Scoring : Week 3

Here are the predictions along with the actual scores from last week:

Chelsea 1 Manchester City 0 (6-0)
Manchester United 2 Middlesbrough 0 (4-1)
Osasuna 2 Valladolid 1 (2-2)
Real Madrid 2 Deportivo 0 (3-1)
St. Etienne 2 Auxerre 0 (0-0)
Empoli 1 Atalanta 1 (0-1)

Not a great start but I will carry on.

Total spent : £9.45
Profit/Loss : - £9.45

Week 3 predictions:

Athletico Madrid 3 Sevilla 1

Real Betis 2 Osasuna 0

Aston Villa 2 Derby 0

Newcastle United 2 Portsmouth 1

Sampdoria 1 AC Milan 2

Roma 3 Lazio 0

NB - I did all the research and then realised that the European leagues are playing their games tonight so I have brought this week's post forward to midweek games.

Half-Term Break

I was playing poker last night and felt bored for the ninety minutes I participated in it.

I think I have played too much recently so I have decided to take a few days off. Hopefully it will do me some good and when I return I play better than usual.

My current form hasn't been that great. I hate losing and seem to be doing a lot of it of late.

Josh is here this week, anyway. Playing his PS2 will be a good way of keeping my brain cells and competitive spirit active in the meantime.

I'll be back.

The Weekend That Was

Just a few things of note from the weekend.

* That NFL game was rubbish. The build-up was great but the weather made it a game full of fumbles. The pitch was a state as well. I doubt we will see the NFL here for a long time.

* Why do I always fall asleep during the WWE pay-per-views? I started dropping off half-way through the event last night so I went to bed. I woke up early and finished off where I left it.

* The Undertaker and Batista are my pick for feud of the year. When it was announced that these two would be feuding a lot of people expected some terrible bouts. They were the match of the card at this year's Wrestlemania and did just as good last night.

* I knew Shawn Michaels would be picked. There were a few 'upsets' in the voting, though. It just goes to show you can't fix everything.

Cybering On A Sunday

The WWE are hosting their 'fan friendly' pay-per-view tonight. 'Fan friendly' is the most ridiculous term to use to the event like this.

Cyber Sunday allows the viewers to make the matches. Yeah right. Anyone can see that the latest episodes of television has been used in a way to sway the fans to vote for a particular event.

Take for instance the bout between Triple H and Umaga. In the weeks leading to this event we have seen the pair fighting all over the arena with people breaking them up. The voting for this match-up asks the viewers whether they would like the match to be held in a steel cage, a street fight or a first blood match.

The booking of these out of control angles makes one assume the majority of votes will be to keep them inside a cage.

The wrestler chosen to face WWE Champion, Randy Orton, will likely be Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid has been seen beating Orton with his superkick for the last three episodes of Raw. The two other options, Ken Kennedy and Jeff Hardy, haven't looked as strong in the angles building up to tonight's event.

The other matches on tonight's card are:

World champion, Batista .vs. The Undertaker with the fans choosing the referee out of JBL, Mick Foley or Steve Austin. I say Austin.

ECW champion, CM Punk against John Morrison, The Miz or Big Daddy V. I predict Big Daddy V.. but it could be Morrison...

Matt Hardy .vs. MVP with the fans deciding what kind of match they have. I heard that Hardy hurt himself really bad on Tuesday night and has a load of stitches in his head. With Congress looking down on WWE at this time I wouldn't be surprised if this match is pulled from the show. If it does take place then I predict the winning choice will be that the match will be an MMA match.

Rey Mysterio against Finlay where the fans choose the stipulation. The choices are - a stretcher match, a shillelagh on a pole match or a no disqualification match. If I were to vote I would go for the shillelagh but that would mean Finlay has the advantage. I will go with that but am open to the other two choices being picked.

The WWE Divas in a Halloween costume contest. I don't really know what the voting is on this as the WWE website doesn't have information on there. You usually get to vote on the costume but there is no link to vote. If the WWE doesn't care about this stipulation then why should we?

NFL In The UK

Tomorrow sees the Miami Dolphins taking on the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium.

