[ HWCI MLS is Back Pool ]

Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Issue 1.1.1 "The Quarantine Pool"

MLS IS BACK! FIRST POOL IN QUARANTINE ERA
Our 11th HWCI soccer pool will be free to all!

SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt) -- With the 2020 HWCI NCAA and 2020 HWCI EURO pools cancelled this year due to the pandemic (COVID-19), Major League Soccer has come back with an interesting concept. A World Cup style tournament with group stage and knockout stage. There are some key differences such as this pool is FREE (up to 2 entries per person) as who knows what will happen (DAL has already withdrawn due to 10 player COVID-19 positive tests) and handling money/refunds is not desirable. Thus, FREE! I'll see what kind of MLS/soccer swag I may have and will mail stuff out to the top 3 if shipping prices are reasonable. Also, no Web Entry is not available yet... so print or take a photo or edit and email back to me at [email protected]. Hopefully this will bring some a distraction from the craziness of life.

All teams are quarantined at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort (pretty nice, stayed there a couple times) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and all matches will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee. Nashville moved to the Eastern Conference for the rest of the year which means 14 teams in the East and 12 in the West. Groups A, C, and E have teams from the East and Groups B, D, and F have teams from the West.

Note Group A has 6 teams (vs 4) so the top THREE make the Round of 16 while the the top TWO make the Round of 16 from Groups B/C/D/E/F. Then the next best THREE teams make the Round of 16 (4th place Group A or 3rd place Groups B/C/D/E/F). If you make a mistake, don't worry about it, we'll work together to correct it. Deadline is 5 PM PDT WEDNESDAY!!! Word form to edit (send back page 3) PDF form to print (send back page 3).

Here is a quick look at the pool:

WHAT: 1st HWCI MLS is Back Tournament Soccer Pool (11^th overall soccer pool, 36^th overall pool)

FEE: FREE per entry (max 2 entries per person)

DEADLINE: 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 8, 2020

WHO: Anyone with interest! Invite friends! No more than TWO entries per person.

INFO: HWCI World Cup Pool: 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018

HWCI EURO Pool: 2012 | 2016

HWCI Women’s World Cup Pool: 2015 | 2019

PRIZES: Something I can mail, got lots of old/vintage soccer stuff – maybe top 3. Winners will be determined by points, not correct number of games (see Points section).

POINTS: 39 Round Robin matches= 1 point each (you can now pick ties!)

16 Round of 16 teams= 3 points each

8 Quarterfinal picks= 4 points each

4 Semifinal picks= 6 points each

2 Final picks= 8 points each

1 Champ pick= 12 points

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Total possible points= 171

Bits 'n Bobs - With DAL dropping out, there are only 36 round robin matches making the total 168 points (vs 171)... MLS will be the second major team sport to come back after the NWSL returned June 27 with a similar Challenge Cup tournament in Utah... the NWSL also lost a team, Orlando Pride due to too many COVID-19 positive tests... the reigning MLS MVP, LAFC's Carlos Vela will skip the tournament with a newborn on the way... some MLS teams have only played two matches since October... all group stage matches will count toward the MLS regular season standings... matches will be televised on ESPN, FOX/FS1, TSN, TUDN (Spanish), and TVA Sports (French)... the kickoff match is between two Florida teams (last time in 2001) when Orlando City (0-1-1) face off against Inter Miami CF (0-2-0) at 5 pm PDT Wednesday on ESPN... initially just the top 2 teams from Group A would qualify even though it had six teams (including both expansion teams) but they changed it so that the top 3 are guaranteed a spot it the Round of 16 (with 4th place team in the running)... the winner of the tournament will earn a spot in the Concacaf Champions League in 2021...

LA... LA, LA, LA... LA... LA... but which one?
Scott