Sky One: A Eulogy

I'm old enough to remember when Sky One used to be called Sky Channel. 

However, it wasn't its original title. Opening in 1982, what eventually became Sky's main entertainment channel, started life as Satellite Television Ltd.

The channel's run as the 'oldest non-terrestrial TV channel in the UK' will end its run today when it will be shut down to make way for a couple of new channels: Sky Showcase and Sky Max.

My introduction to Sky Channel began shortly after Rupert Murdoch's News International launched Sky over here in the UK. My aunt and uncle were the first people I knew who owned a satellite dish. 

The only thing I can remember from the visit to my relative's home - in regards to my introduction to Sky Channel - was a commercial for WrestleMania V. A wrestler named Hulk Hogan showed up on the screen. I knew that man. He had wrestled on a special episode of the wrestling on ITV. As well as that, I remembered him from Rocky III.

I cannot recall telling my family that I knew Hulk Hogan. What I do remember is my uncle turning to me and saying 'you should get your parents to buy a satellite dish so you can watch that'.

Good idea!

Months later, after returning from a summer holiday to Malta, I came home and immediately fell asleep on the sofa. After waking up, my father had bad and good news to tell me.

'We had some letters whilst we were away,' he began. 'The first letter is from the cubs, the summer camp has been cancelled. The other letter is from The Sun - I've won a satellite dish in a competition I entered!'

I remember going into town with my dad to pick up the dish and having the box resting on a wall in the dining room waiting a few days until the company came to install it. Those days seriously felt like a drag. 

To cut a long story short, we had Satellite TV by late-August. The world of TV opened up a lot more from that day onwards. Introducing me to programmes that I still enjoy to this very moment.

As you've probably guessed, my interest in the American style of professional wrestling developed due to the addition of satellite television to our home. This is thanks to Sky Channel - or Sky One - which, at the time, hosted the weekly TV shows that were produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The channel also aired the major  events until they eventually moved to Sky Movies before switching to Sky Sports and then Sky Box Office.

The WWF's content is what I enjoyed the most on Sky One when you account for longevity, but there are other shows that played a part in my enjoyment of the channel.

The main one is 21 Jump Street. I've written countless times how that series is very dear to me. It first started airing on Sky Channel exactly a week after the dish was installed. I chose - from that day - to religiously follow the happenings on Jump Street. This lasted well into the early 1990's.

Another programme that I would watch on a weekly basis - starting from 1990 - was The Simpsons. It would air at 6:30PM on a Sunday and would lead in to the aforementioned 21 Jump Street, which would kick off at 7:00PM.

Back in the day, there were some fun programmes like Sky Star Search - a talent show hosted by Keith Chegwin. I also enjoyed Sky's version of the Sale of the Century game show. 

As I look back through writing this post, it's quite clear that a small part of my childhood was made up of enjoying the programming from Sky One.

There were many other programmes I watched on Sky One as I went from childhood to adulthood. Yes, even Beverly Hills 90210 deserves a shout-out, but that was not a series which was forced upon me on occasions.

In recent years, I found myself hooked on Arrow, which ended last year. I have been keeping up to date with the series' that spun-off from it, though. 

As well as Arrow, and it's spin-offs, I'm currently watching reboots of some of the 1980's programmes I enjoyed from the past like MacGyver and Magnum PI.

I also have been keeping up with SWAT - a reboot of a 70's series that I was aware of but had never seen.

I can't say I am going to miss Sky One. Why? Because I know I'll find the programmes I currently watch elsewhere. 

With that said - the fact that I can recall some personal memories simply by thinking back to programmes that I loved on Sky One (or Sky Channel!) should point to the strong chance that I'll never forget it.

Goodbye, Sky One. And thanks.

2021 Fantasy Draft Thoughts And Grade

It's always the same old story when it comes to the draft in the NFL Fantasy league I am a member of.

I go in with an idea. Or, on most occasions, having studied a bit from the magazines I've purchased ahead of the draft. However, as soon as I am on the clock, I throw all my plans aside and just act like a kamikaze.

Yesterday's draft was no different.

I had the second pick in this year's draft. That, I would guess, is because my team was abysmal in 2020. 

The first rule I had was to pick a few running backs in the earlier rounds. Then worry about wide receivers before I even considered picking up a quarterback.

It started off well.

