A Brazil Prophecy

I'm writing it now.

Brazil will not win the World Cup.

They probably won't even be in the tournament after Friday.

I have a feeling Colombia will defeat them in the quarter finals.

They haven't been filling me with confidence since the first game. I hope I am wrong, though.

Brazilian Zesty Chilli Style Pringles

Whenever there's a football tournament going on, it's safe to bet that Pringles are advertising their product somewhere.

The Pringoooooals packets have been on the shelves for the most recent Euros and World Cups. They did this year as well. However, they went one better by introducing a flavour to coincide with the 2014 World Cup taking place in Brazil.

The 'Brazilian Zesty Chilli Style' flavour wasn't that bad, to be fair.

It wasn't spicy as I thought they would be. They were more more 'Zesty' than 'Chilli' as the lime flavour won out.

I doubt they'll be around for long, so - if you're looking to try them - I'd do so ASAP.

Do We Now Know The SummerSlam 2014 Main Event?

Has World Wrestling Entertainment shown their hand?

The planned main event for this year's SummerSlam was originally going to have Daniel Bryan defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar. As we all know, Bryan had to relinquish the belt a number of weeks ago as his rehabilitation following neck surgery hasn't been as rapid as was initially estimated.

Instead, the winner of a ladder match at tomorrow night's Money in the Bank pay-per-view will win the currently vacant WWE World Heavyweight Title and will more than likely head into August's event to take on Lesnar's challenge.

Could that winner be John Cena? A poster that showed up on Amazon.com on Wednesday might have your answer:

The above cover appeared on the page where you can preorder the SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray. 

There's no point looking at that link now, though. The cover art was changed within hours to this:

To be honest, out of the group of names in Sunday's main event, I'd rather see John Cena walk out as champion.

And before you start blasting me for being a John Cena supporter (I am, but that's beside the point I am about to make), consider this.

If the winner of this weekend's title match is going on to SummerSlam to lose the belt to Brock Lesnar, why bother putting it on somebody new knowing what the end result is leading to?

It won't benefit Roman Reigns or Bray Wyatt. The storyline could suit Cesaro, but even then they'll be cutting his legs out from under him and it might do more harm than good having him win the belt, turn babyface on Paul Heyman and then lose to The Beast.

Also, remember when Brock came back two years ago? Who did he fight in his first match back? Better yet - who did he lose to?

Lesnar can get his win back this way, paving the way for a rubber match further on down the road.

Count me in the 'I am okay with this road to SummerSlam' group.

Bad News For Barrett?

I have some bad news.

It looks like my pick to win the briefcase holding an immediate WWE World Heavyweight championship title shot at this Sunday's WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view is out.

Bad News Barrett was injured during the Smackdown television taping on Tuesday night.

The current WWE Intercontinental champion was thrown into a barricade by Jack Swagger and ended up hurting his shoulder. He began swearing in pain forcing the referee to make the X with his arms to call out medical assistance.

WWE.com states that there still hasn't been any determination on his participation in Sunday's ladder match.

It doesn't look good, though.

I picked him to win it last year and had even suggested him again in yesterday's post where I made speculations on which wrestlers would open as favourites when Money in the Bank betting odds were published.

I have been rooting for Barrett ever since I found out that - even though he is English - he used to live in Cardiff.

As of the time of writing (Thursday 7:45am BST), the odds have yet to be published.

Guessing The Money In The Bank Favourites

The betting odds for this Sunday's WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be up soon, if they haven't gone up already, so I'm going to guess the winners of each match.

As per usual I'm writing this early with the post set to publish later in the week.

Paige vs Naomi

Paige should win this one. 

The Usos vs The Wyatt Family

I have a feeling The Wyatts will win the tag team titles.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I wouldn't be surprised if Seth Rollins is the favourite when the odds are first posted. I'm going with Wade Barrett, though. I think the set up will see Rollins almost take the briefcase before Dean Ambrose stops him leaving it open for somebody else to grab it.

Ladder Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

I'd like Cesaro or Bray Wyatt to win this. It would be cool to have The Wyatts holding the tag team and world titles at the end of the evening, but I doubt this will happen. I have a rule: if in doubt - go with John Cena.

