The Semis

The World Cup semi finals kick off tonight with France and Spain going to battle. That'll be followed by tomorrow night's England .vs. Argentina game.

Going by the betting, France are favourites to get the win over the Spanish. I don't find that surprising. It's a result I would prefer, because I'd like France to win the entire tournament. However, I could see this one going to penalties in a low-scoring game. 

That could be famous last words on my part, but I am imagining Spain's defence being key to this game.

As for England .vs. Argentina - the bookies have England as favourites. This could be a negative-bias on my part, but I feel Argentina should be favoured.

England have pulled out some good results, but they've done so by having their backs to the wall on numerous occasions in the playoff portion of the tournament. That luck, some might call 'resilience', will run out eventually.

Will it?!

With that stated, Argentina came close to being ousted by Egypt and had to take Switzerland to extra time in the quarter finals. 

Maybe the bookies know better than I do.

Sam Neill Passes Away

I've just found out that Sam Neill has passed away.

It was only a few months ago when he declared he was cancer free.

F**k Cancer.

Neill leaves behind an amazing library of film work. 

Jurassic Park is the obvious one because of how popular that franchise is to this very day. However, there are so many other films. For example - Dead Calm stands out to me.

Another one which makes me smile is Hunt for the Wilderpeople. I haven't seen it, but I recall Sam Neill and his co-star, Julian Dennison, doing promo work for it. They made an appearance on BBC's The One Show. A young Dennison hysterically upstaged his colleague. It was so funny. Neill took it very well.

17th July 2026 Update
Since publishing the post, it was revealed that Sam Neil passed away due to pneumonia. I stand by my 'F**k Cancer' take, but will also add 'F**k Pneumonia' too.

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.

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.

Lucky

I cannot believe how lucky England were yesterday, in their World Cup game against DR Congo.

Congo led for the majority of the game following a seventh-minute shot by Brian Cipenga.

It wasn't until the seventy-fifth when Harry Kane levelled things up. He went on to score a second to lead his team to victory.

Lucky.

I'm interested to see how things fare for them in Mexico City on Sunday night. That's going to be a challenge considering how much of a fortress Estadio Azteca is for the co-hosts.

Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual 2026: Week-By-Week Angles, Stats & Trends For The 2026 NFL Season

The 2026 edition of Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual was published earlier this week. 

If you've followed this blog for at least the past year and a bit, you'll know how much releasing these yearbooks has been a wish fulfilled.

I spent a long time hoping for a book to come along, which broke down each game of the NFL regular season allowing me to use historic stats for my sides and totals plays. The best example I can use is I wanted something similar to the annuals published by the Racing Post/Racing and Football Outlook ahead of the Premier League season in football (soccer!). I would use those guides religiously for my football wagering throughout each season.

With an American football version of those guides nowhere on the horizon, I made the decision to create them myself. I found myself in a perfect spot to do so thanks to the database I've written about here many times in the past.

I want Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual to be something handicappers refer to each week ahead of placing their NFL wagers. 

As well as week-by-week breakdowns, I've also written chapters on other betting angles that have become an integral part of my NFL betting seasons.

'Beat the Champs', 'Played Monday', 'Played Thursday' and 'Off a Bye' were all  covered in the book for the 2025 NFL season. However, I have dedicated more coverage to those angles for this year and - hopefully - further editions.

New to the 2026 edition of Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual are weekly NFL Survivor leans. Each weekly pick has been sieved out of a combination of historic head-to-head data and angles working in favour of that particular option.

You can find copies on the following links:

Amazon UK

Other Bookstores

Stella Added To The List

I cannot recall the last time I ever drank a bottle, can or even pint of Stella Artois. That could change soon, however.

I recently found out that the Belgian beermakers have released a limited edition to celebrate Wimbledon.

Yes, there is a strawberries and cream flavoured lager out there in supermarkets as I write this.

I enjoy the occasional fruit lager, so - upon hearing about this edition - I immediately added the product to my 'To Find' list.

With that said, I'm not completely keen on strawberry-flavoured things. This could turn out to be a fail. However, I have to try them.

