A Fake Disney Plus Email Scam

I received an email from Disney Plus the other day. 

Nay, strike that: I thought I received an email from Disney Plus the other day.

The email indicated that there was an issue with my payment. I believed it to be genuine because - a few weeks ago - I signed up for a year of Uber One. A benefit of signing up for Uber's subscription service is I get a year of Disney Plus along with it.

(I only signed up for Uber One to get Disney Plus but that's a subplot to this story).

I assumed the payment issue might have had something to do with the Uber subscription. That's why it ALMOST got me. 

The email address of the sender is the only thing which made me realise how close I was to clicking on the button in front of me.

I fear for those who potentially could turn out to be one step slower than me in a similar situation. It was a very close call for yours truly. The nearest I've been to falling for a scam in recent memory. 

Be on guard! 

Tim Curry Passes Away

Another celebrity death was in the news yesterday.

Following Dolly Parton's passing comes Tim Curry.

I suppose the first time I ever came across Curry was when I watched Annie as a child. I got to watch it a fair deal back then because it was one of the titles my uncle rented out from his video store back in the early 80s. My uncle is linked with another Tim Curry memory as well because, this time in the 1990s, we were at my aunt and uncle's home one summer and watched the miniseries of Stephen King's It over two nights when it first aired on Sky.

Curry's portrayal of Pennywise the clown was brill. I haven't seen the newer It movies, nor Welcome to Derry, so I cannot comment on the current version of the monster. 

Before I click 'Publish', I should point out one regret I have from this morning. I should have put these socks on today:

They're of Tim Curry's version of Pennywise. I first wrote about them in THIS POST from 2023. You'll find that, of the eight  pairs if socks - with horror movie characters on them - the 1990 Pennywise one is likely the best of the bunch. 

Dolly Parton Passes Away

Obviously, the biggest news of the past day is the fact that Dolly Parton has passed away.

Parton transcended country music, so it has been unsurprising to see all the outpouring of grief, tributes and everything in between since learning of the star's passing.

I though the way Dolly Parton orchestrated how her death would be announced was classy. She gave the job to her nephew - Bryan Seaver - who delivered the news in a moving video. To be fair, Parton couldn't have picked a better representative to do such an honour.

DAZN's NCAA UK Prices For 2026

Last week, I pointed out that it looks like Disney Plus is set to stream some NCAA College Football games during the 2026 season. There is an additional update to the UK coverage.

DAZN has released information about its upcoming coverage for the year. Unlike 2025, after the streaming platform secured rights to air the games, customers will now have to pay to watch.

That's fair. DAZN is a business. Last year was an obvious one-off. However, I am in a mindset where I am leaning on the Disney+ option because I already subscribe to Mickey Mouse. 

With that said, I expect DAZN to offer a superior line-up of games. Also - I won't get to keep up with the Texas Longhorns games as I have done in previous years. That's the prime annoyance with this situation. 

Disney Plus it is. 

For now?

What are DAZN's packages and prices for the upcoming 2026 college football season?

Ultimate (£10.99 a month or £119.99 a year as of 25th August 2026)

• Over 20 college football games per week, plus the CFB playoffs and National Championship
• Over 20 college basketball games per week plus March Madness
• Multiview - watch up to 4 NCAA games at once
• Highlights and full game replays on demand
• College GameDay 
• Stream on 5 devices in 2 locations
• Download on the go

Standard (£8.99 a month or £99.99 a year as of 25th August 2026 )

• Over 20 college football games per week, plus the CFB playoffs and National Championship
• Over 20 college basketball games per week plus March Madness
• College GameDay
• Highlights and full game replays on demand
• Stream on 2 devices in 1 location
• Download on the go

Remembering Rovert

A person I've known online for at least twenty years passed away last week. His service is today, so I thought I would share some words now before he sends me a spiritual late slip.

We weren't friends. In fact, at one point early on, we had a heated discussion on a message board which used up a lot of useless energy for both of us. In those twenty years of knowing Rovert (Trevor backwards), I learned it wasn't abnormal for him to fight his point to exhaustion.

So, yes - we weren't buddies. However, a year or so after that initial squabble, we both found ourselves chatting in a private as we both waited on delivery of the special edition High Spots DVD of a Ric Flair shoot interview. 

I'd like to think our similar experiences of waiting for our respective parcels to arrive at our homes, his in Ireland and mine in Wales, settled any beef that lingered. I came away thinking along the lines of 'he's okay when you're one-on-one with him'.

We never argued about anything after that. Granted, we never spoke in private message ever again, but we did so occasionally in front of the social media world to see.

