The final between Spain and Holland was not much of a goal fest, but certainly a yellow card fest instead. The English referee, Howard Webb gave over 10 yellow yards and a red card, in which was quite a scrappy game of football. Tough decisions and leniency marred the game.

However, before the game even started people were getting floored and hitting the deck. Poor old Jimmy Jump was within inches of the World Cup trophy. His plan to get one of his trademark red hats into the 18 carat trophy was rumbled.

A security guard took him off his feet, seconds before, with an army of orange security guards dragging him off the pitch. Video clip of the action can be seen below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-l7K6wNhms

Such a shame that the Dutch failed to win, but lucky to have has 10 players left after extra time. Half their team was on yellow. When Alonso took a kick to the chest, that should have been a sending off in the first half.

Anyway, Spain deserved to win in my opinion. They were playing a better flow of football, a true passing game, but lacked the killer finish. To see Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres come on as subs, showed how much quality resided in the first eleven. But is was a Fabregas assist through to Iniesta with a killer first touch, that sealed the win at 116 minutes.

Well done Spain, and well done also to the kit man for bringing two extra sets of shirts for the team to wear after the final whistle. At least you join the "star on your shirt club", finally.

Banished to watch one of the most anticipated entertaining games in the tournament online, due to a viewing clash (most likely something on the Sky+ planner and the wife owning the remote control), I turned on the VAIO for some live action.

To set the scene, Spain are favourites to win, and with the neighbourly rivalry of Portugal and Ronaldo finally ending his goal drought, I was hoping to see some goals.

It was nearing the end of the match, 1-0 the scoreline to Spain with a David Villa goal on 63 minutes.  How exciting, it was closing in on full time, and if Portugal could pull a goal back it will most certainly go into extra time, and then secretly I was hoping for it to then go to penalties.

It's now 88 minutes into the game, and I'm not really paying much attention to the near-real-time commentary on the left or anywhere else on the page, I'm glued to the live stream.  Then suddenly, Juan Capdevila and Ricardo Costa start a tickle fight and all hell breaks loose.   Whilst the players start to heckle the referee, my eyes ponder around the 16.4 inch screen of mine.

OMG, the games already finished!!!!  I frantically search for the Sniping Tool and take the below screengrab.  Click the image to see the full picture.

It's not over until it is really over!

The live stream is way behind the actual game, at least 5 minutes.  Ricardo Costa has already been sent off, now likely back in the changing rooms, a substitution has taken place, extra time played out and the game has finished.  What the hell?!?!

With the score updated as FT and the commentary which updates every 30 seconds now showing it's game over for Portugal, I was immediately dejected and let down.  The excitement now fully drained away, along with Ronaldo's world cup dream.

This is not the type of online user experience I'd expect from the BBC.  Given that ITV HD had ballsed up with the 1st England goal, and EDF cocked up with a powercut in Richmond and Twickenham resulting in me missing England's 2nd goal, I really wanted to see some balls in the back of the net and not via a replay.

For this, BBC Sport you deserve a red card for this blatent own goal.  No excuses or claims for goal-line technology, this was a technological fail.

They say hindsight is a marvelous thing, and when it comes to betting, few men could argue that.  There would only be winners if you knew then what you knew now.  You could be a lot richer too, if you were lucky.

On December 4th 2009, it was the pre-draw of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.  Billions of people around the world were glued to televisions and the internet to see how their country would fair against those in the biggest sporting event of the forthcoming summer.

I took some screen grabs of the World Cup 2010 betting odds which you are see in the post, showing the odds for the competition winner, top goal scorer and the finalists, which was pre-draw odds.  It's worth taking a look at the odds on this post and compare with those on this page.  Things might change even more as the tournament progresses.

The summer is here, and the World Cup is about to start, and boy, how I bet you wished you'd put a few bets on with the odds back in December last year!

Below are the screen grabs of the betting odds pre-tournament, hours before the 1st game between hosts South Africa and Mexico.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for the Winner (Pre-Tournament)

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for the Finalists (Pre-Tournament)

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for Top Goal Scorer (Pre-Tournament)

Betting Odds for the Winner - FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

All odds are taken from Bet365 as a comparison.

4th December 2009

Spain 9/2

Brazil 9/2

England 6/1

Argentina 9/1

Germany 12/1

Holland 14/1

11th June 2010

Spain 4/1

Brazil 9/2

Argentina 13/2

England 15/2

Holland 9/1

Germany 12/1

Betting Odds for the Top Goal Scorer - FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

All odds are taken from Bet365 as a comparison.

