Mr Pink Slip.... Pink Slip

Ken Kennedy has got to be the biggest case of hero to zero that I have ever seen in all my years as a professional wrestling fan.

Kennedy's career with World Wrestling Entertainment ended on Friday when it was announced on the company website that he had been released from his contract.

He debuted a number of years ago and got over with the audience due to his pre-match routine where he had the microphone descend from the ceiling in order to do his 'Miiister Kennedy... Kennedy' personal ring introduction.

His matches weren't bad, either.

It's hard to see where the fall began for Kennedy.

It may have been the moment he got caught out in 2007 when he appeared on news shows in order to defend the company during the aftermath of the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide. He claimed that there was no steroid culture within pro wrestling and was later named and shamed when customers of an online pharmacy were outed for their steroid purchases in the US press.

He has also had an enormous time out with injuries throughout his tenure. I wouldn't be surprised if these injuries were attributed to the easing off of steroids.

The straw which broke this camel's back may have occurred on Monday night.

Kennedy returned after his most recent injury hiatus as the mystery partner in the main event of Raw. He back-dropped Randy Orton and delivered the move in an unsafe manner. You could see it angered Orton.

Carelessness doesn't fly in WWE especially when you mess up a spot with the current WWE champion.

£4 On The Final

I've placed £4 in total on today's FA Cup Final.

Here are the eight bets:

- Chelsea to win 2-0

- Didier Drogba to score first and Chelsea to win 2-0

- Nicolas Anelka to score first and Chelsea to win 2-0

- Under 32 shirt numbers

- Chelsea straight-up win

- Chelsea/Chelsea HT/FT

- Under 2.0, 2.5 goal line

- Chelsea -0.5, 1 Asian handicap

As you can see - I think Chelsea will win.

Jim Cornette's Scrapbook

I ordered Jim Cornette's The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook last week and it arrived yesterday. Here are a few words on it.

It's a great coffee table book filled with a lot of stuff about the legendary tag team and their manager.

If you're looking for an autobiography-type book about the group then this isn't for you. As the title suggests, this is simply a scrapbook full of pictures, match results, fan mail, magazine covers, newsletter articles and everything else you can think of pertaining to the Midnight Express and James E. Cornette. It's packed full of rarities and I'd bet you would end up learning a lot more from this book than you would from any of the WWE autobiographies available in your local bookshop.

I have only leafed through it and intend to have a thorough look over the weekend. I would certainly recommend it for wrestling fans especially those that are history buffs.

It can be ordered on Jim Cornette's website and he personally signs each copy which is an added bonus.

Draws, Losers & Certs

So, that's it for the Champions' League until later this year.

As you probably realised yesterday - I wasn't sure which team would walk out as winners and made the safe decision to back the draw.

'Back' would be the wrong word to use as I didn't bet on it. I just didn't have a confident feel about the game so stayed away from it other than suggesting it would be a draw.

I've been watching Britain's Got Talent and I have a feeling on that. I won't end up betting on that either but I sense that Susan Boyle won't win.

Don't get me wrong, she is great. I just feel that there will be something in the final that will pip her to the post, if you will.

The media has done well and has built her into an immovable object and I have this feeling - the feeling that was missing in last night's final - that she will come second on Saturday night.

I read last night that someone has placed seven thousand pounds on Boyle to win at odds of 4/7. Whoever placed that bet hadn't done a good job of shopping around as I found slightly better odds than that.

If you're going to bet a ridiculous sum like that it's best to take advantage of odds that give out better returns.

So, who will win on Saturday?

I have a feeling it will be Aidan Davis (7/1) or Shaheen Jafargholi (6/1). Either one of these two lads could be the one to take the victory in this supposed 'one horse race'.

Champions' League 2009

And my pick for the winner of the Champions' League 2008/9 is....

I don't know!

I was asked by a few people I know on a Las Vegas message board what I thought. The Vegas sportsbooks have lines up for the game and they wanted some insight. I just couldn't help them, though.

It has draw written all over it and that's what I sort of suggested.

It could very well go to penalties.

Twilight

I bought the book Twilight late last year and finally managed to catch the movie.

I liked both.

