June 2010 is here and all the soccer lovers are supporting their teams with full love energy and enthusiasm. Every Soccer fan has a question in their minds “Will their country lift the FIFA World Cup 2010?” Everyone is guessing the future, and thus we wanted to see what tarot cards say about the future of Soccer World Cup 2010’s teams. We don’t know yet but we may see Brazil vs England World Cup 2010 Final. Let’s say what tarot cards say about these Soccer Teams namely, Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands.

Argentina: Tarot cards say that Argentina’s team carries the energies of a moving force both physically and emotionally. Somehow there is a big hint of financial problems for the team, which means that they may not make it to final. Cards also indicate that these financial worries will smooth out soon but very slowly, which further tells us that this team may enter quarterfinals/Semi Finals stage but chances of winnings are not huge. If they really want to be in the Final and win the show, they need to apply huge amount of effort. Also they will need to be 100% sure that they do not miss a single opportunity. Tarot reading says that team players are not willing to change in the given circumstance, which they need to work on towards meeting their goals.

Brazil: Tarot cards say that Brazil’s team will have a lot of Money in their pocket plus huge recognition and fame. The series may not start well but as the series will go on things will come together for Brazil and start falling into places. Luck will have its hand as well, which will take this team to new heights. The team will have to work as one and enjoy the fruit of their labour. New players will be very useful for the team, specially players between the age of 21-30 with quick mind. All thumbs up for Brazil, looks like they are in final with huge chance of winning the tournament.

England: Tarot Cards say that England’s team have will have great surprises and that too pleasant ones. Are they making it to the Finals? We say “Maybe yes!” Tarot Reading indicates that the team will be making good strategies and work with proper planning in each game. There are prizes and honours indicated in the cards, success in the foreign land which is South Africa. The Intellectual Boss/Coach is going to play a major part in the team’s success. There is good amount of Money coming their way even after the tournament with new contracts on the way. Again thumbs are up for England and again looks like Brazil they also have good chance to make it to final and winning the tournament.

Germany: Tarot cards say Germany’s Team may not make it to finals as there are confusions and double mindedness shown in the card. The players may miss opportunities to score the goals because of this issue, which means they may miss the pass or headers at the right time. There is frustration in the team’s efforts and despite their efforts they are a bit doubtful in their hearts. They will need to look straight at their goals or we must say opponent’s Goals. They must not lose their hopes and keep their calm. If they bring calmness to their team then and only then the Good fortune will strike them and Something Good Might happen. Money is hemmed between the troubles and worries. So far we believe they will not make the Finals of FIFA World Cup 2010.

Italy; Tarot cards say that Italy’s team will go on the right path in this series. But they have to be really careful with their planning because unless they will not put their plans into action they may find it very difficult to enter the finals. They also need to choose the players very carefully and consider all the possibilities before forming the team and must not overlook the players. Skills are more important here than the names. There are lots of joys in the card which means that team will have lots of success but the money is not there and thus we believe that this team may make towards semi finals/quarterfinals.

Spain: Tarot cards say Spain’s team have very less chances to make it to the top. The team is not sure about their strengths and weaknesses and are very much reliant on luck as well. Efforts and efforts are indicated and the success will come in different form. The luck will although favour them in the tournament but they will always have fear of failure in their minds. If they can overcome this problem they may go a bit further.

Netherlands: Tarot Cards says Netherland’s team will be saving their energies for the right time to strike. There is a hint of selfishness in the team which may mean that there can be change of mind of passing the ball to a player or just trying to hit the goal themselves. The players need to work as a team and believe that only one player is playing and that is their country. The chances are finals are very less. Lots of efforts are needed.

The Tarot cards according to above discussion indicate that four teams look promising namely Brazil, England, Italy and Argentina. These teams look like going towards the top ranks. These teams had most favourable Tarot card Readings and thus we have come to such a conclusion. We believe we have not hurt anyone’s feelings regarding the possible outcome with the Tarot views towards FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010. Rest all is in the hands of God. We wish best of luck to all the teams and also want all teams to remember there is only one Goal, opponents Goal.

