'IF you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'
-IF by Rudyard Kipling
Dravid and Chappell have been at the helm of Indian cricket for a while now. During this period, as is typical for any prolonged period of Indian cricket, the team has been through it all. Needless to mention, depending on the latest result, the team has been showered with garlands or brickbats. Being at the center of this soap opera that Indian cricket is made out to be, must be overwhelming. However, D & C have shown composure and a level of sanity that couldn't have been easy to maintain. Sure, some middle fingers have been raised, but when a bunch of *fans* hurl personal abuse in your direction for a cricketing decision, I would readily condone most reactions short of a gun shot!
Chappell's post-Wanderers' interview and Dravid's pre-Wanderers' quotes had a degree of sameness to them. Not necessarily in content, but in tone and vision. Chappell talks in detail about events behind closed doors. Events that shape and show the resilience in this group. Dravid talks about recent tours where we have stood up to be counted after being knocked to the canvas. Both indicate awareness about the clamor around them, and while accommodating that, convey that their voice of reason is something that the rest of the team hears in equal measure. If D or C feel that an additional voice would help the casue, they should consider doing a Mike Newell by putting up a copy of "IF" in the dressing room. And should they decide to do so, they would be well advised to take up Bhogle's suggestion and revise the all important lines to...
'IF you can meet with the reactions to Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Kart 'taming' ain't fun
Much as I love to Kart, I am very aware of the premium price to time cost of the same. So yesterday, when I finished the race and felt cheated, it didn't feel as bad as wrongly being given out 'Caught behind', this was much worse! Here is how the events panned out...
As soon as it was decided that we would go Karting that evening, the mind switched off from work (like it needed an invitation!) and started plotting racing lines that would enable me to shave away tenths from my lap times. As always, excitement was coursing through the veins when we reached the venue. The long day at work seemed like it was ages ago. Here I was, ready to attack the track with the bag of tricks learnt the last time around and in the process lower my personal best lap time.
That thought changed immediately after I realized that there were going to be ten racers on track. So, I prepared myself to forget lap times and focus on the art of overtaking. Starting 9th put me one spot from where I wanted to be on this venture. Starting 10th would have provided ample opportunity for overtaking, while also ensuring that my buddy, Bicker, does not get the chance to overtake me on track. Instead, I would get every chance to give him a miserable night's sleep. Anyway, in spite of the aforementioned threat, I wasn't quite worried, since, over the past few months, it had become amply clear to both of us that he did not represent any threat to me on track. Through the initial laps, I ensured that no kamikaze moves were tried before the tires really got up to temperature. Having negotiated the phase carefully, I overtook the Kart in front of me and set off in pursuit of the greater challenges that lay ahead.
As the lap count increased, the chemistry that had developed between Kart, track and myself through previous visits, just wasn't there. The hairpin which I had mastered previously was giving me trouble every single time. The Kart was all over the place and I sensed that a spin wasn't too far away. Noticeably, Bicker, who started around 3 seconds after I did, was maintaining the gap and at times closing it too. Lapping a couple of backmarkers ensured that the I clawed back some of the lost time, however, the mind was confused about the pace I was doing. It was unusually chilly that evening, and I was working out a theory to blame it on that.
Lap 8, I was behind Kart Number 9 (KN9) and ready to pass. Three laps later, the gap was the same and I was struggling to keep pace. Lap 10 proved to be a race breaker. Coming up to a medium speed corner, KN9 and the Kart he was lapping (KN24) collided right in front of me and having nowhere else to go, I joined the pileup. This meant that Bicker went past and so did a couple of the race leaders (lapped!). After disentangling us, the race marshal directed me to clear out before KP9 (Oh boy! Did that lead to a frustrating race for him!!!). So, soon enough, I lapped KN24 and set off hoping to figure out the great mystery of the lack of pace.
Rather than provide details about the jousting between KN9 and myself that followed, let me waste no time in stating that from lap 10 through lap 28, he was right there behind me with no way past! I was well aware that he was faster than me (that day!), but just as overtaking is an art, so is defensive driving! So, there I was, comfortably keeping the challenger at bay, but struggling for lap times in the overall scheme of things. Through the rest of the race, I did NOT catchup with a single racer. Just lapped a few of the slow ones. So, in spite of having 10 karts on track, I had a clear track through most of the race and and yet, ended up a whole second on average slower than last time around.
It was midway through the race, when I figured out the issue. Blame it on whatever, but it took me 14 laps to figure out the kart that I was given, was accelerating way too much when I took my foot off the brake. Thus, the braking distances that were learnt the last time around (and ready to be applied this time around), did no good simply because, the Kart was way too fast through the corners if the brakes weren't applied while turning. And as any Kart racer should know, that isn't the style for a quick lap time. So, after the realization hit home, it was all about taming the Kart through the corners than racing it through them. Frustrated! However, not as much as the racer aboard KN9, I assume. In spite of being a couple of tenths faster than me over the course of the entire lap, he could find no way past, and didn't even get close. Lap after lap, I looked back to see if he was too close for comfort. Never was that the case! Lap 28, I was flagged to let him pass. Not sure of the reason, afterall, we were fighting for position, however, being quite aware that doing anything to the contrary would mean a black flag, I let him by rightaway. Following him closely over the next lap (and what turned out to be the last lap), I could only laugh feebly at the realization that I would have had him every single lap at either one of the hairpins on a good day.
Post race, the frustration of poor laptimes, combined with the better laptimes of Bicker made it an evening to forget. However, having gone through the experience, I now claim that, I have a much better understanding of how Michael Schumacher must have felt driving the Ferrari F1 2005!
As soon as it was decided that we would go Karting that evening, the mind switched off from work (like it needed an invitation!) and started plotting racing lines that would enable me to shave away tenths from my lap times. As always, excitement was coursing through the veins when we reached the venue. The long day at work seemed like it was ages ago. Here I was, ready to attack the track with the bag of tricks learnt the last time around and in the process lower my personal best lap time.
That thought changed immediately after I realized that there were going to be ten racers on track. So, I prepared myself to forget lap times and focus on the art of overtaking. Starting 9th put me one spot from where I wanted to be on this venture. Starting 10th would have provided ample opportunity for overtaking, while also ensuring that my buddy, Bicker, does not get the chance to overtake me on track. Instead, I would get every chance to give him a miserable night's sleep. Anyway, in spite of the aforementioned threat, I wasn't quite worried, since, over the past few months, it had become amply clear to both of us that he did not represent any threat to me on track. Through the initial laps, I ensured that no kamikaze moves were tried before the tires really got up to temperature. Having negotiated the phase carefully, I overtook the Kart in front of me and set off in pursuit of the greater challenges that lay ahead.
As the lap count increased, the chemistry that had developed between Kart, track and myself through previous visits, just wasn't there. The hairpin which I had mastered previously was giving me trouble every single time. The Kart was all over the place and I sensed that a spin wasn't too far away. Noticeably, Bicker, who started around 3 seconds after I did, was maintaining the gap and at times closing it too. Lapping a couple of backmarkers ensured that the I clawed back some of the lost time, however, the mind was confused about the pace I was doing. It was unusually chilly that evening, and I was working out a theory to blame it on that.
Lap 8, I was behind Kart Number 9 (KN9) and ready to pass. Three laps later, the gap was the same and I was struggling to keep pace. Lap 10 proved to be a race breaker. Coming up to a medium speed corner, KN9 and the Kart he was lapping (KN24) collided right in front of me and having nowhere else to go, I joined the pileup. This meant that Bicker went past and so did a couple of the race leaders (lapped!). After disentangling us, the race marshal directed me to clear out before KP9 (Oh boy! Did that lead to a frustrating race for him!!!). So, soon enough, I lapped KN24 and set off hoping to figure out the great mystery of the lack of pace.
Rather than provide details about the jousting between KN9 and myself that followed, let me waste no time in stating that from lap 10 through lap 28, he was right there behind me with no way past! I was well aware that he was faster than me (that day!), but just as overtaking is an art, so is defensive driving! So, there I was, comfortably keeping the challenger at bay, but struggling for lap times in the overall scheme of things. Through the rest of the race, I did NOT catchup with a single racer. Just lapped a few of the slow ones. So, in spite of having 10 karts on track, I had a clear track through most of the race and and yet, ended up a whole second on average slower than last time around.
It was midway through the race, when I figured out the issue. Blame it on whatever, but it took me 14 laps to figure out the kart that I was given, was accelerating way too much when I took my foot off the brake. Thus, the braking distances that were learnt the last time around (and ready to be applied this time around), did no good simply because, the Kart was way too fast through the corners if the brakes weren't applied while turning. And as any Kart racer should know, that isn't the style for a quick lap time. So, after the realization hit home, it was all about taming the Kart through the corners than racing it through them. Frustrated! However, not as much as the racer aboard KN9, I assume. In spite of being a couple of tenths faster than me over the course of the entire lap, he could find no way past, and didn't even get close. Lap after lap, I looked back to see if he was too close for comfort. Never was that the case! Lap 28, I was flagged to let him pass. Not sure of the reason, afterall, we were fighting for position, however, being quite aware that doing anything to the contrary would mean a black flag, I let him by rightaway. Following him closely over the next lap (and what turned out to be the last lap), I could only laugh feebly at the realization that I would have had him every single lap at either one of the hairpins on a good day.
Post race, the frustration of poor laptimes, combined with the better laptimes of Bicker made it an evening to forget. However, having gone through the experience, I now claim that, I have a much better understanding of how Michael Schumacher must have felt driving the Ferrari F1 2005!
Monday, December 11, 2006
India beats Australia at Perth!!!!!
Compared to the trash ("Ganguly and Dravid did NOT sit at the same table at breakfast"), the mundane ("We will give 110%/I did it for the country") and the breaking (e.g. "Shane Warne tests positive! To be sent back from World Cup"), the weird news tends to have a higher *shock to profile* quotient. And in these weird times we live in, they don't come much weirder than "Perth wicket could help spinners".
The title doesn't seem so crazy anymore, does it?
The title doesn't seem so crazy anymore, does it?
Friday, October 13, 2006
To Websters (actually dictionary.com) with Love
Dictionary.com defines pessimism as
1. the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc
2. the doctrine that the existing world is the worst of all possible worlds, or that all things naturally tend to evil
3. the belief that the evil and pain in the world are not compensated for by goodness and happiness
Until yesterday, I would have been happy to go with those explanations. Not now...
Pessimism - Optimism with experience
[Source: Steve Parrish]
It doesn't get clearer/cleverer/more practical than that!
PS: I started off typing 'Websters defines pessimism as...' and without batting an eyelid, visited dictionary.com to pull out the meaning.
PPS: The other day, during a phone conversation, my friend mentioned that he had started writing. I assumed that he had started blogging. When he hinted that that wasn't the case, I assumed that he was maintaining a personal diary on notepad. When he told me that he was putting pen to paper, I almost put phone to ground!
1. the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc
2. the doctrine that the existing world is the worst of all possible worlds, or that all things naturally tend to evil
3. the belief that the evil and pain in the world are not compensated for by goodness and happiness
Until yesterday, I would have been happy to go with those explanations. Not now...
Pessimism - Optimism with experience
[Source: Steve Parrish]
It doesn't get clearer/cleverer/more practical than that!
PS: I started off typing 'Websters defines pessimism as...' and without batting an eyelid, visited dictionary.com to pull out the meaning.
PPS: The other day, during a phone conversation, my friend mentioned that he had started writing. I assumed that he had started blogging. When he hinted that that wasn't the case, I assumed that he was maintaining a personal diary on notepad. When he told me that he was putting pen to paper, I almost put phone to ground!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Kart ATTACK !!!!
I have quite a few drafts saved up, that are destined to remain just that, but were actually meant to be published F1 race reports. Due to unhappiness with the details in the end product, which was a direct manifestation of my unfamiliarity with writing on the technical aspects of the sport, I have refrained from publishing them.
This past weekend, I was out Karting. It wasn't one of those 5 or 10 minute races, but a whopping 45 minute one. The wallet was substantially lighter at the end of this venture, but the thrill of a lifetime was realised (it actually does every time I go Karting!). Plus, considering that after a 4 year hiatus, I have Karted a few times recently, this race allowed me to apply what I had learnt recently, besides learning more about the nuances of racing.
This time around, when I started to write about the race from my perspective, the words seemed to flow and the technical aspects of the sport aided the narration of events at every instance. In fact, many concepts from F1 have been widely and liberally (ab)used in the report below. So, while I have tried to stick to the truth with regard to positions, overtaking and other incidents, don't be surprised if the mention of turbulent air, rear wing and so on make you wonder if you are reading about one of those Kart races that happen a zillion times each day, or one of the premier 18 races that constitute the F1 calendar. Its all meant to be a part of the ride....
We were a group of 4, watching the current action while eagerly awaiting our turn. The track length was shorter than the norm, punctuated with some bland corners and the standard hairpin. The quick chicane was a novelty though and I quite enjoyed the challenge it offered. Other perks of the place included getting to wear racing gloves and a neck brace, besides the usual head sock and helmet. In fact, we had the option of slipping on a racing suit, but fearing a complete collapse due to the possible heat, I refrained. Wise decision it turned out to be!
The format said - 10 minute Pratice session, followed by a 10 minute Qualifying session, followed by a 15 minute Race. Reading that off the board felt like I was being administered a heavy dosage of adrenalin. Time to strap on...
11 of us were part of this racing fiesta. Some of them looked like pros, and some of them turned out to be, but this report is not meant to wax eloquent about the sublime skills of the leaders (I wish it was though!). This one is meant to aid the reader re-live the race through words designed to masquerade as a camera aboard Kart Number(KN) 13, with a few additional details furnished from the tales of my buddies, with finishing positions (FP) 8,10 and 11.
The instant we set off one by one from the pits, the jousting started. There was wheel banging, karts spinning and some heavy crashing on the first lap. Consequently, the yellow flags didn't take too long to come out. This sequence of events repeated itself over the next few laps too. It was clear that there were too many karts on track, however, the marshals didn't quite care (disappointing!). Soon (even after a long discussion post race, we couldn't decide how many laps the 'soon' refers to...the numbers varied from 4 to about 12), after another of those innumerable tangles, the marshals came out and lined us up on the grid based on best lap timings until then. Sitting pretty at Qualifying Position (QP) 5 was KN 13!
Due to unfamiliarity with the fellow racers' KNs, QP and FP are used to refer to them in the report that follows...
THE RACE
Phase 1: New Track, Green Track and Cold tires
We sat on the grid for quite a while. It was a long process to get us lined up and then wipe the track clean. This meant that the tires lost their temperature while the rubber on the track was all gone. The result - no grip!
Under these conditions, a cautious couple of laps wouldn't have been out of order. However, KN13 was poised to attack from QP5. When the lights turned green, with all my senses focussed on the kart in front, I got a great start and was right behind QP3 at the first corner, while QP4 had to yield to me since I held the racing line. The quick chicane that followed was negotiated at full throttle. This meant that the ambitious late braking maneouver that I attempted, turned out to be just that...ambitious! I was carrying way too much speed going into the corner, as a result of which, when I tried to slow down while exiting the corner, the Kart oversteered, resulting in a spin. Sitting there, just off the racing line, I had to wait until FP11 passed me before I could get back on track and continue (start) my race. Needless to say, my race had been compromised!
Back on track, the adrenalin rush was replaced by controlled anger (the control entering the picture due to the embarassment of spinning. If I was nudged into spinning, the anger would have taken a very different form). The focus was to regain the lost places as soon as possible, before I could hope to claw back the distance to the leaders. FPs 11 and 10 were devoured in the same lap. Normally, that would be quite an achievement, considering that this was a 300m track (20 - 22 seconds per lap). However, reality is that, these two were lapping 3 to 4 seconds off the pace. So, easy does it! Soon enough, FP9 was sighted in my rear view mirror. FP8 proved to be a challenge. Due to the simple track layout, the on track opportunities to overtake was minimal. So, waited patiently before passing him on the outside of the hairpin.
Phase 2: Track is rubbered down, tires are operating at optimum temperature, and am familiar with the circuit
It is around lap 19 when the consistency sets in. The lap times reflect the same. Laps 19 to 26 are timed between 20.88 and 21.64. Having passed FP8 earlier, I was in clean air (no kart on track that I was following closely). So, it was all about putting my head down and churning in some quick laps. The advantage of being in clean air, besides avoiding the turbulent air due to a kart that is right ahead, is the opportunity to see the apex of every corner and judge the braking for optimum exit.
