Saturday, June 30, 2012

LOOKS FINE, BUT HOW DO YOU HOLD IT ?

Ah, to be able to instantly teleport anywhere in the world. We'd be asking Scotty to beam us on over to the Philippines right about now, to have a face-to-face meeting with KFC's new "Streetwise" burger it's peddling there. Looks like a normal chicken burger, no? But wait, what's that orange blanket atop the bun?


Why... it's melted cheese, of course, and who doesn't like cheese? Should it matter if eating it with your hands becomes nigh on impossible or at the very least, an absolutely greasy experience? No. If you are near one of these, you have a responsibility to yourself and others to attempt to eat it sans utensils.

The Streetwise Cheese Top burger is featured on KFC Philippines' Facebook page, and was spotted by an eagle-eyed Consumerist reader. The actual patty is Original Recipe chicken with a garlic parmesan sauce, according to KFC. But all that really matters here is I know cheese when I see it, and I'm intrigued.

Friday, June 29, 2012

QUOTE OF THE DAY



'How do I keep young ? ................ I sleep every night in the freezer !’

Donnatella Versace (57)

Thursday, June 28, 2012

HERE'S A LOOK YOU DON'T SEE MUCH THESE DAYS

SEEN ON A BUS IN DUBLIN [27th June 2012]

headbang

Google launches new sci-fi glasses with a camera and internet access

Google today unveiled its latest invention – a pair of high-tech glasses which can video everything you see.

The computer giant introduced the device at a launch event showing live feeds from the cameras on glasses worn by sky-divers.



As the daredevils jumped out of a blimp flying above San Francisco, attendees at Google's I/O event watched the video footage from their perspective.

They also watched the live stream from cyclists jumping over ramps then riding into the conference room.



That video showed the wearer taking pictures, checking the weather, getting directions, and placing a video call, all of which are controlled using voice activated icons that appear in the user's field of vision. The slim line device fits around the forehead, with a small screen in the top right corner to transmit information to the wearer.

But is getting your phone out of your pocket really that much of an effort? Is it such a drag that you would instead opt for receiving information via a device wrapped around your head?

The company is selling the device, known as Project Glass, for $1,500 - but only to people at its annual three-day conference in San Francisco.

REMIND YOU OF THIS ?


GEAR: These communication devices enable users to speak to and see each other via microvideo feeders placed alongside the viewing lenses. Fractal processing enables the gear to correct for distorted perspective, so that each party appears normal to the other.

VR GEAR: When normal gear is enhanced with the addition of an eye bar, information is fed aurally and optically to the brain in special organic codes that permit the experienced user to create sensorily complete virtual reality environments in the mind. These environments adjust according to conscious variations in the brain's electromagnetic aura which the eye bar can sense and interpret.

"Uncle Drew"

After spending four hours in makeup, 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving heads to the courts of New Jersey to devour some young bloods in a pick-up game.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

TODAYS JOKE


I just watched the movie 'Groundhog Day' ..................... again.



I'll get me popcorn.

Premier League TV rights Q&A

Q1: How is this TV money shared out?

In the current TV deal cycle for the three seasons 2010-13, the Premier League’s TV deals pour around £3.5bn into central funds, or about £1.17bn per year.

The League’s running costs are deducted, and some cash is given to a variety of other bodies from the PFA to the LMA, the Conference, the Football Foundation, the Football League, the referees’ body and charities.

But the vast majority remains to be split between the 20 clubs, with other former PL clubs receiving ‘parachute’ cash too.

At the end of the 2011-12 season, the pot of cash for the clubs was £1.055bn.

Of this, £968.2m was split among the 20 clubs in the Premier League in 2011-12, and the small balance split among seven clubs still getting parachute cash.

All cash from overseas TV rights sales is split evenly among the clubs: that was worth £18,764,644 per club in 2011-12.

The domestic cash is split three ways: 50 per cent ‘equal share’, 25 per cent dependent on how many times a club was on TV (facility fees) and 25 per cent dependent on where a club finished in the table (merit payment).

