Days Go By: The Unpredictable Story Of Valerie Adams

Last night, it was the 19th of September, 2012 (A month has passed since the London Olympics ended), at The Cloud in Auckland when Valerie Adams had recieved the gold medal in the women's Olympic Shot Put (Which I already mentioned that Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus, DQ'ed for a drug testing failure from last month before other athletes apart from Adams got the Silver & Bronze awarded by a Russian athlete, Evgenia Kolodko & another competitor from China, Lijao Gong, respectively) from His Excellency, the Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae before the national anthem is being played. And those attended the gold medal ceremony are fellow Olympic gold medalists Mahe Drysdale (Men's single sculls rowing), the dynamic duo of Bond & Murray (Men's rowing pair), Lisa Carrington (Women's K-1 200 metres kayak), Team Jolly (the women's 470 class sailing duo of Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie), Joseph Sullivan (One half of the Men's double sculls rowing with Nathan Cohen) & other fellow olympic medalists like Sarah Walker who got silver in the women's BMX cycling.

Then rewind to the All Blacks - Springboks encounter at Forsyth Barr Stadium (Which is offically opened for business last year, but it is the 1st time that the AB's have played at a new venue which is a year & a month old now), so let's see how the match was analyzed:

17th minute: Morne Steyn puts the Sprongboks a 3 - 0 lead.

Nek minute (5 - 3): Israel Dagg scores!!! But Aaron Cruden not able to add the something extras (And New Zealand have now scored an 103rd straight try in the match).

40th minute (1st half): Half time is signalled when Morne Steyn misses the penalty after being awarded the penalty when an touch judge did see an infringement by Tony Woodcock at the lineout.

40th minute (2nd half): And 2nd half is about to start.

47th minute (5 - 8): And Bryan Habana crosses the corner for an outstanding try (His 43rd of his career) with explosive speed & skill efforts but the woes continue for Morne Steyn as the conversion attempts slips wide off the posts.

51st minute (8 - 8): Cruden has no problem from the kicking tee to level the scores.

59th minute (13 - 8): Replacement scrum-half Aaron Smith spots a gap and gets past through the defence to touch down for a try.

Nek Minute (15 - 8): And finally, Cruden adds the something extras to give the AB's some more breathing room.

63rd Minute: Uh-oh! Touch Judge has saw something when the Springboks replacement prop Dean Greyling has been yellow carded for 10 minutes after delivering a cheap shot to the victim, AB's captain Richie McCaw with a forearm to the opponent's face according to the replay (And I wonder that Greyling should be New Zealand's public enemy No.2 behind numero uno: Wallaby fly-half Quade Cooper) but Aaron Cruden's penalty attempt went wide as New Zealand still lead 15 to 8.

69th Minute (15 - 11): Johan Goosen did have a great penalty by bringing South Africa back in range after a long-range effort also falls short of the posts.

74th Minute (18 - 11): Cruden critical edges NZ nearer victory with just his 2nd victory

80th Minute (21 - 11): Aaron Cruden sets the seal on the AB's victory (Although the AB's have seriously denied South Africa a bonus point) with another penalty after having one last go at the posts when they awarded another penalty as the hooter sounds after the All Blacks power forward when Cruden's penalty kick hits the upright & bounces back into play after Springbok Andries Bekker was penalised for not releasing at the breakdown but the AB's won't take the game deep into the Boks' half.

And finally, the Pumas of Argentina almost won as they were leading 19 - 6 after a Juan Martin Hernandez penalty goal, the Wallabies, were 13 points down, are starting to make a comeback trail thanks to 2 tries scored by Pat McCabe & Digby Ioane and Berrick Barnes taking both conversions to lead 20 - 19 before they awarded a penalty with who will decide to change the goal kicker after Berrick Barnes came off the field in the 70th, whether it's Cooper or Kurtley Beale? And Kurtley Beale was chosen to take the penalty shot at goal and he did, denying Argentina an iron maiden win in the Rugby Championship with the Wallabies secured just their 2nd win of the Championship.