Lap 27 and I am right under the rear wing of FP7, trying to find a way past. It was clear (to me) that I was faster by around 0.2 to 0.4 seconds, but as mentioned earlier, the simple layout meant that clever defensive driving could keep a faster kart behind. After becoming aware of his defensive capabilities, I started applying the pressure, by carrying extra speed into each corner, thus dramatically closing the distance between the karts. This ensured that I was in his peripheral vision at each corner. While this tactic had the desired effect of creating pressure, the downside was that, my exit out of every corner was painfully slow and a couple of times, required heavy opposite lock to avoid spinning. However, the pressure was showing on him. He was sliding through some of the corners, but managed to block me out at the next one. Soon though, he got sideways at the hairpin and I was away. 3 laps it took. The thrill of working out an opponent and cracking him has to be experienced to understand the exhilaration. Shane Warne might know a bit about that....
Phase 3: Learning from others
Trafffic was a constant factor at this track. Like I mentioned, FPs 10 and 11 were atleast 3 seconds off the pace of the leaders. So, they had to be passed every 8 laps or so, which was one area where I kept losing distance to the leaders. Besides that, somewhere around lap 30 is when I noticed that the leader, driving KN5 (FP1) was closing in behind to lap me. Try as I did, every single lap, he was getting closer. As I exited the hairpin, I would look back to see his position, and he would have shaved a couple of tenths off the gap. Soon enough, I was waved a blue flag (the ultimate ignominy). I had to let him by to avoid any penalty. And so, I did, but not before swearing "I will follow the S.O.B to the ends of the world" (Jimmy Connors swearing to do the same to Bjorn Borg was a mere coincidence).
From my prior karting experience, I have realised that it does not take me too long to memorise a track layout. And once I get familiar, I try to keep up the pace and most often am able to do so. However, at the end of the race, the all time lap record would be atleast a couple of seconds faster than me, while the fastest lap set that day, would be half a second to a second faster. At this point, the head scratching would begin. On any track, more so, on a challenging one, there would be a couple of corners where, my kart would slide as I would exit one of the medium speed corners. A slower approach into the corner would mean no sliding, however, the speed at the exit would be far from satisfactory. So, optimum speed and line through medium speed corners is something that I have always derived off others.
In this case, with the leader and I separated by less than half a second, albeit him being one lap (and half a second) ahead, class was in session. Watching him reduce his speed to a trickle while negotiating turn 3 (what I thought was a medium speed corner was negotiated at slow speed), was noted rightaway. The build up of speed from the exit of turn 3 through medium speed corner 4, which lead to about 4 seconds of full throttle accelaration was beautifully demonstrated and I had the best seat in the house. Having learnt from the leader, as any good student should, I put it to good use through the next few laps. Concentration has always been a problem since the mindless high school exams. Not here though. With complete focus, every ounce of energy was focussed on the kart ahead and my own speed and line through every corner. The results were revealing. I kept up.....for 4 laps or so!
During this period, laps 29 to 38, the laptimes were between 20.63 and 21.31. Compared to the previous quick period, this was more consistent and also about a couple of tenths quicker. That's what racing is all about!!!
Phase 4: To FIGHT to the finish, you cannot be finished before the Fight
The ability to keep at it for 70 out of 70 laps is what separates the Schumachers from the Montoyas. Turns out that it was the same thing that separated the racers aboard KN5 and KN13. Once we hit traffic, while KN5 passed backmarkers without a worry, my braking became awry and my laptimes slipped away. Soon enough, KN5 was nowhere in sight and my energy level had dropped so alarmingly that I didn't even contemplate catching him. At this point, I was running on adrenalin. More than my forearms (which usually cry out in pain after 10 laps of racing), my feet hurt from the constant accelaration. The sole of the show wasn't cushioning me from the steel rod that constituted the accelerator pedal.
My time slipped away, dropping to the low 21s and the early 22s. However, I assume that everyone was struggling through this period. I caught up with FP4 and we stayed in formation for 3 or so laps. What happened then, I do not remember, but the lap chart shows that I held track position 4 on lap 40. Laps 40 through 50 were a lull. However, I wasn't doing too bad, since I caught up with FPs 2 and 3. However, a mental lapse is not something that can be afforded on a race track....
Yellow flags were all over the track on lap 51. FPs 2 and 3 managed to lap FP10 (for the umpteenth time) right at this point. So, FP10 was between me and them and I was not allowed to overtake. With the flags still yellow, FPs 2 and 3 gathered some pace while making sure that they weren't overtaking. FP10 though was ambling, happily aware that I was forced to stay behind. A red mist descended, and I sped past him in no time ready to continue my pursuit of FP3. Alas, the track marshal spotted it right away and gave me the black flag. Nothing I could do, but swear repeatedly at myself, the marshal and particularly, at FP10 (the jackass received a hiding from from after the race). Anyway, at half pace, completed the rest of the lap (letting by anyone and everyone who came up behind me) and went into the pits, where I was talked to by one of the marshals.
Exiting the pits, the Kart lacked grip. I knew why. I had made a mistake by slowing down too much during the lap before entering the pits. The tires had cooled off, the grip was gone and I was sliding. Anyway, a couple of laps later, I was back on pace, however, I was mentally exhausted. The laptimes are proof. My fastest lap of the evening came in lap No.69 (out of the 79 I completed) and there were some blindingly quick laps there. However, they were interspersed with some high 21s and low 22s.
Turns out that I went past PN7 on track, but didn't do enough to close in on the battles ahead. In fact, was lapped by a few Karts during this period. Lap79, the leader passed me once again, and as I crossed the line, the checkered flag came down. FP 6!!!
Conclusions
The result was deflating, but the thrill of racing goes beyond results. As an amateur, whose involvement in sport, beside watching, has decreased by the day, the thrills do not necessarily come from the end of the day result. Instead, a perfectly excecuted forehand passing shot (a video replay might change that opinion forever) amidst a 6-2 loss, or a beautifully timed cover drive (the fact that the fielder let the ball through his legs don't matter either neither does the fact that it happened 3 years ago) right before the middle stump got uprooted are the highs that are rejoiced. In racing though, the highs are continuous. In fact, the adrenalin rush in one 10 minute race can drown out a whole set of tennis.
At its purest form, racing can be about 2 cars duelling wheel to wheel for track position through corner after corner or about one driver setting the standard for the rest of the pack, by improving on perfection, lap after lap. During each of these ventures, every millisecond matters. And more importantly, the adrenalin is pumping during every single one of those. The concentration and the focus need to be at its peak for every single corner of every single lap of every single race. No exceptions! No wonder that the feeling at the end of it is exhaustion as well as exhilaration.
My mental state when I race (either a kart on a track or my own car on the road) is different when compared to racket sports. When I attempt to play tennis, I am very aware of my limitations. I know that attempting an Andre Agassi double handed backhand return of serve is guaranteed to have one of the following three results: the racket jumps out of my arms and flies to the net, while the ball lies at my foot/the racket spins like a top in my arms, while the ball remains at my foot/the ball is hit for a sweet sixer! Not sure if it is just me, but when I am in a kart, I feel invincible (results do not seem to alter that perception). However fast someone else is, I feel that it is only a few laps of following him for me to learn the trick and keep up. This in turn guarantees that the mind is tuned for a fight that feels like a top of the leaderboard duel rather than a duel for second last place.
Even before this specific racing experience, while I was driving to San Jose to witness a dance performance, I mentioned to this buddy of mine (who contributed so much to the long drive by not driving a single mile) that the pure rush of adrenalin (I keep mentioning this word, since I am unaware of a literal alternative or an actual one) while racing is unmatched. When this was met by a nod in agreement, I knew that I had uttered the ABSOLUTE TRUTH (the kind that carries no 'one's own perspective' clause with it)! After having watched the dance performance, I put Salsa right next to racing!
This past weekend, I was out Karting. It wasn't one of those 5 or 10 minute races, but a whopping 45 minute one. The wallet was substantially lighter at the end of this venture, but the thrill of a lifetime was realised (it actually does every time I go Karting!). Plus, considering that after a 4 year hiatus, I have Karted a few times recently, this race allowed me to apply what I had learnt recently, besides learning more about the nuances of racing.
This time around, when I started to write about the race from my perspective, the words seemed to flow and the technical aspects of the sport aided the narration of events at every instance. In fact, many concepts from F1 have been widely and liberally (ab)used in the report below. So, while I have tried to stick to the truth with regard to positions, overtaking and other incidents, don't be surprised if the mention of turbulent air, rear wing and so on make you wonder if you are reading about one of those Kart races that happen a zillion times each day, or one of the premier 18 races that constitute the F1 calendar. Its all meant to be a part of the ride....
We were a group of 4, watching the current action while eagerly awaiting our turn. The track length was shorter than the norm, punctuated with some bland corners and the standard hairpin. The quick chicane was a novelty though and I quite enjoyed the challenge it offered. Other perks of the place included getting to wear racing gloves and a neck brace, besides the usual head sock and helmet. In fact, we had the option of slipping on a racing suit, but fearing a complete collapse due to the possible heat, I refrained. Wise decision it turned out to be!
The format said - 10 minute Pratice session, followed by a 10 minute Qualifying session, followed by a 15 minute Race. Reading that off the board felt like I was being administered a heavy dosage of adrenalin. Time to strap on...
11 of us were part of this racing fiesta. Some of them looked like pros, and some of them turned out to be, but this report is not meant to wax eloquent about the sublime skills of the leaders (I wish it was though!). This one is meant to aid the reader re-live the race through words designed to masquerade as a camera aboard Kart Number(KN) 13, with a few additional details furnished from the tales of my buddies, with finishing positions (FP) 8,10 and 11.
The instant we set off one by one from the pits, the jousting started. There was wheel banging, karts spinning and some heavy crashing on the first lap. Consequently, the yellow flags didn't take too long to come out. This sequence of events repeated itself over the next few laps too. It was clear that there were too many karts on track, however, the marshals didn't quite care (disappointing!). Soon (even after a long discussion post race, we couldn't decide how many laps the 'soon' refers to...the numbers varied from 4 to about 12), after another of those innumerable tangles, the marshals came out and lined us up on the grid based on best lap timings until then. Sitting pretty at Qualifying Position (QP) 5 was KN 13!
Due to unfamiliarity with the fellow racers' KNs, QP and FP are used to refer to them in the report that follows...
THE RACE
Phase 1: New Track, Green Track and Cold tires
We sat on the grid for quite a while. It was a long process to get us lined up and then wipe the track clean. This meant that the tires lost their temperature while the rubber on the track was all gone. The result - no grip!
Under these conditions, a cautious couple of laps wouldn't have been out of order. However, KN13 was poised to attack from QP5. When the lights turned green, with all my senses focussed on the kart in front, I got a great start and was right behind QP3 at the first corner, while QP4 had to yield to me since I held the racing line. The quick chicane that followed was negotiated at full throttle. This meant that the ambitious late braking maneouver that I attempted, turned out to be just that...ambitious! I was carrying way too much speed going into the corner, as a result of which, when I tried to slow down while exiting the corner, the Kart oversteered, resulting in a spin. Sitting there, just off the racing line, I had to wait until FP11 passed me before I could get back on track and continue (start) my race. Needless to say, my race had been compromised!
Back on track, the adrenalin rush was replaced by controlled anger (the control entering the picture due to the embarassment of spinning. If I was nudged into spinning, the anger would have taken a very different form). The focus was to regain the lost places as soon as possible, before I could hope to claw back the distance to the leaders. FPs 11 and 10 were devoured in the same lap. Normally, that would be quite an achievement, considering that this was a 300m track (20 - 22 seconds per lap). However, reality is that, these two were lapping 3 to 4 seconds off the pace. So, easy does it! Soon enough, FP9 was sighted in my rear view mirror. FP8 proved to be a challenge. Due to the simple track layout, the on track opportunities to overtake was minimal. So, waited patiently before passing him on the outside of the hairpin.
Phase 2: Track is rubbered down, tires are operating at optimum temperature, and am familiar with the circuit
It is around lap 19 when the consistency sets in. The lap times reflect the same. Laps 19 to 26 are timed between 20.88 and 21.64. Having passed FP8 earlier, I was in clean air (no kart on track that I was following closely). So, it was all about putting my head down and churning in some quick laps. The advantage of being in clean air, besides avoiding the turbulent air due to a kart that is right ahead, is the opportunity to see the apex of every corner and judge the braking for optimum exit.
Lap 27 and I am right under the rear wing of FP7, trying to find a way past. It was clear (to me) that I was faster by around 0.2 to 0.4 seconds, but as mentioned earlier, the simple layout meant that clever defensive driving could keep a faster kart behind. After becoming aware of his defensive capabilities, I started applying the pressure, by carrying extra speed into each corner, thus dramatically closing the distance between the karts. This ensured that I was in his peripheral vision at each corner. While this tactic had the desired effect of creating pressure, the downside was that, my exit out of every corner was painfully slow and a couple of times, required heavy opposite lock to avoid spinning. However, the pressure was showing on him. He was sliding through some of the corners, but managed to block me out at the next one. Soon though, he got sideways at the hairpin and I was away. 3 laps it took. The thrill of working out an opponent and cracking him has to be experienced to understand the exhilaration. Shane Warne might know a bit about that....
Phase 3: Learning from others
Trafffic was a constant factor at this track. Like I mentioned, FPs 10 and 11 were atleast 3 seconds off the pace of the leaders. So, they had to be passed every 8 laps or so, which was one area where I kept losing distance to the leaders. Besides that, somewhere around lap 30 is when I noticed that the leader, driving KN5 (FP1) was closing in behind to lap me. Try as I did, every single lap, he was getting closer. As I exited the hairpin, I would look back to see his position, and he would have shaved a couple of tenths off the gap. Soon enough, I was waved a blue flag (the ultimate ignominy). I had to let him by to avoid any penalty. And so, I did, but not before swearing "I will follow the S.O.B to the ends of the world" (Jimmy Connors swearing to do the same to Bjorn Borg was a mere coincidence).
From my prior karting experience, I have realised that it does not take me too long to memorise a track layout. And once I get familiar, I try to keep up the pace and most often am able to do so. However, at the end of the race, the all time lap record would be atleast a couple of seconds faster than me, while the fastest lap set that day, would be half a second to a second faster. At this point, the head scratching would begin. On any track, more so, on a challenging one, there would be a couple of corners where, my kart would slide as I would exit one of the medium speed corners. A slower approach into the corner would mean no sliding, however, the speed at the exit would be far from satisfactory. So, optimum speed and line through medium speed corners is something that I have always derived off others.
In this case, with the leader and I separated by less than half a second, albeit him being one lap (and half a second) ahead, class was in session. Watching him reduce his speed to a trickle while negotiating turn 3 (what I thought was a medium speed corner was negotiated at slow speed), was noted rightaway. The build up of speed from the exit of turn 3 through medium speed corner 4, which lead to about 4 seconds of full throttle accelaration was beautifully demonstrated and I had the best seat in the house. Having learnt from the leader, as any good student should, I put it to good use through the next few laps. Concentration has always been a problem since the mindless high school exams. Not here though. With complete focus, every ounce of energy was focussed on the kart ahead and my own speed and line through every corner. The results were revealing. I kept up.....for 4 laps or so!
During this period, laps 29 to 38, the laptimes were between 20.63 and 21.31. Compared to the previous quick period, this was more consistent and also about a couple of tenths quicker. That's what racing is all about!!!
Phase 4: To FIGHT to the finish, you cannot be finished before the Fight
The ability to keep at it for 70 out of 70 laps is what separates the Schumachers from the Montoyas. Turns out that it was the same thing that separated the racers aboard KN5 and KN13. Once we hit traffic, while KN5 passed backmarkers without a worry, my braking became awry and my laptimes slipped away. Soon enough, KN5 was nowhere in sight and my energy level had dropped so alarmingly that I didn't even contemplate catching him. At this point, I was running on adrenalin. More than my forearms (which usually cry out in pain after 10 laps of racing), my feet hurt from the constant accelaration. The sole of the show wasn't cushioning me from the steel rod that constituted the accelerator pedal.