The bottom club, Wolves, got a merit payment of £755,062 for finishing in 20th place, and Blackburn got twice that much for finishing in 19th place, and Bolton got three times that for 18th place …. and so on up to Manchester City who got 20 times that much (or £15,101,240) as merit payment for finishing in first place.

When you add up each club’s equal share of overseas money, and various shares of domestic money, you get the distribution as shown in this first graphic.

The highest earning club from central TV funds alone was Manchester City with £60,602,289, and the lowest earning was Wolves with £39,084,461.


Q2: Is this a fair way to share the cash?

It certainly holds its own for fairness against the top divisions in all the other major leagues in European football.

The ratio of ‘fairness share’ between City (£60.6m in 2011-12) and Wolves (£39.1m) was 1.55 to 1 in the Premier League.

Or in other words City got 1.55 times as much from central funds as Wolves.

In Spain, where Barcelona and Real Madrid do their own TV deals and don’t share the cash and leave the rest of La Liga to feed on scraps, the ratio of distribution is currently about 14 to 1. So Barca and Real scoff 14 times as much as the lesser clubs in La Liga. That’s why they’re so stonking rich and can pay the world’s highest wages.

In Italy’s Serie A, the ratio is about 10 to 1, in France’s Ligue 1 it is about 3.5 to 1, and in the German Bundesliga it is 2 to 1.

So the Premier League is fair by that measure.

Whether the Premier League should give a much bigger share of its money to clubs across the whole English game is another – much more contentious – debate altogether.

Q3: Will the league’s new deals with Sky and BT for the seasons 2013-16 change the amount the Premier League clubs get?

Those deals, announced last week and worth a staggering £3.018bn over three years, will give all clubs in the Premier League a healthy boost from the 2013-14 season onwards. Details in a moment.

But until the Premier League have sold all their overseas rights for the 2013-16 period, we won’t know how much that will also add to the distribution pot.

In 2010-13, the Premier League made £1.437bn from overseas deals. The earned £190m for the rights in Singapore alone, and £225m from the Middle East, and £146m in Hong Kong, and £111m in Scandinavia, to name just a few of the largest regional deals.

In all the league did around 81 separate deals overseas, country by country or region by region.
It is virtually certain that there will be decent overall growth from the £1.437bn overseas total for 2013-16, and the Premier League expects to know that total by the end of October 2012; it continues to negotiate contracts around the world.

The next table below thus paints five different scenarios, each based on a different level of increase to the overseas TV income.

For the sake of simplicity, I have used the 2011-12 clubs and finishing positions to illustrate the point – and the income growth.

Scenario 1 is that overseas income doesn’t grow at all, and remains flat.

If that is the case, Manchester City’s like-for-like income for winning the title will jump ‘only’ £29.2m as a result of the new Sky and BT deals, from £60.6m in 2011-12 to £89.9m in 2013-14.

At the other end, the bottom club’s money will jump ‘only’ £14m, from Wolves’s £39m in 2011-12 to £53.3m in 2013-14.

But this really is a worse-case scenario.

If overseas income jumps 30 per cent, the winning club’s central TV income is likely to jump from City’s £60.6m in 2011-12 to £95.5m in 2013-14.

If overseas income jumps 50 per cent, that goes up to £99.3m, and if it jumps by the same 70 per cent that domestic income has jumped, then it goes to £103m.

And if it doubles, the Premier League winners of 2013-14 can expect around £109m from finishing top while the bottom club might expect some £72m, or £12m more than the highest club in 2011-12.
These are numbers to make the head swim.

Of course there is an ‘if’ factor in the overseas money.

Personally, I would expect the rise to be around 50 per cent. It could be lower but there are signs of growth in key areas in the Middle East, parts of Asia and in North America.

And in the first overseas deals already signed for 2013-16, for Premier League games to be shown in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, it is understood they will earn the League around double what they earned last time.

In 2010-13 in Scandinavia, the League sold the regional rights to an intermediary consultancy, Medge, for £111m, and they sold then on to individual countries for almost double that, according to industry sources.

