Nothing Else Matters: My 72nd Blog of the year 2025 (AKA my very last blog of the year (The Grand Finale)

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger one last time before we say farewell to this year (Especially the world), but first that in the United States as defectors of the Democratic Party who recently assisted the GOP Senate to pass a law in order to end the government shutdown that lasted about 40 days meaning that America is back in business as usual according to US talk show host Stephen Colbert.

And secondly in the football/soccer department that 3 countries will make their Football/Soccer men's World Cup debuts, such as Cape Verde, then Jordan & Uzbekistan next year (Along with the likes of defending world champions Argentina, IR Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, England, France, Croatia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, & Portugal along with the United States, Canada & Mexico) when football/soccer's global showpiece event in North America is due next year (And even though the All Whites of New Zealand are still in it after securing a successful qualification when we won against New Caledonia by 3 goals to nil at Eden Park in Auckland in front of 25,000 fans back in March this year just to make the trip to the United States, Canada & Mexico to appear our first Football/Soccer men's World Cup since back in 2010, in South Africa (We had all 3 draws against tournament debutants Slovakia, then the defending world champions at the time of Italy, & Paraguay, but didn't make it to the round of 16 meaning that we were the only unbeaten side in the tournament (It was coached by Ricki Herbert & captained by Ryan Nelsen, but featured the likes of Ivan Vicelich, Winston Reid, Shane Smeltz, Tommy Smith, & future All White captain Chris Wood (The Nottingham Forest player who was born in 1991, same year as me & the rest of the famous sports stars born in that year such as Ben Stokes, Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Eben Etzebeth, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Michael Hooper, Portia-Woodman Wickliffe, Ruby Tui, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Marsh, Michael Bracewell, Siya Kolisi, Owen Farrell, Faf de Klerk, Jason Holder, & Matt Henry), but we made our World Cup debut long ago in 1982 (For which New Zealand was coached by Englishman John Adshead, & led by the late English born Steve Sumner which featured the likes of goalkeeper Frank van Hattum, Wynton Rufer & Herbert) in which we suffered all 3 defeats against Brazil, Scotland & the Soviet Union).

And thirdly onto the rugby stuff such as Hong Kong, China, will make their men's Rugby World Cup debut in Australia 2027 after securing qualification, then Spain will appear in rugby's global showpiece event for the first time since their debut in 1999 (They did not make it in 2019 & 2023 (Including a player born in South Africa who was ruled ineligible due to a forged passport which was kind of sad therefore the Spanish got disqualified as their competition points had been deducted as well) due to fielding ineligible players), & Zimbabwe are finally back in the men's RWC arena after 36 years when they competed as they took South Africa's place in the first 2 tournaments long ago in 1987, & way, way back in 1991 which was their last after a solid game in the Africa Cup final against Namibia (Who'll have a second chance of qualification when they take on Samoa (Who became the last side to make the 2027 men's Rugby World Cup after their match against Belgium was a drawn game), Belgium & Brazil in the men's RWC qualification tournament, but they're in danger of missing the tournament for the first time since 1995, 4 years before they made their debut in 1999, & have appeared in every men's Rugby World Cup, right up until 2023).

And finally that it has been 20 years since YouTube was launched in February 2005 where a 19 second clip of German American founder of the video sharing website named Jawed Karim discussing elephants at a zoo that began it all, to now over 20 billion uploaded videos where YouTube has been a central hub of viral sensations over the past 2 decades as the platform has grown to be the 2nd most used social media app, even though with the impact of that platform has had on the entire world for the past 20 years can't be understated on its 20th anniversary, YouTube recently says that since Karim's video was posted, more than 20 billion videos have been uploaded as it has become a global entertainment giant, a career launchpad for millions (And the first YouTube clip that I saw was way back in 2006 that French footballer/soccer player Zinedine Zidane had been involved in an incident during the Football/Soccer men's World Cup final in Berlin, Germany, where he headbutted the Italian defender of Marco Materazzi (The one that he traded insults towards Zidane) who dropped to the ground after being assaulted which was seen by the fourth official, allowing the Argentinian referee (Who sent Englishman Wayne Rooney off during the quarterfinal between England & Portugal which was shades of David Beckham's red card against Argentina way, way back in 1998 in the round of 16 for controversially taken out Diego Simeone in a shocking foul play incident) to show the red card on Zinedine Zidane who ended his football/soccer career on a sour note (He became the 4th after both Argentinians of Gustavo Dezotti & Pedro Monzon also way, way back in 1990, & one of his teammates in international level of Marcel Desailly way, way back in 1998, & before Dutchman Johnny Heitinga in 2010 who was the last player to be red carded in a Football/Soccer men's World Cup final to date), moments before Italy lifted the Football/Soccer men's World Cup trophy for the 4th & most recent time to date, as they took victory on penalties against France).

