Zell

Hope the exams weren't too taxing. You didn't want to fail those exams, it's accrual world. Besides, you're accountable for your own success.

It will be a close one for sure. Looking back at some of my previous results, I should really be ahead of you on points at this stage. I need to go for the win on Tuesday, I don't think a draw will be enough for me to overtake you looking at the remaining fixtures. I was very pleased with my away win at Inter yesterday. Needed a win to stay in contention and besides, I have a rubbish record against him so a win is always nice.

I agree, the Zelda release schedule is so out of kilter with when Nintendo need Zelda to be released. When is this latest Zelda title coming out? Late 2015? Or maybe even later than that? By then, the Wii U will probably be dead and buried! It wouldn't even surprise me that much if they pushed the release back and released it as a launch title for their next console, like they did with Twilight Princess.

Bank holiday weekend plus there were engineering works on the regular Euston route so I had to go via Paddington. It got to around 4 in the afternoon, I'd had around 6 pints by then, when I started falling asleep in my chair. I snuck off for a couple of hours, had a power nap, downed some coffee and came back for the Final. Went to bed around 11 and slept for 12+ hours. Success. Sorry I couldn't join you guys for a two-day bender, will have to get myself more organised for next year. Didn't actually realise I left Brawl at yours until Goron told me yesterday! You can have it for as long as you want mate.

Genuinely gutted that I missed the Meet, looks like you all had a lot of fun. I'll be there next year guys, I promise.

I felt rougher than a badger's arsehole Saturday morning. Late night kebab was a mistake. Thought I was going to get some sleep on the train but it was completely full and ended up standing all the way to Birmingham.

I have been thinking lately about why Nintendo thought to release Smash on 3DS in the first place. It's not like anyone was desperately crying out for it right? Never have I once thought to myself: "Gee I love Smash, but wouldn't it be great to be able to play it on the go by myself on a tiny screen with worse controls?". Smash is fundamentally a multi-player game and, for the majority of people who buy it, a party game. It just doesn't fit the mould for a handheld game. To me personally, it's just taking development time and resources away from the proper, definitive version of the game. I guess the issue for Nintendo is that, like Cube has said, millions of people own a 3DS and hardly anyone owns a Wii U. It will be interesting to see how many they actually do sell on 3DS after the Wii U version is released.

James Alexander Gordon dies, aged 78 Rest in peace, Jag.

He was my favourite actor growing up. I grew up on films like Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji, Hook, etc and then when I got older I watched his more serious stuff like Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting, ... just an amazingly talented guy, he never failed to bring a smile to my face.

We all chipped in for a couple of bottles of Jager. Very expensive bottles if I remember. Don't feel too bad about losing me, I have a notorious habit of wandering off by myself when very drunk. I would love to come over and hang at yours. I might be working in London that day - will let you know what my plans are.

As a Halo vet, I naturally gravitated towards the Scout Rifles but generally found them to be underpowered compared to the Auto Rifles. Maybe I just need to get better at my shooting. Shotguns I've found to be pretty weak, you may as well just use the Sniper Rifle as a shotgun at close range.

Massive congratulations to Mexico! Seriously well done man, I had written you guys off when you got drawn with Germany. Thoroughly deserved win! A big thank you for everyone who participated in the World Cup. I hope you all enjoyed it.

I think the tale is starting to grow in the telling. I'm pretty sure I was less drunk than you were in the club, I just ended my night much worse for wear. At least I wasn't taking my shirt off every two minutes, feeling up random strangers and jumping around on tables. I remember pretty vividly me going up to the bar several times to top up on the sambucas, my wallet had so many bar receipts the next day. I lost that group of girls at one point so I ended up having one entire round to myself. Then I couldn't find you guys, left the club and hooked up with some strangers at some point, can't really remember much after that.

Yeah I know, I'm being super-lame. I bought tickets months ago and haven't thought about it in ages. To be honest I'm not too fussed about the actual cricket, at least not in terms of the results. I mainly got tickets because a) it's a gigantic piss-up and b) it's only five minutes walk away from where I live. Will have to think on it.

