Nice post, me old china

All this in a £50 self-deal comp eh? Who’d have thunk it?

As a side note, if you want a brief daily view of the life of a poker pro at the WSOP, I can highly recommend DNegs’ daily VLOG. I watch on FB, but I’m sure it’s available on other social media platforms. I only mention it because yesterday’s edition included the mention of a guy who was causing a scene in the WSOP rooms - no spoiler

Where’s nirvana when we need a few bon mots?

Fair points made about the lazy, unresearched, smug old-timers who seem to think that the fact they played the game last century means that their opinions are unchallengeable.

I don’t watch a great deal of the pre & post-match coverage these days, but I do listen to Five 5 a lot. Am I allowed to dislike Karen Carney’s contributions due to the fingernails-on-blackboard effect of her voice?

Thanks for this horsey

PS How the hell does Baffert retain his license?

Thread seems to have taken a funny turn since I last posted.

Haven't got time for that right now, just popped in to say Norrie is on Amazon now and Radacanu on about the same time this is due to finish.

Given Hurkacz has lost, I am pretty sure Norrie is top 10 if he wins this and the next game. 

https://live-tennis.eu/en/atp-race

Ah, he cocked that up.   Was 5-1 and 6-4 in the second set tiebreak and couldn't win it.   Top 10 will have to wait for now, but is still possible by the year end.

Boy, does that Auger Aliassime have comebackability or what? I looked at the score at the beginning of the second set & thought he was toast

Very decent of you bagel

I managed to miss the first round, so I’m in with a shout with 9th minute

Thanks!

Big apologies, as this is an inadvertent slowroll, but there actually won't be any of the package avaliable for sale. I felt I had to first ask the one person who used to back me for live tournaments (Marvin Rettenmaier) as a formality, and he completely surprised me by wanting all of it. Never saw that coming.

Sorry for the change of mind. Will leave this message on here for a few days, so that it can be seen, and then delete the post.

I hope you'll still be posting live updates Stu as we do like to funk for you even without a piece.

+1

The Last Duel

The only explanation for this muddled film is that they were all having so much fun making it that they all failed to notice that it’s a pauper’s Rashomon. Okay, it’s based on a book on the subject, but it weighs in at over 2 and a half hours long, and a significant amount was simply exact repetition. There are better ways of portraying alternative versions of fact than this without having to borrow clumsily from Kurosawa. 30 minutes could easily have been shaved off this film and not been missed.

On the positives, Ridley Scott is a master of battle set-pieces, and there were enough action scenes to please. The final fight was probably the best man-to-man combat sequence since, err, Gladiator. Worth the price of admission on its own. Adam Driver takes the acting honours playing the cad, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon hopelessly miscast. Jodie Comer is a fine actor, but she needs help in selecting better film roles if she wants a career with longevity.

Maybe I’m being overly critical, but it tells me something when I find myself looking at my watch halfway through. I’ll give it cinq.

I think I am going to lay her on the machine in the outright and bet against her in every match she plays. I will be interested to see the odds for her first match.

She has no coach, hasn't played in a month and has never played vs a top ten player.

I want to take some of the drugs you guys are taking who are all piling on!

 

Interesting to read that the Sopranos series fans were disappointed with Many Saints...

As someone who hasn’t seen a single episode of the series, but who really enjoys the genre, I must say that it was largely enjoyable. Perhaps I’m easily pleased, but I enjoy seeing the recreation of the previous eras. I think they did a decent job of the mid-sixties in this film.

I would definitely agree that Tony Soprano was very much a bit-part in this film, so agree that it was oversold on the basis of detailing his childhood and ascent into the mobster life. To that extent, I understand your ire as Sopranos fans. Setting that aside, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the meandering plot lines, and most of the characterisations. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ray Liotta was nominated for best supporting actor in the various gong-shows. Glancing at Wiki I believe the script was subject to some criticism, but it was good enough for me.

So, if what you expect from a New Jersey mobster flic are some psychotic anti-heroes engaging in dangerous liaisons, casual murder and double-crossing, set in some lovingly reconstructed 1960s settings, then this film won’t disappoint. Given that young Tony is still a young lad at the end of this film, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sopranos sequel Part II in the near future. In the meantime, I think I might just go and see it again and seek out the Sopranos on streaming services.....

Excellent review teddy. I’m still going to see it, but I’ll leave the rose-tinteds at home....

His goalscoring record speaks for itself. For me, he was a superior talent to George Best. There’s that picture of him looking stunned as the final whistle goes in the ‘66 World Cup Final. No subs in those days, so Greavesie and the rest of the squad couldn’t even get kitted up. The older I got, the more I realised how much that must’ve hurt. Still, he seemed to have come to terms with it, and was a fantastic, droll counterpart to Saint’s straight man in the 1980s & 90s IIRC

RIP Greavesie

I didn't get one of his computers, but I got a lot of his chips. He loved playing at the Empire, and would often be found playing the £50 afternoon turbo comp there. He loved a limp/call.

RIP Sir Clive

Very impressive & well deserved win. Hats off to her. She handled everything thrown at her. It’s great that we have seen the future of the women’s game - and an English girl is going to be a big part of it.

Amazing stuff. The quality of tennis is almost unbelievable

Thanks Tikay and arb for the broadcast update. So now I won’t have to go to the G..... but I still might, lol

4/7 Raducanu, 6/4 Fernandez on betties atm. I’m sure Emma’s blissfully unaware of the weight of expectation. At that price I’m inclined to have an interest on Fernandez: she’s shown some mettle on her journey to the final, having lost a few sets and battled back into her matches. Perhaps Emma has the psychological advantage in that she won their junior encounters (if I read an article correctly, I believe they met twice as 12-14 year olds and she won both), but this match is a totally different kettle of Slazengers