So that is my 648th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 72nd of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And my last thoughts before we wrap up 2025 in style? See ya next time (Anytime, any place, bring it on!). Bring on 2026! But you guys & girls have a very happy new year, so best wishes & thank you for all of my support covering on my blogs this year, later on (So here's my last story of 2025 that I have revealed (And I always love to share stories on my blogs (Whether its the past, present, or future) like that so it's decent for them that anyone can view it indeed to give my insight over the years that I published articles like that since I started back in 2012) that I always say later or later on instead of the traditional one-liner of see ya, goodbye or bye, which is inspired by the Soulcalibur VI game said by Upbeat Girl who says "Later", or as Luis Lopez's amigo of Armando Torres would always say after Luis purchases weapons from Armando's gun van, "Later on L" (And every time I hear his comment when playing the GTA IV expansion pack of the Ballad of Gay Tony that I was like, "Oi, that's my line!", but I first used that later on line when I first played the TBOGT on the PS3 where I always say it to both the late Nan & Pops from back in 2013, but I've stopped saying it when Nan passed away back in 2016, until I purchased the GTA IV game on Xbox 360 via Xbox Series X console last year meaning that I said it again to Pops every time I go for my walk on Monday, Wednesday & Friday (I go every 6 days from Monday to Saturday except that I don't on Sundays because it is a rest day, & on rainy days (Even though the weather is wet as I fear I might even get soaked), I always say "Right I'm off Pops", then "I should get going", before I say "I'll be back" that is also inspired by my fave movie line taken from the Terminator film series, followed by "Later, later on, later on Pops", & I always say to him every time I go for my walk on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, I also always say "Later Pops", then "I gotta go", before I say "I always come back", followed by "Later then", then finally "Who later man, who later man. OK, bye", inspired by Billy Birmingham AKA the 12th Man during Scene 10: The Commentators Office, taken from the 2001 album, the Final Dig (But I always allude to Pops that he should pick me up when the rain comes, even the weather is overcast), or as Aayla Secura would say in the Star Wars Battlefront II (2005) game, "Carry the force with you, always" (Or as Mace Windu would also say in the same game "I did all I can, may the force be with you" (Or at least Obi-Wan Kenobi would always say "Although I'm leaving, the force will be with you, always").

Something Just Like This: My 71st Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And merry Christmas as well, as I tune in to my penultimate blog of the year 2025), but first that the Black Caps have won the T20 International series 3 - 1 against the West Indies (Who won the 1st T20 international followed by New Zealand who dominated the next two in both Auckland & Nelson before the 4th T20I had to be washed out by abandoning the match) as we decimated them in the 5th & final T20 international at the University Oval in Dunedin which is New Zealand's last T20I (And after that we move on to the ODI series that begins on November 16th at Hagley Oval in Christchurch for the 1st ODI, then at McLean Park in Napier for the 2nd ODI on November 20th, & Seddon Park in Hamilton gears up to host the 3rd & final ODI due on November 23rd) before next year's men's T20 Cricket World Cup in both India & Sri Lanka after a superb 8 wicket win in Dunedin where Jacob Duffy (Who is a Southlander) tore the West Indians apart with a 4fer that he was both the standout player of the match & the player of the series.

And secondly in motor racing news such as the driver lineup for the new Cadillac F1 Team (Which will be powered by a Ferrari engine) due to compete next season in Formula One as the 11th team on the grid that made its 1 billion US dollar gamble, had already been confirmed with former Red Bull driver from Mexico of 'Checo' Perez & an ex-Mercedes AMG driver of Valtteri Bottas as their drivers who both haven't competed since last season, & with Formula 2 bound & former Indycar driver of American Colton Herta had announced that he will be the test & reserve driver for them.

And thirdly that I have revealed a story of me getting hooked into video games when I was young, about the first time I was into gaming was me as a little boy playing MS-DOS computer games back in the 90s such as Doom (I've got all but one Doom games on PlayStation) & IndyCar Racing (And they're about to release a new IndyCar game according to the makers of NASCAR 25 of iRacing that is due next year), but now I'm mainly a console gamer since I own both the PS5 Pro, & the Xbox Series X 2 TB console since last year (And what else have I currently played then? It would have to be Gran Turismo 7 mainly as well as Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., then Rugby League 26 as well as Rugby 25 & Cricket 26 (And others like eFootball, Tekken 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, SoulCalibur VI, Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), Forza Motorsport (2023), & Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4).

And finally onto the music stuff as the Twenty One Pilots song 'Drum Show' which is my fave from the band (Because it used to be 'Stressed Out'), could well be the rock song of the year in 2025 just because I loved that song so much to critical acclaim as it was well received according to a critic saying that it was just an anthemic single by noting the band's drummer being given as one hell of a performance, just like their album hit the shelves in September this year called Breach which had rave reviews from critics.

So that is my 647th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 71st of this year, viva Ukraine.

As Alive As You Need Me To Be: My 70th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And this is my last before Christmas this year which is happening on December the 25th, & we're 4 days away from it as of today, especially our whanau here in New Zealand), but first that there was once another one of the cricket stories on the Captain Courageous programme about Alec 'Stewy' Stewart (He thought about opening the batting in the aftermath of the injury prone English player Alex Tudor (Who had the highest scorer ever by a night watchperson at 99 not out against New Zealand way, way back in 1999) who unfortunately got injured a day before the test on Christmas morning, so a keeper named Warren Hegg had been called up to the squad therefore making his test debut (And if Hegg didn't play, Stewart would've kept the gloves while an extra bowler would've been named in the team meaning that it wasn't easy, but he delivered as the only time Alec Stewart had actually won a test match for England against Australia, as captain) who was the English captain when they sailed to an unlikely win against Australia in the Boxing Day test way, way back in 1998 at the MCG in Melbourne, his only win against the Aussies as England skipper in which he got a century (His top score was 91 over the 8 years of facing the Aussies) in the first innings when he top scored 107 in a match (And he got a half century during the 2nd innings as well in that he got 52) that was a low scoring affair that really was a famous victory for England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia, needing only 14 runs to win, collapsed from 7/208 to all out for 220 and lost by 12 runs. England bowler Dean Headley took the last three wickets for the win, as he had been awarded standout player of the game. The match is renowned for Australia's dramatic batting collapse and England's remarkable turnaround (And that dramatic LB (Leg before) decision from Darren Gough on Aussie number 11 batter Glenn McGrath, had decided the test).

