Shoots Left and Writes

  Simon B The first weekend of Euro 2020 has been some of the most entertaining football I've ever watched in my life.  Three years ago, I said the same thing about the beginning of the World Cup. It seems as though the beginning of international tournaments have so many mistakes early on in the games and there's always drama and surprises. The quality of play has been really fun to watch. It's been fast, precise and they're been a fair amount of goals, which is something that this sport lacks at times. Biggest Surprise I wrote in my tournament previews that some of these groups don't really have headline games. You wouldn't think that Finland and Denmark or Austria and North Macedonia would be exciting games based on the fact that even the most invested football fans wouldn't be able to name more than three or four players per team. I've learned that in sports (especially football), you should always give smaller teams a chance and watch their games. I ...

  Round 1, Game 7: Habs vs. Leafs Simon B You know what. Who cares? Right.  I'm not going to break down any of that game because the Leafs gave a pathetic effort throughout. If it was just this single loss I'd be frustrated and upset. But this is just another link in the lifelong chain of game 7 defeats. So I'm basically numb to it. In my last post, I mentioned all the playoff losses I've seen over my time as a Leaf fan and it's funny because every time I had a different reaction. In 2013, it was pure shock. It was such a big blow that no one knew what to say or think. In 2017, I was fine with the loss, they shouldn't have even made the playoffs and they took the president trophy-winning Washington Capitals to 6 games. It was house money. In 2018, it was a disappointment. They weren't the best team in that series against the Bruins but they had a legitimate chance at winning but they couldn't. In 2019, I was mad. They were the better team and they had a ...