It does suck when players drop out, but like Drahkon says it's pretty much the same with every other online multiplayer. I personally haven't experienced it much thankfully. I've played quite a few matches in the Crucible, didn't really enjoy it at first but it started to grow on me. My biggest gripe is usually when the connection is slightly dodgy. I hate those moments when you see someone across the map, you start shooting at them thinking that you've go the jump on them, only for the game to catch up one and a half seconds later and suddenly you're dead after realising that they were shooting you first all along. Would also have liked there to have been more than just the one game type, but I can't really moan since it is a free beta after all.

Early away losses to Winston and Eights may have already killed off my title challenge for another year. Need to somehow beat Inter on Tuesday and keep winning my home games to stand a chance I reckon.

Devastated to have lost to Russia after my epic victory against The Netherlands, but the Russians were ultimately too good for us. Looking forward to the Final on Tuesday, I personally will be rooting for Mexico who have been absolutely amazing so far and would love them to go all the way. Going to quickly post my (late) Quarter Final reports, Semi Final reports coming soon! Mexico 3-1 Germany The shock result of the tournament so far. Having already beaten Mexico 5-2 in the group, what could Aqui1a’s side possibly have to fear? We were all perhaps expecting a routine encounter with the Germans looking ahead to semis. Dedede’s men had other ideas. The Mexicans had a hunger, a certain desire, and a will to win that the Germans could not match. To use a footballing cliché, they wanted it more. The Germans set themselves up to play to their strengths and dominate possession like they have done on many previous occasions during the tournament. And whilst they certainly had the lion’s share of the ball, creating chances proved to be much more difficult. Mexico took the game to the opposition and went out all guns blazing. Their first goal came after only 11 minutes Rodolfo slotted in from close range. Despite this early setback, Germany kept their composure and were level 12 minutes later thanks to a spectacular long range effort from Zacharewicz. That shot proved to be Germany’s only shot during the entire match. Bereft of any sort of creativity, the German midfield struggled to find a way through a determined Mexican defence. Meanwhile, Diaz and Rodolfo were giving the German defence all sorts of problems. Diaz gave the Mexicans the lead for the second time five minutes before half time after getting round the back of the German line. Mexico kept on attacking and creating problems for the German defence before Rodolfo finally sealed victory in the 84th minute with his second goal of the match. Germany will be left scratching their heads at how this one evaded them. Tactically they were sound, if a little predictable. Too many of their big name stars just simply did not perform at their best on the day. All credit to Dedede’s Mexican side however who played an absolute blinder and will go into their semi final clash with Nigeria full of confidence. Greece 0-1 Nigeria A cagey encounter, this one looked set to go to penalties until Epitie snatched a late chance to send Nigeria to the semi finals. This was the third encounter between the two sides at this world cup, but the first to be played at a neutral venue. They went into this match at one victory each with Greece being slight favourites thanks to their more impressive goal scoring record. Nevertheless both teams were very familiar with each other at this point and tactically the match would be a case of bluffs and double bluffs by both managers. Greece went with the same 3-5-2 formation that saw them thrash Nigeria 3-0 in the group stage, whereas Nigeria went with their trusty 4-4-2 formation that has served them well so far. Playing two lines of four, Nigeria’s mighty defence would prove extremely difficult for the Greeks to break down. Greece dominated possession, but could not find a way through. Star player Samaras was also being targeted by the Nigerian defence and struggled to play at his best. Nigeria also struggled to create chances. Greece manager Nikos had set up his tactics well and his three centre backs blocking out many through ball attempts from the Nigerian midfield. The match pressed on and was seemingly heading for extra time when almost out of nowhere Epitie snatched a chance in the Greek penalty area to put Nigeria ahead with 12 minutes of regular time remaining. The Greeks were deflated and ultimately could not stage a comeback. Greece will be frustrated by this result, having set his side up so well for this match. Nigeria manager Milagi said in his post-match press conference that the game could have gone either way and most pundits would agree with this analysis. Nigeria will have to up their game though if they are to overcome an impressive Mexico side in the semi finals.

Nooooooooooooooo! I've only just realised that 23rd August is T20 Finals Day. Fuck. For some reason I thought Finals Day was much earlier. I'm really sad now guys, I was really looking forward to this.

Because Xpert is dumb. I unfortunately cannot control the knockout draw, I think Xpert just randomly matches 1st place teams with 2nd place teams.