And secondly that I've decided to include all 8 teams that were the world champions in the Football/Soccer men's World Cup (7 former & 1 current) such as Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain & Uruguay in the 2nd season of the Global Champions Cup, as well as season 3 will feature the top 8 of the most recent 2022 tournament in Qatar such as Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, England, France, Morocco, the Netherlands & Portugal of the Global Champions Cup, all whilst playing on the eFootball PS5 game (Well, I thought about downloading the Xbox Series X version of the game, but I decided to stick to PS5 throughout).

And thirdly in league news such as the Kiwis coached by New Zealand league legend Stacey Jones (A former New Zealand Warriors (Who'll begin their season next year against the Sydney Roosters at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, then they host the Dolphins at Sky Stadium in Wellington, as well as the North Queensland Cowboys at the brand spanking new state of the art indoor stadium (Just like Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin where it's the only indoor stadium here in our country until the opening of Te Kaha over in Christchurch due in April next year where they will host Super round (First time since last year where they last held it in Melbourne & first time New Zealand will host it) during the Super Rugby Pacific competition in 2026) which is One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, & the Warriors final regular season game will be against the defending premiers the Brisbane Broncos at home) player who took over from Michael Maguire when he was at the helm in 2023 where New Zealand last triumphed in the Pacific Rugby League Championships (Although there will be no PRLC competition taking place next year due to the League World Cup in Australia & PNG to be held of course (Even though Lang Park (Brisbane Stadium) will host the final of league's global showpiece event for the 3rd time next year after previously hosting it in both 2008 & 2017), but the latest in the league as the Cook Islands become the 10th & last team to qualify for next year's League World Cup with a demoralising win over South Africa there, therefore joining the likes of co-hosts & defending champions Australia, Samoa, New Zealand, England, Lebanon, Tonga, Fiji, as well as another one of the co-hosts of Papua New Guinea, & France as the other qualified teams that made it to next years tournament) against the Kangaroos (Who had a stunning clean sweep in the 3 match Ashes rugby league series against England that Australia featured the likes of the big 4 such as Nathan Cleary (Brother of Jett the Warrior who comes from Ukraine that he plays the national team for because of his grandmother being from there), Cameron Munster, Harry Grant & Reece Walsh) & led by 4 time Premiership winning player who currently plays for the New Zealand Warriors of James Fisher-Harris in the final in Hamilton by 30 points to nil) triumph in the Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup for the 2nd time in 3 years (Well I wanted the Kiwis to win, & they delivered as I watched the 2nd half on the 12th of November, but I watched it again a day later on November 13th, this time it was the last 10 minutes of the game) against Samoa at CommBank Stadium in Sydney, Australia in what was to be a farewell game for Kieran 'Foz' Foran (The 2011 NRL Premiership winning player for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (He began his NRL career there before Foran's last club that he played for was with the Gold Coast Titans in which he made 318 first grade appearances) was the one who was called up to the squad before the tournament as an injury replacement for Jahrome Hughes (The Melbourne Storm player) who had his final swansong of cap off or I should say, sign off his league career before his coaching career begins as an assistant coach for the Sea Eagles that is the team that 'Foz' has played for during his playing career (And the reason why he wanted to retire was his body is not feeling right according to the Fox League show that I saw this year on Sky Sport NZ), but the golden boot winner went to controversial Kiwis five-eighth Dylan Brown (The Newcastle Knights bound player who played for the Parramatta Eels this season) who really was the star of that tournament by having that Reece Walsh caliber that he had during the Broncos successful run to the NRL Premiership this year.

And finally in the music department that I have made a strange decision to include the famous & most popular American heavy metal band of Metallica as my 6th fave rock band to join alongside 5 others as my mains such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Nickelback & U2 due to me always loving that song 'Nothing Else Matters' that was an ode of 1992, as well as having a love affair with the band themselves meaning that I have become a fanatic again after for so long for like 18 years for example which was way back in 2007 along with AC/DC.

So that is my 646th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 70th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And my last thoughts before Christmas? Well, have a good one eh? Right guys? (But later then as well).

The Boys of Summer: My 69th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that there was once a cricket story according to the Captain Courageous programme about the late Hansie Cronje (The one who was suspended for life due to match fixing way back in 2000, 2 years before taking his own life in a plane accident back home in South Africa, but the pronunciation of his name such as originally Johannes seemed to be difficult but tough according to one of the newspaper articles referring to his name, so they had to refer to him as someone else, like Hansie as a nickname for example, but he was the youngest member of the South African team that toured Australia in 1993-94, before becoming the youngest ever skipper of South Africa when he took the reins of former Aussie test player Kepler Wessels (The only member of the South African team with previous test experience than the rest of the players) who took over the captaincy from the injured Wessels as the stand-in captain who unfortunately went home that sent South Africa into a frenzy as they won the test by a narrow margin of five runs as they famously bowled the Aussies out for 111 in the second innings (They were 292 in the first, including one of the Aussie batters of Michael Slater who was 8 runs short of a century) whilst chasing a target of 177 (Even though the South Africans made 169 & 239, then the Aussies had posted 292 in response to their first innings), meanwhile also the late Warnie was instrumental for Australia in the first innings as he took 7 wickets for 56 (27 overs, but he took 5 for 72 (42 overs) in the 2nd innings), but it wasn't enough to secure a win (And there was a fifer from Fanie de Villiers during Australia's 2nd innings with 6/43, but it was a successful caught & bowled attempt from de Villiers had decided the fate of the test), & after that that Cronje went on to captain South Africa for the rest of the tour, including the ODI tri-series in which they came by a whisker of winning it.

