Monthly Sports Round-up - January, 2007
Nope, I am not going to write about the joke of a game that was last night (If you still want to know what I felt last night after watching the letdown unravel, read this and this). Instead, here is my usual monthly sports round-up.
1) Buckeyes buckle under Gator pressure
This was a game that the Buckeyes were expected to just bulldoze through. I am a big Michigan fan and naturally I have to hate the Buckeyes. But I was actually rooting for the Buckeyes bcos I completely detest any team form the SEC, which keeps boasting that they are the best conference in college football. The Gators coach Urban Meyer is a known tactician but everyone thought the Gators would be no match to the overwhelming talents present on both side of the football for the Buckeyes. But what happened during the game was something nobody was prepared for. The Gators completely dominated the Buckeyes, scoring at will and also not letting the famed Buckeye offense get into any sense of rhythm. The Heisman trophy winner, Troy Smith, was made to look pedestrian and he easily had the worst game of his college career. The pressure the Gator defense brought on Troy Smith was relentless and except for the one drive when the Buckeyes looked comfortable, it was Gators all the way. After so many years, the Gators become the first school to hold on to the 2 most prestigious achievements in college football - National Champions in both football and basketball.
2) India squander lead and lose to South Africa in the test series
This was our best chance of winning a test series against a really good quality side (FYI, I do not count WI among the good test teams of today) and I had even predicted an Indian victory in the test series. And how badly did we screw it up. All they had to do was to bat sensibly on the 4th day of the final test and we could have made sure that we atleast came out with a draw. Instead, our batsmen, including Sachin, bungled in a dramatic fashion and finally, South Africa wins the series quite easily on the 5th day.
3) Australia whitewashes England
I knew this one was coming. Ever since the defeat at the hands of the Englishmen in the last Ashes series, you can sense the fire and the hurt in the eyes of every single member of the Australian team. And when McGrath talked about a whitewash much before the series actually began, many did not take that comment seriously. But I always had a bad feeling that this Ashes series is going to be one of the most one-sided series in recent memory and it was exactly what it turned out to be. The phenomenal collapse of the English batsmen in the 2nd innings of the 2nd test is where it all began and it only went downhill from that point on. England is literally down in the dumps right now, having lost whatsoever credibility they had with an abysmal performance in the ODI series too.
4) Beckham signs with LA Galaxy
Clearly aimed at increasing the popularity of the sport here in the US, the Englishman has been signed to an astonishing 5 year 250 million USD deal, which many say is actually more than the combined salaries of players from 5 MLS franchises. Looks like Pele was brought to do the same many years back, in which he was partially successful. But over the years interest in the sport dwindled and now it is the turn of Beckham to try doing the same. It remains to be seen if he will be successful to revive interest in the sport here in the US. A not-so-impressive performance at last year's soccer world cup by the US team does not help matters.
5) Serena wins Australian Open in style
Serena wins her 8th Grand Slam championship of her career in an unbelievable fashion. In a tournament which she entered ranked 81st in the world and in which nobody gave her a chance, she improved with each passing round and knocked off one seeded player after another, finally getting to the biggest of them all, Maria Sharapova, in the final. It was easily the most lop-sided Grand Slam final that I have seen in a long time, a game in which Serena just conceded 3 games. It was immaculate tennis from the American woman who had gone out of the radar of women's tennis for the last 2 years. She says she is here to say and that she is more determined in her comeback this time around. Lets just hope that she means it, which would only be a great news for tennis fans in the US
6) Federer completes another fortnight in office
OK, this is getting ridiculously monotonous. Federer wins his 10th Grand Slam in the Australian Open. It sucks. Period.
7) Tiger does what he knows best
Tiger begins his 2007 season in right earnest as he registers a come-from-behind victory in the Buick International PGA tournament. This was Tiger's 7th straight PGA tournament victory, which started all the way back in the US Open, last September. There has been this comparison between Tiger and Federer on how these 2 guys are dominating their respective fields. But I frankly believe that Tiger, for all his accomplishments, is not as dominating as Federer. Watching Federer win tournament after tournament, grand slam after grand slam is becoming plain boring, while Tiger's victory in all of his 7 consecutive victories (save for the British Open where he ran away from the field right from day 1) has provided us some great entertainment in the form of the important aspect that sport offers called 'competition', something that is sorely missing in men's tennis right now.
8) Team India back on track
After months of frustration when questions were raised as to how good the Indian team really was, the Men in Blue finally overcame their latest nemesis, West Indies, in a dominating fashion. I was particularly impressed with the way India won the 2nd ODI, when they defended a sub-200 total. That is where the character of a team really stands out and I was glad that we won it. I am no Sourav Ganguly fan (alright, I should word that better - I belong to the Ganguly haters club) but nevertheless, it was good to see him bat the way the used to bat during his glory years. This was clearly not the Ganguly we all saw during the days when India were winning under his captaincy and clearly not the Ganguly who got on our nerves with his repeated failures to go his callous attitude. Apart form that, the biggest news for me was Sachin's coming back to form and his innings in the 4th ODI. He was batting on 85 with just 8 balls remaining and it was gratifying to see him get his century off the last ball of the innings. Perfect script. It was also great to see him win the Man-of-the-match and Man-of-the-series awards at the same time, after so long. Like Dravid said in his post-match press conference, everyone can breathe easy and not talk about Sachin's run of low scores for a while.