A sippy cup is training cup with a lid and spout, used to train babies in drinking water. The design of the cup was created by Richard Belanger in 1981 and sold to Playtex. The company launched some of the earliest designs of Sippy Cups. Even today the original design is marketed under the brand name Sipster. The cups are generally used by parents to transition from bottle-feeding or nursing to a regular cup. The cup’s design of snap-on lid and a spout allows the child to drink without spilling. Using the cup helps in improving the hand to mouth coordination. Once the baby gets comfortable with the cup, the spout is removed to train them in drinking in a normal way.

Generally parents decide on the time to introduce cups to train a baby. Some parents start as early as 5 to 6 months while many wait till 7 to 9 months. There are many parents who introduce the cups well after the baby’s first birthday.

Playtex sippy cups are readily available at all the departmental and baby stores. The cups are available in different colors and patterns. They have a unique valve system that regulates the flow of liquids and prevents most of the leaks. The cups are of best quality and their brand takes up the majority share in the market. Playtex has licensed the valve system used in these cups. The valves form a strong seal when the child is not drinking and at the same time it is supple enough to be used by very young babies. 6 months old children too can easily drink from these cups. The cup’s design of tapered base forms an easy grip to hold. Another unique feature of the cup is its insulation. Drinks stay cold for a long time. The only drawback that some people may find with Playtex cups are expensive than other brands in the market.

The African Nations Cup 2008 has finally arrived and I am excited! If you are a huge football fan like myself you will not want to miss a game. The young African talent makes the tournament this year very interesting.

If you want to watch The African Nations Cup, you will find it on channels such as Euro Sport, ESPN or Sky Sports. If you do not have satellite or cable than you will need another way to watch. The good news is, you can watch The African Nations Cup online, completely live. This was something I used when Copa America was on last year and I am very glad I did. Satellite TV For PC allowed me to watch all my favorite sporting events live, online, with one piece of software.

How does satellite TV for PC work?

Simple. You install the software and start enjoying the broadcasts within a few clicks.

What is the quality of the sports like?

You will get top quality directly on your PC so you can enjoy the games.

What internet speed do I need?

Dial-up is fine, although broadband is preferred.

I hope this article gives you an understanding of how to watch The African Nations Cup Online. Of course it’s best to watch it on the big screen with satellite or cable, but you can enjoy all the games and not miss any of the action with satellite TV for PC. So if you are a huge football fan and want to watch The African Nations Cup online, I advise using that.

Good Luck.

In the world of sports, no legend is more interesting than the history behind the World Cup of soccer. This vessel of victory has been around for almost a hundred years and it has an intriguing past. The World Cup of soccer has lasted through generations of soccer fans and will continue to be a symbol of the utmost challenge and triumph in sportsmanship for generations to come. Here’s a little of the history behind the World Cup of soccer and how it got its various names.

Starting in 1930, the World Cup of Soccer was known as the “Jules Rimet Trophy” so-named for the man who was the first president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It was a beautiful one of a kind trophy designed by the French Sculptor, Abel Lafleur, who gave it a gold-plated sterling silver finish on a lapis lazuli (blue natural stone) base. The design included a representation of the ancient Greek goddess of victory “Nike”, thus it was originally named “Victory”. Over time, the award was engraved with the names of the nine winners of the World Cup championship soccer games. In 1946, the trophy was re-named “Jules Rimet Trophy”, but had also been called the “Coupe du Monde”.

But that’s not where the history of the World Cup ends. During World War II, for fear of it being stolen by German Nazi troops that had occupied the region where it was stored, the then Italian-born president of FIFA, Dr. Barassi, hid “Victory” under his bed in a shoebox for several years. Despite his heroic efforts to preserve the trophy, in 1966, the trophy disappeared while on display in England in a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall. It was found seven days later, buried under a tree in a suburban garden in South Norwood, a good distance away, dug up by a little dog named “Pickles”. To this day, no one knows why it was stolen or who was the culprit behind the heist.

In 1970, the trophy was won a third time by Brazil’s soccer team and was stored in the nation’s capital, Rio De Janeiro. However, once again it was subject to a theft in 1973 when it came up missing and was never again to be seen by anyone, including soccer fans. Rumor has it; the trophy was melted down for its precious metals. However, we will never know for sure how Victory met her untimely escape from the world of sports.

