Sports : life magnified

England’s tour to India was always going to be a big series. England, coming off a series loss in Pakistan, had it all to prove in India. A Test team has to show that it can compete in all conditions and circumstances – then, and only then can it be recognized as one of the better teams of an era. India, having just lost the series in Pakistan, needed to set things straight - mouth watering prospect for a cricket fan.

Then Ashley Giles, England’s number one spinner, gets injured. Marcus Trescothick withdraws for personal reasons, Michael Vaughan, England’s inspirational captain, gets injured and finally Simon Jones, vital in the scheme of things in the subcontinent, decides to join the injury brigade.

So England’s pace attack is left with Steve Harmison (who hasn’t been as effective off late) and Matthew Hoggard (who relies on movement and wasn’t going to be the most important player in the subcontinent anyway). James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Shaun Udal, Monty Panesar and Ian Blackwell aren’t exactly expected to set the world on fire in India. How will England then get 20 Indian wickets? It is certainly an uphill task.

A win looks improbable then. How about a draw? The English openers are likely to be Andrew Strauss (in poor form) and Alastair Cook (making his Test debut and again, not expected to set the world on fire). Kevin Pietersen still has a lot to prove. Owais Shah or Paul Collingwood (whoever is selected) do not compare to the Indian batsmen. England would have to rely on Ian Bell and some heroics from Andrew Flintoff. The more you look at the English squad, the more you realize how weak it is. (more…)

I had spoken regarding the bright future ahead for Barcelona last year some time after they had won their first Spanish la liga under Rijkaard.

The official FCB site says:

Barça are as regular this season as they were in their 2004-05 championship winning season. They have the same number of points as they did after the same number of matches last season, and are also eight points clear of the second placed team.

Add to the fact that fact that Ronaldinho and Larsson are scoring more goals. Larsson, a Swedish and Celtic legend has to fight for his place. Messi is creating the early waves. Maradona has already called Messi his successor.

The players are happy at the club and no one is talking about leaving or making uneasy sounds. They are signing big long term contracts, a process which has continued from last year and are generally happy at the club. Marquez said this on his position with the club:

Things are going very well. The team has, once again, the dynamics to fight and win more trophies and I help that we will be celebrating at the end of the season with our fans. For me, it is also important to keep growing as a player. I feel very comfortable at Barcelona and my target is to stay here for many years to come.

Cable and thus the sports channels have returned to my life. I will catch as much of FCB as I can. I have watched Barcelona build despite the criticisms under Rijkaard. I feel attached and a natural supporter having seen them grow. This is just the beginning.

When a Danish newspaper published a cartoon of David Boon without a moustache, Tasmanians from around the world started rioting.

Courtesy - David Boon Facts

A few months ago, Jagmohan Dalmiya made the point on Sportcentre India that this form of cricket is not in the agenda of India for the near future. The Reason? As its 40 percent of a limited overs match (in terms of overs and time involved), it results in 40 percent of income.

Tim de Lisle points out in cricinfo why a Twenty20 World Cup is the logical step forward:

It is the first professional cricket format to fit into the lives of people who have a job or a school to go to. A typical game starts at 5.30pm and is over by 8pm. For the first time, you can see a whole match without a meal break. Ergo, it attracts people who wouldn’t normally have the time.

Perfect for nations where cricket is merely a sport. In the subcontinent, however, cricket is more than just sport. So matches will be played to packed houses, revenues will come in despite the period of the match. Interest will not recede. In simple economic terms, the demand is inelastic.

The people who head the BCCI have changed. But the stance remains the same in this regard. Sharad Pawar has said:

The working committee of the board unanimously decided not to participate in that for a lot of reasons. The BCCI decided that it was not in the interest of the game.

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Bryant was scheduled to begin training with personal coaches Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Karl Malone this week, but, in the true spirit of his new role as Olympic team captain, head coach, and lone member, he has opted to prepare for the tournament on his own time without anyone’s assistance. Starting at the end of the 2005-2006 NBA season, Bryant will practice tip-offs, work on fundamental self-inbound passes, learn how to play defense, and draw up several play formations, each of which he will be responsible for calling during the games. Although the general response among fans has been complete indifference, many players around the league have objected to the decision, saying that it is unfair to others who have worked just as hard as Bryant.

Allen Iverson had this to say:

Kobe Bryant shouldn’t be the only one allowed to represent our country at the Summer Games. I should be the only one allowed to represent our country at the Summer Games.