And secondly that it's been 20 years since me, the late Nan & Pops went on a holiday in Samoa (20 years! Can you believe it) where I literally enjoyed that experience that I had with both of my grandparents such as the fish scare, me suffering food poisoning after I had a pasta meal that was uncooked, climbing Mount Vaea, as well as ice that it thought it got contaminated, & watching a game of rugby between Samoa against Fiji at Apia Park (And it was really, really hot out there, but we forgot to get our umbrella that it left at Aggie Grey's resort motel), but the key highlight for me during the holiday was getting that Samoa rugby jersey that I used to have despite that fact that it was getting dear.

And thirdly that I just recently rewatched the All Blacks game against the world champions at the time of England at Eden Park in Auckland from way back in 2004 (That was the week after the English were crushed as they got mauled by New Zealand in the first test in Dunedin) in anticipation to the England-AB's test at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in London on November 16th (15th there in the UK for which is our toughest test every damn time the All Blacks embark on a grand slam tour for that is our most significant of the Northern tour this year (And this could be our most difficult but demanding test since the encounter against the Springboks at Sky Stadium in Welly of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in that we lost by a record score according to the estimates, but this could be our 2nd most important test match of the year behind the South Africa one at Eden Park in the City of Sails of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland) when the match was played at Eden Park in Auckland where I only watched the first half that during the 2nd test that one of the English locks of Simon Shaw had been shown the red card for a blatant but deliberate knee to the head of an All Blacks player (Just like Danny Grewcock did for stamping in 1998 during a game at the old Carisbrook ground in Dunedin (It eventually got replaced by Forsyth Barr Stadium when it opened its doors back in 2011 in time for the men's Rugby World Cup tournament), meaning that they played with 14 players for the remainder of the game (And I remember Zaki telling me in 2020 when we watched it on TV meaning that he prefers supposed contests, not sheer humiliations such as blowouts like that thinking about that one), but I managed to watch the highlights including the 2nd half where one of my favourite rugby players back then (Used to be) of All Black winger Joe Rokocoko getting a hat-trick just like against France & the Wallabies way back in 2003, before we even won the test in Graham 'Ted' Henry's 2nd game in charge as coach of the AB's, as well as the series against England of course).

And finally that I prefer rock & metal music from 1991 onwards because of me being born in that year, even though that I'm always mainly listening to Brian FM since 2015 for that was the first time I heard that radio station a year after its launch & the reason why? Because it is ad-free (Compared to the Rock which has ads & stuff, but they have one similar to Brian which is Channel X for that is the mainstream version of Brian FM) + they have the annual Brian FM Reverse Countdown where they play the best tunes (Such as 'War Pigs' from Black Sabbath as the best in the reverse countdown this year followed by 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica as number 2, then number 3 would have to be Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' & 'Come As You Are' by Nirvana is the number 4 song indeed) starting from number one, until the most rubbish song such as 'Achey Breaky Heart' by Miley's dad Billy Ray Cyrus that they ever play at 2,500 for which has been expanded this year, up from the original 2,001.

So that is my 645th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 69th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Six Feet Deep: My 68th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that there's bad news in the gaming department as the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI game has been delayed again to November the 19th next year (Well, that is disappointing according to most hardcore fans who follow GTA, but we're a year & 9 days away as of November 10th today until the new release date had been set) instead (It will be over 13 years since GTA V came out back in 2013 (5 years after the most popular & controversial Grand Theft Auto IV hit the shelves way back in 2008 that had received rave reviews about it to critical acclaim) at the time in 2026).

And secondly onto the music related stuff as the reason why I started to rediscover my love of Metallica (Who I was a fan of way back in 2007 along with AC/DC due to me mainly listen to the Rock when I moved here with Dad, his 2nd partner, his 2nd partner's family & Jans (That was before Brian FM arrived back in 2014 where it launched where it is an ad-free radio station that plays mainly rock & 80's music, some rap, & some rave going on here, but it's similar to Chom FM in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where they play classic rock there as Rejean told me before last year, as well as Channel X which is the mainstream version of Brian FM, but it broadcasts through to 16 markets such as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin, but not Whanganui because it's got Brian in it, & Channel X does not have its cult following, compared to Brian FM (By far my fave radio station of the entire planet, but I listen to the rock every Saturday nights (Except on Christmas & New Year period) again is because of the song 'Nothing Else Matters' being always played on Brian meaning that it's by far my favourite Metallica song (It used to be 'Enter Sandman' first, then 'One' & 'Wherever I May Roam') now, but there is a story of me starting to follow my love of Nickelback again despite the hostility between them & the fans (And they're like U2, but they are somehow controversial according to the doco film that was released in 2023 of Hate to Love: Nickelback for which I previously mentioned in my blogs last year), is the song 'How You Remind Me' which is my fave song from the band, but 'Savin' Me' is better, while I like both 'Someday' & Photograph' as the other songs from my favourite rock band from Canada (Compared to U2 being my fave band from Ireland because of my favourite song from the band themselves is 'Beautiful Day', but I like 'Vertigo', 'One', 'The Fly', 'Mysterious Ways' & 'Even Better Than the Real Thing' as well, so that's why I'm also in love of supporting U2, needless to say), especially the Greatest Hits Vol.1 album that I've still got also in my bedroom (And it was after 9/11 that the fans were told to show hostility towards the Canadian rockers, so that's why that they bore hatred towards them when they betrayed at each other).

