Monthly Sports Round-Up - February 2007
Tiger loses at the Dubai Open
These days, anytime Tiger loses, it is news (and not the other way around). Hence this entry. Tiger loses in the Dubai Desert Classic, coming behind winner Henrik Stenson and second placed Ernie Els. Since the Dubai tournament is not officially part of the PGA tour (it is part of the European tour), Tiger's streak of 6 continuous wins on the PGA tour is still safe. The final day saw Tiger staging his popular comeback once again before poor putting let him down and as he fell short by 2 strokes at the end. The presence of stars like Federer and Schumacher at the tournament not only increased the glamour quotient but also was a telling proof of the growing popularity of the tournament in the desert.
Manning finally gets the monkey off his back
In a Superbowl that was as sloppy as the South Florida weather, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears to win their first Championship in 31 years and their first since moving over from Baltimore to Indianapolis. Critics and Nay-sayers had repeatedly asked questions if Peyton Manning, arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, would be able to win the big one and Manning responded in kind with a MVP performance in the Super bowl. Though I will have to say that IMO the MVP award should have been given to the Colts RBs - Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai. The organizers just went with the more popular and emotional choice, that is Manning. Like I had written here, the way the game would be decided, depended heavily on one man - Rex Grossman. And unfortunately for the Bears and their fans, the terrible Rex showed up to work and once Dungy sensed that, the game was good as over. I mean, the guy couldn’t even collect the ball cleanly from the center. The Bears defense stayed on the field for a whopping 36 out of the 60 minutes and with no help from their team-mates on the offensive side, helped the Bears stay within 5 points until the 4th quarter but finally gave in. So, there it is - Manning & Dungy get the monkeys off their backs and the NFL has a new champion. (On a side note, if you are a NFL fan, this one is a good read)
Mumbai - Ranji trophy champions again
Well, Mumbai does it again. Ranji Trophy finals is something which we rarely talk about but not when a resurgent Sachin and comeback kid Ganguly are squaring off on the opposite sides. Sachin plays 2 crucial innings in both the innings, including a well-made century in the first innings for Mumbai while Ganguly, after falling prey to Zaheer Khan for a duck for the umpteenth time in domestic cricket, almost accomplishes 'Mission impossible' of helping Bengal chase an improbable 472 in the 4th innings. Ultimately, Bengal's first innings capitulation for 143 proved to be the decisive factor in the final outcome of the game and Zaheer with 9 wickets deservedly won the man-of-the-match award. It was a riveting game to follow and a game that surely lived up to the billing it received prior to the game. Fittingly, the channel that telecast the game saw it ratings take a huge jump for the game. It is amazing how Mumbai continues to dominate the domestic cricket scenario in India, with this 37th Ranji trophy championship in the tournament's 70+ year old history.
England salvage some pride
First time in 15 years, the Aussies have been beaten at the annual tri-series tournament where they have always dominated. That tri-series usually follows the test series where the Aussies in the last decade have made it a habit of decimating the opposition that the opposing teams would be already waiting to go home by the time the ODI series starts. Then, the Aussies provide the killer punch. The teams change - India, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka but the scenarios have played perfectly to script. And that's how the 5-0 drubbed Englishmen started the ODI series too, in complete shambles. Things didn’t get better even half-way into the series. But in a remarkable transformation, they came back and won the last 3 games of the round robin phase and qualified for the finals. And it was the finals where they managed to do the impossible - sweep Australia 2-0 in the best of 3 finals. Even a 2-1 victory in the finals would have taken some gloss out of this victory. Beating Australia exactly the same way they have been beating all other teams (drubbing in the finals) was such a sweet thing to watch.
India warms up to the big dance with a series win over Sri Lanka
In a series that was billed as the warm-up to the World Cup, both the Lankans and the Indians played their hearts out. Inspite of a phenomenal collapse in the first ODI that handed the game on a platter to the Lankans, Team India came back rather strongly and finished off the series in style in the 3rd and final ODI. Almost all the missing pieces of the puzzle seem to have been solved and Chappell & Dravid should be happy men, as far as their mindset for the big one goes. Ganguly continued his dream return to the Indian side with a man-of-the-series performance. But personally to me, what was more heartening to see was the return to form of Yuvraj, who is going to be the mainstay of our lower-middle-order along with Dhoni. The World Cup squad that was announced mid-way through the series did not hold any surprises. The only thing that caught everybody’s attention was Kumble’s inclusion and Powar’s exclusion. But Powar’s failures with the bat haven’t helped his cause and Dravid’s affinity towards Kumble made sure that Kumble found a place in the squad. IMHO, the squad looks pretty balanced (atleast on paper). My starting XI would be something like this: Ganguly, Robin, Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer, Agarkar, Munaf and Harbhajan.