Most of it wasn't even about wrestling.  Of the few I can think of, I recall talking about Spar supermarkets (Ireland's one in Dublin looks so posh compared to the ones I've been in), Lenovo laptops and... Morrissey and or The Smiths!

As an online presence, Rovert (Trevor Woodhouse) leaves behind a controversial history. A lot have glowing memories of their experiences with him. Others not so much. 

From now on, I'll look back and think of my encounters as a coin. On one side there was that sole squabble. Then, on the other, there are the intelligent - positive - communications I had with him.

I'm sure that, if I were to toss this figurative coin hundreds of times, the better side would  win out the most often.

Best wishes to Rovert's friends and family members.

An Experimental Wager On Today's Premier League Games

I have placed an experimental wager on today's trio of Premier League games.

You'll soon realise exactly why I used the term 'experimental'.

Instead of going with my gut instinct, or proper research for that matter, I asked three AI assistants for their predicted scores. I then compared and contrasted the results in order to decide what to bet on.

AI predictions for Brighton .vs Aston Villa

Microsoft Copilot has forecasted a score 2-1 to Villa for their trip to the seaside. However, both ChatGPT and Grok are calling for a 1-1 draw.

My pick: Both Teams to Score

AI Predictions for Manchester City .vs. Bournemouth

All three AI services are predicting a victory for The Citizens. Copilot has the home side winning 3-0 while the other two expect the visitors to get at least one goal with ChatGPT guessing a scoreline of 3-1 and Grok going 2-1.

My pick: Over 2.5 Goals

AI Predictions for Newcastle .vs. Liverpool

2-1 to Liverpool was the consensus score selected by all three programs with Copilot offering that 'Liverpool have the higher win probability (50.3% vs Newcastle's 25.3%). Newcastle at home will make it competitive, but Liverpool's attacking depth should edge it.'

My pick: Liverpool 2-1 Correct Score

How I'm Betting

I've placed the three selections in a Patent bet. This way, I get to have three singles, three doubles and one treble.

How It Went

Rubbish.

The only winner, of the three, came in Manchester City's 2-1 winner over Bournemouth. The game needed an injury time goal, for the home team, to send the score Over 2.5.

Brighton shutout Villa 4-0, ruining the both teams to score bet while Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2. The latter didn't come close to being a 2-1 away winner for the Reds. Newcastle went 1-0 up, then Liverpool equalised. The home team made it 2-1 up before their guests tied things up with a late penalty.

Infantino's Bald Banter

There is a somewhat hysterical exchange between FIFA President - Gianni Infantino - and Sky News correspondent, James Matthews, doing the rounds on social media today.

The reporter caught up with the controversial Infantino in the Dominican Republic. Matthews initially asked 'have you betrayed the game of football?' relating to a plot to sell stakes in the World Cup to big businesses.

Infantino's response went like this:

You have a nice haircut

Matthews continued to seek a reasonable response to his questions, as Infantino headed towards his getaway car. Infantino's parting words:

See you at the hairdressers

By the looks of both men's pates, it'll be a long time before that happens.

NCAA Football Coming To Disney Plus In The UK?

At the risk of jumping the gun - it looks like American college football will stream on Disney Plus, here in the UK, this season.

Here's what comes up if you type 'NCAA' in the search box on the platform.

Great news for yours truly. I'll get to continue watching the Texas Longhorns led by Arch Manning in what could be his final season before declaring for the 2027 NFL Draft.

Last year, I consumed college football on DAZN. As of the time of writing, there are two Boston College games listed on its 'Live and Coming Up' menu. The first is for their trip to Cincinnati, scheduled for September 5th. Then there's a visit from Rutgers, which will stream live at 12:30am on September 12th. 

I hope College GameDay is part of the DAZN or Disney+ overage for 2026.  Searching for the programme on the former leads to previous editions from earlier this year. Typing it into Disney's platform leads to a 'No results' message.

Mr T's Netflix Documentary Premiere Date Set

I'm excited to see the Mr. T documentary that's coming to Netflix in a few weeks.

Even though I was born in the late 70s, I grew up in the 1980s. Therefore, I was there during Mr. T's boom period. It was obviously gigantic in the US, but us here - in the UK - got to experience it on a smaller scale. However, it was a scale nonetheless.

One of the things I'll always recall is having to go to a hospital appointment because I had allergic reactions to certain colours in food and drink. The person carrying out the test on me had to write letters on my arm and would prick my skin with a needle to see if it caused a reaction. 

