Archive for November, 2009

Monday Headlines

November 29th, 2009

City beach buried in rubbish

AS the world turns its gaze on Cape Town for next week’s World Cup final draw, the once-pristine Witsand beach near Scarborough is drowning in decades-old rubbish. [Read More]

Appeal over Tour training as cyclist killed in smash

A DURBANVILLE cyclist was killed instantly when a car crashed into him on Klipheuwel Road in Kraaifontein early yesterday. [Read More]

Was Tiger’s golf club used as a weapon?

Did Elin Woods, wife of Tiger Woods, use the golf club that has been linked to his Friday car accident to rescue her husband from his crashed vehicle, or was it a weapon during an argument over claims Woods was having a fling with a New York club hostess? [Read More]

Source: Hasselhoff At Home After Hospitalization; Pamela Bach Gets DUI Arrest

Reports swirling around David Hasselhoff drinking over the weekend are false, a source close to the star told Access Hollywood.

Radar Online’s reporting of a Hasselhoff psychiatric hold is “completely untrue,” the source told Access. [Read More]

Tiger Woods’ 911 Call: ‘[He’s] Laying On The Ground’

The 911 call that lead to the discovery of Tiger Woods’ Friday morning car accident has been released. [Read More]

X Factor: Smiling Lloyd Daniels sent home to Wales as semi-finalists are chosen

Lloyd’s departure means that Olly Murs, Stacey Solomon, Danyl Johnson and Joe McElderry will now compete in next week’s semi-final.
[Read More]

I’m A Celebrity: Joe Bugner leaves the jungle as George Hamilton threatens to quit

Joe Bugner lost his fight to win the title of King of the Jungle last night when he lost to Stuart in the Bushtucker Trial Jungle Jail. [Read More]

Katie Price turns down Alex Reid after cagefighter begs her to take him back

Katie Price has furiously denied rumours that she has taken back her cagefighter ex-boyfriend Alex Reid. [Read More]

Holiday 2009: Accessories Editors’ Wish Lists

[Read More]

Basic Instincts

[Read More]

Alexis and Trevor Traina: Ode To Joy

[Read More]

Web ‘threatens’ public services

The NHS and other public services must re-organise themselves around the needs of users, say social media activists. [Read More]

Wikipedia denies editors’ exodus

The online encyclopaedia disputes claims that the numbers of people editing Wikipedia are in sharp decline. [Read More]

Comments Off

Online Poker — Isildur1 Beats Dwan, Ivey, Antonius

November 29th, 2009

Tom Dwan After saying goodbye to the majority of his profits from the last month, some speculated that Isildur1 might quit Patrik Antonius, or at least settle for a break in the action. Instead, the unknown player from Sweden picked right back up where he left off and challenged the Full Tilt Poker pro to some more high-stakes $500-$1,000 pot-limit Omaha.

Those of you who haven’t been following the action can catch up with the links at the bottom of the page.

But first, Isildur1 went back to his bread and butter, which has been beating Tom “durrrr” Dwan at no-limit hold’em. After picking up a $655,000 win there, Isildur1 went on to face another adversary in Phil Ivey.

During the PLO match with Ivey, Isildur1 won his very first million-dollar pot, though it would not make up for the record-setting hand he lost to Antonius earlier in the week. It’s a good thing that the $1.1 million pot went Isildur1’s way, because it ended up determining the entire session, as he finished up $793,000 on Ivey overall.

Patrik Antonius With those two out of the way, Isildur1 decided to focus on Antonius, who has been by far the biggest thorn in his side throughout these challenges. It ended up being one of the swingiest matches of the year, as each player took turns being up or down seven figures at a time.

Isildur1 was up $1.7 million at one point, only to see Antonius fight back and claim a small lead of his own. When all was said and done, Isildur1 finished with a $696,000 profit over the course of nearly 5,100 hands. Those three matches have him back to about $2.5 million in profit over the last five weeks.