My time slipped away, dropping to the low 21s and the early 22s. However, I assume that everyone was struggling through this period. I caught up with FP4 and we stayed in formation for 3 or so laps. What happened then, I do not remember, but the lap chart shows that I held track position 4 on lap 40. Laps 40 through 50 were a lull. However, I wasn't doing too bad, since I caught up with FPs 2 and 3. However, a mental lapse is not something that can be afforded on a race track....
Yellow flags were all over the track on lap 51. FPs 2 and 3 managed to lap FP10 (for the umpteenth time) right at this point. So, FP10 was between me and them and I was not allowed to overtake. With the flags still yellow, FPs 2 and 3 gathered some pace while making sure that they weren't overtaking. FP10 though was ambling, happily aware that I was forced to stay behind. A red mist descended, and I sped past him in no time ready to continue my pursuit of FP3. Alas, the track marshal spotted it right away and gave me the black flag. Nothing I could do, but swear repeatedly at myself, the marshal and particularly, at FP10 (the jackass received a hiding from from after the race). Anyway, at half pace, completed the rest of the lap (letting by anyone and everyone who came up behind me) and went into the pits, where I was talked to by one of the marshals.
Exiting the pits, the Kart lacked grip. I knew why. I had made a mistake by slowing down too much during the lap before entering the pits. The tires had cooled off, the grip was gone and I was sliding. Anyway, a couple of laps later, I was back on pace, however, I was mentally exhausted. The laptimes are proof. My fastest lap of the evening came in lap No.69 (out of the 79 I completed) and there were some blindingly quick laps there. However, they were interspersed with some high 21s and low 22s.
Turns out that I went past PN7 on track, but didn't do enough to close in on the battles ahead. In fact, was lapped by a few Karts during this period. Lap79, the leader passed me once again, and as I crossed the line, the checkered flag came down. FP 6!!!
Conclusions
The result was deflating, but the thrill of racing goes beyond results. As an amateur, whose involvement in sport, beside watching, has decreased by the day, the thrills do not necessarily come from the end of the day result. Instead, a perfectly excecuted forehand passing shot (a video replay might change that opinion forever) amidst a 6-2 loss, or a beautifully timed cover drive (the fact that the fielder let the ball through his legs don't matter either neither does the fact that it happened 3 years ago) right before the middle stump got uprooted are the highs that are rejoiced. In racing though, the highs are continuous. In fact, the adrenalin rush in one 10 minute race can drown out a whole set of tennis.
At its purest form, racing can be about 2 cars duelling wheel to wheel for track position through corner after corner or about one driver setting the standard for the rest of the pack, by improving on perfection, lap after lap. During each of these ventures, every millisecond matters. And more importantly, the adrenalin is pumping during every single one of those. The concentration and the focus need to be at its peak for every single corner of every single lap of every single race. No exceptions! No wonder that the feeling at the end of it is exhaustion as well as exhilaration.
My mental state when I race (either a kart on a track or my own car on the road) is different when compared to racket sports. When I attempt to play tennis, I am very aware of my limitations. I know that attempting an Andre Agassi double handed backhand return of serve is guaranteed to have one of the following three results: the racket jumps out of my arms and flies to the net, while the ball lies at my foot/the racket spins like a top in my arms, while the ball remains at my foot/the ball is hit for a sweet sixer! Not sure if it is just me, but when I am in a kart, I feel invincible (results do not seem to alter that perception). However fast someone else is, I feel that it is only a few laps of following him for me to learn the trick and keep up. This in turn guarantees that the mind is tuned for a fight that feels like a top of the leaderboard duel rather than a duel for second last place.
Even before this specific racing experience, while I was driving to San Jose to witness a dance performance, I mentioned to this buddy of mine (who contributed so much to the long drive by not driving a single mile) that the pure rush of adrenalin (I keep mentioning this word, since I am unaware of a literal alternative or an actual one) while racing is unmatched. When this was met by a nod in agreement, I knew that I had uttered the ABSOLUTE TRUTH (the kind that carries no 'one's own perspective' clause with it)! After having watched the dance performance, I put Salsa right next to racing!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Alter Ego
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2006/10/alteregos.html
Was casually reading through the characters until I came upon Safin. For whatever reason, when I saw his alter ego, I let out a *hehheyyyy* and smiled widely. Ahoy Marat!
Was casually reading through the characters until I came upon Safin. For whatever reason, when I saw his alter ego, I let out a *hehheyyyy* and smiled widely. Ahoy Marat!
Monday, September 18, 2006
What an Arse
It's all fine to get up early on a Sun morning, after less than 5 hours of sleep, when you consider that such matches are guaranteed to happen only twice a year. So, when the alarm goes off, it isn't a stand alone cuss word that starts the day, but a "What took the bloody Sun so long to come out??!!!" There is no tiredness or sleepiness, just nerve jangling excitement and tension.
Manchester United have made their best start to the season in over 100 years and Arsenal are floundering. To top it all, the feast is served at the Theatre of Dreams, hosting a Premiership record 75,595. With Arsenal clearly having fallen behind United in the past year, I can safely admit that along with ManU they play football, while the others defend their goalposts. So, this was going to be a football match and not a formation match that Chelsea versus Liverpool always turns out to be.
The goals didn't come. Thankfully, neither did the cards. However, it was non-stop action that left me breathless by the end of 30 minutes. It's at times like this that I make resolutions to wake up early on weekends and savour the live long day. Alas, when it all goes wrong horribly at the 85th minute, what promised to be the dawn of a glorious Sunday, sets the precedent for an arse of a day....
Manchester United have made their best start to the season in over 100 years and Arsenal are floundering. To top it all, the feast is served at the Theatre of Dreams, hosting a Premiership record 75,595. With Arsenal clearly having fallen behind United in the past year, I can safely admit that along with ManU they play football, while the others defend their goalposts. So, this was going to be a football match and not a formation match that Chelsea versus Liverpool always turns out to be.
The goals didn't come. Thankfully, neither did the cards. However, it was non-stop action that left me breathless by the end of 30 minutes. It's at times like this that I make resolutions to wake up early on weekends and savour the live long day. Alas, when it all goes wrong horribly at the 85th minute, what promised to be the dawn of a glorious Sunday, sets the precedent for an arse of a day....
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Homage
The tributes have been puring in for a few months now. Here is a collection of my personal favourites...
1) Wimbledon, where you suspect they do not clear the cobwebs for the sake of leaving the old as it is, took a page out of the book of common sense (borrowed, obviously)/suspected a soccer style riot by the gentlemen and ladies/were moved to tears that their beloved champion was leaving forever (take your pick), interviewed Andre courtside at the end of his match with Nadal. First time ever that they conducted a court side interview. Boy, do they pick their moments!
2) "Beacon of success both on and off the court"
3) A record crowd of 23,736 packed into Arthur Ashe stadium for the first night of the Open to watch Andre play Pavel. At match point, the entire stadium stood up! The tradition continued through his matches with Baghdatis and B.Becker.
4) At the end of another timeless classic, Baghdatis says "He is more than a legend"....repeatedly!
5) B.Becker serving 5-4 for the third set. His shot hits the net and drops right next to it. Andre, who was struggling with his back and giving up on drop shots through the match, sensed the moment, and willed himself to reach it. Not only did he get there, but also managed to place it well, which the outstretched Becker hit wide. 23,712 rose and delivered. After a whole minute, the commentator goes "They can't salute him loud enough!"
6) After he played his last point, the crowd rose in unison....actually, they were already up....and thundered their appreciation for their beloved hero. They stopped when Andre took the mike from Mary Joe (kudos to her for doing the right thing!) and delivered a heartwarming rendition of a farewell speech, at the end of which, they started again and continued unabated until Andre decided to leave the court.
7) At the same time, on the adjacent Louis Armstong court, where Safin and Nalbandian were in the midst of the 5th set of their titanic duel, the crowd rose and gave Andre a standing ovation.
8) With his heart in his mouth, Andre told us "The scoreboard says I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years I have found loyalty; you have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I have found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I have found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams; dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the the last 21 years I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life"
9) Quotes:-
Notwithstanding all these moments and quotes, a literary creation was essential to bid farewell to the fan's ultimate champion. Enter Jun....a friend with no track record of expertise in this area.....
(if any congratulatory messages need to be sent to Jun, please let me know)
Yet another icon
Not spared the ageing muscles
Shown the door
To a whole new world where the surface ain't grass or clay...just another plain floor
Head bowed you said the scoreboard says I am not the winner,
Champion you are a complete winner!
Hearts wept as you left the arena,
You left only the arena!
Complete winner you are! You only are!!!
[courtesy: No Man's Land]
1) Wimbledon, where you suspect they do not clear the cobwebs for the sake of leaving the old as it is, took a page out of the book of common sense (borrowed, obviously)/suspected a soccer style riot by the gentlemen and ladies/were moved to tears that their beloved champion was leaving forever (take your pick), interviewed Andre courtside at the end of his match with Nadal. First time ever that they conducted a court side interview. Boy, do they pick their moments!
2) "Beacon of success both on and off the court"
3) A record crowd of 23,736 packed into Arthur Ashe stadium for the first night of the Open to watch Andre play Pavel. At match point, the entire stadium stood up! The tradition continued through his matches with Baghdatis and B.Becker.
4) At the end of another timeless classic, Baghdatis says "He is more than a legend"....repeatedly!
5) B.Becker serving 5-4 for the third set. His shot hits the net and drops right next to it. Andre, who was struggling with his back and giving up on drop shots through the match, sensed the moment, and willed himself to reach it. Not only did he get there, but also managed to place it well, which the outstretched Becker hit wide. 23,712 rose and delivered. After a whole minute, the commentator goes "They can't salute him loud enough!"
6) After he played his last point, the crowd rose in unison....actually, they were already up....and thundered their appreciation for their beloved hero. They stopped when Andre took the mike from Mary Joe (kudos to her for doing the right thing!) and delivered a heartwarming rendition of a farewell speech, at the end of which, they started again and continued unabated until Andre decided to leave the court.
7) At the same time, on the adjacent Louis Armstong court, where Safin and Nalbandian were in the midst of the 5th set of their titanic duel, the crowd rose and gave Andre a standing ovation.
8) With his heart in his mouth, Andre told us "The scoreboard says I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years I have found loyalty; you have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I have found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I have found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams; dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the the last 21 years I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life"
9) Quotes:-
- James Blake - "We all owe a little debt of gratitude for what he's done because he's transcended the sport to become an international superstar, more so than any other tennis player over the last 20 years"
- Lindsay Davenport - "In the last 20 years, he's been the most important person we've had in our sport.He's beloved. Not many players become what he has become" (Do I put the entire quote in bold?)
- Andy Murray - "I think 50 or 60% of people in the locker room were probably in tears as well and were holding it back. I know I was. I'm sure all tennis players would love to have the respect that he has from all the players and the fans. Everybody loved him anywhere he went"
- Serena Williams - "I think the game is going to miss him more than probably they miss anyone"
Notwithstanding all these moments and quotes, a literary creation was essential to bid farewell to the fan's ultimate champion. Enter Jun....a friend with no track record of expertise in this area.....
(if any congratulatory messages need to be sent to Jun, please let me know)
Yet another icon
Not spared the ageing muscles
Shown the door
To a whole new world where the surface ain't grass or clay...just another plain floor
Head bowed you said the scoreboard says I am not the winner,
Champion you are a complete winner!
Hearts wept as you left the arena,
You left only the arena!
Complete winner you are! You only are!!!
[courtesy: No Man's Land]
Sighter#4 - James Blake
Match on.....Blake stuns Federer to win the third set in a tiebreaker. Its great quality tennis from both sides with the 30 stroke rally in the tiebreaker confirming that Federer's defense isn't exactly defense. On the run, while at full stretch his forehand comes back with depth and spin. Blake can only keep going for the lines....which he did and won!
Blake has been in prominence for a year now. His comeback started just before the Open last year and since, has remained in the limelight. One thing is certain. He is the most aggressive retunrner of serve out there. It was suspected during his El Clasico with Andre Agassi in the QF of US Open'05. It has a stamp of approval now, considering that it is Federer's serve he is up against.
Go James! Keep the tradition alive....
Update: Federer up 5-2 and serving for a place in the Semi!
Blake has been in prominence for a year now. His comeback started just before the Open last year and since, has remained in the limelight. One thing is certain. He is the most aggressive retunrner of serve out there. It was suspected during his El Clasico with Andre Agassi in the QF of US Open'05. It has a stamp of approval now, considering that it is Federer's serve he is up against.
Go James! Keep the tradition alive....
Update: Federer up 5-2 and serving for a place in the Semi!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Round 2: vs Baghdatis
Doesn't the title make it clear??? I just lack the vocabulary!
During the 90s, when Wimbledon was taken over by Henmania, I just couldn't see the point of those rides that Henman took his supporters on. Today, I empathize with them. I get the sneaking suspicion that I feel more exhausted than Andre does.
Ever so often, at the end of a match, any match, those key moments have emotions written all over them. Typically, it is anger, lack of heart or confidence. This one though, was different. At the end of it, it wasn't a key moment, just turned out to be one of those sublime Andre moments.
As he sat in his chair at the end of the 4th set and through the first game of the 5th, you could see it all over his face. Johny Mac made a mention of it too. You sensed that the energy he was deriving off the crowd, was getting to him. He knew it right there. He recognized it right there. He didn't feel that this could be his last set. He knew it!
Typically, I am loath to letting anyone share the spotlight with AA. Today, after what we witnessed, an exception just had to be made. Marcos, you lost the match, but you won atleast a million hearts. Bravo buddy! (shame on you New Yorkers to boo this man when he cramped up)
Finally, I don't ask for the show to go on, I just ask for the back to hold up! The rest will take care of itself....
During the 90s, when Wimbledon was taken over by Henmania, I just couldn't see the point of those rides that Henman took his supporters on. Today, I empathize with them. I get the sneaking suspicion that I feel more exhausted than Andre does.
Ever so often, at the end of a match, any match, those key moments have emotions written all over them. Typically, it is anger, lack of heart or confidence. This one though, was different. At the end of it, it wasn't a key moment, just turned out to be one of those sublime Andre moments.
As he sat in his chair at the end of the 4th set and through the first game of the 5th, you could see it all over his face. Johny Mac made a mention of it too. You sensed that the energy he was deriving off the crowd, was getting to him. He knew it right there. He recognized it right there. He didn't feel that this could be his last set. He knew it!
Typically, I am loath to letting anyone share the spotlight with AA. Today, after what we witnessed, an exception just had to be made. Marcos, you lost the match, but you won atleast a million hearts. Bravo buddy! (shame on you New Yorkers to boo this man when he cramped up)
Finally, I don't ask for the show to go on, I just ask for the back to hold up! The rest will take care of itself....
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Sighter #3 - THAT backhand
Agreed that I was on knife's edge at first set, 0-0, 30-15 Andre Agassi serving, but when that high kicking serve, sent out wide on the ad court, was met above shoulder by an immaculate backhand, I knew (as opposed to suspected) that someone was playing a cruel joke at AA's expense.
Last year, in the finals, AA traded backhands with Roger and came off best on most occasions. This time around, the tactic was similar. Not because, Pavel's backhand was expected to breakdown, but to open up the forehand side. Within a few games, it sure seemed like suicide to hit a single ball to the backhand of Pavel, let alone use it as a tactic.
Typically, the AA of this decade avoids taking huge cuts on the ball. Yesterday, when he realised that the spin he generated on his backhand, wasn't even close to getting Pavel to scamper, he visibly increased his backswing, flattened his backhand and let it rip. Except, the ball was coming back and it came back deeper and quicker. Added to that, Pavel did not appear to be the least bit stretched by the effort.
He scampered like a Hewitt/Chang (Nadal remains out of reach), but whenever a topspin was feasible, the fluidity of the stroke, the spin on it and angles he generated were breathtaking. A couple of on the run backhands were simply out of the world, at which point, I wished that Agassi was up against a Gasquet backhand rather than the Pavel backhand! On the run or on the rise or making contact well above shoulder to sending it screaming down the line appeared to be run of the mill stuff.
