Friday, September 30, 2005

Ordeal at midnight

Here i was flipping through the channels at 1 in the night and i stumble across a movie with u know who as the leading man?Mr. Sonu Nigam..yup the same deewana guy who used to host that sa re ga ma voice hunt thingie few years back.All you have to do is watch this movie for 30 secs to realize that he does not qualify as "leading" or as "man".Let me elaborate...in 1 particular scene he is seen smoking cuban cigars with a martini in hand. I had not bothered to hear what he was saying to the bartender but i wont be surprised if he wanted his martini shaken but not stirred(eat ur heart out 007).Then there is this moment when he kisses the female(who i must admit i really did fancy)... I am now sure why this guy s first marriage did not last even a year cos the way he kissed gave me the feeling that he was searching for straw berries inside the lady s mouth. Grow up dude...10 year olds can kiss better.Another point of debate would me Mr hero s side burns.I cant even begin putting in words, those 2 lines that originated from near his ears and kinda met in the centre somewhere near the chin.He has now had what 4 bites at the cherry(movies) and always seems to come up with something that closely resembles an unmitigated disaster. The funniest part is that he does it with an arrogance on his face and loads of conviction, almost like Marlan Brando in Godfather. On a scale of 1 to 10 i ll have to give him a negative 5. Phew.. i v seen better perfromances on Ram lila stage events.Please spare us the
torture and stick to what u do well..singing.

Elegant Elena


Great things come in small packages. Cliched but very true in this case This babe might not have the looks of Anna Kournikova or the looks and game of Maria Sharapova but she is a piece of work.One can be forgiven for thinking that she is just another one in the russian brigade that has taken the WTA by storm but she stands out.I say that not because she s a long legged blonde with the most beautiful smile on god s earth(if you buy that?) but also because of the way she carries herself on the court and boy..can she hit a ball. Her consistency has meant that she s right up there in terms of ranking.She single handedly won the Fed Cup for Russia this year(though she has a double fisted backhand), which is surely a feather in her cap.Dont let her frail physique fool you cos this lady packs a punch.This pony tailed beauty is a treat for the eye and you just cant have enough of her.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Will Titi leave?


I really wanted to choose a non-sport theme for my next post but this is something that i had to take off my chest and something that has been giving me sleepless nights.
Will Thierry Henry leave THOF(Arsenal Football Club)?
This is the million dollar question facing all associated with this Club.
Henry s delaying of contract talks is sending wrong signals to his supporters.The only person who is managing to remain calm during this whole episode is the gaffer. El prof is very positive about the chances of getting his main man to sign on. Henry s loyalty to his club is beyond doubt, but does this come at a price?
He started out as a raw talent at monaco and juventus who would run up and down the left flank withour purpose.Arsene brought him and transformed him into the world s best player(Though Ronaldinho might have something to say about that).He is now feared all over Europe and has given many a sleepless night to defenders.I was surprised when i found out recently that he has a better strike rate in Champions league than Shevchenko.Strange- mainly because of the criticism thats dished out to him over his ineffectiveness at the european stage.Personally i think that it is his absolute dominance in the premiere league that makes people talk about his European performances. Who can forget the hattrick at the Stadio Olympico against a star studded roma side or the stunning performance against inter at the Guiseppe meaza "san siro" when he made veterans like mataraze,toldo look pedestrian.
The Arsenal team of the late 1990s was full of french players.Henry,Pires,Vieira,Petit,Grimandi and later on Wiltord made up the bulk of the squad.So much so that the tabloids cried out "Arsenal win the world cup" after France 1998.But now with Petit retiring,Vieira and Wiltord applying their trade elsewhere only pires and henry are left, though there are a few young french players like flamini and clichy in the squad.Though Henry s almost part english now, but the lack of fellow country men at club level might make him leave. Vieira left for Juventus in the summer and Pires is only a shadow of the player that he once was(thought i think he ll regain form soon) and the chances of him leaving look pretty high at the moment. Henry has come out saying in recent times that he needs to win the champions league.Thats a fair comment because thats the only medal missing from his otherwise impressive collection.He will also get higher weekly wages at other clubs which might be a factor.
Looking at this issue from the club s perspective, the brand new Emirates stadium at Ashburton grove,will be ready for the start of the 2006-2007 season.The debts are estimated to be in the region of 200 Million USD at present. Will they be able to turn down a lucrative offer for Henry?David Dein had reiterated time and again that Henry s indispensable but the growing debts might make him rethink.
If Henry does leave then there is a strong chance that he might end up at the Camp Nou.Juan Laporta has made no bones abou the fact that he is after Henry and has in fact gone to the press saying that he will get his man in the summer.That will be a sight to behold,Henry Ronaldinho and co running at defenses.
Being a die hard Arsenal Supporter my heart says that he will overcome the temptation and stay on.Also,Wenger will play a huge role in persudaing him to stay as he has plans of building a team around henry. He is also smart enought to know that letting Henry leave means that he will have to find a striker to replace him very soon and thats next to impossible.
I expect Titi to sign the extension in the next few days and put an end to all the rumours.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

