Well, talk about the pet hate, Nana O & Poppa K are back in action here in New Zealand after a grueling 7 week holiday in Argentina & Uruguay, but 1st off: the absolute amateur stuff that I've enitrely missed during the September to Movember (Now december) period.
Yep 1st off, the almighty All Blacks of New Zealand clinch another Rugby Championship title with a resounding 34 - 13 victory over Argentina in La Plata (The place were O & K have been) but unfortunately for the AB's as lock Brodie Retallick (Who was officially crowned World Rugby's (Formerly IRB) Player of the Year honours) is expected to miss the final round against South Africa due to concussion but NZ were in danger as Duane Vermeulen (Who is SA's danger man) was injured in his side's win over the Wallabies in Cape Town, but however, Vermeulen was declared fit so the All Blacks travelled to South Africa but eventually were on the losing side as our 22 match unbeaten run, has been conquered by the South Africans after Liam Messam copped a high tackle awarding SA the penalty (I mean that was shocking, literally meaning that we blown our chances to win that) before Patrick 'Pat' Lambie nailed the penalty shot replicated by Bernard Foley in the Super Rugby final and then, heartbreak for the AB's as they concede the penalty for not releasing the ball meaning that SA have replicated England's 2012 heroics over New Zealand at Twickenham (AKA Twickers).
And then, onto the 3rd & final Bledisloe Cup test in Brisbane where the All Blacks, (Who are avenging their Ellis Park demons), face the Aussies who are all sorts of trouble as Kurtley Beale missed a flight then sent an offensive txt message to the team's business manager Di Patston before being disciplined and then, losing the game to Argentina who finally managed to pull off their 1st win (Compared to the AB's 1st defeat) in the Rugby Championship after 2 years of get rich & die trying since they have joined but Australia's coach Ewen McKenzie's job is on the line, meaning that they must ensure a victory if he wanted to keep it but hell no, you are fired (That is, due to the job security, so Mckenzie is an absolute goner) as the All Blacks run in with a close finish by a Malakai Fekitoa try and then the match winning conversion by Colin Slade (Although Slade was dropped by the selectors meaning that this was his last act in that famous Black jersey, although due to the injury by Cory Jane, Colin Slade returns on behalf of his 2nd chance).
And after the Brisbane test, the All Blacks have named a squad to tour the USA (United States of America) & United Kingdom featuring the unexpected returnee of Sonny...Bill...WILLIAMS!!!
Yes, that is right, SBW's back in town with the AB's after 2 comeback seasons in the NRL (He won a premiership with both the Bulldogs in 2004 & the Roosters last year) & also Daniel...CARTER!!! After a long injury layoff (His last game in the famous Black jersey was last year in his 100th test at Twickenham where we gained revenge over the English), but 1st off, the historic 1st test @ Soldier Field (Which is an American Football/Gridiron venue) in Chicago, Illinois (Home of the Bears (National Football League/NFL), Blackhawks (National Hockey League/NHL), Bulls (National Basketball Association/NBA), Cubs & White Sox (Both from Major League Baseball/the MLB) against the last Olympic Rugby champions, the USA Eagles.
But in the end, the AB's proved way too strong against the United States as they took a resounding victory 74 - 6 with tries by hooker, Nathan Harris (Who unfortunately got injured, with James Parsons slotted in as replacement hooker), right winger Cory Jane (Also got injured as well), lock Patrick Tuipulotu, as well as the returning Sonny Bill (Who got it twice, not once), left winger Charles Piutau, reserve wing Julian Savea (He did get 2, just like Williams did), prop Joe Moody, then the returning first five-eighth Aaron Cruden (Who had been in trouble after getting drunk & missing the flight to Buenos Aires before the Argentina - All Blacks encounter in La Plata), fullback Izzy Dagg & openside Sam Cane with conversions by Cruden who got 4 out of 9 & also, the returning world's test points scoring fly-half of Dan Carter who bagged 3 out of 3.
And, after the victory in Chicago as the AB's head over to London as they take on the hosts of next year's Rugby World Cup, England at Twickenham (Which will host the final in 2015) by launching a brand new outfit dubbed as the blackest ever (With the trademark white collar gone as well as white being replaced by gun metal silver for the jersey numbers & logos as well as the shirt, it has been specially designed by both the forwards & the backs rather than design, fabric or colour (Improvements made to the forwards jersey such as better rucking, mauling & scrummaging as well as for the backs, they are designed to make it more difficult to grab hold of), but will this blackest jersey be better than the old one?) but what a start by the home team as Jonny May had just scored a sensational try! In the 3rd minute. Then 10 minutes later, Cruden had just scored as well but not able to add the extras before the All Blacks got penalised twice as Owen Farrell nailed 2 penalty goals in succession, then New Zealand gained the upper hand as Cruden also nailed 2 penalty goals just like Farrell then NZ conceded the penalty before halftime as Farrell able to land the penalty shot at goal.
As the second half got underway in the 45th minute, the All Black captain of Richie McCaw has scored a brilliant try as he goes over while England's debutant of Semesa Rokoduguni (Born in Fiji serving for the British Army) attempted to defend a three on one overlap, but however Dane Coles gets sent to the bin for 10 after lashing out a boot to Kiwi born English hooker Dylan Hartley but still England were unable to escape the fate of their own half but it was the only matter of time when England's line was cracked once more before reserve Prop Charlie Faumuina who knocked over after waves of attacks, scoring his 1st try in a test match...oh, hang on, what da hell is dis as Welsh referee Nigel Owens make a TMO decision after awarding the try? (Wait, this certainly isn't Rugby's version of Cricket's Umpire Decision Review System as the batsman does require a review after originally being given out caught behind or lbw (Leg before wicket) Oh, you have gotta be kidding me, well that was...a comedy of errors not only because the Sky Sport rugby commentators label Owens as a stand up comedian, oh my god! But in the end, the TMO thinks that he tells the ref that he already has awarded it but that's the rule, you can't change decisions after the try has scored, and then all of a sudden, with England having the last laugh as the penalty try was given after New Zealand pulled down a maul, but the All Blacks held on comfortably to a 3 point victory over the Red Roses.
And yes, the highly anticipated return of Nan & Pops from Argentina/Uruguay was upon us for me last week as I went with him to Pak'n'save (Their motto: Our policy, NZ's lowest food prices) for the food supply after that grueling 7 week trip before having our own lunch since their return B4 we played our 1st test match of the brand new Aramoho Series Cricket season of 2014/15 with a record of 20 games following the success of the inaugural/1st ever 2014 season which consisted only 8 games, and guess what, I was the winner of the 1st test match of 20 by 36 runs as I managed only 6 in the 1st innings and 63 in the 2nd innings as I was dismissed in both innings when Poppa K managed to trap me out lbw twice then I had him out run out 1st innings & finally in the 2nd innings, I was overwhelmingly dominant by bowling him out, effectively ending the match with me leading 1 - 0 in the series.
And then on Saturday night, the Kiwis rugby league side have done it by winning the 4 nations at home in the nation's capital of the windy city of Wellington (or Welly/Wellywood), New Zealand. As they held on to beat the Kangaroos 22 - 18, a few weeks after thrashing the Aussies in the opener at Brisbane (And for 61 years that New Zealand have last tasted victory twice & for 11 years since they have last won in NZ against Australia) + some wonderful tries by star men Shaun Johnson (Hailed as the new Benji Marshall who recieved his player of the game honours twice in both the opener & final) & Manu Vatuvei (He is da beast who got it twice because he is now New Zealand's all time try-scorer with 20) as well as Jason Nightingale (Born in Australia but he is the tournament's top try scorer with 5), but moving on as we switch gears on both sides of the rugby code from the Cake Tin to Murrayfield in Edinburgh where the All Blacks take on the last flower of Scotland (The country who had desired/embroiled to become independent but however have elected to remain part of the United Kingdom) coached by New Zealander ''Big'' Vern Cotter as well as containing 2 NZ players playing against their country of birth such as Blair Cowan & Quade Cooper's cousin Sean Maitland AKA Mitchell Johnson, the Aussie cricketer because of his lookalike compared to Poppa's Sean Connery sans the skin colour & Dad's Daniel Vettori.
But the match started as Victor Vito gave his team the early lead before TROUBLE!!! THEY WON'T CATCH HIM!!! As Tommy Seymour crosses over for the try which gave the delighted hosts an immediate response but kickers Dan Carter and Grieg Laidlaw kept the score close with three penalties apiece but a successful effort from the boot of Colin Slade nudged New Zealand in front but the AB's were way too strong in the end as they defeated the Scots 24 - 16 after a Jeremy Thrush try & Colin Slade conversion in the 73rd & 74th minute.
And now...onto the All Blacks last test match of the year 2014, against WALES! (Led by Sam Warburton) That's right, the Valley Boys over at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. And how about Richard Hugh ''Richie'' McCaw, celebrating 100 tests as skipper after a decade on when he 1st became captain of the AB's. As the match got well underway as Wales kick the ball off and soon have a ball thanks to a terrific grab from Jamie Roberts.
6 MINUTES LATER
Well there's more ground made in the All Blacks' 22 and New Zealand are penalised for hands in the ruck. It's in front of the posts, and there is no way that the Valley Boys aren't taking the points from there. (Wales lead 3 - 0)
26 MINUTES LATER
Wales collapse the scrum yet again, again it is Paul James. He is failing to adapt, the Welsh prop, against that AB's pack. Penalty at halfway, and Beauden Barrett will try again. Hefty boot from Beaudy and it clears the bar by a couple of feet. We're all tied at 3-3.
18 MINUTES LATER
New dad/father SBW knocks it on, Wales have thrown the ball around to see if they can get anything, but it all comes to nothing. Half-time, Wales 3-3 New Zealand. Fierce, absolute fierce stuff in the 1st half, but the teams are back out on the field - the All Blacks will kick off.
And we are underway again because there is a slight tension settling on the Cardiff crowd not only they are realising their team really does have a better chance here.
2 MINUTES LATER
And then just like dat - it is a try! Julian Savea gets the ball out wide after Wales turn the ball over in their own 22, and it's Savea versus Dan Biggar. Only one winner, Savea slipping out of the tackle and in at the corner. New Zealand really know how to start a perfect 2nd half but Barrett lands the conversion from out wide & a huge burst of air has just been let out of the Millennium Stadium.
ANOTHER 2 MINUTES LATER
And then all of a sudden...try 2 Wales! Excellent response after falling behind. Perfectly offloaded by Taulupe Faletau (Formerly Toby) and Rhys Webb is in beside the bar! But Leigh Halfpenny able to add the extras - it is level once more.
5 MINUTES LATER
Another penalty to da Welsh, this time in NZ half, for Sam Whitelock who didn't rolling away. Halfpenny to kick at goal for what would put Wales in the lead. Through it goes. The Millennium Stadium is on its feet.
12 MINUTES LATER
The New Zealand captain of Richie McCaw is closing in on the try-line! Could he score on this landmark occasion? I don't think so, not quite. He is held up but the ball is switched across flanks by a superb cross-field kick and then it is reached inside and Jerome Kaino is over for the All Black's 2nd try of the game, as Barrett's conversion goes the same way as a previous penalty - wide right. George North is going off injured, blood streaming from his head, possibly sustained in that McCaw burst before the try & Penalty against...of all people, it's McCaw, what for? Side entry to the ruck but Leigh Halfpenny will have a chance to restore the Welsh lead & It is up, it is all good - Wales lead & then in all of a sudden, just like that - try to NEW ZEALAND! And that is one very fortunate bounce in the favour of Beaudy Barrett. It is just a reward for his own inventiveness, but Halfpenny is gonna see dat bounce every damn time he attempts to close his eyes and G.T.S. tonight. Agonising, very very Agonising indeed and it is Colin Slade who converts this time.
