The Longshot: Questions raised as the curtain falls for our betting guru

It’s sports quiz of the year time, back again in everyone’s favourite format: multiple choice.

As the answers to this could easily be discovered online (or at the end of this article) and I never trust readers not to look them up on their phones, there will be no prize, except your own vain pride if you get 10 out of 10, and if you do meet me out and about and tell me that you did, I will be sure to shake you firmly by the hand.

1. What rose into the sky over Paris to mark the beginning of the Summer Olympics?

a. A javelin.

b. An Olympic flag with one too many rings.

c. A balloon.

2. What did ‘Drei Lowen’ signify?

a. Heimir Hallgrimsson saying ‘hello’ to Irish fans.

b. Thomas Tuchel taking over England.

c. Denmark’s reaction to possibly drawing us in the World Cup qualifiers again.

3. A month after he was arrested on his way to the PGA Championship, how was golfer Scottie Scheffler disturbed when standing over a potential winning putt on the 18th at the Travelers Championship?

a. His playing partner Tom Kim had a fit of coughing.

b. The green was rushed by cops trying to catch protestors.

c. A fan started singing ‘We love you Scottie, we do’.

4. Which 16-year-old celebrated a stunning success this year?

a. Luke Littler.

b. Lamine Yamal.

c. Gout Gout.

5. What did Kevin Doyle accidentally substitute for “dead rubbers” when saying he hoped there would be none of them, while a pundit on RTE?

a. Drab rubbers

b. Dead ringers

c. Dead robbers

6. What unusual method was Mikel Arteta revealed to have used to teach his Arsenal players to ‘never let their guard down and always stay alert’?

a. He hired a pickpocket to rob personal items from them at a team dinner.

b. He texted them at odd hours of the night and expected them to reply immediately.

c. He had members of the Gunners staff leap out from behind things to try to surprise them.

7. The most talented man in baseball Shohei Ohtani won a first World Series but he made bigger headlines for what other reason?

a. He dislocated his shoulder during a charity challenge to attempt to throw a baseball out of Dodger Stadium.

b. His interpreter stole $16 million from him to fuel a gambling habit.

c. He was banned for three matches when his bat was discovered to have been made partly of compressed bamboo.

8. Which actress was in the commentary box providing completely unbiased co-commentary during the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano rematch?

a. Brenda Fricker.

b. Rosie Perez.

c. Hilary Swank.

9. Why did Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec attract attention at the Olympics?

a. His pistol backfired and knocked off his goggles.

b. He celebrated winning gold by shooting in the air.

c. He had a nonchalant approach, casual attire and took aim with one hand in his pocket.

10. What did American triathlete Seth Rider say he did to get ready for his Olympics event?

a. He stopped washing his hands after going to the toilet to prepare for potential exposure to e.coli bacteria for his swim in the Seine.

b. He changed his name to ‘Rider’ as he felt the cycling section was his weakest and he hoped it would help inspire him.

c. He trained running backwards, on a unicycle and in shark-infested waters in the Caribbean.

Answers. 1. c. 2. b. 3. b. 4. c. (The other two turned 17 before reaching the World Darts final and winning the Euros - a day before in Yamal’s case. The Aussie runner, who broke a senior national record at underage races down under earlier this month, only turned 17 last Sunday.) 5. b. 6. a. 7. b. 8. b. 9. c 10. a.

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WELL, it is time to bid farewell to Echo Sports readers again.

In fairness, after my first eight -and-a-half year stint as a betting columnist, I disappeared without a word and it was only when an investigative team from the paper tracked me down to Panama in late 2022 that I was able to make a triumphant return to these pages.

We were more meticulous in tracking the ups and downs of recommendations during that first tipstering period, and it possibly was more profitable, however in the past two years we have managed to provide two winning bets with odds north of 100/1, something we only managed twice as well in four times as long a period that first time around.

Of late, we’ve gone a bit late-stage Man City and wobbled like a car with three deflated tyres.

There doesn’t seem much point in offering a bet for the week ahead in this final betting page as we won’t be able to bask in the glow of a winner or apologise for a loser next Tuesday, so instead we have given some long-term longshots for 2025.

Any memorable moments from a 22-year career in the Echo, you ask?

One day a colleague came in and was obliviously wearing his jumper on backwards, which didn’t seem too bad until he turned around and we saw it was plunging V-neck.

Or the week of the bad smell, which dumbfounded the plumbers that were called in, and was only solved when someone came back from holidays and removed the broccoli that had been locked in their desk drawer.

The bomb threat that was phoned in that the person who answered the phone forgot to tell anyone else about until it popped back into their head as they were about to head home.

There were the lovely mistakes we spotted before they hit the print, but which summoned up some images the writers probably didn’t intend: a ‘Samson v Goliath battle’; ‘going for the juggler’; a ‘carve and copy of their earlier chance’ and being ‘sent off for descent’ (which might be a good description of a red card for diving).

Not forgetting those involving sharp objects: ‘the sword of Damascus hanging over their heads’; he ‘went out on his sword’, and ‘death by a thousand stab wounds’ (which sounds far more vicious, if quicker, than cuts).

And with that I’ll take the chop.

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We might as well go out with a positive prediction.

After the heartbreak of defeat in a final for the ages last summer, Cork are 3/1 to end a 20-year drought this year and finally lift Liam MacCarthy again. Limerick will surely be gunning to regain their title and are 7/4 favourites, but having beaten them twice this year, if the Rebels do a triple over them in Munster, they will have the mental edge over the most feared team out there. Clare are likely to be one and done, I’d think..

On the football side of things, the new rules could shake things up but Kerry at 10/3 are my shout.

Double up the two and you will have over 16/1.

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It’s 20 years too since Liverpool’s miracle in Istanbul and they are 9/2 to lift the trophy in Munich for a seventh time in exactly five months.

They almost look to have their 20th league title wrapped up already and are playing with a verve that looks pretty unstoppable.

They might run into a Real Madrid side who might ride their luck to victory like they usually do, or feel a dying kick from Man City, but in the form they are in the 9/2 being offered looks like serious value.

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It was with some reluctance we found some solace in Bryson Dechambeau lifting the US Open title having backed and tipped him here at 20/1, but at the expense of another Rory meltdown. The Down man’s mental fragility in the face of the enormous pressure on the final few holes was obvious to everyone watching.

He has now gone over a decade since his last major and still needs a Masters to complete a career slam.

Scottie Scheffler is likely to dominate again (thanks in part to Rory’s putting advice) and the Texan is 9/2 to win for a third time at Augusta. Rory is 12/1 alongside John Rahm bit a better call is Ludvig Aberg at 16/1.

The Final Bet

We’ve given a few long-distance shouts above, but if we were to build an accumulator, I’d advise: Cork, Kerry, Liverpool, and the Buffalo Bills to finally win a Super Bowl at 6/1. This four-timer will pay off at not insignificant odds of 575/1. Thank me later.