We'll Race You Back to Europe: 2020 Edition

Reasons to be cheerful:
Leicester: Even though they won’t win the league, they have a manager who can guide them through European tournament play next campaign. They’ve taken the no longer favored at the smaller clubs and made them work under "the Brodge's system.

Chelsea: The youthful revolution at Stamford Bridge has had a blip, but performing still far better than many gave them to finish top four. While the past season and a half without Thibault Courtois being on payroll, Kepa when called upon has done respectably well for not being on-the-radar prior to his time at the club.

Man United: Despite the slow start that was the tail end of a slump dating back to the end of last season, Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been a positive managerial change near the start of 2019. Despite their struggles between Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole, the club have managed to be a mainstay in European competition, barring one season.

Wolves:  Nuno Espirito Santo’s club have continued to keep pace with the big boys. This is arguably the club’s best squad in its history with relative shared success, especially noted by the Molineux faithful. Rui Patricio and the defensive unit have seven shutouts to their name this league campaign and most recently helped defeat co-European competition contenders Spurs.

Spurs: Are still managing to string together results despite the tumultuous road it took to get there. With a head coach in José Mourinho having to work with what was left from Mauricio Pochettino’s departure, the ship has managed to stay the course for staying in Europe for next season.

Sheffield United: Without a doubt, the Blades are the most impressive side in the competition having hung around in practically every game they were in for at least the first half of the season. Having signed a four year extension to manage the club, Chris Wilder’s style of football will surely make opposing clubs dread the date at Bramall Lane on their calendars.

Burnley: Yet again, Sean Dyche has got his Clarets squad in a top ten position late into the season. Veterans of the Prem in Jay Rodríguez and Ashley Barnes are both in the top three in scoring behind only Chris Wood. The central defensive tandem of Daniel Tarkowski and captain Ben Mee have helped Nick Pope in the keeper’s impressive 2500+ minutes between the net.

Arsenal: Though, they’ve seen better days, Mikel Arterta has got the players responding to him and have gone on an extended unbeaten run in all domestic competitions spanning the calendar year of 2020 which is practically his entire spell as manager. Arteta’s message in the change room will be important to keep level heads considering who he brings in will threaten someone’s roster spot in the summer.

Everton: Since Roberto Martinez’s tenure, it has taken a while to find a high profile manager that would both be willing to take the job and able to keep the post for an extended period of time - the latter usually being the issue. It is still early to tell if Carlo Ancelotti is that manager, but the team has shown tremendous improvement since Marcos Silva’s sacking, though the players did respond to Duncan Ferguson’s four game interim spell. Only the other team across Stanley Park has gotten more points even with Liverpool’s loss at Vicarage Road to Watford.

Palace: The Holmesdale Road Stand are still going strong in their seventh season back in the Prem, the longest stretch in the club’s history in the top flight. Roy Hodgson’s Eagles have only lost to Saints and at Newcastle of the teams below them in the table, which gives them a positive sign for at least staying up and are only four points away from the standard safety total of 40 points, but surely with their pace would enjoy a top half finish at minimum.

Saints: Such a high finish at the St. Mary’s has been a long time coming and at least a top half finish would be a welcomed sight and have the ability to match their 2015-16 success which would be second joint-best in club history behind only the second place team of the old FL First Division.

Newcastle: The Toon’s personnel business has made heads turn. While losing players like Ayoze Pérez to Leicester on a £30M transfer fee, they did a good job so far with return on investment. Allan Saint-Maximin, Andy Carroll, and Joelinton have made a positive impression while some loanees have also been welcome additions.

Reasons to be fearful:
Leicester: This is not nearly as quality of a team as the League-winning side of 2015-16 under Claudio Ranieri, the biggest notable is lack of depth at wing back and in particular on the right side as Christian Fuchs can be moved from the left to central in case Wes Morgan or Jonny Evans are not in the squad (of the non-loanees; and an abundance only of center backs).

Chelsea: Only Tammy Abraham has double digit goals scored for the club, so goals have been somewhat hard to come by. On top of that, many of the big-name standouts have not necessarily been playing to the standard we expect of them, leaving room for the youngsters to do the workload.

Man United: Roughly 60% of the clubs’ goals scored in the club have come from Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford, both in double digits (14, 10). Only one of the rest of the squad has scored more than three goals (Mason Greenwood has five). That means that three players make up for 29 of the 41 goals scored. And of the remaining 12, eleven come from non forwards. Even with the number of midfielders on the scoresheet this season, their tallies need to go up just a touch to compliment their assist totals.

