US Cases
Friday, February 24, 2023
The Corona Virus, February 24, 2023
Friday, February 17, 2023
The Corona Virus, February 17, 2023
US Cases
Saturday, February 11, 2023
The Corona Virus, February 11, 2023
US Cases
Saturday, February 04, 2023
The Corona Virus, February 4, 2023
US Cases
Thursday, January 26, 2023
the Corona Virus, January 26, 2023
US Cases
Thursday, January 19, 2023
The Corona Virus, January 19, 2023
US Cases
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
The Corona Virus, January 10, 2023
US Cases
Damar Hamlin Update
Damar has been released from UCMC and has been transferred to a rehab facility in Buffalo. The man is making progress daily, appear neurologically intact and hopefully will make a full recovery.
When last I looked his charitable GoFundMe was over $8 million.
Tuesday, January 03, 2023
Damar Hamlin
Last night on Monday Night Football two NFL players collided. One was Bengals player Tee Higgins and the other was Bills Safety Damar Hamlin. As NFL players do they both jumped up after the collision but then Damar Hamlin went back down and lay still.
Medical personnel came running out and it became clear very quickly that this was no typical NFL injury. Hamlin had gone into cardiac arrest and had to be given CPR for almost 20 minutes.
Finally they got his heart beating again and an ambulance came onto the field to transport him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Nearly 24 hours later all we know is Hamlin's vital signs have gone back to normal, he's been sedated and remains in critical condition.
We don't know what happened but the speculation is that chest trauma resulting from the collision at just the wrong instant and the wrong place caused his heart to go into arrythmia.
This is the nightmare sports scenario and can happen when projectiles, such as a baseball or hockey puck, hit a player in the chest. It's very rare in football but it can happen. It's what keeps youth baseball and softball coaches up at night.
The game was first suspended and then postponed. The NFL has yet to announce its intentions about whether the game will be rescheduled or not.
Hamlin had started a charity to help give back to his community. He had a GoFundMe active to collect money for a toy drive this Christmas. The GoFundMe exceeded its $2,500 target by $250 and raised $2,750.
That fund now has over $4.1 million in it including $50 of my hard earned shekels. I hope Damar Hamlin recovers fully and never scares us like this again.
Edit: 1/3/2023 @ 5:40 PM. Make that over $4.9 million.
The Corona Virus, January 3, 2023
US Cases
It's hard to believe that it's 2023 and I'm still doing this stuff.
Friday, December 23, 2022
The Corona Virus, December 23, 2022
US Cases
Friday, December 16, 2022
The 2022 World Cup, Final
The third place match is to be held Saturday December 17th. The final will be Sunday December 18th.
Third Place Match
*Morocco - 1 Croatia - 2
Final
*France - 3(2) Argentina - 3(4)
I'm going with Morocco and France.
Well, Morocco fell to Croatia but they can still be proud of what they accomplished. Making the semi-final is quite an accomplishment.
Wow, anyone watching the final would be out of breath. France came back twice only to lose on penalty kicks. Congrats Argentina and Lionel Messi.
The Corona Virus, December 16, 2022
I still hate the cold. I'm getting bored with these virus posts. Maybe I'll go to once a month.
US Cases
Saturday, December 10, 2022
The 2022 World Cup, Semi-finals
The semi-finals to be held Tuesday December 13th and Wednesday December 14th.
*Argentina - 3 Croatia - 0
*France - 2 Morocco - 0
Sorry Cinderella but the ball ends here.
No real surprise that Argentina has moved to the finals. I think it will be France but it would be cool if it were Morocco.
So, the Cinderella story comes to an end but it was good while it lasted. Thanks Morocco for making this World Cup special.
Friday, December 09, 2022
The 2022 World Cup, Round of 8 Results
My weekly virus post got in the way so I had to do a separate results post.
*Argentina - 2(4) Netherlands - 2(3)
*Brazil - 1(2) Croatia - 1(4)
*France - 2 England - 1
*Morocco - 1 Portugal - 0
Come on Morocco. I would love it if a team that no one expected won the World Cup.
Croatia taking out Brazil was a bit of a surprise. It certainly raises Argentina's stock.
Morocco wins again! Now this is really getting interesting. They will play the winner of France vs England. Oh no, what if it's France? Who will I choose?
On to the semi-finals.
Wednesday, December 07, 2022
The Corona Virus, December 7, 2022
I hate the cold.
US Cases
Tuesday, December 06, 2022
The 2022 World Cup, Round of eight.
On to the round of eight. Same deal, my picks are marked by an asterisk.
*Argentina - Netherlands
*Brazil - Croatia
*France - England
*Morocco - Portugal
Come on Morocco. I would love it if a team that no one expected won the World Cup.
Friday, December 02, 2022
The 2022 World Cup, The Round of Sixteen
Ok, so on to the Round of Sixteen and I think I will start making myself look silly and make predictions. My picks have an asterisk.