As the person wrote the letters on my arm, they said I was going to 'look like Mr. T with his tattoos'. Even to my young self at the time, that didn't make sense for many reasons. They also did the 'you'll be brave like Mr. T' schtick as they punctured me.

By the end of the 'experiment' I thought I was a brave Mr. T (upon reflection, considering my surname, I legitimately was a brave Mr. T!) and begged my mother to keep the ink on my arm for as long as possible.

Ironically, my allergic reaction to food and drink colourings wasn't triggered by Mr. T's Knockout Punch - a bright blue drink my parents bought me for the Soda Stream machine we had in our kitchen.

I loved that drink. I mentioned it ten years ago, when I revisited Soda Stream machines.

Those are two random examples of Mr. T having a somewhat significant part of my childhood memories. I haven't even covered The A-Team, Mr T's cartoon, Rocky III, a yellow Mr T watch my dad bought me from the Sunday market.

I could go on. Especially considering how Mr. T was a significant factor in the WWF's early rise. 

So - yes, I will absolutely tune in to see the documentary once it hits Netflix in a few weeks.

When is the Mr. T documentary coming out?

Mr T: I Pity the Fool, a documentary which is part of Netflix's Untold series, will premiere on Tuesday September 8th 2026.

Netflix claims the feature will reveal 'the full story behind the mohawk, chains and catchphrases from the man himself'.

Goodell Does It Again

One of the NFL's old chestnuts has reappeared ahead of the new season.

I came across a quote by NFL Commissioner - Roger Goodell - yesterday. He was once again hyping up the possibility of the NFL having a fulltime franchise outside of the US.

The American football head claimed that he is in 'no doubt' about such a prospect happening in the future.

With that said, let's look at a quote from the past.

The above image is of a headline from the Sky Sports website. It was published on 21st July 2014. Back then,  Goodell claimed that London had a good chance of having its own NFL team 'within 10 years'.

It is now twelve years since that assumption was made. London still doesn't have its own NFL team. I'll be fair, though. There was a pandemic sandwiched in-between that period which might have added more time to Goodell's plan.

This sort of lip service pops up every single year, in the days leading into an International Series game. That's all it is. 

Take it with a pinch punch of salt. It'll never happen.  

It gets people talking. 

And - as you can see here - bloggers blogging.

Watching The Keffe D Trial

Thanks to the Internet, I've been able to catch a lot of livestreams of big US trials over the years. I now get to watch one that I've, if you think about it, been waiting almost thirty years for.

I'm, of course, referring to the Keffe D trial. He's being charged with the murder of Tupac Shakur.

Even though I'm following along, I cannot shake off the suspicion that this is a trial of convenience.

The alleged shooter - Orlando Anderson - denied doing so when 2Pac's murder was being investigated. Anderson was killed two years later. So, even if he did murder Shakur, Anderson obviously cannot be charged with the crime.

Four other people were in the car with Anderson that night. Only one remains alive - Duane 'Keffe D' Davis - who was Orlando Anderson's uncle.

He's the one and only person who can be brought to justice here. Even if he didn't pull the trigger.

In Keffe D's 2019 autobiography, Compton Street Legend, the author took credit for orchestrating the hit on Shakur. I surmise it was that chutzpah which led to his 2023 arrest.

Davis' defence is arguing that the content of the book was exaggerated. I suspect the team will do enough to argue that point resulting in a 'not guilty' outcome.

Still A Rookie

How bloody stupid of me

Those were the last few words I wrote in my journal before heading off to sleep last night. There was a good reason, nay - a bad reason! - why I scribed such a thing.

Ahead of the weekend, I placed an online grocery shop. I didn't need to get anything for Oreo, but noticed Morrisons had a £3 for 3 offer on some treats. As I added the items, I noticed Lily's Kitchen food. I had bought Oreo their Halloween special last year (he didn't like it), but thought I would add the 'Sunday Lunch' to my order just to give the company another shot. 

Seeing as yesterday was Sunday, I thought I'd give Oreo the food. I prepared it in haste because I had to catch the final night of the G1 Climax. I put everything together and laid it out for my feline friend. 

Oreo came up to me shortly after I put the food and water down. He meowed a few times. That wasn't unusual. I assumed he was simply thanking me for giving him something new.

'Result!' I thought.

Later in the day, when I went to give Oreo fresh food, I noticed he hadn't really gone all-in on the meal as I had hoped. I had reminders of the failed attempt at the pumpkin food from Halloween, so I gave him the remainder of the Sunday lunch meal but added some wet duck on top.