What I always prefer doing is reading the book and then watching the film. Back when I was a lot younger I used to do it the other way around and say 'hey, that wasn't in the film!'

This time, I was thinking 'hey, that part wasn't in the film'. But, with that said - the screenplay did do a great job of capturing most of the story. There were little bits missing but what can you expect from a two hour film?

The sequel is currently in production. I'll probably do the same as this time - buy the book later in the year, read it around the time the film is out and then either go to see it or wait until it's out on DVD.

The Missing Picture

While looking through a number of sport news websites yesterday, I found a picture of Alan Shearer pulling one of the most anguished faces I had ever seen him do.

I thought to myself that this picture would be a good addition to today's post with the title being - A picture which says a thousand Words.

I returned to those sites this morning to save the picture but I couldn't find them. I even went into my browser history in an attempt to find the page but that drew a blank as well.

A missing picture is the least of my worries.

Next season is going to be a tough one for me as both my favourite teams are in the same league. Am I now meant to forget about Newcastle for a season or do I still support them both? My friends that support Cardiff and Manchester United (or Liverpool, or Spurs) would never find themselves in situations like this.

All I can say is - Newcastle will go right back up. I know there's going to be a major cull taking place up there over the next two months and the team we saw this season will be totally different, I just have a feeling the 2009/10 season will be theirs for the taking.

I had originally pegged Ipswich Town to be the winner of the Coca-Cola Championship but have changed this mindset now that Newcastle's fate has been sealed.

It sure is going to be interesting if Shearer stays and he must face Roy Keane in a battle of the managers. Their on-field rivalry was legendary, I bet their managerial conflict will be just as entertaining.

The Dream & Reality

Cardiff City .vs. Newcastle United.

This game has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager. By the end of today, this dream could become a reality.

But, I've been here before.

Back in 1994, like I still am today, I was a fan of both Cardiff City (my home team) and Newcastle United (my Premier League team). This was at a time when Cardiff were in the lower divisions and Newcastle - under Kevin Keegan - were one of the most exciting teams in English football.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Cardiff had beaten Manchester City 1-0. Luton Town managed to draw with Newcastle at St. James' Park so their game had to go to a replay.

In the meantime, the people in charge of the competition drew the games for the next round and Cardiff were picked to play Newcastle.

Finally, I was going to be able to see my favourite players - Peter Beardsley and Andy Cole. I was chuffed.

A week or so later, I went to see Cardiff's game versus Wrexham because purchasing a ticket at this game secured the option of buying a ticket for the fifth round.

That Cardiff against Wrexham game was great but that is a story for another day.

I bought the ticket at the game. Typed on the card was 'Cardiff .vs. Luton Town/Newcastle United'. I discounted Luton from the equation. It was going to be Newcastle United.

Yes. You know where this is going.

2-0.

John Hartson and Scott Oakes left me devastated. I was absolutely gutted. My dream of seeing both my favourite teams ended there and then.

Years later, I bumped into John Hartson in a nightclub in Cardiff and I told him about how angry I was at him for being one of the two reasons why I didn't get to see Newcastle United play. We both laughed.

Late this season, Cardiff were riding high in the Coca-Cola Championship and it was looking like they could get promotion to the Premier League. Newcastle, on the other hand, were doing a balancing act in the relegation zone of the Premier League. It was typical of my luck - I envisioned Cardiff going up and the Magpies going down thus missing another opportunity to see the two teams play against each other.

Cardiff missed out on promotion.

Newcastle are almost down.

Almost.

The team need a miracle to survive 'Survival Sunday' today.

They say 'be careful what you wish for'. This thirty year-old doesn't want to see his wish granted in this way.

The fifteen year-old may have, though.

Owen Hart : Ten Years On

I can't believe that it's been ten years today since Owen Hart died during the Over The Edge pay-per-view.

Owen was one of my favourite wrestlers.

That night he passed away has haunted me ever since it happened. I know we didn't see him fall or see any of the paramedics working on him but the moment where Jim Ross was informing the people at home that his falling from the rafters was not part of the show is hard to forget.

Nor was the moment an hour or so later when Ross told us that the fall had killed him.

One week earlier, I was sat in the Manchester Evening News Arena in the nose-bleed seats and I recall looking up at the ceiling and thinking to myself 'I can't understand how those wrestlers do the entrances from this high up.'

