Frasier's dog Eddie dies aged 16

This is very sad news. Eddie, the loveable dog from the TV show Frasier, has died of old age.

Okay, so I may not admit it much, but I was, and remain, something of a closet Frasier fan. Eddie often made the show.

I can think of no more fitting epitaph than this:

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

- Bern Williams

Frasier's dog Eddie dies aged 16:

"Moose the dog, better known as Eddie in US sitcom Frasier, has died aged 16 in Los Angeles, his trainer has said.

The Jack Russell terrier passed away of old age last week at trainer Mathilde Halberg's home, she told People magazine and the Access Hollywood show.

'He just had an incredible charisma and was a such a free spirit,' Ms Halberg said of Moose, who appeared in 192 Frasier episodes from 1993.

Moose shared the part of Eddie with his son, Enzo.

He made his first appearance on the long-running Cheers spin-off in the first episode on 16 September 1993, retiring 10 years later in 2003. The show finished in 2004."

Germany 2006 Quarter Finals

Predictions for tomorrow's two matches:

Germany vs Argentina:

I predict a hard match, that may well go into extra time, but with Germany on top in the end.

Italy vs Ukraine:

As much as I'd love to see the only remaining World Cup virgins go through to the semi finals, I've got to give this one to Italy.

And here's a little factoid from the Germany 2006 site:

The final eight contains six previous World Cup winners, which is more than have ever been before.

For the record: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, and Italy.

This is going to be a tough slog to Berlin, and an even tougher match for the two that make it.

Got the munchies?

Yes, this may well be the ultimate apres-pub snackfood, provided that a trip to the emergency room isn't engendered by either the preparation or the consumption:

The beer-battered, deep-fried, bacon double quarter-pounder.

I can feel my arteries going "clang" just reading the site.

Ladies and Gentlemen..

..we at Legal Alien are proud to present the 2006 award for the hugest double entendre in the world:

Carson Palmer Cornhole Classic.

Oh, but it gets worse. Please check out the blurb:

On June 17, 2006, Carson Palmer will host the first annual Carson Palmer Cornhole Classic presented by Cincinnati Bell and Huntington Bank to benefit his new charity partner, Lighthouse Youth Services.

The event begins at 2:00 p.m. on the Cincinnati Bengals practice field. Sponsors and guests will be treated to a unique event complete with amazing food and beverage, activities for all ages, prizes and giveaways, live entertainment by The Mukrackers and the opportunity to play cornhole against Carson’s teammates and other NFL friends.

Palmer developed the idea for the event soon after being introduced to the sport of cornhole while living in Cincinnati. “Shae and I got hooked on playing cornhole right after we moved out here. We have wanted to do an event that incorporates the sport for the past few years so we are excited that it’s finally going to happen,” said Palmer.

Okay. Carson Palmer discovered cornholing, and so excited about it that he persuaded the Bengals to hold a cornholing challenge.

Am I the only one who sees this as funny?

Phew, SbB sees it too..

Germany 2006 Day 19

Well, Simon was right. France did, indeed, send Spain out of the World Cup. I started watching when it was 1-1, and it looked like it was going to extra time. But then suddenly France smashed two home in quick succession, and the rotund female was belting out an aria at full volume.

In other news, the world of football was stunned when Brazil won again.

What's worrying me is that England's route to the final lays through Brazil, unless France can beat them first.

Brazil vs France, 1st July.

No games tomorrow, so I predict a series of no-score draws.

Germany 2006 Day 18

Australia are out, which is a real shame. I would have loved to see the Aussies go further. Italy hit one home despite being down to ten men, which is quite impressive in anyone's book.

And red cards are just flowing out of this tournament.

Switzerland got a lesson in just how annoying penalty shootouts are. This is the first time any team's been down to panalties in this World Cup, but I doubt it'll be the last.

Italy go on to play Ukraine on the 30th.

Tomorrow brings Brazil vs Ghana, and Spain vs France. You've got to favour Brazil and Spain to go through.

Ukraine and Ghana are the only World Cup virgins left in the tournament, and Ukraine are already through to the quarter-finals. It's be great if Ghana could join them.

All they need do is get through Brazil.

Yeah, because that should be a piece of cake.

