Hit the auto-update thingummybob for the latest posts, view the latest scores here and email scott.murray@guardian.co.uk tooKick off: 12.30pmSo, then, the Dream Final: perm any two from Portsmouth, Birmingham, Fulham, Tottenham, Stoke City, Reading and Aston Villa, basically. Anyone but, anyone but. Sorry, Chelsea, but it wasn't us who expressed a wish to become the Manchester United of the South.Portsmouth of course have already served us up with a Dream Final in recent years, their 2008 match-up against Cardiff City. Which, if not quite a stone-cold classic, was a damn sight more interesting than the usual Manchester United v Chelsea v Arsenal snoozefest normally foisted upon us between players who don't really care watched by spoilt supporters wishing it was the Champions League...

Here we go, here we go.. Again.Underdog team takes early lead in Cup final. The favourites equalise before half-time. They then win the match with a moment of star quality, from a very expensively bought player with around 15/20mins remaining.That’s what occurred in yesterday’s League Cup final, and its also what occurred in last year’s FA Cup final. Despite the fact that both Aston Villa and Everton gave it everything they had, once again a team from the Big Four has won one of English football’s three main trophies. And once again the underdog has lost in a final. There used to be a time when any old Wimbledon, Coventry, Ipswich or QPR could win a Wembley Cup final. Not any more it seems.The facts speak for themselves: in the last five years only two teams from outside the top...

Is there actually chance of a Final Fantasy VII remake? Oh God please make this happen!! PLEASE!! *geekgasm* Yoshinori Kitase who directed the immensely popular and fans favourite Final Fantasy VII said that he’d be “really interested” in remaking Final Fantasy VII on the PS3 with high def graphics, voice acting and more subtle expressions. I mean, think about it!! How much more weight would certain events have in gorgeous graphics and being able to see Cloud’s expressions at that time! Gives me goosebumps! He even went on to say: “I’d be interested to see that and make that, it would be a great experience. I don’t get tired of people asking that question………..so I’ll continue to answer my thoughts as long as people keep asking.” Of course there will...

Pertemps FinalThe Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle was first run in 1974. The Pertemps is the final of a number of handicap races that are staged during the national hunt season. Participants in this race need to qualify from one of the previous events. The Pertemps Hurdle is notorious for gambles and trainers often managed to get well handicapped horses into the race due to the qualifying procedure. Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Details Trip: 3 miles Class: Class A Listed First Run: 1974 Next running: Thursday 18th March 2010 Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Trends A five year old has only 1 victory in 35 renewals. Only 2 winning favourites in the last 15 renewals. 9 of the last 10 winners carried 11st 2lbs or less. 13 of the last 17 winners previously had a victory over 3 miles. 2010...

The Eastlondonlines blog reports that TfL has taken charge of the East London Line network, marking the final stage in the project's life, before it becomes operational in a few months' time. They quote TfL as saying:“We have now entered the final stages in the development. Stations along the line require finishing...

For those who aren’t privy to my Facebook and Twitter rants, my last non-family related vacation was invaded by the filming of what at the time was called Final Destination 4 (in 3D!). It effectively shut down half of Universal Studios, and it became nearly impossible to figure out how to get where I wanted to go. Needless to say, I treated the crew to a death glare as I tried to calm down over a turkey sandwich. All right. In keeping with the latest of film fads, the installment was renamed “The Final Destination.” The. That means it’s the only one, right? Well, since there have already been three, each more awful than the last, “The Final Destination” should be the end of the series. Oh, let it be so. I forced myself to sit down and view...

It’s now less than 2 months away before the release of Final Fantasy XIII. One of the most delayed games I’ve ever known to exist and hopefully it will be worth the wait. Judging from the countless videos I’ve seen of FFXIII, it’s going to be probably the best looking game on the PS3 to date but it will have to produce something special to better Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. A new trailer has been released with the English voices and you can see why it’s taken them so long to bring this out. It’s a pain staking job doing lip-sync animation, believe me, so going through a game of this size once is a big task in it’s self. But to go through it again and change it from Japanese to English just shows the dedicated Square-Enix have in pleasing the Western gamer. The only...

Deeping St James darts supremo Martin 'Wolfie' Adams has just thrown his way into the final of the World Darts Championship.'Wolfie' who was 2007 world darts champ quickly went 5-1 up against Welsh wizard Martin Phillips.But (hen 'Wolfie' had us on the edge our the sofa as he allowed Phillips to come back to 5-4 before finally closing out the match 6-4.Final is tomoorow on BBC TV starting at 5.45pm.GO...

Christmas SPECIAL: Win a Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console bundle with loads of extra gadgets, its worth more than 600 pounds! Video: Final Fantasy XIII game intro Just released on Game Trailer late last week, the Final Fantasy XIII game intro video trailer has become one of the most popular videos on the site. For those of you who are FF fans, the game is due to be released next year by March, it will be available on PS3 as well as Xbox360. The Final Fantasy series returns, this time with the power of the PlayStation 3. Expect breathtaking cut-scenes and engaging RPG action. Video Games | Final Fantasy XIII | Japanese Game Intro XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii...

