Prada Cup semifinal day 1 wrap

Well, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Led by both James 'Jimmy' Spithill (Who is known as the Pitbull but 2007 was the last America's Cup without Jimmy Spithill (Who made his America's Cup debut in 1999 when he was part of the Young Australia syndicate which competed in the challenger selection series & was the helmsman aboard the OneWorld yacht in 2002-03 although in 2007 where Spithill was part of Luna Rossa in which they lost the Louis Vuitton Cup to Dean Barker & Emirates Team New Zealand) involved as Spithill would go on to appear 3 consecutive America's Cups (It was in 2010 where he was the next big thing in America's Cup history & led Oracle Team USA in an unlikely victory against Alinghi in Valencia then in 2013 when Oracle produced one of the greatest comebacks of all time when they successfully retained the Auld Mug against the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand in San Francisco but was on the losing side in 2017 with Oracle Team USA when ETNZ went on to successfully dominate the America's Cup in Bermuda) & Francesco Bruni in a dual helmsman role that made the difference & Spithill is one of the most aggressive starters in the history of the America's Cup along with INEOS Team UK's Ben Ainslie) go 2 from 2 against the returning American Magic (Who haven't competed since the capsize which took them out of action for a while after their boat discovered a massive hole) in the 1st 2 races of the Prada Cup semifinal yesterday & are 2 wins away of reaching the Prada Cup final against INEOS Team UK for the Italians if they want to progress.

So that is my 386th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 6th of this year.

P.S. And there's been an update of today's Prada Cup semifinal action but disaster for American Magic as they are out of the Prada Cup (And I mean they're out of it completely after 4 straight defeats in the Prada Cup semifinal) after the Americans choked on pasta fantasta against Luna Rossa (The main headlines would probably say: ''PRADA KO'S BARKER IN THE PRADA CUP SEMI'' Well, at least Dean Barker could be fired from American Magic (Who were so good in the America's Cup World Series when they beat Emirates Team New Zealand until in the Prada Cup where they never won a single race including that capsize which ruined their chances of winning but I guess that the 2021 America's Cup would be the 4th in history (And 1st since 2007) without an American boat involved as Italy & the UK are now contesting the best of 13 races (First to 7 wins) in the Prada Cup final to decide who'll face New Zealand in the America's Cup match) as a result for his woeful performances on the water (And I mean, Barker is getting too old at the tender age of 47 but he might have to retire from sailing) who are in the final against INEOS Team UK (With the winner of the Prada Cup facing the defender of Emirates Team New Zealand in the 36th America's Cup match (I hope it's not going to be the Italians but the Brits would be my pick as Emirates Team New Zealand's America's Cup opponent) but it looks like that Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli have taken over as favourites to win the Prada Cup from INEOS Team UK.

And I've got something interesting to tell you as I told Pops about it when Pops woke Dad up at a hostel & told that Dad had missed 1 or 2 lectures (According to Pops telling Norman (One of Pops cousins who I saw along with his wife) & Carol about it on Wednesday) because Dad had been out drinking with his mates.

Prada Cup day 4 review (In memory of my pet dog Buck)

Well, INEOS Team UK (Who have decided today not to compete in the final race of the round robin citing fears of damage) have booked a place in the Prada Cup final (They may risk disqualification if they chose not to be careful such as breaking any rules) after winning a race against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Who should've tacked when the Brits (Who almost got penalized/pinged for failing to keep clear (Which is sailing's version of the high tackle (Well, the high tackle in rugby is a bit like racism & homophobia) in rugby & the bouncer in cricket) actually crossed before the finish line but INEOS Team UK needed a win to clinch a Prada Cup finals berth) yesterday to claim 5 wins out of 5 races & to win the round robin phase (At least American Magic didn't race yesterday because they discovered a massive hole to their racing boat which got damaged a week after they got capsized during the race but they are taking their time to repair the boat for the Prada Cup semifinal against Luna Rossa).

And finally I'd like to dedicate in memory of my pet beagle mastiff cross dog Buck (Who we got him from the SPCA in June 2017 until 3 days ago but Pops gave me $500 as a result for looking after Buck all these years but my 1st words when Buck left was ''I can't believe he's gone'') who had to be put down by the animal control officers on Thursday after he bit my dear half brother Jansen in the lower leg (Hope he gets well but he has a fortnight to recover from that injury) which resulted him hospitalized as a result of the incident (Well, beagles do hate cats but it's the mastiff part which results the dog getting aggressive according to the fact).

So that is my 385th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 5th of this year.

Prada Cup day 1 review (+ My tales of Pops old Aramoho School students who are now rugby players)

Well, what a day out at Waitemata Harbour for today's Prada Cup races in Auckland where the Sir Ben Ainslie (British sailing's equivalent of rugby union's Owen Farrell (England), soccer's Harry Kane (England), motor racing's Sir Lewis Hamilton (F1, who is now a 7 time Formula 1 world champion along with last years F2 champion Mick's father Michael Schumacher) & cricket's Joe Root (England)/Ben Stokes (England) led INEOS Team UK were able to overcome the disaster of the America's Cup World Series last month (They were winless going into the Prada Cup) to win 2 straight races (They mean real business as they are here to make a statement & they now scored 2 points in the bag after winning both races & are trying to end 170 years of hurt) against the Terry Hutchinson led American Magic (Featuring New Zealander Dean Barker at the helm) first then the challenger of record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Featuring Australian Jimmy Spithill (Australian yachting's answer to Michael Hooper (Rugby union)/Reece Hodge (Rugby union), Mathew Ryan (Soccer), Will Power (Motor racing (Indycar)/Daniel Riccardo (Motor racing (F1) & Steve Smith (Cricket)/David Warner (Cricket) at the helm along with Francesco Bruni (Italian sailing's equivalent of soccer's Giorgio Chellini/Ciro Immobile, motor racing's Antonio Giovinazzi (F1) & rugby union's Marco Riccioni) to end day 1 of the 2021 Prada Cup.