4th December 2009

Luis Fabiano 11/1

David Villa 12/1

Fernando Torres 12/1

Cristiano Ronaldo 14/1

Wayne Rooney 14/1

Lionel Messi 20/1

Robin Van Persie 33/1

11th June 2010

David Villa 15/2

Lionel Messi 10/1

Wayne Rooney 10/1

Robin Van Persie 10/1

Luis Fabiano 12/1

Fernando Torres 14/1

Cristiano Ronaldo 22/1

Wow!  Where did Robin Van Persie come from?  Holland, obviously, but will the Dutch becoming one of the front runners after Spain and Brazil, it could be worth a punt.  So is Peter Crouch at 40/1.  He has one of the finest goals to games ratio in an England shirt.

If you're looking to place a bet, have a look around for some of the bookies offers and bonus, such Titan Bet shown below.  Deposit up to £250 and get it matched for new registrations, click on the banner for more details.

Come on England!

If you think England will get to the final, or even win it, then the odds below show you what it might be worth putting a tenner one to see who there opponents would be...

Betting Odds for the England in the Final - FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

All odds are taken from Bet365 as a comparison.

Spain/England 12/1

England/Argentina 20/1

Brazil/England 25/1

England/Germany 25/1

England/Italy 25/1

England/Holland 50/1

England/France 50/1

England/Portugal 66/1

England/Ivory Coast 80/1

England/South Africa 150/1

Then there are the folk who do pluck up the courage and enter, and if luck is behind them, get a place to run. Whether or not it was via a ballot place or charity Gold Bond, those successful in completing often mutter the two fateful words, never again. There are two winners on the day, anyone receiving a finishers medal, and the charities who benefit from millions of pounds raised for good causes.

And finally, there's a smaller group of people outside of the professional athletes, who seem to want to do it again and again. There are three words for this group, stupid bloody fools. In all seriousness though, people who voluntarily do any marathon repeatedly, regardless of location, generally have a personal goal that they are desperate to fulfil. That could be raising money and awareness for a given charity or to get a personal best time and be satisfied that the time goes down in family tree history.

The London Marathon is a pretty special event. This year was the 30th Anniversary and the first year for new sponsors Virgin, who had taken over from Flora's 14 year tenure since 1996. Having lived almost all my adult life with Flora being the lead sponsor, and being my margerine slash buttery spread of choice, I had to do it. I had to do it once.

Motivation for doing it is quite simply selfish reasons. Ask anyone, they are always gutted that they didn't get in through the ballot. This isn't a reflection that they didn't want to do it for charity in the first place, it is just people want a no obligation pass, a risk free, guilt free, opportunity to do it for themselves. The only pressure is on them. Do it, and do it fast. Simple.

Personally I set myself a goal of doing the London Marathon three times with no time pressures of by when. Accepting that it's nigh impossible to get in via the ballot, doing it three times would allow me to do it once for charity, once for me, and once in fancy dress, possibly over a few decades of frequently entering and getting a couple of magic ballot places and a Gold Bond place.

It was about 10 years ago that I was sharing a flat with a good friend of mine, and the previous tennant had a Marathon News magazine come through the post. We both pondered on the feasibility of our youthful bodies, which were in their early twenties, taking upon such a challenge. Of course, we were in our prime; fit, healthy and can regularly do all-nighters, it would be a doddle. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm lasted as long as the next pint.

In 2003 I entered to run the Flora London Marathon 2004. I remember getting the Loser magazine informing me that I was unsuccessful in getting through the ballot. I actually wanted to run it and raise money for an arthritis charity as my dad was having a hip replacement at a relatively young age.

I did about 12 weeks of training, which came to a stop after completing the Kingston 16 mile Breakfast Run. Injuring my illiotibial bands, the ligaments across the side of the knees, meant that getting across the finishing line was going to be very hard. It was. Finishing in 5:56:25 having spent almost all of it in pain, I was overwhealmed with the support and donations from friends and family. A total over £3,500 for the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) was raised.

I put this attempt down as the charity run, as it wasn't in fancy dress and certainly was not the one for me.

The summer of 2006 came about and I decided to put another entry in for the 2007 marathon. Motivation was simply weight loss and get fit. Amazingly I get in through the ballot, but life dealt myself and wife a shit couple of cards, and training didn't start until 6 weeks before. It wasn't really training as the furthest I ran was 6 miles the week before.

I decided to raise money again for charity, this time for the Miscarriage Association and raised in a very short space of time just over £1,000. A better finish time of 5:21:19 in what was quite a warm day. It must have been the knowlege of having done once already and not being in pain all the way round, that made this a personal best.

