It's about time I introduced the second member of the family: our first cat, Jubilee. We met Jubi when she was returned back to Snowflake from a family that were getting divorced. She was this scared cat curled in a small ball in the back of a cage. Jenn immediatly fell in love with her and Jubi saw Jenn as a safety net. Three weeks later she went home with us and settled in. She is now the Princess of our home.

I wish people could see how badly their animals are affected when they are giving up. It is as traumatic to them as if it would be to a person suddenly given up and abandoned. Jubilee showed this and how hard it is to regain a trust, but, when it is regained it is in amazing way.


-Richard

World Cup Day 20: Quarter-Finals

Germany 1 Argentina 1 after extra time. Germany win 4-2 on penalties. A weird game between the two footballing teams I like the least. Germany is the lesser of two evils so I have to be happy with this result. Bye Argentina cheats!!

Italy 3 Ukraine 0. Italy finally looked like the team they can be. Ukraine had a good couple of chances, but, were outclassed.

-Richard

World Cup Day 19: Second Round.

Brazil 3 Ghana 0. A record for Ronaldo with his 15th World Cup goal. Ghana played really well, but, in the end the loss of Michael Essien due to suspension could have made the difference. Ghana should be proud.

Spain 1 France 3. France finally show up and Spain's record of futility continues. The French could now be the dark horse of the competition. I think they could win it all.

So, at the end of the second round the traditional powers come to the fore. Out the six former winners in the competition all six make it to the Quater Finals. The only one no there is Uruguay who did not qualify.

My ranking of the the teams knocked out is:-

9. Switzerland
10. Mexico
11. Holland
12. Ecuador
13. Australia
14. Spain
15. Sweden
16. Ghana

-Richard

Finished Reading "Catherine the Great" a biography of the foundation years of the the Russian Empress, Catherine II, Catherine the Great.

-Richard

World Cup Day 18: Second Round.

Italy 1 Australia 0. A penalty in the last minute of injury time for the 10 men Italians was enough to doom the brave Aussies. A dubious penalty,but, the Australian defender definatly brought it on themselves.

Switzerland 0 Ukraine 0 after extra time. Ukraine win 3-0 on penalties. Not the best game with both sides not showing much initiative. Switzerland managed to get knocked without ever conceding a goal (not including the penalty shoot-out). They also took the three most pathetic penalty kicks I've seen in a long time.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: Sri Lanka beat England by 46 runs. Second one day international.
Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickers. Third one day international.

International Football: Sweden 2 England 2. World Cup Group B.
England 1 Ecuador 0. World Cup Second Round.

Ghana 2 USA 1. World Cup Group E. USA eliminated.

Cricket: Durham beat Hampshire by 227 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham move up to 5th place.
Derbyshire beat Durham by 5 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy. Durham are knocked out.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 42 Huddersfield Giants 16. Superleague. Bradford are still in 4th place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 3 Edmonton Oilers 1. Stanley Cup Final. Canes win the Series and the Cup 4 games to 3.

Baseball: Houston Astros 4 Kansas City Royals 7
Houston Astros 5 Minnesota Twins 7
Houston Astros 5 Minnesota Twins 3
Houston Astros 2 Minnesota Twins 4
Chicago White Sox 7 Houston Astros 4
Chicago White Sox 6 Houston Astros 5. The Astros fall to 37-38, but close the gap on National League Central Divison Leaders to 5 1/2 games.

-Richard

World Cup Day 17: Second Round

England 1 Ecuador o. Another not so impressive performance by England as they make the quarters. They will need to improve immeasurably if they want to progress.

Portugal 1 Holland 0. The second game of the day is again the classic. This one, however, is more in the performance of the Russian referee as he issues a record 4 red cards and 16 yellows. Portugal look very good as they set up the third Scolari vs Eriksson quarter final in a row. The first two went to Scolari 2-1 for Brazil in the last world cup quarters and for Portugal in Euro 2004. I think once again Portugal should be too strong.

-Richard

World Cup Day 16: Second Round.

Germany 2 Sweden 0. A amazing start by an impressive Germany had this game won within the first 15 minutes.

Argentina 2 Mexico 1 (After Extra Time). A great game, almost an upset by Mexico won by an amazing goal in extra time by Rodriquez.

-Richard

World Cup Day 15. The final Day of Group Games.

Saudia Arabia 0 Spain 1. Spain continue to be impressive despite playing a completly second team.

