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As if I needed any more proof of His existence, last night God showed Himself to me.  After seeing a delightful little story about LeBron James's arrogance I decided I would watch the NBA Finals (plural?  Really?  I know there's up to seven games but surely each one is a constituent part of the "final", singular?).  However, after finding a decent stream and struggling to see the point in the end-to-end-to-end-to-end play of two very evenly matched sides, I abandoned the idea and resolved to only watch basketball in dunk contest and, pertinently, last-two-minutes form.

I did, however, leave the stream running, but barely audible, as I read a couple of chapters of Frankie Boyle's Work! Consume! Die! and fell asleep.  I awoke, extraordinarily, extremely early and looked up to find the stream somehow still active and the game entering the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.  God reveals Himself.

The Confederations Cup!  It's worthless!  Apart from the fact that it marks the first high-profile use of goal-line technology in professional football.  That's kindof important.

And really, really worrying.

Football doesn't need goal-line technology, despite what the arguments for it say.  Football needs better officials, and somehow isn't getting them.  Whether it's fear of reprisals putting the intelligent off, fast-tracking of mediocre candidates or just general ineptitude, top level football does not have the talent on display from the men in the middle.  A referee - with help from his multitude of assistants - should have the eyesight, the intelligence and the conviction to make the right call, based on the evidence in front of him.

Let's see those arguments for goal-line technology.  The big examples are Frank Lampard's supposed equaliser against Germany in the 2010 World Cup, Pedro Mendes's speculative effort and would-be winner against Manchester United and the car-crash incident at Vicarage Road.

The Stone Roses and Glasgow have history.

It was the city where 23 years ago the original four-piece played their last ever gig before the implosion.  It was a gig that has been written into Roses folklore as their best ever.

When the reunion was announced it was with some justification that I fully expected a Glasgow gig.  The disappointment that I was out the country when the Heaton Park tickets went on sale was tempered by this thinking.  To say I was irritable when they were announced as T in the Park headliners is an understatement.

They were taking their music to a festival, which has rapidly become no better than T4 on the Beach.  It tries to appeal to everyone and fails to appeal to those with an ear.  I bought a ticket.  Of course I did.  I had to.  I put up with horrid conditions and the even worse Jessie f*ckin J.  It was worth it but I really felt cheated.

They owed us for the history and of course I shouldn't have doubted them.  They announced the gig that all us Scots thought should have been a week after Heaton Park.  Glasgow Green should have been their Second Coming and now, almost a year later, it was.

Brazil beat Japan 3-0 in the opening game of the 2013 Confederations Cup.  It was fun, Neymar scored a cracker, the stadium did its job.  This is all the information that needs to be taken from that game.

This tournament is the third edition of the Confederations Cup since it shifted to a four-yearly event, and the fourth which has acted as a dry run of the World Cup a year prior to the hosts putting on the much bigger party.  On each of the previous occasions it has been entirely misleading for anyone looking for tips on who will be the next world champions.  It has also given the impression that certain players will set the world alight the following year - certain players which consequently did not set the world alight the following year.

This isn't to knock the tournament.  It's actually very enjoyable, in the main.  Think of it as a simulator, so the organisers can check that everything's in good working order and extrapolation of the success or otherwise gives them a good idea of how the big one will go down in twelve or so months' time.  The players are largely of a similar stance, playing for their place in the squad for the real deal but also playing in a glorified set of friendlies with the shackles of pressure removed.  They've had a long, hard season, this ain't going on the CV, let's relax and play some football.