No result. Oreo refused to even sniff at it. Something was amiss.

Wondering if I was in the minority, with a cat who seemingly dislikes Lily's Kitchen products, I headed online to read product feedback.

The first review was positive. Their dog loves Lily's Sunday Lunch.

Yes, you read that right. 

Dog. 

D.O.G.

Or D Oh Double G to those who know. 

Seeing as I'm spelling things out, I'll share with you the letters that first entered my mind as soon as I realised what I had done.

S. 

H.

I.

T.

I rushed down and pulled the packaging out of the bin. Yes... I had given Oreo dog food!

Remember when I wrote about Oreo meowing at me shortly after I had given him his food? He was likely telling me 'that isn't for cats!' 

Or something worse.

Upon realising my mistake, I threw out the food and fed Oreo some of his favourite wet food. I had to. You know, to make up for the rookie error.

Oreo has now been with me for four years. I'm evidently still learning the ropes. 

Oiwa Wins G1 Climax 36 And Continues Trend Set By Previous Victors

Ryohei Oiwa won this year's G1 Climax following an excellent final against Yuya Uemura from Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo earlier today.

The win was the culmination of a round robin tournament which spanned the past five weeks.

As I've written in previous posts, my initial pick to win - Shota Umino - was withdrawn following an injury suffered on the first night of the tournament. My next guess was Uemura, who finished second in B Block and defeated current IWGP Heavyweight Champion - Yota Tsuji - in one of yesterday's semi finals.

Oiwa was in a three-way tie in the round robin portion of the tournament. However, he finished second due to tiebreaker and progressed to today's final by beating A Block victor, Callum Newman, in the other semi.

Oiwa to continue trend set by recent G1 Climax winners

Per the rules of the G1 Climax, Oiwa should have secured a shot for NJPW's major title in the main event of January 4th's Wrestle Kingdom event. However, he has executed his right to challenge for the strap sooner.

He's now set to face Tsuji at NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2026 on October 12th. It'll take place in the same building as today's show.

This will be the third consecutive time a G1 Climax winner has brought their title shot forward.

How previous G1 winners fared in NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling title shots

In 2024, Zack Sabre Jr opted to challenge Tetsuya Naito for the strap at King of Pro-Wrestling so he could cone into NJPW Royal Quest IV - from Crystal Palace, London - as a local champion. 

Last year's tournament winner - Konosuke Takeshita - beat Sabre for the title at King of Pro-Wrestling 2025.

That's a perfect 2-0 for early cash-ins for those counting. Will Oiwa make it a hat-trick? We'll find out in fifty-seven days.

Last Night's Emergency Warnings

The UK Government sent out emergency alerts last night. The act resulted in a lot of discourse online. 

First things first, I initially received the alert in Welsh. Even though I live in Wales, I'm one of the 82.7% the 2021 Census counted as being a non-Welsh speaker. It was pointless sending the alert to me in a, as ironic as this will come across, 'foreign' language.

I received the English version of the message six minutes later.

Yes - SIX MINUTES!

That's not good enough. Not for what has evidently been classed as an 'emergency' by the Government.

Was it really an emergency?

I also found the content of the message to skip heavily in the 'this isn't an emergency' box. 

We were told there is a 'heavy risk of wildfires'. We knew that already. They then listed activities that could start a fire. Things we already know such as disposable barbecues, garden incinerators and fireworks.

Why didn't it mention arsonists? They start fires, too. 

Was it okay to send an alert in this manner?

Overall, I strongly believe last night's communication was a misuse of what the emergency alerts were designed for. To alert the public of hazardous weather or, dare I say it, war.

A modern day air raid warning, if you will. Not a lecture on what causes fires. Those could easily be sent via text message. The point still gets out there in that method.

What the alert stated

There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators, or fireworks. Even a small flame can rapidly develop into major wildfires placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk.

Follow official updates and report signs of fire immediately by calling 999. Search gov.uk/alerts for more information.

As you can see, the English version of the message arrived six minutes after the Welsh version.

One Word For The 2026 Solar Eclipse

In a very short update to Wednesday's post, in which I wrote about the then upcoming eclipse and shared a memory about the 1999 eclipse, I'd like to share what will be a memory for the 2026 edition.

Years from now, when I recall my personal memory of watching the solar eclipse of 2026, one word will come to mind.

Crap.

It was crappier than '99. And that's a statement in itself.

The TV coverage was excellent, however. 

G1 Climax 36's Semis Set

The semi-finals of this year's NJPW G1 Climax have now been confirmed following today's final round of Block B matches.