This time the League has sold the rights direct to Viasat (for Sweden and Denmark) and to TV2 in Norway, for what is believed to be a rise in what those broadcasters paid Medge collectively last time. So the Premier League has almost certainly doubled its income in that one region.

Anyway, here is the five-scenario table, depending on how much overseas income increases. The sums would be broadly applicable in each of the three seasons from 2013-14.

Click pic to see full size

Q4: Is Premier League TV income a club’s main source of cash?

It varies hugely. For many of the ‘smaller’ clubs, this central TV cash amounts to a large proportion of their total income.

Blackburn Rovers’ income for 2010-11, for example, was £57.6m, and £42.1m was from the Premier League, so a whopping 73 per cent came from the League. Some clubs have an even higher percentage. One might say they are dangerously reliant on staying in the Premier League.

But Manchester United’s income for 2010-11 was £331.4m, of which £60.4m was from the Premier League, or only 18.2 per cent.

So for the big clubs, Premier League money is only a smallish chunk, although growing rapidly.
The ‘big boys’ in the Champions League will also be making tens of millions there, and all clubs have match day income (tickets, hospitality) and commercial income (sponsors, merchandise).

Q5: Will parachute payments change with the new TV deals.

Probably, yes. They have tended to grow as the overall pot has grown. As things stand, relegated clubs get £16m in their first season ‘down’, then £16m the next season, then £8m and £8m for a total of £48m over four seasons.

This is expected to grow when the deals grow but no firm decisions will be made for a while yet.

Q6: Does the Premier League have any other income it shares out, aside from the TV money?

First, a clarification of all the elements of the TV money. They comprise live UK rights (Sky and BT from 2013-16), UK highlights rights (Match of the Day) and overseas rights (all kinds of separate deals around the world).

See how these amounts have changed over the years in this graphic.

On top of that, the League also sell ‘near live’ rights, which have yet to be sold for 2013-16 but fans will be able to catch up on whole games shortly after they’ve been played, and also access (via a new deal) a ‘vault’ of whole games from the past.

And on top of that, there will be a combined ‘mobile and clips’ deal up for grabs for 2013-16, so a mobile firm or internet operator or a combined group involving both will buy the rights to show highlights and goal clips via mobiles and on the web.

So that’s all the ‘broadcast’ revenues that the League have.

Then they also make money from Nike for using a Nike ball (worth around £6m per year to the League).

And they sell headline sponsorship of the League. Barclays pay £82.5m to be the current sponsors for 2010-13, or £27.5m a year. Incidentally, Barclays have an exclusive negotiating period to retain that deal for 2013-16 that ends soon. If a new deal isn’t announced imminently that deal will be up for grabs.

The Premier League also earn money from radio rights, and from a range of commercial deals with EA Sports, Topps trading cards and Lucozade. These bring in millions per year, each.

This commercial income, on top of the broadcast income, brings in something like £50m a year and rising, and the clubs share it, at roughly £2.5m per season each.

Q7: In the 2013-16 domestic deal, how exactly will the ‘first pick’ system work?

Sky have five of the seven packs of rights and 116 games per season, including 20 ‘first picks’ to show on Sundays at 4pm.

BT have two packs of rights and 38 games per season, including 13 first picks for Saturday 12.45pm and five first picks for midweek evenings, Bank Holidays and more Saturday 12.45pms.
There are 38 games in a season, hence 38 ‘rounds’ of games.

Simply put, Sky get the ‘first pick’, or best game, in 20 of those rounds. And BT get the first pick in the other 18.


Purely for the sake of considering what is a ‘big game’, let’s say it can be defined as one where a ‘big six’ club (B6 club) – Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham – play another ‘big club’.

There are 30 such B6 v B6 games in a season, of 380 games altogether.

In the 2012-13 season, there are 34 ‘rounds’ of games at weekends, and four rounds in midweek periods.

Sky’s 20 first picks for Sunday 4pm must, by definition, be used within those 34 weekend rounds.
And it just so happens that in 12 of those 34 weekend rounds in 2012-13, there are no B6 v B6 games at all.