Longest tenure at number 1 for Federer
Another long held tennis record falls, as Federer's tenure atop the ATP men's ranking stretches to 161 straight weeks, thus beating the previous 30-year old record of 160 weeks that was conjured up by the legendary Jimmy Connors. As I read somewhere, if only Jimmy Connors had done a better job (of coaching Andy Roddick so that he could have beaten Federer), his record would have been safe. The way this guy is playing, it is only a matter of couple of years before every conceivable record in the tennis history books will be in his name, including the most treasured of them all - most number of Grand Slam victories, currently held by the inimitable Pete Sampras. Federer has 10 titles against 14 held by Sampras. Nobody is going to beat him at Wimbledon and even assuming he loses at the French Open, both this year and the next to Nadal (or some other Spanish player), the 2008 US Open will see him breaking Sampras's holy record. My prayers to God are only getting more earnest - Dear God, please send someone to stop this guy. It is getting plain boring to watch this disaster unfold.
NBA trade deadline passes away without incidents
This is not something I would be very excited about. Not certainly something I would write about in my monthly sports round-up. But I am writing about this here bcos of the potential trade between the Nets and the Lakers which would have sent Jason Kidd to the Lakers. I am a big Lakers fan and I seriously felt that Kidd would have filled in the last piece that the Lakers team is missing. Though many were skeptical about how Jason Kidd would have been beneficial to the Lakers with their triangle offense, I was so much looking forward to the spectacle of watching Jason Kidd feed off passes to Kobe. Even the other potential big trades didn’t go through - Kevin Garnett did not go anywhere and Mike Bibby stayed put at Sacramento. Overall, the NBA trade deadline turned out to be one big anti-climatic day.
These days, anytime Tiger loses, it is news (and not the other way around). Hence this entry. Tiger loses in the Dubai Desert Classic, coming behind winner Henrik Stenson and second placed Ernie Els. Since the Dubai tournament is not officially part of the PGA tour (it is part of the European tour), Tiger's streak of 6 continuous wins on the PGA tour is still safe. The final day saw Tiger staging his popular comeback once again before poor putting let him down and as he fell short by 2 strokes at the end. The presence of stars like Federer and Schumacher at the tournament not only increased the glamour quotient but also was a telling proof of the growing popularity of the tournament in the desert.
Manning finally gets the monkey off his back
In a Superbowl that was as sloppy as the South Florida weather, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears to win their first Championship in 31 years and their first since moving over from Baltimore to Indianapolis. Critics and Nay-sayers had repeatedly asked questions if Peyton Manning, arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, would be able to win the big one and Manning responded in kind with a MVP performance in the Super bowl. Though I will have to say that IMO the MVP award should have been given to the Colts RBs - Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai. The organizers just went with the more popular and emotional choice, that is Manning. Like I had written here, the way the game would be decided, depended heavily on one man - Rex Grossman. And unfortunately for the Bears and their fans, the terrible Rex showed up to work and once Dungy sensed that, the game was good as over. I mean, the guy couldn’t even collect the ball cleanly from the center. The Bears defense stayed on the field for a whopping 36 out of the 60 minutes and with no help from their team-mates on the offensive side, helped the Bears stay within 5 points until the 4th quarter but finally gave in. So, there it is - Manning & Dungy get the monkeys off their backs and the NFL has a new champion. (On a side note, if you are a NFL fan, this one is a good read)
Mumbai - Ranji trophy champions again
Well, Mumbai does it again. Ranji Trophy finals is something which we rarely talk about but not when a resurgent Sachin and comeback kid Ganguly are squaring off on the opposite sides. Sachin plays 2 crucial innings in both the innings, including a well-made century in the first innings for Mumbai while Ganguly, after falling prey to Zaheer Khan for a duck for the umpteenth time in domestic cricket, almost accomplishes 'Mission impossible' of helping Bengal chase an improbable 472 in the 4th innings. Ultimately, Bengal's first innings capitulation for 143 proved to be the decisive factor in the final outcome of the game and Zaheer with 9 wickets deservedly won the man-of-the-match award. It was a riveting game to follow and a game that surely lived up to the billing it received prior to the game. Fittingly, the channel that telecast the game saw it ratings take a huge jump for the game. It is amazing how Mumbai continues to dominate the domestic cricket scenario in India, with this 37th Ranji trophy championship in the tournament's 70+ year old history.