That is not the end of the World Cup’s venture to the hallowed halls of soccer fame. In 1974, a new World Cup trophy was created to replace the former and was presented to the captain of the winning West Germany team, Franz Beckenbauer. The design of the newer trophy was picked from over fifty designs that were submitted to the FIFA by experts from the seven continents. The winning design is a solid 18 carat gold swirling statue with a double-row malachite base. It was designed by Italian sculptor, Silvio Gazzaniga, who has gone on to design several other famous sports world trophies for soccer and baseball.

Today, the World Cup is known simply as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, but soccer fans sometimes still refer to it as “Victory” in honor of the previous trophy. Only five countries have won it so far, the most recent being Italy, but there are enough spaces for the winning teams names to be engraved onto its base until the year 2038.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association proudly brings the FIFA World Cup to the soccer world every four years. The men’s national football teams of many countries vie to take part in this esteemed event. A nation that plays football must first qualify for the qualifier matches that are held prior to the big event if they want to qualify. As of now 32 teams are chosen for the competition that lasts for one month.

The 19th FIFA World Cup Series will be organized and launched in South Africa, taking place from June 11th until July 11th, 2010. The first African nation to hold the World Cup is going to be South Africa. Zakumi, the event’s mascot, is an adorable leopard-like cartoon animal with green hair and a yellow body. A perfect slogan was selected to suit this occasion: “Zakumi’s game is Fair Play.”The matches will be played over a one-month period in ten different venues. Much money has been spent on building five new football stadiums, and additional moneys have been spent on renovating five old stadiums.  The renovation work is going on in the following locations:

Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Durban: Moses Mabhida Stadium

Johannesburg: Ellis Park Stadium

Cape Town: Cape Town Stadium

Pretoria: Loftus Versfeld Stadium

Bloemfontein: Free State Stadium

Nelspruit: Mbombela Stadium

Polokwane: Peter Mokaba Stadium

Rustenburg: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Johannesburg: Soccer City

The public will greatly benefit from the construction of new roads and the improvement of transportation services.

An incredible number of fans are expected to arrive in South Africa before the opening ceremonies even begin because the FIFA World Cup Series is, without a doubt, a major event for all football enthusiasts. There are four groups in this year’s world cup in which the 32 nations are divided into for the competition.

Group A consists of the following: Action will take place in the folllowing venues: Spain, the Netherlands, England, Brazil, South Africa, Italy, Germany and Argentina.

Group B consists of the following: Ghana, Nigeria, Uruguay, Cameroon, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Paraguay, Chile,

C Group: Korea DPR, Australia, Japan, Honduras, United States, Korea Republic, New Zealand,Mexico.

Fourth group: (Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland)

The last match will happen on July 11, 2010 and the beginning and ending ceremonies for this event will be done on a big scale with various popular celebrities and performers participating in these celebrations.

A deliciously comforting soft baked cookie.

1/4 cup butter; softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup mincemeat

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add in eggs and mincemeat; mix well.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture; mixing well. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

Makes 48 cookies.

=> Christmas Cookies Recipes: Orange Cookies

A fresh, citrus flavored cookie that will delight everyone.

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

2/3 cup orange juice

4 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Cookie Icing

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add in the buttermilk, eggs, orange juice and orange peel.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool. Frost with Cookie Icing.

Cookie Icing

4 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

1/3 to 1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

In a bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, orange extract and enough orange juice to get to the desired consistency. Frost cooled cookies.

Makes 144 cookies.

=> Christmas Cookies Recipes: Mocha Fudge Cookies

A delicious cookie graced with coffee and cocoa flavors.

2 cups butter

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

3 cups sugar

1 cup baking cocoa

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

3 cups packed brown sugar

8 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

8 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a Dutch oven over low heat, melt butter and and 2 cups of chocolate chips. Remove from heat; stirring until smooth.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa and coffee; add to butter mixture. Stir in the brown sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture. Stir in walnuts and remaining chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Let cool.

Makes 222 cookies.