NEK MINNIT
It is becoming very, very open indeed as Wales seek to get back into dis, because dey need a try & conversion required to take da lead again, but dey are leaving demselves open in defence as a result, but it is another try for the AB's, who have - in just 3 minutes - shown why it is so, so hardcore to defeat them. Kieran Read is the beneficiary of a charge down, but to make your own luck as a virtual silence in the Millennium Stadium, which was threatening to combust just 5 minutes ago before Colin Slade slots a beauty of a kick from the touchline to add the extras. That is pure insult to injury, right there.
2 MINUTES LATER
"This ends now, or he's dismissed the field of play," says Wayne Barnes to Sam Warburton. It seems that Alun-Wyn Jones is the culprit. Frustrations beginning to show and NEK MINNIT, Leigh Halfpenny knocks the ball on or should I say, loses the ball forward...FORWARD (Well that's the issue) in his own 22, trying to break from deep. The game is an absolute goner for Wales, now but it has all Torn Sky Blast apart for the Welsh. Another X-Field kick, a terrific knockdown and Barrett is over for his 2nd of the game. It has becoming emphatic, but it does not flatter the All Blacks without a paddle, given how strongly they have played in this last 1/4 but unfortunate for Slade as he misses the conversion, yet again from the touchline, by a whisker but a knock on by the AB's as they throw it around for fun on halfway & another knock on ends the match but it took a patient, determined, relentless performance from New Zealand - but no side is equipped to produce just that quite like they are. 13 minutes of utter sheer brilliance was the ultimate difference, and Sam Warburton's knowing smile on his face as he shakes hands with his opposite number says it all. Wales were not too well beaten, but they were defeated as well.
And finally in this report, the world of Cricket was in mourning last week as Philip Hughes tragically killed during a Cricket match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) after being struck in the head by a lethal bouncer from pace bowler Sean Abbott...how sad, RIP Phil (1988 - 2014)...but the Black Caps have also paid tribute to the fallen cricketer as they took victory against Pakistan in Sharjah during the 3rd test meaning that the test series had been drawn after losing the 1st test & drawing in the 2nd test, but the 1st test between Australia & India will take place at the Adelaide Oval due to rescheduling as the Brisbane test was postponed due to Hughesy's death (And I also paid tribute to Phil Hughes as I overcame the demons from last week's loss during the 4th Aramoho Series Cricket test which I labelled as game of the year (And I mean, after today's greatest lunch hits we had at the new Cafe Anatolia facility which was open alongside the new BP near the Splash Centre), by scoring (U guessed it) back 2 back centuries on both innings as my batting powers were fully restored (Last week it was woeful but this week it looks like I had a doner kebab for lunch which got my batting mojo back so I used a different bat, codenamed Memphis instead, rather than the Robin, which is a yellow bat that I am no longer using when I got 107 not out during the 2nd test match in the 2nd innings which I won) as I scored 136 (I was out LBW, which is my highest score of this series) & 104 not out & hell yes, that is a beauty (Although my back shoulder is a bit sore because of da batting (So perhaps I am sporting battle scars in all of a sudden), but today's test match of da year was even perhaps, da one 2 remember 4 me, so sit back & enjoy because I am going 2 remember dis, 4 a long, long time (Perhaps, the best cricket match of the decade (2010s) or the century!).
Well it has been a absolutely fabulous blog that has gone in development hell, but remember folks, it is only 3 weeks left till the real thing, which is...JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS.
P.S. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there. With open arms and open eyes yeah. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there.
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
The Last Flower of Scotland: Into the Superunknown (2014 NZ General Election special + AB's Vs SA Review)
It is decision time whether Scotland will become an independent country or else, remain part of the United Kingdom (Although I would like the Great Britain Table Hockey team to pull out of the TBO World Cup if Scotland becomes independent) as many people want to say yes or no about the country at all costs, but all eyes on the general election in New Zealand to vote for which party or politician to be part of a parliament seat just because their will never be a new Prime Minister as the country's leader, John Key is the most popular PM, just scampers ahead of the leader of the opposition, David Cunliffe as well as John Key's political party, National, is dead set ahead of Labour (The party that I will be voting + Poppa's long standing supporting political party since ages ago and guess what, Hamish McDouall is ahead of Chester Burrows in the Wanganui seat so he might even make it to the Beehive post-election) in the fair-dinkum department matey (sic) as the most popular party according to the Colmar Brunton poll.
And in sport, the All Blacks had just drilled the mighty South Africans (Led by Jean de Villiers in his unprecedented 100th rugby test) in last weekend's TRC encounter, winning by just 4 points as the score was 14 - 10, and in the 1st half, the AB's led at 3 - 0, as South Africa were on lineout mode as Adriaan Strauss throws the ball, goes to the back, gives the ball to winger Cornal Hendricks, and he SCORES!! Giving SA the lead 5 - 3 (Now 7 - 3 with a successful kick to come by Handre Pollard) and when I reacted to the try when I was like, really! REALLY!! Oh, come on! this isn't fair! What is my major malfunction, BROTHER!! And in the 2nd half (Aw, bad news from the New Zealand camp as Ma'a Nonu broke a forearm because he is gone for the season), things have been settled as the All Blacks trail by a point (The returning Aaron Cruden has managed to cut the deficit in the 1st half as South Africa held on 7 - 6 at halftime), as SA win the scrum under pressure only metres from their line and clear it downfield to the halfway but a strong rolling maul has put the All Blacks on the front foot and given that Julian Savea had some open space to make a strong run but the South African defence remains powerful despite being a man down injured, and then all of a sudden, Watch THIS!! As Cruden pops a cross-field kick (Like a voodoo doll, leave this to me), giving it to Kieran Read, then passes the ball to the captain of Richie McCaw and WHAM!!! It is try-time, baby! And YES YES YES MAN!!! UNREAL!! What an effort. Way 2 go Richie as da referee has 2 go upstairs 2 have a look, but no further problems at all by da TMO so da try has been given (AB's lead, 11 - 7) but unfortunate there 4 Aaron Cruden as he isn't able to add the extras before several minutes later, the fans begin to boo as Pollard slots in a successful drop goal attempt as the ref blows the whistle as the ball sails down over the posts from a long-range sweeping distance effort.
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER
The All Blacks put the pressure on as they win the ball back from their 22-drop out and make easy metres to the SA 22-metre but lose the ball yet again but another error at the lineout from South Africa sees Savea make a huge run down the sideline and the AB's are now on the front foot and are putting plenty of pressure on the defence before the All Blacks have won ourselves a penalty within the Springboks 22-metre giving Beaudy Barrett his first chance at the posts before he nails the shot and pushes the lead 14 - 10 over SA so let's see how it unfolds in the dying 10 minutes in the nail-biting test match:
70TH MINUTE: Willie le Roux has cleared the ball down field and put Savea under pressure b4 his South African teammates arrive and win a turnover and scrum within the All Blacks half containing pests...boundaries.
72ND MINUTE: Both sides continue to give away the ball at the ruck and SA are lucky to win the ball and relieve some pressure within their half of our souls.
73RD MINUTE: South Africa push forward with a rolling maul and have won the advantage, but lose the ball once they try to spread it wide as Pollard puts it out 5-metres from the AB's lineout and have what is sure to be their best chance to take the lead without one Licence to Thrill, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
74TH MINUTE: SA set up another rolling maul by pushing it forward and win another penalty advantage b4 collapsing as they start to spread it wide and da All Blacks rush up in defence in order to shut down da South African attack, But South Africa head back for their penalty by a bunch of crutches.
76TH MINUTE: SA have gone for another lineout and may have won it but it's messy as South Africa did their best to go hard and get within the 10-metre striking jaw distance.
77TH MINUTE: South Africa have their best chance as they make it several metres to the line but an obstruction call made by the referee has ruined their chance of picking up a worthy 5 pointer more like the road to nowhere at the Devil's Triangle (But it only takes 2 to tango, dude).
78TH MINUTE: AB's have the scrum feed several metres from their line and the South African resistance have stolen it but they are rewarded with a scrum 5-metres, but what a shove from SA rewarding their final chance of winning the game, but remember guys, the South Africans have to ensure that they must put the All Blacks out of their reach and to our misery, and I mean for Jean de Villiers in his 100th test, but can SA stun the All Blacks with a win? I don't think so.
79TH MINUTE: South Africa win the scrum and Duane Vermeulen makes a quick run to the line but they send it to the short side and go out but nek minnit: AB's win lineout as Aaron Smith kicks the ball into touch without wasting any time, effectively ending the cliffhanging, blockbuster encounter & maximising their machines by holding on to a 14 - 10 victory to retain the Freedom Cup & remain on top of the Rugby Championship standings, bye for now.
P.S. Went to Splash Centre today for our routine swim before going to Colombian Cafe at Trafalgar Square near the Warehouse rather than having pasta here for lunch & so here I am, my 31st blog (It is blog number XXXI) that I am doing at the moment but good luck to my beloved Nan & Pops because they are heading off on an embarking expedition to Argentina on Monday, told ya so.
And in sport, the All Blacks had just drilled the mighty South Africans (Led by Jean de Villiers in his unprecedented 100th rugby test) in last weekend's TRC encounter, winning by just 4 points as the score was 14 - 10, and in the 1st half, the AB's led at 3 - 0, as South Africa were on lineout mode as Adriaan Strauss throws the ball, goes to the back, gives the ball to winger Cornal Hendricks, and he SCORES!! Giving SA the lead 5 - 3 (Now 7 - 3 with a successful kick to come by Handre Pollard) and when I reacted to the try when I was like, really! REALLY!! Oh, come on! this isn't fair! What is my major malfunction, BROTHER!! And in the 2nd half (Aw, bad news from the New Zealand camp as Ma'a Nonu broke a forearm because he is gone for the season), things have been settled as the All Blacks trail by a point (The returning Aaron Cruden has managed to cut the deficit in the 1st half as South Africa held on 7 - 6 at halftime), as SA win the scrum under pressure only metres from their line and clear it downfield to the halfway but a strong rolling maul has put the All Blacks on the front foot and given that Julian Savea had some open space to make a strong run but the South African defence remains powerful despite being a man down injured, and then all of a sudden, Watch THIS!! As Cruden pops a cross-field kick (Like a voodoo doll, leave this to me), giving it to Kieran Read, then passes the ball to the captain of Richie McCaw and WHAM!!! It is try-time, baby! And YES YES YES MAN!!! UNREAL!! What an effort. Way 2 go Richie as da referee has 2 go upstairs 2 have a look, but no further problems at all by da TMO so da try has been given (AB's lead, 11 - 7) but unfortunate there 4 Aaron Cruden as he isn't able to add the extras before several minutes later, the fans begin to boo as Pollard slots in a successful drop goal attempt as the ref blows the whistle as the ball sails down over the posts from a long-range sweeping distance effort.
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER
The All Blacks put the pressure on as they win the ball back from their 22-drop out and make easy metres to the SA 22-metre but lose the ball yet again but another error at the lineout from South Africa sees Savea make a huge run down the sideline and the AB's are now on the front foot and are putting plenty of pressure on the defence before the All Blacks have won ourselves a penalty within the Springboks 22-metre giving Beaudy Barrett his first chance at the posts before he nails the shot and pushes the lead 14 - 10 over SA so let's see how it unfolds in the dying 10 minutes in the nail-biting test match:
70TH MINUTE: Willie le Roux has cleared the ball down field and put Savea under pressure b4 his South African teammates arrive and win a turnover and scrum within the All Blacks half containing pests...boundaries.
72ND MINUTE: Both sides continue to give away the ball at the ruck and SA are lucky to win the ball and relieve some pressure within their half of our souls.
73RD MINUTE: South Africa push forward with a rolling maul and have won the advantage, but lose the ball once they try to spread it wide as Pollard puts it out 5-metres from the AB's lineout and have what is sure to be their best chance to take the lead without one Licence to Thrill, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
74TH MINUTE: SA set up another rolling maul by pushing it forward and win another penalty advantage b4 collapsing as they start to spread it wide and da All Blacks rush up in defence in order to shut down da South African attack, But South Africa head back for their penalty by a bunch of crutches.