Wolves: If anything will diminish Wolves chances of staying in any kind of European football as it pertains to league play, it’s discipline from the players to Nuno. This club this season has probably worn their hearts on their sleeve the most, but at the risk of cautions and ejections it isn’t the way you want yourself as a small club to bounce out of extra money.

Spurs: For not doing much business in recent transfer windows and having had two managerial changes, they’re still a respectable seventh far better than their North London neighbors Arsenal but not where the club would like to be. You could make a case that this is the worst side they’ve had since at least before Gareth Bale’s time at the club.

Sheffield United: It seems as though even if they lost to the point they’d finish worst of the teams in this list, they would still have exceeded expectations.The one focus for the East Midlands club should be to improve their goal difference  which is currently +3. Their recent form should help that slightly, but the club could use a few solid goal-scoring performances to absorb the blow of the losses to Leicester (2 goals allowed), Newcastle (0-2 loss), Man City and Liverpool (3-0 aggregate league losses each).

Burnley: The club has been prone to being streaky in form. They've had no more than two successive wins and as many as four game losing streaks. Speaking of streaks, they're 6 unbeaten and are up against Spurs, whom they lost to three months ago by a 5-0 scoreline in North London.

Arsenal: It’s been a long time that the Gunners have been this far down the table this late into the season in the top flight.They’ll need to start winning more games as most of their run in the Arteta era have been draws. Mesut Özil either needs better players behind him (the team desperately needs two center backs regardless) or he himself will need to make his way out of The Emirates.

Everton: The Marco Silva experiment ended in utter failure for such an “up-and-coming” manager. Not only did it not improve the club, but again the club’s next David Moyes is yet to be seen. Even if it is Carlo Ancelotti, the veterans and club servants don’t have much long before they will have to leave whether they want to or not as many of them still have some ability to make the Toffees the team everyone knows they can be.

Palace: As close as the Glaziers are to a top four finish, they are also as close to the relegation fight in the ultra competitive nature of this season’s competition. While not a slight on the club, they did get handed successive defeats in a Sheff United double. Those on their own could be the difference between where they are and as high as fifth though likely seventh after goal difference and the Blades taking their spot in twelfth. 

Saints: The spell of eight winless between late September and the end of November was significant, though they recovered well from then, their performance since the last six calendar weeks however has been relatively underwhelming which also includes a fourth round replay exit in the FA Cup. Without silverware, though seemingly a far reach away, Europa should be what to aim for.

Newcastle: The Premier League’s Chicago Cubs are hoping that their recent (since 1992) near successes are a sign of hope heading into the 2020s. For the reputation he has as a manager, Steve Bruce had best get the Tyne-side club into shape for another mid-table finish at minimum or he may very well be out with anything less being too close for comfort with the quality of clubs having improved this season.

Bold notes match vs. direct competitor; Italics note game of interest

We've got two moths of play left and all clubs will play on the same three dates in May.

The Vault: "Leadership"​ Doesn't Exist

Part 1 of Ricky's Unpopular Opinion series on LinkedIn (from November 18, 2017).

Reading Time: 2-4 minutes

The term "leadership" gets thrown around a lot almost without hesitation or second thought these days. However, it has also been said that anyone can be a "leader" and likewise anyone can be a follower. Also if a "leader" cannot properly "lead" those which they are supposed to, then you cant call "leaders" by that label, that is to say that that label is only meant to be positive. Taking charge of something isn't "strong enough" to be called "leadership" and in fact, nothing really is - that is, if "anyone" can do it.

"Anyone" can "lead," but not everyone can motivate. Motivation is the driving principle of the "leadership" theory, as I see it, and thus replaces "leadership" all together whereas based on individual personalities, not everyone can motivate convincingly or in the intended reactions. But still, everyone can motivate, even for the slightest of moments. If one is to motivate convincingly, their personality has to not only show the appearance of conviction and sincerity, but also finds a way to relate to the rest. As for poor motivation that may lead to other reactions, that could be acting on the contrary of someone's particular motivation rather than the cause for which the motivator was supporting. Even if one doesn't agree on most of an argument, frequent in political platforms, there may be one or two items that can be supported through the motivation of the constituent, etc... But what's important to understand is that not everyone can be motivated in the same way with 100% efficiency.

Under the "leadership" philosophy, if motivation is the driving factor behind it, then nothing in the world would ever be sought for or accomplished. That inspiration has to come from someone/thing/where. But it doesn't come from "leadership" - rather, from ideas or desires as a result of those ideas. The same ideas and desires that give us our purpose which we are being motivated to achieve. Simply put, "leadership" does not exist - period. It's time to stop living behind the outdated myth and cliché that is "leadership."

