Super Rugby Aotearoa round 1 wrap (2021 edition) & reports of the COVID-19 situation again

Well, the brand new season of Super Rugby Aotearoa in 2021 has just started as the Crusaders begin their title defence with a win against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin (Including reserve Crusaders hooker Brodie McAlister scoring a try off a rolling maul which proved to be the game changer & there were 2 yellow cards in the match, one was Crusaders player Ethan Blackadder & the other was Crusaders captain Scott Barrett in the dying seconds of the match for deliberately taking Highlanders reserve halfback Folau out without the ball) then last seasons runners up the Blues start their campaign with a win against the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium in Wellington (Including Blues centre Rieko Ioane scoring a try which proved to be the turning point to put the Hurricanes out of reach & there were also both yellow cards in the game, one was Hurricanes lock James Blackwell & the other was reserve Hurricanes loose forward Du Plessis Kirifi) but there is new laws that they have introduced during the brand new season such as the goal line drop out (If a player is held up or knocks the ball on in goal) & captain's challenge (Only 1 per match & it will only be available during the last 5 minutes of the game whether a try is scored but may overturn the decision if there was a knock on or foul play leading up to the try if a ref fails to spot something) taken from rugby league.

And finally, there has been 7 new cases of the corona virus in the Auckland area (Including one that has been working at KFC until he or she had the disease & is under isolation at the moment) so the New Zealand government has made a decision to declare a 7 day state of emergency in the Auckland area according to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern because we are back on alert level 2 for the rest of the country (That's level 3 in the Auckland area but they have brought back 3 simple rules during the pandemic (That's face masks, hand washing for 20 seconds & they must be socially distanced (As well as contact tracing & up to 100 people are allowed at gatherings as part of the 2 additional guidelines during the outbreak) so that'll be my last blog until I take a self imposed break during our 4th lock down here in New Zealand on the last day of summer.

So that is my 396th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 16th of this year (And there is 4 remaining until I hit the quadruple ton).

Unite against COVID-19

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2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season round 1 preview (+ 36th America's Cup match preview & Tiger Woods involved in a serious crash)

Well, the wait is over come Friday the 25th of February as the 2nd season of Super Rugby Aotearoa commences when the defending champion Crusaders (They have been unbreakable since 2017 (Same year that Emirates Team New Zealand went on to win the America's Cup (That was our last major sporting triumph for our country of New Zealand) in Bermuda against Oracle Team USA as well as Jacinda Adern (Wife of TV host Clarke Gayford who is the first gentleman of our country New Zealand) taking over as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from Bill English & the 2nd film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Last Jedi, came out in cinemas in December 2017) when they won the Super Rugby title 3 years running in 2017, 2018 & 2019 then last year by winning the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa title but will 4 other franchises (Such as the Blues, Chiefs, Highlanders & Hurricanes) end the Crusaders dynasty? Let's hope so but we will see) are in Dunedin to take on the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin in the great southern derby (Their most recent meeting was last year in which the Crusaders won at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch against the Highlanders in round 9 to clinch the 1st ever Super Rugby Aotearoa title but the last time the Highlanders beat the Crusaders was in round 16 of the 2018 Super Rugby season at Forsyth Barr Stadium) followed by the Hurricanes who face the Blues at Sky Stadium in Wellington (The last time both of these sides met was last year in which the Hurricanes took top honors against the Blues at Sky Stadium in Wellington in round 6 but it's been 8 months since the Blues had last beaten the Hurricanes & it was in round 1 at Eden Park) in this action packed weekend of rugby (Well, the cricket season here in New Zealand is still up & running but the rugby season could be able to start soon).

And I can't wait for the 36th America's Cup match beginning on the 6th of March at the city of sails in Auckland between the defender Emirates Team New Zealand (Led by Australian Glenn Ashby with Peter Burling at the helm) & the challenger from Italy of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Led by Max Sirena (Who is in his final America's Cup campaign) with Aussie 'Pitbull' Jimmy Spithill (Who's heart rate is low compared to Bruni which must've contributed their success in the Prada Cup final against INEOS Team UK) & Francesco Bruni sharing the duties at the helm) in a rematch of America's Cup 2000 (The last meeting between both syndicates was 2 months ago in December last year at the America's Cup World Series in Auckland where ETNZ needed a win to claim the ACWS & they did, they succeeded by beating Luna Rossa in the final race to be crowned champions of the America's Cup World Series) but it looks like the rivalry between Burling & Spithill will in fact continue (Their rivalry began in 2017 that the all conquering Emirates Team New Zealand who stole the show to win the America's Cup in Bermuda against the all Australian crew of Oracle Team USA).