It is the first time that a regular season game has taken place outside of the Americas and I think this could be the start of a common thing for the NFL.

It is a sign that the league are looking at other avenues to become even more global than they already are. We could - in future seasons -see games played in Japan, Germany or anywhere else that has passionate American Football fans.

There has even been talk in recent weeks from analysers of the sport that these games could lead to a franchise being created within another country and play in a regular season.

What a great idea, huh? Maybe they could call the team the London Monarchs or something.

Oh yeah - the NFL did have a team called the London Monarchs playing in the NFL Europe league. They played for a number of seasons before the NFL gave up on the idea and kept their operations running in Germany but eliminated the UK-based teams.

And now they decide to come back to dip their toe in the water again. This time they want to see whether the UK will welcome a regular NFL season game.

Of course they will.

But, some won't forget what happened to the London Monarchs and the Scottish Claymores.

Going Dutch (Almost)

I took part in a super satellite for the main event of the Amsterdam Master Classics last night. I played well and came close.

Very close.

There were a little over one hundred and forty players in the freeroll that was run on the Paradise Poker program in conjunction with Inside Poker magazine.

I took an early lead and reached as high as second place in the first hour.

I made more strides in the second hour and held on at first place for the majority of the hour.

As the game progressed I began losing chips due to the blinds and antes getting dear. I was saved near the end when I was dealt a pair of aces and it moved me back into the middle of the player list.

With the third break looming I made a move and lost. I finished off in seventh place and won twenty-five Euros.

Six places short of a place in the event in Amsterdam!

I can't fault the tournament, though. I played with what I was given. I was dealt pairs of aces, kings and even queens. I went all-in with the queens and had the 'those damn queens' story all ready to be published but they won for me.

Did I ever tell you how much I love playing pocket queens?

Scoring : Week 2

Here are the picks I did last week. The actual scores are in parenthesis.

Fulham 2 Derby 0 (0-0)

Man City 2 Birmingham 1 (1-0)

Juventus 3 Genoa 0 (1-0)

Nancy 3 Sochaux 1 (1-1)

Roma 2 Napoli 2 (4-4)

Lyon 2 Monaco 1 (3-1)

Optimists will say that I was close on a few. Pessimists will claim that I was way off target. I intend to continue. There are bound to be more misses than hits with this system. I just hope that the hits all occur at the same time.

Here is the money bit along with picks for this weekend.

Total Staked: £6.30

Profit / Loss: -£6.30

This week's picks:-

Chelsea 1 Manchester City 0

Manchester United 2 Middlesbrough 0

Osasuna 2 Valladolid 1

Real Madrid 2 Deportivo 0

St. Etienne 2 Auxerre 0

Empoli 1 Atalanta 1

Indy IV

I can't wait until the new Indiana Jones movie is released.

I enjoyed watching the Indiana Jones trilogy when I was younger. I wasn't too keen on Raiders of the Lost Ark but I loved the Temple of Doom and Last Crusade.

I even went to the cinema to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at its premiere on a Sunday before it was released on the Friday.

It's crazy to think it has been eighteen years since Harrison Ford last played him. I hope the hype will be worth it.

The Best Medicine

I have been watching the DVD of Fonejacker and have been in hysterics ever since I loaded up the disc.

The DVD is of series one of the television show that was aired on Channel Four over the Spring and Summer.

It has a series of prank phone calls to unsuspecting members of the public. Most of the same characters appear in each episode but they have different angles for each call.

My favourite caller is an Indian gentleman who rings up hardware shops looking for 'Doovde' players that are ready for 'the hoode' (HD).

There is also a caller named George Agdgdgwngo who is an African fraudster hell-bent on acquiring people's bank account details. His excuses for needing this information are out of this world, the reaction of the callers make it all the more funny.

0-11

I am now on an eleven run of losses at Madden '08 on the Nintendo Wii.

I very rarely play the Wii and, whenever I do, it seems to be a while before I can get someone else online to play with me.

On Saturday I managed to secure a game with someone but I aborted the game after he scored a touchdown in the early part of the game and started doing show-boating before he went into the touchdown area.