With the second overall pick, I chose the Tennessee Titans' running back, Derrick Henry. From there, I saw a lot of players I wanted picked by other teams in my league. It was here where the game plan to start off with running backs went awry.

My second pick was Atlanta's wide receiver - Calvin Ridley. I followed that up by taking the second-best ranked quarterback on the board - Arizona's Kyler Murray.

To punctuate just how far my game plan had deserted me - or vice versa! - I went with the third best quarterback on the list - Buffalo's Josh Allen.

I figured I might get some trade value with either he or Murray if I needed it during the season.

I played it as straight as I could from there. Once the draft had completed, I awaited the email from the NFL which rated how I did. The mail arrived this morning. This is what it wrote:

\AFTER SOME EARLY-ROUND VALUE PICKS, (MY TEAM) LOOKS TO MAKE A STATEMENT THIS YEAR.

My draft grade was a C. They then went on to project that I will go 0-15 in 2021!

I'm going to prove them wrong.

Here are the players I chose in order:

1. Derrick Henry (RB) Tennessee
2. Calvin Ridley (WR) Atlanta
3. Kyler Murray (QB) Arizona
4. Josh Allen (QB) Buffalo
5. Josh Jacobs (RB) Las Vegas
6. D.J. Moore (WR) Carolina
7. Chase Claypool (WR) Pittsburgh
8. Robert Tonyan (TE) Green Bay
9. DeVonta Smith (WR) Philadelphia
10. Devin Singletary (RB) Buffalo
11. A.J. Dillon (RB) Green Bay
12. Indianapolis Colts (DEF) 
13. Corey Davis (WR) New York Jets
14. Zack Moss (RB) Buffalo
15. Jason Sanders (K) Miami

That team is not going 0-15. I can guarantee that!

I Built A Bet For Manchester City .vs. Arsenal

I had a go at another bet builder yesterday for the Manchester City versus Arsenal game.

I went with four selections in the £5 wager. They were:

1) Over 2.5 Goals

2) Over 2.5 Cards

3) Over 2.5 Corners For City

4) Both Teams To Score In Both Halves

One leg let me down. It was the fourth selection. 

The thing that irks me about the loss is I was contemplating having a bet on there being a red card rather than going for the both teams to score in both halves. If I had, my gamble would have paid off because Arsenal's Granit Xhaka was shown a red in the first half in his team's 5-0 loss.

Losing the bet was the bad.

The good is  - due to a promotion from the bookmaker - my wager was refunded as a free bet because only one of the selections let me down.

So, technically, I haven't really lost. Yet!

Ronaldo's Potential Return

On Thursday night, I was going to write a post about Cristiano Ronaldo's return to the Premier League because I was following all the news about his move from Juventus to Manchester City. 

It looked locked in, but I felt that I would wait a day or so until the deal was confirmed. 

Well - what a shocker yesterday turned out to be.

I went to bed on Thursday night under the impression that Manchester City and Juventus had agreed to a sale. All it needed was for Ronaldo to pass a medical on Friday. Apparently.

When I was scouring the football news on Friday morning, one of the first things I saw was a quote from Manchester United's coach - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - in which he said something along the lines of 'Cristiano knows where we are'. 

It looked like a random quote on the surface. I didn't think anything of it. Until hours later when I read a report that City's attempt to lure Ronaldo had collapsed.

United took over from there. 

The club agreed terms with Juventus and it's all down to getting a visa, a medical and Ronaldo to agree to personal terms with United - the team he played for from 2003 to 2009.

Amazing. 

Shares Tracking

In yesterday's post, I wrote about buying a 'share' in the new Cadbury's Wispa Gold promotion and thought I'd do a short follow-up to show how I have - for want of a better word - 'invested' in the nine-day event that is running on Twitter.

Each day at 12PM, the official Cadbury UK Twitter account will reveal the price of one of its shares in Wispa Gold Hazelnut. I am planning to keep track of the highs and lows over the coming days.

The first announcement was revealed yesterday when the price of a 'share' was announced as three bars. I have added the result into a spreadsheet. You can see it below. I'll continue to keep tabs until the promotion closes next week.

Whatever the price is at 8PM BST on Friday September 3rd, shareholders will be sent that amount of the new product.

Buying A Share In Cadbury's Latest Promotion

Cadbury is bringing out a new Wispa Gold bar and the company is running a promotion ahead of its September 6th launch.