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Last week on Friday (The day after the A-League franchise Sydney FC had signed a 37 year old Italian Football Superstar, Alessandro Del Piero for a contract worth 2 years which cost about $5,000,000 + Del Piero confirmed to debut for his new club when they hit New Zealand to take on the Wellington Phoenix in the season opener of the A-League), where me & Dad did go to Trafalgar Square to look at both EB Games & The Warehouse (Motto: Where everyone get's a bargain) + had Macca's for breakfast for the 3rd time (Had hunger buster menu & had hotcakes when we got home because I have not tried these McDonald's hotcakes for like several years ago), then Nan & Pops picked me up to go to the Brick House 1st when I had chicken curry and dessert was chocolate cheesecake (The cheesecake is my personal fav dessert) before heading to UCOL to catch up for a cooking class (Gina Wagstaffe was here along with the Chinese students) and we were making custard tarts (Which tasted like it wasn't bad) then 1 day later, went to the Astral Chaos: Cooks Gardens (The CG) for another Heartland Rugby Championship game which the current Meads Cup champions Wanganui won 42 - 3 (+ We got the bonus point) against the reigning Lochore Cup champions Poverty Bay with tries scored by Vaan Rauhina (Who got 2), Andrew Retallick, Asalemo 'Ace' Malo & newcomer Saul Chase with Mark Davis got all the conversions but the match was like at the 25th minute that downpour had came through the playing field (Making it difficult to play such as handling the ball would cause a handling error like that), and after our victory in the Heartland Championship, we went home to wait for the All Blacks to play Argentina but a few hours later it was on before the national anthems was played and the traditional All Blacks Maori haka was performed and after that, the matched kicked off minutes before Cruden struck the AB's 1st with a penalty, putting them 3 points to nothing until when the big veteran Argentine prop of Rodrigo Roncero scored the 1st try of the match but the conversion was hit between the posts until Argentina was penalised allowing Aaron Cruden to hit back the lead (6 - 5) before halftime, and after halftime, both teams are eager to prepare for the 2nd half, nek minute, there was a blackout (Or should I say, power outage), causing the Cake Tin to switch the floodlights off because it was failed before it was fully restored 15 minutes ago and the lights are indeed back to full strength before play resumes with the 2nd half when Ma'a Nonu gets the All Blacks up to speed, support from Kieran Read but absolutely smashed/pummeled from JM (Juan Martin) Hernandez on Conrad Smith brings an abrupt end to the manouver so let's see how the match unfolds:

51st minute: Cruden edges the All Blacks further ahead with the first points of the second half after in the 49th minute that los Pumas was penalised at the breakdown and Cruden did have the chance to give his side some more breathing room.

58th minute: New Zealand have the penalty after a quick tap from Aaron Smith when the ball is spun wide before the ball is deliberately knocked down by Julio Farias surely stopping a try when Farias is shown yellow by the referee of that game, Romain Poite of France (Poite also recieved a yellow card to that Irish player, Rob Kearney when Ireland suffered a 60 - 0 heavy defeat against the AB's in June way back) so Aaron Cruden went for the 3 pointer but uh-oh! He missed after Cruden manages to hit both posts with the penalty kick before it bounces back into play but frantic passage of play.

67th minute: The All Blacks score the 1st try of the 2nd half when Conrad Smith and Nonu combine to create the opening for Julian Savea to score in the corner but Cruden's wide with the conversion attempt.

72nd minute: Another try was scored by NZ after a set play from the scrum and Cory Jane is the beneficiary out wide, but in the 73rd minute, Cruden has managed to nail the extras

74th minute: There is a new All Black prop when Charlie Faumuina became the 1,116th All Black by replacing Owen Franks for the remainder of the match when New Zealand cruised to victory with a score of 21 - 5 moments before Australia tasted it's 1st victory of the new Rugby Championship beating South Africa in a tight game 26 - 19 with prop Ben Alexander scoring the match winner in the 68th minute and of course, center Berrick Barnes successfully adding the conversion to add 2 extra points on offer.

And on Monday, went back here to the Citadel of San Raphael (15A Kells Avenue) for dinner/dessert as part of Nan's birthday celebrations (for dinner was roast lamb with roast kumara wedges and plum tabbouleh & for dessert was hot lava cakes with chocolate eclair ice-cream as well as chocolate cheescakes that Dad bought and we did have an apero before dinner is served (I had cucumber dip with peanuts, crackers & creaming soda for drinks) as well as watching the news that Mitch Evans (Labelled the new 'Scott Dixon' and mentor of Australian F1 race car driver Mark Webber) has won the GP3 Series title (And after winning the GP3 title, Evans will next year compete in GP2).

