Happy 149th Birthday, Canada!

It's Canada Day north of the 45th parallel, and the day when I give a shoutout to all my Canadian readers as they celebrate the July 1, 1867 day that the British North America Act established their nation by uniting three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada) into their home and native land.  

The Province of Canada was subsequently divided by what's now called the Dominion Act into Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada), with the British parliament and cabinet keeping limited political control rights over the new Dominion of Canada they gradually shed until the last vestiges of them were shed in 1982.

149 years later Canada is now the second largest nation on the planet in land area, a respected and admired nation on the international stage and is comprised of ten provinces and three territories with an estimated 36 million people living there.

Canadians from the Atlantic provinces to the Pacific coast to Nunavut in the Arctic will be celebrating Canada Day with parades, fireworks and other events.  The biggest is in Ottawa, when thousands pack Parliament Hill and Centre Block for Canada Day ceremonies.

This Canada Day will see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presiding over their nation and giving the traditional prime minister's speech like his father once did as their leader.



My trans Canadian cousins are celebrating this 2016 Canada Day with a hopeful spring in their step. They are hopeful that the tabling of C-16 (the Trans Rights Bill) will upon its passage result in their human rights finally being recognized by their nation.

And yeah, my Canadian cousins are frankly some cool people to hang around with in addition to being in their own right respected leaders on the international trans rights front. We're hoping south of the border the same thing happens for you as well.    

Happy birthday, Canada.. Going to be interesting to see how your 150th birthday party is going to turn out.

President Obama's Speech To Canadian Parliament

President Obama took a quick trip north of the border to Ottawa to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for a trilateral meeting,

He then spoke to the Canadian Parliament yesterday in the wake of that North American Leader's Summit meeting.

Here's the video of the speech.

'Assigned Male' - A Trans Themed Comic Of Our Own

You TransGriot readers are aware of how much i love comics, and while surfing the Net one afternoon I stumbled across he delightful webcomic entitled Assigned Male, created by French-Canadian comic artist Sophie Labelle.

Assigned Male follows the adventures of Stephanie, a young 11 year trans girl who is making her way through early transition, school and her interesting life that includes cis and trans friends, activism, and her amazing parents.

Assigned Male is quickly becoming a favorite for kids who are in early transition and even trans adults like myself who identify with many of the situations that Steph deals with such as anti-trans bullying, insensitive comments, invalidation of who she is as a trans girl, and balancing activism with having as normal a life for a kid as she can.

And as you probably guessed, transphobic haters are coming for this comic as it gets increasing well deserved attention and popularity..

Assigned Male creator Labelle has made it clear that this comic is a transcentric FUBU production, but if cis people get joy out of it and learn something about what our trans community and trans kids deal with, that's cool, too.  .

The online Hateraid that our trans sibling Labelle is getting in some quarters of the Net for her trans positive comic that has now reached 220 issues and counting  is why I'm writing this post about Assigned Male.

It not only deserves to be celebrated in our community, we also need to recognize how important it is for trans kids to see themselves and their lives reflected in popular culture in a world that tries on an almost daily basis to viciously erase their existence.
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Assigned Male updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and you can find it at www.assignedmale.com or on Facebook to check out the latest issue of it..

Canadian Liberal Party Trans Rights Bill Introduced

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said in a recent interviews that today would be a big day for the Canadian trans community, and they weren't kidding.

Not to be outdone by the NDP, who have been pushing trans rights legislation since 2004 and already have a private members bill filed in this session of Parliament, the Liberal majority in the Canadian House of Commons led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to give the Canadian trans community a gift on the IDAHOT and table the government's 'trans rights bill.

This morning in Ottawa, the Justice Minister announced the introduction of Bill C-16, The Trans Rights Act, which is federal legislation that if passed, would ensure legal and civil rights protection across Canada for transgender Canadians.

'I'm proud to say that moments ago, I introduced legislation, C-16, that would ensure that Canadians will be free to express their gender as they wish while being protected against discrimination and hate because as Canadians, we should feel free and safe to be ourselves," said Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould.

"Diversity and inclusion have long been among the values that Canadians embrace, and Canadians expect their government to reflect those values," added the Justice Minister.