Another Suarez Biting Incident

When I was watching the Uruguay versus Italy World Cup game yesterday and saw Giorgio Chiellini claim that Luis Suarez had bitten him, I thought it was just Chiellini trying to get Suarez into trouble. After all, the Uruguayan does have a history of biting. 

I even watched the initial replay and didn't think he had taken a bite.

Now, I am not so sure.

I have seen it with a close up and it does seem to show Suarez biting the shoulder of the Italian defender.

If he does end up getting punished, he deserves to be gone for a long time. Much longer than last time.

And the time before that.

The USA/Portugal Finish

I enjoyed the World Cup game between the USA and Portugal in late Sunday night.

I had a feeling Team USA would qualify from their group so was excited when they went 2-1 up against their opponents.

It was looking like they would get all three points until what turned out to be a silly error gave Portugal an equalizer in the closing seconds of the game.

You might think I'm crazy writing this, but I have a feeling the US will be a big force in football one day. They're certainly moving in the right direction.

A draw or better against Germany might be asking too much of them this time, though.

The Brock Lesnar Question

World Wrestling Entertainment sent out a survey to its mailing list the other day asking the recipients which WWE wrestler they would like to see wrestle Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

It's worth noting that the names given are the seven participants in this Sunday's Money in the Bank ladder match which will see the winner walk away with the currently vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Below is a list of names with my thoughts on whether I would like to see them wrestle in the main event of SummerSlam against Lesnar.

Sheamus
I don't think he'll win the title, nor do I think the fans will want to see it. Sheamus vs Lesnar is not a match that I have a good feeling for.

Alberto Del Rio
Put it like this, I'd rather see Sheamus vs Brock Lesnar before I'd want to see this one.

Randy Orton
Not one I would go for, but I can see it happening.

Bray Wyatt
I have been enjoying the Bray Wyatt character, but is it too soon to put the belt on him and have him face-off against Brock Lesnar?

John Cena
We have seen Cena versus Lesnar two years ago. That match back then was great. If WWE are backed into a corner and decide they don't want to have a new guy as champion, then Cena is the perennial go-to guy. If the company wants to have Lesnar win the championship at SummerSlam, which they should be doing to build on him ending Undertaker's streak, then having him defeat Cena - and getting a win back would be perfect. Is it too formulaic, though?

Roman Reigns
Is it too soon? It's all down to whether the company is desperate to shake things up.If they do want to go that route, Reigns is the guy.

Cesaro
I like this one better. Have him win the belt at Money in the Bank and then build up towards Brock Lesnar somehow. Remember, Paul Heyman is the advocate of both Cesaro and Lesnar so there is potential for some good storytelling in the lead-in to August's super show.

World Cup Ramblings

I had two teams penciled in as potential World Cup winners a few weeks ago.

Brazil & Uruguay.

Neither team has filled me with confidence after two games. 

It's too late to change my mind, but - if I had to pick again - I would leave those two out of it.

I wouldn't even pick Argentina, especially after how close they were to drawing - or even losing to - Iran yesterday.

If I had to choose one, I'd lump something on Holland. 

But, even then, I'll more than likely end up wrong!

5

My youngest nephew is five today.

Yes, it's one of those blog posts where I write about how time seems to be flying by as it seemed like only yesterday since he was born.

Instead of ending it there, I'll share with you a conversation I had with him over a year ago. It still makes me laugh when I reminisce.

'Please can I have my lunch now? I'm starving.'
'You have just had your breakfast and please don't say you're starving. Children in Africa are starving, you're not.'
He then had a confused look at me and then announced: 'There aren't any children in Africa! Only animals!'

I could have died laughing.

And that's just one example of the things he comes out with. He's so funny.

Another England Reality Check

England's chance of going further in the World Cup after last night's loss to Uruguay?

Slim & None.

And you know how that phrase ends.

Amazon Fire Phone

Amazon unveiled their first mobile phone yesterday.

The Fire Phone will be released in the USA in July, I'm unsure when we'll get to see it on this side of the pond.

On first impressions, it looks quite cool.

There are two things that immediately interest me. They are the Firefly feature and the 3D display.

I'll start with the latter.