76TH MINUTE: SA have gone for another lineout and may have won it but it's messy as South Africa did their best to go hard and get within the 10-metre striking jaw distance.
77TH MINUTE: South Africa have their best chance as they make it several metres to the line but an obstruction call made by the referee has ruined their chance of picking up a worthy 5 pointer more like the road to nowhere at the Devil's Triangle (But it only takes 2 to tango, dude).
78TH MINUTE: AB's have the scrum feed several metres from their line and the South African resistance have stolen it but they are rewarded with a scrum 5-metres, but what a shove from SA rewarding their final chance of winning the game, but remember guys, the South Africans have to ensure that they must put the All Blacks out of their reach and to our misery, and I mean for Jean de Villiers in his 100th test, but can SA stun the All Blacks with a win? I don't think so.
79TH MINUTE: South Africa win the scrum and Duane Vermeulen makes a quick run to the line but they send it to the short side and go out but nek minnit: AB's win lineout as Aaron Smith kicks the ball into touch without wasting any time, effectively ending the cliffhanging, blockbuster encounter & maximising their machines by holding on to a 14 - 10 victory to retain the Freedom Cup & remain on top of the Rugby Championship standings, bye for now.
P.S. Went to Splash Centre today for our routine swim before going to Colombian Cafe at Trafalgar Square near the Warehouse rather than having pasta here for lunch & so here I am, my 31st blog (It is blog number XXXI) that I am doing at the moment but good luck to my beloved Nan & Pops because they are heading off on an embarking expedition to Argentina on Monday, told ya so.
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Shosholoza: Tackling the South Africans in Welly
It's Round 4 of this epic #2014rugbychampionship between #NZallblacks (Home of the All Blacks, the Maori culture/tribe such as the Haka & Middle Earth, where the Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit was filmed here directed by none other than Sir Peter Jackson) & the beasts of the Republic, #southafrica (Home of the late 1st black President Nelson Mandela (Who was behind bars at Robben Island during the Apartheid era before being released & ran for Presidency successfully), the Braai & of course the Vuvuzela instrument which made an impact during the 2010 FIFA World Cup) for the last Aotearoa test of 2014 at the Cake Tin of Westpac Stadium in the nation's capital: the windy city of Wellington from McLean Park where New Zealand proved too strong & powerful to defeat the argy-bargies 28 - 9 (With such good tries from Julian ''Big Bus'' Savea who got it twice including a try from outta nowhere during the 1st half, Liam Messam (Scored, but however...ended up on the recieving end of a self-inflicted All Black injury crisis, joining the likes of Sam Whitelock) & that lil' halfback, Aaron Smith).
The starting lineup was revealed for the All Blacks as Steven Luatua has slotted in at blindside flanker to replace the injured Liam Messam to join the openside flanker/number 8 pair of Captain @rhmccaw & @kieranread, then Jeremy Thrush comes in for Sam Whitelock who is out due to a rib issue so Patrick Tuipulotu starts from the bench along with Cory Jane who replaces Malakai Fekitoa, & South Africa will use an unchanged lineup except for the brand new, young 20 year old up & coming but raw talented player & rising star of Handre Pollard, who makes way for Morne Steyn as he makes his return to New Zealand again because his 1st foray to NZ was representing his country in the Junior World Championships in which his team go down to England in the final as well as the SA team captain @jeandevilliers, who will celebrate his 100th test match joining the likes of 2007 RWC winning captain John Smit & player Percy Montgomery + veterans @victormatfield & @bryanhabana (Who got yellow carded for that high tackle allowing the Wallabies to open the door for victory over in Perth at the expense of a late comeback from a try by Rob Horne & that successful, match winning conversion by Bernard Foley, meaning that the AB's now go on top of the Rugby Championship standings and I mean, how would Dad have to back the Wallabies to defeat South Africa, get real because I think I label my dear father as a traitor, nuff said).
And finally in this report, Argentina, fresh from the defeat at Napier, will take on the @michaelhooper led Wallabies over on the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium (Once known as Skilled Park) as they seek their 1st victory of the Rugby Championship after numerous defeats + a draw in 2012.
And that is it, I will see you next time, fingers crossed this weekend on Saturday, ready your breakfast & eat hearty, for tonight, we dine...in HELL!
P.S. Went to that Heartland Rugby game sponsored by Pink Batts last Saturday, 1st win of the new season, knocking over traditional rivals North Otago by holding on to a comprehensive 20 to 15 victory & today, we went to that restaurant thing called La Strada and it was a good meal that I had such as spaghetti with meatballs & that gelato for dessert so it was a perfect 10 for me & it rocked hard before we played cricket, had a game of both cards & checkers as well as I really did enjoy Nan's 68th birthday celebrations last night but my main highlight would be the starters, the cheese course & the dessert that we have + Uncle Bryan Christie has totally agreed to compete for Great Britain (But I don't really know that Bryan is of English & Scottish descent but he is clearly Scottish but we are of course indeed of English & Scottish descent) in that possible TBO World Cup joining the likes of New Zealand (Which is me, I am the star, I am Whetu) & Denmark (Competing for that country is the great Danish Terminator of Hanne Benbaruk) + Noel Leeming has been given the extreme makeover due to the rebranding since the Warehouse acquired Noel Leeming 2 years ago (Although in February/March last year, Bond & Bond had to close it's doors due to the merger with Noel Leeming, much more like Telecom became Spark, Telstraclear became Vodafone, the National Bank became ANZ & Shell became Z) not only because I think I'm a fan of Noel Leeming, a fanatic, but of course, I feel a bit nostalgic like the Trafalgar Square shopping centre which features the Warehouse, Countdown & EB Games (Formerly the Gamesman) because there was once a Kmart store before it became the Warehouse & once a Noel Leeming store before it moved to Victoria Avenue right next to both KFC & Harvey Norman.
The starting lineup was revealed for the All Blacks as Steven Luatua has slotted in at blindside flanker to replace the injured Liam Messam to join the openside flanker/number 8 pair of Captain @rhmccaw & @kieranread, then Jeremy Thrush comes in for Sam Whitelock who is out due to a rib issue so Patrick Tuipulotu starts from the bench along with Cory Jane who replaces Malakai Fekitoa, & South Africa will use an unchanged lineup except for the brand new, young 20 year old up & coming but raw talented player & rising star of Handre Pollard, who makes way for Morne Steyn as he makes his return to New Zealand again because his 1st foray to NZ was representing his country in the Junior World Championships in which his team go down to England in the final as well as the SA team captain @jeandevilliers, who will celebrate his 100th test match joining the likes of 2007 RWC winning captain John Smit & player Percy Montgomery + veterans @victormatfield & @bryanhabana (Who got yellow carded for that high tackle allowing the Wallabies to open the door for victory over in Perth at the expense of a late comeback from a try by Rob Horne & that successful, match winning conversion by Bernard Foley, meaning that the AB's now go on top of the Rugby Championship standings and I mean, how would Dad have to back the Wallabies to defeat South Africa, get real because I think I label my dear father as a traitor, nuff said).
And finally in this report, Argentina, fresh from the defeat at Napier, will take on the @michaelhooper led Wallabies over on the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium (Once known as Skilled Park) as they seek their 1st victory of the Rugby Championship after numerous defeats + a draw in 2012.
And that is it, I will see you next time, fingers crossed this weekend on Saturday, ready your breakfast & eat hearty, for tonight, we dine...in HELL!
P.S. Went to that Heartland Rugby game sponsored by Pink Batts last Saturday, 1st win of the new season, knocking over traditional rivals North Otago by holding on to a comprehensive 20 to 15 victory & today, we went to that restaurant thing called La Strada and it was a good meal that I had such as spaghetti with meatballs & that gelato for dessert so it was a perfect 10 for me & it rocked hard before we played cricket, had a game of both cards & checkers as well as I really did enjoy Nan's 68th birthday celebrations last night but my main highlight would be the starters, the cheese course & the dessert that we have + Uncle Bryan Christie has totally agreed to compete for Great Britain (But I don't really know that Bryan is of English & Scottish descent but he is clearly Scottish but we are of course indeed of English & Scottish descent) in that possible TBO World Cup joining the likes of New Zealand (Which is me, I am the star, I am Whetu) & Denmark (Competing for that country is the great Danish Terminator of Hanne Benbaruk) + Noel Leeming has been given the extreme makeover due to the rebranding since the Warehouse acquired Noel Leeming 2 years ago (Although in February/March last year, Bond & Bond had to close it's doors due to the merger with Noel Leeming, much more like Telecom became Spark, Telstraclear became Vodafone, the National Bank became ANZ & Shell became Z) not only because I think I'm a fan of Noel Leeming, a fanatic, but of course, I feel a bit nostalgic like the Trafalgar Square shopping centre which features the Warehouse, Countdown & EB Games (Formerly the Gamesman) because there was once a Kmart store before it became the Warehouse & once a Noel Leeming store before it moved to Victoria Avenue right next to both KFC & Harvey Norman.
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
#allblacksstories4: The 2014 Rugby Championship Season
Well, I have not written a blog lately so Kelly Harrison urged me to do this one, like for today so she can impress.
But things have gone well for the All Blacks after winning the test series (A stunning clean sweep) against England 3 - 0 & missing out on beating the Wallabies by getting that 18th straight test victory in Sydney which ended in a draw before overcoming that result to defeat Australia 51 - 20 at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe once more (Although the Wallabies have lost Pat McCabe due to a really serious neck injury, by forcing into retirement mode, and I mean he could be paralyzed or especially dead if he ever played again but never due to the high amount of risk that's all according to the doctor's orders) but the AB's will have to focus on now what has been a highly anticipated showdown with Argentina (The Argentine front row had been devastating by overpowering the South African pack until it had been fallen when they brought on fresh new replacements + the country that Nan & Pop's will visit) in Napier (+ after the All Blacks/Argentina one, the Wallabies face South Africa in Perth and if Australia win, South Africa will fall down into the pecking order on top of the Rugby Championship standings).
But the team naming was revealed for the AB's this morning to play against Argentina, with the unchanged lineup from the previous test set to take the field except a few changes, with Beaudy Barrett taking over the 1st 5 duties from Aaron Cruden, as well as the return of Izzy Dagg (Who helped Hawke's Bay win the Ranfurly Shield back from the Tana Umaga coached Counties Manukau) at fullback, elevating Ben Smith from the right wing position with Cory Jane unavailable and of course, changes were made in the reserves bench, such as Charlie Faumuina being dropped in favour of Joe Moody due to a lack of form required to do them properly, while Jeremy Thrush replaces Steven Luatua (Who now has his 1st test try against Australia in Auckland) & of course, Colin Slade being brought in to start at the number 22 jersey but don't worry, it looks like weather conditions say that it will be wet weather this Saturday over at McLean Park (The 2nd time that the All Blacks will play at the city beacuse their 1st test match in Napier was in 1996 against Samoa + I saw that temporary seating during Hawke's Bay's ITM Cup home game in time for the test).
And we went to that fabulous Cooks Gardens to see Wanganui play our 1st game of the brand new Heartland Rugby Championship against Horowhenua-Kapiti who donned their new rugby kit, and then all of a sudden, another defeat had to occur for Wanganui, they had got beaten, victimized against the opposition because the pressure was too much by scoring a lot of tries, awarding penalties, on & on & on (+ I'm attempting to organise the TBO (stands for Table Hockey Order because I named the sport's governing body after the Jedi Order from the Star Wars franchise) World Cup because only 2 countries have signed up for it: Denmark (Hanne Benbaruk-Jakobsen, the great Danish Terminator) & hosts, New Zealand (which is me, Whetu Ngapo AKA Chris 'Hunter' Fallon).
