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Been hearing that fishermen think the beach renourishment in the OBX has negatively impacted the sheepshead fishing at Oregon Inlet bridge. Correlation if not causation.
First step in putting more resources into football and less focus on non-revenue sports. Franklin's sign off was probably a big part of this hire.
BEER
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1 week 6 days
# | USA's Alex Freeman, Son of Hokie Legend Antonio Freeman, Scores His First World Cup Goal 
Harrisonburg is the original Jack Brown!
Nope, not that I'm aware of. It's a fairly residential (less commercial so less busy) are so maybe they are more abundant because of that?
Must be nice, do they do a bunch of beach renourishment up there? Maybe I just suck at finding them from Charleston south
/s
I was thinking "hmm what coaching hire will be his first real test?" but the more I think about it, it's going to be fundraising and NIL. More
money, less problems seems to be the current collegiate landscape haha. Nice to have a fresh set of eyes coming in, even if he isn't a huge name. Welcome, Brian!
TBH Lefty did great at Bowling Green relative to their investment in the program.
missed the joke smh
We have infinite sand fleas at Litchfield Beach in SC. I unfortunately can't keep live ones on the hook when surf fishing long enough to use them as effective baits.
White hired Scot Loeffler. Uh oh.
For anyone looking to go immediately off topic, I have provided this helpful resource:
LGH 🦃
Yep, same goes for shark's teeth around Topsail, I've been told, and for the same reason.
loved using them as bait when I was surf fishing a lot unfortunately they're nearly impossible to find on SC beaches anymore and the only reason I can figure is because the constant "beach renourishment" aka fighting a losing battle with mother nature to "protect" porrly planned multi million dollar communities
Right off the bat, I think this is inaccurate - Mexico (1) and South Korea (2) have already played (Mexico won 1-0) so your 1v2 match isn't correct. It's actually 1v3, and 2v4.
That's correct, I missed that, will update.
in my haste, I missed group C. That one is interesting too.
Brazil and Morocco are tied at 4 points each. Scotland has 3. As you mentioned below, Haiti is eliminated. But there's still a lot to play for among the other three teams. Scotland has the most to gain, as they could top the group with a win over Brazil (very unlikely, but that's what I'll be rooting for, for sure). Morocco will need at least a draw to make sure they finish top 2, but I'm sure they will expect to win against an overmatch Haitian team. Brazil will certainly get through with just a draw but they will want to top the group so will likely try to win. A loss, similarly to Spain, would be pretty catastrophic as it could send them down to 3rd if Morocco also win. But with 4 points, they likely would still advance. Just not where they'd want to be.
Yeah as much as I'd love a 5* doesn't make sense to pay what he's reportedly getting at LSU, feel like we can get 2 solid 4* guys with that money
Group A:
Mexico 6, South Korea 3, Czech Republic 1, South Africa 1
Mexico Advances, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Right off the bat, I think this is inaccurate - Mexico (1) and South Korea (2) have already played (Mexico won 1-0) so your 1v2 match isn't correct. It's actually 1v3, and 2v4. To your point, there are still meaningful matches here. Mexico has already won the group outright so they don't have any reason to seek a result in the last match. The best Korea could hope for is to win and lock up the 2nd spot. A draw would also secure 2nd for them. South Africa and Czechia both need wins to stay afloat. The bottom of the group is where it's interesting. Unlike Group D, where Turkiye is completely eliminated no matter what, South Africa and Czechia both have a reasonably good shot at advancing with wins. South Korea has the most to lose. IF South Africa and Czechia both win (unlikely, but possible) that could knock South Korea down to 3rd and put them at risk of going home.
FYI, it took me more than the 5m35s delta time to type mine. Great minds think alike, huh?
So I decided to look into the "meaningless games" concern. Looks like I did this one day too early, as two groups play their second round of matches today, but oh well.
Group A:
Mexico 6, South Korea 3, Czech Republic 1, South Africa 1
Mexico Advances, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4 1v3, 2v4
Group B:
Canada 4, Switzerland 4, Bosnia/Herzegovina 1, Qatar 1
none Advance, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Group C:
Brazil 4, Morocco 4, Scotland 3, Haiti 0
none Advance, Haiti Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v3, 2v4
Group D:
United States 6, Australia 3, Paraguay 3, Turkey 0
United States Advances, Turkey Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v4, 2v3
Group E:
Germany 6, Ivory Coast 3, Ecuador 1, Curacao 1
Germany Advances, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v3, 2v4
Group F:
Netherlands 4, Japan 4, Sweden 3, Tunisia 0
none Advance, Tunisia Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v4, 2v3
Group G:
Egypt 4, Iran 2, Belgium 2, New Zealand 1
none Advance, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Group H:
Spain 4, Uruguay 2, Cape Verde 2, Saudi Arabia 1
none Advance, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Group I:
France 6, Norway 6, Senegal 0, Iraq 0
France and Norway Advance, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Group J:
Argentina 6, Austria 3, Algeria 3, Jordan 0
Argentina Advance, Jordan Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v4, 2v3
Group K:
Colombia 6, Portugal 4, DR Congo 1, Uzbekistan 0
Colombia Advances, none Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v2, 3v4
Group L:
England 4, Ghana 4, Croatia 3, Panama 0,
none Advance, Panama Eliminated
Remaining matches: 1v4, 2v3
Of the ten groups that Now that all twelve groups have completed two rounds of matches, six seven teams that have already advanced (Mexico, USA, Germany, France, Norway, Argentina, Colombia) and four five that have been eliminated (Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Panama). Of the six seven that have advanced, four of them (Germany, USA, Mexico, Argentina) have been placed on the Knockout Bracket, so it seems that France and Norway still have seeding implications to their matches. Therefore, of the forty eight teams in those ten groups, 32 39 of them are playing in meaningful games to them. That still seems like a pretty good percentage.