The promotion - for the limited edition hazelnut Wispa Gold - started at 12:00PM yesterday afternoon on Twitter. The platform's users were asked to tweet Cadbury's official UK Twitter account using the hashtag #WispaGoldHF. They would then be given a link to purchase a 69p 'Share' in the new product.

The share isn't a real stake in the bar, or in the company, it's just a fun gimmick in which the owners can keep track in the value of the chocolate bar for the next few days. 

At the point of sale, one share is equal to one Wispa Gold bar. Owners will be informed of the price of a share each day at 12PM BST. This will continue until a week on Friday when - at 8:00PM BST - Cadbury will reveal the final value of a share. Shareholders will then be sent the closing value in chocolate bars. Going by the terms and conditions, it looks like six bars is the maximum amount that could potentially be given away to those who have paid the 69p for a share.

I was able to purchase a share.

I'll publish an update once the market closes. For now, I'm going to sit back and see how it goes.

A Saturday PPV And The Trick It Played

Each Tuesday morning, I wake up with one rule running through my mind.

DON'T GO ONLINE UNTIL YOU'VE WATCHED WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW.

The same thought struck me as I stirred myself to life yesterday morning. Only there was doubt creeping in.

'It can't be Tuesday today because I watched SummerSlam over two days ago'. 

I genuinely thought that I had woken up and it was Wednesday.

There is a good reason why my mind played tricks on me. Or so I believe.

After year, upon year, of watching WWF/E pay-per-views on Sunday nights, I spent the weekend watching the annual SummerSlam show on a Saturday instead of its regular night.

That is what must have done it for me. Even so, my mind didn't even register that - even if I had woken up on a Wednesday - I still had no recollection of watching Monday's Raw.

It made sense after a few short seconds, though. I avoided the Internet until I watched the programme which recorded in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Saturday PPVs are still something I am going to struggle to get used to. SummerSlams used to be on Mondays back in their initial years. However, in the early-to-mid 1990's, they moved to Sundays and I had been watching them live on Sundays since Sky first began to air them on those nights in 1995. 

I'll always prefer Sunday nights for WWE PPV events, but I think we're entering an era where some, if not most, will take place a day earlier than usual.

Fantasy Draft Day 2021

I received an email from the commissioner of my NFL fantasy football league yesterday afternoon.

It informed me that the league's draft is going to take place on Sunday evening.

Time to get the homework done.

After last season's dreadful 3-11 run, I have a lot to improve on!

A More Interesting Note About Cardiff City's Start To The 2021/22 Season

Last Wednesday, I published a post about Cardiff City's start to the 2021-22 season.

I noted that, at the time, the team had scored five goals during its Championship campaign. All five of those goals were scored by heading the ball into the net.

On Saturday, the Bluebirds beat Millwall 3-1 in the fourth league game of the new season.

All three of those goals were, yes - you guessed it, scored by headers.

EIGHT HEADERS!

The Return Of Sky Sports NFL

With the 2021 NFL season on the horizon, Sky Sports NFL will relaunch tomorrow.

The channel - which debuted last year - is full of American football content and was quite a cool addition to Sky Sports' roster of channels. 

Just like last year, the channel will air the weekly NFL games, programming from the NFL Network as well as from NBC.

This is yet another exciting sign which means that the new season is not far away at all. 

Getting Ready For The 2021 NFL Betting Season

I have spent the past few days getting prepared for the upcoming NFL betting season.

I've printed off a lot of information for every teams' games and placed them in a presentation folder. I still have a lot to do, but I am getting there...

I Taste A Turkey Twizzler (Or Do I?)

Yesterday evening, I did something I had never done before. 

I ate my first Turkey Twizzler. 

In fact - I ate two of them.

I remember all the fuss that was caused by Jamie Oliver when he forced the Government to pull Turkey Twizzlers from school menus. At the time, I had no idea what they were. This was mainly because - back in my day - the school I attended never had them on the menu.

With that said, I only had school dinners until I left primary school. They could very well have been a part of the high school offering.

Anyway, while doing an online shop the other day, I was introduced to limited edition American cheeseburger flavoured Turkey Twizzlers.

Slap on a 'Limited Edition' on something and you're certain to grab my attention.

The box also tells its consumer to 'Just Add Fries!'

And so I did.

