GoodSports

Banned captain invited for an awards ceremony by governing body...

2006-10-12T03:48:00.000-05:00

Mohammad Azharuddin is included in a list of high-profile players and officials who will be honoured at an Indian cricket board ceremony next month. Read more...

Mohun Bagan vs. Manchester United

2006-08-05T07:22:00.000-05:00

Mohun Bagan juniors (U-15) are going to play in the ManU invitaional tournament for junior footballers - the Manchester United Premier Cup. Regardless of the relative merits of the clubs playing, it's a good opportunity for the young lads to make a name for themselves - and positively impact the progress of football in the country. We need a spark, some spark. And their fearlessness and impetuousness just might do it!

More power to them.

Ce sont les meilleures équipes, die Meister, die Besten...

2006-05-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

At the 70th minute, I spoke for the first time. I said, let the beautiful game win. And it did.

Sad for Arsenal. But happy for the game.

Henrik Larsson, what a farewell ...

Unsung (ice) heroes

2006-02-17T22:39:00.000-05:00

Sport is not always winning or losing. Its not even getting recognized. Christelle Laura Douibi will tell you why...

I am livid

2005-12-27T07:01:00.000-05:00

Ah, Sourav Ganguly again? For what now? Ah, at last for some valid reason this time. He did not play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat. And this time, I am livid. I am ready to scream riot.

And no, it is not because of any of the Kiran More-type agitations. We all can see that More has pretty much lost it, and his Raj Singh Dungarpur-ish tirades and volte-faces are a source of much hilarity. And the Indian team cricketers not playing Ranji matches has never been much of an issue previously (in fact, Ganguly is one of the few guys who played his share of Ranji matches whenever he could), and well, if a Shane Warne retires from One-day cricket and a Chris Cairns does the same with Test cricket, to prolong their careers in the other form of the game, one cannot really blame a Ganguly, a Kumble, a Dravid or a Sachin for not playing Ranji games.

Then why am I angry? Well, that’s because this is the year in which (I believe) Bengal can go all the way in the Ranji trophy. We** have a perfectly well-balanced team. IMHO, we have the most potent bowling attack among the teams competing for the Ranji Trophy, with two almost India-level quickies in Ranadeb Bose and Shib Shankar Paul; an extremely competent off-spinner in Sourashish Lahiri and a decent left-arm spinner in Shibsagar Singh. There are three decent all-rounders in Manoj Tewari, Laxmi Rattan Shukla (who bowls sparingly nowadays) and Ganguly (and yes, at the Ranji trophy level, he is quite a decent bowler), and a competent batting wicketkeeper in Deep Dasgupta. In the batting stakes, we are right up there among the best, with a solid opening pair in Subhamoy Das and Arindam Das, Devang Gandhi at one-drop, Ganguly at two-drop, Rohan at five, Deep at six, Shukla at seven and Tewari (or Shibsagar) at 8. Our batting order runs deep, and we have competent bowlers. What’s more, Bengal is one of the best fielding squads of them all. What else could one ask for? We top the pool presently, with three matches left (including the one going on now, against Gujarat), and one more win could see us reach the finals. Not tough, considering that we have only the bottom dwellers in the group, Tamil Nadu and Railways left to play against.

And Gujarat is one of the weakest team in Group A- Elite. With an in-form Ganguly, we could have been well-nigh unstoppable against them. Remember, with Ganguly in the team, we took two points home against Maharashtra, one of the stronger teams in the group. And I agree that we won against Delhi without him, but Ganguly does give the team a lot in terms of his batting, his bowling, and even in the general boost to the morale, when he is playing.

Ganguly should have played this match. We needed him in the squad. Yet, for whatever reason, he did not play. Sad.

** I use ‘we’ rather than ‘they’ for both the Bengal and Karnataka teams. And if you are asking who I supported in the Bengal vs. Karnataka match, I will agree to have been supporting Bengal. But I would not be in denial, I was quite happy at Bharath Chipli filling in admirably at the opener’s slot with Uthappa, and would not hide my mild displeasure at Rowland Barrington’s indifferent form this season. I remember him unleashing a few exquisite cover drives at the RVCE ground, playing for St. Joseph’s. If he could put all the pieces together, I think he still has a shot at playing for India in the future.

Could you believe?

2005-12-21T01:21:00.000-05:00

Victor Valdez

Gio van Bronckhorst
Carles Puyol
Rafael Marquez
Juliano Belletti

Marc van Bommell
Andres Iniesta
Deco

Ronaldinho

Lionel Messi

Samuel Eto'o

v.s.

Petr Cech

Asier Del Horno
Ricardo Carvalho
John Terry
Paulo Ferreira

Claude Makelele
Michael Essien
Frank Lampard
Joe Cole
Shaun Wright-Phillip

Hernan Crespo

22nd Feb 2006. Mark your calender right now.

