Two bets
Alas, it will not be an all-English final in the Champions League this year. Preliminary betting suggests that Liverpool are favourites, which means I'll be off to my local bookies to put a bet on AC Milan straight away. I rashly said the bet would be £5, though it is more likely to be £1.
My second bet will be on John Higgins to win the snooker world championship. Unfortunately, I've not been able to watch or follow the snooker as much as I'd like to (surely a sign that I'm getting old?) but will be following the closing stages over this weekend.
One thing that will slightly detract from the pleasure of watching snooker on the bbc is the commentary partnership of Willie Thorne and John Virgo. The latter isn't too bad, but Willie Thorne is annoying in the extreme: never have I encountered a commentator speak so negatively of the professionals on which he is commentating.
What makes it worse is Willie's lack of pedigree: he won one ranking tournament in his career, reached a highest of number 7 in the world rankings and only ever progressed as far as the quarter-finals in the world championship. Yes, he has made many, many 147 breaks (earning him the title "Mr Maximum") but, no, he's not . Dennis Taylor, Steve Davis, even John Virgo (and, obviously, the magesterial Clive Everton) — no problem. Willie Thorne? It's just not fair giving off that glare...
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