At long last, we bring you the final of Bitterwallet’s Worst Company In Britain 2009 competition, and not without a smattering of controversy. After studying our reports of voting patterns, we learned that the results of the second semi-final were tainted by multiple votes for DSGi, a stunt that was probably pulled by a bored paedophile or someone with an unfeasibly tiny penis, like a chipolata as viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. As a result, the DSGi votes have been disregarded and Paypal and Orange have been put forward into the final, where they join eBay and Royal Mail. Bitterwallet’s decision is final but feel free to mewl on about it until 2010 if it’ll make you feel better. Voting will go on until midnight on Tuesday, offering you ample time to try and hack...

Just as Final Fantasy XIII has been released in Japan (slightly jealous), Final Fantasy XIV Online Beta has been made available for people to sign up and apply to get their hands on some early gameplay time in Europe and the US of A. At the minute the Beta is only available for the PC, but nothing has yet been announced as regards the Playstation 3 version of the game. Obviously, I’ve applied for the PC Beta as I’d love to play this because of what I saw in the Final Fantasy XIV trailer which I’ve mentioned in the past. There’s no date as to when the PC Beta will be up and running, but you can apply to be one of the lucky testers over on the Final Fantasy XIV website. I never actually played FFXI online as I’m too cheap to pay for online gaming, but this time around I...

William Roache (Ken Barlow) and Bev Callard (Liz McDonald) will be putting in an appearance on the final Paul O'Grady show on Friday December 19th. Paul's final show will be shown at 5pm on Channel 4. He'll be much missed.Paul's pictured here with Sir Ian McKellen, who played Coronation Street con-man Mel...

Ali Bastian is voted out of the final of Strictly Come Dancing, leaving actor Ricky Whittle and Chris Hollins in the...

To mark its 20th anniversary Final Fantasy franchise developed the Dissidia Final Fantasy for Sony PSP. The game matches the developer’s previous game editions and uses the famous characters of the earlier games. Unlike other games from Final Fantasy franchise this one is more action based. The Dissidia Final Fantasy for Sony PSP has a story to tell when you perform all the action filled tasks. The basic idea is of two big emperors here replaced by God and Goddess fighting to be stronger than the other. Cosmos, Goddess of Harmony and Chaos, the God of Discord have created their own worlds from the remains of other worlds. Both the empires are fighting for powers and the fight is expected to go on for ages. They have a group of 10 warriors to fight for them. They use...

And about bloody time!!! I’ve never know a game that has been put back so many times as has the Final Fantasy 13 release date being delayed, well perhaps Duke Nukem takes that crown, but anyway a release date has now been set in stone for the launch of the European and US version of Final Fantasy XIII which will be 9th March 2010. The Japanese are lucky as their release date is much earlier and they are getting the game next month…..surprise, surprise! The game will be released on both PS3 and Xbox 360 at the same time but I think I’ll be getting the PS3 version as the 360 one, from what I’ve read, had to be split onto two discs. There’s even been an announcement of the theme tune for the game which is going to be sang by………..hang on a sec…….....

Yesterday’s impressive three-nil victory by Portugal over Hungary puts Carlos Queiroz’s just one game away from qualifying for a play-off place in their quest to go to the 2010 World Cup. England, meanwhile, suffered a 1-0 loss versus Ukraine in a game that meant much more for England’s opponents. So with England and Portugal capturing many of yesterday’s headlines, I thought it appropriate to post a video flashback of England against Portugal from the 1966 World Cup semi-final. Portugal, with the great Eusebio, took on England at Wembley. We all know who won the match, but it’s interesting to watch how low-key the TV production is and how glorious England looked on black-and-white television. Enjoy. Related posts:Hungary v England, 1988: Video...

My final photo from the final concert of French band Dark Sanctuary. This week's entry for the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Wordless...

St Helens set up a third successive Grand Final against Leeds Rhinos with a hard-fought semi-final win over...

ScoreKeeper over at AICN is running with the story that David Heyman answered a recent question on the subject of John Williams’ returning to the franchise’s final outing with: If we can make it work, and that’s a big if, for his schedule and ours, then yes. Williams, obviously a movie composing classic, would be a big-name composer for the final Potter flick.  But with so many lesser-known composers now creating magnificent scores, and the Potter franchise as established as it is, does it really need Williams back again?...

Sunday was a brilliant day of double success for England. This morning dawned in Hanover with the England sevens team looking back in satisfaction at their group stage performance yesterday where they had demolished all that had been put in front of them. Five wins from five, 87 points scored (15 tries) and a single try conceded put them into the at the European Sevens semi-final against the host team, Germany. Meanwhile in west London England U20s awoke knowing that, after Thursday's comprehensive win over Canada (Rugby Canada report now available) - which a recount seems to have raised to 47-0 - a similar performance today against the USA should seem into next week's final.The sevens team were first on the field. While the U20s were having breakfast, England's Sevens team were having...