Prime Minister Trudeau said about the tabling of C-16, "Today is about ensuring that all people — regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity — feel safe and secure, and empowered to freely express themselves," .

"There remains much to be done, though," Trudeau said adding, "Far too many people still face harassment, discrimination and violence for being who they are." 

"This is unacceptable," the prime minister added

My Canadian trans siblings across their home and native land cheered today's announcement.  Longtime Alberta based trans advocate Mercedes Allen said in an e-mail message to me, "One of the most significant things about the bill, though, is that it does send a nationwide signal that trans* people need to be accommodated in everyday life." 

Ontario based advocate Michelle Boyce had this to say about today's announcement and its impact on trans Canadians.

"Although Gender Identity is already fully protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act under the ground of "Sex", implicit inclusion of Gender Identity and Expression makes a clear visible addition to the protected grounds. Inclusion under the Canadian Criminal Code allows for protection of Gender Diverse people from hate motivated crimes, "said Boyce . 

NDP MP Randall Garrison is the party's critic for LGBT issues, and has been trying to get a trans rights law passed multiple times. He has gotten two of his private member's bills through the House of Commons only to have the Harper's Conservative  government undermine it after its House passage in the Canadian Senate.

MP Garrison tabled C-204 in December in his latest attempt at a private member's bill that will once again attempt to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to add gender identity and expression to it.

It's hoped that with the Liberals running things in Canada now, that C-16 will pass by this summer, but with the Conservatives holding a majority in the Canadian senate, we'll see.

Montreal Gender Surgery Center Subjected To Arson Attack

When my post op sisters talk about what surgeons did their gender confirmation surgeries, sometimes when we are discussing that subject in Trams World they will nickname themselves based on what SRS surgeon did the operation.

For those who went to the late Dr. Stanley Biber, they call themselves 'Biber babies'.  The ones who went to Dr. Toby Meltzer say they were 'Meltzered'.  Those who went through Dr. Marci Bowers are 'Marci's Maidens'

For those who had their gender confirmation surgeries with the now retired Dr. Yvon Menard and with Dr Pierre Brassard who took over his Montreal practice, they are 'Menard Mademoiselles' or 'Brassard Beauties'.

I mention Drs. Menard and Brassard because it has come to my attention that the surgery center where Dr Menard and Dr. Brassard do their work for trans women across Canada and around the world was hit by an arsonist who entered the building on May 2 at 8:45 PM EDT and set it on fire..

While sprinklers quickly extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived and no one was hurt, the arson attack on the Centre Metropolitain de Chirurgie (CMC) resulted in $700,000 of smoke and water damage to equipment and it's indefinitely closed.

The surgeries scheduled between May 3-6 were rescheduled, and the CMC announced in a  May 4 press conference that they were working to transfer surgical operations to another clinic, that the adjoining convalescence home wasn't damaged, and security in the wake of this attack has been ramped up..

The Montreal Police arson unit is investigating the fire, but as of yet haven't announced if they have a person of interest in this anti-trans terror attack or classified it as a hate crime.

Really?  Egale Canada, begs to differ on whether this is a hate crime, and issued a statement in the wake of the May 2 attack on the CMC. .

On May 2nd, 2016, a man armed with a machete, axe, and gas can, stormed Canada’s only sex reassignment clinic in Montréal, and set it on fire.

This act of arson is a symbolic affront to Canada’s trans community, and nothing short of hate crime.

The attack underlines the threat of violence that is endured by Canadian trans people on a daily basis, and affirms the continued need for positive change in our country’s public perception of trans people.

Trans folk suffer a heightened degree of violence, hate, stigma, and discrimination based on gender identity. Due to the May 2 attack, The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie suffered $700 000 (in damage), and is currently out of commission, further depriving trans folk of their already threatened access to facilities dedicated to safely performing gender confirming procedures.

On the morning of May 4th, 2016 Egale tweeted news headlines related to these events, linking the news to a daily curated news feed. Egale could have provided deeper coverage of this event and taken swifter action to release a statement. Egale Canada Human Rights Trust is dedicated to furthering the human rights of trans folks in Canada and abroad, by providing LGBTQ-inclusivity training at Canadian schools and workplaces, by providing domestic and international government policy consultation, and through counselling, crisis intervention, and housing support of LGBTQ2SI youth.

