World Cup 2010 Blog: “Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine” plus 2 more

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• Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine
• Semifinalists set in the Copa Centroamericana
• Nike Launches French Revolution

Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:00 AM PST Paul the Octopus is, at this point, nothing short of immortal. The octopus that will not die could not die, even if he chose to do so, as there’s simply too much money to be made on an endearing mollusk medium. The latest in a long line of postmortem reminders that Paul is everything that Vegas fears, just perhaps slightly less slimy: he’s getting a permanent memorial at the aquarium which has hit the jackpot several times over already, hoping to inspire throngs of adoring Spaniards and fried octopus lovers into pilgrimages. Paul, the German octopus famous for correctly predicting each of Germany’s 2010 World Cup matches, will get his own permanent memorial three months after his death. The memorial corner will be unveiled Thursday at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen in western Germany, the aquarium said Tuesday. Dubbed “Paul’s Corner,” the centerpiece of the memorial will be the octopus oracle’s urn. Paul died aged 2-1/2 in October. We’re can’t be too far away from a Shankly-esque statue outside the headquarters of the Spanish FA. Deviating to the cinema for a moment, this is reportedly the trailer for the movie Kill Paul Octopus. If a question mark wouldn’t look like a random typo here, this is where it would go. Did Paul’s doppelganger price itself onto the cutting room floor?

Semifinalists set in the Copa Centroamericana Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:16 AM PST There are entirely too many international tournaments going on at once right now. Between the club seasons and all of these tournaments, fans have an embarrassment of riches at the moment. We have the Asian Cup, the South American U-20s, and in Central America, the old UNCAF Nations Cup (now called the Copa Centroamericana) is also in full swing. In fact, after today's matches, the semifinalists are set, as is an unusually significant fifth-place match. If you're a football fan looking to put more than your opinion on the line on one or more of the tournaments going on right now, you could do your sports betting at BetUS. The more obscure tournaments can give great odds, and successfully picking Guatemala over Nicaragua (or vice versa) earns its own special brand of fan credibility. Those are the two teams contesting the fifth place match, which is exactly the kind of match most tournaments don't even have. But this one has it for a very good reason. The top five teams from the Copa Centroamericana earn spots in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States, and therefore, a shot (small as it may be) to represent North and Central America at the 2013 Confederations Cup. The four teams that we know are through to the Gold Cup are Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica. El Salvador is one match away from their best ever performance in the tournament, having finished third four times but never making it to a final. They have been powered by a shock performance from Rafael Burgos, who has three goals in El Salvador's opening two matches, and now sits at a total of four goals in five appearances for his country. – This post was brought to you by BetUS

Nike Launches French Revolution Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:35 AM PST It’s difficult to remember a kit launch with as much anticipation as Nike’s French revolution, but that may be down to the simple fact that France was donning adidas when they stormed the Bastille. Wait no longer. Nike’s first French kit, complete with poetic ad campaign, has been unchained. And Laurent Blanc thinks it’s beautiful but terrible. The kit: Blanc: “I find that the completely blue jersey is beautiful but a bit Italian,” said Blanc after US sports apparel giants Nike unveiled the new kit in Paris. “We know that the French are very attached to the blue-white-red. I made this remark but there’s a clever thing on the sleeve that you can lift up and that’s red inside. “Afterwards it’s a question of consistency and uniformity. It will be up to the players to decide if we lift up the sleeves or not. “In any case when we play in blue we’ll have white shorts and red socks so the blue-white-red will be visible.” The potential for a schism in the locker room over turning up the sleeves/not turning up the sleeves leaves the possibility of another World Cup 2010-esque meltdown looming. Maybe Blanc’s right. Maybe it was designed by Nike’s Italian branch.

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