Harper Seven Beckham 33/1 to Play Soccer for USA
The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that novelty betting may make its way to Las Vegas. But for now, quirky wagers are most likely to be found in the UK and Ireland …
Ladbrokes has given David and Victoria Beckham’s new daughter, Harper Seven, 33/1 odds to play international soccer for the USA. She stands a 25/1 chance to play for England. Meanwhile, Harper Seven Beckham is 66/1 to wear the No. 7 jersey for the US and 50/1 to don the same lucky number for England.
With the 2012 London Olympics a year minus a day away, Daddy David Beckham comes in at 12/1 to light the opening flame, according to Paddy Power. Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, are 40/1 to do the same at Ladbrokes, The Express reports.
Political Fight Breaks Out After Hockey Loss in Slovakia
The gloves came off between two leading politicians in Slovakia during the immediate aftermath of the country’s 4-3 loss to Russia at the World Hockey Championships last Tuesday in Bratislava.
According to a report in the Slovak newspaper SME, Ivan Gasparovic and Iveta Radovica, the president and prime minister of the hockey-mad nation, respectively, ran into each other while waiting for an elevator following the disappointing defeat at the hands of the Russians.
The press account says that Gasparovic pushed Radicova, Slovakia’s first female prime minister, out of the way as the elevator reached their tier and told her to “get out of here”.
Government spokesman Marian Balaz told SME that the president’s angry outburst “was a tremendous shock” to those present.
Other sources report that Gasparovic’s wife called Radicova to apologize on her husband’s behalf.
For his part Gasparovic, a burly septuagenarian, brushed off the incident – claiming it was nothing more than a harmless gag. (Gasparovic’s exact phrase was “Kanadsky zartik” which translates as “Canadian joke” and is taken to mean a harmless prank in Slovak.)
This is not the first time accounts of Gasparovic’s undiplomatic behavior have landed him in political trouble domestically.
In the 1990s, when serving as speaker of parliament, an open microphone caught Gasparovic using the words “old” and an unflattering slang term for a part of the male anatomy to refer to Slovakia’s then-president Michal Kovac.
Beckham 33/1 to Light London Flame
International soccer star David Beckham has been given odds of 33/1 to light the 2012 London Olympic flame by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.
The same odds were given to any member of the Royal Family.
Former British Olympic champions Steve Redgrave (rowing) and Kelly Holmes (track and field) are the favorites to get the Games rolling at 4/6 and 7/2, respectively.
Beckham’s fellow English soccer stars, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, are at 150/1.
The Continuous Upward Ride of the Market
Surprise, surprise, the markets continue to climb. It used to be that when one invested money somewhere, anywhere there was such as a thing as risk. An investment, for all its upside potential, could also turn sour. Unforeseen events could dent what had once seemed like a sure thing.
Does The New York Times Hope People Will Be Driven Offline?
Whoops, in the past five minutes I have surfed my way across five articles on The New York Times’ website – which means another 15 minutes at this rate and I will have exhausted my monthly quota as a non-subscriber to their new digital plan.