And finally there has been breaking news in America such as American golfing great & 15 time major golfing champion Tiger Woods who was involved in a serious accident when his car rolled over in Southern California & is now in hospital in a critical condition after suffering multiple injuries to his leg (Hope he's OK but get well Tiger (Well, he was lucky not to get killed in that crash (The leg injuries that Woods sustained aren't believed to be life-threatening) & he managed to survive the impact but his chances of playing golf again appears to be all but over because of his serious leg injuries that he sustained) & is having to go under the knife by the surgeon at the hospital where Tiger is.

So that is my 395th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 15th of this year (And there is 5 left until I reach 400 blogs).

Rugby now a dangerous sport, the late Jonah Lomu's honors list & To'o Vaega's son named after the Welsh city (And a bit of a Star Wars reference)

Well, yesterday before we had brunch that Carole said to me that rugby is now a dangerous sport (Well, a few people have taken up the sport in terms of the dangerous nature of the game but I remember a comment made from Pops about the English rugby player of Italian descent Lawrence Dallaglio who he thought that he was going to play soccer according to his Italian father when he was small but ended up playing rugby union as a result because he was getting big (Unlike former All Black Kieran Read (A twice Rugby World Cup winning player for the AB's in 2011 & 2015 who plays for a Japanese club in the Japan Top League & is playing alongside the likes of former Wallaby captain Michael Hooper (A Super Rugby champion for the Waratahs in 2014) & Rugby World Cup winner for the Springboks in 2019 (And former Cheetahs & Sharks player), Willie le Roux) who originally played cricket but when he got big, he took up rugby union just like Dallaglio) because of the rugby players ended up getting concussed just like former England Rugby World Cup winning hooker in 2003, Steve Thompson had to be diagnosed with early stage dementia after having concussions over the years.

And here is the honors list of the late All Black Jonah Lomu (Born in May 1975 but passed away 40 years & 6 months later in November 2015 due to complications of a kidney disease that he had throughout his life):

Won a Super 12 title with the Blues in 1996 (Featuring the likes of his good friend Joeli Vidiri (Who had to stop playing rugby due to a kidney disease similar to Lomu that Vidiri got), captain Sean Fitzpatrick, Craig Dowd, Olo Brown (Uncle of Black Ferns sevens player Theresa Fitzpatrick), Robin Brooke, Charles Riechelmann, Michael Jones (Niko's father), Robin's brother Zinzan, Ofisa Junior Tonu'u, Carlos Spencer (Has a son who is an up & coming cricketer (Just like Riley McCullum & Hunter Doull (Sons of New Zealand cricket legends Brendon 'B-Mac/Baz' McCullum & Simon 'Doully' Doull respectively) & now 1st XV rugby player named Payton), Lee Stensness, Eroni Clarke (Father of current Auckland, Blues & All Blacks player Caleb), Waisake Sotutu (Dad of current Auckland, Blues & All Blacks player Hoskins) & Adrian Cashmore)

Won an NPC title with Wellington in 2000 (Didn't play in the 1996 NPC Division 1 final against Auckland for Counties Manukau because of a suspension for a lifting tackle on Canterbury halfback Aaron Flynn during the NPC Division 1 semifinal a year before he played in the 1997 NPC division 1 final against the Todd Blackadder led Canterbury but was on the losing side)

Won a Tri Nations title for New Zealand in 1996, 1999 & 2002

Was part of the All Blacks success of winning the Bledisloe Cup in 1995 & retaining it in 1996.

Played 63 tests & scored 37 tries (Including that infamous 1995 Rugby World Cup semifinal game against England in which he famously scored that try by running over the top of English player Mike Catt which made him a instant hero as well as becoming a global icon from that perspective & also scoring the winning try after Taine Randell set it up against the world champions at the time, Australia (The Wallabies) in a Bledisloe Cup test at Stadium Australia (Now ANZ Stadium) in Sydney in 2000 in front of a world record crowd of 109, 874 in a test match dubbed as the game of the century) for the AB's (Made his All Black test debut at 19 in 1994 against France in Christchurch) from 1994 to 2002 & was the youngest rugby player to appear in a Rugby World Cup final in 1995 at 20 (That honor goes to South African Francois Steyn (Now a dual Rugby World Cup winner for South Africa along with prop forward Os du Randt (Who played in the 1995 & 2007 tournaments that he was involved with the winning side) in 2007 & 2019) who is the youngest Rugby World Cup winning player at 20 in 2007).

And won a gold medal for New Zealand in rugby sevens at the 1998 Commonwealth Games as well as being part of the New Zealand sevens team which won the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Argentina 20 years ago when he was called up to replace another one of his good friends, sevens rugby legend Eric Rush (Who got injured during the tournament).

And finally I told Pops yesterday about a Samoan rugby player named To'o Vaega (Another good friend of the late Jonah Lomu) who named his son Cardiff after the famous Welsh city that Samoa (Known as Western Samoa at the time) beat Wales in 1991 in one of the Rugby World Cup's 1st major upsets (Unlike my second cousin Ben (Who is into martial arts especially Ju-jitsu while his partner Robina (Now Sanne) is into Muay Thai) was named after the famous Star Wars character of Obi-Wan (Known as Ben during his final years before being killed in a laser sword (Light saber) duel in the hands of the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader aboard the Death Star (During Star Wars that I saw the movie before) while Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca (Chewie), C-3P0 (See Threepio) & R2-D2 (Artoo Detoo) made a successful attempt to rescue the Princess of Alderaan, Leia Organa) Kenobi) because they were no major upsets in the 1st ever Rugby World Cup tournament in 1987.

