in home WCQ in the last 12 home games. In comparison and slightly tougher competition, USA is 10-0-2 in their last 12 home games. This tells us that our ties is what is derailing our Qualifying cycle. 

Enjoy the Golden generation,  we have knock on wood finally made the big stage! 

What Will Happen in Canada's World Cup Qualifying?

Canada is about to embark on a 14 game journey that may or may not lead them to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. 

Despite the recent success, Canada still hasn't been able to conquer their Achilles heel that have alienated them in decades past. They will have 4 trips into Central America where they will look to put their demons to rest as they look to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

Assuming that they will lose to USA and Mexico on the road, they will have five other away games where collecting points will be a huge advantage. The tie in El Salvador in 2016, turned out to be the fatal blow in Canada's road to Russia. 

As Potent as our offense is, we still don't know if they can have the same fire power on rough and uneven grass in Central America. To add to this, our defense is our weak part which scares me if things come down to goal differential. 

Our back bone will be tested in the games at Mexico and USA to avoid multi goal losses. The Jamaica games will also be crucial as Jamaica has the third best roster but it will be a less intimidating environment. 

We might need scoreboard help along the way but I'm leaning towards us finishing 5th in the Octagon. Finishing 3rd might require us to win in Costa Rica or Jamaica or getting a draw in both games. That's what scares me. 

There are wins on this schedule. five out of the seven home games should be wins. The problem lies in where can we win one more to get us a crucial 6th. Beating the States for a second consecutive time at home will be harder. El Salvador appears to be the weakest team in the group but that seems to be the swing game for Canada. I have that game being a draw but that seems like it could be flipped easily. That means, holding serve elsewhere. 

I have Canada going 4-2-1 at home and 1-3-3 on the road. They will beat Panama on the road because that's the last game. They will need to run up the score. At the same time, Costa Rica will be able to run up the score on USA more effectively as USA will have already punched their ticket. 

Here are my final Group predictions.  

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	14	8	6	0	39	7	+32	30			—	2 Sep	8 Sep	30 Jan '22	13 Oct	12 Nov	16 Nov	27 Mar '22
2	USA	14	8	2	4	25	12	+13	26			27 Jan '22	—	30 Jan '22	8 Sep	12 Nov	7 Oct	27 Mar '22	13 Oct
3	Jamaica	14	6	3	5	21	14	+7	21			2 Feb '22	5 Sep	—	2 Sep	7 Oct	27 Mar '22	13 Oct	12 Nov
4	Costa Rica	14	5	5	4	17	18	-1	19			5 Sep	2 Feb '22	27 Jan '22	—	27 Mar '22	13 Oct	12 Nov	7 Oct
5	Canada	14	5	5	4	18	22	-4	19			30 Mar '22	24 Mar '22	16 Nov	10 Oct	—	2 Sep	8 Sep	30 Jan '22
6	Honduras	14	5	3	6	11	21	-10	18			24 Mar '22	16 Nov	10 Oct	30 Mar '22	27 Jan '22	—	5 Sep	8 Sep
7	Panama	14	3	6	5	10	22	-12	15			7 Oct	10 Oct	30 Mar '22	24 Mar '22	2 Feb '22	30 Jan '22	—	2 Sep
8	El Salvador	14	0	2	12	5	30	-25	2

What Will Be the Ducks record be This Year

 I was able to go to the online Ducks store and order three more shirts for the season. I'm pretty excited for this hopefully normal season. 

Oregon should be the favorite in 10 or 11 of their games this year. The one I'm not sure on is At Washington. The Ducks escaped with a 35-31 win two years ago in a game Oregon trailed for most part of the game. As of now, I would have Washington at -2.5 but lots will change between now and the game. 

We are getting to the point in the Cristobal era where we are expecting to be a Top eight team. Getting to the Playoff might be gravy but with a BCS Title appearance in 2010 and 2014 we should call ourselves due to get back to the College Football playoff. 

The way that the Pac 12 schedule presents itself does make things problematic. For instance, this year Ooregon is At Washington and At Utah. It's super unfortunate because Washington hasn't been to Autzen since 2018. 

Two years ago we were At Washington, USC and ASU all in the same year. We play four South teams a year so the rotation isn't even, but it seems to me we get the hard road schedule in the odd years and the easier road schedule in the even years. 

So... maybe expectations should be lower this year? Playing a tough schedule might give us some advantages if we finish with one loss. It will be interesting if we beat Ohio State but finish 11-1 and don't win the division would we still go to the playoff. It would likely depend on other conferences. 

Thanks for making Oregon a fun place to be apart of. Having Cerebal Palsy doesn't define me and I want to meet every Ducks fan there is. 

Nine days to go. Get Excited Everyone!! 

Conor Garland Will be the Best Player in Blockbuster Trade

 The Canucks made a huge splash Friday when they parted ways with the ninth overall pick and sent it to Arizona in exchange for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland. 

As surprising as the move was, the move is fitting as the team tries to bounce back from a disappointing Covid season. 

This move signals that the Canucks want to make the playoffs during the upcoming season. I don't think the Edmonton bubble was good enough to prevent fans from being thirsty to taste post season hockey. By next April it will be seven years since Rogers Arena hosted a playoff game. 

The other part to remember is that the Canucks got two key parts back in the deal which is important as it won't be judged just on one player. Honestly, I think Conor Garland has a chance to be the best player that comes out of this trade. 

For one, the three roster players that were sent to Arizona are all on expiring contracts next summer and Arizona isn't expected to make the playoffs next year. 

