Monthly Sports Round-Up - June 2007
Justin Henin wins third straight French Open
Justin Henin wins her third straight French Open title by defeating Ana Ivanovic in the finals in straight sets. My interest in the women's draw extinguished the moment my favorite Serena lost to Henin in the quarters. So, was only academically following the proceedings from then on. And I have to write something about this Ivanovic girl - though I have come across her name before this finals, it was only during this finals that I really did looked up her in Google and was surprised to see how gorgeous she looks. In fact, a poll says that she is the second hottest female tennis player, second only to you-know-who (No, not Anna Kournikova as she has retired from professional tennis). I am sure I will be catching up on news related to Ivanovic from now on :)
Nadal follows suit
Well, what else to say than the fact that I was overjoyed watching the French Open finals. Though the game failed to live upto the hype that was given with both players committing unforced error after unforced error, the outcome of the match left me grinning. So, the one Grand Slam that matters to Federer still eludes him and I am so excited, atleast we get one more year of breathing space before Federer attempts to accomplish the impossible. The game was a huge letdown, and definitely not worth getting up at 6 am in the morning. Federer had an unbelievable 59 unforced errors and no player, no matter how good he is, can win a match after committing that many number of unforced errors. More than the striking number of unforced errors that both players committed, the statistic that stood out for me and the statistic which decided the final outcome of the match - conversion rate (in %) of break points by Federer. And the magic number was 6%. He got a total of ,hold your breath, 17 break points and failed to convert all but one of them and to me that effectively sealed the deal. And yeah BTW, this was Nadal's 3rd straight French Open title and improved his record at Roland Garros to 21-0.
Woolmer was after all not murdered
Finally, after weeks of leaving everyone following cricket feeling bad about the sport and its malice, the Jamaican police comprehensively declared that Woolmer was after all not murdered and he died bcos of natural causes. Though the news would have brought relief to the Woolmer family, those who followed the case were still not convinced of the final observation. On top of this, the man who performed the first autopsy on behalf of the Caribbean police, still insists that Woolmer was indeed murdered by manual strangulation. An unconvincing end to a sordid saga.
Spurs sweep the Cavs
Well, nobody including yours truly gave the Cavs any realistic chance in this series. But even to the likes of us, the sweep of the NBA finals came as a complete surprise. I really thought that the Cavs will steal atleast one game at Cleveland and force a Game 5. But that was not to be. Though the Cavs have to be applauded and appreciated for the progress they have made every single year since they drafted LeBron, unless something drastic is done through player trade or free agency, the Cavs or for that any team in the East is going to find it real hard to overcome the likes of the Spurs, Suns & the Mavericks and thus prevent Western conference team from winning the NBA crown year after year. As for as the Spurs were concerned, they took care of business in a matter-of-fact way. I was glad that they did not end up giving the Finals MVP award to Duncan again and instead gave it to Parker who IMO completely deserved it. The trio of Parker, Ginobili and Duncan was simply terrific and coupled with the perimeter shooting of folks like Brent Barry and Thomas Horry along with the defense of Bruce Bowen, it was all a cakewalk for the Popovich coached Spurs, as they raced to their 4th championship in 9 years. Dynasty, anyone?
BCCI embarrassed
In what turned out to be most telling proof of how the BCCI functions, South African Graham Ford turned down the offer to coach the Indian cricket team, merely hours after the BCCI offered him the job. Though the BCCI's way of functioning is known to all sun and sundry, the manner in which the whole coach selection matter was handled left even the biggest supporter of the BCCI running for cover. From the moment when Dave Whatmore was approached in Dhaka to the point when he was ruled out as one of the contenders to the point when John Emburey's name cropped out of nowhere to the final list, the BCCI just made a big mess of the whole process and were finally left where they started with. So, the Indian team will go to the English tour without a proper coach and Chandu Borde as the manager. What amused was the way in which the BCCI came out with the announcement even before Ford has accepted the offer. Pathetic handling from the richest body in world cricket.
Tiger finishes second best again
Tiger Woods, for the second major in a row, finishes second best to Angel Cabrera at the tough US Open PGA championships as he loses by 1 stroke. There is this one statistic that experts bring out whenever Tigers wins a PGA championship - that he is 12-0 when he starts the final round of a major with the outright lead or atleast a share of the lead. This defeat by Tiger brings to light another statistic that is usually overlooked and that also proves that Tiger is after all human. He is 0-for-19 when he starts the final round of a championship, trailing the leader by a few surmountable strokes. As for Cabrera, he becomes the first Argentine man to win a PGA championship in nearly 40 years. And guess what he was doing before he became a pro? He was a caddy. When asked what was his secret behind winning the Open, the chain-smoker coolly says "Tobacco". It is amazing how every time Tiger comes a close second or third in a major, it is always about how he failed to win it rather than how the actual winner won it.