I still can't understand even though stunts like that haven't been performed since.

The days following the tragedy, I made a point of logging onto the news sites in college library. It was the only opportunity I had to get on the Internet back then. I remember seeing the cover of the New York Post and the image of a dead Owen being worked on by the ambulance staff.

I also remember the above picture. It was on the main page of WWF.com for the days after the accident. I was surfing the Net a few weeks ago and saw it again and thought it would be a good picture to post on the anniversary.

Vince McMahon V Stan Kroenke II

A few days ago, I wrote about the situation between WWE and the Pepsi Center and feel that the latest developments need to be mentioned.

As you may recall, Vince McMahon made a press release and went on ESPN Sports Center to criticise Stan Kroenke, owner of both the Denver Nuggets and Pepsi Center, for reneging on a deal they had for the arena to host this coming Monday's episode of Raw.

The progress of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA play-offs resulted in the venue needing to play out a game between the home team and the visiting, Los Angeles Lakers.

Vince McMahon painted himself as the victim in the situation. It was a clever trick because what he was saying was right. Kroenke, by allowing the WWE to be booked in the building at a time when the NBA play-offs were being played, showed signs that he didn't like the chances the Nuggets would have progressed to this late stage.

The hyperbole McMahon used in the press release and media appearance was typical for him and his company. I thought it was great publicity for them. He made the most out a bad situation, if you will.

But - it didn't end there.

Kroenke and McMahon sorted out a deal where the venue would host Raw on Sunday. The show would be recorded and aired in its usual time on Monday albeit not live. It seemed to be the ideal solution for everyone.

Things went awry when Kroenke Sports sent a draft press release to World Wrestling Entertainment wanting it to be signed-off. They had written up a quote for Vince McMahon that the chairman of WWE didn't like.

I would like to thank Stan Kroenke and his management team for resolving this matter so quickly in a way that allows all WWE and Nuggets fans to watch two world class main events Sunday and Monday. By all accounts, Mr. Kroenke is one of the most respected professional sports team owners in the world, and the professional way he and his staff good-naturedly handled this conflict gives further testament to the type of business leader he is.

This would have made McMahon seem like he had backed down so he refused to sign the release and ended all communication with Kroenke.

He then cut a deal with a new building to host this Monday's show.

The Staples Center.

The home of the Denver Nuggets' opponents - Los Angeles Lakers.

Monday Night Raw is now set to feature skits where they show support for the Lakers and attack the Nuggets. It's the way McMahon and WWE work. Milk the situation for as much as it's worth.

Don't feel bad for WWE, though. They aren't totally innocent in the fallout from this game.

They pulled out of Tuesday's Smackdown show in Colorado Springs because they got a better deal with the Staples Center to run back-to-back shows.

Surprisingly, the media were too busy casting WWE as the wronged to pick up on that one.

Death Star

In 1992 and 1993, I read two new books based on Star Wars. They weren't that bad but I was going through a stage where I was growing out of Star Wars so I didn't bother buying the last book in that new trilogy of novels.

Since 1992, there has been a lot more literature from the Star Wars canon published. My appreciation for the movies was also revived in that time.

I still didn't read any of the spin-off books, though.

Until recently.

I read a review of a novel titled Death Star written by Michael Reaves & Steve Perry and thought it sounded interesting so I put it on my 'to buy' list.

My 'to buy' list is a list of the books I like the reviews of and I intend to purchase them once I see them in paperback or in a sale. There are exceptions to this rule, however.

In the case of Death Star - I found it in paperback and in a sale. Winner!

The story is set during the time of the first movie (the 1977 one) and is based upon the creation of the Empire's demonic space station that appears in said movie.

The trick of this novel is it features a story which could have played out as the sub-plot of the film.

Despite appearances by Darth Vader and military leaders of the Empire that are in the 1977 story, the main characters in this book are not featured in the movie. Had they been in the film, they would have been insignificant. That's what makes Death Star so appealing.

Some of the key characters in the story - in no particular order - are; a doctor, a landlady of the cantina on the base, a TIE fighter pilot, a prison guard. and a few more.