So Sky, one assumes, would elect to operate their ‘first pick’ on 20 of the other 22 weekends, taking the best games on each of these.

They’d look the fixture list, surely, and snap up MCFC v MUFC on the weekend of 8 December; and the reverse fixture on the w/e of 6 April; and LFC v MUFC on the w/e of 22 September; and the reverse fixture on w/e of 12 January; they might also look ahead and think AFC v MUFC on the w/e of 27 April looks a decent pick, and MUFC v CFC the next weekend, 4 May.

And so on, snapping up the best of the best games with their ‘proprietary’ picks.

BT’s midweek rounds would give them a B6 v B6 match on 27 November (THFC v LFC), and on 29 January (AFC v LFC) but there are no B6 v B6 matches on Wednesday 26 December nor on Tuesday 1 January.

As far as their 13 ‘first picks’ for Saturday 12.45pm games go, a simplistic view is that most of those will actually have to be picked on weekends when there are no B6 v B6 games because Sky will have got most of those first.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t get games featuring the B6, because they all play every week, not just against each other every week.

And the reality is that the allocation of games via first picks is much more complicated than a ‘Sky snaffles all’ scenario for a number of reasons.

One is that there are limits on how many times a single team can appear within each ‘pack’ of games. So any one team can only feature a maximum of five times in Sky’s Sunday 4pm slot. So in fact Sky couldn’t snaffle all 30 B6 v B6 games for that slot, even if the fixture list were spread to allow it, because that would mean each team appearing 10 times in that slot.

Equally, Sky and BT have to feature every team in the league at least once in each of their main packages, so that constrains things.

Example: Sky’s 26 Sunday 4pm games in package D will involve 52 sides in those 26 games. Suppose Sky used the B6 clubs five times each in that slot (for 30 clubs of 52 involved in those 26 games), they still need 22 other teams involved in those games, including at least one appearance from each of the 14 non-B6 clubs.

At best, then, Sky’s Sunday 4pm slot, could have 15 matches solely B6 v B6, plus 11 matches involving combinations of the 14 teams outside the B6.

The reality is it will be something in between, not least because other factors such as Europe will get in the way and effectively dictate when some sides can or can’t play particular time slots.

Extrapolate the picks system across all seven packages with all their myriad conditions and it’s enough to give anyone a headache working out how the games will be divided.

All kinds of other variables could deal Sky or BT better hands in the three seasons from 2013-14. The fixture computer might feasibly throw up five midweek rounds in one of the seasons, where the biggest B6 v B6 games are all placed within them. That would hand BT all those games because Sky have no midweek games.

And who can actually guarantee that by 2013 or 2014 or 2015 that we will perceive the B6 as the same B6?

What about Newcastle, Everton, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Fulham? Imagine if one of those were bought by Qatari billionaire interests with an ambition to ‘do a City’ and found a way to fund it that worked within Uefa’s FFP rules.

What we can say is that Sky clearly retain an advantage in getting many of the very biggest games. But BT, with 38 games a season across Saturday 12.45pm and midweeks, should have access to enough ‘big’ games to give them all kinds of drawing power that Setanta and EPSN have lacked as the minority rights holders in the past.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

TOTTENHAM AND 'ARRY PART COMPANY

BOB THE REBUILDER

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed manager and first-team coach on a permanent basis.

The Italian returned to Stamford Bridge today following his holiday to finalise a two-year contract.

Chief executive Ron Gourlay says: 'Roberto's quality was clear for all to see when he galvanised the squad last season and helped the club make history, and the owner and board are very pleased he will be continuing his good work.


'We all believed he was a young coach with much to offer when we first asked him to take charge of team affairs in March and the manner in which he worked with us, the players and all the staff, and the success that followed, made him the clear choice when it came to selecting the person to take us forward in the seasons to come.

'We will be working closely with Roberto in the weeks ahead, some exciting signings have already been made and Roberto has had input into those.

'Although he has set the bar very high in the short time he has been in charge, we know that Roberto is the right man to lead Chelsea onto further success.'

Di Matteo, who turned 42 last month, was interim first-team coach for the final 11 weeks of last season, leading the club to an historic Champions League and FA Cup double triumph.