So that is my 394th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 14th of this year (And there is 6 remaining until I hit the big 400).

P.S. Well, I support 2 countries in the sport of cricket from my perspective. New Zealand, & whoever was playing against Australia (Always our old enemy despite we once worked together (We were known as the ANZAC's way back then (ANZAC means Australian & New Zealand army corps) when the invasion of the Turkish town of Gallipoli took place during the 1st world war on the 25th of April, 1915).

Con Te Partiro: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli triumph in the Prada Cup (That's amore + Naomi Osaka's victory in the Australian Open tennis (My revelations on the Serena Williams incident in 2018) & Dan Carter's retirement)

Well, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Helmed by both Spithill (The modern day Dennis Conner who is back in the America's Cup but I mean that is the 1st time that Spithill (The current Australian America's Cup hero because John Bertrand was the original Australian America's Cup hero when Australia 1st won the America's Cup way back in 1983 & broke the United States 132 year long winning streak (The longest in sports history when the America's Cup 1st began in 1851 (That's 170 years ago) which opened the door for other nations such as the small country of New Zealand, to compete in the America's Cup when they 1st participated in 1986/87 at the challenger selection series in Fremantle) had actually won a challenger selection series like the Prada Cup but hey, ignorance is bliss) & Bruni) have done it! They are now going to be the challenger of the 36th America's Cup when they face Emirates Team New Zealand starting on the 6th of March after dominating both races against INEOS Team UK (Who have missed out on a big chance to claim the Prada Cup because they were completely out of it) including during the penultimate Prada Cup race that they had a tremendous turnaround & managed to bounce back after losing Saturdays race then during the final race, they overcame the penalty for crossing the start line early which proved to be the game changer to help book a place in the America's Cup match by winning the Prada Cup 7 - 1 (I mean that is bueno, fantastico (Good, fantastic), ending the Brits hopes for America's Cup glory (And it is 3rd time lucky for Italy (They 1st did it in 1992 with the Paul Cayard led Il Moro de Venezia (The syndicate that beat the New Zealand Challenge who were on the verge of something special until they broke the rules for an illegal use of the bowsprit allowing the Italians to pounce by winning the Louis Vuitton Cup but they were unsuccessful of challenging the America's Cup after being outperformed by America3) then in 2000 with the Prada Luna Rossa Challenge (Who outperformed the Paul Cayard (The former Il Moro de Venezia skipper & was the helmsman for Stars & Stripes aboard the Young America yacht in 1995) led AmericaOne 5 - 4 in the Louis Vuitton Cup final (Best of 9 series) to progress into America's Cup 2000 which they got completely thrashed by Team New Zealand) but the Italians have never won the America's Cup & are looking to become the 2nd European country after Switzerland (And 5th after the United States, Australia, New Zealand & Switzerland as I mentioned before most recently) to claim the Auld Mug) & now, this year in 2021 as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take on ETNZ in a rematch of America's Cup 2000 in which Team New Zealand dominated as they clean-swept the Italians 5 - 0 in the city of sails in Auckland but now Luna Rossa have been competitive under James Spithill since he rejoined the syndicate from Oracle Team USA after the events of Bermuda in 2017 (Jimmy Spithill had been planning for revenge nearly 4 years in the making after losing the Auld Mug to ETNZ but come up March 6th, the tide will turn as New Zealand & Italy (And Australia because of Spithill) contest the Auld Mug in Auckland this year just like in 2000) but will he win his 3rd America's Cup (His 1st America's Cup victory was in 2010 when Oracle defied the odds to beat Swiss syndicate Alinghi & became the new face of the America's Cup (And was able to follow John Bertrand's footsteps of becoming the successful Australian America's Cup hero) followed by his 2nd & most recent America's Cup victory in 2013 when he pulled off the miracle of San Francisco to edge Dean Barker & Emirates Team New Zealand in an astonishing comeback of the ages) if they want to bring the America's Cup home but 1st they need to beat the Kiwis in the 2021 edition of the America's Cup in Auckland, New Zealand commencing on the 6th of March but the rivalry between Spithill & ETNZ has been extended/renewed (Their rivalry began was in 2013 when they clashed in San Francisco while Spithill was at Oracle (He left Oracle after being on the losing side in Bermuda in 2017 to rejoin Luna Rossa (Who are looking to end New Zealand's America's Cup dominance & ending 170 years of hurt of bringing the Cup home to Italy for the first time but if Emirates Team New Zealand retain the Auld Mug, the next one in 2025 will not be in Auckland but it'll be in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai in the UAE because of their sponsors Emirates Airlines) for the 2021 event) & has continued ever since).

And Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka has taken victory against American competitor Jennifer Brady to regain the Australian Open women's singles crown that Pops & Carole (Who is tennis mad compared to me & Pops being rugby union mad) watched on TV yesterday in front of a reduced crowd (Mainly because of COVID-19 reasons) on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, her 2nd in Australia (2 years after her last) & her 4th in her grand slam career (She 1st did it when she beat her idol Serena Williams (Who was on track to win the game until she was involved in an incident with the chair umpire after Williams got pinged for illegal coaching & had to be penalized for both a point & game as a result which proved to be the turning point & caused her to lose the match (And she got fined as well for the incident) because that's what you call an outburst, brain explosion, brain fade &/or moment of madness that Serena made in front of the chair umpire because I have just broken silence on the infamous incident of the 2018 US Tennis Open women's singles final) in the women's singles final at the US Open in 2018 then the Australian Open in 2019 where she beat Czech player Petra Kvitova in the women's singles final & last year in which she regained the US tennis open crown against Belarusian Victoria 'Vika' Azarenka in the women's singles final & now she's done it by winning the Australian Open again this year.

And finally Dan Carter (The 3 time Super Rugby winner with the Crusaders as well as both the 2011 & 2015 World Cup winning player for the AB's) has announced his retirement from all forms of rugby (Well, I guess he's hanging up his boots for now) so he can look after both of his sons Marco & Fox.

So that is my 393rd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 13th of this year (And there is 7 remaining until I hit the quadruple ton).

P.S. And I didn't not know that Dad was born in 1969 (Same year that 7 time Formula 1 world champion from Germany, Michael Schumacher (Father of F1 driver now & F2 champion Mick) was born along with Dave Grohl (Former drummer of Nirvana & now the lead singer & guitarist of the band, the Foo Fighters from the USA), Shane Warne (The cricket legend from Australia who is the 2nd highest wicket taker in test cricket behind Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralidaran) & both WWE wrestlers of Batista (Who is an American of Filipino & Greek origin) & Triple H (An American wrestler of French-Canadian descent who is married to Stephanie McMahon (Daughter of Mr McMahon & sister of Shane).

And finally I had to listen to Andrea Bocelli (Who is an apparent heir of the late Luciano Pavarotti & has a son named Matteo who is following in his fathers footsteps as a singer) today in honor of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli taking victory in the Prada Cup yesterday because Bocelli is Italian & after that, I had to listen to one Linkin Park song By Myself (The song that plays after Runaway & the song that plays before In The End) off the album that I've got which is Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Edition to retain that youthful rock energy because of my gimmick of listening to alt rock (And Dad might have listened to AC/DC yesterday possibly in honor of the Australian America's Cup hero Jimmy Spithill).

New Zealand's national football/soccer, cricket & rugby union teams performance (A hat-trick of blogs 2021 edition)

