NibblyPig

Started off well... ended a bit crap. I think too highly of Sam Bradford it seems. 11 from 16 this week. Running total = 21.

I want the Rays to win all seven and knock the Yanks out of the wild card position. Highly unlikely... but, by golly, it would be amusing if it happened.

I can't put my Leo Tolstoy joke on twitter... too many characters.

Nibs' predictions in uppercase (i.e., who you should put your money on in lowercase) BILLS - Raiders PACKERS - Panthers LIONS - Chiefs BROWNS - Colts VIKINGS - Bucs SAINTS - Bears JETS - Jaguars STEELERS - Seahawks RAVENS - Titans REDSKINS - Cards COWBOYS - 49ers BRONCOS - Bengals DOLPHINS - Texans PATRIOTS - Chargers EAGLES - Falcons RAMS - Giants

10 out of 16. I'll take that for week 1. (Anything better than a coin flip is good for me.) Let's look at week 2 . . .

It was a poor display. All that matters in the group stages, though, is that you win your games... and that's what England did. I think we'll top our group. Once the quarters and semis start, it's a completely different ball game. We're still almost a month away from that. Plenty of time to generate the necessary cohesion.

I didn't realise that "James Arlidge" was a Japanese name. He has scored all Japan's points so far. France leading 25-21 with 22 minutes to go.

Forza Nippon! Come on, you Brave Blossoms!!!

Scotland barely beat Romania (Romania were winning after 68 mins :shock:). France struggling to put Japan away, too. Looking forward to England v. Argentina... (here's hoping I don't nod off :nod:)

That's Buster from Arrested Development!

Pats fan here.

My predictions (notoriously bad): PACKERS - Saints RAVENS - Steelers BEARS - Falcons BROWNS - Bengals TEXANS - Colts JAGUARS - Titans CHIEFS - Bills RAMS - Eagles BUCCS - Lions CARDS - Panthers CHARGERS - Vikings 49ERS - Seahawks REDSKINS - Giants COWBOYS - Jets PATRIOTS - Dolphins BRONCOS - Raiders (Hmm, I seem to have picked a lot of home team victories.)

Go Sox (and thank you, Oakland!) Houston become the first team to get eliminated from the playoffs. I like Brian Wilson -- some of his interviews are very amusing. Which team is the equivalent of Aston Villa? Hmm, no candidate immediately stands out. Cincinnati Reds is somewhat analogous, given the traditional and the not overwhelming level of success. Levi will have a better answer. Over to you, Mr. Ramsey.

How was the earthquake, Nelo?

That makes seven innings victories in the last thirteen tests for England. We have a pretty good team. :nod:

i agree with one of your posts :winkold: Only one?

I lived in Melbourne from 1988 to 2003. It was utter pain being an England fan down under during that period. We were, I'm sure you'll all remember, nothing short of woeful. But the vast majority of you didn't have to go to school or uni the next day and face the teasing and tormenting of a load of Aussies. All those hours wasted watching Channel 9, watching us collapse and follow on, and the arrogant Australian cricketers smashing records left, right, and centre. Still, makes moments like these (and the last couple of Ashes series) all the sweeter.

"The Hedgehogs" have joined. You may now commence quaking.

Decision rescinded. Good stuff.

By the by: love the black socks.

Excuse my language, but **** hell! This is unbelievable. What a total and utter word removed! (and I know that's going to get filtered) I simply cannot believe someone would do this... shooting 87 people?!? That is totally insane. To all our Norwegian friends here on VT: Rocafella, norway, TB, etc... my heartfelt condolences, regrets, and sorrow.

Great article (as per usual, Mr Bland). A pleasure to read. I don't have much to add, I'm afraid. I remember writing a piece almost five years ago cautioning that Villa fans may be expecting too much, too soon from Randy Lerner et al. The gist was that we should hope for a European place in 06-07, but we should by no means begin to expect it so soon. The optimism amongst Villa fans was infectious. The winds of change were blowing in the right direction, but it seemed some people were getting carried away. Those days are long, long gone. I still hope for the best, but the positives coming out of Villa Park are few and far between. I am expecting very little this year. The winds of change feel as though they're blowing in the opposite direction... and once again, some fans on the VT on-topic board are getting carried away (perhaps the same folks who were getting carried away five years ago?) I'll be watching the matches when the season starts, probably wearing one of my retro Villa shirts. But I won't be excitedly rushing out of bed on match day the way a child does on Christmas morning or the way I was doing on match day a few years ago. The new-owner smell has faded badly. The hope has been tempered. The sky is not falling though. It's been a strange ol' summer. It's been a strange ol' time since Martin O'Neill's departure. The question "What is Aston Villa for?" deserves more thought than I'm able to give it right at this wee hour. Time for me to go to sleep (little man being erased).

How awesome was the sixth and final episode?! The stories of Caesar's rise and death were fantastic. Such colour and detail. I'm going back and listening through all six episodes again. The Ghosts of the Ostfront series was superb. If you haven't listened to it, you should! It'll change your perspective of the Second World War, make you rethink what you were taught in history lessons at school, and make you question how anything so utterly revolting could ever take place. I'm loving The Bugle at the moment, too. Although it's part of The Times, they're really laying the boot into Murdoch.

Murali and Graeme Swann try and knock a 50 pence coin off the side of a glass that sits atop a stump, without hitting the stumps or the glass.