In the initial format for the Davis Cup tournament beginning in 1900, all competing teams would compete against one another to qualify to challenge the reigning champions in the final round. In order to accommodate the increase in the competition’s number of participating teams over the years, however, the Davis Cup tournament began splitting into zones until the tournament for the actual Cup eventually became limited to the world’s top sixteen tennis-playing nations each year, which make up the tournament’s World Group, with the remaining nations being divided into four geographic zones to compete for future opportunities to become one the World Group’s sixteen.

Once the U.S. and British Lawn tennis associations agreed to enter into the tournament against one another, Harvard’s Dwight F. Davis, partly responsible for the idea, spent $700 of his own money to purchase the now famous sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low – the Cup which would be passed from year to year to the tournament’s champions, and which the sixteen World Group teams vie for each year. Rowland Rhodes, an Englishman in New England, was commissioned by the company to design a bowl that would serve as a fitting award for the winners of the newly established international tennis competition. The trophy was a 13 inch high, 18 inch wide sterling silver bowl washed in gold, designed in classical style. Its top edge was decorated with a border of primrose and acanthus leave clusters, with the primrose images reappearing at the bottom of the bowl along with buds and tendrils. After Davis’ death in 1945, the trophy became known as the Davis Cup in his memory and honor, and the tournament – originally called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge – became known by the same name. In 2002, a new plinth was added to the Davis Cup trophy, giving it sixteen more plaques and castings, as well as 43 more inches in height – and still growing once the Cup once again runs out of room for more plaques engraved with the names of each year’s winners and finalists. The Cup that originally cost Davis $700 in 1900 would cost approximately $600,000 to replicate in its present day form.

The United States with a total of 32 Davis Cup wins, and Australia with a total of 28 wins (including those won under partnership with New Zealand maintained between 1905-1914), have been the best-performing country’s throughout the tournament’s history, having acquired possession of the sports award more times than any other nation. Respectively, they have also finished as runners-up 29 times and 19 times. Great Britain (including 5 years that they competed as the British Isles) and France have won the trophy a total of nine times each, and Sweden has won seven times.

The trophy’s history is among the richest in sports, having embarked upon many adventures in the hands of the various players of the Cup’s winning teams over its 111 year history. Fred Perry of Britain, and Henri Cochet of France, for example, took the trophy nightclub-hopping around France after the 1933 final between their nations, drinking champagne from the bowl of the cup throughout their adventure. Another famous Davis Cup story involves Mabel Brookes, the wife of Norman Brookes of Australia, who used it as a vase for peonies for a while until she grew tired of looking at its dominating features and carelessly tossed the famous Cup away, out of sight, into a bank vault.

The Melbourne Cup is the richest horse race in Australia and it is the race that stops a nation, well two nations counting New Zealand. There will not be that many people in either country who have not had a financial interest in the outcome of the race even if it is just the work sweepstake. For many people, their annual flutter on this great race will be their only wager on the horses for the year but whether you are a once-a-year-punter or like to follow the horses regularly then the tips given here may be helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff when in comes to narrowing the field down to the likely winner.

When one talks about selecting the winner of the Melbourne Cup I am not talking about a system based on lucky numbers or colours and just picking names out of a hat, I am rather talking about using form and previous statistics to reduce the field to a handful of contenders.

The trick is to find a horse which likely to be at peak fitness come Melbourne Cup day. Many horses are in good form during the lead-up races to the Melbourne Cup but have gone off the boil come cup day. Form can give you some clues in this respect. For example a horse that lines up in the Cup with form figures such as 1116 I would be wary of and would prefer something with 002 which shows that the horse ran his best race of the season at it’s most recent race.

Many of the lead-up races can provide clues to each individual horse’s form. Some of the main lead up races being the Cox Plate, Moonee Valley Cup, Geelong Cup, Lexius Handicap, and the McKinnon Stakes. These races are all within two weeks of the Melbourne Cup. The Caulfield Cup has at times proven to be a good guide but this is more than two weeks prior to the Melbourne Cup and my preference is to stick with horses that have run within this two-week period.

The foreign horses always add a lot of international interest to the race but it would pay to only back those that have raced in Australia prior to the Cup because since Vintage Crop, an Irish trained horse who won the Cup in 1993 at his first Australian start, 90 others have tried and failed to win the Cup since though many have been placed.