And finally tomorrows race schedule for day 2 consists of American Magic taking on both Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli first then the big improvers of INEOS Team UK on the last race of the day, mate wa (That means farewell in te reo Maori).

So that is my 384th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 4th of this year.

P.S. And there has been an update yesterday in day 2 of the Prada Cup as American Magic fell both races to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Who were finally on the board after losing against the Brits & they were leading during the race against the Americans (Who had been penalized for failing to enter through the pre-start gate) but American Magic took over the lead when there was no wind but the Italians handed the lead back when there was breeze but after Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli won, the Americans didn't finish & had to withdraw because they were timed out (They exceeded the 5 minute time limit when a boat fails to finish beyond the time) & INEOS Team UK (Who went 3 from 3 (And during the race they slowed down when there was no wind but they managed to speed it up again when they found some breeze again but after the Brits had won, American Magic finished 4 minutes & 59 seconds behind because they managed to cross the line with only 1 second to spare) but have yet to lose a race this Prada Cup campaign) but they put their winning run on the line against the Italians today in the 1st race of the day with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli are in action not once but twice when they face both the Brits then the Americans who'll have a shot at redemption on the last scheduled race of the day) but there has been an update on day 3 of the 2021 Prada Cup as INEOS Team UK stay unbeaten by winning 4 in a row (They got pinged before the start then managed to catch up & during the race they took the lead until the race had been abandoned due to a dramatic upwind before the race had been rescheduled in which the Brits won) against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli then the drama happened as American Magic (Who were on the verge of something special) lost its marbles when they capsized in dramatic fashion (Thankfully nobody was hurt during the capsize) which proved to be the game changer/turning point of the race therefore handing victory to the Italians (Who had a wretched day after losing against INEOS Team UK & appeared to be down & out after getting penalized for sailing over the boundary line during the race until the Americans capsized & had their boat damaged but thankfully Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli have been awarded the race win after a 2nd DNF (Did not finish) taken from American Magic).

And finally I'm a fan of both Highlanders & Otago players (And Aramoho School & Fielding Boys High old boys) Vilimoni Koroi & Jona Nareki (Whom I met for the 1st time at Monaghan's barbershop when I had my hair trimmed last month but Pops took that picture of me & Jona (Pops asked him about it but Jona agreed when Pops was going to the toilet where he saw Jona, Jona's friend, Jona's partner & Jona's young son) & managed to post it on Facebook) despite the fact that I'm a Hurricanes supporter (I was originally both a Blues & Highlanders fan (But I supported the wrong teams in fact) until that I had just found out that my hometown of Whanganui is part of the Hurricanes region (I didn't know about it at all) so I've been backing the Hurricanes ever since) in Super Rugby Aotearoa.

Prada Cup just one day away

Well, tomorrow is the beginning of the Prada Cup to kick off the campaign at the city of sails in Auckland (The largest city in our country of New Zealand) so here is the race schedule for the rest of the Prada Cup (But 1st it's the favourites American Magic taking on the struggling INEOS Team UK in tomorrow's scheduled 1st race followed by the Brits who'll face the challenger of record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the last race of the day):

Round robin 1

January 15th

Race 1: NYYC American Magic Vs INEOS Team UK (Race won by INEOS TEAM UK)

Race 2: INEOS Team UK vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Race won by INEOS TEAM UK)

January 16th

Race 3: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Vs NYYC American Magic (Race won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli)

Round robin 2

Race 1: INEOS Team UK Vs NYYC American Magic (Race won by INEOS Team UK)

January 17th

Race 2: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Vs INEOS Team UK (Race won by INEOS Team UK)

Race 3: NYYC American Magic Vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Race won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli)

Round robin 3

January 22nd

Race 1: INEOS Team UK Vs NYYC American Magic

Race 2: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Vs INEOS Team UK

January 23rd

Race 3: NYYC American Magic Vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

Round robin 4

Race 1: NYYC American Magic Vs INEOS Team UK

January 24th

Race 2: INEOS Team UK Vs Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

Race 3: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Vs NYYC American Magic

Semifinal (First to win 4 races)

January 29th to February 2nd

Round robin 2nd ranked (Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli) Vs Round robin 3rd ranked (NYYC American Magic)

Final (First to win 7 races)

February 13th to February 22nd

Semifinal winner (Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli) Vs Round robin 1st ranked (INEOS Team UK)

Prada Cup winner

Challenger to the 36th America's Cup presented by Prada (Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli)

And here is the America's Cup race schedule coming up with the winner of the Prada Cup goes on to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand (Led by both Glenn 'Lenny' Ashby & Peter Burling (New Zealand sailing/yachting's equivalent of 2015 Rugby World Cup winning All Black Beauden Barrett (Rugby union)/current Canterbury, Crusaders & All Blacks player Richie Mo'unga (Rugby union, who is a 3 time Super Rugby champion & once Super Rugby Aotearoa champion with the Crusaders), 6 time Indycar champion Scott Dixon (Motor racing (Indycar)/3 time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin (Motor racing (Indycar)/2016 Supercars champion & one half of last years Bathurst 1000 winner Shane van Gisbergen (Motor racing (Supercars Championship), New Zealand cricket captain Kane Williamson (Cricket) & All White (& Burnley player) Chris Wood (Soccer) for the Auld Mug in a battle for the ages:

March 6th

Day 1

Races 1 & 2

March 7th

Day 2

Races 3 & 4

March 8th

Non race day

March 9th

Reserve day

March 10th

Day 3

Races 5 & 6

March 11th

Non race day

March 12th

Day 4 (Optional)

Races 7 & 8

March 13th

Day 5 (Optional)

Races 9 & 10

March 14th

Day 6 (Optional)

Races 11 & 12

March 15th

Day 7 (Optional)

Races 13 & 14

So that is my 383rd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 3rd of this year.

