Beer, football, gambling

I find myself in a cycle these days where I'm at work for 6 days and don't drink anything at all, and during this period I'm always thinking 'wow, I'm being so healthy'. Then on my three days off I go and drink a lot during the afternoons and evenings, and end up thinking 'Jeez, I need to take it easy for a few days' but then it's straight back to work. Such is life.

As with all the European Championships and World Cups, it's so nice to have a top quality football match on every day. During the World Cup it's three a day, and that's coming close to heaven. I've enjoyed Euro 2008 a lot so far; it's been pretty exciting. The World Cup in 2006 went a bit stale once it reached the knockout rounds with a lot of 0-0 games and teams playing defensively. This year though there's been a lot of attacking, and a few surprises. Last night I watched the Croatia v Turkey Quarter Final at the tennis club with Daz, Gareth, Gary and Tom and it was good fun even though the first 90 mins were drab. We had all submitted different predictions in the little contest we're doing, and were all cheering on different teams and individual players to score. I had actually predicted 0-0, and it's weird watching a game of football when you want it to be goalless. You find yourself being pleased when the ball is being passed along the back line or back to the keeper, when everyone else is yelling for it to be played forward. The end of extra time was incredible, with Croatia scoring at the death and thinking they'd won it, only for Turkey to level it with literally the last kick of the game. Croatia looked like they'd already lost before the shootout started, and unbelievably missed the target on two of their penalties. I'm a big fan of their coach Slaven Bilic now though. He took the defeat on the chin, and he kept us all entertained throughout the game with his antics when his team missed sitters (throwing himself onto the floor, LOL!)

I've been reading some articles about 'Britain's biggest punter' Harry Findlay. His attitude seems similar to that of your typical mug (continually backing short-odds favourites), and indeed he has gone broke several times. However, his selections must definitely carry more analysis behind them than most peoples because he's a very rich man at the moment. He lost something like 2 million quid when the All Blacks didn't win the last Rugby World Cup, but has won many more millions than that over the years backing Roger Federer. Reading the articles has made me thirsty for a punt, but I can see things going badly if I act as boldly as Harry so maybe not...

Speaking of Roger Federer, I have to say I am tempted to make a large(ish) lay of him to win Wimbledon this year. He is definitely a player in decline, and it will take an enormous effort for him to win it this time round. In years gone by he has just walked it, but this year there are actually serious challengers for the title in Nadal and Djokovic and this might be the time to oppose him with his price still just above evens. He even has Djokovic in his half of the draw, leaving Nadal with a relatively simple path to the final. It's a shame, because I am a huge Federer fan and like the guy (I can't say that about Nadal and Djoko). More on this to come.

So, (more) drinks later. On Wednesday I had a few with Gareth during the day and then a load of cider that evening. Thursday I was down the club and had all sorts with the Don. Last night I ended up sampling the new cider at the tennis club, Gamers Olde English, which turned out to be very nice. We went to the RE Bar afterwards and continued the fun. Today I'm actually feeling up for some more, plus Lawrence is back from holiday and we need to catch up. Gareth's also working the bar tonight so that spells trouble.

Ok, that's a nice long entry and I feel better for writing it for some reason. Someone comment, go on.

-J