Before we start this entry which is going on at the same time as the World Cup soccer game between Holland and Slovakia, we should note that we tried tirelessly to get a proper image for the subject. But, after many failed efforts to find a fitting image, we simply decided to go with The Octopus Man, a comic book villain who we think comes from "Spiderman." (I'm sure the guys at Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC, would be delighted to correct me if I'm wrong!).
But, we loved this sport that we heard while listening to the BBC during a bout with insomnia circa 2:30 a.m. last night.
Apparently, Paul the Octopus who is residing in an aquarium in the German city of Oberhausen has predicted the outcomes of all German soccer games, including their surprsingly first round 1-0 loss to Serbia and yesterday's 4-1 German victory over England.
His handlers give Paul, who has even made news in Saudi Arabia, baited glass cubes with mussels and mark them with national flags.
The irony here is that the octopus was born in an English aquarium!
In other world sports news, the English-language Twitter page of Turkish daily newspaper "Hurriyet" reported that Mehmet Yesilyesil, 24, won the coveted 649th Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival near Edirne, Turkey (a western Turkish city near the Bulgarian and Greek borders), yesterday.
Amazingly enough, Yesilyesil won the event in which one must beat out lots and lots of wrestlers (this year it was 498!) for the title. The sport of oil wrestling has become quite a novelty for foreign tourists visiting Turkey because to western eyes the sport looks a bit (how else can I put this?!) homoerotic......since I am a Turkish-American, I should strongly emphasize this is not my own personal view!
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