P.S. And I have been watching another hobbit movie called The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug but I will watch it tomorrow, Saturday & the rest of it on Sunday but I've also been watching old rugby games such as 6 of the best All Black wins (Especially the Bledisloe Cup test at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in 1996 but I laughed about it (Pops thinks that it is no laughing matter but he labels the altercation between Brial & Bunce as disgusting & terrible) when New Zealander Frank Bunce got punched 9 times by Wallaby Michael Brial after the AB's got penalized for holding on to the ball on the ground (It was one of the Wallaby wingers Ben Tune made the tackle on the late Jonah Lomu (The 1st Tongan to play for the All Blacks but his life had been affected when he suffered nephrotic syndrome (A rare & serious kidney disorder that he had until his passing in 2015 due to ailing & declining health) prior to the scuffle but New Zealand rugby commentator Keith Quinn was like when he said in commentary ''What a cheer went up from the crowd & look at this! A tremendous! That! He must be sent off! Brial must be sent off! For that assault on Frank Bunce! He hit him with 10 punches! And I didn't see what started it. Michael Brial he's surely gotta go. He must go surely.'') then Scottish referee Jim Fleming reversed the penalty to New Zealand for foul play as well as a stern warning (Brial (Who was told by referee Fleming to be on his best behavior for the rest of the game after causing a punch up to Bunce) would've been sent off in the process for that assault on Frank Bunce & I mean that is a yellow card (Sin binning) offence these days for striking but Brial may have escaped punishment for a flurry of haymakers on Bunce in a Bledisloe Cup test way back in 1996 (And even Pops was like when he told Carole ''He's gotta go off! He's gotta go off! He hit him with 10 punches! He's gotta go off!'' or when Pops said to Matt Pine ''He's gotta go off! Brial must be sent off! For that assault on Frank Bunce! He hit him with 10 punches! And I didn't see what started it. He's gotta go off! He must go surely.'') but it wasn't the end of the story when the scores were level just before full time as the AB's had to restart from the 22 (After David 'Campo' Campese missed an attempt of a drop goal) with a few minutes to go when Mehrtens kicked the ball to Wallaby winger Ben Tune who ran the ball with it instead of kicking the ball into touch (With the AB's back line started chasing) but the All Black defenders held Tune up at the maul to award a scrum (And I mean, bad move Ben according to the Jonah Lomu book that I've got) for New Zealand before Zinzan Brooke went off the back from the scrum then gets tackled by a Wallaby before All Black halfback Justin Marshall (Future Sky Sport rugby commentator) recycled the ball at the breakdown/ruck to New Zealand first-five eighth Andrew Mehrtens then Mehrtens passed the ball to AB's centre Frank Bunce (Who was the victim of Brial who got punched 9 times instead/rather than 10) then Bunce passed the ball back to Mehrtens & ran through the gap/hole then he passed it to fullback Christian Cullen who falls over (George Gregan with an attempt of a high tackle on Cullen but Cully (The Paekakariki express) ducked underneath it) then Buncey (Did Cullen release? I don't know) drives on & the try is scored just right on the stroke of full time which proved to be the game changer before Mehrts converted it meaning that the Bledisloe Cup is ours for the taking in 1996 & I'll tell you another one when the AB's played against the Wallabies in Sydney in 2000 (Just 2 months before Sydney takes center stage when they hosted the Olympics & a year after the Wallabies won their 2nd (Their 1st was in 1991 when they outplayed England in the final after their victory in the semifinal against the All Blacks (Including David Campese scoring a try then he set the try up scored by Wallaby utility back Tim Horan after All Black fullback Kieran Crowley (Who filled in for the injured Terry Wright) messed up a kick which proved to be the turning point & handed New Zealand (Who were without Michael Jones due to his religious beliefs stopped him from playing because the semi was held on a Sunday & Jones was a devout Christian among most Samoans) their 1st of 7 defeats at a Rugby World Cup) & most recent Rugby World Cup in which they beat France (The All Blacks tormentors in which they beat them to seal a famous come from behind victory in the semifinal at Twickenham to reach their 2nd of 3 Rugby World Cup finals (1st it was in 1987 at the very 1st Rugby World Cup against New Zealand in Auckland then Australia in 1999 in Cardiff & the most recent appearance at a RWC final was in 2011 against the All Blacks in Auckland just like 1987, all of them ended in defeat (The only rugby playing nation to lose all 3 finals compared to South Africa being the only rugby playing nation to win all 3 Rugby World Cup finals out of 3 attempts of winning the famous William Webb Ellis trophy (First it was New Zealand once in Johannesburg in 1995 followed by England (Winners of the 2003 tournament in which they beat the hosts Australia (Who had beaten the All Blacks in the semifinal including Leon MacDonald (The player who was preferred ahead of the partially fit Tana Umaga (Who's 2003 Rugby World Cup was over with a serious knee injury sustained in the match against Italy in the RWC opener in Melbourne) who passed the ball which was intercepted by Wallaby Stirling Mortlock who would run all the way to the try line to score (Even Joe Rokocoko tried to chase Mortlock