Mike, Tommy, and Kevin break down how stupid the Junior Goodwill Games tournament set up really was and also look at the failures of Russia and Canada during the games. Later, they learn how the tournament ignited a 22-year, system-wide doping process in Russia.
Show Notes
We talked about Mendoza being the child of Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in Episode 80.
What we know about the Junior Goodwill Games standings, in one picture:
The journey in Group A:
Iceland (1-0) def. Trinidad (0-1)
Germany (1-0) def. Italy (0-1)
U.S.A. (1-0) def. Trinidad (0-2, knocked out of the tournament)
Iceland (2-0) def. Germany (1-1)
U.S.A. (2-0) def. Italy (0-2, knocked out of the tournament)
Iceland (3-0) def. U.S.A. (2-1)
U.S.A. (3-1) def. Germany (1-2, knocked out of tournament)
Group A No. 1 seed: Iceland. Group A No. 2 seed: U.S.A.
The journey in Group B:
Russia (1-0) def. Sweden (0-1)
Canada (1-0) def. Denmark (0-1)
Denmark (1-1) def. France (0-1)
Sweden (1-1) def. France (0-2, knocked out of the tournament)
Canada (2-0) def. Russia (1-1)
Sweden (2-1) def. Denmark (1-2, knocked out of the tournament)
(Ed: Note, Mike misspoke at this point. He meant, Sweden and Canada would play, not Russia and Canada. Sweden and Canada would be the matchup because Russia had already defeated Sweden.)
Canada (3-0) def. Sweden (2-2, knocked out of the tournament.)
Group B No. 1 seed: Canada, Group B No. 2 seed, Russia.
We talked about Junior Goodwill Games qualifying in Episode 41.
Our solution for the Mighty Ducks playoff format when they were back in Minnesota was that it was based on geography. We talked about that in Episode 10.
The headline for team U.S.A’s win over Canada:
Some Bro named John Zidich is USA Today’s President and Publisher. He’s on Twitter, but has tweeted just twice since joining in 2009. They came four years apart.
The article on the entire Russian team being replaced at the U-18 World Championships because of doping.
We talked about Iceland’s Junior Goodwill Games sparking their run in the most recent UEFA championships in Episode 88.
Thanks to @catania412 for the #QuackQuestion.
@QuackAttackPod can you guys do a podcast of why the jr. goodwill games only allowed 13 rostered players
— Mike Catania (@catania412) November 29, 2016
From this shot of the Trinidad bench, we count seven or eight players, depending on if that kid in orange behin the coach with dreads is a player. That’s roughly the same amount as Team USA. At least for here, there is no evidence that the Junior Goodwill Games handicapped the team.
