The State of Play: WFCSAGS

When our readers ask, we deliver. Case in point, Z recently suggested I review the current state of affairs for the football clubs Gheorghies support, either of their own volition or because I bequeathed (saddled?) them a side. This is a thing I can do.

Because Z asked, we'll start with his Norwich lads. They scuffled last season in the Championship (English soccer's second division), finishing 13th of 24 teams, but only eight points from relegation in a very crowded mid-table.

The Canaries are a bit better this season, currently sitting in tenth on 54 points with seven matches to play. They won't see promotion this season, but they've stabilized a bit. American striker Josh Sargent came back to MLS after several seasons on the south coast.

And their fans are funny:

Shlara's (and Prince William's) Aston Villa are in the quarterfinals of the Europa League, and currently in the mix for a Champions League berth next season. The Villans have been a bit up and down of late, but their 54 points are good for fourth in the Premier League with seven matches to play.

Fulham are having another very solid season, only four points from a spot in next year's Europa League and all but guaranteed of survival. But they're playing as if they're in their Ibiza Era. The final seven weeks of the season look to be a lot of "ah, well, that's a shame" in footy form.

As for Whitney's Leicester, I suppose that wide eyes emoji might be a good visual reference. The Foxes are currently in 22nd of 24 teams in the Championship. If that holds, they'd be relegated to League One, which...yikes.

Dave's Brentford are quietly buzzing along. The Bees are two points ahead of Fulham, and very much in the mix for a place in European competition next season. Big London and Gheorghie Derby in two weeks, as Brentford host Fulham in a match neither fan base would've expected to matter as much as it might.

Meanwhile, near the penthouse, fancy man Danimal's Manchester City is stalking Arsenal for the top spot in the division. While the Gunners are the odds on favorites to take the title, up nine points at the moment, City did just defeat Arsenal to win the Carabao Cup, the first major trophy of the English year.

Marls was a Newcastle supporter before we had a chance to attach a different label to him, and his lads are stretched. After a decent Champions League campaign, they've stumbled to 12th in the Premier League after a bitter defeat to local rival Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear Derby. Skipper Eddie Howe is bemoaning his club's spending on talent, never a good sign.

The Teej has been a Nottingham Forest guy from way back, to when we used to call him Little John. Forest are having a weird one. Like Villa, they're in the Europa League quarterfinals after defeating Danish power Midtjylland last week. But back at home, they've been in our near the relegation zone for most of the season. Their mercurial (read: batshit insane) Greek owner Vangelis Marinakis has fired three managers already this season.

Forest's win over Tottenham Hotspur vaulted them to 16th place, three points from the drop, but there's real work still to do.

And speaking of Spurs, who I believe count Rootsy and Squeaky as backers, that club is a fucking shambles. One year removed from winning the Europa League, and only a week after being eliminated from the Champions League, Spurs are in 17th, only one point away from relegation. Worse still, they're unmoored and playing like absolute ass. The other teams in the relegation fight have been hardened by their experience at the bottom of the table. Spurs' expensive roster is in no way prepared for what's to come over the next two months - their relegation would be seismic.

The Demise of Cinderella

Upheaval within college sports has created all manner of change for both participants and observers, not the least of which is a quantum leap in billable hours. Attorneys and entire firms have profited from those who contend that capitalist practices should extend to those who do the work regardless of their age, as well as from those who dug in their heels behind the thought: How come we can’t do it the way we’ve always done it? 

Conference realignment and consolidation, player pay and unrestricted movement, and Indiana University football ascension were always going to be jarring and difficult to grasp, not to mention expensive. But once colleges accepted television money to broadcast games and that money grew into multi-billion-dollar contracts and eight-figure payouts, it would inevitably lead to somewhere close to where we are now. 

Though on balance the developments are good, or at least more equitable, for the labor force, i.e., athletes, there would in turn be fallout that altered perspective and fandom and perhaps even the attraction of a team, a sport or an event. Which brings us to the NCAA Tournament and the gradual demise of the lower-tier conference program that makes a surprise run. 

The tournament nearly always ends up as a showcase of the sport’s best and most talented teams, but one of its beauties has been unlikely runs by programs outside the national spotlight: George Mason to the Final Four in 2006, Davidson and Steph Curry to the Elite Eight in 2008, VCU going from the First Four to the Final Four in 2011; Florida Gulf Coast (“Dunk City”) to the Sweet 16 as a 15-seed in 2013, eleven-seed Loyola-Chicago to the Final Four in 2018, St. Peter’s to the Elite Eight as a 15-seed in 2022. 