down but it wasn't to be) which proved to be a game changer cue the national heartbreak when John Mitchell (Current assistant/defence coach of the England rugby team & father of current New Zealand cricketer Daryl) lost his job in the process allowing Graham 'Ted' Henry to take over as AB's coach in which Henry served from 2004 until at least after our 2nd Rugby World Cup triumph in 2011) in the final (It was revenge of 1991 when England lost to Australia in the final on their home turf & it was the moment that Nick Farr-Jones became the 1st Australian skipper to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy followed by John Eales (The last Wallabies Rugby World Cup winning skipper who was part of the success with the Aussies in 1991) in 1999) in Sydney during extra time including that match winning drop goal by world class English first-five eighth Jonny 'Wilko' Wilkinson with his weaker foot) twice in Saint-Denis in 2007 & at the last Rugby World Cup in Yokohama in 2019 (The 2019 Rugby World Cup final was the first final since 2007 not to feature the All Blacks (Who went on to win the 2011 & 2015 tournaments to add to our triumph at the inaugural RWC in 1987) because they lost to a very good England team (Coached by Australian born ex-Wallaby & Japan coach Eddie Jones) in the semifinal (To reach the 2019 RWC final for the strong England side they first got to beat New Zealand in the semi & they did, handing the AB's 1st defeat at a Rugby World Cup since against France in the quarterfinal in 2007 (Producing the All Blacks worst result at a Rugby World Cup) although the best halfback in world rugby, Aaron Smith says that he describes the All Blacks changing room as a funeral after our devastating & gut-wrenching heartbreak in the semi in which England dominated (Including Manu Tuilagi's try & English captain Owen Farrell kicking a couple of penalty goals which proved to be the turning point (Ardie Savea scored a try for the All Blacks to put a glimmer of hope of putting back into the contest but it wasn't good enough to reach the final as the English managed to hold on until the end (They had both tries ruled out by the Television Match Official but somehow they still won & snap the All Blacks 18 match unbeaten run at the Rugby World Cup) when Pops told me about it in 2019) & they made no errors/mistakes during the semifinal match) title in the final at the Millennium Stadium (Now Principality Stadium) in Cardiff) in the greatest rugby test ever when Tana Umaga opened the account when he scored the opening try off an intercept from Wallaby fullback Chris Latham followed by Jonah Lomu (And I mean, what a player, honestly) who was in the clear before setting up the try scored by Pita Alatini before the man known as 'Ala' set up the try scored by Christian Cullen to race out to a 24 to nil lead with 3 tries in the space of 6 minutes before the Wallabies responded by scoring 24 unanswered points to tie the game up but it also wasn't the end of the story when the AB's trailed by a single point as Byron Kelleher who just come on for Marshy, passed the ball to former All Black skipper Taine Randell then Randell pops up to Lomu (Although Grant Nisbett (One of my favourite rugby commentators of all time who appeared as a commentator along with Justin Marshall in the Rugby Challenge video game series) refers to Lomu (AKA big man) as the big fella) who scored the match winner to win a famous Bledisloe Cup & opening Tri Nations test at Stadium Australia (Venue for much of the 2000 Olympic Games & the 2003 Rugby World Cup but it used to be Telstra Stadium & now its called ANZ Stadium) which proved to be the game changer) & the 2nd test of the 3 match test series in 1996 between South Africa & the AB's at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (Including that double by Goldie Wilson (Who famously scored his second try after Zinzan Brooke picked the ball up off the back of the scrum then passed to Justin Marshall then Marshall passed it to Christian Cullen before Cullen passed it to Jeff Wilson when Wilson made the chip kick then he did get the bounce by getting past South African fullback Andre Joubert to score) as well as a try by Zinny Brooke (Brother of fellow All Black Robin & former Auckland & Southland player Marty) + Both penalty goals by Simon Culhane before being replaced by Jon 'JP' Preston with an injury who landed both penalty goals (Including that one from long range) & a droppie by Zinzan which also proved to be a turning point but South Africa tried to win the game to keep the test series alive before French referee Didier Mene blew the whistle when Marshy said ball's up according to Nisbo in commentary then Mene blew the full time whistle meaning that the AB's have at long last won a test series in South Africa in 1996 (The AB's non playing members including the late Jonah Lomu, Todd Blackadder, Eric Rush & of course, Carlos Spencer performed the Ka Mate haka as a tribute to the winning team that have finally taken victory in a test series held on South African soil (The AB's 1st attempted in 1928 which resulted in failure then 4 other sides that have failed & they finally made rugby history in 1996 when the AB's became the incomparables after finally achieving a test series win against the Springboks in South Africa (A year after New Zealand's heartbreak in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final which resulted victory to the hosts & tournament debutants South Africa at the end of extra time after Joel Stransky slotted a drop goal to put them in the lead during extra time which broke New Zealand hearts) between the two nations).