Needless to say, Egale stands in full support of The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie, denounces the actions of its attackers, and of any who choose to attack the human rights or our trans friends and neighbours.

The CMC not only does gender confirmation surgeries, it also does within its walls other cosmetic and reconstructive surgery services.  The private clinic is also the only one in Canada that does SRS, and people from across Canada and the United States wait years for their gender confirmation surgical appointments at the CMC.

The CMC was affordable, compared to US GRS surgeons and until the attack, was flying under the radar. That anonymity died no thanks to a transphobic terrorist arsonist.

This terror attack on this clinic also points out not only the need in Canada and the United States for more trained SRS surgeons, but the need for the Canadian government to get busy with the job of protecting the human rights of my Canadian trans siblings at the federal level..

Here's hoping that the Montreal Police expeditiously solve this hate crime and bring the perpetrator of it to justice.

Prime Minister Trudeau's State Visit Is Today

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie are in Washington DC for a state visit, and it may be a toss up who is more excited about that happening.

Despite Canada being our northern neighbor and our number one trading partner, this was the first visit by a Canadian Prime Minister to the US since 1997.

They were welcomed with a pomp and circumstance filled State Welcoming Ceremony on the White house South Lawn this morning and later tonight will enjoy the first state dinner held for a Canadian leader in 20 years.

 

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Happening In Texas

While I have been busy with other events, on opposite ends of 1-45 we have had eight CONCACAF women's teams battling to get the two spots available from our FIFA region for the upcoming Rio Olympic Games women's tournament.

The tournament started on February 10 with the Group A teams, the USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica playing their games at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, TX while the Group B teams Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Guatemala started a day later at BBVA Compass Stadium here in Houston.

Team USA got their Olympic qualifying campaign off to a flying start with a 5-0 win over Costa Rica as Carli Lloyd scored the first of her two goals just one minute into the game to get the USA off to a 3-0 halftime lead in a match they never trailed in as Mexico was thumping Puerto Rico 6-0.

That set up a crucial clash on February 13 in which the USA prevailed 1-0 over Mexico thanks to the game winning goal from Carli Lloyd in the 80th minute on a penalty kick while Costa Rica recovered from their loss to the USA by spanking Puerto Rico 9-0.

The win also gave the USA the top spot in Group A with two wins and a +6 goal differential.

Yesterday Group A play concluded with the USA clinching the group and their trip to the semis here in Houston with a 10-0 win over Puerto Rico in which Crystal Dunn scored five goals.

In the battle between two 2015 World Cup squads to determine the runner up in the group, Costa Rica prevailed 2-1 in which Raquel Rodriquez scored two goals, with the game winner being on a penalty kick in the 57th minute to clinch the runner up spot in Group A and their ticket to Houston for the semifinals.

Group B play started on February 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium, with Trinidad and Tobago shocking Guatemala 2-1 and Canada behind an Ashley Lawrence hat trick spanking Guyana 5-0.

On February 14 Guyana sent Guatemala packing with a 2-1 victory as Canada clinched Group B with a 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

Later today while Canada closes out group play with homeward bound Guatemala, Guyana and Trinidad and  Tobago will play to see who will be the Group B runner up and get the unenviable task of taking on the world champion USA in a knockout round semifinals on Friday at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Canada will play this final group game knowing that they will face Costa Rica in the knockout round on Friday with an Olympic berth on the line.

The Friday semifinal game winners will get both CONCACAF berths to the Rio Olympic Games women's soccer tournament, and play each other on Sunday for the tournament title.

Denise 'Vanity' Matthews Has Died

Like most people in the 80's I was a huge Prince fan and loved Vanity 6, the girl group he started that was fronted by Canadian born model, actress and singer Denise Katrina Matthews.

I humorously had happen after I wrote a 50th birthday post to her, someone erroneously thinking that TransGriot was her blog.  I wrote two clarification posts breaking it to those peeps it was mine and not then Evangelist Denise K. Matthews' site.

I was surprised and saddened to hear as a huge fan of hers that she passed away today at age 57 in a Fremont, CA hospital after battling inflammation of her small intestines.

