who knew there were so many criminals in the Netherlands?!

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Jul 11^th, 2010 at 1:10pm:


Seems we have our own octopus here at RO. Great prediction!

Gazza wrote on Jul 11^th, 2010 at 4:13pm:



score could've been higher too for Spain, although Dutch missed at least two big chances...

Congratulations Voodoo. Goal had an offside smell on it, but I guess the best team won. Ref was a wanker, there were some pretty hard fouls during the match, but he gave yellow cards quite fast. So now I'm gonna go back to my couch and be grumpy in front of the tv for the rest of the day.

De Jong should've received a red card, Van Bommel was a clear yellow card. But I think Webb was exaggerating with both the cards Heitinga got. Robben same story. On the other side he should've sent Iniesta of in extra time, should've given a corner for Oranje instead of a goal kick that resulted in an offside Spanish goal. Webb could've been replaced by a blind man who would've done a better job. With that said, Spain was better. But I would've liked to see my guys get a chance through penalties.

Well, With 10 men on the field penalties were probably the maximum result for us. I don't like them, but I prefer this over a goal that should've been cancelled. But had Webb really done his job well, Netherlands would have been one man down after 20 minutes or so. I don't think my side would've been able to keep the net clean for 70 minutes against a superior opponent. Bert's right: best team won. But I don't have to like it.

We may not have heard the last of Paul the Octopus after all:

International icon and unofficial king of Spain, Paul the Oracle Octopus has officially retired from the World Cup match-predicting racket and may now be used to cash in. According to CNN, the Sea Life aquarium where Paul resides is entertaining offers for Paul's promotional services and PR people are drooling over his potential to make millions.

PR guru Max Clifford, best known for generating tabloid headlines such as "Freddie Starr ate my hamster," believes Paul, who was born in England, has ended his soothsaying days at exactly the right time. "Obviously his 100 percent record is remarkable but the minute he gets it wrong it all disappears," Clifford told CNN.

Now Paul could star in light-hearted commercials. "If you get it right, and remember Paul has had worldwide success ... you're talking about an earning potential of £2 or £3 million (up to $4.5 million), maybe more. It's got to bring a smile to everybody's face. You've got the world's first multimillion-pound octopus here.

Up to $4.5 million for the endorsement of an octopus that ate a clam out of a box labeled with the flag of a match-winning team eight consecutive times? It's ridiculous, but when you consider the money paid to humans who have done far less than that to endorse a wide range of horrible products, it starts to make sense.

The only problem with Paul? He's just six months shy of the average three-year lifespan for an octopus. Then again, that's probably a generous assessment of how long people will remember him anyway.

Another expert agreed, saying there was no limit to the ways in which Paul could be marketed. "Obviously he has a short shelf life but there are many options," said Allyson Stewart-Allen, director of London-based International Marketing Partners.

"A good use for him would be in adverts featuring two competing brands, such as Coke or Pepsi. Which does Paul prefer?" said Stewart-Allen.

"The gaming industry would be the logical use for Paul, or marketing a service that compares the market. Or he could just be an icon, marketing a company like Octopus Travel, for instance.

So keep an eye out for Paul the octopus billboards, TV ads and Happy Meal toys over the coming months. Followed by the most expensive octopus dish ever.