Germany 2006 Day 17

England beat Ecuador and Portugal beat Holland, so now England faces Portugal in the quarter-finals.

First, the England game was weak. It lacked style, oomph, verve, whatever. Again, it was typical English football, where an ugly win is still a win. The Beckham goal was a delight, and Ecuador were extremely unfortunate not to score from one of their several shots on goal.

And now...

Okay, Portugal vs Holland was a complete bastardfest. Four players sent off (stat alert - this breaks the all-time World Cup record), sixteen yellow cards (stat alert - this ties the all-time World Cup record), fouls every thirty seconds, retaliation, fights. Both teams wanted this real bad.

England against Portugal looks like it'll be a good match, if England can actually show up this time.

The way we played today may cut it against Ecuador, but against the likes of Germany or Brazil, we'd get thrashed.

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Tokyo Drift is as good as The Fast And The Furious, and way better than 2 Fast, 2 Furious.

Lucas Black stars as Shawn, an American teen shipped off to live with his father in Japan after causing one bit of trouble too many whilst street racing. Of course, the country that developed "drifting" is the ideal place to send a hothead like that. It takes Shawn all of thirty seconds to fall in with the drift racing crowd, thirty-five seconds to identify the nephew-of-a-Yakuza whom he absolutely must not piss off, and about fifty seconds to actually piss him off.

Cue some cool racing scenes, much drifting, much crashing, and plot that's there somewhere.

The movie is like the first. If you're expecting deep, meaningful dialogue and heart-wrenching character interaction, go see something else. This is pure, balls-out, testosterone-fueled mayhem.

The movie, like the first, seems set up to prove that Yank cars are better than Jap cars. This time we take a race-tuned engine - I'm reliably informed that it was a RB26DETT Nissan Skyline GTR engine, which means that it's used to carting around about 3 1/2 ounces of fibreglass bodywork and a tiny driver - and shoe-horn it into a '67 Ford Mustang body and chassis. Apparently, changing the suspension and tires means that this combo is faster than anything else on the road.

Still, willing suspension of disbelief and all that. The same suspension of disbelief is needed when a similar 3 1/2 ounces of fibreglass body rams the 'Stang repeatedly and both cars get damaged! (as opposed to the 'Stang ripping through the other car like a monkey on a cupcake).

If you can submerge that side of your personality, it's a great movie.

And watch out for the World's Greatest Cameo at the end.

Doombreed rating: ****1/2

Germany 2006 Day 16

No surprises today. Germany beat Sweden and, after extra time, Argentina beat Mexico.

Germany and Argentina meet in the quarter-finals on the 30th.

Tomorrow we have England vs Ecuador and Portugal vs Holland. I've got to go with Holland, horrible kit and all, and I've got to stick with England ovr Ecuador.

Friday Rodent Blogging

Remember a few weeks back when I snapped a pic of Selene staring into space like she was very carefully plotting escape?

Well, she's at it again..

Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties

Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties is the sequel to - well - Garfield, of course.

Personally, I thought that it was superior to the original.

The story is a rough take on The Prince and The Pauper storyline. Liz (Jennifer Love-Hewitt), girlfriend of Jon (Breckin Meyer) is heading to England to give a keynote address. Jon follows because he wants to pop the question. Garfield tags along because he doesn't want Jon to pop the question. Odie goes too because.. well.. just because. Meanwhile, living in the fictional "Carlisle Castle" is pampered noble moggie Prince (voiced by Tim Curry) who has just inherited the estate from his dead owner. Dead owner's nephew Lord Dargis (Billy Connolly) wants the estate, but as long as Prince is alive, he can't have it.

What follows is a mildly predictable romp through incompetent murder attempts, mistaken identity farce, some song and dance scenes, a few "getting to know you" moments, and some genuinely hilarious slapstick.

By far the funniest character in the movie is the one with the fewest lines: a pathologically stupid, but terminally violent rottweiler named Rommel (voiced by Vinnie Jones).

Altogether a good movie. Great for the kids.

Doombreed rating: ****1/2

Germany 2006 Day 15

100% right on...

Switzerland 2-0 Korea

Switzerland took Group G with this nice little win.

Togo 0-2 France

France held Group G runner up.