It was the latest in a series of health challenges including a 1994 overdose that so damaged her kidneys that she required regular dialysis.

She was born in Niagara Falls, ON on January 4, 1959, the child of a Polish-Jewish mother born in Germany and an African-American, Hawaiian and native American father and a a teen began entering local beauty pageants. She won the Miss Niagara Hospitality title in 1977 and competed in Miss Canada in 1978 before moving to Toronto and at 17 to New York to begin a modeling career.

She was also the cover model for Cameo's 1982 album Alligator Woman and posed for Playboy magazine twice in May 1985 and April 1988

She met Prince during the 1980 American Music Awards, and after discovering she could sing, he offered her the lead singer spot in Vanity 6 and christened her with her stage name Vanity.

'Nasty Girl' became the group's breakout hit, and she and Vanity 6 along with The Time toured with Prince during his 1999 tour in 1982-83

But as the breakout star of Vanity 6, while she lost the role in Purple Rain that Prince had created for her after she went solo and signed with Motown in 1984, she parlayed those looks into a stream of movie and television acting roles that included The Last Dragon, 52 Pick-up and Action Jackson.




She eventually turned away from Hollywood and became a born-again Christian evangelist after nearly dying of renal failure during that 1994 overdose. After a 1997 kidney transplant, she began touring the country and the world as a traveling evangelist and released her autobiography in 2010 entitled \Blame It on Vanity.

But once again, another oe of our music stars has joined the ancestors.   Rest in power and peace Denise Matthews.

Canada's First Trans Judge Sworn In

Kael McKenzie made Canadian history yesterday when he was sworn in as the country's first transgender judge after being appointed to that position by a independent judicial nominating committee in December.

The 44 year old McKenzie is not only the first ever trans judge in Canada and the province of Manitoba but is possibly the first out trans masculine judge on the planet.

He is also of First Nations descent.

"I'm just one example of many of my colleagues and people who are attaining certain levels of notoriety that can show people we are just people." McKenzie said in a December interview. "We are just doing what everyone else does and we can achieve whatever we want with hard work and dedication."

After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and graduating with his law degree from the University of Manitoba in 2006, he transitioned in 2011, served as a prosecuting Crown attorney for five years and in private practice before getting his history making appointment to the Manitoba provincial court bench on December 17.

McKenzie has also been active in the TBLGQ and legal communities as a member of the Canadian Bar Association  and the news about his appointment has been overwhelmingly positive.

"This is something to be celebrated," said Ken Champagne, the Manitoba Provincial Court's Chief Justice.

Yes it is.   Congratulations to Judge McKenzie, and I hope to see many more Canadian trans folks making history

Federal Canadian Trans Rights Bill Introduced For Third Time

Now that Canada has moved on from a Conservative majority government to a Liberal majority one under newly inaugurated prime minister Justin Trudeau, the NDP's LGBTQ Critic and MP Randall Garrison as promised will try again for the third time to introduce a federal trans rights bill.

The Trans Rights Bill, now numbered as Bill C-204, was introduced yesterday.  Bill C-204 is a private member's bill authored by Garrison that will once again attempt to if passed, give trans Canadians federal human rights coverage by amending the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Criminal Code to include gender identity and gender expression.

C-279, the previous Trans Rights Bill authored by Garrison passed the House of Commons in the previous session of parliament in 2013 but was shadily stalled and bogged down short of Third Reading passage by Canadian Senate Conservatives.

The Liberal majority has promised to introduce their own bill, and we'll see how fast it happens.

But one thing our trans Canadian cousins and their allies like MP Garrison all agree on is that it is past time for their home and native land to protect the human rights of their trans citizens.

And those of us south of the border hope after some disappointments, that it happens soon.

Trans Teen Makes Vancouver 50 Most Powerful People List

I keep saying that our trans younglings are going to do some amazing things if just given the opportunity and the chance to live their lives to the best of their ability. In some cases, they are role modeling for their trans elders the courage and leadership it will take to make trans human rights laws, trans acceptance and recognition of our humanity a reality.

More evidence of that is coming from north of the border in Vancouver.