*Netherlands - 3 USA - 1
*Argentina - 2 Australia - 1
Japan - 1(1) *Croatia - 1(3)
*Brazil - 4 South Korea - 1
*England - 3 - Senegal - 0
*France - 3 Poland - 1
Morocco - 0(3) *Spain 0(0)
*Portugal - 6 Switzerland - 1
Obviously I think the European and South American teams have the edge. Let's see if I'm right.
Morocco! Morocco! whoohoo. Looks like we have a Cinderella. On to the round of eight.
FIFA Rankings and the 2022 World Cup
The FIFA top 20 rankings as of October 2022 were.
#1 - Brazil - In Knockout Round
#2 - Belgium - Eliminated in Group Round
#3 - Argentina - In Knockout Round
#4 - France - In Knockout Round
#5 - England - In Knockout Round
#6 - Italy - Did Not Qualify
#7 - Spain- In Knockout Round
#8 - Netherlands - In Knockout Round
#9 - Portugal - In Knockout Round
#10 - Denmark - Eliminated in Group Round
#11 - Germany - Eliminated in Group Round
#12 - Croatia - In Knockout Round
#13 - Mexico - Eliminated in Group Round
#14 - Uruguay - Eliminated in Group Round
#15 - Switzerland - In Knockout Round
#16 - USA - In Knockout Round
#17 - Columbia - Did Not Qualify
#18 - Senegal - In Knockout Round
#19 - Wales - Eliminated in Group Round
#20 - Iran - Eliminated in Group Round
Teams in the World Cup not ranked in the top 20.
#21 - Serbia - Eliminated in Group Round
#22 - Morocco - In Knockout Round
#24 - Japan - In Knockout Round
#26 - Poland - In Knockout Round
#28 - South Korea - In Knockout Round
#30 - Tunisia - Eliminated in Group Round
#31 - Costa Rica - Eliminated in Group Round
#38 - Australia- In Knockout Round
#41 - Canada - Eliminated in Group Round
#43 - Cameroon - Eliminated in Group Round
#44 - Ecuador - Eliminated in Group Round
#50 - Qatar - Eliminated in Group Round
#51 - Saudi Arabia - Eliminated in Group Round
#61 - Ghana - Eliminated in Group Round
The 2022 World Cup, 12/2/2022
Match results.
Friday, December 2
South Korea - 2, Portugal - 1
Uruguay - 2, Ghana -0
Switzerland - 3, Serbia - 2
Cameroon - 1, Brazil - 0 (woah)
Group A - The Netherlands and Senegal both won so they're both in.
Group B - England and the USA both won so they're both in.
Group C - Argentina won so they're in. No real surprise even with the first match loss. Mexico beat Saudi Arabia but lost out to Poland on goal differential so Poland is in.
Group D - France is in. Australia won so they're in.
Group E - Japan won so they're in. Even though Spain lost they win the goal differential tie breaker over Germany so they are in and Germany is out. I'm sure Brazil feels better that Germany is out after 2014.
Group F - Croatia had a draw with Belgium so they're in. Morocco won so they're in. Belgium is out.
Group G - Brazil is in. Switzerland won so they're in.
Group H - Portugal is in. South Korea beat Portugal and Uruguay beat Ghana so South Korea is in by virtue of the 2nd tie breaker which is total goals.
Standings (I'm using W-L-D rather than W-D-L)
Group A
Netherlands 2-0-1, PTS = 7, GF = 5, GA = 1
Senegal 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 5, GA = 4
Ecuador 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 4, GA = 3
Qatar 0-3-0, PTS = 0, GF = 1, GA = 7
Group B
England 2-0-1, PTS = 7, GF = 9, GA = 2
USA 1-0-2, PTS = 5, GF = 2, GA = 1
Iran 1-2-0, PTS = 3, GF = 4, GA = 7
Wales 0-2-1, PTS = 1, GF = 1, GA = 6
Group C
Argentina 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 5, GA = 2
Poland 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 2, GA = 2
Mexico 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 2, GA = 3
Saudi Arabia 1-1-0, PTS = 3, GF = 2, GA = 3
Group D
France 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 6, GA = 3
Australia 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 3, GA = 4
Tunisia 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 1, GA = 1
Denmark 0-2-1, PTS = 1, GF = 1, GA = 3
Group E
Japan 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 4, GA = 3
Spain 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 9, GA = 3
Germany 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 6, GA = 5
Costa Rica 1-2-0, PTS = 3, GF = 3, GA = 11
Group F
Morocco 2-0-1, PTS = 7, GF = 4, GA = 1
Croatia 1-0-2, PTS = 5, GF = 4, GA = 1
Belgium 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 1, GA = 2
Canada 0-3-0, PTS = 0, GF = 2, GA = 7
Group G
Brazil 2-0-0, PTS = 6, GF = 3, GA = 1
Switzerland 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 4, GA = 3
Cameroon 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 4, GA = 4
Serbia 0-2-1, PTS = 1, GF = 5, GA = 8
Group H
Portugal 2-1-0, PTS = 6, GF = 6, GA = 4
South Korea 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 4, GA = 4
Uruguay 1-1-1, PTS = 4, GF = 2, GA = 2
Ghana 1-2-0, PTS = 3, GF = 5, GA = 7