And that is we have got time for, see you next time, and oh btw, fingers crossed ftw by our beloved AB's.
P.S. Can you take it all away, can you take it all away, well ya shoved it in my face, this pain you gave to me.
But things have gone well for the All Blacks after winning the test series (A stunning clean sweep) against England 3 - 0 & missing out on beating the Wallabies by getting that 18th straight test victory in Sydney which ended in a draw before overcoming that result to defeat Australia 51 - 20 at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe once more (Although the Wallabies have lost Pat McCabe due to a really serious neck injury, by forcing into retirement mode, and I mean he could be paralyzed or especially dead if he ever played again but never due to the high amount of risk that's all according to the doctor's orders) but the AB's will have to focus on now what has been a highly anticipated showdown with Argentina (The Argentine front row had been devastating by overpowering the South African pack until it had been fallen when they brought on fresh new replacements + the country that Nan & Pop's will visit) in Napier (+ after the All Blacks/Argentina one, the Wallabies face South Africa in Perth and if Australia win, South Africa will fall down into the pecking order on top of the Rugby Championship standings).
But the team naming was revealed for the AB's this morning to play against Argentina, with the unchanged lineup from the previous test set to take the field except a few changes, with Beaudy Barrett taking over the 1st 5 duties from Aaron Cruden, as well as the return of Izzy Dagg (Who helped Hawke's Bay win the Ranfurly Shield back from the Tana Umaga coached Counties Manukau) at fullback, elevating Ben Smith from the right wing position with Cory Jane unavailable and of course, changes were made in the reserves bench, such as Charlie Faumuina being dropped in favour of Joe Moody due to a lack of form required to do them properly, while Jeremy Thrush replaces Steven Luatua (Who now has his 1st test try against Australia in Auckland) & of course, Colin Slade being brought in to start at the number 22 jersey but don't worry, it looks like weather conditions say that it will be wet weather this Saturday over at McLean Park (The 2nd time that the All Blacks will play at the city beacuse their 1st test match in Napier was in 1996 against Samoa + I saw that temporary seating during Hawke's Bay's ITM Cup home game in time for the test).
And we went to that fabulous Cooks Gardens to see Wanganui play our 1st game of the brand new Heartland Rugby Championship against Horowhenua-Kapiti who donned their new rugby kit, and then all of a sudden, another defeat had to occur for Wanganui, they had got beaten, victimized against the opposition because the pressure was too much by scoring a lot of tries, awarding penalties, on & on & on (+ I'm attempting to organise the TBO (stands for Table Hockey Order because I named the sport's governing body after the Jedi Order from the Star Wars franchise) World Cup because only 2 countries have signed up for it: Denmark (Hanne Benbaruk-Jakobsen, the great Danish Terminator) & hosts, New Zealand (which is me, Whetu Ngapo AKA Chris 'Hunter' Fallon).
And that is we have got time for, see you next time, and oh btw, fingers crossed ftw by our beloved AB's.
P.S. Can you take it all away, can you take it all away, well ya shoved it in my face, this pain you gave to me.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games: How's this still a thing?
Well, imagine what would the Olympics look like? Without one of it's powerhouse nations like USA, China & Russia? Think again.
The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games: How's this still a thing?
The real thing is...that New Zealand have claimed both 14 gold and silver medals & 17 bronze medals (Argubaly the most successful Commonwealth Games outside of New Zealand when Auckland hosted it in 1990 by bringing home 17 golds, 14 Silvers & 27 Bronzes (Grand total: 58) surpassing Manchester, England in 2002 with 11 golds, 13 silvers & 21 bronzes with a total of 45), bringing up the medal count of 45 (That is the same as the 2002 one), so without further or do, let's give the rundown of the New Zealand athletes who have claimed their medals at Glasgow, Scotland:
1st up, the gold medal winners:
Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell & Sam Webster: Track cycling, mens team sprint.
Sam Webster: Track Cycling, mens sprint.
Tom Scully: Track Cycling, men's points race.
Shane Archbold: Track Cycling, men's scratch race.
Jo Edwards: Lawn Bowl's, women's Singles.
Sophie Pascoe: Swimming, women's 100 m backstroke SB9 & women's individual 200 medley SM10.
Sally Johnston: Shooting, women's 50m rifle prone.
Richard ''Richie'' Patterson: Weightlifting, men's 85kg.
Anton Cooper: Cycling, mountain bike.
Lauren Boyle: Swimming, women's 400 m freestlye.
Val Adams (Half-brother of NBA star Steven Adams & most decorated but highly-ultra successful New Zeland athlete): Athletics, women's shot put.
Linda Villumsen (Born in Denmark, which is not part of the Commonwealth along with the big 3 powerhouse nations that I mentioned before): Road cycling, women's time trial.
And of course, David Nyika in the men's light heavyweight boxing.
And the silver medalists are: Judoka's Adrian Leat & Moira de Villiers, the cyclists Simon van Velthoven & Sam Webster (Also the gold medalist), the All Blacks sevens team (Lost to South Africa who finally conquered the gold medal in sevens rugby at last since the sport was introduced in 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), shotputter Tom Walsh, hammer thrower Julia Ratcliffe, swimmer Lauren Boyle (Who already brought home the gold), mountain biker Sam Gaze (One of Anton Cooper's teammates, thus rounding out a Kiwi 1 - 2), weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev (Born in Russia formerly the Soviet Union/USSR), the lawn bowls trio of Bennett, Noble & Wynks, another Boxer which is the other David: Light, another cyclist Jack Bauer (Fresh off the Tour de France, won by Vicenzo Nibali of Italy) & the Silver Ferns netball team.
And finally, the list of bronze medalists:
Track Cyclists: Gold medalist Archbold with Bulling, Kennett & Marc Ryan (Men's team pursuit + Ryan also in the men's individual pursuit), Edward Dawkins, Matt Archibald & Aaron Gate.
3 Judokas: Darcina Manuel, Jason Koster & Tim Slyfield.
The long distance runners: Zane Robertson & Nick Willis.
The lawn bowling quartet of Boyd, Goddard, McIlroy & Smith.
A squash player: Joelle King.
A Weightlifter: Tracey Lambrechs.
Both Wrestlers: Sam Belkin & Tayla Ford.
A Gymnast: David Bishop.
And last but not least, the Black Sticks women's hockey team.
And there you have it about the elite list of NZ athletes who have conquered Glasgow with the next one being held down under in 4 years time (2018): at Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia.
P.S. Well, I am afraid I have got some bad news, BAD NEWS!! That, you know what, the Crusaders are poor losers in the Super Rugby final even though that Richie McCaw (The All Blacks captain) had conceded the penalty, allowing the Michael Hooper-led Waratahs (Although Dave Dennis is the skipper) for that 45 metre penalty shot at goal to be taken by Wallaby Bernard Foley, is for both the lead & the title by joining the elites of the other 6 Super Rugby champions, & then all of a sudden, the home crowd at ANZ Stadium had gone berserk after that match winning penalty by Foley (Not only the team has chosen Stadium Australia instead of Allianz Stadium because of the home advantage), & once the ball had been kicked out of touch, they had simply became the NEW!!! THE NEW!!!!!!!!!! SUPER RUGBY CHAMPIONS!!!!! THE WARATAHS!!!!!!!!!! Effectively ending the Chiefs 2 year reign as champions of Super Rugby...THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MUHUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (EVIL LAUGHTER).
The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games: How's this still a thing?
The real thing is...that New Zealand have claimed both 14 gold and silver medals & 17 bronze medals (Argubaly the most successful Commonwealth Games outside of New Zealand when Auckland hosted it in 1990 by bringing home 17 golds, 14 Silvers & 27 Bronzes (Grand total: 58) surpassing Manchester, England in 2002 with 11 golds, 13 silvers & 21 bronzes with a total of 45), bringing up the medal count of 45 (That is the same as the 2002 one), so without further or do, let's give the rundown of the New Zealand athletes who have claimed their medals at Glasgow, Scotland:
1st up, the gold medal winners:
Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell & Sam Webster: Track cycling, mens team sprint.
Sam Webster: Track Cycling, mens sprint.
Tom Scully: Track Cycling, men's points race.
Shane Archbold: Track Cycling, men's scratch race.
Jo Edwards: Lawn Bowl's, women's Singles.
Sophie Pascoe: Swimming, women's 100 m backstroke SB9 & women's individual 200 medley SM10.
Sally Johnston: Shooting, women's 50m rifle prone.
Richard ''Richie'' Patterson: Weightlifting, men's 85kg.
Anton Cooper: Cycling, mountain bike.
Lauren Boyle: Swimming, women's 400 m freestlye.
Val Adams (Half-brother of NBA star Steven Adams & most decorated but highly-ultra successful New Zeland athlete): Athletics, women's shot put.
Linda Villumsen (Born in Denmark, which is not part of the Commonwealth along with the big 3 powerhouse nations that I mentioned before): Road cycling, women's time trial.
And of course, David Nyika in the men's light heavyweight boxing.
And the silver medalists are: Judoka's Adrian Leat & Moira de Villiers, the cyclists Simon van Velthoven & Sam Webster (Also the gold medalist), the All Blacks sevens team (Lost to South Africa who finally conquered the gold medal in sevens rugby at last since the sport was introduced in 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), shotputter Tom Walsh, hammer thrower Julia Ratcliffe, swimmer Lauren Boyle (Who already brought home the gold), mountain biker Sam Gaze (One of Anton Cooper's teammates, thus rounding out a Kiwi 1 - 2), weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev (Born in Russia formerly the Soviet Union/USSR), the lawn bowls trio of Bennett, Noble & Wynks, another Boxer which is the other David: Light, another cyclist Jack Bauer (Fresh off the Tour de France, won by Vicenzo Nibali of Italy) & the Silver Ferns netball team.
And finally, the list of bronze medalists:
Track Cyclists: Gold medalist Archbold with Bulling, Kennett & Marc Ryan (Men's team pursuit + Ryan also in the men's individual pursuit), Edward Dawkins, Matt Archibald & Aaron Gate.
3 Judokas: Darcina Manuel, Jason Koster & Tim Slyfield.
The long distance runners: Zane Robertson & Nick Willis.
The lawn bowling quartet of Boyd, Goddard, McIlroy & Smith.
A squash player: Joelle King.
A Weightlifter: Tracey Lambrechs.
Both Wrestlers: Sam Belkin & Tayla Ford.
A Gymnast: David Bishop.
And last but not least, the Black Sticks women's hockey team.
And there you have it about the elite list of NZ athletes who have conquered Glasgow with the next one being held down under in 4 years time (2018): at Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia.
P.S. Well, I am afraid I have got some bad news, BAD NEWS!! That, you know what, the Crusaders are poor losers in the Super Rugby final even though that Richie McCaw (The All Blacks captain) had conceded the penalty, allowing the Michael Hooper-led Waratahs (Although Dave Dennis is the skipper) for that 45 metre penalty shot at goal to be taken by Wallaby Bernard Foley, is for both the lead & the title by joining the elites of the other 6 Super Rugby champions, & then all of a sudden, the home crowd at ANZ Stadium had gone berserk after that match winning penalty by Foley (Not only the team has chosen Stadium Australia instead of Allianz Stadium because of the home advantage), & once the ball had been kicked out of touch, they had simply became the NEW!!! THE NEW!!!!!!!!!! SUPER RUGBY CHAMPIONS!!!!! THE WARATAHS!!!!!!!!!! Effectively ending the Chiefs 2 year reign as champions of Super Rugby...THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MUHUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (EVIL LAUGHTER).