Vancouver magazine recently published their 15th annual list of the 50 most powerful people in the city. On this list that includes CEO's, politicians, labor leaders, First Nations leaders. and other movers and shakers in the city, at number 20 is 12 year old trans teen Tru Wilson

“I didn’t expect to be on posters and people recognizing me and making a difference for other kids,”says Tru. “I just wanted to be me.”

But that's exactly what happened.   Because Tru and her family refused to take no for an answer from the Catholic school  powers that be and pushed for her humanity to be recognized, the successful human rights complaint forced the Vancouver Catholic school system to develop policies for trans students like herself that the Vancouver Public Schools were already working on.

Global TV was also telling their story at the time, and since that successfully mediated BC human rights complaint Tru has continued speaking out about transgender issues with a bigger goal in mind.

What's that goal?   To have a chat with new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about getting trams people's human rights ensconced into federal law in the Great White North.

Congrats Tru!  So proud of you and looking forward to seeing if you get to have that meeting with not only Premier Christy Clark in your home province of British Columbia, but the one with PM Trudeau as well.

Liberal Red Tide In 2015 Canadian Federal Election

Got to my P-town digs at Dyer's Barn from the Debutante Balls performance last night of Scott Turner Schofield to discover that the Liberals did complete that historic comeback from being nearly wiped out as a majority party by the Conservatives in 2011 to getting a majority government .

In the longest campaign in modern Canadian history at 78 days (we wish ours in the US were that short) the Liberals went from having 36 seats after the 2011 federal election to winning an astounding 184 seats and being able to form a majority government.   The red tide that swept the country was so complete they even won four seats in Alberta.

After nine years of running thangs in the Great White North, Stephen Harper will no longer be Prime Minister of Canada or the Conservative Party leader because they lost 60 seats

Hallelujah!   But he will still be one of 99 Conservative Party MP's representing the Calgary Heritage riding.  Green Party leader Elizabeth May held on to her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.

Taking over on November 4 will be Justin Trudeau as the man leading our northern neighbors and the Canadians in attendance here at Fantasia Fair I have had the opportunity to talk to about it definitely approve.




In addition to all the historic firsts in this election, Prime Minister designate Trudeau will n ot only become the second youngest Canadian Prime Minister at 43, but also become the first child of a prime minister to also be elected to office.

So as I got to flip on the cable and check out the coverage of the election and Trudeau's speech, it was a red tide that began in Atlantic Canada as the Liberals swept all 32 ridings available in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.

But one of the Atlantic Canada casualties was a Halifax riding that was represented by a friend of the Canadian trans community in NDP deputy leader and MP Megan Leslie.  That Liberal red tide also broke up the NDP's Fortress Quebec as they gained seats at the expense of the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois also claimed 10 ridings

Another NDP friend of the community also lost in Olivia Chow as her Toronto area riding was one 80 in Ontario that went to the Liberals as took seats away in the GTA from the Conservatives and NDP.

The good news for our Canadian trans friends besides the Conservatives being defeated was that NDP MP Randall Garrison, who sponsored C-279 the Trans Rights Bill that got killed by the unelected and Conservative dominated Senate, was elected in the redrawn riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.  

But the NDP on this disastrous night for them went from being the Official Opposition to third party status as they lost 51 seats to be at for them a frustrating 44 seats when the new parliament is seated in an election that they felt going in on August 2 was winnable, along with a possible NDP led minority government.

But it was a historic night for the Liberals, and a joyous for Canadians fed up with the direction that the Conservatives and PM Stephen Harper were taking their country.

 

Thinking About Two Elections

While I'm up here in Provincetown about to spend an enjoyable week here at Fantasia Fair that I am treating like a working vacation.  

I'm also thinking about two elections today

Back home early voting is starting in our mayoral election, and will continue until October 30 in advance of the big day on November 3.  I will be handling my electoral business when I return to H-town to vote YES for Prop 1 and the best candidates to lead my hometown for the next two years.

The one back home is high stakes and will remain contentious until November 3,

But just to the north of me is another high stakes election.  Canadians will be heading to the polls for their federal election today to determine who will get the lion's share of the 338 seats up for grabs in ridings across our northern neighbor and get control of the House of Commons.  Magic number to form a majority government is 170 seats

The polling over the last week seems to indicate that the Liberals and their leader Justin Trudeau are poised to make a historic comeback and either take enough seats to form a majority government or enough to form a minority one.