He stepped up to the role following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas during the first weekend in March and won the next four matches including a tricky FA Cup replay away to Birmingham City and the memorable second-leg turnaround against Napoli.

He said: "I'm obviously delighted to have been appointed as Manager and First-Team Coach. We all achieved incredible success last season that made history for this great club. Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already planning and looking forward to the squad's return for pre-season."

We lost only three matches after he took charge. And although ultimately Chelsea finished outside the top-four places, our success in Europe, that saw Benfica and Barcelona beaten before the victory against Bayern Munich in their home stadium, meant that not only had Di Matteo guided the club to our first Champions League title, but we had also ensured our place in the competition next season.

The Wembley win over Liverpool in early May continued his already sparkling FA Cup history at Chelsea.

Di Matteo is the fourth Italian to manage Chelsea, continuing his association with the club that began in 1996 when he signed as a player from Lazio, the choice of Ruud Gullit.

An international midfielder, he ended his first season by scoring in the FA Cup Final as major silverware was brought back to Stamford Bridge for the first time in 26 years. He also found the net in a League Cup Final win and another FA Cup Final before injury forced his retirement at the age of 31 having played 175 games and scored 26 goals for the club.

He returned to Chelsea as assistant first-team coach under Villas-Boas at the start of last season having become a manager for the first time at League One MK Dons in 2008. A year later he moved up a division to West Bromwich Albion whom he then took into the Premier League at the first time of asking. He was named the top-flight manager of the month in September 2010 but left The Hawthorns in February 2011.

Gourlay adds: 'We are already looking forward to the 2012-13 season which kicks off when Roberto, his staff and players return for pre-season.'

WORLD SOCCER MASTERS

The team line-ups for June 23rd’s World Soccer Masters match in Miami, Florida have been announced. If you live in the United States, the game will be televised live on FOX Soccer. If you live anywhere in the southeast, you may want to consider going to the game at Sun Life Stadium, where it’ll be a great chance to see Lionel Messi and perhaps your last chance to see Didier Drogba on this side of the Atlantic.

Capello's Red Stars


Dunga's Black Masters



To order tickets, visit Ticketmaster. Ticket prices start at $25.

England players practised disappointed faces in training, reveals Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson has urged the Liverpool players amongst his 23-man squad not to recapture the form that they showed last season as England prepare to face Sweden in their second match at Euro 2012 on friday.




With England’s starting eleven expected to feature Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard and Stewart Downing, and with striker Andy Carroll on the bench as a non-impact substitute, Hodgson has urged the Liverpool contingent to not play anything like they did last season.

“I’ve seen these players under-performing week in, week out for their club,” said Hodgson.

“If they bring their league form to the tournament then everyone back home can look forward to 90 minutes of aimless crosses floating harmlessly out of play, misplaced passes and being caught in possession.”

“And that’s just Stewart Downing.”

Euro 2012 underway

Hodgson also revealed that the players have been practising their disappointed faces in training.

“Of course you can’t recreate the pressure that goes with looking dejected at a major tournament, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and prepare,” he revealed.

“We’ve spent a lot of time standing with our hands on our hips, shaking our heads, using our shirts to wipe away tears and practising interviews where we can’t put our finger on what went wrong.”

" Stevie is a player with a vast amount of experience when it comes to disappointment, and he will lead the line for us at Euro 2012. Players like Carroll, Henderson, Downing and Johnson have all been coached by Stevie this season , they will not let us down."


The former Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom manager went on to reveal he had no fears about using young players with little experience in playing at international level.

“I’m confident that the players who have no tournament experience can step up if called upon.”


“Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first two games, but he has spent time with the younger players showing them how to make obscene gestures at the England fans, and mouth-off at TV cameras.”

“Wayne’s disappointed that he can’t play in the first two games, but he’s hoping that if the lads do the business he’ll get the chance to tell the nation to fuck right off when we play Ukraine.”

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

ALAN HANSON FAIL

The BBC spoke to 16 BBC pundits, commentators and journalists to find out who they are tipping as winners, runners-up and semi-finalists - with the caveat that not all predictions may work out precisely because of the nature of the draw.