One way to demonstrate the value of a Sanyo rice cooker is to do a direct comparison with another leading brand. Point for point, a Sanyo 10 cup rice cooker stands up against even the stiffest competition. Even the accessories it comes with are of equal or better quality, and the versatility of a Sanyo rice cooker rivals even the recognized performance of Zojirushi rice cookers.

The Sanyo ECJ-D100S rice cooker, for example, can be used for the customary array of rices and steamed vegetables, but it goes an extra step, and adds a function that isn’t commonly advertised for rice cookers: Tofu cooking. And, of course, the Sanyo 3.5 cup ECJ-S35S rice cooker has a bread baking function built in, which means you can enjoy the hearty taste of fresh baked bread, free of preservatives and any unwanted ingredients, or flavored with spices or cheeses to make it uniquely your own.

I don’t care to leave my rice sitting for hours after it’s cooked, if I can help it, but I have found that the automatic warmer on the Sanyo 10 cup rice maker is excellent for stews and soups, where the pot can simply be left to serve from as needed. And where the Zojirushi claims up to 12 hours of freshness, even for rice, after cooking, the best rice cooker award for that would go to a Sanyo rice cooker, for its extended 24 hour feature. And while we are on the subject of time, nothing competes with Sanyo’s advance cook timer, which allows you to set the container to complete cooking at a specified time, and forget about it until then.

Both Zojirushi and Sanyo rice cookers have removable inner cook pots, and reviews are split on which is better, but the titanium coated interior of the Sanyo ECJ-PX50S has a proven track record for its non-stick easy cleanup. And the curved bottom on both brands helps as well, both with easy cleaning and better balanced heat distribution during the cook process. In this department, there isn’t a clear winner, as both have rated very well.

In the final comparison, a Sanyo rice maker comes out on top, but that is not necessarily the news you wanted to hear. Sanyo rice cookers tend to be a little pricier than other brands of rice cookers and warmers, partly because they make more integrated use of the computers. If you were looking for a cheap kitchen appliance to prepare the rice, Sanyo rice cookers are probably not the one for you, but if your concern is with quality and performance, and sheer variety of possibilities, you would do well to consider something like a Sanyo 10 cup ECJ-D100S, which excellent for many uses.

World Cup Fever is beginning to reach high pitch, excuse the pun, throughout the world. In early May however, drivers sporting flags on cars and those draping large banners from bedroom windows could only be considered as premature flagulators. Now, as the World Cup is about to begin, flag waving and associated football mania seem much more acceptable. This year, Father’s Day (June 18th 2006) coincides with the World Cup. Dads and grandads everywhere can look forward to a wide variety of soccer related gifts.

World Cup Gifts for Soccer fans

World Cup Gifts can be found in many shapes and sizes which can be fun, practical and useful. General gifts for football supporters include flags for cars, large flag banners, hats and t shirts, stationery and mugs. National team football shirts are also likely to be a great hit amongst fans as is the 2006 Official World Cup football, great for those needing to go and play out their skills after watching a match.

Gadget Gifts

For gadget lovers that are also football fans there are a wide variety of novelty gifts available to celebrate the World Cup, including inflatable armchairs and giant inflatable balls, football TV remote controls and blow up beer buckets. Gadget style toys such as a choking referee bendy toy (for those feeling the urge to throttle a ref during a match) are a great idea for the fun loving person.

World Cup Stress Relief

Gamers may also enjoy the World Cup 2006 Fifa games which are available for most platforms, including PS2, DS, Xbox 360 and PSP. These enable the players to play matches with world class players of their choice and vent off their stresses via a gamepad.

Got the T shirt?

For the fashion conscious, there are many football clothing gifts available including home and away team shirts, shorts, football boots and a multitude of fashion accessories such as mobile phone charms, caps and bags.

Shoppers Dream

Online and down the High Street, World Cup gifts are everywhere. Gift shopping for football fans during the World Cup season is probably a dream. You shouldn’t have to look far to find something suitable!

World Cup 2006.Gift ideas for football fans.