The Bluffers' Guide

2005-12-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

Calling all footballing neophytes... seasonal supporters, and women (or men) who just have to tolerate the beautiful game every now and then to stay in their mens' (I might be generalizing here... no disrespect meant for various other inter or intra gender affairs) hearts, here's a great article. This will allow you to bluff your way through any asocial gathering of neanderthal football (soccer) buffs.

"The world is my lollipop"

2005-12-15T05:39:00.000-05:00

"The world is my lollipop"
Originally uploaded by moulin rogue.

When the feet can talk big, the mouth can be used for purposes like this...

The Draw

2005-12-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

Heidi Klum with the new World Cup ball
picture taken from fifaworldcup.com

With the qualifiers done and the draw completed in Leipzig, we can look forward to a cracker of a world cup in Germany next summer. Germany and Costa Rica kick off to start the cup finals in exactly 6 months.

The Group of Death this time around is likely to be Group C with Argentina, Netherlands, Ivory Coast (who topped the African table) and Serbia & Montenegro. Italy have it tough too... with Ghana (lots of pace), Czech Republic (always a challenge) and the US (who missed out on a seeding only because Germany, ranked below them, are the hosts). I would love to see the US go far - I love this team they have... and it would do wonders for the game here. Also, in the absence of India in the finals, it is the closest I have to a home team.

Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico and Portugal should have it easy. England, Paraguay and Sweden in the same group can make it a scrappy affair. I would like to think Spain have it easy - with Tunisia and Ukraine providing some competition (what'd they think? It's the finals!), but not enough to knock them out. However, having seen their dismal performances in earlier campaigns, nothing would surprise me.

There it is. 6 months to go. Barring extenuating circumstances, I plan to be there to watch a game or two in person. Let the games begin!

Comebacks and New Beginnings

2005-12-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

This is a particularly exciting time in tennis. And it's not just the emergence of depth in women's tennis. I'm excited about two comebacks. John McEnroe is planning on playing doubles again and Martina Hingis has announced a full comeback in 2006. I'm also glad to see Croatia and Slovakia play the final of the Davis Cup. This edition will see five different winners in five years - and this is great for tennis.

I hope all of them live up to the promise.

Where did it all go wrong?

2005-12-02T04:59:00.000-05:00

Would like to point your attention to this article at State of the Game , on George Best.

To sum up the man described by Pele and Diego Maradona as the greatest footballer who ever lived we have to recount the often told, never substantiated though completely believable anecdote about George Best and the hotel bellboy who upon entering Best’s hotel room to find him in bed with a magnum of champagne, thousands of pounds in cash from a winning night at the casino and the current Miss World remarked, “George, where did it all go wrong?”

Is it a hallmark of the great that it all ends with a whimper and not with a bang?

After Inzamam, who?

2005-11-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

Nice article by Saad Shafqat on one of the modern-day cricketers I greatly admire. Read it on Cricinfo.

The last paragraph poses a question.

For all of its cricket life, Pakistan has benefited from the services of a batting anchor of great merit. Hanif Mohammad carried on for close to two decades, but when he finally played his last Test match, at Karachi in October 1969, it was also the occasion for Zaheer Abbas's Test debut. When Zaheer's powers began to wane in the early 1980s, Miandad emerged in full bloom. And then in 1992 there was that symbolic partnership in the World Cup semi-final at Auckland. As Pakistani fans celebrate Inzamam's ascent to the pantheon, they are also scanning from horizon to horizon but finding no successor.

Who will it be? My bet is on Salman Butt. But how about Younis Khan? Or Asim Kamal? Not refuting the claims of either, but my butt feel is on Gut... uh, well, whatever.

So... will this be another blogged prediction of mine which will come right? Let's wait and watch.

Cross-linked to Lapsus Calami.

Is it WWE? Is it a K-serial? No, it is...Wednesday, October 26, 2005

2005-11-18T00:52:00.000-05:00

.... read on to know.

Week 1:

Vince McMahon, the co-owner of WWF (with his estranged wife Linda) quite likes this guy Triple H (alias Hunter Hearst Helmesley). Triple H is married to McMahon's daughter Stephanie. Triple H has also, with the back-up of McMahon, built around him a brat-pack of WWE fighters called the "Generation X", with the steady, strong Batista as his right-hand man. And now, as a mentor for the team, they get the old warhorse, Hulk Hogan. Triple H really, really admires Hogan and could not stop gushing at how Generation X under the tutelage of Hogan is going to destroy all opposition at WWE.

Week 2:

But trouble is brewing. At one end, Mihir uncle and Tulsi auntie’s competitor, Naresh Gujral, who has huge contacts with the underworld, is trying to take over the Viranis' family business. And on the other hand, Chandrakant-sir, the U.S. returned friend of Mihir uncle, who was instated as the chief mentor of the business to help out Amit, Tulsi auntie’s favourite son and now CEO of the Virani Group, is trying to gain control of the decision-making of the group. Chandrakant-sir also wants Amit to be replaced by Vikas, who although is not as much a favourite of Tulsi aunty, is a nice, agreeable and capable chap. And with Amit's performance as CEO becoming increasingly sketchy, many think of Vikas to be the right guy for the job.