No such disruption this year. The Sweet 16 is all power conference programs. The closest we got was 12-seed High Point of the Big South Conference taking out Wisconsin in the first round, then playing Arkansas close before falling in the round of 32. VCU and Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10 both won their first-round games before getting bounced decisively by Big Ten teams in the second round. 

 The notion that Texas is a Cinderella because the Longhorns are an 11-seed is laughable. They’re a member of the SEC and have one of the largest athletic budgets in the country. They’re the privileged kid who scuffled along in college all year, but still got a cushy summer internship because of family connections. 

The last time there was a significant party crashing was 2023, when San Diego State and Florida Atlantic made the Final Four and Princeton advanced to the Sweet 16. For the second consecutive year, no team seeded 13-16 won a tournament game in the main draw. 

Get used to it. 

The formula for under-the-radar teams making a tournament run used to be a veteran group that had played together for several years and whose age and experience could offset the talent disparity against marquee programs, or a mid-major program that landed an under-recruited prospect or two to supplement an already solid roster. That’s become more difficult to pull off because of the transfer portal and budgets and NIL money that permit power conference schools to pay players. 

Indeed, the Sweet 16 is littered with players who began their careers elsewhere – not only jumps between power conference schools but smaller programs. Arizona has players from Harvard and Campbell. Michigan State has players from Harvard and Florida Atlantic. Alabama has transfers from Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine. Nebraska has players who started at Rhode Island and Tulsa. Iowa State stud Joshua Jefferson began his career at St. Mary’s. 

Maybe the most visible example of movement and money is at Iowa, which knocked off defending champ Florida. Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum won four Division 2 national championships at Northwest Missouri State, and two years ago was hired by Drake of the Missouri Valley Conference. Several of his players followed him to Drake, where they won the league title in his first season and upset Missouri in the NCAAs. Iowa hired him a year ago, and star guard Bennett Stirtz, who began his career with McCollum at Northwest Mizzou and went with him to Drake, followed him to Iowa along with three other Drake players. The kid who hit the winning shot against Florida last weekend was previously at Robert Morris. 

Point being that continuity and team development take hits in the present landscape. High-level recruits move because they see a better opportunity or more money elsewhere. Productive mid-major players are plucked away by power conference programs who seek to fill holes with seasoned players and can pay more. NIL money may keep some players who don’t have pro talent in college longer, but the guess is that players who stay at a school for three or four years and true NCAA Cinderellas will dwindle. The tournament remains the best event in sports, but loses a touch of magic and unpredictability in service to the young folks who provide the thrill. A fair trade.

Signs of Spring

It's not just an ORF theme any more - it's a filler post!

At 8:05 pm EST tonight in San Francisco, Logan Webb will throw out the first pitch of the 2026 Major League Baseball season. As noted by the sage Marls, it's not Opening Day, at least not for teams that matter - that's tomorrow, when the schedule includes 11 games, but it's a harbinger and a dawn at the same time.

NCAA Tournament Open Thread

Back in the day, I used to routinely take off work on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament and head to a bar (Grevey's in Falls Church more than a few times) to watch hoops from noon to midnight. I miss those days. In memoriam, here's some Madness.

Special Gheorghasbord: World Cup Edition

We're 86 days away from the start of the 2026 World Cup, when Mexico hosts South Africa in Mexico City. Until that time, the organizers will no doubt be holding their collective breath, hoping no more ill-fitting Florsheims will drop. 

Meanwhile, the first (and I'm betting only) recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize is stumbling oafishly through one ill-conceived international crisis of choice after another. His pointless war with Iran may cost the tournament a participant, as the Iranians have made noises questioning whether they'll participate in the event. Says here they won't be the last country to consider withdrawal, and that more than one nation will have a difficult time securing visas for their athletes.

At the same time, America's global follies seem to be off-putting to fans of other nations, who aren't yet booking travel to the U.S. in predicted numbers. This is a shocking turn of events. Harry Carr, Pivot Hotels & Resorts’ senior vice president of commercial optimization, told Forbes, “We are much less bullish about World Cup than we were three months ago," adding that "FIFA sent back some of the company’s room-block holds without a single reservation having been made for the tournament."

Let's be clear about something. I loathe FIFA and its still-corrupt fuck you, pay me approach to the global game. I hate that our President and his toadies will likely try to wrap themselves around the flag while the World Cup take place here (and in Mexico and Canada). I won't be paying the extortionate prices for tickets to a live match. 

But I'll be watching all of it, goddammit. I'm a weak and predictable man.

And while I watch, I'll be enjoying the USMNT's kits. One of them, anyway.

The Athletic released an interesting piece yesterday about the design process for this year's kits. Seems the players were less than thrilled by 2022's fairly basic look and wanted a say. The athletes wanted something iconic, and they wanted something they could wear with jeans to the club. Seriously.

