Snoop In Swansea

Snoop Dogg has been all over my local and national news this week.

Nope, he hasn't gotten himself into any trouble. Well, not unless associating himself with Swansea City Football Club is a crime. That could be punishable in my neck of the woods, though.

Snoop is a minority owner of the Welsh club. He made an appearance at TheSwansea.com Stadium last night in what was, as noted, all over the news.

I suppose it' was a big deal.

And I write that as a lapsed Cardiff City supporter. 

Which leads me to something.

Every single time I have seen the names 'Snoop Dogg' and 'Swansea' together, I keep asking myself a question:

'HOW WOULD I HAVE ACCEPTED SUCH NEWS BACK IN THE DAY?'

There was a time in my life when Snoop Doggy Dogg and Cardiff City were some of my favourite things. I had a Snoop t-shirt which was worn almost every other day at one point in time. I bought his albums on their release dates on at least three occasions in which I can recall. That's how invested I was.

I was also a Cardiff City supporter. A lot more then than today.

I struggle to see how I would have been able to wear that t-shirt as often as I did if Snoop was a minority owner of Swansea City back then. 

I'd also like to get a shot at my rivals while I have the opportunity: Snoop didn't fly over to Swansea from the US especially. He had been over in Italy covering the Winter Olympics for NBC, so he made that stop on the way back from the Games.

With that said, the scenes from last night's appearance did look great. The crowd had Snoop-themed towels and were waving them in support for their guest.

That was definitely an idea inspired by Snoop's favourite NFL team - the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those who don't know, now you'll know: Steelers fans have Terrible Towels and wave them each game day. Even though I don't support the Steelers, I once had a wish - long ago - to own a Terrible Towel of my own. I couldn't believe my eyes a few Christmases ago, when I was given one of my own (thanks Lisa and Jill!), 

I was curious to see if anybody had placed their, for want of a better name,  Snoop Dogg Swansea City Terrible Towels on eBay overnight. I found a couple. One was £83.90 and the other was £208.70. I expect more will pop up on the auction site over the coming hours. 

Swansea City and Preston North End drew the game 1-1 with Swansea's Liam Cullen scoring the equaliser in injury time to save his team's blushes in front of their partial owner.

Sky One: Back From The Dead

It genuinely feels like only a few months ago when I wrote a eulogy to Sky One, It hasn't been, though. That very post went live 1,638 days ago.

Time flies, I guess.

The post was written around the time when the people at Sky decided to end the flagship entertainment channel in favour of a newly-branded offering called Sky Max. 

I had a reread of the post yesterday. I put a lot of thought and effort into it because I wanted to share how much that channel assisted me in my 21 Jump Street loving and WWF-following childhood. It was also there for my adulthood following of some WWE shows (the important stuff was on Sky Sports by then) but also my enjoyment of the Arrowverse programmes.

Anyway, it was replaced. Everything I used to watch before then, like MacGyver, Magnum PI and SWAT (RIP to all three since 2021), all ended up on Sky Max.

Until today. 

Yep, Sky One is back. 

I surmise the reason why Sky has resurrected Sky One is because HBO Max is launching in the UK marketplace imminently, so it would be somewhat confusing to have a Sky Max channel and a HBO Max streaming platform fighting for eyeballs.

I'm obviously okay with Sky One's return, considering how gutted I was to see it go in 2021. However, it does allow me to once again ask a question I pondered back then. It's even more significant now considering the reversion.

What was the point in the name change?!

Stepping Back On The Nancy Guthrie Story

The Nancy Guthrie 'kidnap' story I wrote about a few weeks ago has, I'm afraid to say, jumped the shark with me.

It has now been over three weeks since Nancy, mother of American TV presenter - Savannah Guthrie - was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona home. 

I've been following as much of the story as possible. I have checked out the coverage from the mainstream media and have also watched a lot more from, I suppose, the underground reporters.

The latter has done an exceptional job. However, I should state that there are some out there with questionable methods of 'reporting the news'. 

My take - after all these weeks of following the story - is this: what a mess.

I keep hoping for a resolution, but there's just so many contradictions being relayed and reported it has made my interest wane significantly.

It's okay for me to do that, though. I'm far away from the scene. I hope those right in the centre of the story don't lose interest like I've done.

I don't intend to completely give up on following the story. I'm simply going to take a step back from being almost all-in by reading and watching as much as I can about this massive story.

With all that said, I hope Nancy is found and those responsible are brought to justice.