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
#2014FIFAWorldCupFinal, #GermanyVsArgentina: THE REVIEW
The #2014FIFAWorldCup ended in a final at the Maracana in #Rio, #Brazil/#Brasil (Host nation) which #Germany/#Deutschland prevailed over @LeoMessi (The wonder boy from Rosario) & Co of #Argentina in a 1 - 0 extra time victory scored by another super-sub by the name of @MarioGötze to lift their 4th World Cup trophy along with #Italy/#Italia (Eliminated in the group stage along with #England), but allow me to introduce myself auf deutsch in honor of the victory, meine name ist Whetu Ngapo, ich bin dreiundzwanzig (23) jahre alt und ich komme aus Neuseeland, glauben sie das!
It was before Sunday night when I had to leave my apartment (after having chilli con carne on my own for late lunch) when Nan & Pops have just arrived, so we were on our way to go to Stellar but nek minnit, the restaurant was so full so I had to go with my decision whether we go to Thai Villa, and we had accepted our offer so off we went for dinner & I had some awesome appetizers like spring rolls & satay chicken skewers + the main course was: satay chicken noodles & for dessert was a caramel, ice-cream sundae, and after our memorable pre-world cup sunday night dinner, we headed to 15A Kells Avenue to spend the night here but at 6:00am Monday morning on Bastille day, I was all fired up! By having a shower & getting prepared before going to the embassy for the final & for breakfast, Pops & I had both brekkie muffins & a hot chocolate + an apple each that we took, & here we go! As we are about to approach the movie theatre as dozens of fans took to the stage (And Ja, there are dozens of German fans are in attendence, so ist gunter glieben glauten globen, vorsprung durch technik (Advance/progress through technology, according to car maker Audi, but Mercedes-Benz is Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft's official vehicle sponsor), but before the game started, the head coach/manager of Germany, @JoachimLoew has made an unchanged lineup of personnels (The Goalkeeper is @ManuelNeuer, then the right back: Philipp Lahm (the team captain), the centre backs: @JérômeBoateng & @MatsHummels, the left back is @BenediktHoewedes, then the midfielders: @ChristophKramer (Originally Sami Khedira) & @BastianSchweinsteiger (He's no pig farmer, eh?), the left wing is Thomas Müller, the attacking midfielder is Toni Kroos, then the right wing: Mesut Özil & finally, the centre forward: Miroslav Klose & the subs are: Großkreutz (Defender), Ginter (DF), Schürrle (Forward), Podolski (FW), Zieler (GK), Draxler (Midfielder), Durm (DF), Mertesacker (DF), Götze (MF) & Weidenfeller (GK) with Khedira & Mustafi (DF) being unavailable due to injuries + Germany are playing in the 4-2-3-1 formation which could usually work) which humiliated Brazil, but they put Christoph Kramer in the starting XI instead of Sami Khedira because he can't play because of an injury, with Italian Nicola Rizzoli in charge of the final (The last Italian to take charge of the final was Pierluigi Collina in 2002 when Brazil beat Germany & won).
And yes, after the teams came out onto the venue & the national anthems are played, it is time to get the match underway, with a kick-off by Germany so let's see how it unfolds the World Cup Final in Brazil to remember as the stage is set once more:
29th minute: Schweinsteiger commits a yellow card
31st minute: Christoph Kramer, not looking in good shape as he gets replaced by the almighty super-sub of André Schürrle
34th minute: Hoewedes cops a yellow from the referee Rizzoli, 11 minutes before half-time
But during the 1st half, Argentina had got some good chances like @GonzaloHiguaín having to miss an opportunity by dragging his shot wide after being put through on goal by a misjudged header from Kroos, then he scored a goal, only to be denied by the assistant referee as he was ruled offside after tapping in a cross by @EzequielLavezzi from the right wing, then Germany came so close on different occasions: including a including a header by Hoewedes that struck the Argentine goalpost just before halftime as we tell you the analysis of the 2nd half:
46th minute: Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, comes on for Lavezzi.
64th minute: @JavierMascherano gets booked by the referee
65th minute: So too is Agüero, as he gets yellow carded
78th minute: Argentina is about to make a replacement with @RodrigoPalacio is on for Higuaín
86th minute: And another change for Argentina as @FernandoGago makes his way for @EnzoPérez
88th minute: Then it is Germany's turn to make a 2nd substitution 2 minutes before full-time as Miroslav Josef Klose (Born in Poland but that was Klose) bids his FIFA World Cup career farewell when he is about to be replaced by the match-winning goalscorer of 'Super' Mario (Never mind Balotelli as he failed to adapt) Götze
And during the 2nd half, Messi wasted a chance early, firing wide of the German goal from inside the penalty area after receiving a through pass, so both teams have no score to settle as they enter into extra-time as Schürrle later struck a close-range shot straight at Argentine goalkeeper Romero early in the first half of extra time, after a pass from Götze, then during extra time, when the lob of Palacio went across Neuer by just getting it wide after the forward received a cross, missed by Hummels, in the German penalty area (Moments before Schweinsteiger was summoned off the field by the referee, forcing Germany to play with 10 men after he was lacerated from in the line of fire challenge from Agüero), and now (Wait for it), presenting the here it comes, here it comes, here it comes (Formerly the balls of steel) moment in the 113th minute: and IT IS A GOAL!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!! FROM SUPER MARIO GOETZE OUTTA NOWHERE!!!!! AND HE GOT IT!!! AS GERMANY GO 1 - 0 UP AGAINST ARGENTINA WITH 8 MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK!!! WOW!! STUNNER, ABSOLUTE STUNNER!!! WHAT A SPECIAL GOAL THAT IS!!! FINALLY! The breakthrough at last has come for Die Mannschaft but poor Albiceleste, they have now conceded a goal at extra time for the 1st time in a World Cup (They were once the experts/masters of extra time, but they have now fallen in German hands), but it was a great assist from Schürrle anyway.
And then the 120th & last minute: Final sub of the tournament from the would-be, eventual, champions of the football world as Mertesacker, brought on for Mesut Özil, as 2 minutes of time being added as oh dear! Schweinsteiger commits a foul so Argentina may have to brace themselves for the equaliser to go into penalties, but step up to Leo, as he is about to take the free kick but however, fails to fire moments before the final whistle as THE REFEREE SAYS THAT'S IT!!! IT'S OVER!!! GERMANY/DEUTSCHLAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!! FOR THE FOURTH TIME!!! (EINS, ZWEI, DREI UND VIER, DAS IST FANTASTISCHE, EH!!)
And now, onto the awards ceremony as the best goalkeeper/goalie award goes to: Manuel Neuer & the golden ball tournament goes to Messi (Although James Rodriguez of Colombia is the tournament's top-scorer with 6), then after Argentina recieve their runner-up medals, it is Germany's time to shine as they collect the prize winning medals before the President of Brazil, Dilma Roussef to present the trophy to Philipp Lahm as he is about to lift the World Cup Trophy, and THE WORLD CUP!! IS NOW IN GERMANY'S HANDS!!! But so many players in the squad (All 23 of them including the head coach/manager Loew) have the opportunity of a lifetime to touch the trophy, but now on behalf of all to you,
It was before Sunday night when I had to leave my apartment (after having chilli con carne on my own for late lunch) when Nan & Pops have just arrived, so we were on our way to go to Stellar but nek minnit, the restaurant was so full so I had to go with my decision whether we go to Thai Villa, and we had accepted our offer so off we went for dinner & I had some awesome appetizers like spring rolls & satay chicken skewers + the main course was: satay chicken noodles & for dessert was a caramel, ice-cream sundae, and after our memorable pre-world cup sunday night dinner, we headed to 15A Kells Avenue to spend the night here but at 6:00am Monday morning on Bastille day, I was all fired up! By having a shower & getting prepared before going to the embassy for the final & for breakfast, Pops & I had both brekkie muffins & a hot chocolate + an apple each that we took, & here we go! As we are about to approach the movie theatre as dozens of fans took to the stage (And Ja, there are dozens of German fans are in attendence, so ist gunter glieben glauten globen, vorsprung durch technik (Advance/progress through technology, according to car maker Audi, but Mercedes-Benz is Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft's official vehicle sponsor), but before the game started, the head coach/manager of Germany, @JoachimLoew has made an unchanged lineup of personnels (The Goalkeeper is @ManuelNeuer, then the right back: Philipp Lahm (the team captain), the centre backs: @JérômeBoateng & @MatsHummels, the left back is @BenediktHoewedes, then the midfielders: @ChristophKramer (Originally Sami Khedira) & @BastianSchweinsteiger (He's no pig farmer, eh?), the left wing is Thomas Müller, the attacking midfielder is Toni Kroos, then the right wing: Mesut Özil & finally, the centre forward: Miroslav Klose & the subs are: Großkreutz (Defender), Ginter (DF), Schürrle (Forward), Podolski (FW), Zieler (GK), Draxler (Midfielder), Durm (DF), Mertesacker (DF), Götze (MF) & Weidenfeller (GK) with Khedira & Mustafi (DF) being unavailable due to injuries + Germany are playing in the 4-2-3-1 formation which could usually work) which humiliated Brazil, but they put Christoph Kramer in the starting XI instead of Sami Khedira because he can't play because of an injury, with Italian Nicola Rizzoli in charge of the final (The last Italian to take charge of the final was Pierluigi Collina in 2002 when Brazil beat Germany & won).
And yes, after the teams came out onto the venue & the national anthems are played, it is time to get the match underway, with a kick-off by Germany so let's see how it unfolds the World Cup Final in Brazil to remember as the stage is set once more:
29th minute: Schweinsteiger commits a yellow card
31st minute: Christoph Kramer, not looking in good shape as he gets replaced by the almighty super-sub of André Schürrle
34th minute: Hoewedes cops a yellow from the referee Rizzoli, 11 minutes before half-time
But during the 1st half, Argentina had got some good chances like @GonzaloHiguaín having to miss an opportunity by dragging his shot wide after being put through on goal by a misjudged header from Kroos, then he scored a goal, only to be denied by the assistant referee as he was ruled offside after tapping in a cross by @EzequielLavezzi from the right wing, then Germany came so close on different occasions: including a including a header by Hoewedes that struck the Argentine goalpost just before halftime as we tell you the analysis of the 2nd half:
46th minute: Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, comes on for Lavezzi.
64th minute: @JavierMascherano gets booked by the referee
65th minute: So too is Agüero, as he gets yellow carded
78th minute: Argentina is about to make a replacement with @RodrigoPalacio is on for Higuaín
86th minute: And another change for Argentina as @FernandoGago makes his way for @EnzoPérez
88th minute: Then it is Germany's turn to make a 2nd substitution 2 minutes before full-time as Miroslav Josef Klose (Born in Poland but that was Klose) bids his FIFA World Cup career farewell when he is about to be replaced by the match-winning goalscorer of 'Super' Mario (Never mind Balotelli as he failed to adapt) Götze
And during the 2nd half, Messi wasted a chance early, firing wide of the German goal from inside the penalty area after receiving a through pass, so both teams have no score to settle as they enter into extra-time as Schürrle later struck a close-range shot straight at Argentine goalkeeper Romero early in the first half of extra time, after a pass from Götze, then during extra time, when the lob of Palacio went across Neuer by just getting it wide after the forward received a cross, missed by Hummels, in the German penalty area (Moments before Schweinsteiger was summoned off the field by the referee, forcing Germany to play with 10 men after he was lacerated from in the line of fire challenge from Agüero), and now (Wait for it), presenting the here it comes, here it comes, here it comes (Formerly the balls of steel) moment in the 113th minute: and IT IS A GOAL!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!! FROM SUPER MARIO GOETZE OUTTA NOWHERE!!!!! AND HE GOT IT!!! AS GERMANY GO 1 - 0 UP AGAINST ARGENTINA WITH 8 MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK!!! WOW!! STUNNER, ABSOLUTE STUNNER!!! WHAT A SPECIAL GOAL THAT IS!!! FINALLY! The breakthrough at last has come for Die Mannschaft but poor Albiceleste, they have now conceded a goal at extra time for the 1st time in a World Cup (They were once the experts/masters of extra time, but they have now fallen in German hands), but it was a great assist from Schürrle anyway.