I could just imagine a young teenager in his room loving himself and I immediately turned off the Wii in order to get the last laugh.

Yes, I threw my Wii out of the pram and I will not think twice about doing it again if a little shit believes it's fun to kick my ass and show off about it!

It reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Bart is beating Homer at the boxing game and he goes out to try and get coaching. I need a trainer because my record stands ata terrible 0-11.

D'oh.

Falling Off The Ladder

I spent the week playing a level of Ladbrokes Ladders each day.

I started at Level One and then qualified to the next one and so on.

The payouts occur during the fourth tournament which - if you want to buy in rather than earn you way in - costs $100.

I lost at the final hurdle. I finished off in sixth place so it's back to square one for these shoot-out games.

Mojo Poker

I thought I would try something different and play and do this blog at the same time so you get a live feel to my play.

1 - folded 8, 10 of hearts.
2- folded 5c 6s.

There are 91 players and the prize-pool is paid out to the top ten.

3- i just folded j and six unsuited.

I am not sure how this will look when it's over. I might be here for a while.

4- I am big blind with K, 2. I folded after a raise from the guy on the button.
5- 3,7 on SB. going to fold this.

I have now got 1,470 chips left after my first round of paying the blinds.

6-fold 3,J off-suit.
7-fold 10, 2

There are 88 players left. I am 33rd.

8- folded As and 2h
9- folding 9d 7d
10- folded 6c 8d
11- folded A,9 off-suit
12- folded 7,4
13- I am getting borrrrred! BB with QK!!! I won the hand
14 - AA and I end up calling someone going all in with KK. I win the hand.
15- fold jc 5h
16- folded Q J. Not going to get loose because I won some good pots. Not this early in the game.
17 - Folded 9 and 7 of hearts

I am now 5th out of the remaining 78

18-folded j and 8
19- folded 4 and 3 of diamonds
20 - folded 5,6 off-suit
21- Folded A and 8
22- folded 2 9
23- 10, j on BB. I folded at the turn when two queens came out on the board.
24- folded q2
25- went all-in with AK and claimed the pot of 225.

Now in 5th position

26- folded 10,6
27- folded 3 and 2
28- folded 6s 8h
29- 2d 8d folded
30- 8h 4c folded
31- 10,k folded as I was in early position
32-folded 5,6
33- i am the small blind with 4 and 9 so will fold.
34-KJ on the button... folded after a raise by my neighbour to the right.
35- 10, 4 folded

10 out of 64 at this moment

36- folded 10 4
37-folded q2

Right, I think I had better abort this because I am concentrating more on the blog than on the game I am playing!!

I will only announce key parts of the game.

Fold.. Fold.. Fold... Fold...

Even more 'foldings'!

21 out of 46 now. The blinds are eating away at my stack.

19/42. 18/42.

Now I am 4th out of 30-something... Now 10th.

The game is now on a break. I had to stop updating this blog because I was worried more about filling the details in than playing the game and it would have defeated the purpose of playing in the first place.

There are thirty-five players left and I am in tenth place still.

The break is now over...

nothing has happened worth typing about. So far!

6 out of 28 remaining players...

The enforced antes have started now so I will start losing chips more frequently. I need to stay afloat so will have to make some moves and steal some chips from other players.

I spoke too soon... lost a lot of chips in a hand and have now got 4,790 left and sitting in 14th place.

i went all-in with 55 and nobody called so I stole the blinds.

I'm starting to lose silly hands. Is it me or what??

15/21.

11/15... It's not looking too good now. I am losing chips rapidly..

.... now I'm 12th.

11 players left so I need to hold on and make the money. I doubt I will do it, mind.

I am 11th out of 11... eek!

I made it to the final table!!

Finished in tenth place. I walked out with £4 more than I walked in as Miguel would say 'A profit is a profit.'

For the record this was tenth place out of ninety-one.

I will keep all spelling and grammatical mistakes as they are because this post was all about being off the cuff in an attempt to do something different.

The Future Of ECW?

