G1 36 Kicks Off

I had to avoid the Internet for most of the day because I didn't want to bump into any spoilers for the first night of the G1 Climax.

My mission went well. I didn't see anything, so all the results were fresh when I managed to see everything by this afternoon.

Going in, I was kind of not as all-in as I usually would be for a G1. However, now that one day is crossed off, I feel slightly submerged.

With last night's tournament kick off taking place in Chicago, the participants will resume action in Japan starting this coming Saturday. It's a 9:00 AM start for those in the BST time zone.

Thoughts About Ann Widdecombe's Death

I was somewhat shocked to hear of Ann Widdecombe's passing, when I first learned of it yesterday. 

'Somewhat' is the operative word. I assumed she had died due to an illness or from natural causes. After all, she was in her late-70s. An easy conclusion, no?

With that all stated, imagine how stunned I was when it was later reported Widdecombe's death is now being treated as murder.

Even if you disliked Widdecombe's politics, you cannot argue that she didn't stick to her beliefs. 

You also cannot argue that the murder of an elderly lady is an abhorrent crime. 

Today's American Football Trivia Question Was Easy

There was an easy question on today's page of my Year of Football Trivia calendar.

It asks 'Which famous action-movie star and former pro wrestler is an owner of the UFL spring football league?'

They have Hulk Hogan, Dave Bautista, John Cena, Dwayne Johnson and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin as the possible answers.

The correct option is Dwayne Johnson. He, and his partners, merged the XFL with the USFL - to create the UFL - in late 2023.

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.