Well, unless you’re living in a cave, you’ll know the only thing on the menu at the moment is the Olympics. Thankfully, the circus is only in town for 17 days every four years.
The opening ceremony went off without a hitch. In an interesting decision, bookmakers have vowed to refund all bets on who would light the flame, since no one could have predicted the honor would be given to seven unknown athletes. I am not big on keeping with tradition, but surely they could have dragged up some Pom from yesteryear and bestowed the honor on him. At least we can be thankful it wasn’t the Queen flicking a cigarette into the cauldron.
The Chinese are off to a great start and lead the medal count at the end of the first weekend. In fact, I am backing them to top the gold medal count, and I hope you guys jumped on for the ride. It’s too early to tell what might happen, but they’ve already picked up a few surprise gold medals, and still to come are badminton, table tennis and diving, which should be a ”gold rush” for the Chinese.
Over the next two weeks, I will be posting regular betting tips on the Olympics in ”Big Jim’s tips of the day”. I have to say that my knowledge on Olympic sports is not the best, but I have a few sports fanatical friends ready to advise me of ”golden moments” which should result in nice payouts.
In the AFL and NRL, Hawthorn and Canterbury respectively, continued on their merry way this weekend and have again shortened their odds in premiership betting.
The Super 15 competition is down to its final two combatants. The Waikato Chiefs will be hosting surprise finalists the Sharks from South Africa. This is a dream match-up for the Chiefs who will face a team coming off two games on the road. If weather conditions are good then the Chiefs should win easily. If it rains, however, the Sharks could have a chance. The Chiefs have been the whipping boys of NZ rugby for decades and they will never get a better chance than this to silence their critics.
