Tonight is the night which promises the end of a Pistons dynasty. There are weaknesses about the Pistons the experts are speaking about and fans are irritated over but I am just going to say that the Heat have been that good. I was watching the Heat-Pistons game 4 and even though it was looking close at the end of the first half with a point separating the teams, the Heat looked firmly in control.

It showed as the gap opened up in quarters three and four - gaps which looked much bigger than they actually were at points in the game. A lot has been spoken on Dwayne Wade. All the praise is rightfully deserved but more impactful for me is the combination with Shaq and the rest of the guys - that damn good for me to win the championship this year. First, the Pistons dynasty must end.

The victory for the Suns to tie the series 2-2 was important because we needed at least one series to go into a game 6 if not a game 7. Else, we could have faced the situation of March Madness - good early on only to fizzle out when it mattered most. The fear was so big that Matthew Sussman even suggested the playoffs to close when the conference semi finals ended. The Suns resurgence is very promising.

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For part 25 of the series, I caught up with Pasha. Pasha is in his 30s and is a huge football fan. Currently, he is blogging at the Angola World Cup Blog. Pasha loves the exciting football Angola play and is following them religiously.

I thank Pasha for agreeing to the interview.

Tell us a bit about the Angola football history and the football culture which exists.

Angola has a very rich football history. The game is immensely popular in the country. As you know, there was war in Angola for many years and that held back the development of the sport. But there is peace now and with our team making the World Cup the potential for Angola to become an African power is very real.

Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.

It was a very exciting time. It came down to the last game. We had to beat Rwanda and by the grace of God we pulled off the victory. We finished ahead of Nigeria, which was a real accomplishment. Naturally the people in Angola are very, very proud of the Palancas Negras qualifying for the World Cup.

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The Quiz - The Sports Quiz will feature once every two weeks. Results will be announced 10 days after the launch of each quiz. Please e-mail me the answers at pratyushkhaitan@gmail.com Comments are disabled in the quiz posts to avoid some one leaving the answers here.

The Prizes - The top 3 finishers living in India (or having an Indian address) will get prizes sponsored by Black Panther. The prizes are as follows:

Third : Pair of Socks + Wristband + Sipper bottle = Rs. 300/-

Don’t get discouraged to send in the answers if you aren’t based in India or do not know most answers as the real joy is in the quizzing itself! The first edition sees more football questions with the World Cup knocking on our doors.

1) Who became the first player to score 50 goals in UEFA Champions League?

2) What record was broken by Monica Seles when she won the French Open in 1990?

3) Who, after 7 seasons with Boca Juniors, was transferred to FC Barcelona?

4) What is common to David Beckham, Graham Gooch and Talvin Singh?

5) Who made his international football debut against Scotland in April, 1999 and went on to be awarded three player of the years for his country?

6) In motor racing, what does the yellow flag with red stripes mean?

7) Which basketball player did American political philosopher Robert Nozick use as an example to explain justice and fairness do not necessarily mean the same thing in Economics?

8) Which chess piece has it’s top in the shape of a battlement?

9) Boston Celtics hold the record for most NBA playoffs finals series wins. Which team holds the record for most appearances?

10) In which sport can teams hit the balls three times before it crosses the net, and only score if they served?

Prizes sponsored by:

In Visitors, I invite one person each week to share perspectives on a sport, a sporting event, sporting aspects or any thing in between. This week, Saakshi O. Juneja of To Each It’s Own joins us to give her thoughts on badminton and the state of badminton in India. If you would like to contribute for a future edition of Visitors, do not hesitate to e-mail me.

By Saakshi O. Juneja

I have been labeled as a “Tom-boyish” girl, right from my childhood days. Barely had any interest in sitting at home playing with Barbie look-alikes or fake kitchen sets. I always out there with the boys and (some) girls, getting myself dirty while playing games such as, ‘Hide-n-Seek’, ‘Chor-Police’ and the likes.

I guess the likening for aggressive out-door activities was built in me right from the start and was further encouraged by my family. Both of my older siblings actively participated in sporting activities in school and inter-school levels. My dad in the early 1980s started a sportswear manufacturing unit in Mumbai and went on to establish a well-renowned brand in India, today.

During my younger days, I skipped from one sport to another mainly cause of my constant need of change or maybe I was searching of my ‘The’ sport. I started with Athletics, moved on to swimming and then finally landed on Badminton. And it has remained my favorite sport till this very date.

During the late 80s and early 90s, one can Badminton as a sport was at its peak. At that time I used to play at with my friends and was also enrolled in coaching practice at Juhu Gymkhana. With only 3 badminton courts and around 50 odd kids cribbing to get themselves on them, it used to really difficult for the officials in-charge, to handle the situation at times.

