A Super Bowl LXI Gamble Inspired By Lindy's 2026

As I mentioned, back on June 15th, the 2026 issue of Lindy's Pro Football Preview Guide has been published.

My copy arrived that morning with Seattle's Sam Darnold on the cover.

In today's post, I'm going to give away a spoiler from the publication because a betting opportunity has arisen from it.

Each year, the writers of the yearbook dedicate one of the earlier pages to predicting which teams will compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the conclusion of the season. For Super Bowl LXI, they guess the Los Angles Rams will defeat the Cincinnati Bengals.

That scenario will be a repeat of Super Bowl LVI, which saw the Rams beat the Bengals 23-20 on February 13th 2023.

Oh, and another wrinkle:  the 2023 game was played at SoFi Stadium. Guess where Super Bowl LXI is going to emanate from? Yep, the Rams' home once again.

As mentioned above, there's a betting opportunity that is available for this result.

Some bookies might have an exact forecast on the Super Bowl result. Bet365, for example, is offering odds of 60/1 for the Rams to win the big one over the Bengals.

I've placed a £1 punt on it for a laugh.

Another thing I've done is gambled on the Bengals to reverse the result from the conclusion of the 2022 season and beat the Rams in Los Angeles. That was 100/1.

The fact I've only put £1 on each option should indicate just how much I consider this a crapshoot. 

I have published my own preview for the 2026 Pro Football season. You can read all about it IN THIS POST.

Catch Up Time

There aren't any World Cup games tonight. 

It'll be the first day, since the tournament began, without something to watch.

I'm not complaining. Well, not completely. 

You should see all the TV programmes I need to catch up on. I have a stack built up because of the football.

I Try Raspberry Ripple Pepsi

In February of last year, I wrote about two 'cream'  Pepsi flavours that had hit the British market. I now bring you news of another one. It's on a similar theme.

While browsing the Tesco website yesterday morning, I noticed they were selling a bottle of a zero sugar Pepsi which has a raspberry ripple flavour.

I had it as part of the meal deal I had for lunch.

Just like the previous flavours, this one mixes a common flavour with vanilla to give an ice-creamy experience.

To remind you - the strawberries and cream Pepsi beat out the cream soda flavour in 2025. But, it was only because I have a hate/hate relationship with cream soda (long story!). 

I've enjoyed a few cans of raspberry Pepsi Max in the past, so this tasted slightly like that with the added ice-cream/vanilla enhancement.

Does it work? Yes, I reckon so. There's a good balance of raspberry, cola and vanilla. Would I try it again? Maybe. 

Raspberry Ripple Pepsi is better than the cream soda and strawberry editions from 2025. That's for sure.

With the drink aside, I'd also like to point out how great the label looks. As you'll see above, it mixed the pink colour you'd associate with packaging of a raspberry ripple box and has the classic Pepsi logo within an ice cream on a cone. 

Great design.

There are two other flavours out there in the wild with one being cherry and vanilla (oooh!) while the other is salted caramel.

I'll be on the hunt for those. Stay tuned.

England Beat Mexico 3-2

I stuck with what I planned to do yesterday and opted to sleep instead of watching the Mexico versus England World Cup game last night.

Upon waking up, I looked at the score app on my phone and noticed that England had won 3-2.

I'll be fair - if they went into the Azteca and got a win, they deserved it. 

I'll even be more fairer with this statement - that England side is stronger than their next opponents: Norway. 

Norway stunned me last night. Strike that. Brazil being abysmal is the stunner. 

The oddsmakers agree as well. I've seen England listed as favourites. Fair. Fair. Fair.

Storm Warning

I'm not going to gamble on Mexico .vs. England tonight.

No, not a wagering kind of gamble. I'm on about a sleep deprivation one.

The round of 16 World Cup clash has been threatened by potential thunder and lightning in, and around, Mexico City. Going by FIFA's safety regulations, the game will be postponed for thirty minutes each time there is a strike within the vicinity of Estadio Azteca.

Even though I'd like to watch the match, the storm threat is too much. 

I have history in these kinds of things. I recall staying up for an NFL game a few years back (might have been a Sunday or Monday night game from Denver) and I ended up switching everything off for bed when there were delays.

The fact that it's England enhances my reluctance to weather the storm.

Morning Thoughts On This Hot Dog Day

I loved last night's game between Argentina and Cape Verde.

The round of 32 clash saw the Argies win 3-2 in extra time after the game was tied 1-1 after regular play.

The only drawback, other than not seeing a giant slaying, was the fact that Argentina were never behind at all in the game. They went 1-0 up before the equaliser. Then, in extra time, they were 2-1 up before Sidny Cabral's stunner. 

So, yes, I was rooting for the underdogs last night. As for today, I'll hopefully find a way to cheer on a favourite.

Seeing as it's July 4th, I'll be looking out for streams of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. 

I'm keen to see if Joey Chestnut wins his 18th title. 

The bookies have him at 1/40 to do so. Crazy.. but fair.

I Try Walkers' 2026 FIFA World Cup Crisps

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in full swing, I thought I'd write some words about the four crisps Walkers have brought out to celebrate the tournament.

As you can see in the photograph, there are four varieties out there. I'll go through each one in the order they appear above.

English Bangers and Mash

These are regular Walkers crisps with an 'English Bangers and Mash' flavour. I've tried sausage flavour crisps before. Sausage and Tomato, by Golden Wonder, has no competition with this offering.

They're okay. But just that. Nothing more.

Mexican Beef Taco Doritos

I chose the right time to write about these crisps, didn't I? What with England set to meet Mexico on Sunday (Monday for us). 

I enjoy Doritos. There have only been rare occasions when I've disliked new flavours of these tortilla chips. With that said - I loved this flavour. It's actually a rare occasion when the flavour suits the product because of the 'Mexicaness' of beef tacos being the flavour of a chip.

Definitely worth looking out for.

Wavy Spanish Queso

I was unaware of the Walkers 'Wavy' range until I sampled these crisps.  I don't even know if there are any other 'wavy' varieties out there. Anyway, these crinkled crisps represent Spain by having a 'queso' flavour. 

I studied Spanish at high school, I know that 'Queso' means 'Cheese'. But, I also want to add something else - Estas patatas fritas son las mejores de las cuatro.

What I wrote in Spanish was 'these crisps are the best of the four'. They truly are. 

As I munched away, I kept nodding to myself. 'Yes,' I concluded. 'This flavour absolutely represents the taste of Spanish cheese'. 

They're legitimately one of the best cheese flavour crisps I've ever had. Trust me, that is a strong statement.

Walkers Max Portuguese Chorizo and Onion

This packet was in the 'Max' range. I think these crisps are suited to that variety of crisps because Walkers Max tend to deal with strong flavours on the ridge potato chip. So, they got that spot on.

As for whether I liked eating them, I'd have to go with the negative. I didn't enjoy them even though I felt everything else about the branding and option to go with this flavour as a 'Max' crisp was spot on.

The ranking of flavours is as follows:

1. Spanish Queso

2. Mexican Beef Taco

3. English Bangers and Mash

4. Portuguese Chorizo and Onion

I'd recommend trying all four, to be fair. Make sure you try the top two, though.