I worked on Murray Street for five years and never heard about this fire. It took out the entire block except for the buildings facing Sussex Drive. The Time Square Building occupies the Parent Street end now.
Murray Street Fire, January 2, 1957
Author: lojmit
47th Empress’s Cup Final
Regina (purple) and Leonessa (white and black) in action in last year’s Empress’s Cup quarter-finals. Source.
It’s the 47th Empress’s Cup final, played at the Japan National Stadium. The women’s cup final takes over the New Year’s Day time slot that was the property of the men’s cup from 1969 till 2021. Leonessa have been to the final ten times and won seven times. This is Regina’s first appearance. Coincidentally this is the 47th match of the tournament.
Match No. 47: INAC Kobe Leonessa 1 – 2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina
Japanese football is making the switch from a summer schedule to a winter one, the better to fit into the international tournaments and give Japanese players easier access to foreign jobs. This change has been in the works for a few years. When the women’s WE League started in 2021 they knew the change was coming and went straight to the winter format. J1, J2, J3 and the JFL will make the change in June.
How did the 2025 season play out? Kashima Antlers won the J1 title. They and 2nd-place Kashiwa Reysol advance to the next AFC Champions League Elite. 6th-place Machida Zelvia won the Emperor’s Cup and advance to AFC Champions League Two. Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the Super Cup and the J League Cup. Yokohama FC, Shonan Bellmare and Albirex Niigata are relegated to J2.
Mito HollyHock, V-Varen Nagasaki and JEF United Chiba are promoted to J1. Roasso Kumamoto, Renofa Yamaguchi and Ehime FC are relegated to J3.
Tochigi City, Vanraure Hachinohe and Tegevagaro Miyazaki are promoted to J2. Azul Claro Numazu are relegated to the JFL.
Reilac Shiga are promoted to J3. Asuka FC are relegated from the JFL to the Kansai League. Atletico Suzuka are relegated from the JFL to the Tokai League. J-Lease and Vonds Ichihara are promoted to the JFL.
The WE League is ongoing, with INAC Kobe Leonessa currently leading. Loveledge Nagoya won Nadeshiko 1. Speranza Osaka are relegated to Nadeshiko 2. Vonds Ichihara Ladies are promoted to Nadeshiko 1. FC Imabari Ladies are relegated from Nadeshiko 2. Renofa Yamaguchi Ladies are promoted to Nadeshiko 2.
Steady, Arabella!
Two Women on Snowshoes (1866) by Frances George Coleridge. Source.
Fayum Mummy Portraits
The Cresta Run
A Thousand Cranes, by Kayama Matazō
Derek Cornelius
Canadian centre-back Derek Cornelius is on loan to Rangers from Marseilles. Source.
Morton host Ayr United. The Honest Men are fourth in the division with 27 points. Morton are seventh with 21, 6 points out of fourth place and 4 points out of ninth.
So far this season Ayr have a win and a draw against Morton.
Dougie Imrie appears as January in Morton’s 2026 wall calendar despite having joined Raith Rovers in November. Picture.
[Morton 1 – 1 Ayr United. Morton goal by Lyall.]
The other Championship matches:
Arbroath (3rd) [1 – 1] Airdrieonians (9th)
Queen’s Park (8th) [2 – 2] Partick Thistle (2nd)
Raith Rovers (5th) [1 – 2] Dunfermline Athletic (6th)
Ross County (10th) [0 – 0] St Johnstone (1st)
Other matches:
Brora Rangers [3 – 0] Wick Academy
Clydebank [5 – 0] Gretna 2008
Coldstream [4 – 1] Linton Hotspur
Goalie Marco Carducci, who made 193 starts for Cavalry FC and is the league’s Golden Glove winner for 2019 and 2022, has joined HFX Wanderers on a two-year contract.
Scottish Challenge Cup, R2 (December 22):
Montrose (L1) 2 – 1 The Spartans (L2)
Book: Charles W. Alcock, Football: Our Winter Game.
Historical matches:
1890/12/27 Morton 1 – 1 Glasgow Wanderers
1930/12/25 Morton 4 – 2 St Mirren
1930/12/27 Airdrieonians 2 – 0 Morton
1952/12/27 Arbroath 1 – 0 Morton
1980/12/27 Morton 2 – 0 Partick Thistle
SFL results 1890-91:
1890/12/27 Abercorn 1 – 2 Dumbarton
When was the last time each SPFL club beat Celtic?
