2018 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - Coke Zero Sugar 400

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Series returns to the legendary Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and this race sure knows how to end the Independence Day weekend with a salute to the troops and some racing-induced chaos as expected in the world of NASCAR.

It all started after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win Stage 1 at Daytona when in Lap 49, Paul Menard sent his car flying off the track and in Lap 54, here comes The Big One as the #2 car's steering woes triggered a disastrous pileup. In Lap 66, more disaster brews in as the #18 car slammed through the wall and then some other cars caught up in the mix. Stenhouse Jr. wins Stage 2 of the race. In Lap 125, Kyle Larson caught in a mess and caught Stenhouse Jr. on it. Plenty of disasters occurred at laps 155 and 161 as well. Loose tire included.

After all the chaos in Daytona, at long last, 22-year-old Michigan native Erik Jones finally tasted his first NASCAR win of his career!

Next race is at Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on the 14th of July.

2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - Watpac Townsville 400

The city of Townsville (no, not the PPG kind of Townsville, the Queensland kind of Townsville) hears the roar of the Supercar machines racing through the streets as the 2018 VASC continues with the Watpac Townsville 400 and things turned out to be quite a twist in this two-race event.

Beginning with Race 17, history has been made with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team as they nicked their first 1-2 finish with Jamie Whincup nailed his 10th race win at the Reid Park Circuit, 2.1946 seconds quicker than Shane Van Gisbergen. Scott McLaughlin completes the podium. Garth Tander got involved in a collision course with James Courtney.

Then, in a rather chaotic Race 18, the tables have turned for the Red Bull HRT team with van Gisbergen flipped Whincup to be the winner of the race.

Townsville's packed with suspense and thriller this race delivers and the fans can't get enough with all the chaos-induced thriller as seen in this race. The next race will be the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint on the 20th to the 22nd of July.

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - July 7, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

The final four is all set as Sweden takes on England while Russia takes on Croatia, gunning for the latter half of the spot in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

Beginning at Samara Arena, looks like the Queen will be delighted to see that England finally secured the spot at the semis after a Dele-Maguire combo defeated the Swedish team. And finally, in Fisht Stadium, and probably the most interesting match to remember, as Russia and Croatia scored two goals at the end of the game, penalty kicks began and by the score of 3-4 penalty goals, Croatia finally defeated the might of the Russians. The hosting nation has fallen after their intimidating record throughout the entire World Cup.

The final four are now complete as France, Belgium, England, and Croatia secured their spots at the semi-finals and it all begins on the 10th of July with France taking on Belgium.

Bubble Gang - July 6, 2018

On the July 6, 2018 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Harapan sa bar gags

- LeBrown James's gone mad about the sweep

- Exorcism with Kuya Wowie!

- The safe guy

- Istambay, Istambay Sa Looban, Samahan Nyo Kami Sa Tambayan, May Bagong Dating Sa 'Ming Umpukan, Hindi Namin Alang Ang...PANGALAN?!

- Sundot Balita

- Today's Balitang Ina topic is...KAPITANG INA!

- Bea Bangenge just ruined cheap schooling

- Basa-basa-pik!

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - July 6, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

The quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 has began and the final 8 are about to be dwindled down to four as the teams are vying for their spot at the semi-finals. It began with Uruguay taking on France at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium while Brazil taking on Belgium at Kazan Arena.

Beginning at Nizhny Novgorod, looks like Diego Godin's defensive instincts ended up on the wrong side of the pitch following a goal by the French and because of his questionable defense, they lost to La Celeste by two points. In Kazan, meanwhile, Brazil got embarrassed by Fernandinho's "own goal" accident, which sees them kicked out by the Belgians at the score of 1-2.

With France and Belgium now on the final four, the quarterfinals continue with Sweden vs. England and Russia vs. Croatia.