Isildur1 Defeats Durrrr, Others In Big Games
Isildur1 Gives Some of it Back to Ivey, Antonius
Isildur1 Bounces Back Against Ziigmund
Isildur1 Gets Crushed by Antonius, Ivey

only 1

Online Poker – Isildur1 Gets Crushed By Antonius, Ivey

November 29th, 2009

Patrik Antonius It may seem foolish to write an article updating Isildur1’s action, knowing full well that the winners and losers can seemingly swap places in a matter of hours, but Saturday night’s action on Full Tilt Poker was much too epic to ignore.

Yes, the largest online pot in history record was broken … again, but that was hardly the story. In nearly 4,500 hands of high-stakes carnage, both Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius would claim seven-figure scores against the Swedish player Isildur1.

Here’s a quick update for those who haven’t been following the storyline. Isildur1 burst onto the scene as a complete unknown and racked up $6 million in winnings in just over three weeks time, more than half of which was from Tom “durrrr” Dwan. Then he took on Antonius and lost back approximately $2.7 million. The trouble continued as he lost $900,000 to Ivey, but he bounced back to take $1 million from Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.

The swings continued, however, and Antonius and Ivey were able to pick up all of that and more, leaving the Swede with about $3 million in profit, overall.

You’d think that Isildur1 would be able to spot his kryptonite by now, but he continued to fight on against the two players who clearly had his number. Sure, he was able to pick up roughly $800,000 from Dwan earlier in the day during a quick session, but he would need every cent of that to cover his astronomical losses later that night.

Phil Ivey Agreeing to multi-table against Ivey and Antonius simultaneously at $500-$1,000 stakes, Isildur1 quickly found himself on the losing end of some costly coin-flips, and hours later, his cashier page was missing about $3.3 million.

Normally when you win $1.2 million in a single session, you are easily the biggest winner of the week, let alone the night, but Ivey’s performance on Saturday would have to settle for second place. Antonius quit the game with a $2.1 million win, putting his total from Isildur1 at about $3.7 million overall. According to estimates, Isildur1 is now up just $750,000 on the month, a far cry from the $6 million he held previously.

During the session, Antonius and Isildur1 topped their previous record, set just last week, for largest online pot. The Card Player Omaha Odds Calculator shows that the hand basically amounted to a glorified coin-flip, but it went Antonius’ way and gave him all of the momentum he needed to continue his run.

Here’s a look at the hand details:

Blinds	Full Tilt Poker	$500-$1,000
Player	Isildur1	Patrik Antonius
Cash	$678,474	$1,259,450
Hand	9 8 7 6	A K K 3

Isildur1 raised to $3,000 in the small blind, and Antonius reraised to $9,000. Isildur1 reraised to $27,000 and Antonius five-bet to $81,000. Isildur1 made the call, and the two players saw a flop of 5 Club Suit 4 Spade Suit 2 Heart Suit .

Antonius continued with a bet of $93,000, and Isildur1 raised to $435,000, committing himself to the pot. Antonius put him all in for his last $162,474. Isildur1 called all in, and the pot surged to $1,356,947.

Antonius showed A Heart Suit K K Spade Suit 3 for the flopped wheel and two backdoor-flush draws, but Isildur1 was drawing very live with his 9 8 7 Diamond Suit 6. The turn and river fell 5 and 9 Club Suit , and the wheel held to give Antonius the pot.

The action is sure to continue, and you can catch it all on Full Tilt Poker. Card Player readers are eligible for a deposit bonus of up to $600. Click the banner below for more information.

Comments Off

Online Poker – Isildur1 Gives Some of It Back to Ivey, Antonius

November 29th, 2009

Isildur Loses $1.15 Million in Two Heads-Up Battles

Isildur Loses $1.15 Million in Two Heads-Up Battles

Patrik Antonius For those of you who haven’t been watching the various Isildur1 matches on Full Tilt Poker, you’ve been missing out on some of the most epic high-stakes cash game action in quite some time.

To recap, Isildur1 burst onto the scene as a complete unknown and racked up $6 million in winnings in just over three weeks time, more than half of which was from Tom “durrrr” Dwan. Then, he took on Patrik Antonius (pictured right) and lost back approximately $2.7 million. The trouble continued as he lost $900,000 to Phil Ivey (pictured below left), but he bounced back to take $1 million from Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.