Playing Pavel could be Nadal's worst nightmare! Enough said...
Last year, in the finals, AA traded backhands with Roger and came off best on most occasions. This time around, the tactic was similar. Not because, Pavel's backhand was expected to breakdown, but to open up the forehand side. Within a few games, it sure seemed like suicide to hit a single ball to the backhand of Pavel, let alone use it as a tactic.
Typically, the AA of this decade avoids taking huge cuts on the ball. Yesterday, when he realised that the spin he generated on his backhand, wasn't even close to getting Pavel to scamper, he visibly increased his backswing, flattened his backhand and let it rip. Except, the ball was coming back and it came back deeper and quicker. Added to that, Pavel did not appear to be the least bit stretched by the effort.
He scampered like a Hewitt/Chang (Nadal remains out of reach), but whenever a topspin was feasible, the fluidity of the stroke, the spin on it and angles he generated were breathtaking. A couple of on the run backhands were simply out of the world, at which point, I wished that Agassi was up against a Gasquet backhand rather than the Pavel backhand! On the run or on the rise or making contact well above shoulder to sending it screaming down the line appeared to be run of the mill stuff.
Playing Pavel could be Nadal's worst nightmare! Enough said...
When words won't come out...
....pictures will have to do.
That's right, this was a party with 23, 736 visitors. What an OPEN this has turned out to be!
PS: When locations don't work out, pictures of the TV screen will have to do!
That's right, this was a party with 23, 736 visitors. What an OPEN this has turned out to be!
PS: When locations don't work out, pictures of the TV screen will have to do!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Picking the positives from the mire at the Oval
First, a couple of thoughts on the incident. Hair penalising Pakistan for ball tampering without warning or talking to the captain and then refusing to show him the ball reeks of officiousness. Pakistan had the right to protest, but their form of protest was plain silly, which is surprising consdering that they had Bob Woolmer in their dressing room (I have an extremely poor opinion of Inzi's acumen and so does Osman Samiuddin). They could have made the call to forfeit the game during tea, or continued to play under some other form of protest. By delaying play by 50 mins and expecting the umpires and the English players to oblige, they forced the umpires to make the hard call, which they did (correctly, IMO). To my dismay, some authors have condemned this decision based on 'the show must go on' idea. If sports is all about the show, leading to the rules being bent every time there is a controversy, then we might as well get the Hollywood stars to run the show. We all know that they are better at it!
Now, unlikely as it might seem, there are positives to come out of this scrap...
1) Darrell Hair: Yes, DARRELL HAIR! For a moment, let's put aside the common Asian consensus that he is biased against the Asian nations. Agreed that that is a whole lot to put aside, considering his track record, but on the other hand, he has been a member of the ICC's elite umpires panel through the reign of the Indian and Pakistani ICC presidents. Plus, he is an Australian involved in cricket. If that is not a valid argument for quality, nothing is!
Like I said earlier, calling off the match was the correct decision. It was a sad day for cricket....YES! It would disillusion some people....YES! But a clear message has been sent across that if a team does not turn up to play, it will be defaulted. At this point, the ICC can debate the merits of the current rule and can advise its umpires the way it sees fit, but at the point of occurence of the incident, the rule was clear and it needed Darrell Hair to implement it.
Now, lets get back to Hair and the contentious decision of penalising Pak for ball tampering without witnessing anyone in particular meddling with it. I am of the opinion that he would have had an inkling of the mess he would be getting himself into by making that call. Yet, he chose to make it. His act of calling it as he sees it is rare and deserves recognition outside of Aus also. It could be a case of foolish stubbornness, but to quote him "if anything comes out at the inquiry that proves me incorrect I would accept that too". Nothing more can/should be asked of any person.
Hair's previous record of calling Muralitharan for chucking is often brought up as a negative. Over the years, it has been clear that he is not the only one that holds that opinion. Quite a few eminent personalities (I am not referring to Bishen Singh Bedi here) in the game have raised similar concerns. Even after all the testing, not everyone is convinced (not that that should matter to Murali). Venkat, Shepherd, Bucknor have all umpired Murali at different points. They chose to endorse his action. Whether that is something they believed or did to avoid controversy, we will never know. But what Hair thinks, we all know!
2) Pakistani solidarity: Yes, Pakistani's are showing solidarity and the opponents are NOT the Indians. It helps a lot that there aren't any former captains in his squad (this statement is open to be corrected. Hard to keep track of Pakistani cricket captains), but the voice emanating from the Pak dressing room indicated clearly that if Inzi is banned, the ODI series would be called off.
Now, let me put aside my hatred for Inzi and get if off my chest by saying that this man has brought together a Pak cricket team that is loyal to its leader (DISCLAIMER: He might be sacked and replaced by .......say, Moin Khan, at the end of the tour by a player revolt). As mentioned earlier, his tactical nous is at best, open to questioning. However, whatever it is, there is something to him that has ensured loyalty from his players. Samiuddin, in this case, attributes it to the role religion has come to play in this team. But for sure, Inzamam's genial demeanour has aided the process greatly.
Inzamam has spoken out forcefully that the ball tampering allegation without proof is a slur on team and nation. When I read that, instinctively, I felt that those were words carefully chosen to gain the backing of his country. My thoughts on that remain the same, now, however, I see where it came from. Mention ball tampering and there is only one country that comes to mind. Former bowlers from various countries have admitted that they have played around with the seam of the cricket ball all through their careers. However, the stigma is almost solely associated with Pakistan. On that note, the manner in which the British media (and hence the public) embraced reverse swing last year during the Ashes was in sharp contrast to the way it was seen when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis deployed it to deadly effect back in 1992. So, accepting the accusation of ball tampering (worse, when playing against England) would have been perfect fodder for a lot of stereotypes to gain strength.
If he honestly believed that his team did not do anything wrong, then, he was right to take on the umpires in protest. He has his team's backing on that one!
3) Ball tampering: Woolmer has already spoken out that tampering the ball with objects found naturally within the field should be made legal. And this is not a new idea either. When allegations of ball tampering came out during the 90s, several former bowlers suggested that if made legal, ball tampering would enhance the skills in the game (of course, if/when made legal, we need to find a different term for it).
Seeing the number of batter's paradises masquerading as test match cricket pitches, this is something that should be given a lot of thought. As is well acknowledged, the bowler-batsman battle is skewed more and more in the batsman's favour. Being allowed to 'work on the ball' would add considerably to a bowler's arsenal and a lot of these batathons would cease to exist.
However, considering that ball tampering is a much misunderstood concept, legalising it might be taking in more than the game can swallow. So, it would require a committee to debate the merits and de-merits of the same before a decision is made. I can foresee a slowing down of run rates if the ball does something through the innings. Whether this would results in more draws or test matches that do not last the distance, only experimentation with the rule can say.
Quite a few revelations have been made since I drafted this post. Woolmer spoke about retirement thoughts (which leads me to believe that he wasn't happy with the decision of his team) and more sensationally, Hair has sent out an email to the ICC asking for money in return for his retirement (to me, this does not indicate that he made a wrong call in the game, but just that the pressure was getting to him). Anyway, the shocks are set to continue through the coming days....
Now, unlikely as it might seem, there are positives to come out of this scrap...
1) Darrell Hair: Yes, DARRELL HAIR! For a moment, let's put aside the common Asian consensus that he is biased against the Asian nations. Agreed that that is a whole lot to put aside, considering his track record, but on the other hand, he has been a member of the ICC's elite umpires panel through the reign of the Indian and Pakistani ICC presidents. Plus, he is an Australian involved in cricket. If that is not a valid argument for quality, nothing is!
Like I said earlier, calling off the match was the correct decision. It was a sad day for cricket....YES! It would disillusion some people....YES! But a clear message has been sent across that if a team does not turn up to play, it will be defaulted. At this point, the ICC can debate the merits of the current rule and can advise its umpires the way it sees fit, but at the point of occurence of the incident, the rule was clear and it needed Darrell Hair to implement it.
Now, lets get back to Hair and the contentious decision of penalising Pak for ball tampering without witnessing anyone in particular meddling with it. I am of the opinion that he would have had an inkling of the mess he would be getting himself into by making that call. Yet, he chose to make it. His act of calling it as he sees it is rare and deserves recognition outside of Aus also. It could be a case of foolish stubbornness, but to quote him "if anything comes out at the inquiry that proves me incorrect I would accept that too". Nothing more can/should be asked of any person.
Hair's previous record of calling Muralitharan for chucking is often brought up as a negative. Over the years, it has been clear that he is not the only one that holds that opinion. Quite a few eminent personalities (I am not referring to Bishen Singh Bedi here) in the game have raised similar concerns. Even after all the testing, not everyone is convinced (not that that should matter to Murali). Venkat, Shepherd, Bucknor have all umpired Murali at different points. They chose to endorse his action. Whether that is something they believed or did to avoid controversy, we will never know. But what Hair thinks, we all know!
2) Pakistani solidarity: Yes, Pakistani's are showing solidarity and the opponents are NOT the Indians. It helps a lot that there aren't any former captains in his squad (this statement is open to be corrected. Hard to keep track of Pakistani cricket captains), but the voice emanating from the Pak dressing room indicated clearly that if Inzi is banned, the ODI series would be called off.
Now, let me put aside my hatred for Inzi and get if off my chest by saying that this man has brought together a Pak cricket team that is loyal to its leader (DISCLAIMER: He might be sacked and replaced by .......say, Moin Khan, at the end of the tour by a player revolt). As mentioned earlier, his tactical nous is at best, open to questioning. However, whatever it is, there is something to him that has ensured loyalty from his players. Samiuddin, in this case, attributes it to the role religion has come to play in this team. But for sure, Inzamam's genial demeanour has aided the process greatly.
Inzamam has spoken out forcefully that the ball tampering allegation without proof is a slur on team and nation. When I read that, instinctively, I felt that those were words carefully chosen to gain the backing of his country. My thoughts on that remain the same, now, however, I see where it came from. Mention ball tampering and there is only one country that comes to mind. Former bowlers from various countries have admitted that they have played around with the seam of the cricket ball all through their careers. However, the stigma is almost solely associated with Pakistan. On that note, the manner in which the British media (and hence the public) embraced reverse swing last year during the Ashes was in sharp contrast to the way it was seen when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis deployed it to deadly effect back in 1992. So, accepting the accusation of ball tampering (worse, when playing against England) would have been perfect fodder for a lot of stereotypes to gain strength.
If he honestly believed that his team did not do anything wrong, then, he was right to take on the umpires in protest. He has his team's backing on that one!
3) Ball tampering: Woolmer has already spoken out that tampering the ball with objects found naturally within the field should be made legal. And this is not a new idea either. When allegations of ball tampering came out during the 90s, several former bowlers suggested that if made legal, ball tampering would enhance the skills in the game (of course, if/when made legal, we need to find a different term for it).
Seeing the number of batter's paradises masquerading as test match cricket pitches, this is something that should be given a lot of thought. As is well acknowledged, the bowler-batsman battle is skewed more and more in the batsman's favour. Being allowed to 'work on the ball' would add considerably to a bowler's arsenal and a lot of these batathons would cease to exist.
However, considering that ball tampering is a much misunderstood concept, legalising it might be taking in more than the game can swallow. So, it would require a committee to debate the merits and de-merits of the same before a decision is made. I can foresee a slowing down of run rates if the ball does something through the innings. Whether this would results in more draws or test matches that do not last the distance, only experimentation with the rule can say.
Quite a few revelations have been made since I drafted this post. Woolmer spoke about retirement thoughts (which leads me to believe that he wasn't happy with the decision of his team) and more sensationally, Hair has sent out an email to the ICC asking for money in return for his retirement (to me, this does not indicate that he made a wrong call in the game, but just that the pressure was getting to him). Anyway, the shocks are set to continue through the coming days....
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Toronto has been interesting, bloody interesting....
Thanks to the way a tennis tournament works, building up through the week and climaxing over the weekend and no less thanks to my extended hours at work these days, I hardly caught any live action during the early rounds. But the matchups definitely caught my attention.
Nadal falling to Berdych was noteworthy. I was courtside when they played each other at the first round of Cincy'05 and the result was the same back then. Similarly, Nadal has a two match losing streak against Blake (US Open'05 and Indian Wells'06). Not being of the opinion that Nadal lets up on opponents not named Federer, comprehending the latter's troubles against the former has proved to be difficult. Lefty forehand topspin rising high to the backhand is the theory floating around and having seen Nadal and Federer play, there is no question that that is a major factor. Logically, the same issue should lead to Blake and Berdych's downfall, considering that neither of these two are acknowledged to have a better backhand than Federer. So, what is it then? Not a clue at the moment, but happily, there are very many years ahead to figure that out.
Saturday was special. Murray taking on Gasquet! To me, Federer vs Gonzalez was a side story when the day dawned.
There was a lot of talk of Gasquet's backhand being a tutorial on how a backhand should be played. While it did not make my jaw drop the way Henin's does, one could see where all the talk is coming from. It was quite easy to notice that irrespective of his position on court, he sends it back 'heavy' with total nonchalance. He doesn't hit too many winners, but that backhand comes loaded!
Murray's play was revealing too. Something that I did not notice when I first saw him playing Roddick at Wimbledon, was how unnatural a stroke his forehand was. Maybe that was due to the unnatural backhand that was in action across the net on that day. Personally, was quite disappointed to note that. However, as the match went on, Murray proved that he could let loose on that side if he chose to. With tactical supremo Gilbert on his side, Murray's career might be set for a quick rise to the top 10.
What an entertainer Gonzalez turned out to be. He has gone around with the reputation of being the biggest hitter on tour. Yesterday, it was all big hitting and it was all falling in. Caught the end of the second and third sets and thorougly enjoyed the quality on display.
Gasquet's had a good week, beating Blake, Berdych and Murray and playing a high quality three setter with Federer. What was more stunning was that he had a 48% success rate at breaking his opponent's serve prior to the final. That is AGASSIesque, damnit!!! Which leads me to something very significant....
Out of the four semifinalists, Federer, Gasquet and Gonzalez, have extremely effective serves, which they use quite well. However, at no point during the three matches did I witness my pet hate on display....serve domination...in other words, the bane of tennis! Instead, there were quality returns, phenomenal rallies and some adroit netplay. The tennis was beautiful!
Now, with all the Murray, Gonzalez and Gasquet talk, Federer has been conspicuous by his absence. That's down to an attempt to avoid repetition. I mean, I could say that he hit the most incredible angled forehand cross court winner from the baseline at the end of a gruelling rally in the third set against Gasquet. But if memory serves me right, he did that twice against Gonzalez and going with the odds, I would have to assume that he did that ten times prior to that this week. So, the easier option appears to be to just sit back, admire it, forget about it and watch the repeat, that is bound to come soon enough.
Tennis is coming up on some interesting times, not the least of which is the farewell to a legend who reached out beyond the sport itself. The US Open should be a lot of fun.
PostScript: After a breathtaking on the run, full stretch, cross court sliced forehand winner by Gasquet, one of the commentator goes "Ohh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhh, How are we going to pick Progressive Auto Insurance's shot of the day?" That STANK! That really STANK the place up!!!
Nadal falling to Berdych was noteworthy. I was courtside when they played each other at the first round of Cincy'05 and the result was the same back then. Similarly, Nadal has a two match losing streak against Blake (US Open'05 and Indian Wells'06). Not being of the opinion that Nadal lets up on opponents not named Federer, comprehending the latter's troubles against the former has proved to be difficult. Lefty forehand topspin rising high to the backhand is the theory floating around and having seen Nadal and Federer play, there is no question that that is a major factor. Logically, the same issue should lead to Blake and Berdych's downfall, considering that neither of these two are acknowledged to have a better backhand than Federer. So, what is it then? Not a clue at the moment, but happily, there are very many years ahead to figure that out.
Saturday was special. Murray taking on Gasquet! To me, Federer vs Gonzalez was a side story when the day dawned.
There was a lot of talk of Gasquet's backhand being a tutorial on how a backhand should be played. While it did not make my jaw drop the way Henin's does, one could see where all the talk is coming from. It was quite easy to notice that irrespective of his position on court, he sends it back 'heavy' with total nonchalance. He doesn't hit too many winners, but that backhand comes loaded!
