Fashion code at Wimbledon

Sometime during the next couple of weeks, if you hear that one of the players in the womens' draw at Wimbledon has been suspended, the reason could well be this!

It's time common sense prevailed!

Already far too many yellow cards have been handed out in the first 10 days of the World Cup. The referees have been too harsh on not so severe tackles. On top of the several frivolous cards handed out, here is one instance where a yellow card was issued because the player took the penalty too early! Come on. Given that two yellow cards can lead to the player being suspended for a game, yellow cards cannot be handed out for such minor offences. It's high time some common sense prevailed in FIFA.

Sporty Professor in charge of U.S. Soccer

This certainly comes as a shock to me. All of us know the popularity of soccer in India pales in comparison to that of cricket. And, we also know that both the male and female soccer teams representing the US are far superior compared to their Indian counterparts. Yet, the head of the US soccer federation is an Indian -- Sunil Gulati. Even more surprising is that managing soccer is one of his secondary activities. Sunil's day job is as an economics professor at Columbia University! Check out the article linked above to read his amazing story. Certainly an inspiration for people like me, who lack the skill to play any sport, that enthusiasm for sports can be sustained as life goes on.

Keeping it Simple

Brazil's play may be a bit scratchy at the moment, but atleast their lineup has been kept simple -- their starters are appropriately numbered 1 to 11. I like that :)

Must ridiculous suggestion ever?

India's minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Mani Shankar Aiyar, says India might make a bid for hosting the football World Cup in 2014. I'm in complete consensus with the comments that follow the linked article -- Mani Shankar has gone nuts! I still distinctly remember the time when PSV Eindhoven had come over to India to play three games with the national team. I think the best result we obtained in those three games was an 8-2 defeat :)

Warnie joins the blogosphere

Shane Warne starts off a new blog, on which he says he is going to be posting once a week. Nothing really of interest in his first post. But, anyway, yet another blog to keep track of ...

Questions

How is it possible to have a written round in a spelling contest?!!

(Well, for those wondering how this is relevent to this blog, the Spelling Bee competition can be considered to be a mental sport!)

Update: I have another question. In cricket, the bowler's rhythm is largely determined by his run-up. Similarly, in tennis, why doesn't the consistency of the serve depend on how many feet away from the center-line does the player serve from? I never see any player marking the spot along the baseline from which he/she wants to serve.

The Tricky Tradeoff

Sportsmen are always up against a tricky proposition in preparing for a game. Every sportsman hopes to have undergone sufficient practice before the game, and for the practice to be beneficial, it should be as close to conditions during the game as possible. Practice ensures that the player is "in the flow" as soon as the match begins, and his decisions are made almost by instinct. However, match-quality practice does not come without its downsides. More practice not only hones the player's skills but also makes him tired. Even worse is that practice that simulates real game conditions exposes the player to the risk of injury as bad as that in a real game. In essence, the player faces this tricky tradeoff - practice ensures he's fit for the game, but also makes it possible that he does not even play the game!

Well, reading that para over, it reads almost like a paper abstract :D Anyway, I had this "startling" relevation about the tricky tradeoff (must be obvious by now I like that phrase) after all the friendlies being played out in preparation for the World Cup. Germany's key player, Michael Ballack, was injured in the friendly against Colombia. Three Holland players were injured in the game against Australia. Atleast these players are hopeful of recovering before their countries' World Cup sojourn begins. Cisse, the man supposed to partner Thierry Henry, is out of the tournament after picking up a knee injury in the warmup game against China. After these incidents, I'm not sure if it is a wise decision to play warmup football games. Especially, considering that the chances of picking up an injury in football are higher than in other sports. But, I guess the players are enticed by the other side of the tricky tradeoff (ah, how can I miss an opportunity to use that phrase again!) -- practice ensures they are match fit. As of now though, it looks like the number of players ruled out of the World Cup will increase with every additional warmup game. Thankfully, the tournament begins in less than 36 hours, which implies no more friendlies :)

England == India?

In my view, the English football team is similar to the Indian cricket team. Both teams look extremely strong on paper and the media never wastes an opportunity to spin up a frenzy about either team's chances. Rooney and Owen in the front, Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham in midfield, and John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell at the back. Similar to how Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman were hailed as the best middle order, the English team appears invincible based on the star value of its members. But, just like the Indian middle order that rarely fired in unison, I am skeptical about England's chances at the World Cup. I can't really put my finger on a particular reason for my pessimism. But, based on past experience, my hopes for England are not too high. There was similar hoopla about England in the last World Cup as well as during Euro 2004. And, on both occasions, the English challenge just fizzled out. If the scan of Rooney's foot tomorrow shows that he will be able to play (I believe at the earlier from the third match of the first round), I am sure the hype will be raised to another level. I am not certainly buying into the hype as yet ...

BTW, what the hell has Lara been smoking?!! To quote him:

At the end of the day, it's a sport you're playing and you got to trust the guy who you're playing against. There are situations where we can't come to a decision. Of course, it's left to the umpires. But if we can't back each other as a team, it doesn't say much for the sport. I just felt that the spirit of the game was being tested.

Let's make things clear. Dhoni says that Ganga himself told him that he wasn't sure whether his boots touched the ropes. And, there has been no statement from anyone contradicting this. Then, where the hell does the question of trust arise? The fielder himself is not sure whether the catch was legit, and Lara wants people to trust his guy! Either it must be really hot in the Caribbean, or it is time to put Lara through a doping test :)

I miss Sportstar

In the last couple of months, I've been repeating this to several of the Indians around me. I really miss Sportstar (yes, that weekly publication from the Hindu group; not any particular "sport start"). Cricinfo and the Sports page on Google News give me lots of info. But, there's no substitute for the coverage offered by Sportstar across a wide range of sports. It had news on everything ranging from cricket to kabaddi, and from golf to boxing. The range offered by Google News pales in comparison.

I'm really looking forward to reading the one and half year long backlog of Sportstar editions when I return home next month ...

Update: BTW, I found out that the Sportstar's articles are now available online. But, technology hasn't improved as much yet that browsing a website can replace scanning through a book :)

Also, was surprised to find an entry for Sportstar in Wikipedia. Sadly, the entry incorrectly claims that Sportstar covers only sports in India. Interestingly, the entry also claims Sportstar recently switched from being a magazine to a tabloid. Will have to wait till I get to India to find out more about this.

"Cricinfo" for football

The football World Cup (yes, after the realization in my previous post, I've decided not to call it soccer any longer) is just a week away, but I feel I'm hardly into the thick of things. Other than all the hype about Rooney's metatarsal, I have read pretty much nothing related to the World Cup in the past week. This clearly shows I need to look out for new sources of information. Google News is filled with too much crap about MLB's regular season.

So, is there any good site out there for keeping track of news related to the football World Cup? Thanks.