Ukraine 1 Tunisia 0. Ukraine recover from their 4-0 drubbing by Spain to qualify for the next round.

Final Group Positions.

1. Spain (Spain)
2. Ukraine (Tunisia)
3. Tunisia (Saudi Arabia)
4. Saudi Arabia (Ukraine)

Switzerland 2 South Korea 0. The Swiss looked very strong in winning the group.

Togo 0 France 2. France very un-impressivly squeak through to the second round.

Final Group Positions:

1. Switzerland (France)
2. France (Switzerland)
3. South Korea (South Korea)
4. Togo (Togo)

So, the first round is over. The most impressive teams: Spain, Argentina, Germany, Ecuador and Switzerland. The most dissapointing: Czech Republic, USA and England.

16 Teams are eliminated. I have ranked them in the order I think should be 17-32.

17 South Korea
18 Paraguay
19 Ivory Coast
20 Czech Republic
21 Poland
22 Croatia
23 Angola
24 Tunisia
25 Iran
25 USA
27 Trinidad and Tobego
28 Japan
28 Saudi Arabia
30 Togo
31 Costa Rica
32 Serbia and Montenegro

-Richard

World Cup Day 14: The final games for groups E and F.

Ghana 2 USA 1. The US is eliminated by another very disspointing performance. I'm sure a lot of blame will be thrown around, but, in my opinion it has to fall at the feet of Bruce Arena. His team selections and formations did not show any imagination or passion. Yes, some of the ref calls were definitly questionable, but, at the end of the day the performances were below par.

Czech Repbublic 0 Italy 2.

Final group standings:

1. Italy (Czech Republic)
2. Ghana (Italy)
3. Czech Republic (USA)
4. USA (Ghana)

Croatia 2 Australia 2. A great game. Australia did a fantastic job of qulifying for the second round. Another referee nightmare a Graham Poll missed at least one, if not two clear penalties and ended up booking the same Croat three times after forgeting he'd already given him one.

Japan 1 Brazil 4

Final Group Positions:

1. Brazil (Brazil)
2. Australia (Australia)
3. Croatia (Croatia)
4. Japan (Japan)

-Richard

World Cup Day 13: The final day of Groups C and D.

Holland 0 Argentina 0. A very disapointing game between these two heavyweights as they both rested a lot of players.

Ivory Coast 3 Serbia and Montenegro 2. Ivory Coast get the consolation win the so richly deserved.

Final Group C Positions (My predictions in brackets)

1. Argentina (Holland)
2. Holland (Argentina)
3. Ivory Coast (Ivory Coast)
4. Serbia and Montenrgro (Serbia and Montenegro)

Portugal 2 Mexico 1
Iran 1 Angola 1. I did not watch these games.

Final Group D positions (my predictions in brackets)

1. Portugal (Portugal)
2. Mexico (Mexico)
3. Angola (Iran)
4. Iran (Angola)

-Richard




Portugal 2 Mexico 1. Portugal win the group, Mexico finish 2nd.

Iran 1 Angola 1. Angola could not quite get the goals and the win they needed.

World Cup Day 12: The final day of Groups A and B.

Ecuador 0 Germany 3. Impressive finale by the hosts as they win the group.

Costa Rico 1 Poland 2. Poland safe some face.

Final Group A Position: (my prediction from back in December in brackets)

1. Germany (Germany)
2. Ecuador (Poland)
3. Poland (Costa Rico)
4. Costa Rico (Ecuador)

Paraguay 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. Paraguay finally play like they could ending Trinidad's brave run. They certainly did themselves proud.

Sweden 2 England 2. A much better first half by England before running out of steam again. Silly mistakes cost the win, however, the draw is good enough to qualify for the second round.

Final Group B Position: (my prediction from back in December in brackers)

1 England (Sweden)
2. Sweden (England)
3. Paraguay (Paraguay)
4. Trinidad and Tobego (Trinidad and Tobego)

The seocond round games will be Germany vs Sweden and England vs Ecuador

-Richard

World Cup Day 11: Togo 2 Switzerland 0. Togo are eliminated however, they should have been given a penalty when only trailing 1-0 that may have made a major difference.

Saudia Arabia 0 Ukraine 4. A complete turn around by Ukraine against a bad looking Saudi team.

Spain 3 Tunisia 1. I was disapointed with Spain who were in line for a big upset until substitution's made a big difference in turning around the game in the last quarter.