That's the goal. If I do come across them over the next fortnight or so (or longer!), you'll be one of the first to know.

So, I've Bought A Ninja Combi

The Ninja Speedi I have been using for many years began to quit on me earlier this year. I ended up losing the ability anything that used the heating element at the bottom of the machine. That meant I couldn't steam food or, one of the main things I loved about the Speedi - use the slow cooker.

I carried on using everything else but knew I would eventually have to move on. Like I already said, the Speedi is possibly the best cooking machine I've ever had. However, I started to look for an upgrade in the form of the Ninja Combi.

To cut a long story short, I have had the Ninja Combi for almost a week. I thought I'd spend today's post sharing a few words about it.

The first thing I'd like to draw your attention to is the build.

My friend - Vicki - had an amazing air fryer which had a window and the ability to use a rotisserie with chickens. I joked with her that her fryer looked like it had Metal Mickey's body. 

That was the first thing I thought of, when I unpacked the Combi. 

The first thing I made in it was rice and pork using the Combi Meals function (similar to the Speedi Meals option on the Speedi which allows for full meals to be made in fifteen minutes or so). 

I wasn't happy with the result of the meal. It was my fault, though. I didn't use enough water with the rice.

A day later I made up for the previous mess up and cooked some fish with baby potatoes. 

That turned out well. Very well, in fact. Everyone here at home gave the dish high praise.

Sandwiched in-between those meals were a few air fryer meals. I was particularly surprised at how well the skin-on fries came out of it. The best fries I've ever air-fried. I cannot wait to get hold of a couple of other chips I have used in my other air fryers just to see if they come out better in the Combi.

Today's dinner were  New York City Beef Brisket Burgers, from the TGI Friday's range at Iceland. I made them with curly fries using the 'Combi Crisp' setting.

The burger patties came out nice and juicy. As were the fries, because they were steamed. 

I still have yet to try the slow cooker on this appliance. I will get there eventually. I have some amazing ideas for that (Well, I hope they turn out amazing!).

The final take (for now) goes like this: I still very much miss the Ninja Speedi. However, I believe I've made the correct decision by opting to upgrade to a Combi.

Expect more posts about my Ninja Combi experience.

Sami Does It

The conclusion of last night's WWE Night of Champions event was very newsworthy.

In the main event, Sami Zayn defeated Cody Rhodes (and Gunther) in a triple threat match to become Undisputed WWE Champion.

It's such a brill underdog story both in fiction and reality. I am very happy for him.

With that said, I feel the moment would have been a tad better had it happened a few years ago when the Sami Zayn iron was hot. 

Still, this win was in front of a Saudi audience that has taken to Zayn due to his Arab roots.

12-0

If I had a fever last night, which I didn't, I would have had a reasonable excuse to explain away one of the silliest things I am about to write.

I switched the Uruguay versus Spain game on before I fell asleep. I had the sound muted so wouldn't have heard anything (obviously!). In the middle of the night, I woke up in one of my heat exhausted states, in need of water, so I picked myself up and grabbed my bottle. As I took a few gulps, I looked over at the TV. I saw the score as Uruguay 0 Spain 12.

'Wow,' I thought. I then laid my head back down on the pillow.

It wasn't until this morning, whilst looking through the other overnight scores, realisation struck. Spain could have only been 1-0 up when I glimpsed at the TV.

1-0 Spain was the final score.

I blame the heat.

Or not having my glasses on.

Either way - it was silly for me to even accept such a scoreline.

Red Heat

The red heat warning has continued. 

Even though we had a bit of rain (and thunder) last night, the humidity was still off the charts. In fact, I felt  last night was worse than Wednesday and that's actually not factually true because Wednesday's weather was the hottest on record for Cardiff.

Think of the timing for this - I woke up and needed some fresh air, so I went out my back. As soon as I was outside, the rain came down and thunder began to rumble. Perfect timing, or what?

I hope things cool down soon.

Christmas Countdown

The reminder has just gone off on my phone.

'Six months until Christmas'.

Wow. 

You can also read that another way - it has been six months since last Christmas.

We're still in this darn heatwave. Christmas seems such a long way away. And when I write that, I mean 2025 and 2026!