“Hey, hey, cheer up John. Missing a penalty doesn’t make you a bad person, mate. Now if you were, let’s say, to sleep with a good friend’s girlfriend, get her pregnant and pay for an abortion, that’d make you a bad person, but you wouldn’t do that of course. Ho, ho…the very thought.”
 
“Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
 
John Terry’s world – just like his left leg in the 2008 Champions League Final – is collapsing. And, like that night in Moscow, only people at Chelsea and maybe David Beckham will support him.
 
As most sit on their moral butter box Blogs and cry foul, it seems you can tackle the England captain after all. Good news for Roy Keane and the rest of us. People who believe in the myth of monogamy have been waving their arms and stamping their feet at John Terry’s “transgressions”. They’re right to, if they abide by those ideals, but if Bradley can forgive Max and Stacey in EastEnders, perhaps this will blow over eventually. For England’s World Cup hopes, it will have to.
 
Everyone has a right to lambaste Terry for his indefensible actions and being a sly, arrogant plonker who tried to conceal his deeds with his wealth in a court of law, but is he any less an England captain than he was last Monday? The Chelsea leopard still has the same spots he had before. He admitted to affairs prior to this most recent problem and Capello knew he was no saint when he reappointed him as their leader on the field. Heck, national treasure and the only man to lead England to World Cup glory Bobby Moore lacked moral fibre. He liked his booze and, according to his wife Tina, had a wandering eye which he acted upon at least once. What’s different and wrong with Terry now?
 
He’s slept with a team-mate’s, and worse still, a good friend’s ex missus. He’s broken a golden and unwritten rule among friends. A “normal” affair with a page 3 model is fair game, presumably. A highly unlikely reconciliation between the two players would probably repair some of the damage done to squad morale, but the England captaincy issue would persist.
 
Based purely on his ability as a centre-half and as a leader, John Terry should retain the captaincy. However, his inability to keep his trousers on means some of his international team-mates will have lost all respect for him. Respect cannot be learned, purchased or acquired - it can only be earned. Terry will have to do that all over again. He will, and has to, lose that precious and coveted armband.
 
So who’ll replace the England captain? Which morally sound players can England rely on to lead their side in South Africa? Rooney - the man who slept with a geriatric prostitute. Nightclub brawler Gerrard. Rio - the man who organises spit roasts and misses drug tests or Rebecca Loos’s David Beckham.
 
Would you adhere to the “public’s” criteria of a good England captain? Who would, in some of our moralising commentators eyes, be the right man for the job? Let us know what you think below!

Posted in Football, Sportsbook | 16 Comments »

At least Kieren Fallon had the smarts to wait till after the race before pulling Stewart Webster off his horse in 1994 – I think I recall one of the tabloids running with the headline “Fallon Pulls Off Webster”. He got a six month ban for that paticular incident (Unfortunately no one has uploaded it to YouTube).
 
Anyway, two jockeys in the US, as you’ll see from the video below, came to blows during a race after some seemingly innocuous in-race bumping at Philadelphia Park on Friday night. I’ve seen worse in a point-to-point race, but it’s funny nonetheless, albeit extremely dangerous. I can’t imagine Ruby giving AP a slap mid-race for a bit of bumping.
 

 
[Shameless Marketing bit] Ehem… this is what you’re missing when not watching US Racing live on At The Races every night with Paddy Power. *read this very fast* Past performance is no guarantee of future results and jockeys punching each other may not happen every night.

Posted in Being An Idiot, Horse Racing Tips, Racing | 1 Comment »

To brazenly rehash something we’ve used before for the last few years and because we need a winner post-haste, Paddy Power Chase Day at Leopardstown is one of those great things that’s associated with Christmas - like turkey and ham, mulled wine, terrible films and tolerating the company of relatives you can’t stand - relatives you can avoid if you win this wonderful prize!
 
We’ve got a spectacular VIP trip to Leopardstown on Sunday 27th December up for grabs. This fabulous prize includes:
 
• Four course meal & FREE BAR
• Celebrity Tipster – (Not Paddy, so don’t let it put you off)
• A €200 bet
• €200 travel expenses for the winner
• Overnight accommodation in Bewley’s Hotel, Leopardstown
• Paddy Power Goody Bag 
 
Name the family movie commonly associated with and shown on Christmas Day;
 
(a) The Great Bookmaker
(b) The Great Escape
(c) The Great Competition

 
That’s all there is to it – username and correct answer to competitions@paddypower.com
 

 
Closing date is midday on Tuesday 22nd December. Winner will be drawn at random. Answers left in comments section don’t count as proper entries, but you can tell us how great we are if you want.