Week 3:

Vince McMahon plays his cards well and avoids a legal confrontation with Linda McMahon. On the other hand, the battle between Hogan and Triple H has taken fever pitch. Triple H, after winning a Royal-Rumble match, after being presented the championship belt, flattens Hogan (who was on ringside) with a steel-chair hit to the back of his head. Later on, while Triple H was guest-commenting for a match between Mad-eye-Moody and The Undertaker, Hogan clubs Triple H with a baseball bat. Triple H is injured and it is rumoured that he will not return to the ring for two weeks.

Week 4:

While Tulsi aunty, Mihir uncle and Naresh Gujral are lying low for a while, Vikas is appointed as the CEO of the Virani empire after the Board of Directors have taken the decision to remove the ailing Amit from the CEO's post. But Amit stages a miraculous recovery and is back to office two days after he has come out of a coma. The small entrepreneurial venture that he is running parallel with the Virani Group job, bids for a prestigious U.K. project.

Week 5:

Jagmohan Dalmiya is still lying low, and so is Sharad Pawar before the BCCI elections. Sourav Ganguly is supposed to be back at his best, mauling the North Zone attack en-route a win for the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. In the meantime, team India is rocking, with probably their best cricketing display in the last year-and-half for a comprehensive victory against the Lankans...

...and you ask me why I don't watch WWE or "Kyonki Saas Bhi..."?

The World Cup of MotorSport

2005-09-23T04:54:00.000-05:00

:)

1. As the title says (or as the more dramatic statement of Sheikh Makthoum, Founder, President, and Chairman of the circus goes-"Ladies and gentlemen, for the pride of your nations...start your engines!!!").

2. A claimed level-playing field. All cars with the same engine specs, with the option to tinker around with front and rear wings, and dampers only. So, the onus falls on the driver's skills (including the judicious use of the highly interesting Power Booster which can increase the engine power output to the maximum 550bhp by 30bhp for a certain amount of time) and team planning.

3. Separate points for Sprint race and the Standing Start races with bonus points for fastest laps.

:(

1. As some nations with absolutely no history in motorsport are participating (most of us know who they are), there's a potential for rather disjoint termination of rounds.

2. This may be faulted as seen from F1's perspective. But the impression I got was that 12 rounds are too few to judge one team as the numero uno among 25.

But, I really hope that this comes good and stays for some years to come.

Clijsters.

2005-09-11T02:59:00.000-05:00

It would have ben mighty disappointing had Kim Clijsters retired (which she has planned to do by 2007) without winning a grand slam.

Thankfully, that's a saved situation.

And I think Agassi would not be able to do a Sampras. It will be Federer.

And playing defensive in this ashes series is death. Therefore, England would possibly lose this fifth test. And they would in reality have lost it before the match started. Or else, how can a team wishing to win a match replace Simon Jones with Paul Collingwood?

Following the Primera Liga in India

2005-09-10T03:47:00.000-05:00

It is confusing to a few of my friends as to why English soccer is more famous than Spanish soccer in our country. Most of the people in the world like skilful football, and would rather like the ball being kept on the ground than in the air. In terms of quality of football, there is hardly a comparison. The English Premier League has about three consistently excellent teams, and about five others who can at least pull their weight in international club football. The rest of the league is all fake, and is filled with teams which could at best be called below-average. Apart from a few, say Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Arjen Robben, Ryan Giggs and the likes, skill is hardly a feature here at EPL. I would actually accept that lacuna, if there are good combinations and passes and awesome moves. But well, they too are a dime a dozen. A match between two bottom-ten teams of the EPL is a ridiculous long-ball and brute strength skirmish. On the other hand, the Primera Liga has genuine skill, has wonderful passing, the ball is more often on the ground than in the air, and almost every team has at least one talismanic player to do a bit of magic everytime. Also, there are about seven teams which compete for the main prize… well, in the last six years, I remember Valencia, Real, Deportivo and Barcelona winning the championship, and Celta and Mallorca and Villarreal threatening to do so, and coming into the top three at least once. So skill level and competition could not be reasons. And of course not big names either.

Is it history then? Hah. Are you kidding? We are talking Real Madrid here. We are talking Barcelona here. Point taken?

Is it the passion? And the competitiveness of derbies? But as any self respecting Liga follower would know, The passion for the game is as big in Spain as in England. And You are talking about the stories behind the fights? Well, we are again talking the Spanish and the Catalans and the Basques here. That is the equivalent of international matches for the fans, and if one knows a little bit of history (and of course the commentators would not stop hammering history into the viewers’ heads anyway), one could easily understand that a Barca/Real match is the equivalent of the Catalans standing up against the Spanish. And the Basques hardly think of themselves as a part of Spain anyway, when there is a match between Bilbao and Real. Can you imagine, a player can play for Athletic Bilbao only is he is a Basque! No, no other part of Spain would do. You. Have. To. Be. A. Basque. So competitiveness, as a theory, goes down the drain too.