There is also Tenn Graneet. A key character of this novel and is also a small, yet significant, tool in the plot of the movie as he is the man in charge of the laser which obliterates the planet of Alderaan in the film. You get to read how his conscience feels after doing such an act of genocide.

I think the way the authors created this story and made Star Wars: A New Hope an ironic sub-plot was clever and should be attempted again. This time working with the plot of the other movies in the series.

Vince McMahon V Stan Kroenke

Vince McMahon's name has been doing the rounds in the sports media over the past few days as this coming Monday's episode of Monday Night Raw has been pulled from its original venue due to a scheduling conflict with the NBA.

WWE had the venue booked since August of last year. The NBA team, the Denver Nuggets, have done considerably well this season and have made it to the next round in the play-offs which means that one of their games against the Los Angeles Lakers must take place at the Pepsi Center on Monday.

McMahon made a press release two days ago claiming that the building's and Nuggets' owner, Stan Kroenke, was a bad businessman as he has proved he did not have faith in his team by allowing a card to be booked in the arena during the height of the play-offs.

McMahon makes a good point.

The WWE owner went on to say that he was still moving his trucks to Denver for Monday and - if they had to - will do the show from a parking lot somewhere.

That's what he says. I'd wager that everyone in the company offices were working hard trying to secure a new venue in time for Monday.

Still, it gave WWE some good press. They were wronged in this situation and I cannot blame them for wanting to put themselves out there as the victim in this situation.

Great publicity.

Backdoor Promotion

For those interested in that tipping contest I mentioned on here last week, I managed to secure promotion to the next league.

My treble bet on Barcelona, Chelsea and Rangers failed as the Spaniards didn't win their game.

Luckily for me, the other two people in this tipping league who were nearly neck-and-neck with me decided to strategically sit out this weekend's games and managed to secure first and second place respectively. I, on the other hand, dropped down from second to third to garner the final promotional spot.

It was a bittersweet promotion, I could have been pipped to the third place by anyone below me in the league especially after deciding on going all-out to win the first prize of fifty pounds rather than playing it safe and gunning for promotion.

The next season runs from August to around October and I will be challenging for sixty pounds.

It took me four years to get to the upper echelon of this competition. Let's hope I don't get relegated in my first attempt at winning the bigger prize.

100%

I had a flutter on the football over the weekend as I was trying out a strategy for next season.

I picked eleven matches and did the multiples as I usually do but did them at one pence a line. So, I staked a total of £20.47 as there were two thousand and forty-seven bets in total.

By the end of Saturday I was looking at a bunch of red crosses on the piece of paper I used to keep track of the results.

Still - I held out what little hope there was that it would turn around on Sunday.

No such luck.

Every one of these eleven games lost for me.

I sent a text message to my friend bragging that I had 'gone 100% in the bet'. He knew - judging by his response - that I was being ambiguous and speculated that they had all lost.

Am I that predictable?

Evidently, I need to change my approach and fiddle with my system. I have a few months to do this.

August and September couldn't come sooner.

Passing Judgment?

It has become a joke on this blog for me to title my posts 'Passing Judgment' on the morning of WWE's Judgment Day pay-per-view.

I won't be 'passing' on it this year - I won't be 'buying' it, either.

Once again, as per all WWE PPV's since 2007, I will be watching it on a chat program I use via a pirated signal.

Naughty me.

As for the card itself - there are one or two matches I am looking forward to seeing. It's not a card that blows me away, though.

My Final Play

You may recall a post a few days ago where I mentioned the tipping contest I am a part of. I commented that I had a choice to make in regards to this weekend's final play and I will reveal my picks here.

I am currently sitting in second place and need to be in the top three to go up a league. I would also like to finish in first place so I win the £50 to the winner of the league I am in so I was in a tough spot where I had to make a choice with being conservative to secure promotion or going all-out and attempt to get in second place.

I made my decision and I'm going for the win.

Let me explain why.

Look at it like this - I'm not going to be relegated from the league so, if I don't win or get promotion this time, there will be another chance next time.

Everything to gain and nothing to lose.

I've done a treble on Barcelona, Chelsea and Glasgow Rangers. I've spent the maximum I can use up to place the bet so I will be laying out £110.20 of the fantasy money I have to play with.