-Richard

World Cup Day 10: Japan 0 Croatia 0. Not a very inspiring game.

Brazil 2 Australia 0. A brave effort by the Aussies, who with more confidence in front of goal could have caused a major upset. However, Brazil march on and qualify with a goal by someone called "Fred" of all names!!

France 1 South Korea 1. France finally score, had a second that should have counted not count for South Korea to get an equalizer. With Togo still to play France still have a very good chance to qualify.

-Richard

-Richard

Score Update:

Internationl Rugby Union: Australia 43 England 18

International Cricket: England beat Ireland by 38 runs. One day International.
Sri Lanka beat England by 2 runs. Twenty 20 International.
Sri Lanka beat England by 20 runs. One day International.

International Football: England 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. World Cup Group B. England advance to second round.

USA 0 Czech Republic 3. World Cup Group E.
Italy 1 USA 1. World Cup Group E.

Cricket: Durham beat Nottinghamshire by 28 runs. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.
Kent beat Durham by 95 runs . County Championship Division 1. Durham fall to 6th place.
Durham beat Scotland by 5 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 20 St. Helens 18. Superleague, Bradford stay in 4th place.

Ice Hocley: Edmonton Oilers 1 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Edmonton Oilers 4
Edmonton Oilers 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3. Stanly Cup Finals. Series tied 3-3.

Baseball: Houston Astros 14 Atlanta Braves 4
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 9
Chicago Cubs 4 Houston Astros 5
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 2 Kansas City Royals 7
Houston Astros 7 Kansas City Royals 2. The Astros move to 36-33, but, are still 6 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.

-Richard

World Cup Day 9: Portugal 2 Iran 0. Portugal advance, not very convincingly, but, they make it to the second round for the first time since 1966. Iran eliminated.

Czech Republic 0 Ghana 2. A fantastic performance from Ghana in getting the upset. I thought Ghana would be the best African team before the competition. The performance proved it.

Italy 1 USA 1. A much better performance by the US. All Americans should be proud as they keep their cup hopes alive. The main talking point a diabolic performance by the whole refereeing crew.

-Richard

World Cup Day 8: Argentina 6 Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina definartly looked the best team in the tournament by far. Having said that Serbia seemed to give up as they crash out of the tournament.

Holland 2 Ivory Coast 1. Ivory Coast unlucky to get knocked out as Holland advance.

Mexico 0 Angola 0. Very good, brave performance by Angola. Mexico will need to play an awful lot better if they are to match their talk.

-Richard

World Cup Day 7: Ecuador 3 Costa Rico 0. Ecuador looked very impressive. They will not be an easy game for anyone in the second roud. They definatly deserve their place in the second round.

England 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. Another win, another struggle. England will need to improve immeasurably if they are going to get through even the second round.

Sweden 1 Paraguay 0. Sweden finally scored right at the end. Paraguay eliminated.

-Richard

World Cup Day 6: Spain 4 Ukraine 0
Tuinisia 2 Saudia Arabia 2
Germany 1 Poland 9

I did not see any of these games so cannot comment.

-Richard

World Cup Day 5: South Korea 2 Togo 1: A brave performance by Togo after the coaching controversy.

France 0 Switzerland 0: An awful game. These two games couldn't have scored if they played all day.

Brazil 1 Croatia 0: An entertaining game with a fantastic goal by Kaka. However, they did not look by far invincible.

-Richard

World Cup Day 4: USA 0 Czech Republic 3: Awful, awful, awful by the US. Having said that the Czech's looked very impressive. Rosicky scored a spectacular goal.

Australia 3 Japan 1: A fantastic three goal last 10 minutes from Australia turning around a 1 goal deficit caused, by, my opinion, an awful refereeing decision on a foul on Aussie goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Italy 2 Ghana 0: A good open game. Essien for Ghana was fantastic, just a pity he had no support. Italy looked good, although not a perfect game.

-Richard

World Cup Day 3: Angola 0 Portugal 1. Another interesting game with a brave performance by Angola. Portugal need to improve to go a long way in the competition.

Mexico 3 Iran 1: A late burst by Mexico put away a brave Iran side.

Serbia and Montenegro 0 Holland 1. Impressive performance by Robben in particular. However, he cause some dissent in the locker room due to his selfish, but, spectular play.