Murray's play was revealing too. Something that I did not notice when I first saw him playing Roddick at Wimbledon, was how unnatural a stroke his forehand was. Maybe that was due to the unnatural backhand that was in action across the net on that day. Personally, was quite disappointed to note that. However, as the match went on, Murray proved that he could let loose on that side if he chose to. With tactical supremo Gilbert on his side, Murray's career might be set for a quick rise to the top 10.
What an entertainer Gonzalez turned out to be. He has gone around with the reputation of being the biggest hitter on tour. Yesterday, it was all big hitting and it was all falling in. Caught the end of the second and third sets and thorougly enjoyed the quality on display.
Gasquet's had a good week, beating Blake, Berdych and Murray and playing a high quality three setter with Federer. What was more stunning was that he had a 48% success rate at breaking his opponent's serve prior to the final. That is AGASSIesque, damnit!!! Which leads me to something very significant....
Out of the four semifinalists, Federer, Gasquet and Gonzalez, have extremely effective serves, which they use quite well. However, at no point during the three matches did I witness my pet hate on display....serve domination...in other words, the bane of tennis! Instead, there were quality returns, phenomenal rallies and some adroit netplay. The tennis was beautiful!
Now, with all the Murray, Gonzalez and Gasquet talk, Federer has been conspicuous by his absence. That's down to an attempt to avoid repetition. I mean, I could say that he hit the most incredible angled forehand cross court winner from the baseline at the end of a gruelling rally in the third set against Gasquet. But if memory serves me right, he did that twice against Gonzalez and going with the odds, I would have to assume that he did that ten times prior to that this week. So, the easier option appears to be to just sit back, admire it, forget about it and watch the repeat, that is bound to come soon enough.
Tennis is coming up on some interesting times, not the least of which is the farewell to a legend who reached out beyond the sport itself. The US Open should be a lot of fun.
PostScript: After a breathtaking on the run, full stretch, cross court sliced forehand winner by Gasquet, one of the commentator goes "Ohh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhh, How are we going to pick Progressive Auto Insurance's shot of the day?" That STANK! That really STANK the place up!!!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Funny Forever
Ages ago, when the commercials were aired for the the premiere of the show, the humor caught my attention and I vowed to watch every episode of it. D-day came and went, and my 100% track record of NOT adhering to a time table was intact. As days passed, without much of a regret, I made my peace with not being able to watch the show.
One blessed day, as I flipped channels at the rate of knots, I paused at Star World, which was tuned to Channel Number 14 at that point.....30 mins later, Star World had made the biggest jump into the top 10, landing itself at No.5 (tennis fans should note that this was prior to Agassi jumping from 122 to 6 in 1998). Honestly, I have no idea if my 10 yrs and counting love affair with the show would have left base if the episode hadn't been 'The One with the Boobies', but then.....would Schuey be chasing his EIGHTH F1 World Championship if his father did not work at the local kart club?!!! I am just thankful that I caught one of the perfect episodes.
Now, as I watch each episode for the 50th time (and I don't think that that is an exaggeration), there I go, nitpicking on how the joke was poorly setup, or how it was just slapstick, or plain repetitive....but unerringly, at the end of every joke, I am either smiling, or falling off the couch laughing.
Thanks for the memories.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S Forever!!!
One blessed day, as I flipped channels at the rate of knots, I paused at Star World, which was tuned to Channel Number 14 at that point.....30 mins later, Star World had made the biggest jump into the top 10, landing itself at No.5 (tennis fans should note that this was prior to Agassi jumping from 122 to 6 in 1998). Honestly, I have no idea if my 10 yrs and counting love affair with the show would have left base if the episode hadn't been 'The One with the Boobies', but then.....would Schuey be chasing his EIGHTH F1 World Championship if his father did not work at the local kart club?!!! I am just thankful that I caught one of the perfect episodes.
Now, as I watch each episode for the 50th time (and I don't think that that is an exaggeration), there I go, nitpicking on how the joke was poorly setup, or how it was just slapstick, or plain repetitive....but unerringly, at the end of every joke, I am either smiling, or falling off the couch laughing.
Thanks for the memories.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S Forever!!!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Sighter #2 - Andy Murray
This is titled #2, since #1 was the post on Davydenko during AusOpen 2006, even though it wasn't titled so. Of course, the numbers are in chronological order rather than ordered by significance.
Amidst the gloom of Friday and Saturday, with Argentina and Andre Agassi missing out on their respective dates with July 9th, Andy Murray elicited a smile. I had never seen him in action previously and realised yesterday that he had never been past the third round of a Slam prior to Wimbledon'06. But had read pages and pages that dissected his game and plotted his rise to World No.1 among other stuff. You guessed it.....he's British!
Anyway, within a few games of watching him playing Roddick, I knew that I had seen it all before. The deceptive movement around the court, the incredible angles and the clincher....the vulnerability to a power player. That's right....men's tennis has its own Martina Hingis!
Forza Murray!!! oops...wonder where the Italian influence came from. I mean, was it from the World Cup semifinal or the Ferrari 1-2 at Indy this weekend :D
PS: Actually, to be fair, we have had Fabrice Santoro for ages. For those wondering "Fabrice WHO??". Here's an FYI...7-2 Safin, 3-4 Sampras, 3-3 Agassi....that's his career H to H record against those players. In spite of these incredible stats, Santoro has never been able to put together good enough results to enter the elite top 10. Thus, he has hardly ever had the benefit of TV coverage. Exception: US Open'05 - played Federer on Center Court and I swear that it was one of the most enjoyable tennis matches that I have witnessed.
Amidst the gloom of Friday and Saturday, with Argentina and Andre Agassi missing out on their respective dates with July 9th, Andy Murray elicited a smile. I had never seen him in action previously and realised yesterday that he had never been past the third round of a Slam prior to Wimbledon'06. But had read pages and pages that dissected his game and plotted his rise to World No.1 among other stuff. You guessed it.....he's British!
Anyway, within a few games of watching him playing Roddick, I knew that I had seen it all before. The deceptive movement around the court, the incredible angles and the clincher....the vulnerability to a power player. That's right....men's tennis has its own Martina Hingis!
Forza Murray!!! oops...wonder where the Italian influence came from. I mean, was it from the World Cup semifinal or the Ferrari 1-2 at Indy this weekend :D
PS: Actually, to be fair, we have had Fabrice Santoro for ages. For those wondering "Fabrice WHO??". Here's an FYI...7-2 Safin, 3-4 Sampras, 3-3 Agassi....that's his career H to H record against those players. In spite of these incredible stats, Santoro has never been able to put together good enough results to enter the elite top 10. Thus, he has hardly ever had the benefit of TV coverage. Exception: US Open'05 - played Federer on Center Court and I swear that it was one of the most enjoyable tennis matches that I have witnessed.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Can't say that I did not see it coming
Just last night, after spending a couple of hours following reviews of the day's action and previews of Saturday's action from the World Cup, I noticed the headline 'Federer to open against Gasquet'. Totally surprised that that could even be possible, paid a long delayed visit to www.wimbledon.org. Out there, the articles had started, the previews were in and the draw was out. Using Mozilla's text search, quickly scanned through the four quarters of the draw to find out where Agassi was. 25th seed! And slated to play Nadal in the third round. That's if his back holds.
Anyway, read through 'Agassi's Last Wimbledon Hurrah?' and reflected. This hasn't been the first year that I am seeing an article question his presence next year. In the past few years, have read quite of few of those that very confidently predicted the retirement of the man. All this, when Agassi himself has been very clear that he fully intends to be playing the next year. However, last night, I could not get myself to sneer at the article. Instead, I cursed the freak injury he suffered last year playing squash, which completely dampened the momentum from the US Open and set him back this year. So, I guess that somewhere deep down, I had realised that the rest of this year would indeed be his last hurrah. But after it surfaced last night, there was just nowhere to hide. I wondered, 'Does tennis matter anymore?'. Immediate thoughts went to my total disregard for Roland Garros until the finals. I remembered that I didn't even care to read the interviews of the players after the finals. I remembered going to sleep immediately after the last point, not even interested in the prize distribution. Not that I expected Agassi to reach the finals this year, but he wasn't even there. So, did it even matter? Only if Federer won it, I guess. And that too, due to the monumental significance of that moment, if it had happened, rather than any personal interest in the player.
With those thoughts being the last recollections from last night, I woke this morning to the sound of the shrill alarm. 10 mins before Germany took on Sweden! Hastily, dragged me, the laptop and a pillow to the couch for a morning of entertainment. Opening up BBC Sport for a quick scan, I could not believe that Agassi's distinct eyes were looking right at me from the top of the page. The headline read 'Agassi announces retirement date'!!! You would assume that having thought about the same last night, I would be better prepared to deal with it. Maybe I was. Which is probably why the laptop is intact.
Anyway, not being the very emotional sort, I proceeded to read through the contents and the tributes that were already flowing. And then, life continued....Germany scored twice early, won easily from there on, got caught up chatting with a friend and then Argentina came on and stroked the senses. Not quite vintage, but the mesmerizing ability of this entire squad on and off the ball is something to behold. Theoretically, the high from the injury time wonder strike should have lasted the entire day. Surprisingly, it didn't last much longer past the final whistle.
Unsurprising, considering that AGASSI IS GOING TO RETIRE!!!
Anyway, read through 'Agassi's Last Wimbledon Hurrah?' and reflected. This hasn't been the first year that I am seeing an article question his presence next year. In the past few years, have read quite of few of those that very confidently predicted the retirement of the man. All this, when Agassi himself has been very clear that he fully intends to be playing the next year. However, last night, I could not get myself to sneer at the article. Instead, I cursed the freak injury he suffered last year playing squash, which completely dampened the momentum from the US Open and set him back this year. So, I guess that somewhere deep down, I had realised that the rest of this year would indeed be his last hurrah. But after it surfaced last night, there was just nowhere to hide. I wondered, 'Does tennis matter anymore?'. Immediate thoughts went to my total disregard for Roland Garros until the finals. I remembered that I didn't even care to read the interviews of the players after the finals. I remembered going to sleep immediately after the last point, not even interested in the prize distribution. Not that I expected Agassi to reach the finals this year, but he wasn't even there. So, did it even matter? Only if Federer won it, I guess. And that too, due to the monumental significance of that moment, if it had happened, rather than any personal interest in the player.
With those thoughts being the last recollections from last night, I woke this morning to the sound of the shrill alarm. 10 mins before Germany took on Sweden! Hastily, dragged me, the laptop and a pillow to the couch for a morning of entertainment. Opening up BBC Sport for a quick scan, I could not believe that Agassi's distinct eyes were looking right at me from the top of the page. The headline read 'Agassi announces retirement date'!!! You would assume that having thought about the same last night, I would be better prepared to deal with it. Maybe I was. Which is probably why the laptop is intact.
Anyway, not being the very emotional sort, I proceeded to read through the contents and the tributes that were already flowing. And then, life continued....Germany scored twice early, won easily from there on, got caught up chatting with a friend and then Argentina came on and stroked the senses. Not quite vintage, but the mesmerizing ability of this entire squad on and off the ball is something to behold. Theoretically, the high from the injury time wonder strike should have lasted the entire day. Surprisingly, it didn't last much longer past the final whistle.
Unsurprising, considering that AGASSI IS GOING TO RETIRE!!!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
I'm going PUBLIC
All of a sudden, without being provoked, I sent out a mail to this buddy of mine with a World Cup predictor. Why not make it public, I thought.
WINNER - Argentina
FINALS - Argentina vs Brazil
SEMI-FINALS
July 4th - Argentina vs Italy
QUARTER-FINALS
Argentina vs Sweden
NOTABLE ROUND OF 16 GAMES
Holland vs Portugal
FYI....As is typical, the comments section will remain empty, but this time around, updates as the games happen will be mentioned in the comments section. Both, cheers and the brickbats won't be in moderation.
WINNER - Argentina
- Both HEART and MIND say so. They both can't be wrong!!!
- They would have played a brand of football that would send the world into delirium
FINALS - Argentina vs Brazil
- I thought that Carlos Tevez is just another striker. NOPE, was wrong! He will beat Lucio to score the winner from a Messi assist. Sweeeeeet!!!
- Messi would give a live tutorial to the opposing Robinho and the watching Rooney about how a 19 year old should play a World Cup Final
- The 'Hand of God' will be mentioned during the victory celebration
SEMI-FINALS
July 4th - Argentina vs Italy
- Messi will run circles, squares, rectangles and triangles through the Italian defense
- James Horner will be forced to take note of the Riquelme conducted orchestra
- Two technically brilliant teams. Bound to be tight, but there will be space for those that can create it. Holland seem to be playing a little too physical though. One of their key players MIGHT miss out due to yellow card trouble
- Ronaldo would either not play or be close to his best. Cannot see him being persisted with if he cannot move or control the ball like in the first two matches
QUARTER-FINALS
Argentina vs Sweden
- Sweden would beat Germany in the round of 16 stage. I WISH that Germany would win though. That way, Argentina can extract PERFECT revenge for 1990 WC final.
- My sincerest personal apology to Mr.Rooney, but I cannot accept Terry/Lampard going further
- IFFFFFFFF Holland go on to win the World Cup, they would have played Arg, Portugal, England, Brazil and Arg. MIGHTY IMPRESSIVE!!!
- This one is really hard to predict. I hope that France will come through, but increasingly, that looks unlikely
- If France does not come through, it could be the winner of Korea vs Ukraine. Ewwww!
- If France finish second in their group, they would play Spain in the round of 16. And I favour France to squeak through and play Brazil in the QF. Another Ronaldinho vs Henry matchup
NOTABLE ROUND OF 16 GAMES
Holland vs Portugal
- Again, my apologies to Christiano Ronaldo. But the trickster cannot compensate for a fumbling bumbling Figo. Plus Robben and Van Persie look BLOODY impressive.
- Mourinho's long face will only get longer
- This will be THE GAME where Ronaldinho gets the space to dance to the Samba. Even Maradona will be cheering!
FYI....As is typical, the comments section will remain empty, but this time around, updates as the games happen will be mentioned in the comments section. Both, cheers and the brickbats won't be in moderation.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Thoughts from the First Week
It comes once every four years, and when it does, the world watches in rapt attention. Unlike cricket though, the interim period does not ensure heavyweight international fights equivalent to the Ashes, India-Pak, Aus-SA etc. For instance, when was the last time Argentina played Germany? I don't know the answer to that one. But I do know that the last time Argentina played Holland was back in 1998. As you might know, 9 months of every year is taken up by the club fixtures, thus depriving the internationals of any time. Don't get me wrong, club football enthralls and holds my undivided attention. But how about working out a balance between club matches and Internationals? Anyway, this is not the time to moan, considering that there has been enough happening to spark a full-fledged celebration. So, let's talk about that...
Memory can be tricky. There are those that swear that anything past was best, while current trend is to call the latest the greatest. Not sure about my judgment either. But to my mind, the fare dished out at this WC has been nothing short of exhilarating. And I do not remember this sensation during the '94, '98 or '02 WCs.
Being a sucker for the traditional giants, I did not appreciate the sensational runs of South Korea and Senegal last time around. As I write, we are mid-way through the second round of group matches and but for France, all the heavyweights have won their matches and look poised to take their place in the second round. Ivory Coast, Ghana have shown a lot of skill and fight and can consider themselves unlucky to be going out at the group stage. But the way I see it, their duty is to come to the party, make it interesting and fly back at the end of the second week. 270 minutes of glory should be good enough for teams with 1 or 2 stars.
Check this out. If things go according to plan (my plan, that is), a possible list of second round matches look like this..
England vs Germany
Argentina/Nederlands vs Portugal
Italy/Czech Republic vs Brazil
France vs Spain
And before that happens, we have Argentina vs Nederlands and Czech Republic vs Italy coming up from the final round of the group stage. Enough matchups there to make me seriously consider giving up my carefully saved up India vacation time for a visit to an English pub to watch the games. And I might as well have done so if my colleagues/managers weren't exactly watching all the games at work.