Only one problem Alan .......... Germany, Holland and Portugal are all in the same group ........ only two of them can progress.


The BBC have now edited the page and removed Portugal from his predictions, leaving him with only three teams on his list, while the other 15 pundits all have four.

Monday, June 4, 2012

DONE AND DUSTED ......... WHO'S NEXT ?

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce we have agreed terms with Lille for the transfer of Eden Hazard.

The 21-year-old Belgian international has agreed personal terms with the club and today passed a medical examination. He will join the club in July when the players return for pre-season training.

Having been named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year at the tender age of 17, the outstanding achievement from his five years in France was securing the league and cup double in 2010/11, his stock rising rapidly with a string of impressive displays.


Following his medical today, he said: 'I'm delighted to finally arrive here, it's a wonderful club and I can't wait to get started.'

He joins German international Marko Marin as new additions to the Chelsea squad since the January transfer window.

A GRAND DAY OUT

Ferdinand camp blast Hodgson over fresh Euro 2012 snub as Kop kid Kelly replaces Cahill

Roy Hodgson delivered the ultimate snub to a furious Rio Ferdinand on Sunday when he selected a defender who has played just two minutes of international football ahead of him for Euro 2012.


The England manager responded to the news that Gary Cahill had suffered a double fracture of the jaw in a collision with Joe Hart at Wembley on Saturday by calling Liverpool’s Martin Kelly into the squad.

That decision has left the Ferdinand camp fuming, with the player’s representative and friend Jamie Moralee branding it ‘disgraceful’.

Manchester United defender Ferdinand also expressed his anger and disbelief via Twitter. ‘What reasons?????!!!’ he wrote pointedly.


Kelly made his debut in Oslo nine days ago as a substitute two minutes from time in the 1-0 victory against Norway. He had only been called in by Hodgson for experience to give the Chelsea contingent an extended break after their Champions League heroics.


The FA insisted last night that Kelly was selected ahead of Ferdinand, subject to clearance from UEFA, for football reasons.

‘Kelly trained with the England players last week,’ said an FA statement.

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MEANWHILE ........ THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS FOR RIO FERDINAND


He has been selected to moan and groan for England at the WWC [World Whining Competition] this summer in Beijing. Fellow footballer Sergio Busquets will miss out this year as he's off to the Euros with the Spanish squad. Busquets won the Bronze at last years event in Toronto.


English team Captain, Grant Whitinger said this, ' We were on the look out in the Spring for a third whiner to bring with us to the games, and just when it seemed that all was lost ....... my wife heard Rio complaining on Sky Sports News, she was very impressed with his winging abilities and phoned me immediately at the office. I rushed home and as luck would have it, he was still droning on and on about something or other. It was relentless' said Grant, ' both my wife and I watched for a full two hours until my left ear started to bleed. My good wife carried on listening to the grumbling and bellyaching until she herself had to retire with a bellyache of her own.'

' I don't like to count my eggs as they say', said Grant, 'but griping of this quality comes along maybe once in a lifetime, it was England's good fortune that it happened to come along this summer.'

Chris Johnson, the 26 yr old running back with The Tennessee Titans will represent the US.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

QUOTE OF THE DAY



'Andy Townsend summarizing on International football is like having a painter and decorator doing the audio guide for The National Portrait Gallery.'


Frankie Boyle

Friday, June 1, 2012

RODGERS AGREES TO WEAR KING KENNY'S OLD JACKET

DID YOU KNOW ................

..... that Carroll, Downing and Henderson cost £1.5 million less for Liverpool than Hazard, Hulk and Marin have cost Chelsea ?

It's true ......... and between them, the Liverpool trio had 141 appearances between them last season, with a total of 13 goals to show for it.


I hope Liverpool fans keep that in mind as they slag Roman Abramovitch for his lavish spending and his flouting of the FFP rules ....... remember that Chelsea earned £50m for winning the Champions League ..... and Liverpool won £100,000 for winning the Carling Cup.