That was after the polls were showing a virtual tie between the NDP, Grits and Tories back in early August   That's also assuming the polling is accurate.

It is also fortuitous for me that while I am here at Fantasia Fair I will get a chance to discuss the election resullts and the current state of Canadian politics with Miqqi Gilbert.

But you can't count the Conservatives out, especially since they dominate Alberta and Saskatchewan. Nor can you count out the NDP, who are the current Official Opposition thanks to Quebec going NDP in the 2011 cycle and being the beneficiaries of the Liberal and Bloc Quebecois collapse in that cycle.
 

What is clear in 2015 is that Canadians are sick of PM Harper and his Conservative party.   Quebec is a battleground province this time, along with Ontario and the GTA.

The GTA for you Yanks not paying attention to our north of the border neighbors, is the acronym referring to the Greater Toronto Area, in which the Conservatives surprisingly picked up seats in during the 2011 election on their way to collecting enough seats for their majority government.  

The other wild card in this election cycle is this is the first Canadian federal election since 38 seats were added to Parliament.  The new seats added were in British Columbia (6), Alberta (6), Ontario (15) and Quebec (3).

As a result, 87% of the boundary lines for previously existing ridings changed.  We'll have to see what happens politically in not only the 38 new ridings, but the ridings that experienced boundary changes.

And the interesting question that will be answered later tonight is how many people in the respective Canadian major parties will join those party leaders in Parliament?    

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2015, Eh!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

No American TransGriot readers, this isn't a typo.  In case you weren't aware of it, our Canadian cousins get their Turkey Day grub on during the second Monday in October instead of the fourth Thursday in November we celebrate it on.

As Canadians settle down at dinner tables across their nation to partake in those delicious Thanksgiving meals, they will do so knowing that next Monday they will be heading to the polls for a federal election.

On October 19 our Canadian cousins will be voting to determine which party, the NDP, the Liberals, or the Conservatives will get the lion's share of the now 338 seats up for grabs in the House of Commons, with 170 seats being the magic number needed to gain majority control of the House.

Just wanted to take a moment to wish all my friends and my north of the border TransGriot readers a Happy Thanksgiving!

May your food be tasty , the company eating it with you delightful, and your travels to and from your Thanksgiving destinations be safe and drama free.

Happy Labor Day 2015

It's Labor Day in the US and Canada, which happens to be the considered in the US the unofficial end of the summer season.

But the actual purpose of Labor Day is to celebrate workers and the labor movement.   The current 40 day work week, Saturdays and Sundays off (for some folks) , the minimum wage, overtime, OSHA workplace regulations, collective bargaining, sick leave, child labor laws, retirement security,  and other worker friendly policies that helped build the middle class.

But ever since Ronald Reagan came into office, unions have been demonized and attacked by the Republicans, with negative effects to the American middle class.

A strong labor movement translates into livable wages for you  along with a safer workplace and civil rights advancement.

So as you soak up the rays on the beach, chow down at that barbecue and return from wherever you traveled to on this long weekend. ponder the fact that many of the things we American workers take for granted were union made.

Happy Labor Day people!

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Comes To Texas!

The venues for the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament being hosted in the USA were announced on August 12, and both are in the Lone Star State!

CONCACAF announced that BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX will be the venues hosting the eight team tournament February 10-21 that determines which two teams from CONCACAF will be playing in the Rio Olympics in a few months.

Toyota Stadium will host the Group A matches from February 10-15, and BBVA Compass Stadium will host the Group B matches from February 11-16, the semifinal match on February 19 and final match on February 21.

The USA as the host nation has already qualified, and the world champs will be in Group A.  Canada and Mexico have also qualified, but their groups and which end of I-45 they will be playing on will be determined when the tournament draw happens

The other five nations competing will be determined by the results in the Central American and Caribbean Zone tournaments   Two will come from the Central American Zone tournament that runs September 30-October 4  and three from the Caribbean Zone. 