Stern reiterated on how 81 points would be enough to defeat most foreign teams.

Gotta love The Onion.

There was a time when I used to reflect on the composition of the Indian test team. There used to some basis for team selection then. The test squad chosen to face England is the latest in a series of many whimsical selections.

Picture some recent inconsistencies in selection -

Famously choosing Ganguly to play as an all rounder in the team.
Dropping/choosing him regardless of match performances.
The treatment of Yuvraj, Kaif. (In and out of the XI, team)
Choosing Parthiv Patel above Dinesh Karthik as reserve wicket keeper for tour of Pakistan. This despite Karthik not doing much wrong.

And we haven’t even gone to the bowlers yet.. The first two tests in Pakistan were on flat tracks. No bowler should be judged based on that. The third test at Karachi was a failure for Zaheer Khan. Ajit Agarkar wasn’t even included in the first XI for that test. Without given a proper run, the two players were dumped.

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Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 after dominating possession and could have scored more than they did. The header from Eto’o sealed it. So that should have been the end of it with all the focus on March 7.

Well this is Barcelona versus Chelsea. The clash which has developed into the biggest game in club football. Of course there was more.

Jose Mourinho, the loudmouth that he is, likes to speak. Mourinho said this on Messi:

How do you say cheating in Catalan? Can Messi be suspended for acting? Barcelona is a cultural city with many great theatres and this boy has learned very well. He’s learned play-acting.

Of course he forgot, as Jonathan Stevenson from the BBC points out:

It is only 17 days since English football widely condemned Blues winger Arjen Robben for theatrically diving to get Liverpool keeper Jose Reina sent off in a key Premiership encounter. There is little doubt that Robben’s acting was greater than Messi’s, yet Mourinho accused Reds boss Rafael Benitez of sour grapes for bringing up the incident in his post-match analysis.

Step back in time at this juncture. Chelsea was down after the first leg similarly. In a few minutes of inspirational football in which they caught Barcelona napping. Chelsea capitalised and took the tie away from Barcelona. Did Barcelona fans cry over the fact that Barcelona dominated possession for much of the two matches last year and still lost?

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The much anticipated encounter between Barca and Chelsea has meant the usual war of words between the managers. No use going into that.

Barca decided to take the sensible approach of practising on the poor pitch yesterday as they are to play the match there itself. Chelsea were bemused Barca wanted to practise on that pitch despite compaining about the obvious poor pitch and offering Barca their own facilities. Well was it that difficult for Chelsea to understand Barca wanted to adjust as much as possible to the difficult conditions?

Chelsea went out of their way to complain to FA when Barca wanted to practise 15 minutes extra and denied Barca practising more than an hour. I do see the concerned Chelsea over the obvious Barca threat in all this.

Barca plays a free flowing game and uses one touch passes. This means the smoother the pitch, the better it is for the club. As Puyol said:

The state of the pitch will affect us more. We like to move the ball quickly and play at a high tempo. We’re not used to playing in these conditions. If we concentrate hard and not give the ball away in midfield where Chelsea are strong we should be able to cope. There are no excuses. We are experienced enough to play on all kinds of surfaces.

Chelsea made sure the pitch was further watered on Tuesday. So the conditions will very tough for Barcelona despite Rijkaard taking the diplomatic route in his response:

Chelsea will be affected by the pitch just a much as ourselves. They have quality players with good technique and skill and they would prefer a better pitch. We are not complaining.

As a Barca fan I will be rooting for the Catalanians. But it will be very tough in the first leg.

Caption?

Justin Langer took on World Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan in a two round exhibition bout. Langer is a a black belt in martial art Zen Du Kai and said:

Inside the boxing ring, it’s the same as when you’re playing Test cricket: nowhere to hide. You’ve got to face a lot of your own fears. If you punch someone properly, it’s like hitting the ball in the middle of the cricket bat – it’s a really nice feeling.

Darchinyan was impressed by Langer but declined an invitation to face Brett Lee in the nets. Hmm.

Langer missed a few tests versus South Africa due to a heart problem. He wanted to play despite the problem and was forced by doctors to take a rest. When you see Langer play, you notice one thing more than any thing else. He is not afraid to take on the bowlers. This despite his short structure. From a grafter he has developed into a batsman who will attack deliveries whenever he gets a chance to do the same. There is definitely lots of attitute and courage in Langer, some thing which makes him such a good test player.