''The All Blacks made history - and, man, was it sweet...'' Jonah Lomu

Prada Cup just one week away (+ My Christmas tales & sports news that I've missed)

Well, it is only 1 more week to go until the start of the Prada Cup (The precursor to the America's Cup (Which is like sailing/yachting's equivalent of the soccer (World's most popular sport known as the beautiful game), cricket (The sport played during the summer months) & rugby union (The sport played during the winter months) world cup as well as the F1 on water (Although syndicates competing in both the Prada Cup & the America's Cup are like the constructors competing in Formula 1) because of the technology & design) match which is going to take place in March with INEOS Team UK, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli & American Magic taking part in the Prada Cup with the winner of the challenger selection series will face the defender in the form of Emirates Team New Zealand (Will it be lucky number 4 for ETNZ? After successfully winning it twice (In 1995 in San Diego against the Dennis Conner led Stars & Stripes aboard the Young America yacht (Paul Cayard (Formerly of Il Moro de Venezia & AmericaOne) was the helmsman) & in 2017 in Bermuda (It was during the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinal against Land Rover BAR where we had a frightening pitch pole but we managed to overcome the disaster by improvising the boat before both the Louis Vuitton Cup & America's Cup ended in glory for Burling's men in black (And red) & it was Team New Zealand's joy at the end) against the Jimmy Spithill led Oracle Team USA) & only defended the Auld Mug once on home waters 21 years ago way back in 2000 (Same year that the Olympic Games was held in Sydney, Australia) against the Prada Luna Rossa Challenge of Italy but the number 4 must just be a little bit unlucky (Although the All Blacks in 2019 (Same year that hosts England (Who had appeared in their 1st Cricket World Cup final in 2019 since 1992 in which they lost to the cornered tigers of Pakistan led by the great all rounder of Imran Khan (Now currently the Prime Minister of Pakistan) in the final at the MCG in Melbourne & had become the 1st team to beat Australia (Who inflicted their 1st defeat against England at a Cricket World Cup since 1992 (It featured the debut of South Africa after being allowed back to compete in international sport post-apartheid & reached the semi in Sydney when they took on England only to lose out because of the wet weather conditions robbed a chance of winning (Well to start with, they needed 22 runs off 13 deliveries before the downpour came & after mother nature had stopped, they needed 22 required off 1 cue the disappointment of not making it to the final which the South Africans have never been (And they have been always labelled or should I say tagged as chokers) in the semifinal (In which Australia have never lost until 2019) of the Cricket World Cup (The semifinal between Australia & previous hosts England was held at Edgbaston in Birmingham (New Zealand had won the other semifinal encounter against India at Old Trafford in Manchester including that sensational run out by Martin Guptill on MS Dhoni which proved to be the game changer but I thought Guptill's run out on Dhoni would have been a no ball as well as a free hit for an illegal field) won the Cricket World Cup against the Black Caps of New Zealand (Who had to appear in another final after previously appeared in the 2015 Cricket World Cup final which resulted in a dominant victory to co-hosts Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc easily bowled New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum out which proved to be the turning point (Just like Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's winning spell including he bowled English born New Zealand cricketer Roger Twose (Who was man of the match against Australia for his match winning knock) in the semifinal match of the Cricket World Cup in 1999) & after McCullum got dismissed, the Black Caps continued to lose wickets in the 1st innings meaning that the final had ended in a one-sided affair therefore handing the Aussies their 5th Cricket World Cup crown (They first did it in 1987 then 1999, 2003, 2007 & most recently in 2015) in the final at Lord's in London in a dramatic super over according to the boundary count back rule in which the English prevailed (Most New Zealanders were disappointed about the result that they had because they came oh so close of winning our 1st Cricket World Cup & were expected to go one better than in 2015) as well as the most recent Star Wars movie came out which is Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (The last film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy as part of the Skywalker saga), Dad getting married to Raewyn 2 days after Valentine's Day (A week before Andy married Kelsey in Auckland that Carole & Pops attended) & we went to our trip to the South Island (It was me, Pops, Aunty Tania & Rejean who went on a holiday) tried to win our 4th Rugby World Cup (3rd straight crown) but failed after losing to England in the semifinal & will do it in 2023 in France in an attempt to win rugby's ultimate prize & to regain control of the William Webb Ellis (The founder of the sport which has been invented when he picked the ball up & ran with it) cup from its former glory) at the city of sails in Auckland (Host to both the Prada Cup challenger selection series & America's Cup 2021) so stay tuned & watch this space, may the best syndicate win.

So that is my 382nd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 2nd of this year.

P.S. And I had a great time at Dad & Raewyn's on Christmas day especially the food that we had (Me, Pops, Carole & Matt) but my favourite part are the presents because I now got both Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Edition & Meteora) & only 1 Foo Fighters album which is Wasting Light that I literally enjoy to go with my music CD collection along with both Red Hot Chili Peppers albums (What hits? & Stadium Arcadium) & the Foo Fighters greatest hits album but sports news that I've missed especially the cricket such as the Black Caps win the test series against Pakistan meaning that they're the best test playing cricket nation in the world (It was New Zealand captain & number 1 test batter in the world of Kane Williamson who scored a century in the 1st innings during the 1st test at Bay Oval in Tauranga that we've won (I thought the match had ended in a draw) & he got another one in the 1st innings during the 2nd test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch as well as Henry Nicholls who got a century, so too is Daryl Mitchell with an unbeaten score of 102 & Kyle 'KJ' Jamieson picking up 11 wickets in the match after completing 2 5 wicket hauls in both innings).