The language the players speak does not play too much of a part either. What is the difference between an Henry speaking English and a Zidane doing the same anyway? The players are supposed to play, not to speak. And anyway, what are the translating machines for? ESPN is good.

And yes, Marketing could be a good reason. Yes, it is true that the Spanish league has not been marketed as brilliantly as the EPL. But that can not be the only reason, could it? Because the Spanish Primera Liga has been marketed quite well too. And well, the Rauls and the Ronaldos and Zidanes are far bigger brands than any of the EPL big wigs. Then?

One very big reason, as my friend Mohan often says, is John Dykes. Clear, precise, with a thorough understanding of the game and a knack for making the nuances of the game easy for the viewers, he is quite brilliant. And is a very big reason for people to get interested in football in the first place. Also Andrew Leci, the Sportscentre man Jason Dasey, Paul Masefield (a personal favourite), Jamie Reeves, and even the less-than-good Shebby Singh, do add up to quite an ensemble cast. And also, whenever you hear “Let’s catch up with the action of the first half, it is Richard Keys and Gerry Armstrong commenting”, you know that it is going to be a good day from then on for you. But then, the same guys do the same for the Spanish Primera Liga too. Then?

Here’s my argument (applause, applause). The reason is…… location. And that the earth rotates about its axis.

Huh? What? Excuse me?

OK, let me explain myself. It is because the EPL in shown on ESPN at between 1730 hrs to 2330 hrs. And the Primera Liga from about 0030 hrs to 0330 hrs. So you are almost never seeing the live action as for the Primera Liga. And you would, if you are an EPL fan. And even an average game of football seen live is more exciting that unbelievable skill seen the afternoon of the next day. And football is such a game where below-average matches are rare. The previous example of two second-rate EPL teams playing a match is, true, not spectacular when comparing with an Arsenal-Chelsea, but is often faster and more thrilling than a normal 50-overs-a-side international cricket match. And there are not too many crazy fools like me who would set an alarm for 0130 hrs and go off to sleep, so that they do not miss a Sevilla-Atletico match.

And also, the biggest followers of sports, and especially football are young school-or-college-going kids. And since they stay with parents, even if they would have wanted to, they most often would not be allowed to watch a match starting at 0130 hrs. EPL though has convenient timings even for these young guns. And these young guns become ardent followers of the sport after a few years of religious watching. And well, if you are watching even WWE regularly, you would become a fan, because the game is not just a matchup then, it is also about the coaches and the fans and the past records…. basically now, the game is associated with a storyline for the supporter. And that is addictive.

So that is my theory. What is yours?

Talking of the urn...

2005-09-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

OK let’s talk Ashes now. As Michael Atherton had mentioned earlier (and I had voiced similar concerns too), there comes a time when the upward rising curve for a team X’s performance (assuming X to be the second best team in the world, and …. and neecessarily a young, hungry squad), would intersect with that of the reigning champions, let's call them Y. And then Y would not remain the champions anymore, and be upstaged by X. And then the same loop would continue with the champions holding fort for a generation-and-a-half with a gradually downward sloping curve, unless something catastrophic happens to the reigning champions and somebody else comes in and takes their position. 1995 in West Indies was that intersection of the curves. A one-series old Glenn McGrath and a yet-to-be-termed-God Shane Warne, along with the relatively unproven Mark Waugh and his twin, till then a fringe player, upstaged an ageing, wearying West Indies. True, a catastrophe almost happened, with the South Africans, unseen, unknown, coming out of cricketing wilderness, much hungrier but with one Shane Warne less in their team than the Aussies, almost upstaged the champions at their peak.

It is normal, I maintain. With the arrival of one generation of greats comes the inevitable submergence of two subsequent generations of substantially good cricketers. The four great spinners of the ‘70’s ensured that Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar never played test cricket. Anthony Grey and Sylvester Clarke, and Vanburn Holder and so many other WI quicks never could establish themselves in International cricket. It was only the untimely retirement of Colin Croft that allowed Malcolm Marshall to be the great Macho ... Macho who to me was the greatest fast bowler of his generation. Oh yes, better than Lillee. Definitely better than Lillee. And in hindsight, Amol Muzumdar never played test cricket either.

A corollary to the theory is that the newer players get dependent on the real big guns to shore them through. And this habit remains with them even after the old hands retire. An Ambrose and a Walsh are rare, who develop to take on the mantle of a team’s attack with the greats before them retiring. Examples? Lee could never develop control. Ditto McGill. Gillespie never could, and never did need to pitch in that half a foot fuller, such that he gets the batsmen to edge to the slips, and not just play and miss. Yuvraj and Kaif never instill confidence, and Damien Martyn will always be an under-achiever. So what does that make? With Waugh S. and Waugh M. retiring, and McGrath and Warne on the verge of the same, and the next generation not quite ready to pick up the mantle…. The aura of the invincible Aussies is definitely tarnished, even if by a tiny bit.