But this time wasn't good enough to stand the test of time as my PB. How could I pass this finishing time down to the family tree with a sigh of disappointment that I knew I could do better with a full 16 weeks training.

In 2008, I put another cheeky entry in to run the 2009 London Marathon. This tome the motivation was just get in, run it and get a decent enough time whilst basking in the glory of weightloss.

OMG, I got in again with the ballot. I really should have made a mental note on whether to bequeath the entry fee and what the expected time was. The conspiracies of entering the marathon is well discussed on the web, see for yourself.

Spring 2009 and I was all fired up. Training was going well. I even put in some high altitude mountain training whilst in Berne, Switzerland on a work trip. Sponsorship was starting to trickle in from the early adopters, with money raised going to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT).

With no minimum donation restrictions put on me, because I was voluntarily raising money for the NCT, it was a kind gesture from myself giving something back and recognising the support the charity provided me as a new dad.

I can't thank the NCT enough, having become a first time parent in 2008, the antenatel classes were convenient and surprisingly entertaining. It was the group that made the latter, seven other couple facing the same experiences and all expecting around the same time. Some nice friends have come out of this on my side, but more a case of bloke bonding over a curry or a few pints on a Friday night. The mum's actually got the most value, as they were stuck home by themselves and the regular meet ups and flurry of calls, texts and emails, made sure they survived another day and sleepless night.

The NCT classes are run by volunteers. So setting a target of £1,000 was going to help them a lot.

Unfortunately, having a baby and training for the marathon at the same time is tough. Why on earth I decided to sign up for this is anyone's guess. Yet with all the will in the world to train, and make this a good'un, I pulled my hamstring a few months before the race. And to admit it was the kids fault is not passing the blame. I lifted him up cross legged in an awkward angle and paid the price. The 2009 London Marathon was no more.

Thankfully, you can defer a place due to sickness or injury. Hooray, a guaranteed place for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. How exciting to be part of this, just a year to get fit (again). Seems all to familiar.

However, after ballooning up to a chunky 15 stone in weight near the end of November 2009, drastic times called for drastic measures. I needed to lose weight, as the camera never lies when some photos with the celebrities made me look even worse. So I decided to cut out for 5 whole months 1) alcohol and 2) chocolate. This dedication would show friends and family the commitment I had towards completing the marathon with a killer time, and likely to raise more money than hoped.

After a streak of really bad illnesses, I came out of Xmas and into the new year lighter on my feet. All prepared for the marathon, it then suddenly snowed. And boy did it snow! A day or do later, disaster. I slipped in the ice and damaged what seemed to be my ankle. This turned out to be the tib posterior.

Months later, after plenty of visits to the physio, I turned up at Greenwich Park on the 25th April 2010. No training whatsoever, but determined and focussed. It was going be the run walk pace (run 5 mins and walk 1 minute). Get round and get a medal. The mission was complete and raise the remainder of the sponsorship target for the NCT.

Considering it pissed down with rain just before the beginning and the 50 SPF lotion dripping into my eyes, it brightened up and I dug in and completed in a personal best time of 5:14:50. Not bad for no training. I beat a whole stack in celebrities too!

I'll write a proper post-marathon race report later, but wanted to acknowledge the NCT who were at the finish. They really were appreciative of the team of runners who were raising money for them. Apparently about 20% of their annual fundraising comes from the London Marathon, so this is a nice pay day for them.

Which brings me back to the original question, why do it? For the proper runner, that's a professional to a fairly serious runner (those who commit to going out each week), it's hardly about charity. I'd imagine it's about PB's, discipline and a sense of achievement. For us mere mortals, the unfit, the semi-fit and occasional sports fairing individuals, it is about achievement but more about making a difference. Whether that be raising awareness of issues, charities and campaigns, or raising money for the less advantaged and simply doing good, you can always look back and gloatfully boast you did it.

As the 2010 congratulatory marathon t-shirt says on the front.... LonDONE.

I need to hit my sponsorship target of £1,000 and raise money for The NCT (National Childbirth Trust) in the UK, as this could be my 3rd and final London Marathon. I'm only at 60% and people are pretty elusive at the moment.  Please. please sponsor me.

Race Day: VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 2010 is on Sunday 25 April 2010

Go to www.justgiving.com/jimhaysom and you can donate anything you want, knowing the money is going to a great charity and cause.

The NCT are the UK's biggest parenting charity, and any parent will know, having children is one of the toughest challenges that life throws at you.  Having a charity that can provide advice through pregnancy, birth and the early days of parenthood is so valuable, especially for first-timers.  Their antenatal classes and the support they've provided were excellent.