And finally I am still watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie where I had to watch it for the last 6 days but I'll be watching the rest of the movie tomorrow but I was watching the 30 for 30 which is about the 16th man in which the late South African president Nelson Mandela (Who passed away in 2013 & spent 20 of his 27 years behind bars at Robben Island prison & was president of South Africa in 1995 when the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup compared to Thabo Mbeki in 2007 & Cyril Ramaphosa (The current South African president) in 2019) enlists the Francois Pienaar led Springboks (Which I describe the South Africa national rugby team (12 years later after their 1995 triumph, they win another Rugby World Cup in France against the Phil Vickery led England in a try less final at the Stade de France (Which will host the final at the next Rugby World Cup in 2023) in Saint-Denis then 12 years later, they win another RWC in Japan against the English (All Blacks conquerors in the semifinal ending New Zealand's hopes of a hat-trick of Rugby World Cups in 2019 led by the most hated man in world rugby who plays for Saracens in the RFU Championship, Owen Farrell) yet again at the International Stadium in Yokohama & they scored the 1st 2 tries of the final (1st it was Makazole Mapimpi (An apparent heir of Bryan Habana & I thought that Aphiwe Dyantyi was going to be selected in the Springboks 2019 Rugby World Cup squad but it wasn't to be because he had been suspended for taking performance enhancing drugs so Mapimpi was in & stood up to the challenge by becoming the new 1st choice South African left winger to pair up with his Springbok teammate, agile right winger Cheslin Kolbe (S'bu Nkosi (Who played in the semifinal victory against Wales with Kolbe unavailable through injury & is the fastest player in world rugby) was the backup winger with South African fullback Warrick Gelant being the understudy of Willie le Roux but played in the right wing in the last pool game against Canada) at the Rugby World Cup following Dyantyi's suspension for doping offences) but I thought the pass leading up to the Mapimpi try was forward (The man in the middle of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, Frenchman Jerome Garces says that the pass that he thinks it's OK (And after one of the Springbok players had passed the ball forward in the lead up to the try, the French referee had just said play on rather than blowing the whistle for a scrum due to a potential forward pass) but the English fans were livid about it so they jeered the match officials or should I say the refereeing panel after they presented the medals during the post match presentation (And many English players refuse to put their silver medals on their necks) just before the moment that Springbok skipper & self proclaimed rugby god himself, Siya Kolisi (3rd different Springbok skipper after Francois Pienaar in 1995 & John Smit in 2007 but he has been signed by the Sharks (Although he might be available to lead South Africa in their attempt to defend the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023) from the Stormers and missed both games for Western Province in the Currie Cup (South Africa's premier domestic rugby comp) because of his COVID stricken wife Rachel & released an autobiography book which came out last year called Siya Kolisi: Against All Odds) lifted the William Webb Ellis trophy) followed by the biggest little man in world rugby who bamboozled the English captain Owen Farrell all the way to the try line to pieces, Cheslin Kolbe (An agile winger who is JP Pietersen's successor & cousin of Olympic gold medalist Wayde van Niekerk (Son of Odessa Swarts who was unable to compete internationally due to Apartheid) for South Africa (Who have never scored a try in the Rugby World Cup final until 2019) as the toughest rugby nation in the world to play against because of their dominant forward pack as well as the Springboks are the only national rugby team to have never lost a Rugby World Cup final after appearing & winning all 3 of them & they became the 1st rugby playing nation to win the Rugby World Cup after losing the opening match (Which was against New Zealand) in 2019 before winning all 6 (It was neighbors Namibia first then Italy & Canada in the pool games as well as previous RWC hosts Japan (It was payback of the miracle of Brighton that the South Africans lost in 2015 during a pool game against the Japanese in a historic upset of the ages in Rugby World Cup history but Japan could've won the game should Tendai Mtawarira be shown the red card by the referee for a tip tackle on Japanese prop forward Keita Inagaki) in the quarterfinal, Wales in the semifinal (It was virtually decided by a penalty goal in the dying seconds by star first five Handre Pollard that brought the Springboks home in the end to go through to the final) & England in the final (It was a rematch of the 2007 final in which the Boks where overwhelmingly dominant in the end to win the tournament in 2019 & to win their 3rd Rugby World Cup (They successfully added their triumphs of 1995 & 2007 but only 2 South African players that have won the Rugby World Cup twice such as Os du Randt (The only Springbok forward to win both Rugby World Cups) in both 1995 & 2007 & Francois 'Frans' Steyn (One of du Randt's teammates in 2007 & the only South African back to have won the Rugby World Cup twice compared to du Randt who is a forward) in both 2007 & 2019 joining the likes of 5 Wallabies of Dan Crowley, John Eales, Tim Horan (Father of former Sunwolves player Alex), Phil Kearns (He has a daughter who is a water polo player) & Jason Little in both 1991 & 1999 & 14 All Blacks of Dan Carter (Former Canterbury, Crusaders, Racing 92 & Kobelco Steelers player & husband of former field hockey player Honor & father of Marco & Fox), the Franks brothers of Ben & Owen (The only brothers to have become dual Rugby World Cup winners), Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (Former Canterbury & Crusaders player & proud husband of former field hockey player Gemma), Keven Mealamu, Ma'a Nonu, Kieran Read (A father of 3 children/kids including both daughters & a son named Reuben who he named after the former Canterbury, Crusaders & All Black player Reuben Thorne), Colin Slade, Conrad Smith, Victor Vito, Sam Whitelock, Sonny Bill Williams (The league convert) & Tony Woodcock in both 2011 & 2015) title along with the All Blacks (Winner of the previous tournaments in 1987, 2011 & 2015) after English prop forward Kyle Sinckler (Who had been elbowed by his own teammate Maro Itoje during the 2nd minute of the final (Well, there is no foul play to start with) & had to be replaced by England reserve tight head prop Dan Cole who played the remainder of the final for 77 or 78 minutes) had left the field with a concussion & hasn't recalled the final ever since) in Yokohama) out of nowhere to regain control of the Rugby World Cup from its former glory as the William Webb Ellis cup (AKA the Wiremu here in New Zealand & the Bill in Australia) returns to South Africa) to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup (There was once a movie made about it which is called Invictus which I've seen the movie before (Matt Damon played the role of Francois Pienaar while Morgan Freeman got that elusive role as the president of South Africa, the late Nelson Mandela against our country trying to become the best rugby nation in the world, the New Zealand All Blacks (Led by Sean Fitzpatrick & featuring the world's global rugby superstar which is the late Jonah Lomu (Who has never scored a test try against South Africa) in the final at Ellis Park (Venue for much of the 1995 Rugby World Cup) in Johannesburg.