Posted in Competitions, Racing, Sportsbook | 12 Comments »

If veering left and throwing your jockey up in the air was some sort of sport, Sacrilege, who was due to run in the 1.40 at Ludlow today, would be a World Champion. While he might not like racing, he’s getting free food and accommodation to do it so the least he could do is give us a run for our money. Either way, Paddy Power customers shouldn’t worry, we’ve refunded all losing single stakes on the horse to win the race.

Posted in Horse Racing Tips, Justice Payouts | 3 Comments »

John Oxx has made the right decision – and, even if you disagree, it doesn’t affect our customers as we’ve refunded bets on Sea The Stars to win the Breeders’ Cup!

Retiring Sea The Stars at the height of his powers with nothing to prove is the correct decision. Many will argue it’s the coward’s way out. Cynics will say, “oh, he doesn’t want to have a George Washington on his hands” or another Rock of Gibraltar. As has been Oxx’s approach throughout the season, the horse’s best interests have been to the fore. Accordingly, it was the trainer’s decision - not the owners - who decided against a trip to Santa Anita. Yes, it protects his stud value – the colt’s, not Mr Oxx’s - it isn’t the main reason. He has nothing to gain from the trip.

Perhaps prematurely, the experts waded in on the debate about the six-time group one winner’s greatness following his Arc win. Some have even assessed him on that victory in Longchamp alone. On ratings some cited the mighty Sea-Bird as the marker for all things brilliant - which is fair enough. On race-record, though, the Guineas, Derby and Arc treble had never been achieved. Racing aficionados, however, have missed the proverbial boat with punters on this great Champion and have been swallowed up by all their own hackneyed rhetoric – the good and the bad. Sea The Stars is, quite simply, a hero and history will award him the tag of legend. No one else.

The Cape Cross colt may not have captured the imagination of the public like jumping greats such as Desert Orchid or Istabraq, but he was certainly loved by those who appreciate his wonderful ability – even those who opposed him through their pockets. Walking tall after the Guineas victory, Stevie Wonder could see he was a champion in the making. The steely, determined three year old has spectacularly delivered on his early promise and beaten all comers.

Some argue he’s beaten nothing, but he can only defeat what’s put in front of him. Gauging equine brilliance seems to be based on the manner of victories as opposed to its merits. This is wrong. Barcelona outplaying Man Utd to win Champions League 2 - 0 is surely more impressive than a 6 – 2 victory over Real Madrid in La Liga? Isn’t it? Some even have the temerity to say STS doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Nijinsky, Shergar or Dancing Brave. He’s deserving of equal acclaim. He’s my Nijinsky. My Secretariat. His unique Triple Crown, I can assure you, will never be repeated.

Posted in Horse Racing Tips, Racing, Sportsbook | 15 Comments »

Following his defection from the Wyndham Championship, Tim Clark cited a “pain in the neck” as the reason for his withdrawal. Something he passed on to anybody who backed the short-priced player to win the PGA event. We’ve refunded all bets on the South African. Steve Flesch also pulled out early, but he didn’t feel like telling anyone why. The extremely poor weather conditions and being eight shots behind the leader probably had something to do with it. We’ve refunded bets on the American too. And some people think all our refunds and payouts are just cynical PR gimmicks. What did your bookie do with your money? A new villa in Monte Carlo, that’s what.

Posted in Golf, Justice Payouts, Sportsbook | 3 Comments »

Over the last few weeks golf had become boringly predictable. Tiger had won twice on the bounce and winning the US PGA Championship looked a certainty following some magical displays. The American was invincible, or so we thought. Convinced that the cat would get the cream, we opted to settle Woods as the winner on Saturday - two days before the finish. Unfortunately, we hadn’t counted on Korean YE Yang. In hindsight, it wasn’t a wise move, as has been pointed out on numerous occasions, but if you live by the sword, you die by the sword – or, in our case, get a big hole cut in your pocket where money falls out. No Christmas bonus, I guess. Eh, Paddy?
 
If nothing else, Yang was a deserved winner. Woods’ putter had clearly gone “cold” and nothing would drop on the greens. Yang, on the other hand, sank an eagle chip on 14 which turned the tide in his favour. His approach shot on the 18th at Hazeltine was reminiscent of Harrington’s on the 17th at Royal Birkdale in the Open last year. A bold statement of confidence in his own ability; it was inspiring.
 