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For part 24 of the series, I caught up with Geoff Whitehouse from Spain. Geoff is a half-spanish Barca fan living and working in London. His family have been members of Barca since about 1920 - so they always spent the summer watching football, discussing the last season and what would happen the next season.

The first match Geoff can remember well was Barcelona vs Atleto during the Terry Venebales era under Nunez’s presidency. He vividly recalls when they lost that season’s UEFA cup to Steaua Bucharest - as his grandad was so unhappy!! Since then, Geoff says that he has been lucky enough to see some great players - Koeman, Laudrup, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romario, Figo etc.

I thank Geoff for agreeing to the interview.

Tell us a bit about the Spanish football history and the football culture which exists.

God, where to start - there is so much to say that it would be impossible to really put it here. I would recommened people to read “Morbo” by Phil Ball - it charts the history, rivalry etc, perhaps that will help people to understand why Barca don’t like Espanyol.

The professional league started quite late, as many clubs were already in existence. In 1928, 10 teams formed the first league - Barca, Real Madrid, Atletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo, Real Union, Atletic Madrid, RCD Espanyol, CE Europa and Racing Santander. Many of these clubs, notably Barca, were founded by foreigners.

The 40s and 50s saw what many see as the golden era where foregien players were restricted, but Real and Barca claimed their players - Puskas, di Stefano, Kubala etc were spanish nationals.

Perhaps for those who don’t know the best way to explain the culture is the geogrpahy - there is very strong regional indentity within teams - Barcelona’s club motto “El Barça és més que un club” literally means Barça is more than a club. Many catalans, whether they live in Barcelona or not support the club, depsite the region also having Valencia. Much of this, in terms of the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry stems from the Civil War in the 1940s. The national league was suspended during the war.

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Another weekend sees whole lot of sports action again.

• BBC: Milan eye Ruud.

• Crash.net: Kahn wins on Nascar’s longest night.

• USA Today: Pistons-Heat preview.

• ABC: Troy Bayliss secures Silverstone double.

• Slam: Ricky grabs an oar.

• India Uncut: A hilarious football ad.

• Eurosport: World Cup round up.

• More Eurosport: Gaudio sends warning.

• The Age: Handbags at dawn. [Thanks Salil]

• Hamilton Spectator: Hank Barry babe.

Is there any thing you would like featured in the Thursday Decalink? Mail me then.

Action isn’t stopping at the Everest it seems. After the Mark Inglis controversy a few days back, comes the news of Australian climber Lincoln Hall reviving from death. [Via Laura] Read of one of the most remarkable rescues.

There has been action in more ways than one. A stripper has stripped at the Everest the first time ever and as with all firsts, this creates news as well. [Via India Uncut]

Reuters reports:

The head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association urged the government on Saturday to take action against a sherpa who reportedly stripped off on top of Mount Everest.

The Himalayan Times had reported on Friday that the Nepali climbing guide, whose name it gave as Lakpa Tharke, stood naked for three minutes in freezing conditions on the 8,850-metre (29,035-ft) summit of the world’s highest peak.

If confirmed, he would be the first person known to have stripped atop Everest, considered by Nepali Buddhists as a god…

“But if he did it, it is very shocking because Sagarmatha is the goddess mother,” he said, using the mountain’s Nepali name.

Time has passed since the first people climbed the great peak. Nothing fascinates like Everest still.

The Super 14 ended today. The Crusaders won and stuff. That, however, is not the main talking point.

Another look at the picture above and you can see the crazy amounts of fog in the background.

See this picture as well while we are at it:

Poor visibility meant a very different kind of final for the inaugral super 14 than any one expected. There was a lot of entertainment and scores were tied with 15 minutes to go before the Crusaders rode through courtesy Lualala.

Some people talking on the Super 14s:

• Some Super 14 questions.
• Dave Bryant on the Super 14 final.
• Any one saw the fog ball?
• Rugby head.
• Things wrong with super14s.

Check out the SMH Rugby Heaven site for much more on Super 14. [Thanks Salil.]

If you can’t wait for the World Cup, you should catch the table football world cup live on the official table football site. What is table football? There is wikipedia to tell you a lot on it. Foosball, as it is popularly known in the US is superb to play.

I was fortunate to have a table what now seems ages back. Many hours of fun came courtesy that table. In Friends, Joey and Chandler break open the foosball table when the pet chicken gets inside it. We (my brothers and I) didn’t quite have to do that and I can’t remember where the table disappeared. Must get a new one soon!

Foosball is certainly one game which is far less popular and played far too less than it should.

Looking at this ad now, I can’t help feeling wee bit nostalgic!