Bad Dad didn't attend Middler's musical evening -- after all, when there's recorders involved, no jury would convict -- preferring to point an armchair at the moving pictures from Moscow. An astonishingly portentous and pretentious ITV trailer, c/w risky Russian talkover, promised us The Game Of Games on This Night Of Nights on My Telly Of Tellies:

• Grant-aided Chelsea v. Man Utd
• Samsung, purveyor of poor player-strewn ads, v. AIG, creationist proponents of Answers In Genesis
• future's bright orange-clad Cech v. eco-green Van der Sar

Much blood in the first half, what with the tongue of Drogba and the nose of no-goals Scholes. The Boy relished each clash or falling over, re-enacting selected fouls and clutching of shins on the carpet. Seeing the shirts of "a. cole" and "j. cole" for The Blues, would have been good to see them bring on another player named Kevin Cole. Think it through.

Whole event was much more exciting than we had any right to expect. Goals, dust-ups, strikes against the woodwork, and gratuitous shots of Roman A. Lovely to see Ronaldo have his penalty saved. Gutted to see Terry skid. Did Anelka really want to be there at all: Shevchenko, anyone? And only 16 days, 15 hours and 55 minutes until Euro 2008 kicks off.