While the Korean’s victory is a watershed moment for men’s golf in Asia and his performance was classy, he’ll be just another Rich Beem, Todd Hamilton or [include another one hit wonder] in years to come. Backing up your first Major success with another is the true mark of a golf champion. I can’t see Yang reaching that level again. He’s come from absolutely nowhere to win, a bit like John Daly in ’91, but repeating the feat will be difficult.
 
Thanks to the 37 year old, though, Tiger’s unbeatable reputation is somewhat damaged – but definitely not broken. You’d have to think Tiger’s Major-less streak will come to an end at the 2010 US Masters.
 
Why could Tiger not finish the job he started so well? Is Yang a one hit wonder? Join everybody else: point and laugh at us, a la Nelson Muntz, about our crazy early payout.

Posted in Golf, Sportsbook | 19 Comments »

You’d have to feel desperately sorry for Crystal Palace fans. They’ve an Oompa Loompa as a chairman, a mouthpiece for a manager and the FA don’t like them very much; they sent them a blind referee on the second weekend of the season.
 
No one at Ashton Gate, or anywhere else for that matter, could believe their eyes when ref Rob “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” Shoebridge failed to see Freddie Sears’ 30th-minute goal. Palace chief Neil Warnock said they were cheated and, in our eyes, so were our customers. So rather than spending your losing bets on updating his Playboy subscription, Paddy has decided to do the decent thing. As well as paying the official result, we’ve settled bets on the draw, the Correct Score, 1st Scorer and anytime scorer as winners. Did your bookie go to Specsavers?
 

Posted in Justice Payouts, Sportsbook | 1 Comment »

Just who has taken over at the asylum? Paddy Power has decided that Tiger Woods, with just a four shot lead, is such a certainty to lift the Wanamaker Trophy we’ve paid out on him to win the US PGA Championship early – before a ball has been a hit in the third round and before Westwood can get in contention only to bogey the last and miss out on a playoff. Our customers have collected £1.25 million before the great man even tees off for round three.

 
In fairness, despite a wobbly start to proceedings on day 2, the world number one manoeuvred through extremely difficult conditions to lead the field by four. Towing the company line, as I did earlier in the week, he won’t be caught. He’s just too good.
 
Do you think we’re going to be caught with out trousers down? Can anyone put it up to the American? Does Sandy Lyle dye his hair? Does anybody care? Have your say and more below…..

Posted in Sportsbook | 63 Comments »

The piercing stare of ruthlessness that was absent in the last 51 weeks has returned. Confirming rumours of his demise had been greatly exaggerated, Padraig Harrington bounced back to form in spectacular fashion at the WGC Bridgestone. The Dubliner’s display proves that he’s the second best golfer in the world at the moment, regardless of rankings. While he lacks Tiger Woods‘ ridiculous consistency, he can go toe-to-toe with golf’s greatest player. Harrington’s slump had been reminiscent of a period when Tiger perfected his swing and it seems Pod has too emerged an even better golfer.

One moment of pure magic was followed by a moment of tragedy on the 16th hole at Firestone. Both players were put on the clock for slow play which halted Pod’s momentum. Why the final group, who were contesting the title and providing compelling TV viewing, were told to ‘hurry up’ is a bit strange. CBS showing the next episode of Cold Case wasn’t more important, was it? The collapse on the 16th when he looked like he’d tamed the Tiger was unfortunate, but the Irishman is now well placed to defend his USPGA Championship title and hopefully resist doing that cringeful celebration again. Drowning his sorrows with copious amounts of Guinness won’t be a priority after his so-called ‘gaffe’. The Dubliner will be back, but not because he’s a glutton for punishment - he’s a winner and he wants to win.

Tiger’s Major form is the only negative in what has been a great season for a man just back from reconstructive knee surgery. In this kind of mood, Tiger should get his paws back on the Wanamaker Trophy at Hazeltine National. Pod won’t give it up without a fight though, but the signs are ominous. If Bridgestone was the tasty hors d’oeuvres, the main course at the US PGA will be absolutely delicious.
 

Backing Tiger won’t make you rich so the value must come in the shape Stewart Cink. The Open Champion had a glimmer of hope to get in the mix at Firestone, but poor shots on the 17th and 18th saw him slip back for tied sixth. To prove he’s no flash in the pan like Rich Beem, Ben Curtis or even Todd Hamilton - God forbid; the American will be determined to finish in the places.

Will it be Major-less season for Tiger? Who’ll be your e/w bet for the USPGA? Are my Shamrock shaped specs clouding my judgement? Let us know your thoughts on the last Major of the year.

Posted in Golf, Sportsbook | 10 Comments »