Ukraine 1-0 Tunisia

Ukraine qualified as Group H runner-up.

Saudi Arabia 0-1 Spain

Spain wins Group H.

Switzerland plays Ukraine on the 26th, and Spain plays France on the 27th.

Only two matches tomorrow; Germany vs Sweden, and Argentina vs Mexico. Germany should be a shoe-in. The Argentinian team should win, but it could be very tight.

Germany 2006 Day 14

Ghana 2-1 USA

Okay, so the USA went out. This was, I'll admit, quite a surprise. I guess the USA team found out just how annoying penalties are.

I was very disappointed at the ESPN team who went about three minutes after the final whistle before ripping into the players and the coaches and apportioning blame.

No blame is necessary. This is football. 22 men, green grass, and a ball.

The USA is the richest, most powerful nation on Earth. They have the world's most advanced training programmed, facilities, and some of the world's best coaches.

Ghana is so poor that its football governing body couldn't afford to pay the team members to go to the World Cup and, instead, their government stepped in and promised each player US$20,000 (an absolute fortune in Ghana) for each win.

Yet Ghana beat the USA and sent them out of the World Cup.

Population (USA: 292 million, Ghana: 20.47 million), size (USA:9,631,418 Sq Km Ghana: 239, 460 Sq Km), GDP (USA: US$37,600, Ghana: US$2,100). None of this matters. Ghana has a professional domestic football league, USA doesn't. Ghana is football crazy, USA isn't.

Ghana is through to the next round, USA isn't. Don't blame the coaches or the team. They fought hard. But the pure lack of interest back home was telling.

And, remember this:

For the USA, they must beat Ghana and Italy beat Czech Republic or beat Ghana and Czech Republic beat Italy with a combined +6 GAD or more to go through.

Had USA won, they'd have gone through:

Czech Republic 0-2 Italy

Well, Italy showed why they rank highly in the world when they slammed their way through to the second round with this very nice victory over Czech Republic. I guess that the Czech Republic being a man down for the second half didn't hurt either.

Japan 1-4 Brazil

What can I say? It's Brazil. Another team to go through with a full 9 points. Were you expecting anything less?

Croatia 2-2 Australia

Australia clinched their second round berth with this draw. That's the good news. The bad news is that they now have to face Italy.

Okay, four more:

Italy play Australia on the 26th, and Brazil play Ghana on the 27th.

Tomorrow brings Switzerland vs Korea, Togo vs France, Ukraine vs Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia vs Spain.

I'm predicting Switzerland, France, Ukraine, and Spain.

These matches conclude the group stage of the tournament, so on Saturday (Germany vs Sweden, and Argentina vs Mexico) we're down to sudden death. Win or go home.

Germany 2006 Day 13

I'm tired, it's late, so this is going to be quick:

Holland 0-0 Argentina

Giant game. Argentina win the group, Holland go through second.

Ivory Coast 3-2 Serbia & Montenegro

Both teams were going home even before this match, but they gave us a great show before they went.

Portugal 2-1 Mexico

Portugal finished their group with a full 9 points. Nicely done. Mexico go through as runner-up.

Iran 1-1 Angola

Angola could have gone through with a slight miracle. A draw was not it.

Four more teams for the next round:

Argentina play Mexico on the 24th, Portugal play Holland on the 25th. Both should be stunning matches.

Tomorrow brings Czech Republic vs Italy, USA vs Ghana, Japan vs Brazil, and Croatia vs Australia.

My money's on the Czech Republic (even after being beaten by Ghana), USA, Brazil, and Australia.

The Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was my birthday, and the celebrations ranged up and down the country.

Okay, so it went over two states.

Yep, two states. On Saturday, Mrs Doombreed took me on a little road trip up to Paul Brown Stadium (it's where the Bengals play).

The Bengals were having a "mini camp open day", which means that we got to go in and look around the stadium, watch the players train and run drills, and - if you wanted - pick out and test which seat you wanted for your season ticket.

We got to see the various players - though Carson Palmer wasn't there - put through their paces. We got to see "Who Dey", the team's mascot, and a couple of the Ben-Gals, the team cheerleaders.

We had good hotdogs and bad pizza, caught some rays because it was bloody hot, and had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Then, on Sunday, we went to Mrs Doombreed's parent's house.