And then the 120th & last minute: Final sub of the tournament from the would-be, eventual, champions of the football world as Mertesacker, brought on for Mesut Özil, as 2 minutes of time being added as oh dear! Schweinsteiger commits a foul so Argentina may have to brace themselves for the equaliser to go into penalties, but step up to Leo, as he is about to take the free kick but however, fails to fire moments before the final whistle as THE REFEREE SAYS THAT'S IT!!! IT'S OVER!!! GERMANY/DEUTSCHLAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!! FOR THE FOURTH TIME!!! (EINS, ZWEI, DREI UND VIER, DAS IST FANTASTISCHE, EH!!)
es ist der Abschied für uns, as Germany/Deustchland will defend the cup in Russia 2018.
P.S. OH JA!!! ES LEBE DEUTSCHLAND!!! WELTMEISTER ENDLICH!!!
HEIL DEM KÖNIG, BABY!!!
And I like to pay tribute, to the list of World Cup winners spanning from 1930 - 1938 & 1950 - 2014
1930: Uruguay
1934: Italy
1938: Italy
1950: Uruguay
1954: West Germany
1958: Brazil
1962: Brazil
1966: England
1970: Brazil
1974: West Germany
1978: Argentina
1982: Italy
1986: Argentina
1990: West Germany
1994: Brazil
1998: France
2002: Brazil
2006: Italy
2010: Spain
& last but not least, 2014: Germany
And I would also like to say apologies for the German because I never speak that language fluently.
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
#2014FIFAWorldCupFinal Preview
Ladies & Gentlemen (¡Señoras y señores! en español, muchas gracias (or should I say: Meine damen und herren! auf deutsch, vielen dank), for some of those you people, I do not have a twitter account but I only have a facebook account but I don't use it now because I really don't know how to handle social media properly (Well I deactivated it but I don't know how to shut it down), but I mean, seriously, forget about the mourning of a up and coming rugby player named Jordan Kemp, who had heavily concussed a number of times (I wonder he had suffered multiple headaches/drowsiness because he would have worn a head-gear to prevent it from happening) before being fallen on the rugby field, ended up dead (Rest in pieces).
And now then, onto the Final (Where the World Cup Trophy, is for their taking by either of these 2 teams) of the #2014FIFAWorldCupBrasil between #GermanyVsArgentina held at the #Maracanã in #RioDeJaneiro (Hosts of the Olympic Games come 2 years time & 2nd largest city in #Brazil + famous for it's #Copacabana beach), but the 1st game was tough for #Germany as they crushed #Brazil 7 goals to 1 @ the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte (But the only difference for Brazil was without hell-raising team captain @ThiagoSilva due to suspension & the diminutive, informed @NeymarJr due to an injury suffered in the Quarter Final victory against @JamesRodriguez's (''It is pronounced Ha-mes, got it! 'cause I pity da fool!'' as Mr T would say) #Colombia) with goals by @ThomasMüller (The goal scoring machine), @MiroslavKlose (The new record holder for scoring the most goals at a FIFA World Cup, surpassing @Ronaldo from Brazil with 16), @ToniKroos (Brute force), @SamiKhedira (The architect) & @AndréSchürrle (The super-sub who got it twice) + a consolation goal from @Oscar for Brazil but how embarrassing (Well, you call this a hiding, it is a demolition because they are running riot & I mean, this is ridiculous, absolute ludicrous because it may be raining goals here, not cats & dogs!) for the host nation, not only they got humiliated but devastated for the entire country like that without one of it's key men, including the captain & it's main talisman.
And in the other semi-final between #Netherlands & #Argentina @ the Arena Corinthians/Arena de São Paulo (Although #SãoPaulo is Brazil's largest city indeed), it was a close encounter that neither teams have traded goals between 90 minutes + 30 minutes of extra time until both sides are determined of facing Germany in the final is decided by a 4th penalty shootout of the tournament (Only Brazil, #CostaRica & the Netherlands have previously won the shootout on 3 occasions), but step up to the Argentine goalkeeper of @SergioRomero (Who is attempting to follow the footsteps of @Júlio César (The one who held up Neymar's shirt in memory along with stand-in skipper @DavidLuiz at the national anthem ceremony before the Brazil/Germany game started), @KeylorNavas & @TimKrul of saving certain penalty shots), saving the 1st shot from @RonVlaar then it is @LionelLeoMessi (Hoping to seek his idol, @DiegoMaradona's legacy), successfully hitting the net, beating the Dutch goalie, @JasperCilessen then @ArjenRobben & @EzequielGaray have traded nets so far but when @WesleySneijder was about to take a shot, Romero managed to respond with a save (Although he has been hailed as a hero according to his player of the game award), but up comes @SergioKunAgüero, who nails the shot at a striking distance from the spot kick, then @DirkKuyt, promising that he would never ever give up without a fight, responded, but in the end, a devastating knockout blow from @MaxiRodriguez would seal the deal to face Germany in the World Cup Final (It is a rematch of both the 1986 & 1990 finals respectively + Who's it gonna be? The ultimate showdown between these 2 main men between Müller & ''Leo'' Messi) by beating the Netherlands 4 - 3 on penalties.
Well, one last word before I kick off, who'll lift the World Cup trophy & dominate in world football on the 13th of July of 2014 (Well, a new world champ will be crowned but...all will be revealed on Bastille Day 2014): Well, I would rather say Argentina so ¡VAMOS ARGENTINA, CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO! Or as the Terminator would say: Hasta la vista baby, I'll be back! (But if Germany win, maybe they will lift the trophy for the 1st time ever since it's reunification and in South America since no European teams have won & I mean what would Argentina do? Stop the German attack by conceding no more goals in the World Cup final?).
P.S. Been to the Red Lion on the 4th of July (Independence day back in the 'States) & made another Pizza on Tuesday compared to last week, done that (Today's lunch was Steak (In honor of Argentina's win where I had that for dinner last night with rice, peas, eggs & that special sauce that I made) with coleslaw & baked potatoes after our job today when Dad took me here from my flat).
And now then, onto the Final (Where the World Cup Trophy, is for their taking by either of these 2 teams) of the #2014FIFAWorldCupBrasil between #GermanyVsArgentina held at the #Maracanã in #RioDeJaneiro (Hosts of the Olympic Games come 2 years time & 2nd largest city in #Brazil + famous for it's #Copacabana beach), but the 1st game was tough for #Germany as they crushed #Brazil 7 goals to 1 @ the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte (But the only difference for Brazil was without hell-raising team captain @ThiagoSilva due to suspension & the diminutive, informed @NeymarJr due to an injury suffered in the Quarter Final victory against @JamesRodriguez's (''It is pronounced Ha-mes, got it! 'cause I pity da fool!'' as Mr T would say) #Colombia) with goals by @ThomasMüller (The goal scoring machine), @MiroslavKlose (The new record holder for scoring the most goals at a FIFA World Cup, surpassing @Ronaldo from Brazil with 16), @ToniKroos (Brute force), @SamiKhedira (The architect) & @AndréSchürrle (The super-sub who got it twice) + a consolation goal from @Oscar for Brazil but how embarrassing (Well, you call this a hiding, it is a demolition because they are running riot & I mean, this is ridiculous, absolute ludicrous because it may be raining goals here, not cats & dogs!) for the host nation, not only they got humiliated but devastated for the entire country like that without one of it's key men, including the captain & it's main talisman.
And in the other semi-final between #Netherlands & #Argentina @ the Arena Corinthians/Arena de São Paulo (Although #SãoPaulo is Brazil's largest city indeed), it was a close encounter that neither teams have traded goals between 90 minutes + 30 minutes of extra time until both sides are determined of facing Germany in the final is decided by a 4th penalty shootout of the tournament (Only Brazil, #CostaRica & the Netherlands have previously won the shootout on 3 occasions), but step up to the Argentine goalkeeper of @SergioRomero (Who is attempting to follow the footsteps of @Júlio César (The one who held up Neymar's shirt in memory along with stand-in skipper @DavidLuiz at the national anthem ceremony before the Brazil/Germany game started), @KeylorNavas & @TimKrul of saving certain penalty shots), saving the 1st shot from @RonVlaar then it is @LionelLeoMessi (Hoping to seek his idol, @DiegoMaradona's legacy), successfully hitting the net, beating the Dutch goalie, @JasperCilessen then @ArjenRobben & @EzequielGaray have traded nets so far but when @WesleySneijder was about to take a shot, Romero managed to respond with a save (Although he has been hailed as a hero according to his player of the game award), but up comes @SergioKunAgüero, who nails the shot at a striking distance from the spot kick, then @DirkKuyt, promising that he would never ever give up without a fight, responded, but in the end, a devastating knockout blow from @MaxiRodriguez would seal the deal to face Germany in the World Cup Final (It is a rematch of both the 1986 & 1990 finals respectively + Who's it gonna be? The ultimate showdown between these 2 main men between Müller & ''Leo'' Messi) by beating the Netherlands 4 - 3 on penalties.
Well, one last word before I kick off, who'll lift the World Cup trophy & dominate in world football on the 13th of July of 2014 (Well, a new world champ will be crowned but...all will be revealed on Bastille Day 2014): Well, I would rather say Argentina so ¡VAMOS ARGENTINA, CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO! Or as the Terminator would say: Hasta la vista baby, I'll be back! (But if Germany win, maybe they will lift the trophy for the 1st time ever since it's reunification and in South America since no European teams have won & I mean what would Argentina do? Stop the German attack by conceding no more goals in the World Cup final?).
P.S. Been to the Red Lion on the 4th of July (Independence day back in the 'States) & made another Pizza on Tuesday compared to last week, done that (Today's lunch was Steak (In honor of Argentina's win where I had that for dinner last night with rice, peas, eggs & that special sauce that I made) with coleslaw & baked potatoes after our job today when Dad took me here from my flat).
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
#rulesofthegameofthrones3: The Complete Trilogy (+ The 2014 FIFA World Cup & All Blacks Vs England Test Series Preview)
Well, my name is Whetu Ngapo (AKA Christian McIntyre ''Chris'' or ''Hunter'' Fallon/Imanolchristian all according to my alter-ego persona (Compared to Rejean ''Giuseppe Pedersen'' Gatineau & his 3 children, Eric (Guliano Richtsteiner), Tom (Tommy G) & Rachelle (Ayako Bianchi) as well as his niece, Natalie and I am 23 years old...but of course, 2 years & a month on after my debut blog has brought to life so this is the Rules Of The Game Of Thrones 3 (Or #rulesofthegameofthrones3, according to the excessive use of twitter terminologies): The Complete Trilogy, now...in this blog, I will preview about the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 being held in Brazil as well as the reigning champion #allblacks facing the hosts of next year's #rugbyworldcup, England...in a 3 match test series, believe that.
But 1st off, it is #worldcup fever time in #brazil as it plays host to this years tournament so I will give you the rundown on all 32 teams playing in the Group Stages:
Group A: Brazil/Brasil (Host nation & of course, 5 time Winners in 1958, '62, '70, '94 & 2002 (The star player for Brazil is @Neymar, Playing for FC Barcelona in Spain's domestic football competition, La Liga & Coached by @LuizFelipe''Phil''Scolari), Croatia (One of the dark horses who last appeared at a World Cup stage in 2006 (With @LukaModric (From the Champions League winning outfit, Real Madrid) & @MarioMandzukic (All the way from Bayern Munich) as it's star players), Mexico (Who beat our All Whites to qualify in the Intercontinental playoffs (Also featuring in the squad is @Javier''Chicharito''Hernandez of Manchester United) & Cameroon (Led by Chelsea's @SamuelEto'o).