It may not be enough, though. I may get pipped to the post by someone else. That's the risk I have to take.

A Message To Flair & McMahon

Ric Flair - in an interview with Alex Marvez - claimed that he had sent text messages to WWE owner, Vince McMahon offering his services to come out of retirement and wrestle once again.

To Flair and McMahon - please don't entertain this idea.

Ric Flair was - and still is - one of my favourite wrestlers. Ever. That will never change as long as I am breathing God's air.

With that said - Ric Flair should stay retired for many reasons but there is one that means more than any other.

His legacy.

Flair retired at WrestleMania XXIV the night after he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and one night before the cast and crew of WWE gave him the ultimate send-off at the end of Monday Night Raw.

No other star in the history of the business had been given such a farewell. Ric Flair deserved it.

The people at WCW - especially Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo - almost killed Flair's career during the dying days of that company. They treated their star like rubbish and it put dents into that legacy.

In 2001, a number of months after the sale of WCW to WWE, Flair returned to the ring for WWE and for the following seven years he rebuilt this legacy. He came back from a death, if you will.

A lot of people were invested emotionally in those final three days of Ric Flair's career. If he were to come back and wrestle again, that entire weekend will be tarnished.

And so will his legacy.

The song played for Flair over that weekend was quite symbolic. The chorus is echoing in my head right now.

Leave the memories alone.

Gangs

I've never watched an episode of Ross Kemp on Gangs on Sky One but that didn't stop me from reading the book based on the documentary series.

The book - written by the host of the series - features seven chapters. Each one looks at a different country's gang culture.

It was quite the eye-opener reading how these gangs operate and I was more intrigued to see how each group welcomed Kemp in to discuss this way of life.

The most interesting gang, I believe, was the Numbers gang based inside Pollsmoor Prison in South Africa. The reason why I think this was the most noteworthy of the seven countries featured in the book is because this gang is ruled within a place which is meant to be the end result in crime rather than on the streets which should be the first part of the calculation.

With that said - it was also interesting to read about that the Los Angeles war between the Crips and the Bloods has moved to El Salvador due to the US Government's ruling that anyone with ties to El Salvador gangs are immediately deported. This deportation does not rule out American people with El Salvadorian blood. Therefore, there must be a lot of American gangsters fighting in a country that only their parents or their parents' parents were born in. Crazy.

The other countries on Kemp's list are - Brazil, New Zealand, USA, Russia and Jamaica.

After reading this, I have decided to seek out the series. I've also bought the second book and plan to read it in a few weeks.

Tipping Choices

For the past few years, I have been competing in an online football tipping contest on a message board I am a member of. This weekend will be the most important week in the entire time I have played in it.

The contest takes place from August to May each year and is split up into four seasons. Similar to football itself, the participants are in leagues and each 'season' there are promotions and relegation to other leagues.

I started off in one of the lower divisions and - after four years - I made it to the first division, one shy of the premier league.

The contest is sponsored by a bookmaker and - each season - the winner of the premier league as well as the first division win a monetary prize.

In week one of every season, you start with one hundred mythical pounds and can bet, at most, half of your bank each week on the outcome of any game in England and Scotland. The person with the most fantasy money at the end of the season is the winner.

I'm currently sitting in second spot with one week to go. I have two options - I can either go all-out and attempt to win the league and the fifty pounds on offer or I can make a small bet and hope that I secure promotion by remaining in the top three of this division.

Either choice is risky.

Decisions, decisions.

WWE Encyclopedia

The WWE Encyclopedia is immense.

I was given it for my birthday and have leafed through it. It will take a while to read the entire thing although, I don't even know if I will read it.

You see, I think I would get more use out of it as a reference book.

The three hundred and sixty-three pages are full of nearly every single wrestler that has worked for WWE.

I have tried thinking of the most obscure wrestler who may have been missing from the list of names but I've failed each time.

(While writing the previous paragraph - I thought of Big Bully Busick and alas he's in there, too!)

With all that said - I probably will end up attempting to read it thoroughly as if it was a book. I know it will take me a while, though.

If you are a professional wrestling fan and like the history of WWE, this should be in your bookcase.