Fair to say Nike delivered on both counts. 

The home kit is uniquely American, with the stripes of the flag waving and offering a sense of motion. I assume (hope) they'll pair it with blue shorts and white or blue socks. It's distinctive, evocative, and even fun. 

On the other hand, the away kit is much more reserved. It's a deep, near-black Navy blue with metallic stars that'll be visible up close but hard to make out at a distance. The badge and the Nike logo are designed to blend into the shirt, as well. Hoping for white shorts and matching socks for this one, which I find just okay. It'd look good with a pair of light-wash jeans, though, and it seems to be the favorite of many of the players.

86 days. Let's hope we get there.

Make America Fuck Again

In case you had any doubt about Sturgill Simpson's intent, the first track on his new record is the title of this post. The album starts strong, dirty, and slinky, and it stays in that pocket.

Simpson told everyone that he wants them to illegal stream it, and lots of someones posted it. Recorded under the name of his alter-ego, Johnny Blue Skies and the Dark Clouds, "Mutiny After Midnight" is funky and gritty, with more than a nod to the 70s, and just a tinge of country. And lots and lots of innuendo. Track four is entitled, "Stay On That D", and while it's about playing in a live band, we see what you're up to, Sturgill.

After it was leaked, it was taken down and now it's hard to find online. But I got to hear the whole thing, and as the kids say, it fucks. Listen to "Situation", which contains the lyric, "Ever since the day we met, wanna make you wet, wanna make you sweat," to my earlier point. And then go find the record in its physical form.

Gheorghasbord: Bright Spots

The times, my friends, are a bit gray and gloomy. Bleak, even. It's easy to wallow in the mire. Fortunately for you, we've got a wee bit of the tonic to help see forward to a brighter time.

Janjay Lowe was born in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia (and one of two world capitals to be named for a U.S. President, at least until Trump renames Caracas). When he was seven, he was adopted by an American family and grew up in Chattanooga, TN. In 2017, he started recording music under the name Mon Rovîa, and his sound has evolved since then to encompass a wide range of influences, including rap, R&B, trap, and more recently, folk.

I first came across him via some algorithmic magic that pushed him into my Instagram feed, and I quite dug his sound. Like the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons before him, I was really pleased this week to hear a band I first heard in general obscurity get a little bigger, as The Current out of Minneapolis played his music over their airwaves. Bet we hear more - this dude is dope.

Speaking of obscurity, if I gave you ten guesses, could you tell me what Bødo/Glimt is? If you know me, I suppose you might, but I bet most folks couldn't. But there's a pretty good chance Bødo will earn its way into the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinals next week.

So its a soccer club. From Norway. That over the past two months has defeated Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan (twice), and Sporting Club of Portugal. The most recent of those victories, 3-0 over Sporting in the first leg of their UCL Round of 16 match on Wednesday, leaves Bødo on the precipice. Win, draw, or lose by two or fewer in the return match in Lisbon next week and the Norwegians become the first team from their country to this far since Rosenborg in 1997.

The how is as interesting as the what. Most small clubs that face larger, more talented foes tend to bunker in, hope to steal one on the break or get a match to penalties. Bødo certainly understand their limitations, and they start with disciplined defense, but when they get the ball, they explode into the attack, blasting forward with as many as eight men. They scored three goals in wins over Sporting, City, and Inter (and then two in their second win). Dudes want to play. 

Here's some fan-centric video from the 8,700 or so that helped Bødo get past Sporting. It's the good shit.

Finally, a bit of personal news. Not entirely ready to call it a bright spot, but I suppose it's a light in a tunnel. My mother, and her mother before her, is very into genealogy. As a result, we can document our family's history in the United States from before the beginning. We're Mayflower folk, y'all.

Some of us were a bit squishy on that whole revolutionary fervor thing back in the day. My kin are New Englanders from way back, and some of them backed the mother country. Before and during the Revolutionary War, a handful of my crown-positive people packed their wagons and decamped to Nova Scotia, where they stayed for three generations or so.

On a parallel timeline, Canada was growing all up. Our paths crossed, legally, in December, when our neighbors to the north had a reckoning. For years, Canadian citizenship was limited to native-born folk and those one generation after. In December, though, all heck broke loose. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the previous rules were unconstitutional, and opened the door to new paths to citizenship for anyone that can prove direct Canadian lineage.

Friends, I can prove direct Canadian lineage, thanks to my Mom and hers. I don't necessarily want to avail myself of my newfound affinity for things maple leaf, but it's nice to know I have options. Been a big Gordon Lightfoot and Tragically Hip fan from way back, in case anyone's questioning my bona fides.

Here's a song about all the Gords - if Random Idiots were Canucks, they coulda written this one: