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Congratulations, Alexander Rybak and Norway for taking the 2009 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest convincingly in completing the “Fairy Tale.” Kudos also go out to the surprising Yohanna of Iceland, who, we learn upon release of the full Eurovision results, not only placed second overall but also took the first semifinal over powerhouse Hadise of Turkey.

As for Germany, the inclusion of burlesque dancer Dita von Teese didn’t do much for the team, with Alex Swings Oscar Sings placing just 20th. However, the performance is probably definitely worth another look.

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And Live Bets Direct? Well, we didn’t do too badly overall. A quick review of the prop bets the Os Man made at Bet365 and Paddy Power online bookmakers.

•  As previously stated, the Os Man went a nice eight of ten in the first semifinal and a shoddy six of ten in the second, for a loss of $14.73 on $200.

•  Winner Rybak netted a nice profit for the eagle-eyed and quick thinking. Sure, he appeared to be the prohibitive winner since smoking the opposition in his homeland, but Bet365 was offering 21/20 odds on the Thursday before the final, netting the Os Man $21 profit on $20.

•  As far as the trifecta-like betting discussed here on Friday, covering Norway and Azerbaijan turned $60 into $57.83 – yet another punt ruined by Iceland this year; of my six trifecta covers, four (Norway, Azerbijan, Turkey and UK) placed in the top five. *(#^^#$ing Yohanna…

•  Paddy Power naturally came up with a number of intriguing proposition bets for the Eurovision song contest, and particularly interesting were the “Ireland Head 2 Head” props. Might the Os Man say he cleaned up in this one, going for six for seven? With Spain, Russia, Serbia and Croatia all besting Ireland and Ireland beating out Poland and Latvia, Live Bets Direct turned $70 into $122 for a $52 profit.

All in all, the bankroll increased a bit from $360 wagered to $402, including the Netherlands last-place prop. Who the hell voted for this thing? Ah well, betting negatively on the Eurovision Song Contest is just bad karma, I suppose.

See you next year in Oslo!