While most of the world watched the Miami Dolphins and Ricky Williams run all over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, the anonymous player from Sweden sat and waited for action at the $500-$1,000 heads-up pot-limit Omaha tables. He quickly got his wish from both Antonius and Ivey, who were more than willing to multi-table against the up-and-comer.

Phil Ivey The end result, however, is not what Isildur1 had in mind. Antonius played over 1,900 hands with him before retiring for the evening, settling on a $437,000 win. That number seems large, but not when you consider that Antonius won the two largest pots of the session of $784,000 and $775,000, respectively.

Minimizing the damage in the Ivey match wasn’t quite so easy. Despite only playing for about 700 hands, Ivey was able to take $705,000 from Isildur1, bringing his profit from the Swede to roughly $1.6 million.

Isildur1 is still up overall this past month in the neighborhood of $3 million.

Comments Off

Springboks v Ireland preview

November 28th, 2009

Champions collide as the Springboks face Ireland in the final Test of the season at Croke Park on Saturday.

The mouth-watering clash between World and Tri Nations champions South Africa and Six Nations Grand Slam champions Ireland has been billed as everything from a grudge match to a final.

Tension between the champion sides have been building since 2004 when then-Springbok coach Jake White was quoted as saying that only two Ireland players were good enough to make the Bok team.

Then came the infamous Ronan O’Gara quick tap try while the Springboks were huddling up for a team talk as agreed with referee Paul Honiss. Ireland went on to clinch a controversial victory that ended the Springboks’ hopes of securing a Grand Slam.

Just when it seemed as if the animosity had subsided things took a turn for the worst when Schalk Burger, in a moment of madness, eye gouged Luke Fitzgerald in the second Test of the British & Irish Lions series earlier this year.

The Lions allegedly refused to accept the Boks’ traditional invitation to share post-match drinks following the match, which the Springboks won to clinch the series. Ireland captain Bryan O’Driscoll then condemned Bok coach Peter de Viliers before he returned to Ireland through injury.

All this makes for a great storyline, but this is rugby, not ‘sports entertainment.’ Frankly, a match of such magnitude doesn’t need to be hyped by over exaggerated stories. The sheer talent in the two teams and quality of play that promises to be on offer on Saturday will sell out any stadium in the world by itself.

It’s a clash of champions. Two rugby-loving nations. Each willing to give life and limb to emerge victorious. What has been the focus of Springbok Tests as of late, the scrums, will take a back seat this week and certainly on Saturday, as Ireland themselves do not boast a dominant front row.

Instead, the battle of the boot and scrap on the deck has been emphasised. Ireland coach Declan Kidney sprung a surprise on Tuesday when he named 24-year-old Jonathan Sexton at flyhalf ahead of veteran Ronan O’Gara.

Sexton starred in his Test debut against Fiji last weekend, slotting all seven of his kicks at goal and gaining good ground with ball in hand. Springbok halfback pairing Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn admitted they were surprised by Sexton’s inclusion as they were convinced they would come up against old foe O’Gara.

“We do not know much about him,” Du Preez said.

“I do know that he apparently played very well in his debut Test against Fiji last weekend, but we only received the video of that Test on Tuesday and have not yet had the chance to have a look at it. I really thought that Ronan O’Gara would be picked.”

Steyn said: “I thought that I was going to play against O’Gara. However, this does not really matter, does it? It is how much you can focus on your own game which is important.”

Steyn has been one of the finds of the season, kicking the Bulls to Super 14 and Currie Cup glory and the Springboks to British & Irish Lions and Tri-Nations triumph. However, the 25-year-old – recently named SA Players’ Player of the Year – has been struggling on his first European tour with subpar performances against France and Italy.

The icy, howling Irish winds will make for very difficult goal kicking and tactical kicking conditions so Saturday will be a major test for both young pivots. Another youngster who’s made waves on the international scene this year, Heinrich Brussow, will lead the Boks’ charge at the breakdown. The Free State Cheetahs fetcher upstaged both Richie McCaw and George Smith in the Tri-Nations and has been one of the stars of the Boks’ disappointing end-of-year tour.