And thirdly that I used to be a wrestling follower, but somehow I've lost interest on it, mainly due to not playing WWE 2K25 recently, as well as Tiffany 'Tiffy Time' Stratton's utter dominance in the women's division of the WWE had seemed to be unchallenged since a year ago when at that moment, became the WWE Women's champion (In which she is still been as the champ since, following her decisive win against her former friend Nia Jax because of Stratton (Who is WWE's equivalent of AEW's Aussie-Kiwi female champion wrestler Toni Storm (Formerly used to wrestle for the World Wrestling Entertainment), & comes from a bodybuilding background in her home state of Minnesota, so that's why that the current partner of Ludwig Kaiser inspired to become a pro wrestler) successfully initiated her Money in the Bank contract (And countless championships had been defended, including her overwhelmingly dominant victory against wily old veteran Charlotte Flair (Who is in a vendetta with Canadian Chelsea Green & the Secret Hervice consisting of both Alba Fyre (Chelsea's security manager) & Piper Niven (Chelsea's assistant security manager) at WrestleMania XLI in the battle of the blonde bombshells, but a couple of months ago she has hired Stephanie Vanquer to be Tiffy Time's security manager as well as her personal protector in order to take advantage of Tiffany (Who is by far the most overwhelmingly dominant & dangerous female wrestler ever to step into the wrestling ring, compared to Roman Reigns who used to be also by far wrestling's most dangerous & ultra competitive man when he held the Undisputed WWE Championship for 1,316 days, until he lost to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 last year, but I somehow label Stratton as the female Iron Sheik (Arguably by far the best male villain in WWE history), just like the former New Zealand Prime Minister from back in 2017, until the year before in 2023 of Jacinda Ardern who was once labelled as the female Winston Churchill, & she is way worse than both Michelle McCool & Victoria in terms of being the top villainess in the world of WWE wrestling) whoever she loses in situations like that against most favourable wrestlers, like Giulia for example, even in title matches anytime), & Seth Rollins (Husband of defending Women's Intercontinental champion Becky Lynch (The one who defeated fellow Irishwoman Lyra Valkyria (Who is born on the same year as female Aussie wrestler Rhea 'Mami' Ripley (Who was involved in 2023 where she beat Charlotte Flair for the WWE Smackdown Women's title at Wrestlemania 39 in one of easily, if not the greatest women's wrestling matches of all-time during the Grandest Stage of Them All, compared to the late Hulk Hogan's encounter against also the late Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3 way back in 1987 in one of the greatest matches of all time at the Showcase of the Immortals) way, way back in 1996, & she was the one who lost to Aussie American Nia Jax during the Queen of the Ring crown in 2024 when Nia at that significant moment, had Lyra on the ropes just to beat her & win, then to take that crown as she became Queen of the Ring) to the Women's IC crown, but Becky dissed the late Ozzy Osbourne during a show on Raw that offended the Osbourne family, especially the late Ozzy's wife Sharon & their children of Kelly & Jack) forming the villainous tag team stable of the Vision consisting of him, Bron Breakker (Former Intercontinental champion currently held by Rey's son, 'Dirty' Dominik Mysterio whose hairdo had drawn inspiration from the late 'Latino Heat' of Eddie Guerrero (It's been 20 years since his sudden passing that happened way back in 2005, 20 years! I can't believe it anyway, but his last televised match was against Mr Kennedy for a qualification spot at Survivor Series in which he qualified anyway after Mr Kennedy got disqualified in which the late 'Latino Heat' was always lying, cheating & stealing, but he struck him with a unprotected chair shot to the head which is deemed to be prohibited as of today due to the fact that it's dangerous, before his sudden passing which mourned the wrestling world as there were calls to introduce the talent wellness guidelines being set up by the WWE for which had been successful, & there was a show on Raw after 'Latino Heat' took his own life that Rey Mysterio won against 'HBK' Shawn Michaels (The one who ended Naitch's wrestling career when he beat him at Wrestlemania XXIV way back in 2008 as he famously said to him by uttering the words "I'm sorry, I love you", before he took Charlotte's dad Ric Flair out with his patented Sweet Chin Music finisher, then he won of course with a lateral press) in a one on one singles wrestling match, & he dedicated his victory by paying tribute to his late friend) who is good friends with Dominik's dad ironically) & Bronson Reed (Also a Former Intercontinental champ), but his resurgence to the top began when he beat CM Punk (The one who beat Jey Uso for the title several months ago) for the WWE World Heavyweight crown at Summerslam (That was the night before Cody Rhodes (Who will play United States Air Force pilot Guile in the Street Fighter movie due for release next year as he appears alongside his old rival Roman Reigns as Akuma/Gouki, & Aquaman actor Jason Momoa will play Blanka (There are others portraying their roles such as Noah Centineo as Street Fighter world champion Ken Masters, as well as Andrew Koji as the main protagonist of Street Fighter of Ryu, & Callina Liang as Chun-Li, the Chinese police detective) would finally get his own medicine for vengeance of at last, beating the retirement bound John Cena to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship when Cody famously lost to both Cena & the championship in controversial circumstances at WM XLI), before being ousted by his own tag team stable after both Brekker & Reed betrayed him for not following orders of taking a wrestler down.