1 Day later on the 11th anniversary of September 11th, 2011, The All Whites played against the Solomon Islands (Which has got Benjamin Totori who was already signed on with the A-League franchise, the Wellington Phoenix after being impressed by the Phoenix/All Whites coach, Ricki Herbert) in the 2014 FIFA World Cup OFC Qualifier 3rd round and we did beat them by 6 goals to 1 at North Harbour Stadium (The goalscorers were: Shane Smeltz, Kosta Barbarouses, Chris Killen, Tony Lochhead, Chris Wood & Marco Rojas).

Yesterday, Me & my father went back to Trafalgar Square once again since last Friday & bought a new game for the PS3 (Playstation 3) but the game was never released until today (Well, Dad now has got the game and I cannot wait for this until I get back) before having McDonald's for lunch and we wen't home and had steak schintzel, eggs & onions for dinner last night.

And now today, I have got to finish my 11th blog for today after going swimming, did the vaccuming outside (Watered the vegetable plants), reading listeners and having lunch (Leftover chow mein with canned tomatoes & toast) & afternoon tea (Chai tea & the last of the ginger crunch) before dinner time (We are having Caesar salad and dessert is custard tarts, rhubarb & cream).

P.S. (BREAKING NEWS REPORT): Piri Weepu confirmed to start (Along with Andrew Hore (For Mealamu), Sam Whitelock (Retallick) & Liam Messam (Vito) with Tamati Ellison in the reserves/bench) as once again the 1st choice half-back after Aaron Smith reportedly broke the team's rules & regulations thus ending the All Black half-back debacle (The debacle began after the events of the AB's RWC 2011 victory when Piri Weepu was seriously overweight at Christmas time before the start of the new Super Rugby season, and when he discovered that he was unfit due to being plagued his weight problems, his All Black chances had gone up in smoke due to his poor form (The Blues had recorded losses) when Steve Hansen, the coach, had decided to pick newcomer Aaron Smith as the new 1st choice All Black half-back, displacing Weepu to 2nd choice but after the All Blacks - Pumas game, A reversal had been made with Smith broke a team-imposed curfew, allowing Weepu to start for the upcoming Rugby Championship match against the Springboks (With new lock, Eben Etzebeth suspended for a head-butt on Wallaby lock, Nathan Sharpe (Now filling in as Wallabies skipper following injuries to Will Genia (Who was the stand-in skipper for the injured David Pocock, but was now recently injured in a match after damaging his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) & Pocock (Injured when we beat them in Sydney) for James Horwill (Ruled out due to a season ending injury) & once again, becoming the 1st choice half-back for the 1st time since the Rugby World Cup when Weepu 1st became 1st choice half-back following Dan Carter's famous groin injury which ruled him out of the tournament + It will be next week when Valerie Adams (Originally a silver medalist in the women's shot put when Nadzeya Ostapchuk got the gold but got DQ'ed for a positive test which was a drug testing failure which caused Ostapchuk to be stripped of her gold medal by ending her Olympics campaign in disgrace) will recieve her gold medal next week in Auckland presented by His Excellency, The NZ Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae (Those will be attending at the ceremony are fellow Olympic gold medalists Mahe Drysdale, Hamish Bond, Eric Murray, Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie).

Jansen's Birthday Blog (London 2012 Olympics Report)

Today is Jansen's birthday & I have not been doing a blog ever since Nan & Pops went away to Vanuatu.

Almost 2 weeks ago, the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, Great Britain already started then a week later, we picked up our 1st gold medal of London 2012 (After already winning Bronze medals) with the rowing double sculls duo of Nathan Cohen & Joseph Sullivan, then a day later, another gold was won by Hamish Bond & Eric Murray in the pairs, then nek minnit, Mahe Drysdale picked up his 1st gold medal ever (And 3rd for New Zealand at the games) in the single sculls 4 years after settling for the bronze medal due to being plagued by a stomach problem which cost him his chance of getting his 1st gold medal in Beijing, China. But after the Beijing nightmare, Drysdale does what he now does best in London.