After trying them, I concluded that maybe I should have started with an original Turkey Twizzler. Just so I knew what the difference is between that and the 'American Cheeseburger' variety.

Have I really tried a Turkey Twizzler without having tried an original? 

Does it even matter?!

3 Letter Head-Start

I did a Codeword puzzle for the first time in a few weeks yesterday. I couldn't help but laugh at the three letters it gave me as a head-start.

Charming!

As you'll see below, this codeword git was able to finish the puzzle in eighteen minutes and nineteen seconds. This was below my average goal of twenty minutes.

An Interesting Note About Cardiff City's Start To The 2021/22 Season

Here's something interesting I read on the Internet last night following Cardiff City's 2-2 draw with Peterborough United.

The two goals from yesterday's fixture means that - so far in the league for this season - the Bluebirds have scored five times.

All of those goals have been from headers.

Arrowverse Series' Are Repetitive These Days

Watching the DC Arrowverse programmes - that are on Sky One - is becoming such a chore nowadays.

The post-Arrow storylines in Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash are kind of similar in certain ways and they don't feel fresh across the board.

For example - in Supergirl, Kara is lost in the Phantom Zone. Therefore her allies on Earth have been working without her (this, I suppose, was done to cover Melissa Benoist's maternity leave). Anyway - on Legends - Captain Sarah Lance has been kidnapped and her team are working together to try and save her.

Both Supergirl and The Flash have had time travelling episodes. So - add the time travel caper, Legends, to the mix and you'll see why it all seems repetitive.

Supergirl is ending its run after the current season, so maybe that is another reason why I feel like there is little point staying the course.

Arrow really was the best DC series of the bunch and it's more evident now that it was the glue which held together my enjoyment of its spin-offs.

18-21

I watched the Indianapolis Colts' preseason game against the Carolina Panthers yesterday evening.

It was the first full preseason fixture I've watched this year. In fact, it's the first preseason game I've watched in real-time in years. 

The Panthers were the better team on the night, but lost in the closing moments with a score of eighteen to Indy's twenty-one.

With Colts' off-season quarterback gamble - Carson Wentz - out with an injury (after the second day of training camp!), the team played the next two QBs on the depth chart: Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger.

I'll have to say that Eason had the better game of the two (they both played a half each). However, I think Ehlinger might turn out more than okay when all is said and done.

I would prefer either one over Wentz, but that's a story for another day...

Looking Back At This Weekend's Built Bets

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I had placed two free bet builder wagers on the first two Premier Leagues of the 2021/22 season.

On Friday night, my bet lost incredibly. 

It needed Arsenal to win against Brentford (they lost), both teams to score (Arsenal didn't) and for there to be over 0 cards (there were no cards dished out).

That is what you call a 'disaster'.

With that said, you can also call Arsenal a disaster. It's not like I didn't warn you back when #WengerOut was a thing.

Even though yesterday afternoon's bet builder was a loser, it came closer than the night before.

Manchester United's 5-1 win over Leeds saw three of the four predictions I had before the game come in.

The only losing selection was I needed Leeds to score a goal in the first half. Their only goal of the game came minutes into the second.

Everything else went my way.

Building Bets For The Premier League's 2021/22 Kick Off

The Premier League's 2021/22 season would have kicked off after this post is published. However, I am writing a few hours before Brentford versus Arsenal starts.

It seems like I have constantly teased running another betting series here on the blog in the days leading up to a new season. I have had ideas that have always turned out to be - for want of a better word - crappy.

The most recent idea I have been thinking about is doing a weekly bet builder. The best way I can describe these bets is they're accumulators for a single game. So, you can bet on things like there being over or under 2.5 goals, cards and everything else you would expect from in-game markets.

I was awarded two free bets from two betting sites I am a customer of. One of the freebies was for the Brentford .vs. Arsenal game and the other for Leeds versus Manchester United.

I chose to spend the two wagers on bet builders. Here's what I chose for both of them. Remember - the first game would have already been played, so you'll already know whether it has messed up or not.

Brentford .vs. Arsenal

1) Arsenal to win

2) Both teams to score

3) Over 0 Cards for both teams overall

Manchester United .vs. Leeds United

1) Both teams to score in both halves

2) Over 3.5 goals

3) Manchester United over 3.5 corners

4) Manchester United to win

As I said, I have a recent tendency to give these football betting ideas the heave-ho almost as soon as I come up with them. I would prefer there to be an opportunity to do NFL bet builders - I would 100% commit to a weekly series doing those.

