Going Soon - Microsoft Copilot Podcasts

I was today years old when I realised it's possible to get Microsoft Copilot to create a podcast using your prompts.

I was also today years old when I found out that facility will be discontinued in a little over three weeks from now.

This afternoon was spent giving it a go. It's quite clever, to be fair. I uploaded the PDF of Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual 2026 and it created a podcast book review.

Unfortunately, there is no way to download the file from the Copilot app (well, I suppose there are ways but not easier methods!). I would have liked to have been able to keep it, but it'll be gone once August 18th's closure comes along.

Makes you wonder what the point of having AI podcasts on Copilot is if you're unable to download the file to use elsewhere, right?

I suppose that's why it's going. They only serve a purpose to a certain point. And that's it.

One other little annoyance is they reviewed part of the book and covered a 49ers game. The male voice read the team name out as 'Forty-Nine Ears'. The female also said '49ers' in a peculiar way, but it wasn't as bad as '49ears'.

Still, it came out well.

I asked for 49 ears. Doesn't look like I got enough.

WWE Radio Launches July 27

World Wrestling Entertainment is launching its own radio station next week.

Starting from Monday July 27th, WWE Radio will be on SiriusXM (satellite radio broadcaster).

The station will broadcast live events like SummerSlam, the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania as well as other programming.

It's quite a controversial move because Busted Open Radio - a weekday show, which currently airs on SiriusXM - is part of the package.

In my - and many others' - opinion, Busted Open has been compromised. I cannot envision them giving other companies attention now that the big W W and E is written on the marquee.

I'm old enough to remember when there was a 'Radio WWF' syndicated show back in the early 1990s. It obviously didn't reach me here in the UK, but I was fascinated by the idea of wrestling content being broadcasted over the airwaves.

And as I wrote that, an old memory immediately returned to me. Something I hadn't recalled until moments ago:

Back in 1992, there was a wrestling radio show I could pick up on my satellite TV box if I tuned the dial when I had Eurosport (possibly Screensport!) on. I only caught the show once or twice. They reviewed the VHS tape of WCW Halloween Havoc 1990 on it. I ended up buying the videocassette because I was intrigued by what went down in the Sting versus Sid Vicious match.

The power of pro wrestling radio in full effect. Let's see if it works thirty-four years later.

Another Kevin Keegan Post

It has been a few days since Kevin Keegan passed away and I wanted to add a bit more following the post from a couple of days ago.

The Sun had a really cool tribute to Kevin Keegan on Tuesday. It had him on the front and back pages but there was also a twelve-page special inside.

At least a couple of the articles were written by Ian Ridley, who authored a biography about Keegan a few years ago. I found that book quite enjoyable.

Speaking of bios - I own a signed copy of Keegan's 1997 autobiography. However, it's not signed by the author! 

To cut a long and very random story short, my Dad helped out Ray Wilkins one weekend, when Ray was in town working for Sky Sports. He asked if I'd like anything signed. The only thing I could think of was there was a photo of Keegan and Wilkins inside the book, so I gave my father the book for Ray to sign the following day.

Returning to the past few days, it has been touching to see everybody talk so fondly of Kevin Keegan. It's unsurprising, however. He always came across as a class act. 

Seeing, and hearing, all this respect to Keegan has taken me back. It was such a wonderful time to be alive during that era.

Lowering Expectations On The King Route Of '26

The other day, I wrote about Shota Umino's concussion ruling him out of continuing in this year's NJPW G1 Climax and how it is another L in my predictions for 2026.

I've looked through all of the other guesses and will strike out on so many. There's even one I don't think I'll pull off that is in my control!

I wrote that 'I'll read at least six Stephen King books' and that 'I have to go from Cell (2006) to Under the Dome (2009)'. 

It might not be achieved.

I've read Cell and Lisey's Story. So, that's two down. However, I don't know whether I'll pull off all of the next four titles in King's bibliography because I have to get ready to do the annual Booker Prize Marathon in the autumn.

And then there's Sylvester Stallone's autobiography - The Steps - set to be published on September 29th (my preorder is in!).

A week after Stallone's memoir comes out, the third book in the Talisman Trilogy - Other Worlds Than These by Stephen King and the late Peter Straub - will be released. I've read the first two books in the series, so might decide to jump the queue and get to that one sooner rather than later.

So, yes - I could very well get another 'spoiler' incorrect. I have good reasons for failing, though.

The Messiah

Even though I had been prepared for it, because we were told Kevin Keegan had cancer earlier this year, it still hit me hard when news of his passing reached me yesterday afternoon.

'Kevin Keegan' was my first favourite football player. Putting it that way doesn't put it in the correct context, however.

Back when I was a toddler, maybe a tad bit older, either my parents or relatives (likely the latter if I had to gamble) handed me a football book and I asked who one of the players happened to be. They told me it was Keegan and I remember them trying to teach me to say his name.

It resulted in me uttering the words 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' when I would play with soft footballs around my living room. 

I tried looking for the book on eBay last night. I came across Kevin Keegan annuals, Shoot annuals and others. My search was in vain. Nothing stood out. 

There's also a photo of me in a red and white striped hat and scarf which pops up every now and again. I don't recall if it was 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' Liverpool related, but it would have been from around that time just going by how old I would have been when it was taken.

What I do know for sure is this - the Irish side of my family turned me to the dark side - Manchester United - after Keegan had retired. I had a new 'Kevin' to follow in Kevin Moran. I even had a Kevin Moran United licensed football.

I was a passive Manchester United supporter for most of that early childhood. By the early 1990s, with the Premier League in its infancy, United was no longer my team. I would go to watch Cardiff City at Ninian Park but it was okay back then for us to have a Premier League team to support. 

Keegan had returned to Newcastle United by then. He had delivered the team to the top flight. It was only appropriate for me to renew my 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan' fandom. Newcastle United became my team. 

All because of Keegan.

What a ride it was to be on that Newcastle United bandwagon. I experienced some amazing highs (Newcastle's 5-0 rout of Manchester United in October 1996 immediately comes to mind) and an incredible low which saw me close to tears over a football game for the first time in my life.

Cardiff City had drawn either Luton or Newcastle at home in the FA Cup fifth round during the 1993/94 season. I bought tickets for the game expecting City to meet Newcastle. I figured there would be no way a Premier League side would lose to a team in the second division. How wrong was I? Luton won 2-0, ending any hope I had of seeing the dream matchup.

I fought back tears that night. I've never felt as gutted over a football result since. And this is coming from someone who's had his fair share of gambling losses on footy games.

I have so many fond memories (and evidently bad ones!) from those years following Newcastle under Kevin Keegan. 

They truly lived up to their 'The Entertainers' moniker. 

That all ended in January 1997, when Keegan left Newcastle for a second time. His first, as a player, was inside a helicopter as it flew away from St. James' Park.

I stuck with Newcastle for years after that. I was still following them when Keegan made his return to the Newcastle dugout in January 2008. It was 4025 Days after the 1997 departure (I must have counted it for the blog post!)

In-between the Newcastle stints is something which kind of eased the pain from Luton/Newcastle memory. My friend and I went to see Cardiff City take on a Fulham team, managed by Keegan, in the League Cup in August of 1998. 

Wish fulfilled. I finally got to see Keegan manage a team against Cardiff City. As an added bonus, I also got to witness Peter Beardsley play live. Beardsley was my favourite Newcastle player during those Keegan years.

As an aside, Ninian Park is where Keegan scored his first goal for England. The 11th May 1974 game, in the British Home Championship, saw Wales lose 0-2 to their visitors. 

Keegan's third stint at Newcastle didn't go as well as expected. His run ended after eight months and resulted in him winning £2 Million in a constructive dismissal case against the club.

There was only one Kevin Keegan. There'll never be another 'Kevin Keegan, Kevin Keegan'.

* * *

Here are some Kevin Keegan posts I've written over the years.

The Big Fish (January 10 2008) - I had a brilliant idea for Newcastle to bring in Keegan to replace Sam Allardyce and for Alan Shearer to act as his understudy to eventually become long-term Newcastle boss.