Oden goes number one
As widely expected, Greg Oden was picked by the Portland Trailblazers as the number one overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft, considered by many as the deepest drafts since 2003 when Dwayne Wade went at number 4. Though experts were talking in length both about Oden and Kevin Durrant, it was almost a given in the days leading upto the draft that Oden will be the number one pick. And thus the Seattle Supersonics landed with Kevin Durrant, in what as one ESPN analyst put it, the easiest draft decision that any team has had to make in the last few years. The Sonics in fact went in for a complete overhaul as they traded Ray Allen, arguably the player who was the face of the franchise, to the Boston Celtics, in what was considered as a not-too-smart move by the Celtics. Another first that happened during this draft was that 8 players from the Ohio State- Florida national championship game in April, were drafted in the first round of the draft. That’s a first in the NBA draft history. Yi Jianlian of China, who is touted as the next big thing to emerge out of China, after Yao Ming, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the 6th overall pick.
Sachin crosses the 15000 run barrier
The world got to see some glimpse of the Sachin of the old days as Sachin scored a scintillating 93 off 106 balls, on his way to becoming the first player ever (and in all probability the only man ever) to cross the 15000 runs barrier. At times, records like these do not seem to matter much, just because it is being broken by Sachin, who has made breaking records a personal hobby in his last 10 years. But seriously, if you think what it takes to score 15000 runs over 18 exemplary years as the best batsmen in the world, it is simply amazing. How many players have we seen who have produced consistencies that can be even compared against Sachin? Sure, the likes of Ponting, Dravid, Inzamam, Mohammed Yousuf, Hayden, Gilchrist, Lara have had their 2-3 years of brilliance but none can even come close to the consistency that Sachin has maintained for close to 18 years now. The man has been criticized like no other player but he has just carried on and let his bat do the talking. What he said in the aftermath of the match said it all, about how he views his criticisms: t is their job to have opinions. When I hold a cricket bat in my hand it's a far tougher and bigger job. That is what I will concentrate on. Cannot be said in better words. Here's congratulating the master on yet another milestone achievement in his stellar career.
Justin Henin wins her third straight French Open title by defeating Ana Ivanovic in the finals in straight sets. My interest in the women's draw extinguished the moment my favorite Serena lost to Henin in the quarters. So, was only academically following the proceedings from then on. And I have to write something about this Ivanovic girl - though I have come across her name before this finals, it was only during this finals that I really did looked up her in Google and was surprised to see how gorgeous she looks. In fact, a poll says that she is the second hottest female tennis player, second only to you-know-who (No, not Anna Kournikova as she has retired from professional tennis). I am sure I will be catching up on news related to Ivanovic from now on :)
Nadal follows suit
Well, what else to say than the fact that I was overjoyed watching the French Open finals. Though the game failed to live upto the hype that was given with both players committing unforced error after unforced error, the outcome of the match left me grinning. So, the one Grand Slam that matters to Federer still eludes him and I am so excited, atleast we get one more year of breathing space before Federer attempts to accomplish the impossible. The game was a huge letdown, and definitely not worth getting up at 6 am in the morning. Federer had an unbelievable 59 unforced errors and no player, no matter how good he is, can win a match after committing that many number of unforced errors. More than the striking number of unforced errors that both players committed, the statistic that stood out for me and the statistic which decided the final outcome of the match - conversion rate (in %) of break points by Federer. And the magic number was 6%. He got a total of ,hold your breath, 17 break points and failed to convert all but one of them and to me that effectively sealed the deal. And yeah BTW, this was Nadal's 3rd straight French Open title and improved his record at Roland Garros to 21-0.
Woolmer was after all not murdered
Finally, after weeks of leaving everyone following cricket feeling bad about the sport and its malice, the Jamaican police comprehensively declared that Woolmer was after all not murdered and he died bcos of natural causes. Though the news would have brought relief to the Woolmer family, those who followed the case were still not convinced of the final observation. On top of this, the man who performed the first autopsy on behalf of the Caribbean police, still insists that Woolmer was indeed murdered by manual strangulation. An unconvincing end to a sordid saga.
