August 7th, 2010
India v Sri Lanka one of the tightest and most gripping tests one can ask for. Tendulkar batting. And I can’t seem to take any interest in it. Started watching cricket in 1991 with this match. Have watched a lot of great players like Lara, Tendulkar Warne, Ambrose, McGrath, Akram, Inzamam, Dravid. I can continue naming players.
But I no longer have the patience or the stamina to watch cricket. This coming from some one who used to watch even gully cricket. Almost 20 years of cricket has been time for me I guess.
This is similar to my friend who posted about this here and is not an uncommont though rare phenomena I guess.
This is in some ways a sad day for me but I am normal about it. As I said I am over it. My love affair with cricket ends. I cherished every moment while it lasted.
This is the end, my beautiful friend.
Posted in Cricket | 4 Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
Pretty much all my cricket watched in the said period. I started watching in 1991.
My team would be -
Sehwag
Hayden
Lara
Tendulkar (captain)
Ponting
Kallis
Flintoff
Gilchrist
Pollock
Akram
Murali
Posted in Cricket | 2 Comments »
June 30th, 2010
Round of 16 finished yesterday with the match I enjoyed watching the most so far in this tournament – Spain v Portugal. Spain played possession football and in a style I enjoy watching the most passing beautifully. Both teams created chances but Portugal fell off the boil in the second half. Iniesta and David Villa – both will be considered all time great footballers once their career is all said and done. The better teams went through with possibly the only (slight) upset in Ghana defeating USA. Ghana weren’t all that flash in Round 1 but passed superbly and played at a fast pace against the US playing much better.
From what I find so far, there are two kinds of teams left in the last 8 and there is a big difference between them –
1) The great which have a real chance of winning the tournament – Brazil, Spain, Argentina and Germany
2) The good teams who are a notch below and I hope they don’t create any upsets – Uruguay, Holland, Paraguay, Ghana.
On Ghana, I have fallen in love with them. Their jersey is bloody awesome and I am tempted to buy it. If they defeat Uruguay (which would be tough and unexpected – Uruguay is by far the better side), I will rejoice as one of the things I hoped before this tournament was an African team reaching the semis.
Some people will be surprised I don’t rate Holland that highly but I think that despite being a very good team, it lacks the flare and character of Dutch teams of the past.
One major topic of eternal distress – penalties. The Japan-Paraguay match was riveting. Two evenly matched sides giving it their all. These two teams aren’t as gifted as Brazil or Argentina and have literally no chance of winning the tournament but it was an awesome game of football to watch because the teams gave it their all. It didn’t deserve to end in penalties. Play 30 minutes over times for eternity till a team out does another in a knock out scenario like the world cup of domestic Cup matches. Let football have it’s own Isner-Mahut classic. It is never going to happen but one can hope.
Regarding the technology debate, I have always held the view you should use it in all sports where possible. It is stupid not to.
Given the draw, 99% Brazil will reach the final. Whether they play Argentina or Spain, either ways, it is going to be great to watch. I have really enjoyed this tournament so far and the deeper it goes, the more pulsating it becomes.
Posted in General Stuff | No Comments »
June 18th, 2010
My God. What a game, what a series. Nothing can compare to the Jazz-Bulls encounters I watched in the 90s personally but this came mighty close to it in competitiveness. Both teams were great and wanted the title badly and it showed in Game 7.
This is the most physical NBA game I have seen. The first half was crazy. Lakers shooting what 22%? Offensive rebounding one after the other to help them not get out of the game. Boston played some great defense in the first half against Bryant especially and also Gasol. All the Celtics played their part showing once again the great all round team they have. Paul Pierce played his heart out. Rondo tried making more shots than giving assists and took the initiative.
There were two key moments in the game for me. One when points stood at 57-55 for almost an eternity. Both teams just wouldn’t let the other score! Lakers came back brilliantly. Phil Jackson is a great coach and he identified the problem of Kobe going for very low percentage shots against tight defense. Lakers played some great defense in the second half to step it up.
The second key moment was the Derek Fisher 3 pointer. He is a clutch player and deserves his 5th Championship. There was a debate going on early in the series among the commentators whether Fisher’s number and jersey should go up there when he is all said and done. One of the two vehemently said it shouldn’t but what he has given to Lakers is years of great service and it should in my opinion. In other points, Ron Artest had a terrific game and as Kobe mentioned, ‘the Spaniard’ Gasol deserves a lot of credit in this Championship victory, Gasol’s second consecutive.
The Rondo 3 pointer and almost steal which could have turned it around showed what a fighting team Boston is. This is the first time the Lakers have defeated the Celtics in game 7 of the finals in 5 attempts and they are now only one short of the 17 Championships Boston has.
This match will be remembered for a long time, not for artistic basketball but for the tenacity of both the teams. Just too good.
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June 5th, 2010
The Lakers dominated in the paint, and from there, they controlled the first half. They never trailed in the ball game and held on to their slight lead in the first half courtesy a terrific performance by Paul Gasol. He just took the game in his hands shooting from inside the D.
Kobe Bryant improved as the game went on and had at least two absolute genius plays – one from point 59 – 61 field goal and the other when he blocked later in the game. The Lakers kept on the pressure throughout and Boston finally relented in the third quarter giving in a lead of 20. Ray Allen having 5 personal fouls didn’t help.
I am not a huge fan of Kobe Bryant but his discipline and focus is some thing to be admired. That shot of Chris Rock speaking to Kobe and Kobe not reacting at all looking straight heads on was freaky. As Kobe said in the post game interview “all the media hype, all the attention, nothing else matters” where Kobe is concerned. On a completely unrelated note, I am looking forward to watching a fairly recent documentary featuring Chris Rock where he explores African-American hairstyles called Good Hair which should be a lot of fun.
Speaking about the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, personally, I had been positive towards the Lakers till Shaq was a Laker but completely became anti-Lakers since then. I loved Tim Hardaway and Miami Heat has always been my team. Seeing guys like Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett grow up, I have a soft spot for the Celtics. I want them to win this series but I don’t see them doing it.
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May 17th, 2010
World Records Academy –
SYDNEY, Australia — Australian schoolgirl sailor Jessica Watson, 16, made a triumphant return to Sydney, after a 23,000 nautical mile (about 38,000km), 210-day voyage that saw her ride 12-metre swells, eat 576 chocolate bars in her 10-metre yacht – setting the new world record for the Youngest to circumnavigate the globe nonstop and unassisted.
Truly an amazing feat. Congrats!
Posted in Adventure Sports, World Records | No Comments »
May 14th, 2010
They have a solid all round team with many good players. I am not surprised at all that they defeated the Cavs. My only worry – have they peaked too early? There are still two rounds to go and it is still a LONG way away from thinking about a championship.
Posted in NBA | No Comments »