And finally that there was once a cricket story about Pakistan's pathway to success in the 1992 men's Cricket World Cup began (Although the Pakistanis did lose their seamer (Or seam bowler I should say) of Waqar Younis with an injury even before the tournament got underway) as they lost their tournament opener against the West Indies before going on to beat Zimbabwe, then they lost 3 on the bounce against England, then rivals India, & the returning South Africa before beating the defending champions & co-hosts at the time Australia to stave themselves from elimination as well as they defeated the co-hosts of New Zealand not once but twice, including the semi that rescued 'Inzy' ul-Haq's performance with the bat that put them through to the final against England (Who would appear in their last final until 2019 in that they won against the Black Caps in a super over which was heartbreaking for our nation once again just like the 2015 defeat against Australia (Who would last appear in the final until 2023 where they won a record 6th men's Cricket World Cup crown where they pulled off the Ahmedabad heist against the hosts at the time of India (Who were shattered by the defeat on their home patch, a year before going on to become champions of the T20 cricket world against South Africa who would gone on to claim the World Test Championship this year (After 27 years where it took so long for them to win an ICC tournament), then the Champions Trophy a year later against us even though we were without our star bowler of Matt Henry who unfortunately got injured in the semifinal win over South Africa) in Ahmedabad in front of 132,000 people as the Aussies managed to silence the Indian fanatics in the crowd) in Melbourne in front of 87,182 people that the Pakistanis (Who obviously ran like cornered tigers during the tournament, & they delivered) won by 22 runs, therefore finally at last won the tournament following a standout player of the match performance from one of the real stars of cricket in the 90's period alongside the late Aussie cricketer Shane Warne of Wasim Akram who was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with his figures of 3 wickets for 49 runs as well as being handy with the bat when he scored 33 runs of 19 deliveries, as the 1992 final turned out to be captain Imran Khan's perfect send off to his illustrious cricket career, even though with his victory also turned out to be the most satisfying moment of his life as a cricketer according to the Captain Courageous programme that is about the skippers from opposing countries which were successful during their cricket tour to Australia that I saw in Sky Sport.

So that is my 644th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 68th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. So close, no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

Downstairs: My 67th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that it looks like that Britain's Lando Norris (McLaren) who maybe well be on a chance of claiming his maiden Formula One World Championship (In which he'll attempt to become the 1st Brit to win the title since current Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton who last did it in 2020), & put an end to the utter dominance of Dutchman Max Verstappen who became world champion for the last 4 seasons after pulverising the rest of the field to take the easiest of wins in Mexico therefore heading to Brazil at Interlagos who gears up to host the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for a crucial race there (And I don't know whether Liam Lawson could return to Red Bull to replace Yuki Tsunoda (He might be going to IndyCar there as the list of Japanese drivers crossing over such as former Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato), or if he had chosen to stay for his most favoured constructor of RB Racing Bulls for next season) where it is the home race of last year's F2 champion as well as F1 rookie of Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto (And there hasn't been a Brazilian driver who had raced in a home Grand Prix since Felipe Massa back in 2017) in which the Brazilian crowd will be cheering him on throughout the entire Grand Prix (And the latest in F1 as both McLarens of Oscar Piastri who finished 2nd behind the winner of Max Verstappen & current World Championship leader Lando Norris who narrowly missed out on a podium finish had been disqualified in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear, therefore Norris's lead in the World Championship had been trimmed to 24 going into the next race in the penultimate round of the season in Qatar (And here is the equation that if Lando will have to require of beating Max, & has a favourable result if Verstappen gets a DNF meaning that maiden championship is his for the very first time as he is desperately attempting to end the championship reign of Max Verstappen that lasted since 2021 throughout, & become the first Brit since Lewis Hamilton in 2020 to claim the F1 crown).

And secondly onto the rugby related stuff that it's been a decade since the late All Black Jonah Lomu (And how many times have I mentioned him on my blogs? I did that countless number of times about him) who was by far the greatest rugby player of all-time hands down (And he was our national sporting hero of our country of New Zealand back then along with Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Sir Richard Hadlee, the late Martin Crowe, the late Sir Peter Blake, Sir Russell Coutts & Peter Burling, compared to Brazil that they used to have both the late Pele & the late Ayrton Senna, India which used to have Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar & Virat Kohli, Australia that used to have the late Sir Don Bradman, the late Shane Warne, Wally Lewis, John Eales & Jimmy Spithill, the United States which used to have the late Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady & Dennis Conner, Canada that used to have both Wayne Gretzky & Jacques Villeneuve, Germany used to have Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthaeus, Philipp Lahm & Michael Schumacher, the UK has Sir Lewis Hamilton, Kiwi born Ben Stokes, Jonny Wilkinson & Sir Ben Ainslie, Argentina used to have the late Diego Maradona, but they have Lionel Messi, France used to have both Didier Deschamps & Zinedine Zidane, but they also have Kylian Mbappe & Antoine Dupont, Switzerland used to have Roger Federer, Spain used to have Rafael Nadal & Andres Iniesta, but they have Fernando Alonso, Portugal used to have the late Eusebio, but they currently have Cristiano Ronaldo, Serbia has both Novak Djokovic & Nikola Jokic, Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, South Africa used to have Francois Pienaar, & John Smit, but has both Siya Kolisi & Temba Bavuma, Japan has Shohei Ohtani & Michael Leitch, Italy once had both Gianluigi Buffon & Giorgio Chellini, but has Gigi Donnarumma, Pakistan once had both Imran Khan & Wasim Akram, & the Netherlands once had Ruud Gullit & Marco van Basten, but they currently have Max Verstappen), had passed away young aged 40 in Auckland back in 2015 (Same year that Jerry Collins also passed away in a tragic accident in France when a bus collided a car that took him, & his Canadian partner's life, even though the deceased couple's daughter managed to survive the impact, but she is now raised in Canada by her relatives) mainly due to a cardiac arrest related to the kidney disease that he picked up throughout his life which was a bit tragic & heartbreaking, so he was a loyal servant as well as a true legend of New Zealand rugby while he did all he can when he came so close of becoming the youngest ever men's Rugby World Cup winning player (But that honour went to South Africa's Frans Steyn way back in 2007) where New Zealand had fallen short against South Africa (Who had the late Lomu's friend off the field of Joel Stransky kicked the winning field goal during extra time that united the host country, as well as their leader of the late Nelson Mandela who attended the final according to the previous blogs that I did) in the final at Ellis Park in Joburg during the final of the 1995 men's Rugby World Cup, but his legendary moments were bumping off Mike Catt to score his 1st of 4 tries in the semi against England in one of his all-time best performances in the black jersey way, way back in 1995 (A year before being part of the Blues squad that won the inaugural Super 12 championship also way, way back in 1996 when they beat the Sharks in the final at Eden Park in Auckland) that made him a household name of the sport here in our country, & of course, last but not least, he scored the winning try against the Wallabies also way back in 2000 (Same year that he helped Wellington win the NPC title against Canterbury in the final at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, including swatting off Marika Vunibaka a few times before he made it all the way to the try line to score) in Sydney, Australia in front of over 109,000 people in attendance if not one of the greatest ever rugby tests of the century.