The Prince and the Chappell


The latest crisis to hit Indian cricket might be a surprise to many people but i think that it was something that was always on the cards.When Greg Chappell was made coach, i remember having this conversation with a friend about how long he will last.Ian Chappell went on record saying that he would have never taken up this job mainly because of 2 reasons. 1. He would be expected to transform the team overnight 2.The political argy bargy that prevails in Indian cricket, which is no longer played behind closed doors. The way Indian players, Board and Management go about their business is nobody s secret. The inefficiency, ineffectiveness of the whole setup has made it a farce and something that ought to have been changed long ago.The fact that the cricket boards of countries like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have a CEO and the Indian board doesnt have one speaks volumes for itself.Talks of professionalising the whole set up have been going on for a long time but no efforts have been made in this direction and the results are there for all to see. Greg is a hard hitting, result oriented coach and there was no doubt right from the beginning that the "aussie way" would never go down well with the bulk of the players especially someone like sourav ganguly who is so used to bossing and forcing himself on others.
Greg Chappell comes with a huge reputation. He was1 of the greatest players that the game has seen and is a very astute and shrewd individual. There is no doubt that Indian Cricket will benefit greatly from his experience and methods, provided he is given leeway to operate.It is a great surprise to see many former players say that Greg should work according to the Indian Environment, which basically means that he should keep quiet to all the nonsense and turn a deaf ear to all the petty politics played around him.I am sure thats not going to happen and if common sense prevails, the board should back the coach they appointed in the first place, even if it has to be at the expense of their blue-eyed boy.
Coming to the other person in the eye of storm, Sourav Ganguly "Dada" is at the fag end of his career and he should quit gracefully like the steve waughs and Ian healys of the world. He played the whole game very smartly, he opened his mouth after getting a hundred (against a school boy attack) and then decided to wash dirty linen in public.Ganguly has been a good player for India in the shorter version of the game but the deficiencies in his technique and general lack of skill make him unsuitable for the test match version and this is a well documented fact. The days of " through the off side first there is god and then ganguly" are long gone and the only reason why he is keeping a place for himself in the side is because of his captaincy. He lacks imagination, respect of the players and the ability to react to situations which are prerequisites of a good captain. The sad part is that he is oblivious of the term "leading from the front", something which has made former players like Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh achieve legendary status.At the bottom of his heart, he knows that he cannot keep a place in the team on the basis of his batting skills and thats why he does not want to renounce captaincy.The fact that he supports and nurtures youngsters in the team and also that during his captaincy, regionalism has ended are both valid points but they are not good enough to undo the wrongs.When a player of the quality of Laxman can be dropped then why should ganguly get special treatment? Averages of around 20 against Australia and 9 against Pakistan is an indicator of the fact that this bad patch has carried on for too long.A player is only as good as his last innings so the axe should fall on the captain s neck.But knowing the way the so called "people who matter" operate, a truce will be called between both parties and we ll probably see chappell and sourav teeing off on a golf course pretty soon.And Indian cricket will continue to suffer.....