Group Stage Reports Group A The most lopsided group of the cup, Group A saw both Russia and The Netherlands cruise through with two games to spare. Russia in particular have been pretty unstoppable at times and are one of only two teams to remain unbeaten so far. The key to their success has been their defence – commanded by Kozlov and Ignashevich – which has only let in 2 goals so far. Simply put, Russia have looked dominant and along with Germany they will be the favourites to lift the cup. The Netherlands have also looked very impressive, their only blemish being their close loss to Russia. The Dutch have looked more impressive than the Russians going forward, with van den Baan picking up top goal scorer and top point scorer accolades. The Peeps will hope that he can maintain that standard of attacking play as he prepares to take on a resolute and determined Brazilian side. Final Standings: 1. Russia 2. Netherlands -------------------- 3. Colombia 4. South Korea Group B Group B was a three horse race, with Mexico just stealing 2nd place from Cameroon during the final round of matches. Germany unexpectedly lost their opening match with Cameroon, but bounced back to take top spot fairly comfortably. At their best Germany have been ruthless, dominating play and scoring at will. Their victories include a 4-1 against Ghana, a 5-2 against Mexico and a 4-0 against Cameroon. Their 16 goals are the highest of any side in the competition. This pundit called Germany the favourites for the cup in his opening report and that is still the case going into the knockout phase, however Germany have not been perfect and have shown that they can be beaten. Mexico won their last two matches to grab the runners-up spot from Cameroon. Their reward for this is match with Germany in the quarter finals, one which manager Dedede will be dreading. Mexico were thumped 5-2 by the Germans in the group – a much better performance will be needed if Mexico are to have any chance of progressing further. Final Standings: 1. Germany 2. Mexico -------------------- 3. Cameroon 4. Ghana Group C Group C was another three horse race. Chile were unfortunately too weak to be able to realistically compete, their 3-skill keeper simply being not good enough and they ended up losing all of their games. That left Nigeria, Greece and Ecuador to fight it out with Ecuador coming up short by two points. Nigeria proved to be the most consistent team in the group with only the one loss to Greece. Perhaps more crucially, they held Ecuador to a draw in the second match, which ultimately determined the fate of the group. Greece were also very consistent – winning all of their home games and losing away to Nigeria and Ecuador. Nigeria and Ghana’s reward for qualifying for the quarter finals is a match against each other (Xpert can be really stupid at times). Being played at a neutral venue, this one will be tough to call, but Greece’s more impressive goal scoring and attacking play may see them edge out. Final Standings: 1. Nigeria 2. Greece -------------------- 3. Ecuador 4. Chile Group D This pundit feels rather silly after the two sides he predicted would go through both crashed out. Croatia unfortunately got off to a false start and by the time they hit their stride it was too little too late. Narrow defeats to England and Switzerland followed by two frustrating draws against a stonewall Brazil side left Croatia needing a miracle to qualify, a miracle which needless to say did not occur. Brazil topped the group unbeaten thanks to some stout defending and clinical goal scoring. England also unexpected impressed with two wins over Switzerland and one over Croatia in the opening match. They were however unable to beat Brazil and were thrashed in their final game by Croatia, albeit in a game that was a dead rubber. Haden has done a great job so far, but will need to raise the team’s performance levels if they are to stand a chance against Russia. Final Standings: 1. Brazil 2. England -------------------- 3. Croatia 4. Switzerland Quarter Finals England vs Russia Zell’s prediction: Russia Mexico vs Germany Zell’s prediction: Germany Greece vs Nigeria Zell’s prediction: Greece Netherlands vs Brazil Zell’s prediction: Netherlands

I picked the wrong time to go running today. Left the flat, five minutes in the heavens open. After 35 minutes of running in a thunderstorm, I get back indoors only for the sun to come back out again. Fuck you mother nature. @Eddage, I'm currently using RunKeeper to track my running. It tracks how far I've run via GPS and gives me nice little details like elevation and splits. It doesn't record weight training though so it's not applicable to your needs.

You are a saint! Code worked like a charm. Thank you.

Do any of you beautiful people happen to have a spare PS3 beta code? (It is available on PS3 right?)

I was hoping for a draw today, but oh well. Winston are a strong team. My next three games are Haden, Eights and Inter. I would be happy with four or five points to be honest.

@Goron_3 just wants someone he can beat - he's getting tired of me thrashing him at Project M. It's cool you're coming to the meet, missed your presence last year. Would be up for another round of drunken shenanigans.