When I first heard about the phone a few days ago, the rumour going around said that the phone would have a hologram feel to it. I immediately thought something you would see on Star Trek. Instead, and from the pictures and videos I have seen, it looks like it's a dynamic screen where the picture moves with your own movement.  The picture below shows what I am on about. However, it doesn't really do it justice.

The Firefly feature enables the phone user to scan for information. It sounds like it's a far superior version of Shazam. For example, the user can use Firefly to get telephone numbers and make calls just by scanning a page with a number on. They can also get artist information when the button is pressed around music (like Shazam), but there's more. It also works when it's used during movies. Info from IMDB will be sent across when the button is pressed during a movie or television show.

I don't know if it will be good enough to make me give up the iPhone but I'm certainly interested right now.

As noted, I don't know when we'll see it in the UK Amazon store. It's already listed for sale on Amazon US, though.

America : Where England Are World Cup Favourites

On Sunday morning, I tuned into the American sports radio station that I always listen to and heard something crazy.

Bear in mind this was a number hours removed from England's 1-2 loss to Italy in the World Cup. The host was talking about the game and said something like:

I cannot believe England lost. They're one of the favourites to win the World Cup.

What!?

I genuinely thought I misheard what he had said, but I didn't.

Firstly, to be shocked that Italy defeated England shows the presenter has no clue what he's talking about. 

Secondly, this is the first time in recent memory that the British media has discounted England's chances of winning the World Cup. I cannot see where he got the idea that they could go out and win the tournament.

Count me as still puzzled four days later.

They Should Do 2 MITB Matches In Two Weeks

With the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship going to the winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match on pay-per-view in less than a fortnight, it got me thinking - I hope the company decide to have two MITB matches on the show.

With the main match winner becoming champion immediately, WWE fans will miss out on the up to a year of speculation on when a Money in the Bank victor will exercise his immediate title shot.

Having a person carry the briefcase around for days, weeks - and often - months is one of the things that makes the Money in the Bank ladder match one of the most popular matches in WWE. 

Without question, they'll a gimme storyline if they don't have somebody doing that this year.

If they do decide to have a second match on the card, tonight's edition of WWE Raw is the most opportune time to announce it. 

I can't see them doing so next Monday with just a few days until the show.

Lego Simpsons

I spent part of yesterday watching Youtube videos with my four-year old nephew.

One of the things he likes doing is watching clips of people opening their Lego toys and there was one that astounded me.

There are Lego sets based on The Simpsons nowadays and the video I watched had a boy opening a large box of the Simpsons' home.

The kid must have taken out ten bags of bricks, if not more.

They showed him put the model together in fast-motion. God knows how long it actually took. I wouldn't even like to guess. The only justice I could give it is to say 'it must have taken hours'.

The finished item looked spectacular. There's so much detail to it. I was very impressed.

However, I wasn't impressed enough to want to have my own.

It was hard enough seeing the lad putting the thing together!

So Far, So Good

We're just a few days in to the 2014 World Cup and it's a case of so far so good where I'm concerned.

As I write this, Colombia have beaten Greece 3-0 and I'm getting ready to watch Uruguay taking on Costa Rica.

The big match of the night - England versus Italy - is on later followed by the Ivory Coast taking on Japan.

I'll watch the former but cannot justify staying up until just before four to watch the latter.

If I wake up tomorrow and find that I have missed a classic, I'll be annoyed.

Annoyed, but rested.

Harrison Ford Injures Himself On Star Wars Set

What a situation the cast and crew of Star Wars : Episode VII must have found themselves in the other day when Harrison Ford was injured on set.

According to the news reports, Ford was hurt whilst filming a scene for the upcoming movie. His leg was trapped in a hydraulic door. He has broken his ankle, which sounds slightly better than the 'crushed leg' story that first broke.

Not that having a broken ankle is a positive!

Hopefully, the actor makes both a speedy and full recovery. 

Roster Cuts

World Wrestling Entertainment had a Black Friday talent cut a day early yesterday.

The company released around ten names. Here are the ones I was shocked by:

Brodus Clay

Theodore Long

Jinder Mahal

Drew McIntyre

Brodus Clay had a weird run with the company. Even though he had been MIA for a while, I didn't think WWE would have let him go this soon.