In a move that questions the future of WWE's version of ECW the company has started merging talent between Smackdown and ECW on their respective television shows.

This situation was explained in a kayfabe manner with ECW general manager, Armando Estrada and Smackdown boss, Vickie Guerrero meeting and agreeing to mix the talent from both shows.

The real reason could be due to the contract between WWE and Sci-Fi Network which airs ECW on Tuesday nights.

It seems to me that the WWE have subtly acknowledged that the show is not going to be renewed when the contract between the two ends later this year. Mixing the talent between ECW and Smackdown means the talent will still be getting television air-time.

The company has even started promoting ECW matches online which could signal where the future of the division belongs. They have even been advertised on a chat program I use. Apparently episodes of ECW are being aired in a chat room on Friday nights.

It seems that the WWE has once again looked at new media as the future of their company. I think it is a long way off before they can move their premier shows like Raw and Smackdown to the Internet but it is an option that should remain open when their television deals run out in the future.

Maybe the loss of a TV spot for ECW is their way of doing a test run for preparing for the future.

Scoring : Week 1

After the disaster that was the (Mad)den Idea I have decided to try a new approach with a system that is exclusive to this blog.

My idea now is to predict the scores in six football games per week and see how they fare until the end of the current season.

The six scores will be placed in a Lucky 63 at 5p a line so I will be spending £3.15 a week.

Predictions and results will be posted on here either on Thursdays or Fridays but may also appear as late as Saturday morning.

What I am working on is looking at the amount of goals the home team scores and comparing it to how many, on average, the away team scores in matches.

Once I have done this - I select six games from the forty available to me each week from the Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga and Seria A.

This weeks predictions are:

Fulham 2 Derby 0
Man City 2 Birmingham 1
Juventus 3 Genoa 0
Nancy 3 Souchax 1
Roma 2 Napoli 2
Lyon 2 Monaco 1


Overall Stake: £3.15
Profit/Loss: -£3.15

Library Of My Life

Last year I wrote a post with a list of songs that were titled the 'Soundtrack of my life' it was one of the best posts I had made according to a few people who had read it. I was planning on doing a newer post with more tracks but thought I would go in a different direction this time around.

There are books all over my house. Some have been read more than once. All have their own memory.

So, without further ado, I give you the Library of my Life.

Walt Disney's Pinocchio
I will always remember this paperback novel of Walt Disney's version of the Pinocchio story for one simple reason - It was the first book I read on my own.

My Mother bought this for me in Boots when I was in infant school. One Sunday I was reading it aloud and my Father asked me if I had ever tried reading a book silently. So, this was the first book I read without annoying anyone within my immediate vicinity.

The Timewaster Letters by Robin Cooper

If the Pinocchio book was one that didn't annoy people close by then The Timewaster Letters was one that I embarrassed myself with.

As you may recall I reviewed this book in early 2007 and mentioned how I burst into laughter as I read the letters sent from and to the 'author'.

This is my kind of humour and I still urge anyone to seek this book and its sequel out. But stay well away from the third book in the series.

Boy by Roald Dahl

This book was there with me when I went on holiday in the Summer of 1986. I recall bringing it with me because on one of the days when we went on a day trip I let my Aunt Olwen read it while we were away.

I returned to the hotel later that day and she had finished reading it. I was surprised at how fast she could read.

The book is on my desk as I type this and when I look over it reminds me of that one and only holiday that my Aunt came along with us on.

Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley

This is it. This is the benchmark for all wrestling autobiographies.

Mick Foley broke into the mainstream with this book. All other wrestlers followed suit in their attempt to outdo the New York Times Bestseller but nobodyy came close.

My personal memory of this great story is getting it shipped over from the USA after every single copy sold out on its first print.

It was a few years before I was on the Internet so I had to go through a merchandise seller in the UK. They charged me a ridiculous price for it but I had to buy it. I also bought a copy for my friend, Paul.

It still sits above my bed along with all of Foley's other books.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

This work of fiction is one of the most entertaining reads I have ever spent time with.

It was recommended to me by someone who knew I would like it. She wasn't wrong on that one.