Exhilarating is good. Big names are great. Open football is even better. But without quality goals, football would not be the five course meal at Caesar's Palace that it is meant to be. Happily, ever since Lahm started the deluge 6 minutes after the World Cup started, by cutting in from the left flank, and placing the ball at the top right corner of the goal, the wonder strikes have rained incessantly. What about Frings' thunderbolt in the same match....or, the Riquelme conducted orchestra aided and abetted by Saviola...or, Tevez wrongfooting one defender and then nutmegging the next before slotting one home against Serbia....or, Rosicky's couple of blinders against the USA. We are only 1 week into the tournament and I can vouch that atleast a couple of these will rank above the best from '02. And I am not even talking about the one that Argentina scored, or should I say composed today against Serbia. To compare it to a goal from recent memory is travesty. As a BEAUTIFUL goal, to my amateur and prejudiced mind, it ranks above the 1970 classic scored by the Brazilians. 25 passes!!! That's right. 25 passes in the Serb half, slowly working the ball around, treading it through non-existent spaces, building up momentum, a delightful breakthrough pass by Saviola, a magnificient one-two between Cambiasso and Crespo and then an elegantly simple finish!!! 'Beautiful goal' does not do justice and neither does my football parlance.
Which leads me nicely to the form of the Argentines. Thanks to the aforementioned reason about a lack of Internationals between World Cups, I am watching them in action for the first time since 2002, and if you know what happened there, you can be sure that there are no pleasant memories from then. So, to go from that to what the world is witnessing now, is a quantum shift in ability, elegance and more importantly, results (thus far). Two rounds into the group of death, the qualifiers are set and their order to be determined coming Wednesday (Argentina vs Nederlands - the final before the final). Can't wait!!!
Memory can be tricky. There are those that swear that anything past was best, while current trend is to call the latest the greatest. Not sure about my judgment either. But to my mind, the fare dished out at this WC has been nothing short of exhilarating. And I do not remember this sensation during the '94, '98 or '02 WCs.
Being a sucker for the traditional giants, I did not appreciate the sensational runs of South Korea and Senegal last time around. As I write, we are mid-way through the second round of group matches and but for France, all the heavyweights have won their matches and look poised to take their place in the second round. Ivory Coast, Ghana have shown a lot of skill and fight and can consider themselves unlucky to be going out at the group stage. But the way I see it, their duty is to come to the party, make it interesting and fly back at the end of the second week. 270 minutes of glory should be good enough for teams with 1 or 2 stars.
Check this out. If things go according to plan (my plan, that is), a possible list of second round matches look like this..
England vs Germany
Argentina/Nederlands vs Portugal
Italy/Czech Republic vs Brazil
France vs Spain
And before that happens, we have Argentina vs Nederlands and Czech Republic vs Italy coming up from the final round of the group stage. Enough matchups there to make me seriously consider giving up my carefully saved up India vacation time for a visit to an English pub to watch the games. And I might as well have done so if my colleagues/managers weren't exactly watching all the games at work.
Exhilarating is good. Big names are great. Open football is even better. But without quality goals, football would not be the five course meal at Caesar's Palace that it is meant to be. Happily, ever since Lahm started the deluge 6 minutes after the World Cup started, by cutting in from the left flank, and placing the ball at the top right corner of the goal, the wonder strikes have rained incessantly. What about Frings' thunderbolt in the same match....or, the Riquelme conducted orchestra aided and abetted by Saviola...or, Tevez wrongfooting one defender and then nutmegging the next before slotting one home against Serbia....or, Rosicky's couple of blinders against the USA. We are only 1 week into the tournament and I can vouch that atleast a couple of these will rank above the best from '02. And I am not even talking about the one that Argentina scored, or should I say composed today against Serbia. To compare it to a goal from recent memory is travesty. As a BEAUTIFUL goal, to my amateur and prejudiced mind, it ranks above the 1970 classic scored by the Brazilians. 25 passes!!! That's right. 25 passes in the Serb half, slowly working the ball around, treading it through non-existent spaces, building up momentum, a delightful breakthrough pass by Saviola, a magnificient one-two between Cambiasso and Crespo and then an elegantly simple finish!!! 'Beautiful goal' does not do justice and neither does my football parlance.
Which leads me nicely to the form of the Argentines. Thanks to the aforementioned reason about a lack of Internationals between World Cups, I am watching them in action for the first time since 2002, and if you know what happened there, you can be sure that there are no pleasant memories from then. So, to go from that to what the world is witnessing now, is a quantum shift in ability, elegance and more importantly, results (thus far). Two rounds into the group of death, the qualifiers are set and their order to be determined coming Wednesday (Argentina vs Nederlands - the final before the final). Can't wait!!!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Transcript of two of the GREATEST speeches of all time
#2 ---> Bill Pullman addressing the US soldiers before taking on the ALIENS
In less than an hour, aircrafts from here, will join those from around the world, and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. (pause) Mankind huh? (pause) The word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We are fighting for our right to live....to survive. Not from tyranny or persecution, but from annihilation. And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday. But is the day when the world declared in one voice "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on!! We're going to survive!! The day, we celebrate our INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" (applause, more applause, some more applause, lot more applause......followed by the greatest salute in the history of cinema)
#################################################################
#1 ---> ME addressing the Argentine Football Team before WORLD CUP 2006
In less than 12 hours, teams from here, will join those from around the world, and you will be fighting the largest football battle in the history of sports. (pause) Sports huh?! (pause) The word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by petty basketball, cricket and tennis anymore. We are continuing the legacy of Argentina.....of Maradona. Not against Cruyff or Di Stefano....but against Pele and Brazil! And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but is the day when the Argentinians declared in one voice, "We will not concede a goal that night! We will score THREE in the big fight! We're going to play on July 9th!! We're going to win on July 9th!!! The day we celebrate our SEMIFINAL victory day!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
GO ARGENTINA!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL ARGENTINAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In less than an hour, aircrafts from here, will join those from around the world, and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. (pause) Mankind huh? (pause) The word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We are fighting for our right to live....to survive. Not from tyranny or persecution, but from annihilation. And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday. But is the day when the world declared in one voice "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on!! We're going to survive!! The day, we celebrate our INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" (applause, more applause, some more applause, lot more applause......followed by the greatest salute in the history of cinema)
#################################################################
#1 ---> ME addressing the Argentine Football Team before WORLD CUP 2006
In less than 12 hours, teams from here, will join those from around the world, and you will be fighting the largest football battle in the history of sports. (pause) Sports huh?! (pause) The word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by petty basketball, cricket and tennis anymore. We are continuing the legacy of Argentina.....of Maradona. Not against Cruyff or Di Stefano....but against Pele and Brazil! And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but is the day when the Argentinians declared in one voice, "We will not concede a goal that night! We will score THREE in the big fight! We're going to play on July 9th!! We're going to win on July 9th!!! The day we celebrate our SEMIFINAL victory day!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
GO ARGENTINA!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL ARGENTINAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Life goes on, doesn't it?
A little more than 2 years ago, as a graduate student managing his living expenses with part-time work, I failed to comprehend the necessity for a cell phone. As recently as a month ago, I wondered how I could ever survive without one.
Seduced by trend and under the guise of its necessity for the job hunt procedure, I signed up for a 12 month T-Mobile contract and opted for the Nokia 6610. Since Jan 11th 2004 when it landed in my palm, it has been a constant companion through thick and thin and on the few occasions that I left home without it, I felt handicapped and cut off from the rest of the world. The thought of it lying at home, unused and unable to fulfil its destiny, meant that I walked/drove back to get it, borrowed a phone to call up the rest of the world and find the one 'dear friend' who is closest to it and can bring it to me.
Now, all of a sudden, with one month to go on my current contract, it conked out. I guess I am partly responsible. I did soak it in water for 5 minutes...
Anyway, I expected a rough ride for the next week or so before the gleaming new Motorola E815 arrived. Surprisingly, it hasn't been too bad. While at work, if I needed to contact someone, I just looked around and found an abundance of landlines waiting to be used. Strange....I don't remember them being around when I had the 6610 in my pocket. And at home, I am using this old handset that a co-worker offered, which fails to hold charge for more than 5 mins talk-time. Life didn't quite implode the way I expected it to. On the contrary, I don't seem to miss it as much.
It's not the first time that such an 'integral' part of my life was taken away from me and I ended up not missing it as much as I expected. Non-vegetarian food and Star Sports have been two longstanding, dear companions who have gone missing for significant portions of time. And life did go on....
Made me wonder if there are actual technological friends that I can't live without...
1) Car - well, I do not need to party or go out every single weekend. Groceries and work are close enough. So, I can easily live without one
2) Digital Camera - no big deal
3) TV - recent history suggests, no problem
4) Internet - (impulsive reaction) NO WAYYYYY....Hang me instead! (after some thought) well, let's see. Though, hopefully, I would never have to see....
Seduced by trend and under the guise of its necessity for the job hunt procedure, I signed up for a 12 month T-Mobile contract and opted for the Nokia 6610. Since Jan 11th 2004 when it landed in my palm, it has been a constant companion through thick and thin and on the few occasions that I left home without it, I felt handicapped and cut off from the rest of the world. The thought of it lying at home, unused and unable to fulfil its destiny, meant that I walked/drove back to get it, borrowed a phone to call up the rest of the world and find the one 'dear friend' who is closest to it and can bring it to me.
Now, all of a sudden, with one month to go on my current contract, it conked out. I guess I am partly responsible. I did soak it in water for 5 minutes...
Anyway, I expected a rough ride for the next week or so before the gleaming new Motorola E815 arrived. Surprisingly, it hasn't been too bad. While at work, if I needed to contact someone, I just looked around and found an abundance of landlines waiting to be used. Strange....I don't remember them being around when I had the 6610 in my pocket. And at home, I am using this old handset that a co-worker offered, which fails to hold charge for more than 5 mins talk-time. Life didn't quite implode the way I expected it to. On the contrary, I don't seem to miss it as much.
It's not the first time that such an 'integral' part of my life was taken away from me and I ended up not missing it as much as I expected. Non-vegetarian food and Star Sports have been two longstanding, dear companions who have gone missing for significant portions of time. And life did go on....
Made me wonder if there are actual technological friends that I can't live without...
1) Car - well, I do not need to party or go out every single weekend. Groceries and work are close enough. So, I can easily live without one
2) Digital Camera - no big deal
3) TV - recent history suggests, no problem
4) Internet - (impulsive reaction) NO WAYYYYY....Hang me instead! (after some thought) well, let's see. Though, hopefully, I would never have to see....
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Farewell KEANO
This past Saturday, was the last day of the 2005-06 English Premiership season. With the winner decided a couple of weeks earlier, the element of MY interest revolved around two sub-plots
1) Race for second spot between traditional rivals ManU and Liverpool (to ensure direct qualification into the Champions league for next season)
2) Race for fourth spot (thus a place in qualifying stages of Champion's League for the next season) between bitter North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs
There was this third one that kept coming up.....turned out that Arsenal's season ending game would be the final game played at Highbury, Arsenal's home ground for the past godforsaken number of years. As I watched the preview shows, every single Arsenal player/fan seemed to use the occasion to reminisce and worse, gloat about the wonderful occasions that the ground had witnessed, thus conveniently forgetting the 30 point difference between the winners of the Premiership and their very own team. Obviously, this did not go down well with me and I berated and cursed every time I heard something that I did not want to.
After the day's action, with ManU sealing second spot and Arsenal sealing fourth spot, almost all the talk was about the events of the day at Highbury. I just could not see why they would not shut up, or better, talk about the 4-0 mauling that ManU gave Charlton. Talk of crowds exceeding 38,000 at Highbury was met in mid-air by "70,000 Red Devils' fans every single home game" chant from my side. The rest of the day passed by peacefully...
Today, as I finished up with work and checked out BBC Sport, I noticed that ROY KEANE had bumped 'any random' England World Cup news off the headlines. For a moment, I lost sight, lost my reading ability and comtemplated about what RK could have possibly done to cause such a monumental event. Anyway, that one second passed, and I realised that RK was staring at me from a picture taken today, at his testimonial match played at Old Trafford. RK, after 12 years of unmatched service, had left ManU earlier this year and moved on to join Celtics of the Scottish Premier League.
Anyway, I did not have a clue that this match was coming up and my reaction to the news was that of unbridled joy, enthusiasm and a little sadness at the passage of time. Did some reminiscing myself and and also conjured up a scenario where the RK of '99 was fit and raring to tackle the challenges of '06-'07. Arsenal's/Liverpool's/Chelsea's combined nightmare come true!
Already shaking with excitement, I started reading. So, the match was between Celtic (RK's current team) and ManU. RK played for the Celtics and the game was nil-nil at half-time. As the players came out for the second half, RK, came out as well, dressed a little differently. In place of the green and white horizontal striped jersey was one that was RED in colour. It bore the number 16!
Some moments transcend description! MAYBE, Highbury deserved it's farewell...
1) Race for second spot between traditional rivals ManU and Liverpool (to ensure direct qualification into the Champions league for next season)
2) Race for fourth spot (thus a place in qualifying stages of Champion's League for the next season) between bitter North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs
There was this third one that kept coming up.....turned out that Arsenal's season ending game would be the final game played at Highbury, Arsenal's home ground for the past godforsaken number of years. As I watched the preview shows, every single Arsenal player/fan seemed to use the occasion to reminisce and worse, gloat about the wonderful occasions that the ground had witnessed, thus conveniently forgetting the 30 point difference between the winners of the Premiership and their very own team. Obviously, this did not go down well with me and I berated and cursed every time I heard something that I did not want to.
After the day's action, with ManU sealing second spot and Arsenal sealing fourth spot, almost all the talk was about the events of the day at Highbury. I just could not see why they would not shut up, or better, talk about the 4-0 mauling that ManU gave Charlton. Talk of crowds exceeding 38,000 at Highbury was met in mid-air by "70,000 Red Devils' fans every single home game" chant from my side. The rest of the day passed by peacefully...
Today, as I finished up with work and checked out BBC Sport, I noticed that ROY KEANE had bumped 'any random' England World Cup news off the headlines. For a moment, I lost sight, lost my reading ability and comtemplated about what RK could have possibly done to cause such a monumental event. Anyway, that one second passed, and I realised that RK was staring at me from a picture taken today, at his testimonial match played at Old Trafford. RK, after 12 years of unmatched service, had left ManU earlier this year and moved on to join Celtics of the Scottish Premier League.
Anyway, I did not have a clue that this match was coming up and my reaction to the news was that of unbridled joy, enthusiasm and a little sadness at the passage of time. Did some reminiscing myself and and also conjured up a scenario where the RK of '99 was fit and raring to tackle the challenges of '06-'07. Arsenal's/Liverpool's/Chelsea's combined nightmare come true!
Already shaking with excitement, I started reading. So, the match was between Celtic (RK's current team) and ManU. RK played for the Celtics and the game was nil-nil at half-time. As the players came out for the second half, RK, came out as well, dressed a little differently. In place of the green and white horizontal striped jersey was one that was RED in colour. It bore the number 16!
Some moments transcend description! MAYBE, Highbury deserved it's farewell...
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Continuing my 'I hate the press' saga
But first....the best laid plans can go awry anytime. And they often do so right when you don't expect it. Hold on...didn't I just make that point earlier? Well, here's more proof. And it doesn't get much bigger than this. Forget the British BS about him being the 'white Pele' and making cases for Germany'06 to be a Mexico '86. The boy is a genius and that is undeniable. His possible loss is as much an English disaster as a disaster for the World Cup spectacle. Wishing him a quick recovery....
Moving on...Now, comes another incident showcasing British BS. After months of interviewing, the English Football Association (FA) while under intense pressure to appoint an English successor to Sven Goran Eriksson, offer the position to Luiz Felipe Scolari, a Brazilian. While there is some murmur and protest about his nationality, no one questions his impeccable resume.
24 hours later, Scolari announces to a stunned press conference that he has declined the offer to take up the position citing press intrusion as the reason. He makes it clear that he would have loved to have taken up the position, but wouldn't do so after getting a fair sample of what his life would be like after accepting the post. Apparently, within 24 hrs of the news of his appointment being leaked out, there had been an article comparing his relationship with his wife to Eriksson's relationship with his. I haven't a clue as to what the compelling reason might have been to do publish such an article.
So, what happens next? The next day's headline in every major publication is about how the FA has handled the whole affair in a very clumsy manner! Not a single article that I have looked at offers an apology to the FA/Scolari for the harassment. Another development is to install Steve McLaren, the provider of euphoric moments for English football this season, as firm favourite to be next English coach. However, first page is accorded to a story carrying reports of McLaren's affair with his secretary that happened a year ago!!!