-Richard

World Cup Day 2;

England 1 Paraguay 0: Three points, but, an awful performance by England. Same old story under Eriksson. No passion. They will need to get a lot, lot better to get any further.

Sweden 0 Trinidad and Tobago 0: A fantastic performance by Trinidad holding a very strong Sweden side to a draw. This was accomplished via a fantastic display by Shaka Hislop in goal and despite Avery John being sent off at the start of the second half.

Argentina 2 Ivory Coast 1: A good game. Argentina looked impressive, but, as with Germnay the day before their defence looked questionable at times. Ivory Coast looked very good.

-Richard

World Cup Day 1:

Germany 4 Costa Rica 2. A strong victory by Germany. They scored two very spectacular goals. However, there were holes in their defence with Wanchope beating the offside trap twice.

Poland 0 Ecuador 2. A minor surprise. Ecuador beat both Brazil and Argentina in qualifying, but, that was at home at high altitude. Their record away at sea level is atrocious. They broke that reputation with a victory versus Poland.

-Richard

Finished Reading "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" a Jack Ryan novel by Tom Clancy.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Rugby: England 46 Barbarians 19
Australia 34 England 3

International Cricket: England beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets 2nd Test Match
Sri Lanka beat England by 134 runs. 3rd Test Match. The series finished tied 1-1

International Football: England 3 Hungary 1. Friendly
England 6 Jamaica 0. Friendly
England 1 Parguay 0. World Cup Group B

USA 1 Latvia 0. Friendly

Cricket: Durham beat Leicestershire by 3 wickets Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy
Durham beat Oxford UCCE by 4 wickets. Friendly
Durham beat Yorkshire by 2 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy
Warwickshire beat Durham by 18 runs Durham stay in 5th place

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 4 Buffalo Sabres 3
Buffalo Sabres 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4 Buffalo Sabres 2. Eastern Conference Finals. 'Canes win sereis 4-3
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Edmonton Oilers 4
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Edmonton Oilers 0
Edmonton Oilers 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1. Stanley Cup Finales. 'Canes lead series 2-1

Baseball: Pittsburg Pirates 8 Houston Astros 7
Pittsburg Pirates 4 Houston Astros 5
St. Louis Cardinals 3 Houston Astros 1
St. Louis Cardinals 3 Houston Astros 6
St. Louis Cardinals 4 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 3 Cincinnati Reds 14
Houston Astros 5 Cincinnati Reds 7
Houston Astros 4 Cincinnati Reds 6
Houston Astros 0 Chicago Cubs 8
Houston Astros 4 Chicago Cubs 1
Houston Astros 1 Chicago Cubs 0
Houston Astros 7 Atlanta Braves 4
Houston Astros 7 Atlanta Braves 2
Houston Astros 2 Atlanta Braves 4 The 'Stros are now 31-32 6 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.


-Richard

I read an interesting article in Time. It was essentially about Christian's in Politics, and how in America the "Republican Religious Right" essentially try and speak for all Christian's. The article says Christianity, Religion should be kept out of politics. I agree to some agree as it Christianity is not a political agenda. It is a way of life. If you are Christian every issue, in my opinion, should be decided on it's merit's in light of Scripture not on a Party Political Line. I believe as a Christian you can be a politician, but, it is very difficult not to compromise your faith because to be succesful you need to follow different interest groups, which ever party you are member of and compromise your beliefs.

Is the Republican Party the natural party of Christian's in the US? I would argue on the teaching of Scripture no!! Conservatism essentially teaches personnel gain and greed over as a key to success. This is the opposite to Jesus' teaching and that of the early Church were sharing and commune where the key ingrediants and teaching. This thread runs through the Gospels, Acts and all the Epistles.

So, is the Democrat Party the natural party of Christian's in the US? I would argue on the teaching of Scripture no. The Liberal teaching of today's party is against the moral teaching's of Scripture in such things as homosexuality and abortion.

So, who do we vote for? I think with all integrity it is every Christians, and for that matter every eligible voter's duty to explore every issue and the point of view of each party and weigh up which party has the most that meet the teaching of Scripture (or an individual's point of view). Also it is important to decide are some issue's weighted more than other's. Yes, sometime's in the vote a compromise is needed, but, a vote should be also cast and it must be done with, a researched, responsible attitude. Alignement to one party no matter what is something that I think is dangerous, essentially is a wasted, brain-washed vote.

-Richard