I could never become a stand-up comedian, because I have absolutely no "bad in-laws" stories. My in-laws - Mrs Doombreed's family - are wonderful. Mrs Doombreed's mother is nice, generous, caring, and a great cook. Mrs Doombreed's father the personification of the term "a great bloke". Heck, all of her family are great. And thanks to them, I now have completed my collection of Star Trek Collector's Edition Movie DVDs. Sweet.

(Yes, I'm a Trekkie. So what?)

Mrs Doombreed's mother also made the most delicious dinner, and a cake to follow.

I've said it before, and I'll no doubt have cause to say it again, but marrying Mrs Doombreed was the smartest thing I've ever done. I'm the luckiest man in the world.

Germany 2006 Day 12 (ii)

England-Sweden (from one fan's perspective)

At half time (which was when I picked up my AlphaSmart and started blogging whilst watching):

Well, Owen going out was - stat alert - the fastest substitution in World Cup history.

Replacing Owen with Crouch may have been the stupidest decision in World Cup history.

Ah well..

Oh, and sports shows can stop showing how Owen's knee goes splurk as he goes down. It's making me squirm and we keep having to see it over and over and over again.

WHAT A GOAL!

Joe Cole slotted home what may be the goal of the tournament so far - and that's not just my opinion, even the American commentators were talking about it in those terms.

England are playing better - far better - than I've seen them playing for years.

Second half:

England coming out attacking. This is encouraging.

But Sweden are also starting to wake up, and this could fall into..

Okay. I was about to type that this could fall into the old pattern of England laying back and Sweden replying with an equaliser.

And guess what happened?

Sweden equalised.

MERDE!

Stat alert - that was the 2,000th goal in World Cup history.

54th minute: Here's a wake-up call for England: The crossbar should not be saving goals.

What happened?

England need to get back into this game and quick or we'll loose and have to face Germany, and we will loose that match.

But the good news: Eriksson just brought our man Campbell on. Excellent. We like Sol Campbell. He used to play with Spurs, and is a giant in defense.

What's worrying is that England are looking more and more like we're playing for the draw. That's never good.

Again: This is why England aren't allowed to score first any more.

59th minute: And AGAIN with the crossbar!

61st minute: Campbell just showed why he's there. Excellent defending.

69th minute: Sheeit. Rooney's out. And he is not a happy chappy about it. Great save by Gerrard, his replacement, though.

75th minute: The first lesson in FOOTball, Mr Hargreaves, is that we use our FEET, not our HANDS.

85th minute: That goal was textbook. Bloody textbook. 2-1. Sweet strike, Gerrard.

89th minute: Sweden pulls it out and now it's 2-2. What the hell was Ashley Cole doing? The ball just dribbles into the net and he just watches it go in. Great. 3 minutes of stoppage time and we've got a draw.

Game over: 2-2.

Sweden faces Germany, England faces Ecuador.

Stat alert: England haven't beaten Sweden since 1968.

Germany 2006 Day 12 (i)

Okay, four games today, and we're wrapping up the group stages and seeing who is really going through to the next round.

First:

Group A

Ecuador 0-3 Germany

Costa Rica 1-2 Poland

Germany are first, with 9 points, and play the runner-up from Group B.

Ecuador are second, with 6 points, and play the winner of Group B.

Poland are third, with 3 points, and are going home.

Costa Rica are fourth, with 0 points, and are going home.

Group B

Paraguay 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago

Sweden 2-2 England

(commentary on the Sweden - England game with follow in the next post)

England are first, with 7 points, and play Ecuador on the 25th.

Sweden are second, with 5 points, and play Germany on the 24th.

Paraguay are third, with 3 points, and are going home.

Trinidad & Tobago are fourth, with 1 point, and are going home.

Germany 2006 Day 11

Group G

Togo 0-2 Switzerland

This game wrapped up Group G's second week:

Switzerland are first, with 4 points and +2 GD

Korea are second, with 4 points and +1 GD

France are third with 2 points and +/- 0 GD

Togo are fourth with 0 points and -3 GD

Switzerland go through if France loses, no matter what the result of their game with Korea. If France wins, Switzerland must also win, or draw if France wins by 1 goal.