Saturday's semis will see A Block winner - Yota Tsuji - take on B Block runner-up: Yuya Uemura. Then, in the other bout, Callum Newman - who topped B Block - will square off against Ryohei Oiwa, who finished second to Tsuji in their block.

The winners will go on to Sunday's final with the overall victor securing a main event match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th 2027.

Yota Tsuji is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Should he end up winning the G1, Tsuji will get to choose his dance partner for New Japan's opening event of next year.

The other three potential G1 Climax winners will obviously get to challenge whoever is holding the strap come January. 

Earlier this year, I predicted Shota Umino would win the G1. That guess fell after the first hurdle due to Umino sustaining a concussion in his opening night loss to Zack Sabre Jr. The injury ended my pick's tournament.

My reserve choice is still in it. 

Come on Uemura!

Partial Solar Eclipse '26

Ahh, a partial solar eclipse in the news.

Takes me back to 1999. It seemed the entire UK was hyped up for that one. I couldn't find any of the eclipse viewing glasses back then. I tried, though.

I also tried to create my own viewing device. All I recall from that experiment was standing out my backyard with my dad and our next door neighbour as we tried to 'view' the eclipse on a white bit of paper.

The Three Stooges would have done a better job.

That was one of the many fond memories I have of our neighbour, who passed away in the mid-2010s. 

As for this year's eclipse - things are set to begin at around 18:17. They forecast 93.24% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon at approximately 19:13.

Maybe I should get some paper. You know - for old times' sake.

A Few Words About Jimmy Cricket (And How Cool He Was To Me)

I looked through a few pages of my autograph collection last night. I was on the hunt for Benny from Crossroads (don't ask!), but came across one I really should have written about long before today.

Here is a personalised autograph from none other than Jimmy Cricket.

Jimmy passed away last week at the age of eighty.  I consider him to be one of the most iconic comedians from my childhood. I suppose a good part of that is knowing he had gone out of his way to send me the autograph when my dad wrote to him - on my behalf - back in the mid-80s.

It wasn't just the 1980s when Jimmy did me a favour, though.

During the 2000s, I contacted Jimmy myself. I had told him one of my friends had enjoyed looking through my autograph collection and one of the names which stood out to her was his. Jimmy sent over an autograph for me to give my friend on her  birthday.

That was very cool.

What others said about Jimmy Cricket

It seems the consensus all shared how genuinely nice Jimmy Cricket was. Following his passing, some other people who knew Jimmy shared their thoughts on the late comedian.

Roy Walker stated that Jimmy was a 'sincere wee fella..' and that he 'loved everyone and everyone loved him.' Christopher Biggins also shared his opinion that Jimmy was 'unbelievably fantastic' and reasoned that he had never met anyone nicer.

Those two examples, added to mine, prove Jimmy Cricket was the genuine article.

I've Finished The End Of The World As We Know It

I finished reading The End of the World as We Know It yesterday.

It's a collection of short stories based around Stephen King's The Stand. As I'm sure I've written numerous times over the years, the hefty apocalyptic novel is my favourite work by King. Checking out the anthology which spins off from it was a no- brainer.

To be frank, I ended up giving the collection four stars out of five. The sole reason is because there are some stories which seem to be too similar and it threw me off somewhat.

With all that said, the writers who worked on this project served The Stand well. It's absolutely something I'd recommend to those who have read The Stand in the past. Or, better yet, I'd push BOTH The Stand and this newer book, serving as its sidekick, to new readers.

Buy The End of the World as We Know It

This Morning's Breakfast

Look what I had for this morning's breakfast.

I bet the first thing you thought was 'he had Reese's Puffs? Big deal'. To you, I' shall say 'WRONG! kinda'.

Your next guess would - or should - be the Aldi version of Reese's Puffs. You know, the ones I claim to be superior to the original. Well, that would also be an incorrect guess. In fact, it's a colder guess to your first.

What I had are Reese's Puffs, but with a twist.

Coming straight outta Canada are these. Dark Chocolate Reese's Puffs. I came across them when I was searching through Amazon earlier this week. It was an instant purchase. I had to give them a go. Especially today.

They weren't bad. But, I felt that the dark chocolate flavour undermined the hint of peanut butter. 

I suppose, seeing as the main gimmick is dark chocolate, it's fair to consider that it should be the predominant taste.

So, yeah, they're okay. Aldi's version of the original Reese's Puffs are still number one when it comes to peanut butter cereal, however.

This one wins the award for 'Best Packaging' though. Look at the use of the neon lighting effect. Superb.