I remember buying the novel in Carmarthen in July of 2003. I lay in bed all evening with the bedside lamp on trying to get through it all so I could finish it and tell her how right she was when I got back home. The problem is - I wasn't only trying to finish it to tell her how much I enjoyed it. I just couldn't put it down anyway!

A few days later I bought the second book and then a few weeks after that I bought a signed copy of the third novel.

Harrington On Hold-Em by Dan Harrington

This book, and it's sequel, are my bibles to playing poker. I learnt a ton of things from them and they have helped me in my game.

They have also added despair to my game when my opponents beat me when I had played the hands just as described in these books.Dammit - I paid loads for these books and even though I made it all back in winnings I could do a lot better.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

I was introduced to this story a week after my Uncle Don passed away. An extract from this short book was read at his funeral.

My Uncle found a lot of inspiration from it.

Within minutes of getting home from the service I bought it on Amazon and have kept it nearby as a way of keeping his memory fresh in my mind.

It Never Happens To me

I think the person who said 'It's not what you have, it's how you play them' needs to read this post.

I have played poker in a particular way for years and have had some success but in the recent weeks I have noticed that - however way I play - I always end up a loser.

I hit a flush on the flop last night and played it right, I milked the pot by calling the sole player on the post-flop and turn. The problem that occurred with this play was my opponent was chasing a full house and he managed to hit it on the river.

It seems that whenever I play like that I end up beaten. I see other players play in similar ways and win. It never happens to me!

I need to re-evaluate my style because I'm getting nowhere playing this tried and tested measure that Dan Harrington plays*

Time to play a lit looser methinks.

*Mr Harrington may appear somewhere in tomorrow's blog!

Respect For Santino

I am enjoying watching the new WWE character, Santino Marella.

The wrestler was brought into the fold during the Spring when he was invited into the ring during the Italian episode of Monday Night Raw. He was forced to fight Umaga. He defeated the Samoan Bulldozer and became intercontinental champion.

Marella's entrance was a well-known angle in wrestling that hadn't been used in years. The problem with this victory, however, was noone other than the Italians liked it.

Within weeks of losing the title after the fans not being receptive to him as a babyface became a problem; they turned him heel. It proved to be Marella's calling.

His in-ring work isn't great but his mic skills have improved ten-fold.

He plays the arrogant Italian role extremely well. One of the funniest things he has done took place last week when he sang a song critical of the Steve Austin movie, The Condemned to the tune of Amy Winehouse's song Rehab.

The scary thing about the song was I agreed with every single word of it. And it's he who is meant to be wrong with his critique of the film.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NpUjXH-c124

Swiss Miss

I took part in APAT's Swiss Open last night and made an early exit. So early that I was the first one eliminated!

One hundred and fifty-first.

I don't even remember what it was that knocked me out.

I ended up entering a 180-seater sit-and-go on Poker Stars and did a little better. I finished in twenty-third place....

But the top eighteen are paid so I missed again.

Today's Lucky 63

Here are today's bets. I've done them as a Lucky 63 at 5p a line.

1) Scotland to win 10/11
2) England 4 Estonia 0 13/2
3) Germany HT / Draw FT 14/1
4) Draw HT / Draw FT in Denmark vs Spain 4/1
5) Craig Bellamy to score first goal in Cyprus vs Wales 6/1
6) Belgium HT / Draw FT 14/1

Evening update - Scotland was the only winning bet. 16p was returned to my account so it was a loss of £2.99.

And The Result Is...

I finished in 122nd place in the first APAT tournament of the current season.

There were two hundred and twenty-nine players so I played an average game and didn't end up getting beaten in the early stages.

I made it to the second break but I knew that - with only a thousnad chips left - I had to make a move and did so with J 2 suited. What else could I do?

I was called and lost.

There is another game on Saturday and I might have a go. Not sure yet - I am sure you will be the first to know!

APAT Season Two

The new online series of the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) begins tonight.

This time the group have moved their tournaments from Poker Stars to Blue Square. Those people who have kept up with my form at poker will realise that I have won most of my tourneys at the latter site so I am looking forward to trying my best against fellow members of APAT.