2021 America's Cup preview (+ History of the America's Cup & my 1st blog of 2021 (MMXXI)

Once again, fate brings together those who heed the call...

Well, happy new year ladies & gents but I'm doing a blog about the preview of the 2021 America's Cup (The 1st major sporting event (Originally the summer Olympic Games was going to be held in Tokyo, Japan last year but due to the world wide corona virus pandemic, they changed it to this year) to be held since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan (Won by the Springboks of South Africa who famously beat the nation that stunned the New Zealand All Blacks (Who were the defending world champions at the time) in the semifinal, England in the final which was a rematch of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama) & the 1st within NZ boundaries since the 2015 Cricket World Cup along with co-hosts Australia) this year (It's less than a fortnight away) as well as the history of the event but the wait is almost over as the 36th America's Cup (Which will feature foiling monohulls dubbed as AC75 therefore taking over from the AC50 multihull class which was used in the previous America's Cup in Bermuda in 2017) is finally here so let's have a look at the syndicates competing in this years campaign (There's only 3 challengers just like in 2013 from 3 different countries such as America, Italy & the UK that will compete in the Prada Cup with the winner of the challenger selection series will face Emirates Team New Zealand (Who are in our bid to win our 4th America's Cup as well as defending it for the 2nd time on home waters but will go into the defence of the Auld Mug as winners of the only America's Cup World Series event (Both events in Cagliari, Sardinia in Italy & Portsmouth in the UK had been cancelled due to the pandemic) in the city of sails in Auckland, New Zealand (Which features landmarks such as the famous Sky Tower (Which opened in 1997 that I've been there before way back in 2006) as well as the Auckland Harbour Bridge, Queen Street (Auckland's main street), the Auckland War Memorial Museum & of course, Eden Park (The main cricket & rugby union sports ground in Auckland which hosted both the 1987 & 2011 Rugby World Cup finals) although the Christmas race had been called off due to a lack of breeze a day after ETNZ wrapped up the America's Cup World Series (They needed a win against the challenger of record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Always popular here in New Zealand since they 1st competed in the Louis Vuitton Cup in late 1999/early 2000) to be crowned champions of the ACWS) in the 36th America's Cup match):

Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand)*

Skipper: Glenn Ashby (Australia)

Helmsman: Peter Burling

American Magic (USA)

Skipper: Terry Hutchinson

Helmsman: Dean Barker (New Zealand)

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)

Skipper: Max Sirena

Helmsmen: Jimmy Spithill (Australia) & Francesco Bruni

And last but not least, INEOS Team UK (United Kingdom)