Well, I got to tell you fellas about New Zealand's national team performance at World Cups in football/soccer, cricket & rugby union but the All Whites have qualified the Football/Soccer World Cup twice in 1982 (Led by the late English born Steve Sumner & featuring the likes of future All Whites coach Ricki Herbert, Wynton Rufer (Full name: Wynton Alan Whai Rufer) & Frank van Hattum when it was held in Spain & lost all 3 against Brazil (5 time world champions in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 & most recently in 2002 & the only soccer playing nation to appear in every Soccer World Cup tournament since 1930), Scotland & the Soviet Union) & most recently in 2010 (Led by former Millwall & Blackburn Rovers player Ryan Nelsen & featuring the likes of Mark Paston, Ben Sigmund, Tony Lochhead, Winston Reid, Ivan Vicelich, Simon Elliott, Shane 'Smeltzy' Smeltz, Chris Killen, Leo Bertos, Rory Fallon, Michael McGlinchey, Tommy Smith, Chris Wood, Jeremy Christie & Jeremy Brockie when it was held in South Africa & went undefeated after 3 drawn games against Slovakia, Italy (Winners of the 1934, 1938, 1982 & 2006 tournaments) & Paraguay) while the Black Caps (Who have appeared in all Cricket World Cups since 1975 along with 6 other cricket playing nations (Who have all won cricket world cups before) such as Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & the West Indies) have never won the Cricket World Cup (Led by Brendon McCullum & featuring great players such as Martin 'Guppy' Guptill, Kane 'Kano/Nosi' Williamson, Ross 'Rossco' Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, wicket-keeper Luke 'Roncs' Ronchi, Daniel 'Dan' Vettori, Tim Southee, Trent 'Boulty' Boult & Matt Henry (Who was called up to the squad before the semifinal match against South Africa to replace the injured Adam Milne) & they came so close in the final 2015 against co-hosts Australia (5 time Cricket World Cup winners in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 & most recently in 2015) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne before appearing another final in 2019 led by Williamson & featuring great players such as Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Taylor, James 'Jimmy Neesh' Neesham, Latham, Mitchell Santner, Boult, Henry & Lockie Ferguson when they came agonizingly close in the 1st ever super over against hosts England (Winners of the last Cricket World Cup in 2019) at Lord's in London) while the All Blacks (Who have appeared in every Rugby World Cup tournaments since 1987 along with 10 other rugby playing nations such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Scotland & Wales) have won the men's Rugby World Cup 3 times (First it was 1987 (Led by David 'Kirky' Kirk & featuring great players such as Steve McDowall, Sean 'Fitzy' Fitzpatrick, the late John 'Drakey' Drake, Murray Pierce, the Whetton twin brothers of Gary & Alan 'AJ', Michael 'Iceman' Jones, Wayne 'Buck' Shelford, Grant 'Foxy' Fox, Craig 'Greeny' Green, Warwick Taylor (Father of former All Black Tom), Joe Stanley, John 'JK' Kirwan & John 'Kipper' Gallagher when they beat France (Hosts of the 2023 Rugby World Cup who have never won a Rugby World Cup (Lost to both New Zealand in 1987 & most recently in 2011 & the Wallabies in 1999) in the final at Eden Park in Auckland) then 2011 (Led by Richard Hugh 'Richie' McCaw & featuring great players such as Tony 'Woody' Woodcock, Keven 'Kevvy' Mealamu, Owen Franks, Brad 'Thorny' Thorn, Samuel 'Sam' Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Kieran 'Reado' Read, Piri Weepu, Aaron 'Cruds' Cruden, Richard 'Kaks' Kahui, Ma'a 'Skux' Nonu, Conrad 'Snakey' Smith, Cory 'CJ' Jane, Israel 'Izzy' Dagg, Andrew 'Horey' Hore, Ben Franks (Brother of Owen), Ali Williams, Adam 'Thommo' Thomson, Andrew 'Andy' Ellis, Stephen 'Beaver' Donald & Sonny Bill 'SBW' Williams when they took on France again at Eden Park in Auckland just like in 1987 & won it after 24 long years) & most recently in 2015 (Against trans-Tasman neighbors Australia (Winners of both Rugby World Cups in 1991 & most recently in 1999) in the final at Twickenham in London, England which resulted in a famous victory to successfully defend the William Webb Ellis trophy & featuring great players such as McCaw, Joe Moody, Dane 'Colesy' Coles, Owen Franks, Brodie 'Guzzler' Retallick, Whitelock, Kaino, Read, Aaron 'Nugget' or 'Nuggy' Smith, Daniel 'Dan' or 'DC' Carter, Julian 'Jules' or 'The Bus' Savea, Nonu, Smith, Nehe 'Skudz' Milner-Skudder, Ben 'Bender' or 'Ben from accounts' Smith, Mealamu, Ben Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera 'TKB' Kerr-Barlow, Beauden 'Beaudy' Barrett & Williams).

So that is my 392nd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 12th of this year (And there is 8 left until I reach 400 blogs + I did a hat-trick of blogs today so that's good).

Prada Cup final day 3 wrap

Well, the Jimmy Spithill (A twice America's Cup winner with Oracle in 2010 & 2013) & Francesco Bruni helmed Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Who have won the challenger selection series before way back in 2000 but Italy has never won the America's Cup (Only 4 have won it such as USA first then Australia, New Zealand & most recently, Switzerland but let's hope Italy doesn't becomes the 5th different country to win the Auld Mug) but what happens if Italy won the America's Cup? Because they might have an real interest of growing the sport) have dominated the 1st race today in day 3 of the Prada Cup final (And at least racing is back after delays because of COVID-19 in the Auckland area) but INEOS Team UK (Who appeared to be down & out in race 1 today after being pinged twice by the race director Iain Murray, one for crossing the start line early along with Luna Rossa & another for gaining an unfair advantage (The race director have told the Brits that they must bail out to clear the penalty or else face the risk of disqualification) have finally won a race & managed to end Prada's 9 race winning streak (Their winning run began when they beat American Magic in the 1st race of the Prada Cup semifinal until now that Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli handed their 1st loss since the last race of the round robin against INEOS Team UK (Is this a sign of a comeback for the Brits? Because they need 6 races to win compared to Luna Rossa who still need 2 victories in order to win the Prada Cup & to become the challenger of the 36th America's Cup in order to dethrone the defender Emirates Team New Zealand) in the last scheduled race of the day.

So that is my 391st blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 11th of this year (And there is 9 remaining until I hit the big 400).