The senior England sevens team will be aiming to put World Cup disappointment behind them this weekend when they attempt to retain their European Sevens crown in Hanover.This will be the sixth women's European championship , and England have never failed to reach the final. They did not enter the first tournament in 2003 (which was won by Spain), but did enter the next event in 2005 beating Spain 14-0 in the final of an event they totally dominated, conceding one try over a weekend of six games.England were similarly dominant in 2006, with a total shutout until the final when Wales shocked them, winning a dramatic final 10-7.2007 was far tougher, with England losing to France in their group, sneaking through the final with a two point win over Spain, and then losing the final...

…Stuart. You didn’t really think you’d go on and beat the Germans now did you? Come on Psycho, you’ve already sort of had your penalty redemption back in ‘96 against Spain, when you scored and we went through. Yes of course that was followed up by a semi-final penalty loss to match 1990 and then there was the last U21 finals – just over two years ago – against the Dutch, when even after scoring 12 spot kicks England still managed to suffer. It all honesty England were lucky to get that far and on the day they were hugely outclassed by a far superior German side with the final score being a decent indication of the teams on the night. Who actually thought when the hosts Sweden got two goals back, after going into half time three nil down, in the...

England Under 21s overcome their semi-final hoodoo to beat Sweden 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw to make the final of the European...

England face New Zealand at Lord's in the Women's World Twenty20 final - a repeat of March's World Cup...

Where the hell did this Final Fantasy XIV news come from?? Square Enix have not only unveiled an English demo of Final Fantasy XIII at E3 this year, but have just dropped a nuclear announcement that Final Fantasy XIV will be released as early as 2010. Presumably it will be released after the delayed Final Fantasy XIII release or otherwise we will be getting our numbering system all mixed up! Final Fantasy XIV will be a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, but there’s nothing on how much the subscription fees are going to be or how much the actual game will be. It will be released ‘exclusively’ for Playstation 3 and for PC. But in my opinion, if it’s being made for the PC, then chances are that it could one day end up on the Xbox 360 as well. The Final Fantasy XIV teaser site...

Readers: Take part in our latest free gadget giveaway! Final Fantasy 14 online release in 2010 for PS3 and PC At the E3 press conference video game company Square Enix showcased the long awaited new version of its popular role-playing game series, Final Fantasy XIII. They have also shown a quick trailer from that game’s follow up, Final Fantasy XIV.  Unlike Final Fantasy XIII, XIV will be a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). Final Fantasy XIV is slated for a 2010 release, same as Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix has not released any futher details about Final FantasyXIV just yet, but they have launched a site where fans can watch the trailer video and screenshots of the game. [via Wired] Related posts E3 09: Metal Gear Solid Rising debut teaser...

A couple of weeks ago it was confirmed that the World Cup Final next year - the most important game in women's rugby worldwide - would not take place at Twickenham but would instead bt at The Stoop - the nearby home of Harlequins RFC.The only explanation for this that I have heard is that Twickenam now demands a minimum guaranteed number of ticket sales for any game to be staged in the stadium, and that the organisers of the Women's World Cup could not meet these demands.Quite a lot of (on the face of it) quite minor domestic games do take place at Twickenham - Army v Navy, Oxford v Cambridge University, etc. - but these rather less important fixtures do sell quite a lot of tickets, so the apparant discrimination against women's rugby was explicable in ard economic terms.Or maybe not....

That’s what the May final is all about, passion, commitment - working together as a team to deliver a superb end product. But that’s enough about Diversity winning Britains Got Talent - I wanted to comment on the FA Cup final. I don’t know what anyone else thought, but I thought that was one of the...

Sometimes I really wish we could go back to the 1970s. Today is one of those times. Remember how Cup Final days used to be? TV coverage would start at about 9am and the atmosphere would build up during the course of the morning. Dickie Davies on World of Sport would introduce Cup Final Wrestling with Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki, Stuart Hall on BBC would host Cup Final It's a Knockout. There was a real sense of occasion about it.And then today ITV kicks off its cup final coverage at 1pm with interviews with Andy Townsend and Joe Royle. Says it all.So, who do you want to win this afternoon? Everton, or West Ham reserves? I know Dizzy and Norfolk Blogger will be cheering on Everton. I'd like to see them win too. The more trophies which go to those outside the top four, the...

The last dance of the season, of every season, the FA Cup Final is the jewel in the English Football Crown. Last year’s final between Cardiff and Portsmouth was arguably the exception, but this year’s certainly isn’t: Underdogs Everton come into the final for the first time in 14 years, since Joe Royle’s infamous ‘dogs of war’ - led by the terrifying Duncan Ferguson - beat Manchester United in a final that was described by many as “rubbish”. This is David Moyes’ first appearance in an English FA Cup Final, as either a player or manger, but with the experienced Phil Neville leading the side, there is no shortage of big match experience. Neville himself is going for his fourth FA Cup triumph, after wins in 1996, 1999 and 2004 with...