Corollary 2 to the earlier theory is that nobody will ever remember Viswanathan Anand apart from the few of us Indians and the die-hard chess fanatic, in 30 years’ time. Nobody would remember the South African eleven of the mid-to-late’90s, a team which was invariably better than both of the teams in focus today. Nobody remembers a certain Evelyn Ashford or a Steve Ovett. Neither a John Landy. Nobody remembers the second best.

So then, let’s go back to the same question. Is this it? Is this 1995 revisited? Is this the demise of the ruthless Aussie Juggernaut? I have a little bit of a doubt. England does not have a genuine killer bowler, who will just roll over the opposition. Did you get what I am talking about? I am talking about a Shane Warne. A Muttiah. Even a Harbhajan at his peak. Harmison, you said? But Harmison is too much of a maybe. There’s hardly any mystery in him. Flintoff is never a destroyer of good batting attacks, and will never be either. My money, if on anybody, is on Simon Jones. The ball he got Michael Clarke with in the last match was nothing short of miraculous. But Jones is a maybe too, and that’s mostly because of his fitness. Otherwise, the Brits work fine. They have a genuinely good opening partnership, and with all the Strauss-ing by the media, Trescothick is the man for me up there. He has a Boon-like, Gooch-like thing about him (ah, the same example again). The skipper is aggressive and forceful. And his batting will fall a bit with the burden of captaincy, but that’s ok for the team cause. The two young turks are a study in contrast, and that is just perfect. Flintoff at six is a bit of a question mark. I am not doubting his ability in any way. But sometime in his career, his form will desert him a bit. And then, he will be a very weak No. 6. Technically, he is poor. Thus, when form deserts him, he would IMHO never be able to graft and get runs. Geraint Jones is fun while batting and funny while keeping. But so was Jeffrey Dujon in his younger days. I think Jones G. should stay for a while more. A pre-requisite for a world-beater team is a keeper who is a good batsman. Hmm… and now to No. 8. And I wish Gareth Batty would start performing. I maintain, Ashley Giles is not test class, notwithstanding the Damien Martyn ball. He is a quick-fix, temporary solution, and he has done his bit for his country. A well done and godspeed are on the line for him. And, well, the bowlers are fine as of now. We will wait for Harmison and Jones S. to develop that mystery. So, are the Brits the aforementioned team X, then? Maybe. May not be. I think not..... but one never knows. I am not committing.

But……. But I am not predicting anything this time as for the results of the Ashes.

And you are right. Headingley and Old Trafford were astounding. And I can’t wait for more.

The history of professional tennis in the U.S. (1985-2005)

2005-09-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

…. seen through the eyes of a follower in India.

The first American guys that I saw play tennis (albeit on the telly) were a rather forgotten duo of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso, who managed to win the doubles at Wimbledon in Boris’ year, i.e. 1985. Unfortunately, during the time that the Television had started coming in a large way into Indian homes, the halcyon days of American tennis with Jimbo and John, were a part of history, and Chrissie was largely a spent force too. Martina Navratilova was still a force to reckon with, but for all the respect that she has gained in the game, Martina will always be Czech-American. So indeed as early as during my initial days of tennis-watching, I had developed an undercurrent of anti-US feelings. Hey c’mon, my heroes were all European. Boris was German. I worshipped him. Sabatini was an Argentine, and was exquisite. Willander was a Swede, and was a favourite too. And although I could hardly ever support either of Lendl, Graf or Edberg, I had nothing but respect in my heart for them. Heard any American name mentioned? No? There you go. The Americans were always dominating the doubles, though, as after the Flach-Seguso combine came the Rick Leach and Jim Pugh combo, which was another sizable duo. But well, doubles will always be the distant and neglected cousin to the glorious singles’ game, and so the Americans were never really the focus of my attention. Sameway, as for the women, after the retirement of the peerless (but Czech) Martina’s retirement, the leading ladies have all been Europeans, with that dictator, Mme Graf, and lesser lights like Arantxa Sanchez. And of course the unfortunate Monica Seles, who came on later.

Of course the first spectacular American Player I saw play was Andre Agassi. But well, the number of talented sportspeople whom I have supported can be counted on the digits of the hand, and what’s more, Agassi was brash. And my football coach in school had always told me that the only way to play was like a gentleman. Of course, I did not follow his directions to a T, but the ideal sportsman in my head is still the polite guy who plays within the rules. And that was Jim Courier. Who was a big favourite with his gigantic forehand and relentless intensity. And incidentally the first American sportsperson I admired.

But….ahem… hmm… Pete?