The countries have clashed 18 times with South Africa winning 14, Ireland 3 and an 8-8 draw in 1970. However, Ireland have had the Boks number in recent years and will be aiming for a hat-trick of victories over the Boks on home soil when they welcome them to Croke Park for the first time on Saturday. The Irish claimed a record 32-15 victory at Lansdowne Road in their last meeting in 2006 and secured a controversial 17-12 win at the same venue in 2004.

Key Battle: Brian O’Driscoll vs. Fourie du Preez. Having touched on both the breakdown and boot battles, the most intriguing battle will be between the teams’ MVPs. Both are unrivalled in their respective positions, the generals of their teams and the two front-runners for the 2009 IRB Player of the Year award. Whoever shines brightest on Saturday is likely to win the coveted title.

Prediction: This is a tough one to call. Ireland have a side full of class players and are at their best at home. Having said that, they only managed a draw against the Wallabies a fortnight ago. What’s more, the Boks have selected their strongest line-up of the tour, which should see them end their unprecedented year on a high. Springboks by 4.

Comments Off

Saturday Headlines

November 28th, 2009

Hot Dirtbags: The top 10

Forget the “Sexiest Man Alive.” We gather today to give thanks for a much rarer form of male attractor: the hot dirtbag. The topic came up in last week’s Celebritology Live discussion and by the end of the chat I had promised to compile a list of my top 10 objects of attraction. Now I get that the dirtbag isn’t for everyone, but hey, sometimes nice guys finish last. And to somewhat fracture the words of Mae West: when guys are good they’re good, but when they’re bad they’re better. For some of us, the bad boy will always hold a certain attraction. If we’re lucky, we know better than to act on our impulses; we learn to admire a dirtbag from afar, much as we would a Picasso dipped in ebola juice. The dirtbag criteria: A man who’s attractive — either physically or charismatically — but whose appeal may

[Read More]

Lilo heads home for Thanksgiving; Oprah to sit down with Obama

Headlines: Lindsay Lohan heads home to make “amazing” mashed potatoes | Mackenzie Phillips “uninvited” to family fest | More celebrity Thanksgiving plans… Oprah set to tape “holiday season” sit-down interview with President Obama… Charlize Theron raises funds to build soccer fields in South Africa… Boy George says prison helped him beat drugs… Taylor Lautner, Rihanna and Blake Lively headed to “SNL” in December… Jon Voight says Megan Fox not as talented as daughter Angelina Jolie… Levi Johnston flip-flops, says he would do “Dancing with the Stars”… Miley Cyrus pronounces Zac Efron the “hottest person in the world”… Tyler Perry accused of plagiarism. Crime Watch: Roman Polanski to serve house arrest at Swiss resort; jail release not likely until at Monday at earliest… Sylvester Stallone caught driving with two kids sharing a passenger’s side seatbelt. Pix: John Mayer on the December Details cover. Rumor Mill: Katie Holmes “moves out,” claims

[Read More]

Demi or not Demi? That is the question

Demi Moore’s questioned cover shot. (Photo courtesy W magazine) Last week, a scandal of minor proportions erupted when photographer Anthony Citrano (among others) claimed that Demi Moore’s hot new W magazine cover had not just been PhotoShopped, but PhotoShopped so poorly that she seemed to be missing one hip. Both Demi and a W spokesperson denied any retouching had taken place and the matter seemed to drift off into the land of headscratchers. Until today, when pix surfaced of model Anja Rubik wearing the same outfit on the runway. When the image is superimposed over Demi’s W cover, well, the similarity isn’t exactly exact, but there are some definite correlations. The heart of the debate seems to be whether a 46-year-old Moore’s body could in any way rock that gold Balmain getup as well as the 26-year-old Rubik. The question of the hour seems to be that, although there’s

[Read More]

Woods suffers cuts in minor car crash
(AFP)

AFP – Golf superstar Tiger Woods suffered facial cuts and bruises when he crashed his 2009 Cadillac SUV outside his luxury Florida home.
[Read More]

Robbie Williams causes wedding stir Down Under
(AFP)