[2025/12/30 Motherwell 2 – 0 Celtic]
2025/12/17 Dundee United 2 – 1 Celtic
2025/12/14 St Mirren 3 – 1 Celtic
2025/12/7 Celtic 1 – 2 Hearts
2025/10/19 Dundee 2 – 0 Celtic
2025/5/24 Aberdeen 1 – 1 Celtic (Aberdeen won on PK)
2025/4/6 St Johnstone 1 – 0 Celtic
2025/3/16 Celtic 2 – 3 Rangers
2025/2/22 Hibs 2 – 1 Celtic
2023/12/10 Kilmarnock 2 – 1 Celtic
2021/9/19 Livingston 1 – 0 Celtic
2021/2/21 Ross County 1 – 0 Celtic2015/12/19 Celtic 1 – 2 Motherwell
2015/4/19 Inverness CT 3 – 2 Celtic
2014/10/5 Celtic 0 – 1 Hamilton Academical
2013/9/24 Celtic 0 – 1 Morton
2007/3/18 Falkirk 1 – 0 Celtic
2006/1/8 Clyde 2 – 1 Celtic
2005/11/26 Celtic 0 – 1 Dunfermline Athletic
1995/5/2 Celtic 1 – 3 Partick Thistle
1994/11/27 Raith Rovers 2 – 2 Celtic (Raith Rovers won on PK)
1985/5/14 Celtic 2 – 3 Queen’s Park
1980/8/27 Stirling Albion 1 – 0 Celtic
1980/7/27 Celtic 0 – 1 Ayr United
1964/9/9 East Fife 2 – 0 Celtic
1962/11/10 Celtic 0 – 1 Queen of the South
1943/9/4 Celtic 1 – 4 Dumbarton
1937/10/9 Arbroath 2 – 0 Celtic
The rest never.
2025 Spengler Cup
Sparta Prague. Source.
It’s the Spengler Cup, the annual invitational tournament hosted by HC Davos in Switzerland and played from Boxing Day till New Year’s Eve. Six teams take part; this year they are host Davos, Team Canada, US College Selects, Sparta Prague, HIFK and Fribourg-Gottéron. The teams are divided into two groups, each group plays a round robin and the standings from the round robin determine the playoff positions. The games are:
Group Torriani:
Match 1 (December 26) Fribourg-Gottéron [5 – 2] Sparta Prague
Match 3 (December 27) HIFK [1 – 4] [Sparta Prague]
Match 5 (December 28) [Fribourg-Gottéron] [4 – 3] HIFK
Group Cattini:
Match 2 (December 26) Team Canada [3 – 2] US Selects
Match 4 (December 27) Davos [3 – 5] [US Selects]
Match 6 (December 28) [Team Canada] [1 – 4] Davos
Quarter-finals:
Match 7 (December 29) [Sparta Prague] [5 – 1] [Team Canada]
Match 8 (December 29) [Davos] [3 – 0] [HIFK]
Semi-finals:
Match 9 (December 30) [US Selects] [5 – 3] [Sparta Prague]
Match 10 (December 30) [Fribourg-Gottéron] [1 – 3] [Davos]
Final:
Match 11 (December 31) winner [US Selects] [3 – 6] [Davos]
The Spengler Cup was first played in 1923, which would make this the 103rd edition, except that there were six years when it wasn’t played due to war or some other thing, making this the 97th edition.
Despite being host club, HC Davos have not played in every Spengler Cup, but they have won the tournament 16 times. They are currently in first place in the Swiss National League by a wide margin.
Team Canada first attended the tournament in 1984 and have won it 16 times. The squad is made up chiefly of Canadians playing in the Swiss league or the AHL.
The US College Selects appear for the first time. But it’s not the first time university players have participated. Oxford University won the inaugural Spengler Cup in 1923.
Sparta Prague have been to the Spengler Cup ten times before and have won it twice. They are currently second in the Czech Extraliga.
Fribourg-Gottéron play in the Swiss National League. They won the Spengler Cup last year. They are presently second in the NL.
HIFK from Helsinki have been to the Spengler Cup four times before. Currently they’re 13th in the Finnish Liiga.
La Neige à Louveciennes
Pilcher’s Flowers
atonofsnow.com 