And thirdly that there was once a gaming story about the Mortal Kombat series (Founded by Ed Boon (The creator of the franchise whose fave fighting game series is Tekken in that he loves to play it during his spare time, thinking that he is a gamer himself) for which I've got it on both the PS4 (I mainly play that version, but I used to) & PS5 versions of the game called Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, but my fave character would always be Johnny Cage who is the famous Hollywood A-lister as he uses his martial arts skills by putting himself to the test when he enters the mysterious Mortal Kombat tournament for which I clocked it twice, one on the Arcade version of the 1st MK game & the other on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version (For which is easier than the arcade version) of the same game) when they released the 1st Mortal Kombat game that has parents terrified & senators who were shocked about the high impact violence system that has concerned young gamers, & after all of that kerfuffle, embarrassment & frustration surrounding the controversy of the series that the Entertainment Software Rating Board had been formed since that fateful moment regarding to legislation makers in the United States who reluctantly agreed upon most circumstances.

And finally in the rugby department that the sports governing body of World Rugby is announcing a crack down on teams who wear green like Ireland for example play against teams who wear red also like Wales for example in a bid to address people who are colourblind beginning from the 2027 men's Rugby World Cup just to avoid CVD (Colour vision deficiency) sufferers who see double by helping them see things easier (And they had already been implemented since last year where the Welsh wore their away kit against South Africa's predominantly green jersey while the Irish wore green kits against Wales's red kit for the last time at a Six Nations match in 2024 before they enforced of coming down hard on teams wearing green against teams wearing red kits thinking that a colourblind person says it's either green against green or red against red).

So that is my 643rd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 67th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Lucy: My 66th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the cricket news such as the Black Caps claim a stunning clean sweep over England 3 - 0 in the series for the first time since 1983 where we dominated the 1st ODI in Mount Maunganui by 8 wickets (English captain Harry 'Brooky' Brook was the standout player of the game as a result of his ton that he had during the 1st innings), then the 2nd & 3rd One Day Internationals in Hamilton & Wellington where we won by 5 & 2 wickets respectively with Blair Tickner (Who was called up to the squad to replace the injured Kyle Jamieson (Who is a bit of a lookalike of the New Zealand Formula One driver of Liam Lawson because he used to look like the younger version of the late Tony 'Greigy' Greig) picking up the standout player of the game award in the last 2 ODI's for his figures of 4 for 34 (2nd One Day International) & 4 for 64 with the ball as well as 18 not out with the bat (3rd ODI) while the standout player of the series went to Daryl Mitchell where he was not out in the first 2 One Day Internationals with an unbeaten 78 (1st ODI) & an unbeaten 56 (2nd One Day International).

And secondly in the league that the Kiwis (Our main talisman is Canberra's Joseph Tapine) are into the final of the Pacific Rugby League Championship against Samoa (Who has the Premiership winning Brisbane Broncos player of Payne Haas as its star talisman) at CommBank Stadium in Sydney after we just thrashed the Tongans 40 - 14 at Eden Park in Auckland a fortnight after beating the Samoans (Who would gone on to annihilate the Tongans 34 points to 6 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in Haas's emotional homecoming, but I saw Samoan flags when me & Pops went to Trafalgar Square on the 8th of November as they show support of the Toa Samoa national rugby league team who are playing against New Zealand over across the ditch a day later) at Go Media Stadium also in Auckland.

And thirdly that Saturday will always be my day of going to town with Pops such as the River Traders Market that takes place every week on a Saturday (I go to the Burrow to purchase a regular croissant for morning tea to have), then Trafalgar Square where I also always go to EB Games (Where I've purchased an 8 MB PS2 memory card that I've got on the 1st of November at EB), then the Warehouse but I always buy a sushi at Ocggi Sushi for lunch & a pie for Sunday lunch at Woolworths such as a butter chicken one, as well as the Vinyl Room where I browse around for music stuff, & lastly I go to Cash Converters where I would buy a good old PlayStation 2 game to add to my retro gaming collection.