Ah well, the Pete-following grew on me. During the first few years I hated him. And think a bit and you will understand why. Boris was someone I really admired, and Boris was the person whose throne was taken by Pete at Wimbledon. But then, after Boris was semi-retired, I had to make a compromise. During that time, the hogwash which was the greatest two-way tie-up for the best tennis player, was at fever pitch. And while Pete was all class and little hype, Agassi was the mirror reverse. And well, there were few players but for the two with real class during this time. A fading Boris, an unfocussed Rafter, a crazy Goran, a limited Kafelnikov and a one-dimensional Bruguera…. And Sampras for all his greatness, has a rather easy time picking up all the Grand Slams. And he did it all with exemplary politeness….. now when did we last see that in an American sportsperson?

The golden age of American men’s tennis would include the whole of the ‘90’s with Pete, Andre, Courier and Chang and the master of five-setters Todd Martin dominating the scene, with lesser lights like Vince Spadea and MaliVai Washington (who reached a Wimbledon final once) and Paul Goldstein and Justin Gimelstob also making regular grand slam appearances.

The women’s game has started producing quality Americans too. Jennifer Capriati, with her topsy-turvy career, had to be a favourite. As would be Lindsey Davenport, who had been as well behaved a champion as Pete, I must say. And well, I didn’t like the Williams sisters much when they were at their best, they seemed to dominate the game a bit too much, and if I start dispassionate in sport-watching (which is rare indeed), I will support the underdog. Now, is different. I supported Venus in her Wimbledon triumph against Davenport. And they are quite young as well, so I would like to imagine that the women’s side of the game is in safe hands as for the Americans.

And the Americans have continued producing wonderful doubles players…. Possibly not as many as the Aussies, but enough still. The Bryan brothers and Gigi Fernandez and Lindsey herself and Zina Garrison had certainly made the Americans proud.

And that’s where I come to the topic of the discussion. (Aww, OK, good morning, and you can take a coffee break. But I’ve started so I will finish!)

Roddick, I have always claimed, will have to develop other weapons to be a real threat to the likes of Federer and Nadal. Nobody has ever been a dominant figure in tennis on the dint of a huge serve only. The Roscoe Tanners and the Kevin Currans never won Grand slams, and Goran won one. And well, Roddick cannot change the pace of the game either. So it’s fast, or even faster for Roddick. And that’s a bit of a problem with really talented players like Federer and Nadal. And I have been waiting three years for him to develop one other weapon, and he hasn’t. So there.

But it isn’t a “so there” for Robbie Ginepri, who played a wonderful game to beat Tommy Haas today morning in the US Open. He’s young, and if I have to predict, he has more chances of becoming a Patrick Rafter than a Vince Spadea.

And Taylor Dent IS Patrick Rafter. With the devil-may-care, serve-and-volley every point, bustling game of his, he would not win too many opens… OK fine, he would not win opens, but he would endear himself to tennis fans all around the world.

And there I come to James Blake. And what were, to me, two sets of the best display of tennis I have seen for a long time. It was a spectacular match, and I am fortunate to have seen it live. And well, Blake might not win opens either, his time has passed, you might say, but I could not care for that if he wins nothing else in his life, if he comes up with displays like this once in a while. Incidentally Nadal was awesome too, and as I have predicted quite a few times earlier, he has other Opens but for the French in him. Even a Wimbledon, maybe someday….

So American Tennis will go through these brilliant crests and exasperating troughs, and will surely come up stronger. And yes, I am waiting for more glorious evenings watching amazing matches in the US open like yesterday.

Movie to celebrate Maradona's 'Hand of God'

2005-08-11T03:58:00.000-05:00

From Guardian unlimited

A biopic of the troubled football legend Diego Maradona is in the pipeline. To be directed by Marco Risi, it is to be called La Mano di Dio - The Hand of God - alluding to Maradona's infamous description of his questionable goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.

Should be awesome. Hope a subtitled version comes along to India.

Mercedes Benz bus

2005-07-25T04:39:00.000-05:00

Mercedes Benz bus
Originally uploaded by rogueplaneteer.

Maybe this is what Kimi needs to win a race!!!

Scary Good

2005-06-27T02:48:00.000-05:00

Birdie Kim won the US Women's. Amateur Morgan Pressel missed out on the last shot. I saw bits of the 2nd and the whole of the 3rd day. Pressel was good. Creamer was good. Sorenstam had two off-days. But let me talk Michelle Wie here. Scary Good is I suppose the word for her. Now this is not quite tennis or gymnastics that one sees a 15-year old being competitive with the best in the world at a premier championship. And here, seeing her play, it was scary to think of what she would become in two years' time. She was not just competitive, she looked like playing a different game from the other women. And that type of a thing is seen only with Sorenstam, and that too only once in a while. Neither Pressel, who outperformed Wie, and is 17 herself, nor Creamer, who is 18, really seemed that way. And when you consider that a golfer could be at the peak of his/ her abilities till about 45....
Yes, very soon, just like in men's golf, we will focussing most of our attention at W on the scoreboard ticker in women's golf too.