Barcelona-Chelsea champions league encounters last year were exciting, full of emotions and heart breaking for me as a staunch supporter of Barca. There has been the pitch controversy with Chelsea delaying re-laying the pitch. Obviously Barcelona players aren’t pleased. Silvinho said:

I cannot believe it. I have heard they are making the condition of their pitch worse. I’ve heard many complaints about the pitch.

Why should patches devoid of grass be left for such a crucial match?

The latest suggestion by Mourinho regarding inviting Barca to use their training base doesn’t serve much purpose. The crucial first leg will still be played on a poorer pitch than it should.

Well the conditions will be equal for both teams and whoever plays better in these circumstances will be the winner. The pressure is on Barca as they did loose to Chelsea last year, though by the thinnest of margins (goal difference) in the two leg encounter. History will not look at Barcelona going down two years in a row to Chelsea too kindly. It will mean that Barca will have a tougher challenge to be recognised as a great team in the future by many fans. It would be greatness denied. I hope I am smiling after the second leg is complete on March 7th.

Whether it is Shani Davis becoming the first black male to win an olympic gold, Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway becoming the first Alpine skier to win four career gold medals or Janica Kostelic becoming the first woman alpine skiier to achieve the same feat (30 minutes after Aamodt achieved his feat!), there is no dirth of historic feats.

I regret not being able to watch all this action on TV. My TV here at the hotel just has a disturbed Ten Sports. No ESPN, STAR Sports or Zee Sports (though I do not know if any of the stations are covering the games).

That is what John McEnroe said after he showed an extreme level of fitness to reach the semis of the ATP doubles tournament at San Jose with Jonas Bjorkman.

I first watched McEnroe live on TV at Wimbledon last year when he partnered Fleming (once again!) and featured in Nadal pants (or whatever they are called). I was amazed at the agility, placement and most importantly fitness McEnroe displayed.

Vijay Amritraj said then on TV that McEnroe took his fitness extremely seriously. He played regularly in the US and near his house. Watching McEnroe play is a privelege in itself and I understand, if only slightly, why sports from the past era have such reverence for the man because I have seen him play live.

And if you are wondering, McEnroe did scream at the umpire in his most recent match.

Update - McEnroe has won the doubles title as CNN reports.

Canadian Duff Gibson created history when he became the oldest individual gold medalist at the Winter Olympics at the age of 39 (Men’s skeleton title). He broke the record of Magnar Solberg who was 35 when he won his last gold. The oldest athlete to win it in a team event remains, as CNN reports:

The oldest Winter champion for any event is Jay O’Brien, who was 48 when he won four-man bobsleigh gold for the United States at the 1932 Games in Lake Placid.

At the summer games, Oscar Swahn was the part of the Running Deer shooting team at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics which won gold. . He was 64-years and 258-days old. Incidentally he is also the oldest olympian. As the official Olympic site reports:

After World War I, Swahn returned to the Olympics -at the age of 72. He won a silver medal in the running deer double-shot team event and also competed in the individual and team single-shot contests.

With India’s population, it surprises many that India is not a force at the Olympics. R.J.Elliott wonders the same in a comment in Aaman’s recent article:

I’ve always found it a bit baffling that India, with over one billion citizens, doesn’t seem to have much success in either the Winter OR the Summer Olympics…and that they don’t seem to have many (any?) nationals playing at the professional level in the US in any of the four major American sports. Surely there is a 7-foot 6-inch Indian fellow out there who would like to make millions playing in the NBA. Or a 35-pound Indian who would make a good offensive lineman in the NFL. But where are they?

Winter Olympics

Most commonwealth nations have performed poorly at the Winter Olympics. Apart from Canada who had won 31golds and was at number 10 in the all time Winter Olympic medal table before the games started, Commonwealth nations have had little to show. Poor performances at the Winter Olympics is not an India specific or South Asia specific phenomena.

Great Britain have won 8 golds in all, and among them are medals from an era when not many nations competed in the Olympics. Australia hadn’t won a medal before 1994. Australia loves its sport passionately and evidence of that is its improvement in the Winter Olympics. 40 athletes are competing for Australia at the Torino games, almost double the size in recent times. However, I might add that the latest gold medal winner for Australia, Dale Begg-Smith, is Canadian born.

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I will not elaborate further on the joke that has been the super sub. I wrote on it when it first surfaced which can be viewed here.