Teddy Long had been with WWE since the late-90s. He hasn't been on TV for a while, so I guess it shouldn't be that much of a shocker.

Mahal and McIntyre are the most surprising names on the list. Both were in 3MB and have been on television a lot lately. They'll also be on tonight's Smackdown as well.

World Cup 2014 Bets

We're finally here. It's the day the 2014 World Cup begins.

I have been studying hard and will share with you the outright bets that I have placed this year.

Firstly, I have placed a wager on Brazil to win the cup at 4/1 with Totepool.com.

I have also put money on the finalists being Brazil & Uruguay, which is 50/1 with Betfred.com.

And that's not all.

Each day during the tourney, I'll be posting bets of the day over at TaylorKnowsBets.com.

The first game kicks off at 9pm tonight and - if I'm in time - I'll be backing Brazil to win.

The reason why I noted about the time is because WilliamHill.com will be offering Brazil at even money from 12pm today for a limited time. I am hoping to catch those odds before they revert back to around 1/3.

Failing that, I'll find another thing to bet on.

Good luck!

Bryan Loses The Title

I feel so sorry for Daniel Bryan.

The wrestler won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX, was married a few days later and then it all seemed to go downhill from there.

His father passed away not long after returning from his honeymoon then - somewhere along the line - he ended up injuring his neck. This injury resulted in surgery which was supposed to have kept him out of the ring for just a few weeks.

The company made a decision to keep the title on him as they expected him back in time for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view at the end of the month. However, WWE found out he wasn't healing as fast as anticipated so they had to make the decision to force the title to be vacated.

It's dreadful misfortune, but at least he's not going to be in a position to force himself back before he's ready.

I don't know what this means for his rumoured match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. I hope it's still going to happen somewhere down the road. The match-up intrigues me.

Thoughts On ITV's World Cup Ad Campaign

The World Cup hasn't even started and I'm already fed up of the ITV coverage.

The company's advertising campaign for the tournament - featuring people's faces apparently celebrating goals (or something) - has been constantly shown for the past few weeks but now it has started to grate with me.

Knowing that it's already bugging me, can you imagine how I'll be feeling by July 13th?

Is Han Solo Dying In Episode VII?

I spent most of last week listening to podcasts and reading about the new Star Wars movie, that is set to be released in late 2015. There seems to be a lot of speculation about Harrison Ford's participation in the new trilogy with numerous fan websites believing Ford has only signed up for the movie in order for Han Solo to be killed off.

I don't really know what to make of this.

If the hardcore fans are okay with it, then I guess they won't be that annoyed if Solo dies in Episode VII.

I, on the other hand, am not as hardcore and would rather see the original characters continue through the new trilogy and pave the way for the next generation.

Don't get me wrong - killing off Han Solo does intrigue me. After all, they do have three movies in the series to make. I'm just not convinced it's a good idea.

Yet.

Fans have spent the past thirty-one years believing the Galaxy far, far away has lived happily ever after. I feel there's going to be uproar from some sides if they do decide to kill him.

Call it a gut feeling.

Or, better yet - a strange disturbance in the force.

The Storm

I wrote a short piece about the Racing Post's World Cup Guide in yesterday's blog post and set it to publish late yesterday morning so I could add a picture to it.

Unfortunately, I did not set the publishing to it correctly and it went up earlier than I planned. I'm kicking myself about it now as I wanted to postpone it for a day as I had something else to write about. Instead, you're about to read something that's now over twenty-four hours late.

Hey, it saves having to hear me rant about Britain's Got Talent!

* * *

I woke extremely early on Saturday morning thanks to a storm.

I've written about storms in the past, but this one was possibly the worst I have ever experienced. Thankfully, I was tucked up in bed and not out in it. Before Saturday, the most abysmal one I had endured was when I was five or six in Ireland. Back then, I was outside so it has haunted me ever since.

Saturday's sounded worse than that, though. It went on and on on.

And on.

Once it did die down, I was too awake. I went online to see the reaction on Twitter and the people on there were just as shocked at how vicious it was.

Either the people on Twitter are just as flaky as me, or it really was a bad one.