AFP – British pop star Robbie Williams caused a stir in Australia with an on-air proposal to his US actress girlfriend during a Sydney radio show.
[Read More]

Gatecrashers met Obama, Secret Service ‘embarrassed’
(AFP)

AFP – The two aspiring reality TV stars who gatecrashed a state dinner this week met President Barack Obama at the event, a White House photograph showed.
[Read More]

District 9 gets Oscar buzz

In a year full of surprise hits without stars, District 9 stands out as the unlikely box office champion.[Read More]

Robbie’s proposal ‘a joke’

Robbie Williams “proposed” to his girlfriend, Ayda Field, live on radio, but his spokesperson later said it was a joke.[Read More]

Lawyers target ‘pirates’ for cash

Around 15,000 suspected pirates may soon get letters accusing them of illegally sharing movies and games and asking for cash.[Read More]

Web ‘threatens’ public services

The NHS and other public services must re-organise themselves around the needs of users, say social media activists.[Read More]

Tiger Woods Injured In Car Accident Near Florida Home, In ‘Good Condition’

Authorities say Tiger Woods has been seriously injured in a car wreck in Florida.[Read More]

Dish Of Salt: Friday TV Round Up

Black Friday is upon us but not everyone wants to brave the lines at the malls. We’ve got your guide to TV Watching on this post Thanksgiving Today. Plus, holiday specials you won’t find in the stores and what was the top TV moment of the week? The Dish has the details inside…[Read More]

Potential ‘Real Housewife’ Allegedly Crashes White House Dinner, Secret Service Responds

The couple who allegedly crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner last week has been aiming for reality TV stardom on a popular Bravo franchise.

”The cast of ‘The Real Housewives of D.C.’ has not been finalized,” a Bravo spokesperson told Access Hollywood. “Michaele Salahi is under consideration as a cast member.”[Read More]

Comments Off

Cape Town Stadium – more pics

November 27th, 2009

Nice work guys on getting it done on time.

Inside Cape Town stadium

Cape town stadium looking sweet

Comments Off

Funky Friday Headlines

November 27th, 2009

Store owner’s Labrador at your service

Customers at a Gulf Coast petrol station might be surprised at who “mans” the counter when they pull up to the drive-through window: The owner’s dog.[Read More]

Frene Ginwala stands by her criticism of new NPA boss Simelane

FORMER National Assembly speaker Frene Ginwala says she stands by her criticism of former justice director-general Menzi Simelane, who has been appointed the new National Prosecutions chief.[Read More]

Gambhir to miss final SL Test

India’s in-form opener Gautam Gambhir will miss the third and final Test against Sri Lanka next week due to his sister’s wedding.[Read More]

Matfield is back for Springboks

Victor Matfield, Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Burger have been named in the South African squad to face Ireland this weekend.[Read More]

Del Potro looks ahead

Argentine Juan Martin del Potro has defeated Roger Federer to scrape into the World Tour semifinals by the tightest of margins alongside the Swiss ace.[Read More]

Bruce eyes improvement

Steve Bruce believes he will be able to gauge how far his side have come against Wigan.[Read More]

Toffees confirm Kirkby no-go

Everton have confirmed that their plans to relocate from Goodison Park to a new stadium in Kirkby have been rejected.[Read More]

Contador commits to Astana

Astana have been granted a ProTour licence for 2010, prompting Alberto Contador to confirm he will stay with the Kazakh-based team.[Read More]

Hodgson hopes others stay

Roy Hodgson is hoping others follow suit after he and Brede Hangeland signed new deals.[Read More]

Mininova ends illegal torrents

A Dutch court ruling forces the file-sharing website Mininova to remove all torrents linked to copyright material.[Read More]

Boost for spin-based electronics

The field of “spintronics” – a future means of computing – is shown to work at room temperature for the first time.[Read More]

Comments Off

The Matrix redone…with Lego

November 26th, 2009

Comments Off

Pokerface remixed – Cartman and Christopher Walken do their thang

November 26th, 2009

We saw cartman already doing pokerface on his own, but in this video Christopher Walken is mixed in together with Lady Gaga. The awesomeness of this video is reaching Epic proportions.