Jimmy Spithill's modern day America's Cup greatness

Well, I noticed that Jimmy Spithill (The helmsman aboard the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Coached by Frenchman Philippe Presti who acts as Spithill's coach) boat along with Francesco Bruni) is the godfather of the modern America's Cup (And he sparred with former rugby league player & boxer Monty Betham (And Spithill was like that he had a brief bromance with him) as part of his training method but before Spithill arrived on the America's Cup scene, it was Dennis Conner (Team New Zealand's opposing skipper back in the day) who dominated the America's Cup scene until the 1990's when Russell Coutts took over until he left Team New Zealand in 2000 along with Brad Butterworth to join Alinghi (Coutts left in 2004 when Butterworth took charge as skipper (American Ed Baird (Who was the Team New Zealand coach in 1995 before he joined Young America for the 1999/2000 Louis Vuitton Cup) was at the helm in 2007) before Spithill was the new face of the America's Cup when Oracle won in 2010 & therefore became the godfather of the America's Cup during the modern era or should I say during modern times when Oracle retained the Auld Mug in a miraculous comeback in 2013 against Dean Barker (Who was the backup helmsman & understudy to Russell Coutts aboard the Team New Zealand yacht when they triumphed in 2000 to retain the America's Cup & was replaced by 'Pistol Pete' Burling at the helm while 'Lenny' Ashby was the skipper after the events of 2013) & Emirates Team New Zealand before being upstaged by the same opponent in 2017 (It was the Ashby & Burling show in Bermuda in which they went on to win) & rejoined Luna Rossa for the 2021 Prada Cup & is on a verge of winning the challenger selection series against INEOS Team UK (Who went from bad in the America's Cup World Series 2 months ago to so good in the round robins to bad again just like in the ACWS because they are now in a downward spiral in which they are now strugglers) for the right to be Emirates Team New Zealand's opponent in the 36th America's Cup match).

So that is my 390th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 10th of this year (And there is 10 more until I hit the quadruple ton).

Today's wrap up (My tales of The Matrix, New Zealand's connection with Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings & The Matrix films & secrets behind the Wallabies rugby team's success 20 years ago)

Well, I managed to watch The Matrix Reloaded (Which came out in cinemas in 2003 (Same year that The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (My all time favourite Lord Of The Rings movie) released in theaters along with The Matrix Revolutions (I finally got an opportunity to see the movie last year when it was aired on TVNZ 2 that I recorded it on a MySky digital recorder) as well as England winning the Rugby World Cup in Australia, the Linkin Park album Meteora (That I've got for Christmas 2 months ago) had to be released & my half brother Jansen (Who is now accident prone (First he got bitten by my dog Buck (Who was put down already last month) then he fell off a scooter near the school grounds after Dad took me to the Med lab) was born on the 9th of August) today but my favourite parts of the movie were the opening fight scene between Neo & the upgraded agents as well as Neo's fight with Seraph (Played by well established Taiwanese movie actor Collin Chou who played Hayate in the DOA: Dead Or Alive movie & the evil Jade Warlord in the Jet Li & Jackie Chan movie, The Forbidden Kingdom) at a tea house then the burly brawl between Neo & the Agent Smith clones & the chateau fight scene between Neo & the Merovingian's henchmen (I watched the rest of The Matrix (Although I did not know that The Matrix trilogy was filmed in Australia (Well, they may have turned Australia into America for that one especially in the city of Sydney but the highway scenes in The Matrix Reloaded were filmed in America) compared to The Lord Of The Rings film trilogy which was filmed in New Zealand & the Star Wars original, prequel & sequel trilogies was filmed in Australia, Bolivia, China, Croatia, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, UAE, United Kingdom & the United States (And from a galaxy far, far away to Middle Earth & finally the Mega City where those universes have taken place) movie last night before I went to bed but my favourite parts of the 1st Matrix movie were the opening scene where Trinity tries to evade both the agents & the cops, the club scene where Trinity first meets the protagonist Thomas A 'Neo' Anderson (Played by Lebanese born Canadian Hollywood movie star Keanu Reeves (At 1st I thought he was American but he's Canadian instead & is my 4th favourite movie actor behind Samuel L Jackson, Tom Cruise & Arnold Schwarzenegger (My favourite New Zealand actor is Temuera Morrison ahead of Karl Urban which is my 2nd favourite Kiwi actor as well) who played as Ted 'Theodore' Logan in the Bill & Ted trilogy, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent Johnny Utah from Point Break, LAPD officer Jack Traven from Speed, Kai from 47 Ronin & internationally renowned assassin John Wick from the John Wick trilogy), the training fight scene between Neo & his new friend Morpheus as well as the lobby shootout, the rooftop scene & Neo (Referred by Agent Smith as Mr Anderson compared to Cypher being referred by Agent Smith as Mr Reagan) fighting the main villain Agent Smith (He won't appear in the 4th Matrix movie because of their actor Hugo Weaving (The Australian movie star who portrayed Lord Elrond from the Lord Of The Rings & The Hobbit (Well, I have seen The Hobbit film trilogy now but I was never interested from it because I prefer Lord Of The Rings than The Hobbit) trilogy as well as Red Skull from Captain America which I have never seen) who played Agent Smith (His attire among other agents in the Matrix movies reminds me of a US Secret Service agent (Known as the US President's bodyguards/security detail) as well as an agent of the Men In Black in the Men In Black movies) who has dropped out due to scheduling conflicts but it looks like the Merovingian has taken over as the antagonist of the film (It's good that Agent Smith is destroyed after the events of The Matrix Revolutions but somehow the Merovingian did manage to survive) in a subway but the 4th Matrix movie (Now called Matrix which is going to be a reboot) focuses on Neo & Trinity who are both back from the dead in the previous movie The Matrix Revolutions are on a mission to eliminate the Merovingian) + there are a few Kiwi actors who appeared in the major movies (That's what you call a New Zealand connection) that I'm a fan of such as Temuera Morrison (Famous Kiwi actor who played Dr Hone Ropata (Who had been told by a nurse on Shorty Street that he is not in Guatemala now) in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street & Jake 'The Muss' Heke in the famous Kiwi movie of all time, Once Were Warriors) who appeared in the Star Wars prequel trilogy as Jango Fett & the Galactic Republic clone troopers in both Attack Of The Clones & Revenge Of The Sith as well as Tem provided the voice of Boba Fett (Jango's son) in the later versions of The Empire Strikes Back (Which is part of the Star Wars original trilogy) as well as Karl Urban (Full name: Karl Heinz Urban) who appeared in both Lord Of The Rings (And don't forget that it was directed by a New Zealander by Oscar winner Sir Peter Jackson) films in the LOTR trilogy such as The Two Towers & The Return Of The King as Eomer (Brother of Eowyn & nephew of King Theoden of Rohan) & Raetihi born Julian Arahanga (AKA Nig Heke (Son of Jake 'The Muss') in Once Were Warriors in which he appeared with Tem Morrison as well as being the half brother of Tammy Davis who is an actor just like Arahanga (Who used to be a movie star these days) as well as being the son of producer Larry Parr) who appeared in 1 single Matrix movie in The Matrix trilogy such as The Matrix as Apoc but this morning after I had breakfast was telling Pops about the Wallabies rugby team used to be good 20 years ago because of John Eales being a world class rugby player (He was a handy goal kicker these days as Pops told me) until they were fallen flat as of today (That was England ruled the rugby world in 2003 followed by South Africa who took over in 2007 then New Zealand twice in 2011 & 2015 & South Africa again at the last Rugby World Cup in 2019)