Then on Saturday after the Kiwis golden hour in London, we cross over to Hamilton (AKA 'the Tron') for the Super Rugby final between the Chiefs (Hosts) & Sharks (Away team), The start of the game did not go well when the Frenchman playing for the Sharks of Frederic Michalak nailed the 1st penalty kick of the final until according to plan when Tim-Nanai Williams (SBW's cousin because they are related) scored the 1st try of the final with Aaron Cruden successfully took the conversion before nailing 2 penalties before halftime when the Chiefs were leading 13 - 3, but in the 2nd half, another Chiefs try was scored by Kane Thompson with the assistance of a TMO (TV Match Offical) then Michalak scored another successful penalty which put the Sharks to 6 despite being down by 13 points & in the 61st minute, Sonny Bill Williams (Who is having his last Super Rugby match here) made a great tackle, allowing the Sharks player to lose the ball before Lelia Masaga picked the ball up & scored the Chiefs their 3rd try of the final, moments before SBW was embraced by his loyal fans after scoring his famous farewell try in the 77th minute but 3 minutes later, the match was over when the Chiefs made history of taking the Super Rugby title honours for the 1st time ever with the final score of 37 - 6 as well as 2 commanders in chief (Co-captains Craig Clarke & Liam Messam), grab their 1st taste by lifting the Super Rugby trophy.

Then now a week later on Friday (Yesterday we did have a birthday dinner for Jansen, as we asian/chinese food for dinner that we got at the chinese takeaway shop in Victoria Avenue & dessert is blue jelly, cream & yoghurt before having Jansen's birthday cake), another gold medal was won by the women's sailing duo of 'Team Jolly' consisting of Jo 'Jox' Aleh & Olivia 'Polly' Powrie (New Zealand's 1st golden girls of London 2012), not only because I watched these ladies win, then next morning, went off to Palmy and rode on a go-kart at the Daytona Indoor Raceway before having Macca's for lunch and went for a swim at the Lido Aquatic Centre moments before we left Palmy hours before tuning in to the Olympics & the women's kayaking final was on as Lisa Carrington competed for the gold medal & she did because it was a success so she was good now that Carrington won (However, she too joined the London 2012 NZ Olympic golden girls ranks as Aleh & Powrie did), bringing the gold medal tally to 5 (Now 6 since Val Adams handed the gold medal when Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of her Olympic women's shot put title crown).

And on Monday, London 2012 Olympics was now officially finished but nek minnit on Tuesday, there was big news about Valerie Adams (Formerly Valerie Vili), in Switzerland after leaving London post Olympics & now disappointed and devastated about losing the Olympic women's shot-put title to Nadezya Ostapchuk by getting a silver medal, Chef de mission Dave Currie made a decision to call Adams and he also had to say: ''Valerie Adams....and I quote, you are now & still, once again, the Olympic women's shot put champion because of your Belrussian rival, Ostapchuk, had been disqualified after failing a drug test so congrats Val, good on ya MATEY!!!'' And this moment was changed when Adams had been awarded the gold when Ostapchuk is stripped of gold medal following her drug testing scandal failure then a day later, the 4 of the 6 gold medalists arrived back home at Auckland International Airport as well as all the 2 Silver medalists (Not Adams since she got the gold from Ostapchuk) including Sarah Walker (BMX) & the men's sailing duo of Pete Burling & Blair Tuke plus the 3 of the 5 bronze medalists came home with Peter Taylor & Storm Uru (Men's lightweight rowing), the ladies rowing pair of Juliette Haigh & Wanganui's own Rebecca Scown who was born in Hawera which is located in the Taranaki (AKA 'the Naki') region (She has a brother named Sam who plays rugby for the Wanganui Heartland Rugby Championship team) & of course, Simon Van Velthoven in the keirin cycling because he was a joint bronze medalist (British cycling great Sir Chris Hoy got the gold medal) & finally last night as of today, I finally went to Vision's for the 1st time ever by having dinner over there plus a free dessert before me & my father went home to wrap up Thursday, the 16th of August 2012 (4 days post Olympics).