You can also now pay with PayPal, so no excuse if there's some money sitting in your account, or you want to donate quickly with your preferred online payment method.

Go on, do it now, it's not difficult and will only take you a few minutes.

Remember, I'm the one who has to do the really hard work!  A minimum of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometres).

If you do make a donation, please write a comment on this blog post as you can fit in more text that the JustGiving message.

Thanks, and don't forgot to Share this Facebook or Tweet this on Twitter below.

It goes without saying that this year has not started as well as I could have wished. In particular, the shitty weather and all that January snow didn't dish me out any favours at all. In fact, it was the bloody snow and ice that has been the cause of no marathon training for 3 months.

Long story short; a taxi driver refused to take me all the way home in the snow, he dropped me off at the bottom of the hill. I slipped, went arse over head and my right heel took a right old bashing as I hit the ground. Injured, and in a lot of pain.

When I saw the doctor a number of weeks later, he'd thought it was an achilles tendon injury at the insertion of the bone behind the heel. A referal to the physio in February confirmed possible tendon damage but would be series of visits for successful treatment. A prescription of Diclofenac, an anti-flammatory drug, has helped with the pain, but the marathon training has been in jeopardy as blogged at the beginning of last month. However, the pain has resided inside the foot.

Thankfully the physio has really put her finger on it. And it bloody hurt!

Initially I'd thought it was just the foot, but when the physio said that my calf (or more precisely the tib posterior) was really stiff. When they tried to break up the fibres, boy did that hurt! With a lot of deep massage and ultrasound on the base of the foot, up the back of my lower leg and in the heel area, the 4 sessions have helped.

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, I've not seen the physio for a month. Now it's back again to get sorted.

Yesterday, the needles came out. Ouch, ouch, chuffing ouch. Aparently muscle relaxants straight into the tub posterior, a couple of inches above the ankle. I almost lashed out the foot into the air. Now lying face down on the treatment table, I could've whacked the physio smack in the face. Thankfully I didn't.

It had an amazing effect. Not do much making me pain free, but she was able to loosen up the tendons and around the bursa (which is a fluid filled sack between the tendon and bone) the in the troubled area, which doesn't get much blood flowing through it. Let's see if I get jabbed another 8 or so times. If it works, I won't complain.

The marathon will undoubtedly now be a sponsored walk, so the aim is to finish relatively pain free, hit my sponsorship target, get my 3rd medal and enjoy a beer to celebrate.

It's ironic that it was the heavy snow that had disrupted the training, and put a stop to it. The video below was my first and currently last run of the year, until further notice.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlTeRxut3uA

Absolutely gutted. Having lost over a stone in weight from the other 'itis illnesses before Xmas, another knocks me six. Doctor diagnosed with a confident nod before I fully explained the incident and symptoms. At the injunction of the Achilles tendon and the bone, on the heel, the inflamation was causing every footstep to send those pain receptors a nudge. Worse of all, every morning was made worse as the tendon stiffened up overnight.

Faced with another month of rest days, the options were, 1) nothing, let it heal over next 4 to 6 weeks, 2) magic gel, 3) antiflamatory drugs, 4) physiotherapy, and 5) surgery with an injection and risk of rupture and 3 months in plaster. Well the options were obvious, drugs and physio. Question is how long will this all take? One to ask Liz on Friday afternoon.

Will have to make a judgement call in March on whether to run or not. But it leaves 2 months left of training, and a sponsorship target of nearly £500 to raise. Wonder if people will sponsor me regardless at my fundraising page on Justgiving.com. Or if I make it a sponsored walk.

Part of me doesn't want this second year of injury to mean deferrment. Not even sure if you can defer your place 2 years on the trot? This is a guaranteed place and not a Gold Bond place, but raising money for the NCT charity anyway.

Any marathon runners out there with the answers, please leave a comment. I've the parents telling me I don't have to do it, and shouldn't. Any of my friends or colleagues reading this, bloody sponsor me. I'll give you a signed beermat in return.

It's only about 8 hours away, and the FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa draw takes place to select the teams for the Group stages for next summer's football spectacular.  I can't wait.  Is this finally England's chance to avoid 'Group of Death' and get to the final and end the 44 years of waiting to win the FIFA World Cup again?

I'm not a massive betting man, but am surprised that pre-draw, England are in fact 3rd favourites to win it.  Christ, have we ever had it so good, or are people thinking the Golden Generation are going to finally bring home the treasures on what is likely to be their last attempt?  Albeit that Spain and Brazil stand in our way with equal betting odds, our route through the qualifiers was decent enough and Fabio Capello has instilled some increased confidence in the team.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and when Charlize Theron co-hosts the draw in front of millions, if not billions of people around the world, you are sure that the betting odds will change post-draw.  Depending on just how lucky each of the teams are to avoid the Ivory Coast, Portugal and France (the so-called European teams likely to upset those in Pot 1), we'll see some interesting odds being touted.