I'm going with the latter. Obviously.

Racing Post World Cup Guide 2014

I bought the Racing Post World Cup Guide 2014 as a betting handbook for the upcoming tournament.

The book is similar to the football annual that both the Racing Post and Racing & Football Outlook publish each year.

It includes articles written by some of the Racing Post's well-known football writers as well as extensive write-ups about every team that will be playing in Brazil from next Thursday.

Another good feature of the book is the historic data that is included. I know you can find past results from all of the previous World Cups online, but having it beside me in book form is handy. Yes, I am still stuck in the past in many ways!

If you're looking to bet on the World Cup, this is all you'll need. 

Buy the Racing Post World Cup Guide 2014 at Amazon.co.uk

Sting DVD On Its Way

The WWE DVD news websites have revealed that there will be a Sting DVD/Blu-ray released later this year.

The set will include his work from Mid-South all the way to the final episode of WCW Nitro, which is the most recent footage World Wrestling Entertainment owns from his career.

Sting had recently worked for TNA Wrestling, but WWE obviously cannot include any of his work from there.

Well, not until the day they purchase the TNA tape library. If that day ever comes.

The wrestler is still in the midst of negotiating a deal to join World Wrestling Entertainment and has teased he will be at WrestleMania XXXI.

It's set to be released on September 29th over here with the US version coming out a week earlier.

'Welcome To Rio'

I have always thought Adrian Chiles was a prat, but yesterday he one-upped himself.

'Welcome to Rio,' he opened yesterday's coverage of England versus Ecuador.

Only problem - they were in Miami.

Rollins Joins Hunter & Orton

It was an interesting end to WWE Raw on Monday night.

Seth Rollins turned on The Shield and joined Triple H and Randy Orton in what I am guessing is a new edition of Evolution.

It's intriguing to see what happens now as the company heads towards SummerSlam. The rumoured plan is for Triple H to wrestle Roman Reigns on the show, so they're certainly on the path towards that.

It could also be Rollins versus Reigns. However, I can't see them waiting until August for that one as they'll be mixed up in tag team and singles bouts throughout the summer.

I'm betting we'll see enough Orton & Rollins versus Dean Ambrose & Reigns on TV over the next few weeks.

Remember 1966

Remember 1966.

It's a phrase that really bugs me.

Every four years, it pops up somewhere. It was on an email subject box I received yesterday.

Firstly, I don't remember 1966. I wasn't even born.

And I'd like to bet that the person who emailed me wasn't even born in '66, either.

England's problem is that everybody wants to either remember 1966 or want to have been in a position to remember the year they won the World Cup.

I think remembering 1966 is a good way to forget every other World Cup England have competed in.

And those they didn't even qualify for.

If I were English, I'd wish I happened to be Brazilian.

At least then, I'd be able to remember more than one World Cup.

It's June

My nephew has been looking forward to June for quite a while.

He knows this is the month when his birthday is, so he often asks 'When is June coming?'

On Saturday, I told him that it was June 1st the following day hoping to make him excited that the month of his birthday was nearing.

He then asked 'Does that mean it's my birthday soon?'

'Yes, in three weeks.'

The youngster became excited and queried 'So, three sleeps until my birthday?'

'No. Twenty,' was my response.

Cue pissed off four-year old.

I felt like quite a baddie doing that.

In hindsight, I should have waited until closer to the day. I guess I'll know in future.

Hula Hoops Potato Hoops

I was watching the television the other night and stumbled upon an Iceland advert that was promoting an exclusive item in store.

Baked Hula Hoops.

No, I don't mean Hula Hoops crisps. Or 'Potato Snacks' to be politically correct.

What I am on about is special potato products that you cook in your oven that has the Hula Hoops logo on it.

Still not sure what I'm writing about? Take a look...

They're in the same family of other potato products like the potato alphabets or dinosaurs but obviously shaped like a hoop to resemble their potato snack cousin.

There are three flavours, as far as I am aware - original, beef and cheese & onion. I picked the cheese & onion flavour.

I'm still not sure what to make of them. Nothing special, but not the worst thing I have ever eaten.

I will be trying the beef flavour next. Stay tuned!