Hallo Syndicate Members,
Know that you belong to a very exclusive club. Your friendly
bookie has zero interest in the “Super Marketing Majors” invading his
Storefront with their half-baked plans for “Social-Media-Based Advertising”
targeting “Young and Affluent Facebook Users”. Your friendly neighborhood
syndicate advertises not. We’re a tight-knit family with a “Fight-Club
Mentality”. We place underground bets, phone up, and exchange “Schwag Packs”.
The Shadows are our home…and we’ll run the Shadows together.
Let’s rank 24 countries in descending order.
Only two countries have been officially eliminated. Fare
thee well Ukrainians and Romanians.
24) The Ukraine (Previously #19 )
Hate to pile on, but it’s almost as if this country doesn’t
want to exist anymore. Don’t mean to pretend to know how hard it is for a
former Soviet SSR…but this team really sucks.
23) Romania (Previously #14)
If you can’t beat Albania, you don’t belong in this
tournament. The Transylvanians continue to falter on the Grand Stage. Who do
they think they are? The English?
22) Russia (Previously #23)
Way to continue to suck…and light flares in spite of the
fact that you suck. Hopefully you won’t suck so badly in 2018.
21) Albania (Previously #20)
Nice win. Still curtains for the ethnics. Alert Shaqiri that
he’s just being a douche at this point.
20) Turkey (Previously #20)
No more faith in Terim. What a pitiful performance. Still
not counting them out.
19) Sweden (Previously #11)
Ibrahimovic screwed the pooch. Saw nothing of quality in
that last performance. It might be the case that he’s already looking forward
to next season under Mourinho’s wing at Old Trafford.
18) Republic of Ireland (Previously #17)
Shane Long was “M.I.A”. Wes Hoolahan as a “Short Striker”
doesn’t work either. Bring back Giovanni Trappatoni…if there’s still time!!
17) Austria (Previously #21)
Jumping up four spaces means very little. Decent draw, but it’s still over.
16) Slovakia (Previously #13 )
Plenty of promise when Hamsik is involved, but they’ll draw
England or outright lose to them.
15) Portugal (Previously #7)
These aren’t the Navigators you’re used to. They need to
keep it together and rally against a red-hot Hungarian Squad. Cristiano Ronaldo
is more than welcome to let his feet, as opposed to his mouth, do the talking.
14) Czech Republic (Previously #16)
Liked what I saw from the “Alte Hasen”. They’re still not
getting out of this group.
13) Croatia (Previously #17)
Riki-Rak came through with some quality play. They’ll surely
attain the Achtelfinale.
12) Switzerland (Previously #21)
Petkovic will either prove that he knows how to select a
lineup…or he won’t.
11) Slovakia (Previously #13)
Plenty of promise when Hamsik is involved, but they won’t
beat England.
10) Northern Ireland (Previously #18)
You won’t win. Take solace in your ranking.
9) Iceland (Previously # 10)
Resilient…to a fault. Don’t trust them.
8) Hungary
Unbelievable what they’ve been able to put together. Cinderella
isn’t forfeiting her slipper anytime soon.
7) Wales (Previously #2)
They’ll make the Knockouts. Little choice other than to drop
them here.
6) Deutschland (Previously #1)
In a tournament featuring 24 teams and a “Round of 16”, I
refuse to hit the Panic Button. It remained an uninspiring draw.
5) England (Previously #8)
Jaime Vardy continues to have his much-discussed party. The
path for Uncle Roy is now clearer than a Vodka Double. Go forth, Lions.
4) Italy (Previously #3)
Scary good. Not looking forward to meeting them in the semi-finals.
3) Belgium (Previously #22)
The beast awakens. Be wary of the lion who finally becomes
aware of their own strength. There’s no force more powerful in our finite
universe.
2) France (Previously #9)
I’ll hand it to you, Frogs. As anticlimactic as your match
was, you still deserve it.
1) Poland (Previously #6 )
Lewandowski hasn’t yet begun to showcase his brilliance.
Plenty more on the way.
Group A is finished. Let’s run it down:
Initial
Group Projection (5/30/2016)
1)
France 2)
Switzerland 3)
Romania 4)
Albania
Final
Group Standings (6/20/2016)
1)
France 2)
Switzerland 3)
Albania 4)
Romania
Now we’ll rock some lines.
Monday, June 21st
Russia vs. Wales
vs. Thank you for not ruining my dreams, Syndicate Members ; )
THE
LINE: Wales +1 Goal (holding)
Slovakia vs. England
vs. A little action on the Three Lions, but the line still holds.
THE
LINE: Pick ‘em
Initial
Group Projection (6/1/2016)
1)
England 2)
Wales 3)
Slovakia 4)
Russia
Final
Group Projection (6/20/2016)
(2
to 1 odds for Bookie)
1)
England 2)
Wales 3)
Slovakia 4)
Russia
Tuesday, June 22nd
The Ukraine vs. Poland
vs. Lewandowski grabs at least a brace against weak opposition.
THE
LINE: Poland +2 Goals
Deutschland vs. Northern Ireland
vs. This won’t be pretty. Bet against me if you dare.
THE
LINE: Die Nationalmannschaft +3 Goals
Initial
Group Projection (6/4/2016)
1)
Deutschland 2)
Poland 3)
The Ukraine 4)
Northern Ireland
Final
Group Projection (6/20/2016)
(3
to 1 odds for Bookie)
1)
Deutschland 2)
Poland 3)
Northern Ireland 4)
The Ukraine
GENTLEMEN, ENTER YOUR WAGERS