For now - let's see how these regular football wagers go.

Home Alone Reboot Gets Its Title And Release Date

A little over two years ago, I published a post noting that there is going to be a Home Alone reboot. 

The movie now has a title and release date.

Home Sweet Home Alone will debut on Disney Plus this November. The 12th to be precise.

I have to admit - I dislike the title. 

I'm sure I'll go out of my way to watch it for this year's Diet of Christmas Films post that will be published on Christmas morning. 

A Random Thought

I thought of something very random yesterday.

What was going through the head of the person who first tried snake charming? Better yet - what goes through the head of anyone following that  profession?

It is a profession, right?

PSG Get Their Man (And I Win A Bet!)

Lionel Messi has landed at PSG.

And I've landed £7.20 from a football bet I placed over a year ago.

Back then, when Messi announced that he was leaving Barcelona, I felt that there were one of two clubs he could go to. The first was Paris St. Germain and the other was Manchester City. I felt that the former had the strongest chance, so gambled on PSG at 3/1 to be Messi's 'Next Permanent Club'.

But then Messi ended up staying. For one more year. 

Or so we were led to believe. 

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Messi would remain at Barca and sign a new contract. At this point, I felt the bet was certainly dead. Messi was sure to play out his career at the club he joined in 2004.

Fast forward to last week, when Barcelona announced that Messi was leaving, and my bet kicked back to life.

As mentioned in a post published last Saturday, I still felt there was only one of two possible destinations for the Argentine footballer with PSG with the strongest chance ahead of Manchester City.

It all turned out to be the case. Messi arrived in Paris yesterday and will make his first press conference, as a PSG player, within the next few minutes.

Rating Drink Powders III

Earlier this summer, I published a post in which I wrote about trying drink powders that were gifted to me from the USA. I followed with a second edition a couple of months later after I bought some of my own. 

If you read THIS POST from July 31st, you'll know that I've bought fifteen new boxes and will now run with another three 'Rating Drink Powders' posts over the next two months.

Here are the first five of the latest batch..

Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry
This tasted closely like the Starburst Blue Raspberry drink that is - as of right now - the best drink powder I've had. There is a strong aftertaste which spoils the experience, though. This obviously does not make it equal to Starburst's rating of five stars. 

With all that said, it is still a good flavour if you overlook the aftertaste.

Rating: *** 3/4

Tampico Citrus Punch
This citrus punch had a taste of orange, tangerine and lemon. It wasn't too bad. However, I have tasted better.

Rating: ***

Wyler's Light Cherry
I like cherry flavour powders because they remind me of the time when - as a child - I tasted Kool-Aid for the first time.

With this drink being called 'Light Cherry', I expected a weaker taste. I was wrong - it was quite strong. As with other cherry drinks, it did remind me of Kool-Aid. 

Rating: *** 3/4

Starburst All Pink Strawberry
Okay, so I've already established that Starburst Blue Raspberry is the best flavour I've tried in this series of 'Rating Drink Powders' posts. Because of this, I was keen to sample another Starburst variety.

I don't usually like strawberry drinks, but found this to be refreshing at first. Unfortunately, it began to taste sickly as I continued to sip away. It was quite a let down considering how amazing I think the other Starburst flavour is.

Rating: ** 1/4

Wyler's Island Punch Outrageous Orange
I did not like this flavour at all. It had a watery, yet bitter taste. 

Not the kind of orange drink I am used to. At all!

Rating: **

Result

We end this edition of Rating Drink Powders with a tie between Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry and Wyler's Light Cherry.

I suppose if it had to go to penalties, and I had to root for one, I'd likely have to go with the cherry flavour to win..

Rating Drink Powders IV will be out sometime next month.

How It Started And How It Ended: Peyton Manning

 Here's how Peyton Manning's NFL career started.

And here is how it ended.

I'm Planning To Wear A Peyton Manning T-Shirt Today

It'll need an iron, because it has been in the bag it arrived in earlier this year, but below is the t-shirt I'll be wearing once I wake up later today.

The reason why I've decided to wait until today to wear the tee will not be a surprise to those who follow American football.

Peyton Manning will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later today.

I've written countless times over the years, especially during his playing career, that Manning is my favourite player of all time. Even to this very day, I will die on a hill claiming that he is the GOAT.

Seeing as it's a day I'm wearing a throwback Peyton Manning t-shirt, I think it's worth doing an equinoxx.info throwback and looking back at the post I wrote days after Peyton Manning sent me an autograph which is still my favourite memory from all these years following the sport of American football.

Read The Autograph Hunter

The End Of An Era

The following post was written on Friday afternoon 

On Thursday night, Barcelona FC announced that Lionel Messi will not be returning to the club after the two sides failed to agree to terms on a new contract.

It'll see the star footballer leave after first signing in 2004.

Now - the question to be asked is 'where will he end up?'

As far as I can guess - there are only two options. And one seems to be a longshot.

Paris St. Germain would be my number one prediction only because it has the money to afford Messi. Another rich club - Manchester City - would be number two on my list. However, I think there it is a very low second place even though there is ONE big reason why Messi could choose City.

The club is managed by Pep Guardiola; one of Messi's former bosses at Camp Nou.

The betting is kind of on the same wavelength as I because PSG is favourite to be Messi's next club. Manchester City is third with 'To Stay At Barcelona' in second place.

I don't know if the second-favourite is wishful thinking at this point. Time will prove that one.

Gambling On The 2021/22 Football Season

I placed my 2021/22 football season bet yesterday. 

Six teams were placed in a 10p each-way Lucky 63. If all six win their respective leagues, the gamble will return a little over £3,000.

I have gone with a couple of clubs that I usually root against in Fulham and Barcelona because of my support of Cardiff City and Real Madrid. 

A few years ago, I would have also noted backing Sunderland - the rivals of Newcastle United.

Here are all of the selections:

1. Chelsea to win the Premier League

2. Barcelona to win La Liga

3. Fulham to win the English Championship

4. PSG to win Ligue 1

5. Sunderland to win League 1

6. Salford City to win League 2

Earlier this week, I wrote about the Season Handicap Bets I've placed for 2021/22.

Bobby Eaton

I didn't have a blogpost ready to publish this morning, so thought I'd go on Twitter and see who or what was trending on the platform.

Bobby Eaton's name was there on the list. He has passed away at the age of sixty-two.

Eaton was a veteran tag team wrestler. He was most famously part of The Midnight Express tag team, managed by Jim Cornette, which won numerous tag team titles in the NWA/WCW and other promotions across the USA 

Whenever I think of Eaton, I always remind myself of those amazing ring entrances - with the Midnight Express theme, The Chase, playing - followed some great clashes. Mainly with their biggest rivals - the Rock N Roll Express.

The mid-1990's tag team with 'Lord' Steven Regal - in WCW - was quite fun to follow at the time.

After Paul Levesque left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation, Regal needed a new tag team partner. So, they did a bunch of skits in which the Englishman taught the Southern-American how to become British and thus 'Earl' Robert Eaton was born.

I can't remember how long Eaton was a part of the Blue Bloods, but he kind of moved on from the 'Earl' gimmick when Regal added 'Squire' David Taylor to the team.

Over the past few years, I would read how Eaton was in bad shape. Such a shame considering he was still relatively young.

Climbing High

I watched a little bit of the Olympics this morning. It was of a sport I had never seen before.

Going by the few minutes I watched - sport climbing sees people compete on an artificial rock face. They have to climb up as fast as they can and then hit a red button once they've reached the top.

To be fair, I was amazed at the speed of the athletes who participated in today's event. 

As I stated at the beginning - it's a sport I had never seen before. I didn't even know it existed until this morning. That's part of the fun of watching the Olympic Games.

What isn't fun is dedicating some time to following the new sport only for the BBC to jump to something else.

That's what happened today. And it's a common occurrence with the Beeb's coverage. They give attention to little-known sport, yet yank it away almost as soon as people become invested.

Season Handicap Betting: 2021/22

I don't know for sure how long I have been doing it, but - in the days before the start of the football season - I like to have a gamble on bookmakers' 'Season Handicap Winner' markets and share my bets here on the blog. Then, once the respective leagues have concluded, I look back and see how those wagers have fared.

As per usual, I've had a punt on the handicap markets for Leagues 1, 2, The Championship and The Premier League. 

If you are new to the Season Handicap Bets, I recommend reading this thread of posts. You'll understand what they are and my team picking methods.

In previous years, I've mentioned that I have used the Racing and Football Outlook season preview guides to make my picks. I have done that this year. However, I came across a slight problem which forced a slight adjustment.

The RFO has a write-up for each team in the previews. However, underneath each of these notes would be words like 'Strugglers', 'Play-Offs', 'Mid-Table' and more. I would use these predictions to rank the teams in order with 'Champions' at the top and 'Relegated' right at the bottom. I would then add the average points that teams in those positions finish on at the conclusion of the football year and then add their handicap points to that number to see which team is at the top of the list when my spreadsheet adds each teams' predicted position points with the handicap.

The roadblock I encountered was that the indicator words were no longer there in the guides. Therefore, I had to make some conclusions by the wording of the write-up. Here are two examples:

In the part for Scunthorpe, you'll see that the writer expects the team's upcoming season to look 'more about maintaining their fourth-tier status again'. Going by that, I tagged the team as potential 'Strugglers' and placed them near the bottom of League 2.

In the guide for League 1, the writer speculates that Fleetwood's latest recruits look promising and that 'another mid-table finish looks the likeliest outcome'. This easily placed the team in the middle of the table when I predicted the final table for that league.

Here's how my method has predicted the season handicap tables for the four leagues.

League 2

The RFO prediction for Port Vale's season stated that manager - Darrell Clarke - had strengthened his side and was 'eyeing a promotion push'. Those words put the team in the 'Promoted' group in my ranking.

When I finished ranking all the clubs, Port Vale was number one and - as the number one team - it was given the average position points of eighty-eight. Add on top the ten points that the bookmakers had applied and the ninety-eight points was enough to keep The Valiants at the top.

League 1

'Promotion' was the group I placed Charlton Athletic when the RFO wrote that the club 'feel that their natural level is the Championship and will be aiming to get there under Nigel Adkins'. As well as that, the write-up reminded me that Adkins has managed to get three teams promoted from League 1 in his career.

The average points for a team finishing in League 1 is 94. Charlton placing top of my ranking meant that - with the +6 from the bookies - that they have 100 in my predicted finish with both numbers added together.

Championship

After reading the guide for the Championship's 2021-22 season, I had Fulham at the top of the league BEFORE adding each teams' handicap points. Once that was done, Reading (+20) and Luton (+20) both leapfrogged The Cottagers with the spreadsheet projecting that the latter will finish the season handicap league on 103 points.

Premier League

There was a two-way a tie at the top when I completed the projected handicap table for the Premier League. Both Manchester City and Chelsea had eighty-nine points each. 

Whenever there have been ties in the past, I've opted to go with the club that has the most handicap points when I have placed bets on the results. Even if I hadn't a history of taking the points, the +7 for Chelsea is what I would have gone for because I have a feeling the Blues could finish the season above Manchester City - in the actual league - as champions.

The Racing and Football Outlook's write-up for both teams appears to lean on City to successfully defend the Premier League championship in 2021/22, but it does note - when it comes to Chelsea - that the team 'could go close to the title'.

My Bets

Here are the bets I've done. As per usual, I stress that season handicap betting is something I like doing for a bit of fun to follow along during the season. I have had a few wins, but many losses over the years so please keep that in mind if you're looking to follow along.

40p e/w Lucky 15

Port Vale +10 (League 2)

Charlton +6 (League 1)

Reading +20 (Championship)

Chelsea +7 (Premier League)

I have also gambled on the teams individually in four £1 each-way singles.

'97

To appropriately steal the name of a song from a 1997 Biggie Smalls album - I got a story to tell.

For the past few weeks, I had been thinking back to the spring and summer of 1997. I suppose the main reason why my mind has travelled back to that period is after writing about how much I enjoyed the Canada versus USA angle that played on WWF TV back then.

Anyway, one of the things I thought back to - in regards to my own life - is about a little bit of trouble my big mouth brought me one night at a local nightclub.

As was always the case - a congregation of partiers from the sixth form college I attended were there with my friends and I that night. 

Friends of those acquaintances came along as well. One was a boyfriend of a girl who was in my A-Level English Literature class. 

If I recall correctly, this lad was a year or so older than us. While standing at the bar waiting to buy drinks, I drunkenly told him that he looked like Travis Nash, who was - at that time - a character from the Australian soap, Home and Away.

The bloke did not like me saying that at all and started a fight with me. His friends and mine pulled us both apart to stop us - or rather him, because I was trying to cool him down - from fighting inside the nightclub. 

Their plan worked. 

But sometimes the best plans have terrible results.

After a gang of bouncers showed up, the opponent and myself were ejected from the premises. Together.

Once outside, the guy said 'you've gotten me thrown out'. That sentence was followed by a headbutt that sent me to the ground. 

I got back up to try and stop the assault but was met by a punch. At this point, I turned to try and get back into the club only to find the bouncers had closed the doors and had their backs turned to me. I knocked the window, but they ignored my pleas. 

Another punch sent me crashing to the ground. I got back up before being felled again. By this point, a few of my friends had managed to get the doors opened and they were outside with me. I remember looking up to see my best friend tell me to 'stay down'. 

Then a kick came my way.

Another friend ended up being punched by my new foe. 

I can't recall how it all ended other than the guy, realising I had backup, knew he had done enough damage and left the area.

I was a mess. Even to this day, I remember looking at my hand and seeing a little bit of blood on it. I didn't know where it had came from. I still don't!

When I made it home, everyone else in my family was asleep. My head and face was hurting, so I thought I'd put some ice cubes on it while I went to sleep. 

Remember when I wrote that sometimes the best plans have terrible results? We didn't have any ice cubes prepared in the freezer. 

I settled for a frozen red pepper and tried to sleep off the pain.

The beat down gave me fifteen minutes of fame at college hours later. A crowd of students knew the story before I walked through the gates. I even had people I had never spoken to before come up to me and ask about the events that had unfolded in the early hours of that morning. 

A couple of nights later, we were back out. Another club. This one was not my favourite joint. In fact - it still remains the establishment I dislike the most whenever I think back to all the old places we used to hang out back then.

On this occasion, somebody who was a year older than me throughout school was with us because he was close friends with a few of my friends. 

Anyway, to cut a long story short - guess who happened to show up that night? Yes - my new nemesis. He noticed me sitting down at one end of the barroom and shouted a threat my way.

The guy who was tagging along with us for the night was the first to react by standing up and issuing his own threat to him.

It was at this point, while I told our friend to sit down, that I realised the situation was getting out of hand. People around me were being dragged into my - or rather OUR - mess. 

I had to fix it.

And so I did.

The next time I came face-to-face with the guy, I approached him with the aim of reaching some sort of pax. We shook hands and then that was it. No more hostility on his part and no more fear on my part of another beating or - even worse - of friends/acquaintances being involved in any backlash.

Whenever we'd see each other at clubs after that, and it was quite rare, we'd be okay with each other. I even recall one night when he was out with the girl from my English class and all three of us had a bit of a chat.

Years later, after leaving college, I found out that the couple was expecting a child. Then - one afternoon, while watching a World Cup 2002 game at a pub with friends, I looked out the window and saw my old foe with his new baby.

He was carrying the child in a sling across his chest and I thought I'd go out to say hello. I then stopped and decided to leave him be. 

No one with me knew the story from five years earlier, so I sat there for a minute or two afterwards thinking how times had changed. He certainly seemed in a different place with new responsibilities. 

I didn't even know the guy well at all, but I did get a sense that he had chilled out and was taking to his new role.

That was the last time I saw him.

It'll be the last time.

A few weeks ago, I wondered to myself what he was up to nowadays. I typed his name into Google. His face popped up on an images search, so I clicked on it.

It led me to a page with information for his funeral from five years ago. According to the brief obituary, he had passed away suddenly. 

There was a picture of him with his wife (not the girl from my English Literature class). As well as that, there was a picture of three children. 

Seeing those pictures once again made me reminisce about how the guy from 1997 contrasted with the person he had seemingly become. Unlike that time seeing him pass by the window while the World Cup game was going on, It wasn't a positive feeling.

I feel so bad for them. 

And for him.

ArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrGH!

I am having some technical issues with my laptop.

All my fault, though.

The problem I am enduring is that - a few days ago - the R button on my laptop wasn't working, so I tried to fix it.

I ended up breaking the key. Or, at best, have messed up in an attempt to put it back together properly.

Sellotape has been holding the key back in place, but that method has challenging because the key keeps getting stuck and I have had to make pitstops while using the computer.

 This post was published with the dodgy R.