Below are the screen grabs taken at 8am today from OddsChecker.com.  Ignore the yellow lines, this was just from the Snagit scrolling down the screen.  Click on the thumnails to view a larger image.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for the Winner (Pre-Draw)

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for the Finalists (Pre-Draw)

FIFA World Cup 2010 Betting Odds for Top Goalscorer

It's always the case that once a team wins, you are thinking afterwards, "JFC, I wish I put on a tenner on that team to reach the final, or win".  Take Greece in Euro 2004 , they went into the competiton with odds of 150-1.  This would have been a nice bunsen burner!

If the Ivory Coast go into a week group, who's to say that Didier Drogba doesn't bang in a couple of hat-tricks?  I'd be confident that the guys from the African Nations will certainly put a few away, credit to Chelsea FC nurturing these goal hungry players.  Given that last World Cup in Germany 2006, Miroslav Klose got the golden boot for 5 goals.  Come on, seriously, are you saying that was the worthy of such a title.  At least in 2002 Ronaldo got 8 goals, and Brazil went on to win it.  Get some interesting FIFA World Cup statistics here.

The newspapers have been speculating who would be England's best possible draw and worst draw, their Group of Death.  The Sun newspaper are saying;

England's worst possible draw: USA (B), Ivory Coast (C), France (D)

England's best possible draw: New Zealand (B), Algeria (C), Slovakia (D)

We'll have to see.  If we do draw France or even Portugal in the same group, it will be certainly an entertaining first week in June next year.  With England seeded for the tournament, we will avoid the likes of Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Italy and Holland, who pose the biggest threat, but France and Portugal cannot be reckoned with.  Who wants to play against 'Le Cheat' or 'The Winker'.

The pots for the World Cup 2010 draw are as follows;

Pot 1: South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain

Pot 2: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand

Pot 3: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Pot 4: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland

The range of betting odds pre-draw is quite surprising.  You can almost bet on anything!  If you check OddsChecker.com and you'll see everything you'd expect from Winner, to Reach the Final and even England Player to be sent off.  Below I've pasted links to the main ones so you can have a flutter yourself...

To Win World Cup 2010
Top Goalscorer
To Reach Final
Continent of Winner
To Host 2018 World Cup

England Specials

England Top Goalscorer
Stage of Elimination
Pot 2 Oppenents
Pot 3 Oppenents
Pot 4 Opponents
Group Stage Oppenents
Next Players To Be Sent Off
England Fans Player of the Year
England to be Knocked Out Stage

And a classic, To Start Opening World Cup Match in Goal.  Only wish there was one for "Will Lampard and Gerrard combo in midfield be a success this year?"   But if we think it will, it might be worth a punt on the following;

To Progress Further Than Brazil
To Play Brazil In Final

Anyway, I'll write another blog post at the weekend, to compare the odds.  Then we can be as sick a parrot if New Zealand win it.

Good luck England!

However, I went out today for 1 hour 20 minutes in the cold, after a huge Sunday roast down the pub in the afternoon.

I got a donation this week from a family member and inside the card it read, "where do you find the time?". The answer is pretty obvious, whenever I'm not working, commuting, eating, sleeping, being a dad and husband. Yes, that's lots of free time isn't it. Not.

I'm going to investigate the distances from the train stations near to work and home. Maybe I can look at running home or to work from one of these? Although running the entire 30 miles us a bit unrealistic.

I would need to up the weekly milage to do that. This week though, has been pretty poor. I put that down to two evenings getting home late and having a few post drink beers midweek. That didn't help. This week, the plan is not to have any alcohol.

Thursday morning at 5.30am saw me hitting the streets with a 50 minute run. That was really early to be honest, and with a full day of work that followed and delays getting home, it was no wonder I didn't run on Friday or Saturday.

Now trying to get back into the swing of things has been really hard. But the motivation was sparked once again with a couple of donations during the week. Still a long way to go though.

Today I got myself out in the evening and ran 60 minutes which is quite a contrast to what the schedule says. I should be up to 2 hours and 30 minutes today, so quite a way off the pace. But I'm not dejected with that, and realise if you take a few weeks off then it's expected that I'll fall behind.

However it's not a race, and I plan to complete this once again, no matter how much training I do. When you are raising money for charity it's a different perspective. Secretly inside though, I do want to break the 5 hour mark!