Spurs sweep the Cavs
Well, nobody including yours truly gave the Cavs any realistic chance in this series. But even to the likes of us, the sweep of the NBA finals came as a complete surprise. I really thought that the Cavs will steal atleast one game at Cleveland and force a Game 5. But that was not to be. Though the Cavs have to be applauded and appreciated for the progress they have made every single year since they drafted LeBron, unless something drastic is done through player trade or free agency, the Cavs or for that any team in the East is going to find it real hard to overcome the likes of the Spurs, Suns & the Mavericks and thus prevent Western conference team from winning the NBA crown year after year. As for as the Spurs were concerned, they took care of business in a matter-of-fact way. I was glad that they did not end up giving the Finals MVP award to Duncan again and instead gave it to Parker who IMO completely deserved it. The trio of Parker, Ginobili and Duncan was simply terrific and coupled with the perimeter shooting of folks like Brent Barry and Thomas Horry along with the defense of Bruce Bowen, it was all a cakewalk for the Popovich coached Spurs, as they raced to their 4th championship in 9 years. Dynasty, anyone?
BCCI embarrassed
In what turned out to be most telling proof of how the BCCI functions, South African Graham Ford turned down the offer to coach the Indian cricket team, merely hours after the BCCI offered him the job. Though the BCCI's way of functioning is known to all sun and sundry, the manner in which the whole coach selection matter was handled left even the biggest supporter of the BCCI running for cover. From the moment when Dave Whatmore was approached in Dhaka to the point when he was ruled out as one of the contenders to the point when John Emburey's name cropped out of nowhere to the final list, the BCCI just made a big mess of the whole process and were finally left where they started with. So, the Indian team will go to the English tour without a proper coach and Chandu Borde as the manager. What amused was the way in which the BCCI came out with the announcement even before Ford has accepted the offer. Pathetic handling from the richest body in world cricket.
Tiger finishes second best again
Tiger Woods, for the second major in a row, finishes second best to Angel Cabrera at the tough US Open PGA championships as he loses by 1 stroke. There is this one statistic that experts bring out whenever Tigers wins a PGA championship - that he is 12-0 when he starts the final round of a major with the outright lead or atleast a share of the lead. This defeat by Tiger brings to light another statistic that is usually overlooked and that also proves that Tiger is after all human. He is 0-for-19 when he starts the final round of a championship, trailing the leader by a few surmountable strokes. As for Cabrera, he becomes the first Argentine man to win a PGA championship in nearly 40 years. And guess what he was doing before he became a pro? He was a caddy. When asked what was his secret behind winning the Open, the chain-smoker coolly says "Tobacco". It is amazing how every time Tiger comes a close second or third in a major, it is always about how he failed to win it rather than how the actual winner won it.
Oden goes number one
As widely expected, Greg Oden was picked by the Portland Trailblazers as the number one overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft, considered by many as the deepest drafts since 2003 when Dwayne Wade went at number 4. Though experts were talking in length both about Oden and Kevin Durrant, it was almost a given in the days leading upto the draft that Oden will be the number one pick. And thus the Seattle Supersonics landed with Kevin Durrant, in what as one ESPN analyst put it, the easiest draft decision that any team has had to make in the last few years. The Sonics in fact went in for a complete overhaul as they traded Ray Allen, arguably the player who was the face of the franchise, to the Boston Celtics, in what was considered as a not-too-smart move by the Celtics. Another first that happened during this draft was that 8 players from the Ohio State- Florida national championship game in April, were drafted in the first round of the draft. That’s a first in the NBA draft history. Yi Jianlian of China, who is touted as the next big thing to emerge out of China, after Yao Ming, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the 6th overall pick.
Sachin crosses the 15000 run barrier
The world got to see some glimpse of the Sachin of the old days as Sachin scored a scintillating 93 off 106 balls, on his way to becoming the first player ever (and in all probability the only man ever) to cross the 15000 runs barrier. At times, records like these do not seem to matter much, just because it is being broken by Sachin, who has made breaking records a personal hobby in his last 10 years. But seriously, if you think what it takes to score 15000 runs over 18 exemplary years as the best batsmen in the world, it is simply amazing. How many players have we seen who have produced consistencies that can be even compared against Sachin? Sure, the likes of Ponting, Dravid, Inzamam, Mohammed Yousuf, Hayden, Gilchrist, Lara have had their 2-3 years of brilliance but none can even come close to the consistency that Sachin has maintained for close to 18 years now. The man has been criticized like no other player but he has just carried on and let his bat do the talking. What he said in the aftermath of the match said it all, about how he views his criticisms: t is their job to have opinions. When I hold a cricket bat in my hand it's a far tougher and bigger job. That is what I will concentrate on. Cannot be said in better words. Here's congratulating the master on yet another milestone achievement in his stellar career.
Labels: Monthly Sports Round-ups, Sachin, Sports
posted by Filbert at 1:56 PM
2 Comments:
chech out anuradha sen gupta's blog abt sivaji in ibnlive.com and the response to it...
Yeah Naren, did check it out (and her latest reconciling post too). I just thought that she had set out to trash the movie just bcos it was making waves all around. Of course, the reaction to it was on expected lines :)
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