Skipper & helmsman: Sir Ben Ainslie

Tactician: Giles Scott

*: Defender

And it was in 1851 (The year that the America's Cup 1st began/started) that the Americans sailed against the Brits to claim the 1st America's Cup (It was known as the Hundred Guinea Cup) on British soil & held the longest winning streak in sports history for 132 years until the drought is broken by the hands of the Australians in 1983 in Newport, Rhode Island therefore completing the biggest boil over in America's Cup history but New Zealand's journey to the America's Cup 1st began in 1986/87 after the Australian success in 1983 at the Louis Vuitton Cup in Fremantle, Australia as the New Zealand challenge (Headed by Sir Michael Fay & skippered by Chris Dickson) when we competed in a fibreglass boat (Which shocked the big boys at that point) but we came so close of beating the Americans in the challenger selection series final only to lose out on inexperience before the Dennis Conner (Who is the only American to lose the America's Cup (1st it was Australia way back in 1983), then win the Auld Mug back & to lose it for the 2nd time (It was New Zealand's turn to follow Australia's 1983 success in 1995) led Stars & Stripes went on to regain control of the America's Cup from Australia before in 1988 that we unveiled the big boat only to lose out again (Due to a court battle) to the Americans who responded to the deed of the gift challenge with a catamaran but in 1992 our hopes of winning the Louis Vuitton Cup fell out in favour against the Italian syndicate Il Moro De Venezia (Who lost to America3 in the America's Cup match) because of the bowsprit which was deemed to be against the rules then 3 years later in 1995 (The year that my love affair of the America's Cup began as well as the same year that New Zealand rapper Che Fu was in the NZ rock band Supergroove, the Warriors entered the Australian rugby league competition & the late All Black Jonah Lomu tearing to shreds as a star performer & impact player during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa especially in the semifinal against England where he scored 4 tries (Including that 1st try that Lomu scored after he manhandled English player Mike Catt by running over the top of him whilst carrying the ball to score (That was the moment that New Zealand rugby commentator Keith Quinn when he famously said to our New Zealand viewers: ''LOMU! OH, OH!'') after our 1992 disaster dubbed as bowspritgate, our NZL 32 (Although we used NZL 38 when the Louis Vuitton challenger series had started before switching back to a different beast which is called NZL 32 in both the semifinals & final of the challenger selection series as well as the America's Cup match) boat painted in intimidating black managed to succeed of winning our 1st America's Cup for Team New Zealand (Led by both the late Sir Peter Blake (Who was murdered by Brazilian pirates way back in 2001 in Brazil whilst voyaging on his boat known as Tara or Seamaster a week after one of the members of the famous pop band which inspired to many generations, the Beatles of George Harrison (Who was the lead guitarist of the band) had passed away after a short battle with a terminal illness in Los Angeles, California in America (And it's only both Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr are the 2 surviving members of the Beatles (They lost the late John Lennon already due to an assassination by a man named Chapman & Harrison as I mentioned before) & Russell Coutts & famously said by the voice of yachting Peter 'PJ' Montgomery "The America's Cup is now New Zealand's cup!") dubbed as Black Magic against Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes (Whose original boat was slower so they twisted the rules as they allowed to use a rival's boat of Young America to get up to speed) syndicate aboard the Young America Yacht in a 5 - 0 blackwash in San Diego, California after winning the Louis Vuitton Cup against oneAustralia (Who had their boat wrecked during the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin race that had bent like a banana so they switched to a slower boat for the rest of the campaign) by emulating Australia's success in 1983 before in 2000 (Same year that we managed to survive Y2K (I saw the old footage that Kiwis were preparing the great New Zealand barbecue), New Zealand rower Rob Waddell winning our country's only Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia & the All Blacks take victory in rugby's greatest ever test against the defending world champions at the time, the Wallabies at Stadium Australia (2000 summer Olympic Games main venue) in Sydney (The late Jonah Lomu scoring the try that has surely won the game for New Zealand) in front of 110,000 fans) that the Prada Luna Rossa Challenge (Spearheaded by the husband of Miuccia Prada (Granddaughter of the Prada fashion label founder Mario) & syndicate head, Patrizio Bertelli (He & Miuccia has a son who is a rally driver named Lorenzo) & led by Francesco de Angelis) of Italy went on to win the Louis Vuitton Cup against the Paul Cayard (Who was the helmsman in both Il Moro de Venezia which beat the New Zealand Challenge in the Louis Vuitton Cup final in 1992 when NZL 20 began to lose shape & Stars & Stripes aboard the Young America yacht who lost the America's Cup to Team New Zealand in 1995) led AmericaOne (Although the Americans were right out of the equation when America's Cup 2000 was the 1st in history without an American boat involved as New Zealand & Italy contested the Auld Mug (Which is in fact the oldest trophy in international sport) then it was Black Magic's time to shine as Team New Zealand aboard the NZL 60 yacht retained the America's Cup as they clean swept the Italians 5 - 0 in another blackwash on home waters to win our 2nd America's Cup title in the city of sails in Auckland in a repeat of 1995 (And we did go one better by defending it of course) as well as completing our 1st successful defence of the America's Cup outside America (As famously said by PJ "The America's Cup is still New Zealand's cup!") but both Russell Coutts & Brad Butterworth left Team New Zealand after defending the Auld Mug immediately in 2000 to join Swiss syndicate Alinghi (Also spearheaded by Swiss pharmaceuticals billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli) which won the America's Cup against Team New Zealand led by Dean Barker (Who was the backup helmsman for Team New Zealand when he sailed race 5 of America's Cup 2000 & took over from Coutts until he left in the aftermath of 2013 (One half of the Olympic silver & gold medalist Peter Burling replaced him & he had been with the syndicate ever since & Burling was one of the key signings for Emirates Team New Zealand in 2014 along with Blair Tuke (Brother of reporter Jesse Tuke) before joining Softbank Team Japan for the 2017 event & now found himself as the new American Magic helmsman for this years Prada Cup) in Auckland, New Zealand in 2003 & took the Auld Mug to Switzerland (But 1st they had to win the Louis Vuitton Cup against Oracle) then retained it in 2007 which was held in Valencia, Spain because Switzerland (One of 4 different countries to win the America's Cup (The only European nation to do so) along with the US, Australia & New Zealand) was a landlocked country before losing it to Oracle in the deed of the gift challenge in Valencia in 2010 then Oracle Team USA (Led by American billionaire Larry Ellison & Australian born skipper Jimmy Spithill (Who is now the helmsman aboard the Italian yacht of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Back in the America's Cup challenger selection series fold after missing the 2017 event due to a reduction on boat size) along with Francesco Bruni) defended it against us in 2013 in the miracle of San Francisco in which they managed to complete a huge, miraculous comeback (Despite points being deducted before the start of the 2013 America's Cup match for breaches of technical rules used in the America's Cup World Series) after being 8 - 1 down 4 years before Emirates Team New Zealand (Led by both Grant Dalton & Australian born Glenn Ashby (Peter Burling was the helmsman who took over from American Magic's Dean Barker) which injected new blood went on to win our 3rd America's Cup in Bermuda in 2017 against Oracle Team USA (Who tried to make a fairy tale comeback during the last race of the last America's Cup but it wasn't to be) after 17 long years hence bringing the Auld Mug back home to New Zealand (As the legendary PJ Montgomery said when ETNZ triumphed in Bermuda in 2017 when he was doing his radio commentary ''Once again! The America's Cup is New Zealand's cup!'').

So that is my 381st blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 1st of this year.