So that is my 389th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 9th of this year.

Prada Cup final day 2 wrap & reports of the COVID-19 situation

Well, once again, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli are overwhelmingly dominant, continuing where they left off & have not put a foot wrong when they beat strugglers INEOS Team UK in day 2 of the Prada Cup final 2 days ago to go 4 - 0 up (They need 3 wins to win the Prada Cup & they are through to face Emirates Team New Zealand in the 36th America's Cup match but both races have been cancelled yesterday (And possibly tomorrow but Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Who have never lost a race since the last race of the round robin against the Brits & are on a 8 race winning streak (Their winning run began when they beat American Magic in the 1st of 4 semifinal races of the Prada Cup) have done a heap of training during the lock down (So too is the struggling INEOS Team UK & the defenders Emirates Team New Zealand) due to the alert level already being raised to level 3 in the Auckland area (Level 2 for the rest of the country) but this is going to be my last blog because I'm taking an indefinite break due to New Zealand are now on corona virus alert level 2 (That's alert level 3 in the Auckland area (They shut down non essential shops, bars, restaurants & cafes (Except for the rest of the country) but supermarkets & pharmacies remain open) but there are no confirmed cases yesterday & just 2 of them in Auckland (They have set borders up to prevent them from crossing the boundary) today (And remember that we have to be socially distanced because it is the only way to reduce close contact (And they must stay or keep 2 metres clear from anybody else because we want to avoid getting COVID-19) as well as they must wash their hands for 20 seconds & wear face masks in public if possible (The mother, father & daughter have been self quarantined after being infected with the disease over in Auckland (They didn't wear face masks, they didn't wash their hands properly for 20 seconds & they failed to maintain to be socially distanced but all 3 of them got infected were not related to international travel & they might have possibly got the British or South African variant of the virus unlike that woman got in Northland last month that she had got the South African variant & New Zealand had enforced travel bans to all countries since the border shutdown) so the New Zealand government had made a decision yesterday morning to raise the alert level according to the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern & we are now into our 3rd lock down/state of emergency as a result (And it has been a month since a woman had been infected with the disease in Northland but had to self isolate since) for the 1st time since August (And it's been nearly/almost a year since the worldwide pandemic began but there is news in America that the vaccine is going to be available in July this year in 5 months time) but there is a new world record that an 115 year old woman in France managed to survive the corona virus because Dad told me yesterday about it while I was on my way to a checkup at Med lab.

So that is my 388th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 8th of this year.