Group B: Spain/España (Defending Champions + Several World Cup Winning players are involved in the squad including @Iniesta, @Xavi, @XabiAlonso (from Real Madrid), @DavidVilla (Atletico Madrid), @FernandoTorres (Chelsea), @CescFabregas & the star Goalkeeper & Captain, @IkerCasillas), Netherlands (Who missed out a chance to beat Spain 4 years ago to lift the trophy & coached by the new Manchester United manager/head coach @LouisvanGaal as well as the star players such as @Robin''RVP''vanPersie (Who is the team captain/squad leader) of Man United & @ArjenRobben from Bayern Munich in Germany's Bundesliga), Chile & Australia (AKA the Socceroos, which has got @TimCahill (Who plays for New York Red Bulls in America's Major League Soccer).
Group C: Colombia (Last qualifed in 1998), Greece (Euro 2004 Champions), Cote d'Ivoire (Captained by @DidierDrogba of Galatasaray) & Japan (Coached by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni + several players involved in the squad including @KeisukeHonda of AC Milan (Balotelli's club) & @ShinjiKagawa of Manchester United (Van Persie's club).
Group D: Uruguay (Winners of the 1st World Cup held in 1930, also won in 1950 (Featuring @LuisSuarez as a key player who plays for Liverpool in the Premier League as well as being the one who got sent off for that blatant handball challenge 4 years ago against Ghana in the quarterfinals), Costa Rica (Got beaten by Uruguay in 2010 in a Intercontinental playoff (And yeah, not only because Nan, Pops & Aunt Tania went to Costa Rica, and then all of a sudden, the locals think that their team failed to qualify, leaving them stunned & not so happy), but now qualified for this year's tournament (The people of Costa Rica are now very, very happy indeed), England (1966 Winners captained by @StevenGerrard of Liverpool (Luis Suarez's club), with @WayneRooney (Of Man United) as key player) & Italy/Italia (4x Winners in 1934, '38, '82 & 2006 (And also featuring @MarioBalotelli (An AC Milan (A club playing along with AS Roma, Juventus & Napoli in Italy's Serie A) player who was impressed in Euro 2012) as it's danger man).
Group E: Switzerland/Schweiz/Suisse, Ecuador (Did not qualify at the last tournament in 2010, which was held in South Africa), France (1998 Winners + @FranckRibery (Bayern Munich), is the key player for Les Bleus, but unfortunately, he got injured as a result so in all of a sudden, he cannot play in this years tournament according to ''the King'', Leon Benbaruk or @LBTheKing according to his would be twitter name (Married to the Danish Terminator since a decade ago, Hanne the great or should I say @DanishTerminatorHanne), as I spoke to him on the phone during my 23rd) & Honduras.
Group F: Argentina (2x Winners in 1978 & '86, captained by @Lionel''Leo''Messi of FC Barcelona (Neymar's club), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Debutants featuring a star player, playing for Manchester City (Who recently won the Premier League last month),
@EdinDžeko), Iran (1st Appearance at a World Cup since 2006) & Nigeria.
Group G: Germany/Deutschland (3x Winners in 1954, '74 & '90 under the West Germany name (Captained by Bayern Munich's @PhilippLahm), Portugal (Led by Real Madrid's star player, @Cristiano''CR7''Ronaldo), Ghana & the United States (Coached by former German international, @JürgenKlinsmann).
And last but not least, Group H, which is Belgium/Belgique (And another one of the dark horses who last qualified in 2002 & led by Manchester City's @VincentKompany, who is part of the golden generation of players such as @RomeluLukaku & @EdenHazard (Both from Chelsea), Algeria, Russia (Also last qualified in 2002, just like Belgium & hosts of the next FIFA World Cup, in 2018) & Korea Republic.
And who is going to win it, we will find it out, once the tournament's over before we know it, but all will be revealed.
But enough with that football/soccer stuff now brother but not only because of my football player knowledge carry-on as we go to our 1st rugby test match of 2014 not only our very own reigning champion All Blacks outfit have named a 31 man squad for the test series (3 newcomers including Tongan born Highlander centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half TJ Perenara (Who was benched for the All Blacks comeback victory against Ireland in Dublin but did not play) & young 21 year old Blues lock Patrick Tuipilotu as well as the return of RWC 2011 winner Jerome Kaino, who was once widely regarded as the best Blindside on the planet), against next years RWC hosts England (Coached by Stuart Lancaster & captained by Chris Robshaw who had just arrived like 2 weeks ago), and Gaal yes, the team kept working out in training as part of their preparations then in all of a sudden, the All Blacks have revealed their starting lineup this morning so no Kieran Read (World's best Numero Ocho in world rugby (Comprenny? got it?) & man of the year last year) due to concussion issues & Julian Savea. But in the end, it was a low scoring affair, not only because it was a tight, close match, as the All Blacks defeated England 20 - 15 (Both teams have traded penalty goals each before Conrad Smith provided the match winner before the end) at Eden Park in the 1st of 3 tests during my intense, birthday celebrations.
So that's it? That all you've got ladies & gentlemen about the preview on the FIFA World Cup 2014 Brasil & the All Blacks/England 3 match test series (Well, I have been enjoying my 23rd birthday spirit on Saturday), not only because it is going to be epic, from out of nowhere just because this faith no more thing is over (And by the way, have I even lost my faith about this midlife crisis type of thing?).
P.S. Can you feel it, see it, here it today? If you can't, then it doesn't matter anyway.
But 1st off, it is #worldcup fever time in #brazil as it plays host to this years tournament so I will give you the rundown on all 32 teams playing in the Group Stages:
Group A: Brazil/Brasil (Host nation & of course, 5 time Winners in 1958, '62, '70, '94 & 2002 (The star player for Brazil is @Neymar, Playing for FC Barcelona in Spain's domestic football competition, La Liga & Coached by @LuizFelipe''Phil''Scolari), Croatia (One of the dark horses who last appeared at a World Cup stage in 2006 (With @LukaModric (From the Champions League winning outfit, Real Madrid) & @MarioMandzukic (All the way from Bayern Munich) as it's star players), Mexico (Who beat our All Whites to qualify in the Intercontinental playoffs (Also featuring in the squad is @Javier''Chicharito''Hernandez of Manchester United) & Cameroon (Led by Chelsea's @SamuelEto'o).
Group B: Spain/España (Defending Champions + Several World Cup Winning players are involved in the squad including @Iniesta, @Xavi, @XabiAlonso (from Real Madrid), @DavidVilla (Atletico Madrid), @FernandoTorres (Chelsea), @CescFabregas & the star Goalkeeper & Captain, @IkerCasillas), Netherlands (Who missed out a chance to beat Spain 4 years ago to lift the trophy & coached by the new Manchester United manager/head coach @LouisvanGaal as well as the star players such as @Robin''RVP''vanPersie (Who is the team captain/squad leader) of Man United & @ArjenRobben from Bayern Munich in Germany's Bundesliga), Chile & Australia (AKA the Socceroos, which has got @TimCahill (Who plays for New York Red Bulls in America's Major League Soccer).
Group C: Colombia (Last qualifed in 1998), Greece (Euro 2004 Champions), Cote d'Ivoire (Captained by @DidierDrogba of Galatasaray) & Japan (Coached by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni + several players involved in the squad including @KeisukeHonda of AC Milan (Balotelli's club) & @ShinjiKagawa of Manchester United (Van Persie's club).
Group D: Uruguay (Winners of the 1st World Cup held in 1930, also won in 1950 (Featuring @LuisSuarez as a key player who plays for Liverpool in the Premier League as well as being the one who got sent off for that blatant handball challenge 4 years ago against Ghana in the quarterfinals), Costa Rica (Got beaten by Uruguay in 2010 in a Intercontinental playoff (And yeah, not only because Nan, Pops & Aunt Tania went to Costa Rica, and then all of a sudden, the locals think that their team failed to qualify, leaving them stunned & not so happy), but now qualified for this year's tournament (The people of Costa Rica are now very, very happy indeed), England (1966 Winners captained by @StevenGerrard of Liverpool (Luis Suarez's club), with @WayneRooney (Of Man United) as key player) & Italy/Italia (4x Winners in 1934, '38, '82 & 2006 (And also featuring @MarioBalotelli (An AC Milan (A club playing along with AS Roma, Juventus & Napoli in Italy's Serie A) player who was impressed in Euro 2012) as it's danger man).
Group E: Switzerland/Schweiz/Suisse, Ecuador (Did not qualify at the last tournament in 2010, which was held in South Africa), France (1998 Winners + @FranckRibery (Bayern Munich), is the key player for Les Bleus, but unfortunately, he got injured as a result so in all of a sudden, he cannot play in this years tournament according to ''the King'', Leon Benbaruk or @LBTheKing according to his would be twitter name (Married to the Danish Terminator since a decade ago, Hanne the great or should I say @DanishTerminatorHanne), as I spoke to him on the phone during my 23rd) & Honduras.
Group F: Argentina (2x Winners in 1978 & '86, captained by @Lionel''Leo''Messi of FC Barcelona (Neymar's club), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Debutants featuring a star player, playing for Manchester City (Who recently won the Premier League last month),
@EdinDžeko), Iran (1st Appearance at a World Cup since 2006) & Nigeria.
Group G: Germany/Deutschland (3x Winners in 1954, '74 & '90 under the West Germany name (Captained by Bayern Munich's @PhilippLahm), Portugal (Led by Real Madrid's star player, @Cristiano''CR7''Ronaldo), Ghana & the United States (Coached by former German international, @JürgenKlinsmann).
And last but not least, Group H, which is Belgium/Belgique (And another one of the dark horses who last qualified in 2002 & led by Manchester City's @VincentKompany, who is part of the golden generation of players such as @RomeluLukaku & @EdenHazard (Both from Chelsea), Algeria, Russia (Also last qualified in 2002, just like Belgium & hosts of the next FIFA World Cup, in 2018) & Korea Republic.
And who is going to win it, we will find it out, once the tournament's over before we know it, but all will be revealed.
But enough with that football/soccer stuff now brother but not only because of my football player knowledge carry-on as we go to our 1st rugby test match of 2014 not only our very own reigning champion All Blacks outfit have named a 31 man squad for the test series (3 newcomers including Tongan born Highlander centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half TJ Perenara (Who was benched for the All Blacks comeback victory against Ireland in Dublin but did not play) & young 21 year old Blues lock Patrick Tuipilotu as well as the return of RWC 2011 winner Jerome Kaino, who was once widely regarded as the best Blindside on the planet), against next years RWC hosts England (Coached by Stuart Lancaster & captained by Chris Robshaw who had just arrived like 2 weeks ago), and Gaal yes, the team kept working out in training as part of their preparations then in all of a sudden, the All Blacks have revealed their starting lineup this morning so no Kieran Read (World's best Numero Ocho in world rugby (Comprenny? got it?) & man of the year last year) due to concussion issues & Julian Savea. But in the end, it was a low scoring affair, not only because it was a tight, close match, as the All Blacks defeated England 20 - 15 (Both teams have traded penalty goals each before Conrad Smith provided the match winner before the end) at Eden Park in the 1st of 3 tests during my intense, birthday celebrations.
So that's it? That all you've got ladies & gentlemen about the preview on the FIFA World Cup 2014 Brasil & the All Blacks/England 3 match test series (Well, I have been enjoying my 23rd birthday spirit on Saturday), not only because it is going to be epic, from out of nowhere just because this faith no more thing is over (And by the way, have I even lost my faith about this midlife crisis type of thing?).
P.S. Can you feel it, see it, here it today? If you can't, then it doesn't matter anyway.
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
One Of A Kind: The YES! Movement Report
Today it was the 8th & final test of the inaugural Aramoho Series Cricket between me vs Poppa (Well we had cheese toasties & feijoas for lunch & it was not too bad @ all) & I won by gaining some sweet revenge because last week (Although in all of a sudden, we did go to Spice Guru for lunch and it was absolute fantastic stuff like I had the best butter chicken in town) my 6 - 0 streak was on the line but unfortunately, my streak was dead set due to my poor batting performance (But nek minnit, our match was delayed not only because I forgot to take the wickets that we left behind).