And finally onto the rugby related stuff that no side in history during the Super Rugby Pacific era that they had their second successful defence of the SRP Championship, even though with the Crusaders (Who were champions in the first 2 editions in 2022 & 2023 ala Team New Zealand in 1995 in San Diego, then 2000 on home soil in Auckland before renaming ourselves to Emirates Team New Zealand following our loyal defeat to Swiss syndicate Alinghi way back in 2003, 14 years before winning back the Auld Mug in Bermuda 2017, then we had our second successful defence in Auckland 2021 for that was blighted by the COVID pandemic, & finally at last, winning 3 times in a row (For that South Africa will attempt to do that in Australia 2027 that no side has ever won a 3rd straight men's Rugby World Cup (The closest was the All Blacks back in 2019 in which we fell short against England in the semifinal when the tourney was held in Japan) in which we successfully completed a hat-trick during modern day history in Barcelona, Spain) are seeking their 4th title during the current era (They would went on to regain the crown this year under Rob Penney who was reappointed (Also ala Sir 'Ted' Henry after the 2007 quarterfinal loss that the All Blacks bounced back to win the men's Rugby World Cup back in 2011, even though we lost our star talisman Dan Carter & his understudy Colin Slade through groin injuries which their tournament had been cruelly cut short) after an unsuccessful season last year which gone on in their rival of the Blues way (The Blues would lose in a semi to the dominant Crusaders side, but are they thinking vengeance? Well, the Blues are also seeking to regain the title next season that the Crusaders won in 2025, but the Bulls (Who currently compete in the United Rugby Championship) was the only side other than the Crusaders to regain a full Super Rugby crown, & it was way back in 2009 a year after the Crusaders did it also way back in 2008 (That was the year also after the Bulls first won Super 14 way back in 2007).

So that is my 642nd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 66th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Can't Slow Down: My 65th Blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that I was rewatching both old rugby matches involving the Scots & the AB's, such as the one in 1995 in the quarterfinal where 20,000 screaming fanatics (And there even wasn't a full capacity) came to Loftus Versfeld to witness a high scoring affair where 78 points have been scored by both sides, including a double from All Blacks second-five Walter Little (A New Zealander of Fijian descent, & is a relative of brothers who were Fijian internationals Nicky & Lawrence, while he has a son named Michael (Cousin of James) who is a rugby player (He used to play for North Harbour in the NPC & the Sunwolves (Currently defunct as of today) in Super Rugby) just like his famous dad) that made the difference of New Zealand reaching the semi against England, & the other in 2007 during a pool game at Murrayfield where the All Blacks (Who had to wear silver jerseys that were deemed to be a faux pas in terms of fashion for that was considered the worst) put 40 points on Scotland who hardly even got points on the board during the full 80 minutes.

And secondly that so many sporting events to look forward to such as the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy where the crowds will be fully able to attend the events 4 years after the last Winter Games took place in Beijing, China, with 0 fans mainly due to COVID in 2022, then the men's T20 Cricket World Cup will take place in both India & Sri Lanka (Although Pakistan will play all of their matches there due to them refusing to play in India as a result of political tensions between the 2 countries) with the Indians will be able to defend their title, having won the previous edition in the West Indies & the United States in 2024, & while the big one will be the Football/Soccer men's World Cup being staged in North America such as the United States, Canada & Mexico with 48 sides taking part (Up from 32 from the previous tournament in Qatar 2022 where Argentina led by its inspirational captain Lionel Messi (Who would finally be able to become a World Cup winning captain 36 years after his late idol of Diego Maradona who lifted the trophy aloft) were crowned champions of the world over the reigning champions at the time of France in the final on penalties for which was by far one of the greatest Football/Soccer men's World Cup finals of all-time, in Lusail, as only 32 will go through to the historic first ever round of 32, then 16 advance through to the round of 16, before 8 teams take part in the quarters, while 4 will contest the semi, as well as both losing semifinalists take part in the bronze final, & both winning semifinalists contest the final with only one world champion to be crowned), as well as the scaled down Commonwealth Games takes place in Glasgow (Originally held in the state of Victoria in Australia, but they had a change of plans due to a budget blowout just like Durban, South Africa were originally going to host it in 2022, until Birmingham in England took over the hosting rights from them) in Scotland for the first time since 2014, & the League World Cup being held in Australia & Papua New Guinea 4 years after the last one in England where the Kangaroos emerged the victors over 1st time finalists Toa Samoa (Who became the first side in history from the Pacific Islands, to make the big dance) in the grand final at Manchester last time out.

And thirdly that I must've pre-ordered both the PS4 & PS5 versions of Cricket 26 at EB Games which is due for release on November 20th a day before the Ashes cricket series gets underway in Perth between current holders Australia (It looks like Steve Smith will captain the side, in the absence of regular skipper of Pat Cummins who is unavailable through injury), & England (Led by New Zealand born Ben Stokes in which the English haven't held the Ashes since back in 2018, & it's been a decade since England had last won the Ashes also since back in 2015, although former All Black turned presenter Jeff Wilson who doesn't know which side to pick, but I'm rooting for England since I have family roots from there, especially the Faithfull whanau as well as the now late Carole) in the West test at Perth Stadium for the highly anticipated 1st Ashes test taking place on the 21st to the 25th of November this year.

And finally the latest in Football/Soccer as the iconic San Siro Stade Giuseppe Meazza ground in Milano, Italy for which is the home of both clubs of AC Milan & Inter Milan is closing down therefore being replaced by a new 70,000 seat stadium which will open in 2030 so that they can host a Euros game when the tournament is held in both Italy & Türkiye in 2032, 4 years after the UK & the Republic of Ireland plays host to Euro 2028 because it seemed to be turning into a scrapheap according to the newspaper article on Whanganui Chronicle that I saw before recently (And the British city of Manchester unveiled plans of a new 100,000 seater football/soccer stadium similar to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne in terms of capacity called New Trafford dubbed as 'The Wembley of the North' as it seeks to replace Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, but they have encountered a delay when it has been hit by a fresh financial blow as the UK government have previously backed the project with the Treasury recently making a decision on their funding for the new stadium).

So that is my 641st blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 65th of this year, viva Ukraine.