Thrill Of Victory / Agony Of Defeat

In early January, I wrote a post in which I mentioned leaving the WildEarth channel on overnight because Oreo likes having the TV on (yes, I know how mad that comes across). I have continued to do that across the previous weeks.

With the preface out of the way, I have a story from today's viewing of the channel.

I was sat on my bed having either my breakfast or putting my shoes on (I cannot recall which!) and looked up at the TV. I noticed they were filming a lake. There was a crocodile head slightly above the water. It was slowly resting along by the waterbed. I didn't think much of it at first. Not until I noticed there was a small bird finding food on the bank.

'Oh,' I thought 'he's going to catch the bird'

I sat there for a few moments hoping the bird would get away before it's prey made the move.

Then...

..out came the croc and then flew the bird.

'Ha, m**herf***er!' I exclaimed as I saw the underdog (underbird?) get away from the favourite.

Not so fast.

The camera panned to the right because it had lost the view of the crocodile. It was chewing. 

'Oh, s**t!' was my response to what I had seen. Or not seen. The camera must have missed a second attempt by the crocodile.

It was a case of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in two fell sweeps.

Here's a photo I was able to take of my TV shortly afterwards. It was after the croc had eaten its catch. 

A few minutes later, it - or another one - was eyeing up another bird along the bank. Then a shadow came alongside them. I surmised it was another croc, but it turned out to be a turtle.  The turtle managed to swim by the croc with ease.

As I wrote back in January, this is such a fascinating channel. To see all this going on live is brilliant. What a great idea. I wish I had things like this to educate me 24/7 (or close enough to 24/7) during my childhood.

Thoughts After Yesterday's Big Boxing News

Professional boxing is a business.

It's written right there on the tin: Professional. 

Still, I found myself stunned at the big story which came out of the sport last night.

Conor Benn has jumped from Matchroom to the new player in the game - Zuffa Boxing - in what is reportedly a one-fight deal that's eight figures deep.

A stunning deal both financially and morally.

You see, Benn had been backed heavily by Matchroom and Eddie Hearn. At Benn's lowest point, Eddie stuck by his fighter when he really could have cut bait. 

But, like I said, that's business.

I'm intrigued to see what becomes of professional boxing now. Zuffa means business.

Here's What Should Be Outside The Bears' Hammond Stadium (If A Move Happens)

It looks like the Chicago Bears could be on their way up the road and set to play home games at a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana.

Well, that's what's being said. 

The Bears are indeed looking for a new home. I'm under the impression that Illinois is still hopeful to keep the team in its US State. However, Indiana reps have given the thumbs up for a potential Bears move to Hammond, which is relatively close to Illinois.

It's headed for a Mexican standoff. 

Until then, here's how I would like the designs of a Hammond stadium to look.

'Why the leg lamp from A Christmas Story?' I suspect some of you might be wondering. Others could be pondering 'why a leg lamp!?' Well - here's why.

Hammond, Indiana is where Jean Shepherd grew up as a child. Therefore, some of the events in his books and the films that spun off from Shepherd's writing, are set in Hammond.

It would only be fitting for the Hammond stadium to honour the legendary raconteur.

But, that's IF such a move were to happen.

I sense this is a game of chicken between the Bears and Illinois. Time will tell on that one. 

In the meantime, remind the designers the leg lamp is Italian because it has FRAGILE written on its container.

Santa's Secret Flavour Pringles Revealed

Do you remember late last year when Pringles brought out a secret flavour for Christmas? I do. It was the worst Pringles flavour I have ever tasted. Trust me on that, I'm a Pringle connoisseur. 

I wrote about the can shortly after I tasted one of the potato snacks. The post was titled Worst. Pringles. Flavour. Ever' because, in my humble opinion, it was the worst Pringles flavour ever.

Yes - I cannot stop hammering home how much I disliked the taste. It was the worst.

My taste buds sensed a bit of mushroom, so I immediately stopped eating from the tube and handed it to my nephew and other members of my family. I was done. Never to return.

In the post, I speculated that it was 'something mushroomy'.

I can now reveal, because Pringles announced it weeks ago and I'm late to the news, that the flavour was...

Truffle and Butter!

 

I consider 'something mushroomy' to be a very close guess on my part.

Looking up what Santa's Secret Flavour turned out to be was prompted by an email I received from Pringles recently. In the communication, the company behind the potato snack brand  informed me that there's a new promotion in which customers have to guess the flavour. The winner will receive a trip to California.

Once I find a can, I'll pop one open and have a guess. 

I hope it isn't omething mushroomy.