I am just glad that it is going according to reports. A Twenty20 world championship? Bring it on!

The England under-19 team got thrashed by India under-19 in the semi-finals of the under-19 world cup. Abu Nechim Ahmed was the wrecker-in-chief. At one stage England were 17/5. England ended up with 58 in all and a massive 234 run defeat.

A very interesting discussion is taking place at Wicket to Wicket on racism.

Sport is about trying your best to succeed. If you do not, never mind. At least you tried your best. Applaud your opponent and try harder next time, learning from the experiences of the previous battle.

The sportsmen in the modern era forget this and try to win at all costs. The common excuse given is – sport has become more competitive, there is so much of money involved. Joey Cheek, an American speed skating champion who won gold in the 500 metre race at the Torino Olympics yesterday, donated the $25,000 he won for the refugees in Chad. Sadly, such attitudes are more exception than norm.

While sport simply meant a battle of skills earlier, it means much more today. The media attention, spectator interest, money, external pressures are all there. Players expect more. Spectators too want more in every regard. Expectations aren’t always fulfilled. As a natural consequence, anger results. Anger in displayed in various ways by various people.

I was at the Eden Gardens when the semi-final between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned. Some people threw bottles and oranges. Others hurled abuses at Azhar. Abuses were also hurled at Sangita Bijlani, the actress Azhar would marry after divorcing his wife. India had lost and Azhar was the main culprit as far as the emotionally charged crowd was concerned. In such a passionate state of mind, some people felt the above actions were excusable. Others felt bringing in their racial slurs were excusable as well.

Society has a lot of evils. As cricket grows, it is harder to resist such evils. Jagmohan Dalmiya wanted to globalize cricket which is good for the game. But a level of maturity is needed to deal with the evils which globalisation tends to bring with it. Without maturity, the evils take over and the significance of sport is lost. In the recent past the cricket world has dealt with quite a few issues with immaturity – The Zimbabwe issue, the ambush marketing issue.

I hope some maturity is shown to rid the game of racism or at least shrink it to its minimum.

Joey Cheek won the 500 metres speed skating gold. With it he won $25,000 cash bonus.

What did he do with it?

As you know, there’s been some media but not a ton [about] the Darfur region of Sudan [where] there has been tens and tens of thousands of people killed. My government has labeled it a genocide, and so I will be donating money specifically to refugees in Chad where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes….

Yes he donated the money and urged fellow Olympians to do the same. For him it is not about the money.

I have been blessed by competing in the Olympics in speedskating. If I retired yesterday I would have gotten everything in the world from speedskating and from competing in the Olympics. So for me to walk away today with a gold medal is amazing…. And so, I’ve always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back.

Sportsmen are role models, yes. Sportsmen can also make a read difference. They enjoy a platform from which they can impact several lives by their examples, and setting examples. In India, Tendulkar donates to many charitable causes away from the spotlight. Schumacher made some praiseworthy donations last year. Steve Waugh has set an example in Calcutta.

Sport can indeed make differences in more ways than one.

Hat tip - Road to Torino blog.

Australia have won the VB series in some style after the initial hiccup. Many weaknesses of the Australian one day team, once invincible, are there for all to see now though.

The biggest problem has been the bowling. A look at the VB series stats is enough. Apart from Lee and Bracken, NO one impressed. With Warne (who I believed would be back for the world cup) not looking in that direction (at least for now) and McGrath is future uncertain with his personal crisis the bowling cupboard is extremely bare. Can we really expect Brad Hogg to perform better than ordinary? He is no great force. And even if we consider him to pass the cut, who play the roles of the 4th and 5th bowlers? Watson, perenially injured, may solve a bit of the problem. But guys like Watson, Symonds can play support roles. If some player doesn’t step up, the Aussie team can look to chase big totals against the other strong one day teams.

Regarding the batting - the team has had collapses. With Katich and Martyn not performing at a level required, there have been situations of trouble. It is an area which needs to be strengthened to ensure not losing matches because of collapses. It is an area which Australia can rectify hopefully in the future (with Jacques or some one else stepping up).

But I do not know how Australia can counter the first problem it is encountering.

The VB series showed there are plently of problems for South Africa (specially since the world cup will be played in the slow, low pitches of the Windies) and a lot of positives for Sri Lanka. Without going into those details, the marathon series, often sluggish, has shown a lot regarding the three participating teams.

UPDATE - Peter Roebuck holds similar views to mine here.