Tonight's game is the Austrian Open. As with last season, the top three players in each tournament will win medals.

I won one medal last year. That was good going considering I didn't take part in as many tournaments as I would have liked. I am dedicated to etching my name into the leaderboard so I intend to play more games than I did in Season One.

APAT has also announced some great live events for this season. A few take place in the Cardiff Grosvenor so I am hoping to be there for a few of them.

For more information on the group you can look at www.apat.com

Superstitious Man

Have no fear, Superstitious Man is here!


I played in a $3 rebuy tournament on Poker Stars last night and lasted until the fourth hour. I walked away with $18.35 after finishing in three hundred and twelfth place.

There were two thousand and eighteen players registered and the first prize was a little under six thousand dollars.


There are certain points in some tournaments where I have a feeling that I could win it. I didn't get that feeling at all tonight. It seemed that I was fighting to stay in the tourney for the whole three and a bit hours.


At one point my luck changed and it seemed to happen when I was playing with insulation tape and putting it around my index finger. Yes, I was so bored I started playing with the tape that was on my desk.


When I started winning more hands I decided it was the tape that was improving my game.

But then I started losing again.


I had some terrible luck, though. I was dealt Jacks three times in the course of the game and only won with them once. I had queens and they lost for me as well. Whats new, huh?



I lost when my QK made two pair on the board with another QK. I was under the gun and slow played my hand with the player sitting beside me. He got into the hand cheaply seeing as he was the big blind and he made a flush on the Turn.



I think I will take a days break away from poker. I have an APAT tournament to play in on Thursday night so it will be a worthwhile rest before another exhausting session.



I know it won't be as intense as tonight but I will be up against some tougher opposition.



Now, where has that insulation tape gone?

A Mad(den) Idea : Week V

After another disaster in Week Four I decided to finish the ridiculous idea of betting on American Football by using the results that I generated in the franchise mode on Madden NFL '08 on the Nintendo Wii.

This past weekend I made bets on my own thoughts and it proved to be a success. I only had one pick wrong in my Goliath.

The winners were:

San Diego -3
Cleveland v New England over 48.5pts
Miami +5
NY Giants to score over 22pts
San Francisco +3.5
Jacksonville -2
Pittsburgh -6

The losing selection happened last night during the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills game. I had the third quarter to be the highest scoring part of the game. The second quarter ended up being the winner of that bet so I missed out on having a one-hundred percent hit this weekend.

I ended up making £72.80 in profit - this covers all the money I wasted on the (Mad)den Idea for the last month. I will continue doing it my way in future.

It was a silly idea in the first place.

A Late One

It's a late post tonight.

It isn't as late as Royal Mail post, though!

Have Mercy

I am in two minds whether to purchase the WWE event that is on tonight.

I' vowed to only buy events on DVD rather than pay to watch them on Sky Box Office. That plan - albeit a great one - hasn't worked because I haven't been bothered buying the DVD's.

The only thing capturing my interest is who will face Randy Orton for the WWE World title.

As we all know - John Cena is out for six to eight months with a torn pec. What we don't know is who will take his place at tonight's No Mercy event.

I just have this inkling that it really will be Chris Jericho. If it is then the WWE has fallen on its feet after losing their main star.

It makes perfect sense to go with Jericho but as history shows - the WWE hardly ever goes with the right decision.

I started this post in two minds whether to purchase this pay-per-view. I have now made a final decision- I won't bother. It's best just to watch it in online in an online chatroom I frequent.

I'll only end up disappointed with their decision for Cena's replacement. The company has a history of major letdowns when it comes to picking a replacement. Anyone remember the first No Way Out event in 1998? Shawn Michaels was injured and his replacement was Savio Vega. The crowd hated the decision and booed the Puerto Rican when his name was announced over the PA.

Speaking of Michaels; I wonder how far he is from being one-hundred percent after his injury......