The three picks that went Arizona's way is where the risk lies but Vancouver might have dodged a huge bullet when when Kent Johnson was off the board at #5. Dylan Guenther could easily become a good player but that is an if at this point. The second rounder is important to remember that it's a 2022 pick and if the Canucks make the playoffs the pick should be in the range #48-64 and not at #41 as it was on Saturday. The seventh round is almost a throw in as very little seventh round picks make the NHL. 

I believe this deal is way less risky than the J.T. Miller deal and that trade ended up well. The reason it's less riskier is when we traded a 1st round pick that day, there was a chance that 1st, may have turned into a 1st overall in the 2021 draft and we would have lost out on Owen Power. 

Since Jim Benning has been in charge he has been active on three Draft Weekends. 2014, 2019 and now 2021. The two previous times they have made the playoffs. I'm hopeful that he can go 3/3. 

I give the trade a B-. Vancouver took advantage of a team that had to overpay for a Top 10 pick after getting their's forfeited because of combine regulations. The only reason it doesn't get a better grade is because all three expiring contracts only had one year left and OEL's play has dropped off as of late. 

Anything but the playoffs will be heartbreaking next year but I love how the team is coming together. 

Who Will the Canucks Pick Tonight?

 The NHL Draft is here and the Vancouver Canucks find themselves back in the Top 10. This time around feels different. The last two times the Canucks have picked in the Top 10 they have gotten steals with Quin Hughes and Vasili Podkolzin. 

I have a good feeling about this draft. Picks 3 through 9 seem like a crapshoot. This means Vancouver will have a crack at whoever falls out of the Top 8. 

Looking at previous drafts and there usually is someone in the Top eight that drops down. 2017 Gabriel Vilardi fell from 7th to 11th. 2018 Quinn Hughes fell from 5th to 7th. 2019 Cole Caufield fell from 7th to 15th. Last year it was Marco Rossi that fell from 7th to 9th. 

It is interesting, all mock drafts have different results everywhere. I have seen Luke Hughes between 4th and 8th and Dylan Guenther between 3rd and 9th. Vancouver is going to get a good player tonight. 

The players that I want I don't expect to be at 9th. I will be happy with Johnson or Kent. 

Here is my mock draft. 

1. Owen Powers 

2. Matthew Beniers

3. Luke Luke Hughes 

4. Mason McTavish 

5. Simon Edvinsson

6. Dylan Guenther

7. Brent Clark 

8. William Eklund

9. Kent Johnson 

Hopefully The Best is Yet to Come

 As a Suns fan, the last four games were tough to watch. I didn't have the courage to write until now as the 12 hours following Game 6 were hard. I didn't sleep much two nights ago. 

Instantly after the game I was wanting to trade Booker for the #1 overall pick next week. Emotions were flying high. As of now I have calmed down have realized that 28 other teams would have loved to have the season we just had. 

The pain comes from not knowing what the NBA will look like next year. Klay Thompson will likely be back for Golden State and if the Lakers add a star to their lineup than things could get scary. We need a plan at Point Guard if Chris Paul leaves. Even if he stays, we need a plan for who will replace him when the time comes. 

Booker might be here for awhile but which is tremendous but we need to replenish the talent as best as we can as soon as it leaves. 

For me, I'm curious how long Curry and Durant can be the face of the NBA and will they pass the touch to Booker or will Trae Young and Ja Morant surpass Booker and make it even harder for the Suns to get back to this level. 

If anything, with the Milwaukee Bucks winning, this might slow down these super teams from forming in Brooklyn. This might make the NBA easier to win it all for teams like Phoenix. 

From 1989 to 2010, the Suns had one of the best 21 year stretches for a sports franchise that had never won a NBA Title. Lets hope that this is the start of another 21 year run. 

As for the draft, I would love for us to grab Tre Mann, Jared Butler, Joel Ayayi, Ayo Dosunmu or Herbert Jones. These players should be on the board when the Suns draft 29th. We have Jalen Smith from last year where I hope he can make strides and I would rather get size and toughness that can make a difference next year in free agency. We need guard depth in case Payne wants too much money next year. 

I'm proud of this team and I hope we can finish this off in the next couple of years.

     

I'm Devastated

 I was very frustrated with the Phoenix Suns Game 4 loss last night over the Bucks'.  It has came to a best of 3 now and the longer this goes now the higher chances that it will come down to the little things which Milwaukee has been doing well. 

I still like Phoenix in the series but only if they win Game 5. That would guarantee them at least going to seven. A lower scoring game I still think favors the Suns but on the other hand having it go to a game where the margins are slim isn't fun. 

Hearing Bucks in six makes me sick. As if they have something against us. They need thicker skin. Suns in 4 really only applies to the Denver series. The last two series its been used just because.  

Game 5 is bigger than 7 right now because of the fear of losing four straight. If we get to Game 7 and we lose well it will sting but at least we can say we gave it our all. I'm not ready to go there yet. We showed enough last night to keep me confident for Saturday but Middleton scares me more than Giannis at this point. 

I am having a hard time writing anymore at this point. I want to remind fans however enjoy this next week. Your lucky as a sports fan if you get a ride like this every decade. The ride is what fans get jealous of when their team is losing. I got jealous of Golden State and Oklahoma City when they marched their way to the Finals in this last decade. For Golden State, winning the Title was just a formality. Especially the second and third time. 

But I understand the pain and suffering. The dark moments will make the great ones special.