Of the remaining games in those ten groups, five four five groups have (1v2, 3v4) matchups, two three groups have (1v3, 2v4) matchups, and three four have (1v4, 2v3) matchups.
I'll revisit this tomorrow after Groups K and L have played their matches today.
Data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup
Edit: corrected Group A's remaining games and statistics at the bottom
Edit 2: Added results of Tuesday games and updated overall statistics.
Edit 3: Looking back at this, it appears that only Group D and Group J have meaningless games, or "dead rubbers", in what I would define as games where neither team can improve their standing in the group (e.g. 1v4 games where 1 has clinched the top spot and 4 has been eliminated).
yes, despite my complaints about the tie-breakers, there are still a lot of groups that have important 3rd matches upcoming. Groups B, F, G, H, and I will be exciting to follow.
Group B:
Canada and Switzerland play each other, even on points. If they play for the draw they both advance, with Canada topping the group on GD. However, if either of them win, the loser could be at risk of falling to 3rd depending on the result of the BIV-QAT match. BIV and QAT both have a point each and could secure a 2nd or 3rd place spot in the group with a win. Lots to play for in the BIV-QAT match. A little less to play for in the CAN-SUI match but neither team wants to lose that one and risk falling as far as 3rd.
Group F:
Japan v Sweden is going to be a great match. It's kind of a winner takes all match. 1 point separates them but Japan will want the win to vie for the top spot in the group. Sweden could win the match and catapult themselves to the top of the group if the Netherlands draw Tunisia. Lots to play for there. Netherlands has Tunisia, but I expect they will control that one fairly easily. They will want to win it to secure the top spot in the group, but a draw will be enough to get through to the knock-outs. If Tunisia is able to eek out a win (very unlikely IMO) the Netherlands would drop to 2nd in the group. They'd still advance, of course, but would prefer to top the group.
Group G:
Egypt face off with Iran. Iran needs a result to stay in the top 3. Egypt likely will top the group with a draw but a loss could see them slip as far as 3rd depending on the Belgium-NZ result. Belgium badly needs to win against New Zealand as they currently sit in 3rd and will want to secure a spot in the top two. It's potentially win or go home for them. A draw gets them to 3 points, which just might be enough to advance as one of the top 8 3rd place teams.
Group H:
Cabo Verde and Uruguay each have just 2 points. Cabo Verde plays Saudi Arabia and Uruguay face off with Spain. A draw isn't a good enough result for either, as there is potential that the other could win their tie and push them down into 3rd. Again, same story as group G, 3 points in 3rd place might be enough to get through, but it's not a comfortable place to be. I expect Uruguay will be pushing for a win vs Spain because Cabo Verde, having secured draws against the strongest teams in the group, could realistically get a win vs Saudi Arabia. Spain will be happy with a draw but a loss could be catastrophic for them. If Uruguay and Cabo Verde both win, they will each jump Spain on points, pushing Spain into 3rd. Though, being in 3rd with 4 points is a much safer bet for advancing than being in 3rd on 3. Still, Spain won't want to fall to 3rd and be faced with the prospect of a r32 bout with a strong group winner. Uruguay are currently in 2nd but could fall to 3rd with a loss to Spain, which could put them out of the tournament altogether as 2 points may not be enough to be in the top 8 3rd place teams. Interesting group, this.
Group I:
Obviously, France and Norway face off in a Winner-Takes-All match. If they draw, France will top the group on GD and Norway will finish in the second spot and advance as well. Should one win, the loser will still advance, as the other two teams in the group are on 0 points each and cannot catch up. Now, on the other side of the group. Senegal and Iraq each need to win to keep their hopes alive. 3 points might be enough to finish top 8 of 3rd place teams but 1 point certainly won't be good enough. A draw won't do for either side, so I expect each team will be out fighting for an outright win. Even with a win, nothing is guaranteed for either team. 3 points, I think, is proving to be a tricky place to be for 3rd place teams. Could come down to discipline metrics if enough teams finish with 3 points.
We'll learn a little more today about Groups K and L, but I suspect England and Croatia will win, setting up an important tie between Croatia and Ghana in the third match. Colombia will likely beat Congo, securing a position in the top 2. Portugal need to get a win vs Uzbekistan to set up a big time match between Colombia and Portugal to finish the group. In all likelihood, that will be like the France/Norway match where the winner will top the group but the loser will still advance in 2nd. Congo could secure a 3rd place spot with 4 points if they beat Uzbekistan on the last day.
Most of the other groups are pretty much already settled.
I think there is also one more hire to be made relative to Hokie Ventures; so we aren't looking at the AD model that that has existed for decades. Franklin is the head of football; the AD runs MBB and the non-revenues and is more finance oriented. Hokie Ventures is the affiliated partnering arm...not dissimilar to legislatively established "friends" organizations
Here we go again
So who's going to be his boss? Imagine it's a little weird accepting a job without knowing who you'll be reporting to long term.