The curious incident of the drunkard and the ghosts at night...

2005-06-26T23:44:00.000-05:00

Lumley Castle: you heard about it.
Andrew (hic) Symonds: You heard about his story too (but do read the hyperlinked article).

Now hear this, "We heard there were a few blinds rattling up there last night, but we thought it was just Andrew Symonds coming in late after another night on the town."
David Harker offers his thoughts on the ghostly happenings at Lumley Castle

Indy !!!

2005-06-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

I am sure Bernie Ecclestone would've been overjoyed at the way he was able to sell formula 1 to the fans in the United States. Wow, what a close race huh... 6 people in all!!! Nail-biting stuff !!!

In all seriousness, i think this is the worst sporting moments i've been witness to. All weekend there was talk of a boycott by the Michelin teams, but i never believed they would go ahead. The race attracts 200,000 fans, it is a unique circuit, without doubt one of the best in the world and this is what they get. People stay up late on the other side of the globe to watch and this is what they have to see. It is a fucking travesty.

Yes without doubt the fingers will point at Ferrari. Hey why couldn't you guys pull out??? What the hell, they worked hard; they've had their share of tyre problems and they are finally starting to get it right, and they were placed well for the race. Why then is it their fault for opting to continue? They were certainly not obligated to agree to a chicance at turn 13. Heck that would've played a big part and would've helped michelin a lot as that was the point their tyres were undergoing maximum stress. Are they fucking dumbasses to sit by and watch their opponents try to change the circuit layout *after* qualifying and that too, for Michelin's fault ??

It would've been very risky to let these guys go out and race knowing that the tire could've given up anytime. So in that way there are perfectly justified. But then you have to ask, could they not have decided to follow a speed limit at turns 12 and 13 so as to save their tyres???

It is shocking that Michelin now blame FIA for what has happenned. It is a fucking travesty. It will of course be a hollow win for Ferrari when in fact they were in great shape for this weekend. It is just unbelievable that having known of this since Friday evening, the FIA and the teams could not work something out. As Charlie Whiting said, the teams had the option to change their tyres on a regular basis and accept a penalty if it came to that?? The bosses apparently wanted to put up a show but the FIA's staunch refusal was the problem. That's a lot of crap Flavio Briatore, Pierre Dupasquier and the others. This is beyond doubt one of the worst days in sport that i've ever seen. A sport that i've followed, on an everyday basis almost, since 1994, and i've never ever seen anything this bad.

Things will be back to normal next race, ironically at Michelin's home at Magny Cours. You have to wonder, the FIA has to share the blame. Their stupid one tyre per weekend has certainly caused big accidents - Kimi Raikonnen, Ralf Schumacher - who's next ??? The rules that they wanted to put forth in a couple of yrs time seems to take the sport back 20 yrs. Formula1- The pinnacle of motorsport?? Well it does not seem so right now !! It seems more like a fucking circus !!

Food for sporting thought!!!

2005-05-30T03:57:00.000-05:00

Trust Harsha Bhogle to think like this....

Bad Sports???

2005-05-26T07:09:00.000-05:00

Vinay put a very legit point on his blog. Why do we call this blog Good Sports? Is there anything as bad sports at all?

Makes me ponder, let's see.....

OK, that India v/s SriLanka test match where India declared at 600 odd, and then SriLanka piled up 900+, with the Jayasuriya 300 and Mahanama 200-odd, was certainly bad sports.

Indian football, today, is certainly bad sports.

A certain David Beckham, when the football is in motion.

Kapil Dev, just before his retirement, playing for the damn record's sake.

Greg Norman, during losing the Augusta masters (.... '97?) to Faldo, after leading by ... what.... 7 shots before the last day. (thereby, Faldo's heroics become GoodSports automatically)..... And Jana Novotna...... remember the Steffi-Jana match at Wimbledon..... Oh, oh poor Jana......

Few (very few, I insist) KQA quizzes, which, trying to border on the esoteric, topple over to being arbit.

(And I insist again, Quizzing, like Scrabble and Debating, is sport.... and not pastime like dumb-charades etc.)

Baseball (and WWE is entertainment, not sport. So call it art if you may, but not sport).

Marat Safin's court antics, sometimes. Never his game.

Bodybuilding..... which is nothing, really. And I still go to the gym.

But hell, that does not mean that we would not discuss bad sports either, does it?

And criticisms, choke-slams, suplexes and submission-holds are welcome.

And its Liverpool!!!

2005-05-26T00:02:00.000-05:00

liverpool
Originally uploaded by rogueplaneteer.

Cheers to the Reds...