Summer Is Here

The Summer looks like it has finally arrived which means one thing for me.

Hay fever.

I've just been in the garden for the past two hours and have come back up here to write something and all I am doing is rubbing my eyes.

Time for the nasal spray and eye-drops, Doc!

Beginner's Luck

My Father was betting on virtual horses yesterday morning and I was winding him up saying they must have seen him coming.

I don't bet on horses at all. He - on the other hand - has the occasional weekend flutter.

When I say 'flutter' I mean it, too. He bets pennies at a time.

Virtual racing is weird. I know I've bet on online casinos and poker in the past and may sound hypocritical but there's something unnatural betting on a simulated game.

Anyway, in my Dad's first race - he won. I told him it was beginners luck to snare him in and that he will go on to lose the next race.

Race two came.

Another winner.

He ended up walking away from those two races up about sixty pounds due to him having done a double as well.

Unlike his son, he quit while he was ahead and turned his attention to 'real' racing where he won another forty pounds.

Wins Happen In Threes 2009 : Overview

After twelve weeks, I ended £11.90 in the red.

When you consider I was putting on £18.66 a week and ended up this much down it is possible to see that there was limited success in what I did. It could have ended worse than this.

With all that said - I cannot call this a success. I didn't end in the black. It failed!

Here are the final stats from the three month run.

OVERALL AFTER 12 WEEKS

Stake = £223.92
Returns = £212.02
Profit/Loss = -11.90

MULTIPLES BETS WIN-LOSS RECORD

58-50

SINGLE BET WIN-LOSS RECORD

3-9

And The Walkers Winner Is..

Builder's breakfast flavour won the Walkers 'Do us a flavour' contest.

I think it was the second best out of the six packets that were released for the public to vote on. I assumed the fish & chips flavour would end up being the victor.

The winning contestant, Emma Rushin, walks away with a cheque for £50,000 as well as 1% of all future profits from the crisps.

The results, in order, are:

1) Builder's Breakfast
2) Onion Bhaji
3) Fish & Chips
4) Crispy Duck & Hoisin
5) Cajun Squirrel
6) Chilli & Chocolate

I think the final two were spot on as I detested the chilli and chocolate combination.

The Chelsea Conspiracy

A fucking disgrace!
- Didier Drogba, 6/5/09

I like the occasional conspiracy theory.

I don't buy into them all the time - I just like reading what people think.

Did you know that Paul McCartney is dead and that the person we all think is the former Beatle is a person used to cover up the real musician who died in a car accident back when The Beatles were on top of the charts?

Or, did you know that the first moon landing being staged?

You can add last night's Champions' League game between Barcelona and Chelsea to the list of conspiracies.

A lot of people are claiming that the referee in last night's game was placed in charge of proceedings to ensure that there won't be an all-English final in Rome later this month.

It's quite the allegation to make but it does have evidence to prove itself.

The ref was absolutely useless last night. There were four key moments in the game where he should have given Chelsea a penalty. None of these incidents resulted in the kick being awarded.

Guus Hiddink - in his post-match interview - was smart enough not to mention he thought there was some sort of corruption going on.

If you read between the lines.

Like I said, I don't buy into many conspiracy theories and I can't be bought into this one. What I will say is - Chelsea got robbed.

The question, though, is who were the thieves?

Was it Barcelona who sneaked the winning goal in after one hundred and eighty-two minutes of total play?

Was it last night's referee?

Was it UEFA themselves?

Was it Chelsea for not making enough of the chances they were given?

So many questions - so many differing answers.

Super Bowl And WrestleMania To Wembley?

I was watching the WWE investors meeting over the weekend and one of the investors asked Vince McMahon what the chances were that a WrestleMania would take place live in another continent.

McMahon responded to the negative. And I totally agree with him.

WrestleMania is an event that should take place in the Americas. The reason why I say this - and McMahon also noted this, too - is because of the time difference. It would be unfeasible for the event to take place and be aired on a tape delay.

SummerSlam 1992 was hosted at Wembley Stadium. The event was recorded on a Saturday and aired on pay-per-view two nights later. The company hasn't filmed any of their major pay-per-view shows outside of their home continent since which must be telling on how problematic it was for them in 1992.