England salvage some pride
First time in 15 years, the Aussies have been beaten at the annual tri-series tournament where they have always dominated. That tri-series usually follows the test series where the Aussies in the last decade have made it a habit of decimating the opposition that the opposing teams would be already waiting to go home by the time the ODI series starts. Then, the Aussies provide the killer punch. The teams change - India, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka but the scenarios have played perfectly to script. And that's how the 5-0 drubbed Englishmen started the ODI series too, in complete shambles. Things didn’t get better even half-way into the series. But in a remarkable transformation, they came back and won the last 3 games of the round robin phase and qualified for the finals. And it was the finals where they managed to do the impossible - sweep Australia 2-0 in the best of 3 finals. Even a 2-1 victory in the finals would have taken some gloss out of this victory. Beating Australia exactly the same way they have been beating all other teams (drubbing in the finals) was such a sweet thing to watch.
India warms up to the big dance with a series win over Sri Lanka
In a series that was billed as the warm-up to the World Cup, both the Lankans and the Indians played their hearts out. Inspite of a phenomenal collapse in the first ODI that handed the game on a platter to the Lankans, Team India came back rather strongly and finished off the series in style in the 3rd and final ODI. Almost all the missing pieces of the puzzle seem to have been solved and Chappell & Dravid should be happy men, as far as their mindset for the big one goes. Ganguly continued his dream return to the Indian side with a man-of-the-series performance. But personally to me, what was more heartening to see was the return to form of Yuvraj, who is going to be the mainstay of our lower-middle-order along with Dhoni. The World Cup squad that was announced mid-way through the series did not hold any surprises. The only thing that caught everybody’s attention was Kumble’s inclusion and Powar’s exclusion. But Powar’s failures with the bat haven’t helped his cause and Dravid’s affinity towards Kumble made sure that Kumble found a place in the squad. IMHO, the squad looks pretty balanced (atleast on paper). My starting XI would be something like this: Ganguly, Robin, Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer, Agarkar, Munaf and Harbhajan.
Longest tenure at number 1 for Federer
Another long held tennis record falls, as Federer's tenure atop the ATP men's ranking stretches to 161 straight weeks, thus beating the previous 30-year old record of 160 weeks that was conjured up by the legendary Jimmy Connors. As I read somewhere, if only Jimmy Connors had done a better job (of coaching Andy Roddick so that he could have beaten Federer), his record would have been safe. The way this guy is playing, it is only a matter of couple of years before every conceivable record in the tennis history books will be in his name, including the most treasured of them all - most number of Grand Slam victories, currently held by the inimitable Pete Sampras. Federer has 10 titles against 14 held by Sampras. Nobody is going to beat him at Wimbledon and even assuming he loses at the French Open, both this year and the next to Nadal (or some other Spanish player), the 2008 US Open will see him breaking Sampras's holy record. My prayers to God are only getting more earnest - Dear God, please send someone to stop this guy. It is getting plain boring to watch this disaster unfold.
NBA trade deadline passes away without incidents
This is not something I would be very excited about. Not certainly something I would write about in my monthly sports round-up. But I am writing about this here bcos of the potential trade between the Nets and the Lakers which would have sent Jason Kidd to the Lakers. I am a big Lakers fan and I seriously felt that Kidd would have filled in the last piece that the Lakers team is missing. Though many were skeptical about how Jason Kidd would have been beneficial to the Lakers with their triangle offense, I was so much looking forward to the spectacle of watching Jason Kidd feed off passes to Kobe. Even the other potential big trades didn’t go through - Kevin Garnett did not go anywhere and Mike Bibby stayed put at Sacramento. Overall, the NBA trade deadline turned out to be one big anti-climatic day.
Labels: Monthly Sports Round-ups, Sports
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