P.S. I hope Carole & Pops (Well, let's hope they don't get infected) are OK & is expected to come back tomorrow to Whanganui because their holiday is about to be called off (And they sorted out their travel exemption form) meaning that Carole & Pops will miss out on an opportunity to meet Kathryn & Ken but Aunty Tania rang me on the phone 1 week & 2 days ago when Carole & Pops were away that Canada has enforced a curfew (And they got to wear masks all the time & they're aren't allowed to invite people over (They'll be a fine for breaching or should I say breaking COVID-19 rules which are in place) except in the event of a flood & everything is closed except supermarkets & pharmacies) due to the growing number of confirmed cases in the country).

And guess what? The rest of New Zealand is now under alert level 1 (That's alert level 2 in the Auckland area) now as of today (It might have been because of the new vaccine had arrived in the country) but I have announced that I will not take an indefinite break from blogging (I'll continue blogging if I have to) & I was watching the Australian Open tennis today on TV with Pops (Who had an interesting story when he went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground twice in 1996 for a cricket match (Who famously cheered on for Sri Lanka because they were in fact Kiwis as they beat Australia in an ODI leaving several Aussie fans (They sat behind Pops & possibly Aunty Tania) disappointed about the result & they were not happy when they responded after Pops made a comment that Sri Lanka won) & 1998 in a rugby test) & Carole (Naomi Osaka is through to the women's singles final after she produced a dominant victory over her rival Serena Williams (It was at the press conference where Williams said that she is getting too old (It looks like the younger generation of tennis players such as Naomi Osaka have taken over) because she might have to possibly retire from tennis) & Jennifer Brady has reached her 1st grand slam final after winning against Czech opponent Karolina Muchova) & had roast chicken with potatoes & veg for dinner today.

Prada Cup final day 1 wrap (+ My 1st blog since Carole & Pops departure)

Well, the 2021 Prada Cup final is now officially underway as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli dominate the 1st day after winning both races against INEOS Team UK (Who were going into the Prada Cup final as favourites & were on a 5 race winning streak (Which came to a sudden end when Luna Rossa finally able to beat the Brits in a drama filled 1st race yesterday) but they are now strugglers which proved them costly especially the 1st race where they got penalized 3 times during the 1st race for crossing the start line too early & for sailing over the boundary line not once but twice) yesterday but there are both races scheduled for today because Prada are 2 - 0 up & are 5 wins away from winning the Prada Cup & to take a challengers spot in the 36th America's Cup match against the defender Emirates Team New Zealand compared to INEOS Team UK's 7.

And finally, apologies for taking so long since I did my last blog but it is my 1st blog since Carole & Pops (Well, I miss him a lot now anyway along with Carole) left (I have been home alone so I had to look after myself but I'm good at making meals) to go on holiday where they went to Hamilton, Waiheke Island & are about to go to Northland on the 17th then they head to the North Shore on the 20th a day before they go back to Hamilton on the 21st before they head back home to Whanganui on the 22nd (I'll be seeing Pops in 8 days).

So that is my 387th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 7th of this year.

P.S. And I have been watching The Matrix again (The 1st time I have seen that 1st Matrix movie was way back 20 years ago in May 2001 on Sky Movies when I was with my Dad of course (I remember watching it of course) because it was shown on Friday on TVNZ 2 that I had it on record on a mySkyHDI (And I was hoping to get the Matrix trilogy on Blu ray for my 30th birthday (I've finally got The Matrix trilogy on Playstation Video - My Videos on my PS4 to add to my movie collection along with the Star Wars original, prequel & sequel trilogies on Blu-ray as well as The Lord Of The Rings trilogy on Blu-ray also but it's the 1st time I've have owned the entire Matrix movie Trilogy on Playstation Video - My Videos on the PS4 (And I have got 35 PS4 games to go with my music collection consisting of both Red Hot Chili Peppers albums (What Hits & Stadium Arcadium), both Foo Fighters albums (Greatest Hits & Wasting Light) & both Linkin Park albums (Hybrid Theory & Meteora), my America's Cup book collection (Black Magic: Team New Zealand's victorious challenge, Back to back Black Magic, The Team New Zealand Story: 1995 - 2003 & Lone Wolf: How Emirates Team New Zealand stunned the world) & my rugby book collection (Richie McCaw: The Open Side, Richie McCaw 148, Sir Graham Henry celebrates the World Cups: 1987 to 2015 & Champions: Rugby World Cup 2011 All Blacks victory) but I'll be getting the new PS5 gaming console if it's available at EB Games but I'll have to pay it by my BNZ credit card) recorder but I'm also recording The Matrix Reloaded this Friday on TVNZ 2 (I don't have to do it now because I might possibly watch that movie tomorrow on my beloved PS4 Pro) but I'm now a fan of Star Wars, The Lord Of The Rings & of course, The Matrix (Whether you're Luke, Neo, Anakin, Frodo/Aragorn or Rey as part of these universes in those film franchises).