Exploring NLL Expansion: How To?

NOTE: This is approcimately a ten minute read.

The NLL is expanding to 11 teams in 2019, the first such movement in a decade. But what led us here? I’m not going to go over the entire franchise histories of the league members, but we’ll pick up where the last team came in. In 2009, the second incarnation of the Boston Blazers came to be, just as the Philadelphia expansion team will do next season. This was on the wave of the 2007 CBA dispute and if it wasn’t busy enough, the two year inactive Vancouver Ravens were attempting continuation. They succeeded in renewing their lease with then-General Motors Place, but failed to secure the minimum season ticket sales threshold per their lease agreement.

Boston was to compete that 2008 season to replace the recently on-hiatus Arizona Sting. The team held an expansion draft, though along with Arizona held a dispersal draft as both opted-out of the 2008 season. Boston would return, but Arizona would not and the Chicago Shamrox joined the sting in folding. The 2009 offseason presented further changes as the league contracted with the loss of the Portland Lumberjax at season’s end while, the Shamrox 07 expansion partners New York Titans moved to Orlando for one season based on a 2009 pre-season game between them and Toronto. The Titans stayed in Florida for a season before going on-hiatus. After 2011, Boston followed suit and neither have announced having fold but we have not heard anything on those accounts. As New York was transitioning to Orlando in 2010, The six year stay for the San Jose Stealth came to an end at the HP Pavilion as they would go on to the State Washington and eventually suburban Vancouver in 2014 (more on that later, if you haven’t already heard).

After the loss of the Blazers, there were only relocations to speak of. Edmonton despite recent on-field successes moved to Regina, SK in 2016, while the tension between ownership and fanbase in St. Paul sent the Minnesota Swarm to suburban Atlanta. Aside from that, we return to the Stealth’s move from Everett, WA to Langley, BC - the partial home of the Winter Olympics in ice hockey. Last year the team struggled to win but miraculously getting to host a playoff game, given the collapse of not only the Colorado Mammoth but the Calgary Roughnecks missing the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in 2002. This saved relocation talks for another year. Unfortunately for the Stealth, they won just two of their eighteen games and attendance was well below an average of 2,000 in a five-plus thousand seater. Then a few weeks ago, a massive announcement was made that the team was purchased by the Canucks ownership group, will assume a new identity, and will play at Rogers Arena. In 2012, we got a glimpse from the Save the Ravens Twitter handle that the turf was still in solid condition for a youth clinic held at Rogers Arena. We have yet to learn if they bought the rights of the inactive Ravens franchise.

Now you’re caught up of the past decade’s history, all of which under Commissioner George Daniel, beginning after the CBA negotiations until his departure after the 2015 season. Current Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz has announced his plan beyond Philadelphia and San Diego. But before that, there is the matter of rumblings about Rochester, its owner Curt Styres, and a team possibly coming to Halifax, NS. Rumors about Nova Scotia have been mild at best since 2005, though the most recent gossip has revolved around the Knighthawks owner. Styres was originally speculated to be given an expansion team in Halfiax under the assumption he sells the K-Hawks. Styres has reportedly said that he will take the team with it’s history and identity to the Canadian maritimes and the league would then likely expand to Rochester. In either case, the new ownership of a Rochester-based team comes to a Knighthawks rival - Terrence and Kimberly Pegula of the Buffalo Bandits. That is a story on its own.

Kim and Terry bought the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres in 2011, and with it came the Bandits. It has supposedly been written in to that ownership contract that they would be allowed to own a second team in the NLL. This would be like the current fiasco of the Arena Football League who is just starting to follow the NLL ownership structure of having owners with their own arenas. Just ask Ted Leonsis and less so Buffalo-area native Ron Jaworski. The subplot about the Pegulas may be about one thing: trying to save the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in the downtown of the Flower City. The Pegulas already own the Americans of the AHL, which were purchased between the Sabres/Bandits and NFL’s Buffalo Bills. And to add further, much of Kim's family is from the Finger Lakes region. Plenty of story-lines to read into here.

Back to Sakiewicz’s plan. If it happens as he says, it should be like when he owned the MLS’ Philadelphia Union from their inception in 2009 until he became NLL commissioner upon being ousted from the Union board. He cites in no order that arena status, market feasibility, and ownership credibility as the three components of stable expansion. Last month, the league state report as released by the commish, suggests a plan that (including Halifax, if that has merit) will introduce three new franchises for the two seasons following the upcoming one. There also was a target set to include thirty organizations within a window from 2028 to 2030. The former of the two is very doable but 2030 may be a bit much for this particular league give previous failures.