1) Buckeyes buckle under Gator pressure
This was a game that the Buckeyes were expected to just bulldoze through. I am a big Michigan fan and naturally I have to hate the Buckeyes. But I was actually rooting for the Buckeyes bcos I completely detest any team form the SEC, which keeps boasting that they are the best conference in college football. The Gators coach Urban Meyer is a known tactician but everyone thought the Gators would be no match to the overwhelming talents present on both side of the football for the Buckeyes. But what happened during the game was something nobody was prepared for. The Gators completely dominated the Buckeyes, scoring at will and also not letting the famed Buckeye offense get into any sense of rhythm. The Heisman trophy winner, Troy Smith, was made to look pedestrian and he easily had the worst game of his college career. The pressure the Gator defense brought on Troy Smith was relentless and except for the one drive when the Buckeyes looked comfortable, it was Gators all the way. After so many years, the Gators become the first school to hold on to the 2 most prestigious achievements in college football - National Champions in both football and basketball.
2) India squander lead and lose to South Africa in the test series
This was our best chance of winning a test series against a really good quality side (FYI, I do not count WI among the good test teams of today) and I had even predicted an Indian victory in the test series. And how badly did we screw it up. All they had to do was to bat sensibly on the 4th day of the final test and we could have made sure that we atleast came out with a draw. Instead, our batsmen, including Sachin, bungled in a dramatic fashion and finally, South Africa wins the series quite easily on the 5th day.
3) Australia whitewashes England
I knew this one was coming. Ever since the defeat at the hands of the Englishmen in the last Ashes series, you can sense the fire and the hurt in the eyes of every single member of the Australian team. And when McGrath talked about a whitewash much before the series actually began, many did not take that comment seriously. But I always had a bad feeling that this Ashes series is going to be one of the most one-sided series in recent memory and it was exactly what it turned out to be. The phenomenal collapse of the English batsmen in the 2nd innings of the 2nd test is where it all began and it only went downhill from that point on. England is literally down in the dumps right now, having lost whatsoever credibility they had with an abysmal performance in the ODI series too.
4) Beckham signs with LA Galaxy
Clearly aimed at increasing the popularity of the sport here in the US, the Englishman has been signed to an astonishing 5 year 250 million USD deal, which many say is actually more than the combined salaries of players from 5 MLS franchises. Looks like Pele was brought to do the same many years back, in which he was partially successful. But over the years interest in the sport dwindled and now it is the turn of Beckham to try doing the same. It remains to be seen if he will be successful to revive interest in the sport here in the US. A not-so-impressive performance at last year's soccer world cup by the US team does not help matters.
5) Serena wins Australian Open in style
Serena wins her 8th Grand Slam championship of her career in an unbelievable fashion. In a tournament which she entered ranked 81st in the world and in which nobody gave her a chance, she improved with each passing round and knocked off one seeded player after another, finally getting to the biggest of them all, Maria Sharapova, in the final. It was easily the most lop-sided Grand Slam final that I have seen in a long time, a game in which Serena just conceded 3 games. It was immaculate tennis from the American woman who had gone out of the radar of women's tennis for the last 2 years. She says she is here to say and that she is more determined in her comeback this time around. Lets just hope that she means it, which would only be a great news for tennis fans in the US
6) Federer completes another fortnight in office
OK, this is getting ridiculously monotonous. Federer wins his 10th Grand Slam in the Australian Open. It sucks. Period.
7) Tiger does what he knows best
Tiger begins his 2007 season in right earnest as he registers a come-from-behind victory in the Buick International PGA tournament. This was Tiger's 7th straight PGA tournament victory, which started all the way back in the US Open, last September. There has been this comparison between Tiger and Federer on how these 2 guys are dominating their respective fields. But I frankly believe that Tiger, for all his accomplishments, is not as dominating as Federer. Watching Federer win tournament after tournament, grand slam after grand slam is becoming plain boring, while Tiger's victory in all of his 7 consecutive victories (save for the British Open where he ran away from the field right from day 1) has provided us some great entertainment in the form of the important aspect that sport offers called 'competition', something that is sorely missing in men's tennis right now.
8) Team India back on track
After months of frustration when questions were raised as to how good the Indian team really was, the Men in Blue finally overcame their latest nemesis, West Indies, in a dominating fashion. I was particularly impressed with the way India won the 2nd ODI, when they defended a sub-200 total. That is where the character of a team really stands out and I was glad that we won it. I am no Sourav Ganguly fan (alright, I should word that better - I belong to the Ganguly haters club) but nevertheless, it was good to see him bat the way the used to bat during his glory years. This was clearly not the Ganguly we all saw during the days when India were winning under his captaincy and clearly not the Ganguly who got on our nerves with his repeated failures to go his callous attitude. Apart form that, the biggest news for me was Sachin's coming back to form and his innings in the 4th ODI. He was batting on 85 with just 8 balls remaining and it was gratifying to see him get his century off the last ball of the innings. Perfect script. It was also great to see him win the Man-of-the-match and Man-of-the-series awards at the same time, after so long. Like Dravid said in his post-match press conference, everyone can breathe easy and not talk about Sachin's run of low scores for a while.
Labels: Monthly Sports Round-ups, Sports
posted by Filbert at 12:40 PM
2 Comments:
I tend to disagree on Federer's dominance. The entertainment in tennis lies in Federer's genius, not the outcome of the match. As many people say... he doesn't keep serving big aces, he gives a chance for the opponent to play. Even though he beat Roddick in straight sets, I truly enjoyed watching his shot making, some shots were ridiculous... But true people would want tennis to be more competitive and for him to lose, but I wouldn't mind if he wins a calendar slam this year... I don't think we will see someone in mens tennis do that.
You are true to a certain extent, particularly about how he gives the opponent a chance in every match of his. Like in this Australian Open final, Gonzalez squandered 2 set points and once he won the first set, it was pretty much a smooth walk for him. As much as I admire his genius, I still can not digest the fact that there is no other player on the face of this planet who can stand up to him. And I do not want to see him complete a calendar slam :)
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