The Internet would make it even more harder for a show like Mania to be aired on a tape delay. It would eat into potential buys if it isn't live.

With all that in my mind - it was surprising to read in The Telegraph that the people in charge of the UK arm of the NFL have made a bid to host the Super Bowl at Wembley within the next eight years.

I am not for the move, either.

Part of me would like to see a WrestleMania or a Super Bowl take place in my vicinity but the other part of me realises that both these brands are American institutions* and it is only right that they take place in their home.

It would be peculiar seeing a Super Bowl take place in another country.

I bet these bids will be turned down, anyway. I cannot see the people in charge of the NFL entertaining such an idea that could anger many of their fans.

I'd be a bit put off if the FA decide to host the FA Cup final in another country like Japan. I'm sure NFL fans would feel the same way about their tradition being compromised.

*Okay, I did push it a bit by saying WrestleMania is an 'American Institution' and I am well aware that two Manias took place in Canada.

Wins Happen In Threes : Week 12 Results

I came up short on the final weekend. The multiples bet was close, had one more game gone my way - I would have ended the three months in the black. Instead, I am a little bit down.

I will return with an overview post on Saturday. Here are the week twelve results.

MULTIPLES RESULTS

1) Celtic
2) Bayern Munich v M'Gladbach OVER 2 goals
3) Numancia v Malaga OVER 2 goals
4) Real Madrid
5) Inter Milan
6) Ipswich Town
7) Mallorca
8) Real Betis v Athletico Madrid OVER 2 goals
9) Aston Villa

Stake = £15.33
Returns = £10.37
Profit/Loss = -4.96

SINGLE RESULT

Andrei Arshavin to score in 90 minutes & Arsenal to win

Stake = £3.33
Returns = £0.00
Profit/Loss = -3.33

On Tonight's Game

It's now a game of cutting losses in regards to the 'Wins happen in threes' documented picks I have been running on here.

I had five winners and three losers over the weekend. Even if Villa win tonight, I won't be walking away in profit so the best scenario is to be down a little bit less than I could be.

Mission Accomplished

In regards to yesterday's post - I overcame the obstacle that had been in my sights for what seemed to be forever.

I had not been looking forward to May 3rd for months.

I know I am sounding cryptic but that's the way I prefer to keep it.

I can go and celebrate my birthday - albeit a day later - without any worries now.

Let the relief show - Woooooooooooooooooo!

The Big Three Oh : Postponed For A Day

It's 12:06am and I am now in my thirties.

But I'm not celebrating it - yet.

I've told all my friends and family that I want to celebrate my birthday a day later this year as I have something to do on Sunday and wanted to get that out of the way before I could let my hair down and enjoy myself.

It's a shame as I haven't had my birthday fall on a Saturday in years. The last time it should have been a Saturday was a leap year so I was robbed!

Once I get over this hurdle on Sunday it will be party time.

Wins Happen In Threes : Week 12 Selections

In the worst case scenario, I will end this challenge £22.27 down. That's nothing. I said from the start I was laying out £223.92 so anything less than that at the end of the three months was good enough for me. With all that said - the target for this weekend is to have, at the very least, £22.28 once all bets are settled.

I intended to have fun doing this and I feel this weekend will be the best overall as I have to beat the challenge before the end. I'm not going to 'give it one more week' if I lose. I said from the start I will finish on the weekend of my birthday. And so it shall regardless of whether I win, lose or draw.

I cannot wait to have the Summer off from spreadsheets, newspapers and stat sites!

In this weekend's bet, I have placed a wincast on the Portsmouth vs Arsenal game. As for the multiples, the three genres I have selected are British-based wins, European wins and over 2 goals.

MULTIPLES (Current record 52-47)

1) Celtic
2) Bayern Munich v M'Gladbach OVER 2 goals
3) Numancia v Malaga OVER 2 goals
4) Real Madrid
5) Inter Milan
6) Ipswich Town
7) Mallorca
8) Real Betis v Athletico Madrid OVER 2 goals
9) Aston Villa

£15.33 block (511 bets at 3p a line)

SINGLE OF THE WEEK (Current record 3-8)

Andrei Arshavin to score in 90 minutes & Arsenal to win

£3.33 single