Testing, Testing 1-2.& 3's

Bets for today and tomorrow are:

Man Utd to win 2-1 @ 8/1
Arsenal to win 3-0 @ 7/1
Fulham & Portsmouth to draw 3-3 @ 50/1
Liverpool & Tottenham 1-1 draw @ 11/2
Chelsea to win 2-0 @ 6/1
Lazio & AC Milan to draw 1-1 @ 5/1

All these in a 5p Lucky 63 bet which will cost you £3.15.

The Night The Loose Cannon Was Silenced

The death of Princess Diana was one of the most shocking things to happen in 1997. The whole world seemed to be in grief after her untimely death. Ten years on and there has been notable memorials still around in her name.

The world never forgot her. And the wrestling world will never forget Brian Pillman.

Brian Pillman was another celebrity that died long before their time. He passed away on this day in 1997. A victim of the wrestling culture that has claimed many lives ever since.

I was laying on my couch watching the WWF In Your House: Badd Blood event. The show was live and as The Rock and the Nation of Domination were walking towards the ring Vince McMahon made a brief mention saying that there was some unfortunate news and that Brian Pillman had been found dead in his hotel room moments before they went on air.

I was stunned.

October 26th 1993 will forever be one of the best days of my life. It was the first time I went to see an American wrestling show. It was a WCW event being held at the Cardiff International Arena.

The first match was the Hollywood Blondes going up against the team of Too Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell. The Blondes were the first team out of the curtain. Stunning Steve Austin and Flyin' Briian Pillman incited the audience with their clackerboard and hand gestures pretending to be holding a video camera..

This was the first time I had seen the characters I was accustomed to seeing on my television.

Twelve years later, I'm sitting here and thinking about what became of the first two performers I saw in living flesh. One went on to become the most popular wrestlers in history. The other went to an early grave.

Reading a obituary of Pillman opens your eyes to how clued up he was about the business. One of the most intriguing stories about the man is how he managed to wor the top three federations into believing he was psychotic.

It all started in late '95 and early '96 whilst Pillman was part of WCW. He started acting erratically while on television. The people around him were surprised because he was not conforming to his script.

It was a planned 'shoot' between him and WCW president, Eric Bischoff. A 'shoot' in wrestling terms is defined as 'an unscripted moment behind the mic or in the ring'.

The plan made by Bischoff and Pillman was that he would act crazy on and off-screen in the hope that it would get people to buy tickets to see him.

In order to make this angle work, Bischoff contacted ECW and made an agreement for Pillman to show up at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia and inform the company he had been fired by WCW for his antics.

It worked.

Pillman stayed in ECW for an - pardon the pun - extremely short time. During this period he was involved in a massive crash when his jeep went out of control and threw him out of the car. Ironically, he was saved because he wasn't wearing his seat belt.

Pillman continued on with his Loose Cannon persona by showing up at ECW shows in a wheelchair. He then came up with an even greater plot. One that would out bluff his co-conspirator.

Pillman's contract was up for renewal and he knew that his value was high because of the way his new character was being welcomed by all fans, especially the underground fans who were discussing whether this was an act or not.

Pillman contacted Bischoff with his idea. He wanted to have his firing legalised. The rationale he offered was that he was working everyone in the dressing room and on TV but he wasn't fooling anyone in the office unless he had the legal team serve him papers informing him of his release.

Bischoff agreed to it and fired Pillman.

The Free Agent then went to see how much the WWE wanted him. They offered him a better deal and he jumped ship in the early Summer of 1996.

Pillman must have been the smartest man in wrestling to have pulled that off. Ever since that time there have been numerous attempts at pulling a 'work-shoot' but nobody has done it as well as Pillman.

I likened this angle to that of Hamlet. People around the Dane thought he had gone mad but he had a hidden agenda. I have never read or heard anyone refer to it in this way but there are elements of the Shakespeare play to the Loose Cannon.

It's been ten years but what he did for the business has not been forgotten. The fact that the WWE released a DVD about him him late last year is proof the memory lives on.

The picture above is of a Brian Pilllman T-Shirt that someone got me when he went to the ECW Arena for a show. the cards are from the Topps WCW trading card set that I collected as a child.