We’ve already mentioned Nova Scotia, but let’s talk about other markets. How about previous ones? Chicago for a first time market may have been too soon and the fact that they basically got their own arena within a residential town did not help. New York came of the heels of the Saints departure in 2003 and the New Jersey team in 2004 heading to Anaheim for another pair of seasons which over-saturated the Tri-state market. Putting a competing ckub near the Saints may have been what did them in so as to not needing to bring a team back which wouldn’t have been necessary. It is also likely that splitting between MSG and the Coliseum may have been a negative for the Titans. Detroit with the new arena there might be difficult as well as the declined population of the city despite having the border city of Windsor, ON. Charlotte unlike 22 years ago, now has an MLL team. With the success outdoors, maybe this Mid-Atlantic lacrosse hotbed is ready to support a team again. Whether it be Baltimore or DC, it has been over 15 seasons since a team last called the Capitol-area home. Both of which had half of the league’s original four franchises and Baltimore lasted 13 seasons and two more in DC with a year in Pittsburgh in between before shipping off to Colorado. The aforementioned Ted Leonsis given his current activity with the AFL may be willing to take on another sport franchise especially once the league gains traction again to a point where he could sell one to get an NLL team. Finally for me, the great fans of the former Minnesota Swarm. They deserved better ownership than the Arlotta family (based on the information within the lacrosse community). I don’t doubt they deserve a new club. There have also been suggestions that Edmonton will eventually need to have a team return.

Looking into new ventures, San Diego will be interesting heading into this month’s expansion draft. But let’s discuss both hinted at and unmentioned locales. Dallas has popped up now and again while Salt Lake City has gone cold. Dallas would be interesting, especially if Mark Cuban gets involved - I didn’t believe it until the MLL’s Rochester team had gotten moved out there. Salt Lake I just can’t see even if they play at Vivint Smart Home Arena. St. Louis was mentioned for a time and that is luke-warm for me and I am still on the fence there. I would like to try Winnipeg to see if that could be viable and might also create a rivalry for the potential Minnesota team. Las Vegas may as well be considered given the recent trend in sports. I think Tampa was mentioned as a potential Florida market in the early 2000s but Orlando came and went like a summer breeze down there. Tampa or Miami would be preferable to Orlando as they would be new while still already having been in Florida for at least a season. Cleveland might be a stretch and they’ve already been to Columbus, but I feel Cincinnati could be a reasonable consideration. As for Michigan if Detroit is out, perhaps we take a look at Grand Rapids given their rather successful Arena Football League team has been gone for some time, they could go for some form of pro team at Van Andel Arena.

There are with these suggestions also the problem of how to balance the league, to reconfigure more divisions and make the current east and west ones into conferences, among other dilemmas. Whatever the league plans to do, there is a guideline that was successful elsewhere but need to make the necessary adjustments to their needs. I would make my suggestions through an alternate history, which I can discuss at a later point in time. For now, this is a lot to process. Let’s see what the 2019 expansion and prospect of Halifax both bring us in the next year or so before we look beyond the 2021 plans.

Leavitt to Ithaca, Leaves Hole in SCWS Midfield

Leavitt evades a tackle from Coast Guard's Brianna Grisell in September of 2016.

SPRINGFIELD, MA - While NEWMAC women's soccer is re-adjusting to MIT winning a title again, Springfield College has had a big bomb dropped Tuesday. Fortified stronghold Elise Leavitt is headed to play in the Cortaca rivalry as she will be set to join the Bombers in the fall. The sophomore midfielder from Stratham, NH was selected as a member of a New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) Division III All New England team last fall. She helped bolster a defensive wall that allowed less than a goal per game.

Leavitt's prowess as a juggernaut in the midfield puts a gaping leak in the middle for John Gibson's program as they look to seek their first NEWMAC title in three seasons. Leavitt is the biggest non-senior to not return in the fall for the Pride as the six outgoing seniors have each expunged their NCAA eligibility. This is also provided that other changes are expected to come from Gibson if necessary. With the assumption that Leavitt continues her career, she should presumable continue getting solid playing time under Mindy Quigg during and beyond Liberty League play.

Ricky Mazella is a Springfield College Women's Soccer beatwriter for Sports Talk with R&B.

Pyeongchang Day 4

Pyeongchang Day 3

This is being published after the finish of the Draw 7 rather than Draw 6 (end of Day 3) as it is the last of the round robin and as in this case sometimes results in tiebreakers.

Pyeongchang Day 2