If anyone can explain to me that all this isn't about "A story, Any Story", I request you to come forward and help me out.
Moving on...Now, comes another incident showcasing British BS. After months of interviewing, the English Football Association (FA) while under intense pressure to appoint an English successor to Sven Goran Eriksson, offer the position to Luiz Felipe Scolari, a Brazilian. While there is some murmur and protest about his nationality, no one questions his impeccable resume.
24 hours later, Scolari announces to a stunned press conference that he has declined the offer to take up the position citing press intrusion as the reason. He makes it clear that he would have loved to have taken up the position, but wouldn't do so after getting a fair sample of what his life would be like after accepting the post. Apparently, within 24 hrs of the news of his appointment being leaked out, there had been an article comparing his relationship with his wife to Eriksson's relationship with his. I haven't a clue as to what the compelling reason might have been to do publish such an article.
So, what happens next? The next day's headline in every major publication is about how the FA has handled the whole affair in a very clumsy manner! Not a single article that I have looked at offers an apology to the FA/Scolari for the harassment. Another development is to install Steve McLaren, the provider of euphoric moments for English football this season, as firm favourite to be next English coach. However, first page is accorded to a story carrying reports of McLaren's affair with his secretary that happened a year ago!!!
If anyone can explain to me that all this isn't about "A story, Any Story", I request you to come forward and help me out.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Concerted, Coordinated, Synchronized
By no means is the first incident spectacular, thrilling or even interesting (to the reader). However, if you have the same opinion about the second one, you're just letting the good things in life pass you by.
Yesterday, B and I, drove to C's place to pick something up. Situation demanded that we drive our own cars, and situation further demanded that the something that needed to be picked up, needed to be driven back to my place in C's pickup. So, there we were, three of us, each with our own vehicle, ready to drive back to my place. C indicated that he would lead us to the freeway taking an easier route (which B and I did not know), after which we had to take over since C did not know the route to my place. The idea was to stay in visual contact with each other through the drive to avoid any frantic calls on a mobile phone.
From C's place, we had to negotiate quite a few STOP signs and a couple of traffic lights before we got to the freeway. Inspite of a few cars getting between the three cars at various points, through some routine manoeuvers, we managed to enter the ramp in the order C, B and I. Now, we had about 5 miles of freeway to pass before taking the exit to my place. Being a Fri evening, none of us were in any mood to spend too much time on this effort. So, as soon as we got onto the freeway, B charged past C and sped away. Taking the cue, I shifted lanes, passed C and set off in pursuit of B, while maintaining a watch on C. C got the message loud and clear and kept up comfortably. All this at a very routine 75 - 80 mph. There was quite a bit of traffic, thus requiring intermittent lane changes. And as the middle man, I was very aware of the positions of B and C.
Whenever B changed lanes, I followed suit. It was not necessary, but at that point, I was already aware of the co-ordinated movement that we were producing and wanted to maintain it. C did the same to ensure proximity. Proceeding in this manner, we reached the destination without a blip. At the end of this distinctly mundane affair, I felt a certain elation that lingered well into the evening. It got me thinking...
Early Saturday, I managed to catch some of the the Premiership action thanks to Fox Sports Network. Even as I was watching the game between two midtable teams as a complete neutral, I found it hard not to jump out of the couch every time a slick passing move culminated in a shot on goal. The game ended nil-nil but the 40 mins spent watching it sure brightened the weekend. Having had to recently defend football's austere scorelines to a suckup for instant gratification, I thought some more...
Often, the highlights of a football game consist of a couple of brilliant touches followed by that all-important almighty kick that sends the ball into the back of the net. A virgin viewer is enthralled by this piece of action and gets hooked on to the game. I remember lapping up '120 top goals of the year' telecast on Star Sports. Another highlight of the game is that inch perfect pass (for those who are not aware, that is David Beckam's claim to fame on the field) that feeds the striker who lurks in the D.
There is another play in this game that often, does not find itself on the highlights package (unless it results in a goal) . That happens during a counter-attack, when the ball is picked up by a midfielder or better, one of the central defenders. At which point, the wingers on both the flanks are already tearing down the field with unrestrained aggression. The forwards too get their momentum going goalward. From this moment on, with the opposition scurying back to position ready to disrupt this symphony, it is all about imagination and creativity allied to the breathtaking skills lying at each man's feet. As the midfielder skips past his marker and ventures deep into enemy territory, the forward senses blood. He pushes further and further while careful not to fall foul of the offside trap. The wingers too are embarking on a mazy run trying to create space. Just when it appears that the midfielder has nothing to offer and is about to send out a pass to the left more in hope than anything else, there is a blur to the right wearing the same jersey and somehow, the ball is already at his feet. Surprise lasts for half a second (lasts longer for the viewer), with the defender already ready to show who's boss, but the ball is delicately threaded through the non-existent space to the forward, who has timed the run past his marker with millisecond precision. The ball at his feet, the goalkeeper and the goal at his mercy, he sends it on its way with precisely calculated speed and swerve. Alas, just to send out a loud and clear "If only it were that easy" message, the ball hits the inside of the post, rolls across the face of the goal and is picked up by the defender. The collective sigh of the crowd hangs in the air for the next 20 seconds and not a soul is in his seat. Neither am I. There is something about concerted, coordinated, synchronized movement...
Gather a couple of pals, strap on your seatbelts and experience it yourself. DRIVE SAFE!
Yesterday, B and I, drove to C's place to pick something up. Situation demanded that we drive our own cars, and situation further demanded that the something that needed to be picked up, needed to be driven back to my place in C's pickup. So, there we were, three of us, each with our own vehicle, ready to drive back to my place. C indicated that he would lead us to the freeway taking an easier route (which B and I did not know), after which we had to take over since C did not know the route to my place. The idea was to stay in visual contact with each other through the drive to avoid any frantic calls on a mobile phone.
From C's place, we had to negotiate quite a few STOP signs and a couple of traffic lights before we got to the freeway. Inspite of a few cars getting between the three cars at various points, through some routine manoeuvers, we managed to enter the ramp in the order C, B and I. Now, we had about 5 miles of freeway to pass before taking the exit to my place. Being a Fri evening, none of us were in any mood to spend too much time on this effort. So, as soon as we got onto the freeway, B charged past C and sped away. Taking the cue, I shifted lanes, passed C and set off in pursuit of B, while maintaining a watch on C. C got the message loud and clear and kept up comfortably. All this at a very routine 75 - 80 mph. There was quite a bit of traffic, thus requiring intermittent lane changes. And as the middle man, I was very aware of the positions of B and C.
Whenever B changed lanes, I followed suit. It was not necessary, but at that point, I was already aware of the co-ordinated movement that we were producing and wanted to maintain it. C did the same to ensure proximity. Proceeding in this manner, we reached the destination without a blip. At the end of this distinctly mundane affair, I felt a certain elation that lingered well into the evening. It got me thinking...
Early Saturday, I managed to catch some of the the Premiership action thanks to Fox Sports Network. Even as I was watching the game between two midtable teams as a complete neutral, I found it hard not to jump out of the couch every time a slick passing move culminated in a shot on goal. The game ended nil-nil but the 40 mins spent watching it sure brightened the weekend. Having had to recently defend football's austere scorelines to a suckup for instant gratification, I thought some more...
Often, the highlights of a football game consist of a couple of brilliant touches followed by that all-important almighty kick that sends the ball into the back of the net. A virgin viewer is enthralled by this piece of action and gets hooked on to the game. I remember lapping up '120 top goals of the year' telecast on Star Sports. Another highlight of the game is that inch perfect pass (for those who are not aware, that is David Beckam's claim to fame on the field) that feeds the striker who lurks in the D.
There is another play in this game that often, does not find itself on the highlights package (unless it results in a goal) . That happens during a counter-attack, when the ball is picked up by a midfielder or better, one of the central defenders. At which point, the wingers on both the flanks are already tearing down the field with unrestrained aggression. The forwards too get their momentum going goalward. From this moment on, with the opposition scurying back to position ready to disrupt this symphony, it is all about imagination and creativity allied to the breathtaking skills lying at each man's feet. As the midfielder skips past his marker and ventures deep into enemy territory, the forward senses blood. He pushes further and further while careful not to fall foul of the offside trap. The wingers too are embarking on a mazy run trying to create space. Just when it appears that the midfielder has nothing to offer and is about to send out a pass to the left more in hope than anything else, there is a blur to the right wearing the same jersey and somehow, the ball is already at his feet. Surprise lasts for half a second (lasts longer for the viewer), with the defender already ready to show who's boss, but the ball is delicately threaded through the non-existent space to the forward, who has timed the run past his marker with millisecond precision. The ball at his feet, the goalkeeper and the goal at his mercy, he sends it on its way with precisely calculated speed and swerve. Alas, just to send out a loud and clear "If only it were that easy" message, the ball hits the inside of the post, rolls across the face of the goal and is picked up by the defender. The collective sigh of the crowd hangs in the air for the next 20 seconds and not a soul is in his seat. Neither am I. There is something about concerted, coordinated, synchronized movement...
Gather a couple of pals, strap on your seatbelts and experience it yourself. DRIVE SAFE!
Friday, April 21, 2006
When scripts fail
Two men. Long, distinguished careers. Legends of their times. Loved by their supporters.
Wrong side of 30. Slower reactions. Failing instincts. Degrading skills.
Ready to retire, they set the date with a farewell home game in mind. BOTH didn't 'play' to see the day.
Alan Shearer! Sanath Jayasuriya!
Wrong side of 30. Slower reactions. Failing instincts. Degrading skills.
Ready to retire, they set the date with a farewell home game in mind. BOTH didn't 'play' to see the day.
Alan Shearer! Sanath Jayasuriya!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Some good news....actually, make that great news!
Marat Safin says that his victory over Gasquet was his best since Aus Open 2005!!! He's never been an image conscious boy and so, quite often, after a victory, he has been known to come to a press conference and utter that he played rubbish. Thus, when he mentions that it was his best since Aus Open 2005, BELIEVE HIM!
I saw him play at the NASDAQ-100 recently, and while he did manage to win a couple of rounds, he didn't convince anyone. But now, with him defeating Gasquet, that infinitely talented youngster (my tip to be the next big thing, bigger than Nadal), in a high quality match, it is time for the real tennis to begin.
Mind you, never ever believe his "I'm going to commit myself to tennis blah blah". Coz, he is never going to (not anytime soon atleast). He is as kamikaze as Agassi was. And that's endearing.....and FRUSTRATING as HELL!!! You never know what you are going to get when he walks on court, but if you notice a sparkle in his play in an early round, might as well get the tickets for the entire tournament. Good chance that he will light it up. His 'brilliance' does not come with a 'every time' stamped on it, but then if/when he is in the mood, his matchup with Federer on any hard/clay court, will be of a quality that the world has seldom witnessed. While it won't offer the serve-volley contrast of many of this game's celebrated rivalries, it will serve up a sumptuos 5-course meal of returns, groundies and a few net forays.
Here's to good 'tennis' times!
I saw him play at the NASDAQ-100 recently, and while he did manage to win a couple of rounds, he didn't convince anyone. But now, with him defeating Gasquet, that infinitely talented youngster (my tip to be the next big thing, bigger than Nadal), in a high quality match, it is time for the real tennis to begin.
Mind you, never ever believe his "I'm going to commit myself to tennis blah blah". Coz, he is never going to (not anytime soon atleast). He is as kamikaze as Agassi was. And that's endearing.....and FRUSTRATING as HELL!!! You never know what you are going to get when he walks on court, but if you notice a sparkle in his play in an early round, might as well get the tickets for the entire tournament. Good chance that he will light it up. His 'brilliance' does not come with a 'every time' stamped on it, but then if/when he is in the mood, his matchup with Federer on any hard/clay court, will be of a quality that the world has seldom witnessed. While it won't offer the serve-volley contrast of many of this game's celebrated rivalries, it will serve up a sumptuos 5-course meal of returns, groundies and a few net forays.
Here's to good 'tennis' times!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Sergi says so...
BBC Sport, once in a while, gets a former/current player to answer questions for the readers. McEnroe, Wilander, Evert and co. have been given the honour previously. About a week ago, I noticed that Sergi Bruguera was put in the hot seat this time around.
Sergi wasn't exactly a fan favourite (outside Spain) at any time during his career. Wasn't his fault really. It's just hard to develop fascination for a player that loops the ball over the net the whole live long day. Mind you, I am not accusing him of lack of skills, just a lack of romance. Personally, I was never happy that he blocked Jim Courier's way to a third consecutive French Open in 1993. Anyway, he didn't figure in the top echelons of the game for a very long time for me to hold anything permanent against him.
So, this Sat morning, I woke up and looked up BBC Sport for the latest EPL results. There was a lot of good news there. ManU continued to surge and surprisingly (happily for me), Chelsea didn't score a 1-0 win and instead drew 0-0. The reason for that was soon apparent when I saw that Liverpool had scored two. Obviously, Liverpool had complete access to the pool of two goals that they share for the week. So, overall, good day so far!
As I was ready to look up the the other news, something by the side caught my eye. I read it again to make sure that I was reading right. The headline read 'Federer far better than Sampras'. Okay I know, it isn't exactly a revelation. However, its always good to hear more and more people say it (Sergi says so, in this case). Here I am, getting ready to bash thrash and kick out at my favourite punching bag, but I don't want to be completely biased. So, let me state straight up that it can never be an insult to come out unfavourably in a direct comparison to Roger Federer. Mr.Sampras, you're okay for the moment!
However Sir Sergi (yeah, I just knighted him!) goes further.
'Federer has a better forehand, better backhand, better returning, touch and feel'. Again, common knowledge and well documented!
And then comes something that is well known, but to my inherent dislike, not well documented. 'Sampras had the better serve. That was 90% of his game'. Ohhhh, that's coming out in bold in the best seller of 2040, "SPORTS - since 1994", authored by you-know-who :D:D
Many of the legends of this sport, Lendl, Borg, to name just a couple have their bogey Slams....Wimbledon and the US Open respectively (On a personal note, Agassi is conspicuous in this list by his absence :D:D:D). And it always cracks me up when some 'experts' mention that the French was Sampras' bogey. Get real people! When the US Open is mentioned as Borg's bogey, it refers to the fact that Borg had all the skills to win the Slam but ended up not winning it. And to support the claims, Borg lost FOUR times in the finals there (I think that it was either McEnroe or Connors that he ran into during every single one of those finals). Lendl, after having a complete aversion to grass, dedicated himself to winning Wimbledon and ended up with 2 runner-up plates as well as being a 5 time semifinalist (Applause please..). Hence, to put Sampras (a career clay record of 90-54) in this list has to evoke some laughter in anyone who is student of the game. The only great that Sampras compares with favourably on clay is Boris Becker (ZERO career clay court titles), who was foiled in one clay court final by the man Sampras himself.....LOL...that must have been some tournament! Anyway, is it mere coincidence that at Roland Garros, a place that does not lend itself to serve-putaway tennis, Sampras owns a 24-13 record? Mind you, a big serve still wins you those so called 'cheap points'. It's just that the cheap points don't constitute a majority of the points. OOPS....Achilles heel!
Thus, it becomes hilarious when people put Sampras at the top of a list that contains Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg amongst others (I am not well read about the achievements of Don Budge and co). Laver managed to lose six years of his prime and ended up with 11 Slams. And he also had the small achievement of winning the Grand Slam TWICE! Not even a women's tennis player has done it twice (I mention this because women's tennis until recently would have the same two fighting it out in every final, thus having a good chance of winning each Slam in a year). And while Bjorn Borg didn't win the US Open, which was played on grass at that time, he won Wimbledon and the French in the same year for three consecutive years. Mind boggling just to think about it!
Sampras is great because he made the most of his talents, and it is not his fault that he came up at a time when serve ruled the game (though, I fault him for playing the brand of tennis that pushed me to watch a re-run of our 1983 Cricket World Cup win for the zillionth time when the Wimbledon final was on). However, he fell woefully short of conquering his biggest challenge, while previously, men (and one man might possibly join them soon) have conquered every challenge that this game has to offer. Let's not demean them by short-sightedness/ignorance.