Batigol

2005-05-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Batigol

Just got to know this a while back. Deep breath.... he was, he was quite brilliant.... A talent not quite utilized to the extent it should, I guess he would go down in history as a guy who could not make entire use of the gifts that he possessed. Played throughout the best part of his career in a mediocre club in the toughest league in the world, as the Serie A was then…. I guess the Primera Liga would lay claim to that today. And in all honesty, he was not quite GOD that he will win them the championship or something with such meager resources. He could do it all.... was menacing on top of the box. Acrobatic. A big, strong guy, he was never wary of a physical battle, and was quite a European striker that way. To compliment that, he was vastly skilful the Argentine way too. Genuinely good free kicker. To me, one of the best penalty kick takers the world has seen. Plus, had leadership skills too. And oh yeah definitely had a genuine knack of getting the back of the net very often. I do not generally compare, but if I have to rank the out-and-out strikers I have seen play, I will rank him at about second, right after van Basten, and the same level as Baggio. Ahead of Romario and Klinsmann and Ruud van Nistelrooij. Felt quite similar when Boris retired (indeed, sadder, Boris was the sole reason I started watching tennis, but in terms of ability and the end result of it, he was almost Boris). Boris, Azhar, Bati …. In my mind, these were the guys who should have been there, should have been among the immortals, but, well… One of my faves all-time.... In his heyday he was quite a thing, seriously.... I say him extricate a 3-3 draw out of nowhere, single-handedly, playing for Fiorentina against Parma ... which was a real formidable team in those days..... and that was when he was going downhill.... was just wondering if that booming hit against Holland in the quarters of the ’98 WC would have gone in instead of hitting the post (and almost uprooting it)..... IMHO, Argentina could have won the WC that year. That would have been immortality for a guy who in all honesty would possibly be forgotten in 10 years' time. And he did not deserve to.

(OLD) Russia winning Davis Cup 2002

2005-05-10T04:55:00.000-05:00

Battles hard to beat for emotion and passion
December 4 2002
By Linda Pearce

For a stubborn non-subscriber to pay TV, access to the weekend's dramatic Davis Cup final was limited to a few seconds of evening news highlights, squeezed in after clattering English wickets in Perth and the latest golf bungle at Coolum. It is a pity because if there is a tennis event reliably worth watching, it is this one.

By its nature, tennis is an individual and often selfish sport,inwhich grand slam titles are generally the most coveted. Yet, for the likes of Patrick Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Davis Cup success means at least as much. Certainly, if passion and emotion are the measures, it is rarely surpassed.

Consider this recent finals evidence, admittedly from an Australian perspective. In 1999 in Nice, Mark Philippoussis stunned a partisan crowd, anchoring an improbable and drought-breaking victory and ending in an all-is-forgiven embrace with his one-time enemy John Newcombe.
In 2000, before a rabid mob in Barcelona, Hewitt overcame illness in a first-day performance against Albert Costa that Newcombe described as among the best he had seen in 15 years as a player and captain - only for Australia to then crumble 3-1, souring Newcombe and Tony Roche's farewell and leaving an injured Rafter's dream unfulfilled.

Last year's long-awaited home decider was again dominated by Rafter's suspect fitness, although the enduring image from an extraordinary final day was the sight of the brave but unfortunate Wayne Arthurs sobbing beneath his towel after losing the final rubber to unexpected hero Nicolas Escude.

Considering that the 2001 final has been hailed internationally asone of four classics played in only 10 years, the strike rate is formidable, and the shame is that, despite the sensational weekend theatre played out at the Bercy stadium in Paris, the whole worldhas not caught on.
Kafelnikov packed his considerable ego off to Siberia, replaced inthe deciding singles match by young Mikhail Youzhny. The climax was better than sex, beamed Marat Safin, whose love of a blonde entourage would suggest he is well qualified to judge. Even losing captain Guy Forget proclaimed that "with this atmosphere, you can't not like the Davis Cup".

Such is the event's popularity in France, and so sought-after were the 15,000 tickets to the three-day final, that it was reported that even local soccer stars such as Thierry Henry had trouble procuring seats reserved for the likes of Boris Yeltsin and Jacques Chirac.Yet, in the country that has its name on Dwight Davis' fruitbowl a record 31 times, the event went curiously unseen. Of the 160 countries that broadcast the final, the United States was not among them.

Fortunately, insular Americans are defying the competition's resurgent trend, not representative of it. Crowds have risen significantly, as have rates of participation among the leading players. This year, the only non-participant from the top 20 was veteran Andre Agassi.

Grand slams are wonderful, elite events, punishing endurancetests. But the Davis Cup is something else, and from this perspective often something far more - including, it seems, America's loss.

Now, um, about that Foxtel subscription . . .
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oh yeah, so happy for dear russky

A ticket! A ticket! My kingdom for a ticket!

2005-05-10T01:24:00.000-05:00

Bond, Leppy, Vaish and I have been trying to score tickets for the world cup in Germany. We applied for the first round... none of us were alloted tickets. The second round is for team specific tickets only. Now we have to wait till the third round - in December! Totally sucks. In the meantime, I am willing to sell upto 4 bottles of blood in addition to face value of ticket. Price negotiable.