Korea is the same.

France must win in order to go through.

Togo are going home.

Group H

Spain 3-1 Tunisia

Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine

Spain are first, with 6 points and +6 GD

Ukraine are second, with 3 points and +/- 0 GD

Tunisia are third, with 1 point and -2 GD

Saudi Arabia are fourth, with 1 point and -4 GD

Spain are through.

Ukraine must beat Tunisia to go through, or draw with Tunisia and Spain beat or draw with Saudi Arabia, or draw with Tunisia and Saudi Arabia beat Spain by 4 goals or less.

Tunisia must beat Ukraine and Spain beat or draw with Saudi Arabia, or beat Ukraine and Saudi Arabia beat Spain by 2 goals or less.

Saudi Arabia must beat Spain and Tunisia beat Ukraine by more than a combined +2 GD in Saudi Arabia's favour (eg, Tunisia win by 1, Saudi Arabia win by 4) or win by more than 4 goals and Tunisia and Ukraine draw.

Germany 2006 Day 10

This post was written on Sunday, but I was unable to post it until today. Time and date on post are correct for when it was written.

June 20th 10:41PM

--------------------

Ooooookay..

So maybe the Brazil thing didn't work out. I get it. The better team will only be upset by the underdog when I predict they'll easily win..

Brazil 2-0 Australia

Now, Australia didn't make it easy on Brazil, so it's way too early to count them out yet.

Japan 0-0 Croatia

Not a lot that can be said about this. Brilliant save against a penalty for Japan, though.

France 1-1 Korea

France took the lead early, Korea pulled an equaliser late. Hmm.. somebody's obviously translated the English playbook into French.

Tomorrow brings Togo vs Switzerland, Saudia Arabia vs Ukraine, and Spain vs Tunisia.

I'm calling Spain, Ukraine and Switzerland.

BTW, check this out. A guest column by former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. This guy's a former world leader - and he's writing a column about football!!. This game really does extend to all peoples and all levels.

Just one group to check out today:

Group F

Brazil are first (naturally) with 6 points and +3 GD

Australia are second with 3 points and +/- 0 GD

Croatia are third with 1 point and -1 GD

Japan are fourth with 1 point and -2 GD

Brazil plays Japan, Croatia plays Australia, with only Brazil guaranteed to go through no matter what.

So...

In order to qualify, Australia must beat Croatia. A draw against Croatia will only help if either Brazil beats Japan or Brazil and Japan draw or Japan beats Brazil by 2 goals or less.

Croatia, in return, must beat Australia, and have Brazil beat Japan, or Brazil and Japan draw, or Japan beat Brazil with a combined GD of less than +1 in Japan's favour.

Japan needs to beat Brazil and have Croatia beat Australia, or, if Australia and Croatia tie, must beat Brazil by more than 3 goals.

Germany 2006 Day 9 (ii)

Okay, two more groups to look at:

Group D

Portugal are first, with 6 points and +3 GD

Mexico are second, with 4 points and +2 GD

Angola are third, with 1 point and -1 GD

Iran are fourth, with 0 points and -4 GD

Portugal are through, Iran are going home.

Mexico can go through if they beat Portugal or get a draw or Iran beats Angola or Angola beats Iran with a GD (between both matches) of less than +3.

Angola can go through if they beat Iran with a GD of more than +3 and Mexico loses to Portugal.

Group E

This one's complicated:

Italy are first, with 4 points and +2 GD

Czech Republic are second, with 3 points and +1 GD

Ghana are third, with 3 points and +/- 0 GD

USA are fourth, with 1 point and -3 GD

Okay, pay attention.

Nobody is guaranteed to go anywhere yet.

Italy can qualify, if they beat Czech Republic or draw with Czech Republic. The other game is irrelevant to them.

Czech Republic can qualify, if they beat Italy or draw with Italy and have the USA-Ghana game end in a draw or draw with Italy and have USA beat Ghana by less than 5 goals.

Ghana will qualify if they beat the USA. The other game is irrelevant to them.

For the USA, they must beat Ghana and Italy beat Czech Republic or beat Ghana and Czech Republic beat Italy with a combined +6 GD or more to go through.

Okay, I think that's all cleared up...