Sergi wasn't exactly a fan favourite (outside Spain) at any time during his career. Wasn't his fault really. It's just hard to develop fascination for a player that loops the ball over the net the whole live long day. Mind you, I am not accusing him of lack of skills, just a lack of romance. Personally, I was never happy that he blocked Jim Courier's way to a third consecutive French Open in 1993. Anyway, he didn't figure in the top echelons of the game for a very long time for me to hold anything permanent against him.
So, this Sat morning, I woke up and looked up BBC Sport for the latest EPL results. There was a lot of good news there. ManU continued to surge and surprisingly (happily for me), Chelsea didn't score a 1-0 win and instead drew 0-0. The reason for that was soon apparent when I saw that Liverpool had scored two. Obviously, Liverpool had complete access to the pool of two goals that they share for the week. So, overall, good day so far!
As I was ready to look up the the other news, something by the side caught my eye. I read it again to make sure that I was reading right. The headline read 'Federer far better than Sampras'. Okay I know, it isn't exactly a revelation. However, its always good to hear more and more people say it (Sergi says so, in this case). Here I am, getting ready to bash thrash and kick out at my favourite punching bag, but I don't want to be completely biased. So, let me state straight up that it can never be an insult to come out unfavourably in a direct comparison to Roger Federer. Mr.Sampras, you're okay for the moment!
However Sir Sergi (yeah, I just knighted him!) goes further.
'Federer has a better forehand, better backhand, better returning, touch and feel'. Again, common knowledge and well documented!
And then comes something that is well known, but to my inherent dislike, not well documented. 'Sampras had the better serve. That was 90% of his game'. Ohhhh, that's coming out in bold in the best seller of 2040, "SPORTS - since 1994", authored by you-know-who :D:D
Many of the legends of this sport, Lendl, Borg, to name just a couple have their bogey Slams....Wimbledon and the US Open respectively (On a personal note, Agassi is conspicuous in this list by his absence :D:D:D). And it always cracks me up when some 'experts' mention that the French was Sampras' bogey. Get real people! When the US Open is mentioned as Borg's bogey, it refers to the fact that Borg had all the skills to win the Slam but ended up not winning it. And to support the claims, Borg lost FOUR times in the finals there (I think that it was either McEnroe or Connors that he ran into during every single one of those finals). Lendl, after having a complete aversion to grass, dedicated himself to winning Wimbledon and ended up with 2 runner-up plates as well as being a 5 time semifinalist (Applause please..). Hence, to put Sampras (a career clay record of 90-54) in this list has to evoke some laughter in anyone who is student of the game. The only great that Sampras compares with favourably on clay is Boris Becker (ZERO career clay court titles), who was foiled in one clay court final by the man Sampras himself.....LOL...that must have been some tournament! Anyway, is it mere coincidence that at Roland Garros, a place that does not lend itself to serve-putaway tennis, Sampras owns a 24-13 record? Mind you, a big serve still wins you those so called 'cheap points'. It's just that the cheap points don't constitute a majority of the points. OOPS....Achilles heel!
Thus, it becomes hilarious when people put Sampras at the top of a list that contains Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg amongst others (I am not well read about the achievements of Don Budge and co). Laver managed to lose six years of his prime and ended up with 11 Slams. And he also had the small achievement of winning the Grand Slam TWICE! Not even a women's tennis player has done it twice (I mention this because women's tennis until recently would have the same two fighting it out in every final, thus having a good chance of winning each Slam in a year). And while Bjorn Borg didn't win the US Open, which was played on grass at that time, he won Wimbledon and the French in the same year for three consecutive years. Mind boggling just to think about it!
Sampras is great because he made the most of his talents, and it is not his fault that he came up at a time when serve ruled the game (though, I fault him for playing the brand of tennis that pushed me to watch a re-run of our 1983 Cricket World Cup win for the zillionth time when the Wimbledon final was on). However, he fell woefully short of conquering his biggest challenge, while previously, men (and one man might possibly join them soon) have conquered every challenge that this game has to offer. Let's not demean them by short-sightedness/ignorance.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The discussions have begun
Stung into action by the Cricket needs it's Essence blog, Cricinfo is getting together some smart minds in the game to talk about whether it is time to redress the balance between bat and ball, what can be done etc etc :D Here's the link. Sambit Bal is scheduled to write the final piece. You can be sure that it will be worth the wait.
CLARIFICATION: Due to the obvious sarcasm, I thought that there was no need to be sarcastic while stating that one of my previous blogs has spawned the discussion on cricinfo. However, this friend of mine, Rasan, a PhD student, called me up at close to midnight and asked me about how I managed to get the attention of the editors of Cricinfo :-o So, due to fear of someone else also thinking along those lines, and worse suing me for writing so, I need to issue this following clarification. 'The discussion on cricinfo is an independant idea and not inspired by my blog' (atleast, not that I know of ;) )
CLARIFICATION: Due to the obvious sarcasm, I thought that there was no need to be sarcastic while stating that one of my previous blogs has spawned the discussion on cricinfo. However, this friend of mine, Rasan, a PhD student, called me up at close to midnight and asked me about how I managed to get the attention of the editors of Cricinfo :-o So, due to fear of someone else also thinking along those lines, and worse suing me for writing so, I need to issue this following clarification. 'The discussion on cricinfo is an independant idea and not inspired by my blog' (atleast, not that I know of ;) )
Saturday, March 25, 2006
The NUGGET's gone!
As it happenned, once, during the golden years, when ViM, FSN, MoGa and myself were discussing some of our important achievements until that point, ViM proudly announced that even in a crowded video store, he could get one of those guy movies (just to clarify....more girls than guys in the movie :D) with his subtlety. While FSN and MoGa also managed to flaunt their expertise in this area, I sat there, quiet and unable to look them in the eye. Naturally, this was noticed and led to an investigation. Turned out that while I had scrutinized and reviewed every movie that was ever borrowed, I had never ever done the dirty work myself. This obviously did not go down well with these you've-gotta-earn-your-bread folk. And at the end of the discussion, ViM, in his position as the unelected leader, thundered that if I had any semblance of pride, I should not watch one until I got it myself. So, there I sat, humiliated and humbled, in the midst of these giants of the trade.
Naturally, ViM's order has been disobeyed over the years. Not because I lack a semblance of pride, but more because, some things are more important than pride! Anyway, life has been good since (in every possible way), without cause for much complaint. However, the accusation of being a parasite has always remained a nugget deep down.
Last week, this friend of mine, Sekh, having finished his Masters and having gotten an offer, thus having nothing to do until work started, came down for a vacation and stayed over for a week. Since I was unable to take time off work, he spent the day watching movies and cooking dinner for my roommate and myself. After watching my collection of the good and the guy ones, he insisted that we go to Blockbuster and get a couple (a good one and a guy one) for Friday.
We decided upon 'The Rookie' as the movie for that night and continued looking for a second one. Which is when it occurred to me that now might be the time to flush away that nugget forever. Also, taking the plunge for the sake of Sekh (Since he was the one that wanted to borrow one. I know my way around the internet! Sorry Sekh, HAD to rat you out) made me feel 'martyr'ish. So, taking the case from him after he had pondered 15 mins over the different titles available, I proceeded with short hesitant steps toward the counter. For Chrissakes, it was a girl at the counter!!! I was ready to give up and ask Sekh to do the dirty work himself. Somehow, I gathered my courage, decided on a Now or Never approach and stood in the line.
When it was my turn, I walked up to her, while trying to keep my eyes straight and passed on the 2 cases in my hand (obviously The Rookie was on top). Once I handed it over, there I was, ready to sink into the ground at the hint of a giggle from her. It never came. She was a total pro. Got it from my hands, read the titles, located the DVDs, placed them in the cases and handed back to me within 2 mins. And all with a neat smile. I felt exonerated...
Naturally, ViM's order has been disobeyed over the years. Not because I lack a semblance of pride, but more because, some things are more important than pride! Anyway, life has been good since (in every possible way), without cause for much complaint. However, the accusation of being a parasite has always remained a nugget deep down.
Last week, this friend of mine, Sekh, having finished his Masters and having gotten an offer, thus having nothing to do until work started, came down for a vacation and stayed over for a week. Since I was unable to take time off work, he spent the day watching movies and cooking dinner for my roommate and myself. After watching my collection of the good and the guy ones, he insisted that we go to Blockbuster and get a couple (a good one and a guy one) for Friday.
We decided upon 'The Rookie' as the movie for that night and continued looking for a second one. Which is when it occurred to me that now might be the time to flush away that nugget forever. Also, taking the plunge for the sake of Sekh (Since he was the one that wanted to borrow one. I know my way around the internet! Sorry Sekh, HAD to rat you out) made me feel 'martyr'ish. So, taking the case from him after he had pondered 15 mins over the different titles available, I proceeded with short hesitant steps toward the counter. For Chrissakes, it was a girl at the counter!!! I was ready to give up and ask Sekh to do the dirty work himself. Somehow, I gathered my courage, decided on a Now or Never approach and stood in the line.
When it was my turn, I walked up to her, while trying to keep my eyes straight and passed on the 2 cases in my hand (obviously The Rookie was on top). Once I handed it over, there I was, ready to sink into the ground at the hint of a giggle from her. It never came. She was a total pro. Got it from my hands, read the titles, located the DVDs, placed them in the cases and handed back to me within 2 mins. And all with a neat smile. I felt exonerated...
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Even a Rasna needs its ESSENCE
Pearls of wisdom can emanate from the unlikeliest of sources. That's what I realised when I came across this one by Nirmal Shekhar. Usually, I prefer to avoid his articles, simply because I do not want my blood pressure shooting up after reading about Sampras' supposed greatness in the middle of a report on cricket. Anyway, this time around, due to sheer negligence, I started reading this one and and ended up being rewarded (Diligence pays. YES. But now, so does negligence..plus you can be lazy while being negligent!!!)
The whole world has been going ga-ga about THAT MATCH and how it was the greatest one ever played. It definitely was one of the greatest due to the sheer improbability of the scores and the final result. It's a no-brainer actually. While discussing it that day, I stumbled with words to express the awe I felt when I saw the scorecard. Also, I found myself enthusiastically, first explaining cricket and then, the significance of this match to a few individuals (usually, I just wave them off dismissively and affix the label 'childhood kadalai' to those desis that do not know cricket). Eventually, after the euphoria died down, I found my thoughts turning another way.
Here are a couple of scorecards (one, two) from matches belonging to a different era of ODIs. I did not witness either of them. Yet, the records of both these matches used to show up in most of cricket's batting related statistics prior to 1996. After this recent batathon, I found myself thinking about how I was fascinated by the numbers of those matches when I started following cricket. However, now, I find it hard to remember the number of times that India has crossed 350. I think 'Familiarity breeds contempt' explains it. And I have NO DOUBT whatsoever that 10 years down the line, a 400 plus score would be as regular as a 300 is these days....if the current trends of favouring batting persist.
Not that I know what the perfect balance is. Personally, I prefer 225 - 260 thrillers. But I know that this hypothetical optimal score stems from the fact that I grew up to this game seeing such scores. I am sure that an individual who started watching the game in the 70s wouldn't be happy with bowlers being hit for 4 to 5 runs per over or actually, might loathe the one day form of cricket altogether. My only counter to that (I have to counter it since I love ODIs) would be to play the 'audience wants it' card. Which would lead to a breakdown of my entire argument since any cricket-educated individual can fairly point out that we have decades to go before hitting the barrier of 1800 (36 runs per over :D), until which any crisis talk can wait!....STUMPED !!!
Hence, unsure of my own reasoning on this issue, I deliberated and almost gave up. Enter Nirmal Shekhar (of all people!). He says 'A sport can lose its essential greatness over generations without ever losing its mass appeal'.....and I fall to my knees thanking him. I would replace the 'essential greatness' with 'essence' but he captured it right there. As we move to 400 and then 500 scores, where is the contest between ball and bat (which is INARGUABLY the essence of this game)? The convenient 'audience wants it' card does not hold anymore, does it?
The game is thriving at present, so, why bother is a fair reply. Afterall, filling up stadiums is never a problem in the subcontinent (the breeding ground of the very problem that I am discussing) and the money is flowing in like never before. Then again, it should be noted that the 'thriving' refers to the aforementioned and not the quality of the game.
By no means is juggling and balancing the three (quality, spectators, money) an open and shut case. Nevertheless, the lack of intelligent debate on the same is alarming. I hoped and continue to hope that this match sparks off heated discussions and a few radical decisions to ensure that the bowler breed remains in existence. A few players (Barry Richards among them) have spoken about it and supposedly Shaun Pollock of the bowler breed weighed in with a 'great game!......to watch from the pavilion' remark. All I wait for is a gem from Bhogle or Brijnath or if we are all very lucky, from Rahul THE ONE Dravid himelf!
PS: Nirmal Shekhar, In the very unlikely event of you reading this, this should not be misconstrued as a surrender. That would not happen until you can explain the existence of Roger Federer in context of your hundred times repeated 'Sampras is a once in my lifetime player' :D
The whole world has been going ga-ga about THAT MATCH and how it was the greatest one ever played. It definitely was one of the greatest due to the sheer improbability of the scores and the final result. It's a no-brainer actually. While discussing it that day, I stumbled with words to express the awe I felt when I saw the scorecard. Also, I found myself enthusiastically, first explaining cricket and then, the significance of this match to a few individuals (usually, I just wave them off dismissively and affix the label 'childhood kadalai' to those desis that do not know cricket). Eventually, after the euphoria died down, I found my thoughts turning another way.
Here are a couple of scorecards (one, two) from matches belonging to a different era of ODIs. I did not witness either of them. Yet, the records of both these matches used to show up in most of cricket's batting related statistics prior to 1996. After this recent batathon, I found myself thinking about how I was fascinated by the numbers of those matches when I started following cricket. However, now, I find it hard to remember the number of times that India has crossed 350. I think 'Familiarity breeds contempt' explains it. And I have NO DOUBT whatsoever that 10 years down the line, a 400 plus score would be as regular as a 300 is these days....if the current trends of favouring batting persist.
Not that I know what the perfect balance is. Personally, I prefer 225 - 260 thrillers. But I know that this hypothetical optimal score stems from the fact that I grew up to this game seeing such scores. I am sure that an individual who started watching the game in the 70s wouldn't be happy with bowlers being hit for 4 to 5 runs per over or actually, might loathe the one day form of cricket altogether. My only counter to that (I have to counter it since I love ODIs) would be to play the 'audience wants it' card. Which would lead to a breakdown of my entire argument since any cricket-educated individual can fairly point out that we have decades to go before hitting the barrier of 1800 (36 runs per over :D), until which any crisis talk can wait!....STUMPED !!!
Hence, unsure of my own reasoning on this issue, I deliberated and almost gave up. Enter Nirmal Shekhar (of all people!). He says 'A sport can lose its essential greatness over generations without ever losing its mass appeal'.....and I fall to my knees thanking him. I would replace the 'essential greatness' with 'essence' but he captured it right there. As we move to 400 and then 500 scores, where is the contest between ball and bat (which is INARGUABLY the essence of this game)? The convenient 'audience wants it' card does not hold anymore, does it?
The game is thriving at present, so, why bother is a fair reply. Afterall, filling up stadiums is never a problem in the subcontinent (the breeding ground of the very problem that I am discussing) and the money is flowing in like never before. Then again, it should be noted that the 'thriving' refers to the aforementioned and not the quality of the game.
By no means is juggling and balancing the three (quality, spectators, money) an open and shut case. Nevertheless, the lack of intelligent debate on the same is alarming. I hoped and continue to hope that this match sparks off heated discussions and a few radical decisions to ensure that the bowler breed remains in existence. A few players (Barry Richards among them) have spoken about it and supposedly Shaun Pollock of the bowler breed weighed in with a 'great game!......to watch from the pavilion' remark. All I wait for is a gem from Bhogle or Brijnath or if we are all very lucky, from Rahul THE ONE Dravid himelf!
PS: Nirmal Shekhar, In the very unlikely event of you reading this, this should not be misconstrued as a surrender. That would not happen until you can explain the existence of Roger Federer in context of your hundred times repeated 'Sampras is a once in my lifetime player' :D
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