Marvel's Ant-Man and The Wasp

The Infinity War is already over and with almost all of the Marvel superheroes sealed their fate at the hands of the titan Thanos, the question is that in the aftermath of the Infinity War that fans saw months ago, will the Marvel Cinema Universe continue now that the Avengers are wiped out from history? The question is a big loud YES and this latest film shows that the war rages on at the hands of those who never caught themselves at this mess the Avengers set foot at the Infinity War.

Marvel's Ant-Man and The Wasp

A sequel to the 2015 film and the 20th of the MCU franchise, Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, who is now under house arrest following his involvement at the Civil War with Captain America years ago, as he is rejoined by Dr. Hank Pym to take on a ruthless adversary called herself the Ghost. However, because he's in a messed-up state, he joins alongside Hank's daughter, Hope Van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lilly) who is now the new Wasp.

There are one or two things this sequel is somewhat made viewers noticed the most and that is its too much of a gag rather than an proper superhero film. The titular Ant-Man tries to make it a more serious hero compared to his first outing three years ago but in the end, his messed-up state just makes him more of a clown dressed up as a toy. Whoa, where did we heard that before? The Pez part is kinda fun, by the way. Anyway, another thing that keeps them noticed that the appearance of Ghost and The Wasp really overshadowed Ant-Man's appearance because, being portrayed by strong female actresses, we can really feel the woman's wrath through our winning vegetables and we can't imagine what's next for them. Lastly, and more annoyingly, Hyundai joins the fray as the all-new, second-generation, Veloster, became Ant-Man's new toy car, and like the car itself, it wants to "live loud" through the film, whatever it says.

Despite the little chinks, there is one inescapable fact. This film previews a whole new direction of the Marvel Cinema Universe following the aftermath of the Infinity War. Through the film, some of the characters are talking about a subatomic spacial void called the Quantum Realm, the one where Hope's mother, Janet Van Dyne, sealed her fate through this to save Hank and the rest of the film. With the Quantum Realm mentioned, could this be the new plotline the MCU franchise heads on? 

Whatever that is, Ant-Man and The Wasp really is foretelling the future of the MCU in a rather amusing kind of way and while we can expect more about this Quantum Realm thingy, this film shows that the MCU still stands even if the Infinity War has ended with dire consequences and looks like they're onto something here.

My rating: 3.9 out of 5

Forza Motorsport 7: Live Loud (TAKE 2)

A few moments ago, ever since Hyundai unveiled the second-generation Veloster to the world, I did a quick shoot-out between the old and the new Veloster round the National Circuit segment of Spain's Circuit de Catalunya and although, the new Veloster is a few seconds quicker than the old one, the erratum on the new model's spec triggered a no-contest and I had to wait until the producers find out what the heck is going on.





With the producers finally fixed the specs of the 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, here are the official in-game specs as it reflects the real-life specs of the same car. 201 horsepower, 195lb-ft of torque, and 2,899lbs of weight. On paper then, the new Veloster weighs more than the old model it replaces but it has been slightly balanced to make it more lively and with the addition of Torque Vectoring Control, it promises to be more fun to drive than the previous model.

So, with the erratum taken care of, it's time for a Take 2 on a old vs. new Veloster shootout round the National Circuit in Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix. Let's see if the new model still lives to be a better replacement to the old model now that the producers fixed the error on the spec sheet.



And now the results...

JS - 1:40.189
FS - 1:41.945

The conclusion? Despite the added weight and the troublesome handling that is somewhat problematic compared to the previous model, the new Veloster is almost a second quicker compared to the old Veloster, which is somewhat a just cause.

So, now that I established that despite the added Torque Vectoring Control that results to a much better dynamics, getting it round the corner is like opening a tightly-sealed jar that even six men couldn't handle that much pressure. I know, I said that before but that explains about the new model's newly found character that gets me noticed more than the previous model but still, it managed to beat the old model by almost a second.

What can you say about the new, second-generation Veloster, now that you got your hands on this new model? Impressed by its improvements? Not impressed by its bothersome dynamics? I'll wait...