The New Idea

I have spent all day doing work on my new idea on a betting system.

I can't really talk about it right now because I want to do some runs with it over the next few weeks.

My Madden system has been mentioned on the radio in the USA. Rick Tittle - who hosts both Titillating Sports and the Video Game Review on Sportsbyline sports channel - talked about the idea after I emailed him telling him the system said that Oakland would beat Miami. They did.

The Champ Was Here

John Cena - the WWE Champion - was injured during his match against Ken Kennedy on the recent edition of Monday Night Raw. The wrestler was hurt during a hip-toss manoeuvre. He carried on the match but was in obvious pain.

He went to famed sports surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, yesterday and was diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle. He needs to go under the knife and it will sideline him for six to eight months.

The WWE released news on their website that the title has been held up thus ending the longest reign as a champion since Hulk Hogan's championship run between between 1984 and 1988.

Vince McMahon also addressed the situation on ECW. Viewers in the UK will be able to see the episode of ECW on Thursday night.

This injury is devastating for the WWE both from a financial and storyline standpoint.

Cena was the number one babyface in the company. He was the main merchandise seller and fans turned out in droves to cheer or boo him. Yes, there are fans out there who pay to see John Cena because they hate him so much that they want to heckle him. That shows what kind of an attraction he is.

This injury couldn't have come at the worst time for the company. They are about to meet with Congress and there will surely be a lot of negative media attention directed towards the WWE.

John Cena was the kind of person who would offer a positive to a negative time for the company due to the mainstream appeal he has. Don't get me wrong - He is no Austin, Hogan or Rock but he is the number one guy in wrestling right now.

I started liking Cena as a performer in the Spring of 2005 when he feuded with John Bradshaw Layfield. From then on I enjoyed most of his main event matches. There were many pay-per-views that was dull up until the final match. He saved the show on numerous occasions.

The loss of Cena changes the WWE storyline leading to next year's Wrestlemania. It was assumed that he was going to face Triple H in the main event. Ironically, this match was meant to have been done at this year's event but Triple H's quadricep muscle tear forced the WWE to scrap that plan and Shawn Michaels became the challenger to the Doctor of Thuganomics.

The company must now look at someone who they can use to market as the lead babyface for the next six to eight months. My personal decision would be to go with Chris Jericho.

He hasn't wrestled for over two years but if the 'Save_Us.22' commercials really are meant to be hyping his return then it would certainly rescue the WWE from their current dilemma.

The Sixty Minute Man

I am the Sixty Minute Man, woooooooooooooooooooooo!

Ric Flair would often claim to be the Sixty Minute Man in his wrestling promos. Well, with all due respect to the Nature Boy, you are looking at the Sixty Minute Man of poker.

I seem to have perfected the skill in holding on until the first break. The problems I have encountered during a tournament always seem to occur after this initial time-out.

I have started to use this skill in rebuy tournaments. I hate these type of games because the first hour is like a lottery and everyone is trying to get ahead by making outrageous plays as they have infinite lives during this period. If they lose their chips - they simply rebuy.

My trick during the opening hour is to sit tight and play premium hands in late position. It seems to work.

I just don't seem to have that tight play mentality in the latter stages when the blinds are high. I am always worried about being blinded out and make major plays to steal the pot. I end up getting called and my evening is over.

Keep those fingers crossed for me. The big win is just around the corner.

Big Bucks

I took part in the $100,000 guaranteed tournament on Poker Stars last night and ended up in the top thirty-three percent of the overall field.

It's hardly something to write home about. I won nothing but bragging rights that there were twelve thousand, one hundred and eighty players worse off than me. Yes, I took part in a massive tournament which had over eighteen thousand entrants and finished in five thousand, nine hundred and fifth place.

It's not a bad result.

It's not great, either.

I lasted almost ninety minutes until I was eliminated when my AK off-suit went up against a pair of...

Yes, you know whats coming...

Queens!

I'll probably give it another go next week. An eleven dollar entry is okay when you consider the top prize is $18,084.

As they say 'You've got to be in it to win it'.