At the 1st innings, I scored only 4 runs before getting bowled after winning the coin toss & electing to bat.
Then Pops scored 6 runs but I managed to get him out LBW after bowling a few balls...and then all of a sudden, I began to bat again when the 2nd innings got started. But I unveiled a new cunning game plan, to distract the bowler by saying something (Well you call that intimidating) like ''Oh please hell no, don't get me out'' when @Poppa attempted to bowl me out & then WHAM!! as I revealed my new batting powers just like old times like it was the 2nd & 3rd test (& YES! YES! YES! I did mention that b4 about my batting performance went horribly wrong last week) but after scoring a couple of twos, fours & 4 sixes since I have revealed my new batting powers, I finally got my hands of scoring a century at last (I got dismissed in the 1st innings, remember) before intending to declare @ 102 not out (The total score was 106 meaning that I have got only 1 wicket in hand to win the test series whilst @Poppa has got 102 runs to take victory).
And now, behold of my new way to win the 8th test of #AramohoSeriesCricket as I switched into beast mode like the Hulk as I attempt to dismiss him but it backfired as my opponent kept scoring runs on bay but all of my bowling practice that I did paid off when Papa Henry Frederick Ngapo was on 38 after scoring a couple of fours & sixes (I almost took a ripper of a catch when he hit the ball high in the air) until I managed to pull off by bowling him out & knocking him over but not only I was on celebration mode after my miraculous victory, effectively ending the losing streak I had (Although I had the honour to play my new victory music titled Ride Of The Valkyries by Richard Wagner to commemorate my win).
Well lemme tell ya something brother that this is the end of this blog stuff for now, so what'cha gonna do brother, when the Incredible Hulk...runs wild...on...you, now can you confirm you understood that message? (& YES! YES! & YES! Because now, that I am one of a kind).
P.S. Sierra
Hotel
India
Echo
Lima
Delta
SHIELD
#MMXIII (2013), The Year In Review (+ My Debut Cricket Report, Full Metal Jacket of #isms)
#2013, WOW! What a year this has been from @Scott Dixon (AKA Scotty D, the Iceman) winning #Indycar Title for only the 3rd time to #AllBlacks going 14 from 14, effectively achieving the 100% record for the 1st time ever in the professional era, but my main highlight was ending 2013 on a high when I finally had to move in to my new apartment here at Alma Road after spending 22 years living with my father, but finally, I now live on my own right as well as starting to watch the cricket (Such as the @BrendonMcCullum led #BlackCaps (Not only that they beat #WestIndies in both the Test & Twenty20 series but not the ODI (One Day International) series because it was drawn) & #Ashes test series which was won by #Australia by beating #England 5-0 in the series) + I got some christmas presents like the gingerbread maker, an #F1RacingMagazine, the new #Asterix comic book & the brand new #GranTurismo6 #PS3 game (Which is an updated version of the previous installment (That game looks better than it is, compared to Gran Turismo 5) but it has got several world class circuits like Bathurst, Brands Hatch & Silverstone + some new vehicles) + I finally got to meet @AuntTaniaManuNgapo & of course, for the 1st time ever, the almighty French Canadian, Raejean (@GiuseppePedersen) Gatineau not only because it was at the airport before Christmas. Even though, 2014 began when I was still at the apartment watching the #Cricket when Black Cap @CoreyAnderson broke the record in Queenstown against the Windies for the fastest ODI century by breaking Pakistani Shahid Afridi's current record, and then, I went to the Brick House with Dad & Raewyn Sharrock to link up with Nan, Pops, Aunt Tan & Réjean/Giuseppe for a meal but my best moment of the evening was writing a letter for Réjean wishing him the best of luck before I went out but when I gave him my letter, he was impressed about the situation, not only that I had an apology for listening to a Canadian rock band, which is @Nickelback, as well as acquiring or should I say, bestowing/managing the new aliases of Eric/Giuliano Richtsteiner's brother Tom, now known as @TommyG (Bit of that Hip Hop stage naming stuff) & Giuseppe's daughter (Guiliano & Tommy G's sister), Rachelle AKA Ayako (あやこ) Bianchi (Meaningful and of course, Super Kawaii/かわいい (That is Japanese for Cute), but due to my impressive good performance with Réjean meaning that I did land the role of being good friends after all, not only because that letter wasn't even too bad like when someone goes to hell, tell them that somebody else sent you.
With the West Indies tour to NZ was over, It was the reigning champions & the best of the ODI Cricket World (Although they lost the No.1 ranking to giants Australia), India (Led by Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni + They even got a danger man Virat Kohli (The guy who filled the void from the great, little master, the recently retired Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar), who has lethal batting skills compared to Tendulkar) to take on the Black Caps as we did go 1-0 up in the ODI series at McLean Park, in Napier by 24 runs (After India won the toss & elected to bowl, forcing New Zealand to bat 1st) before both teams have gone up north when NZ defeated India again at Seddon Park in the Tron (Hamilton), winning the game by 15 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis system, and after that, it was at Eden Park in Auckland when the 3rd ODI took place but nek minnit, NZ came so desperately close of winning the game and clinching the series, and then all of a sudden, the match ended in a tie, so both teams had to travel back to Hamilton for the 4th ODI (The same venue used for the 2nd ODI) as the Black Caps avenged their Eden Park demons with a 7 wicket win (The highlight of the game was Ross Taylor scoring 112 not out + 2 hilarious moments of all was James 'Jimmy' Neesham attempting to run Ravindra Jadeja out but fails miserably & of course, India are trying hard to dissmiss Brendon McCullum when both fielders Jadeja & Ambati Rayudu approach in attempt to catch the ball but also, fail miserably by dropping the catch like Neesham does when he tried to run Jadeja out (Although, former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sunil 'Sunny' Gavaskar (AKA Little Master) thinks that it was amateur stuff, absolute amateur stuff) before heading over to Wellington (AKA The Capital or Windy City) for the 5th & final ODI when NZ have completed the job winning the match by 87 runs & the series with Ross Taylor having a sensational summer, by scoring back 2 back centuries, and lifting New Zealand to 303 for 5 in the 1st innings. India’s reply never really got going, with the home side’s bowlers taking wickets at important moments, including four on debut for Matt Henry but in the end, India were bowled out in the last over for 216.
And now onto the 1st test match at Eden Park between the Black Caps & India after a sensational ODI series that took place as New Zealand won the game but the main highlight was NZ captain Brendon McCullum getting a double century (He was 224) during the 1st innings, but the OMG! moment went to Neil Wagner, who bowled MS Dhoni out moments before Wagner touched the line, thinking it was a no ball according to the 3rd umpire but now in all of a sudden that the umpire has given Dhoni out moments before India were all out 166 as the Black Caps go 1 - 0 up in the test series. And finally, the 2nd & final test took place at Wellington at a different venue which is the Basin Reserve as several crowds witness the big, BIG highlight of the moment (Formerly das Ballz of Steel moment) went to Brendon McCullum (Damn, he was so good), the 1st New Zealand cricketer ever to get a triple century by reaching 300 runs surpassing Martin Crowe's record of 299, WOW! What a history making day this has been, and after McCullum got dismissed at 302, it was Jimmy Neesham's turn, scoring a century on test debut (He was 137*) before McCullum announced that it was time to declare when the Black Caps were 680 for 8 allowing India to bat but the match ended in a draw allowing NZ to win the test series.
Well that is it, as both the Super Rugby & NRL seasons got underway with the summer of cricket over but what a superb blog this has been perhaps, the 1st of 2014, not for an entire decade, but sit back & enjoy, VENI VIDI VICI (I just CAME, SAW & CONQUERED, so brace yourself, like it is life or death).
P.S. And oh by the way, I did have a gr8 game here today when I scored another century during the 4th test match compared to the 2nd test during the 2nd innings, not only I dismissed Pops not once with an leg before (aka LBW) with a fast bowl in the 1st innings but twice with a catch in the 2nd innings, with a spinner (Pops was gone, caught & bowled) and man, that was a gr8 match & so, good times eh?
With the West Indies tour to NZ was over, It was the reigning champions & the best of the ODI Cricket World (Although they lost the No.1 ranking to giants Australia), India (Led by Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni + They even got a danger man Virat Kohli (The guy who filled the void from the great, little master, the recently retired Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar), who has lethal batting skills compared to Tendulkar) to take on the Black Caps as we did go 1-0 up in the ODI series at McLean Park, in Napier by 24 runs (After India won the toss & elected to bowl, forcing New Zealand to bat 1st) before both teams have gone up north when NZ defeated India again at Seddon Park in the Tron (Hamilton), winning the game by 15 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis system, and after that, it was at Eden Park in Auckland when the 3rd ODI took place but nek minnit, NZ came so desperately close of winning the game and clinching the series, and then all of a sudden, the match ended in a tie, so both teams had to travel back to Hamilton for the 4th ODI (The same venue used for the 2nd ODI) as the Black Caps avenged their Eden Park demons with a 7 wicket win (The highlight of the game was Ross Taylor scoring 112 not out + 2 hilarious moments of all was James 'Jimmy' Neesham attempting to run Ravindra Jadeja out but fails miserably & of course, India are trying hard to dissmiss Brendon McCullum when both fielders Jadeja & Ambati Rayudu approach in attempt to catch the ball but also, fail miserably by dropping the catch like Neesham does when he tried to run Jadeja out (Although, former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sunil 'Sunny' Gavaskar (AKA Little Master) thinks that it was amateur stuff, absolute amateur stuff) before heading over to Wellington (AKA The Capital or Windy City) for the 5th & final ODI when NZ have completed the job winning the match by 87 runs & the series with Ross Taylor having a sensational summer, by scoring back 2 back centuries, and lifting New Zealand to 303 for 5 in the 1st innings. India’s reply never really got going, with the home side’s bowlers taking wickets at important moments, including four on debut for Matt Henry but in the end, India were bowled out in the last over for 216.
And now onto the 1st test match at Eden Park between the Black Caps & India after a sensational ODI series that took place as New Zealand won the game but the main highlight was NZ captain Brendon McCullum getting a double century (He was 224) during the 1st innings, but the OMG! moment went to Neil Wagner, who bowled MS Dhoni out moments before Wagner touched the line, thinking it was a no ball according to the 3rd umpire but now in all of a sudden that the umpire has given Dhoni out moments before India were all out 166 as the Black Caps go 1 - 0 up in the test series. And finally, the 2nd & final test took place at Wellington at a different venue which is the Basin Reserve as several crowds witness the big, BIG highlight of the moment (Formerly das Ballz of Steel moment) went to Brendon McCullum (Damn, he was so good), the 1st New Zealand cricketer ever to get a triple century by reaching 300 runs surpassing Martin Crowe's record of 299, WOW! What a history making day this has been, and after McCullum got dismissed at 302, it was Jimmy Neesham's turn, scoring a century on test debut (He was 137*) before McCullum announced that it was time to declare when the Black Caps were 680 for 8 allowing India to bat but the match ended in a draw allowing NZ to win the test series.
Well that is it, as both the Super Rugby & NRL seasons got underway with the summer of cricket over but what a superb blog this has been perhaps, the 1st of 2014, not for an entire decade, but sit back & enjoy, VENI VIDI VICI (I just CAME, SAW & CONQUERED, so brace yourself, like it is life or death).
P.S. And oh by the way, I did have a gr8 game here today when I scored another century during the 4th test match compared to the 2nd test during the 2nd innings, not only I dismissed Pops not once with an leg before (aka LBW) with a fast bowl in the 1st innings but twice with a catch in the 2nd innings, with a spinner (Pops was gone, caught & bowled) and man, that was a gr8 match & so, good times eh?
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