What The People Want (January 14 2008) - More about the Keegan/Shearer dream ticket.

4025 Days Later (January 17 2008) - Keegan returns

D-Day For Kev (May 9 2008) - I wrote about Kevin Keegan and then-Newcastle owner - Mike Ashley- being  at odds 

He's Gone Again (September 5 2008) - Keegan leaves Newcastle for the third, and final, time

Keegan Versus Newcastle (October 3 2009) - I write about the legal matters between Keegan and Newcastle

Kevin Keegan (February 18 2011) - a review of the brilliant Keegan biography by Ian Ridley

Watching Cardiff .vs. Newcastle.... (August 18 2018) - I wrote a blog while watching Cardiff .vs. Newcastle on the telly. I reminisced about the Newcastle/Luton/Cardiff FA Cup scenario from 1994. In a coincidence realised this morning, as I write this post, I noticed that the Cardiff .vs. Newcastle game was played on the twentieth anniversary of me going to see Keegan's Fulham take on Cardiff in 1998!

The 5-0 Win (October 20 2021) - I wrote about the classic Newcastle win over Manchester United twenty-five years later.

Two Managers, One Story (January 8 2026) - Written following the passing of Terry Yorath and coverage of Kevin Keegan being diagnosed with cancer

Nostalgia Blast (January 13 2026) - I write about a classic Newcastle shirt and link it to the second departure of Keegan

Post-World Cup Blues!?

I woke up this morning with one thing on mind.

I'm going to miss the World Cup.

Never, in twenty tournaments, have I ever felt the Post-World Cup blues. 

It's quite surprising I had that emotion. It wasn't one of my favourite World Cups. 

What it must have been is I'm going to miss the routine I put myself through for the past month (and then some).

One day soon, I'll force myself to rank my favourite World Cups just to see where 2026 is on the list. It's certainly not at the top. On a positive, it's far from the bottom.

I was happy with last night's score of 1-0 to Spain. I suspected the eventual winners would keep it tight (that's their game!). I'm glad I didn't hedge my bets and wager on Lionel Messi to win the golden boot when I was offered 11/1 on Saturday night, once my Kylian Mbappe wager - from earlier this year - looked firm.

Spain not only had the best team at the World Cup.. it also had the best Walkers crisps flavour for this year's tourney.

Terence Donovan Passes Away

I vividly recall first coming across Terence Donovan on TV back in the 90s.

He played the villainous Al Simpson - father of Sophie (Rebekah Elmaloglou) - in Home and Away for a brief period. Then, a year or so later, newspapers began hyping up that 'Jason Donovan's dad has joined Neighbours' which was quite a big deal considering how Jason had become such a gigantic star stemming from his time on the Australian soap.

I didn't make any connection until I saw Doug Willis in Neighbours. It caused me to realise  'Ohhh, he's the guy who played Al Simpson in Home and Away!'

Donovan's Doug Willis character became a regular and was your typical Aussie. The funny and very random thing, for yours truly, about Doug's building business - Willis Construction - is, during this time, there was business local to me also named 'Willis Construction'. It would be hysterical to see the company's van drive around my area as I made my walk to school.

As an aside, I checked to see if Willis Construction is still in business. I'm happy to report it is!

I believe Terry Donovan left Neighbours somewhere close to the mid-nineties. Maybe a little earlier. He made a few brief returns over the years. His last appearances  - as part of a key storyline - saw Doug lose his battle with dementia. 

In a fun wrinkle to Doug's return, his character was involved in scenes with his son - Brad (then played by a different actor) and his wife - Terese. The trivia note is Terese was played by Rebekah Elmaloglou, so Donovan's Neighbours and Home and Away characters were both related to those played by Elmaloglou.

Over the past few years, previous work by Donovan has popped up on my screen. He was in a few episodes of Prisoner Cell Block H when I caught old Prisoner eps last year. I also found him in an Aussie heist movie - 1978's Money Movers - on Talking Pictures TV sometime within the past five years or so.

It was recently announced that Terence Donovan has passed away at the age of ninety.