The Caribbean Zone tournament started August 21 and will be completed October 4.  Puerto Rico, Guyana and Jamaica are three of the four finalists in the knockout round as of this writing with the fourth finalist to be determined from a group that is composed of Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and host Saint Lucia.

Only two CONCACAF  teams will be left at BBVA Compass Stadium when it is over and it will be interesting to see which two teams will be punching their tickets to go to Brazil.
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2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Redemption!

After navigating and defeating a series of knockout round opponents that included FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia, China, and FIFA world number one ranked Germany in the semifinals,  Team USA not only reached the goal they set for themselves when this tournament started, they got the finals matchup they wanted in Vancouver with Japan.

And far from being the tight finals matchup that everyone expected, it turned into a surprising 5-2 rout as the USA scored four goals in a 16 minute onslaught that avenged the 2011 FIFA finals loss in Germany on penalty kicks to the Nadeshiko and sent them on cruise control to the FIFA women's world championship and first since 1999.

The Houston Dash's Carli Lloyd got things off to a fast and successful start when just 3 minutes into the match she scored the first of her three goals courtesy of a Megan Rapinoe corner kick to put Team USA up 1-0.

Two minutes later Lloyd was Janie on the spot as another corner kick from Lauren Holiday found its way through a maze of players to her foot and she tapped it in the net from short range for her second goal and fifth of the tournament which put the Red White and Blue up 2-0. 

Lauren Holiday would score in the 14th minute to put Team USA up 3-0, but the offensive fireworks in BC Place weren't done yet to the delight of the pro-American crowd. 

And if it wasn't enough for Carli Lloyd to score the two fastest goals in FIFA Women's World Cup finals history, she scored another one that will probably be talked about for decades that put the USA up 4-0

In what will rank up there as the goal of the tournament, in the 16th minute Lloyd capped off her finals hat trick by lobbing a ball from the midfield stripe 54 yards away from the Japanese goal that caught keeper Ayumi Kaihori way off her line.  Kaihori stumbled and fell on her back as she tried to get back in position to stop the ball that sailed past her desperately outstretched hands into the net.



Speaking of goalkeeping, Hope Solo was working on a record of her own.  When the match started she hadn't allowed a goal in 513 minutes, and for another 27 minutes Solo was handling her goalkeeping business until Yuki Ogimi fired a shot past her to cut the USA lead to 4-1.

She fell one agonizing minute short of breaking the Germans World Cup shutout streak record they set during their 2007 title run in which they didn't give up a single goal in the entire tournament.

In the second half Aya Miyama's free kick in the 52nd minute took a glancing blow off of Julie Johnston's head and unfortunately past Hope Solo for an own goal that cut the deficit to 4-2.

But just two minutes later Tobin Heath scored to push the lead back up to 5-2 to the delight of the 53,331 predominately American peeps in the stands as they began to party like it was 1999 and celebrate the Team USA women's third FIFA world championship and first in 16 years.

Hope Solo was deservedly awarded the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper. and Carli Lloyd the Golden Ball as best player.   She just missed out on the Golden Boot because although she and Germany's Celia Sasic had six goals, Sasic scored her six with less playing time than Lloyd.

It was also a long awaited celebratory moment for Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and Shannon Box, who have probably played in their final World Cups for the Red White and Blue (we have got to get a cooler nickname for our women and men's national teams) and probably won`t be on the Olympic squad in Rio as the seek their fourth straight gold medal.

But that's next year.  Congratulations to the now three time FIFA women's world champions.  Time to sew that third star on the US team jerseys.

And Carli, hope you have some more scoring magic left for the remainder of the Houston Dash season.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- On To The Knockout Round

Group play at the 2015 Women's World Cup has been concluded, and we now know which 16 teams are still alive in the chase for the FIFA women's world championship trophy and which ones are packing to go home.

For the rest of the tournament. you play until somebody wins or loses.  If the score is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. you get 30 more minutes plus stoppage time to break the deadlock.  If it's still tied after that, a penalty kick shootout to determine who moves on.

The FIFA number four ranked USA is one of those sixteen teams.   They survived the 'Group Of Death' and advanced as the Group D winner.   By winning the group, they now reap the rewards of a less difficult road to the July 5 final in Vancouver.

But one of the burning questions in the inquiring minds of Team USA fans is are the struggles they've had generating offense lately over now that Alex Morgan is back in the lineup and getting her match fitness level back?

As long as they play defense the way they have been over the last three matches, all they need is to generate just enough offense to carry the day.   Hope Solo has been brilliant as usual in net, and is working on 243 minutes and counting in not allowing an opposing team's shot to pass her and enter the goal.

But first they will have to go through the Group F third place team in Colombia, who are making noise in this Women's World Cup tournament.   They were ranked 28th in the FIFA world rankings before it started, but after shocking FIFA number 3 ranked France 2-0 in Group F play, they have rocketed up to number 10 in the FIFA rankings.

So Team USA is acutely aware of the fact they can't fall asleep against this team.  Abby Wambach is probably more motivated than anyone else on Team USA to deliver some personal payback after she got sucker punched by Lady Andrade during the waning moments of a 3-0 USA win a 2012 Olympic tournament group match play.

Should they get past Colombia, the winner of the China-Cameroon match awaits in Ottawa on June 26.  Should they be successful in that match, they will play a semifinal match at Montreal's Olympic Stadium on June 30 with one of the teams in the other half of their bracket that include FIFA number one Germany, FIFA number 3 ranked France, a possible rematch with FIFA number 8 Sweden, and South Korea.

The knockout round starts June 20, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Escaping The 'Group Of Death'

Last night Team USA played their final group match in Vancouver against Nigeria with much on the  line. 

A Team USA win over the Super Falcons would clinch Group D, send them into the knockout round with a favorable draw that would allow them to avoid a clash with FIFA number one ranked Germany until at least the semis, and they wouldn't play until June 22 in Edmonton against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

While they were an unbeaten (4-0) against Nigeria coming into that match, there's always that chance the breakthrough win for the Super Falcons could come at any time, and with the team having come off a draw with Sweden and being dropped to number 4 in the FIFA world rankings, Team USA fans had a lot to be worried about.

But with Alex Morgan finally starting and being paired with her running buddy Abby Wambach, the team we were looking for offensively finally showed up.

They kept the pressure on Nigeria from the outset, and in the 8th minute finally broke through with a goal from Julie Johnston that was waved off due to a controversial offside call

But they kept attacking, and it was Abby Wambach to the rescue in stoppage time just before the half as she headed a corner kick from Megan Rapinoe into the back of the net for the only goal the USA would need.



It was Wambach's first of the tournament and 14th career World Cup goal, putting her at second all time behind Brazil's Marta. And to those of us in the US LGBT community, I loved the fact it was two of our LGBT family members teaming up to score against a Nigerian squad that bans gay players and sending them packing as a result.

Thanks to another clean sheet for Hope Solo, who has now gone 243 minutes without allowing a goal, the Red White and Blue have escaped the Group of Death and await their initial knockout round match against the third place team from either Group B, E or F

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Next Up Nigeria

The final group play match for now FIFA ranked number four Team USA is taking place in Vancouver against Nigeria with much at stake for the Red, White and Blue. (We have to come up with a cooler nickname for our team).

They also slipped two spots in the FIFA world rankings.

Thanks to Meghan Klingenberg's header that preserved the 0-0 draw against Sweden, a win by Team USA in tonight's match at BC Place Stadium will allow them to clinch the 'Group of Death', punch their ticket to the knockout round, have an easier bracket, and face off in Edmonton June 22 against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

If the Nigerians do something they have never done in Women's World Cup  competition and either upset Team USA or draw with them, it could depending on the result of the Australia-Sweden match either have them facing the Germans in Ottawa on June 20 , finishing second with a less favorable knockout round draw or knock them completely out of the tournament well short of their goal of winning the World Cup.

The Super Falcons aren't going to roll over and let Team USA waltz into the knockout round, especially since they have a chance with a win for the ages to advance to the knockout round themselves. 

So Team USA better not fall asleep on the job tomorrow night because they have much riding on the outcome of this match.  While Team USA's defense has been improving, their offense is a concern for Team USA fans.   

Here's hoping that whatever is ailing Team USA on the offensive end will get rectified starting at 7 PM CDT and continue through the rest of the tournament.