Make Time For Sports.
sports
Tennis bids farewell to Elena Dementieva : Has the romance faded?
The retirement of Elena Dementieva comes as a bit of a shock and surprise to her many fans. She was one Russian player who always seemed on the cusp of usurping a Grand Slam but just could not pull it off. She came close twice—each time losing to her fellow Russian contemporaries, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina.
Elena does have the consolation of winning a Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Elena, how could you disappoint us so?
Elena Dementieva spent fourteen long years on the tour. Can the younger lot match up? What if success does not come that easy? Are they willing to struggle the way Elena did and the way Sharapova is right now?
Indian cricket: Tendulkar seeks the next level, Gambhir bats for Kirsten
Image via Wikipedia
It’s true that geniuses and champions are never satisfied with what they have achieved.
They are always thinking of the next level, the next summit, the next goal.
They dare not rest on their laurels.
There’s always the next mountain to climb, the next peak to scale.
And so it is with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
14,000 Test runs in test cricket, over 30,000 international runs and 49 Test centuries to his credit.
Yet, the gentleman talks about yearning to reach the next level.
"I’m really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?"
What else does Tendukar have to say in his interview to The Guardian?
On dreaming, Tendulkar has this to say:
"Life would be flat without dreams. I think it’s really important to dream — and then to chase those dreams.”
2010 has been Tendulkar’s best year in recent times, reminding us of the young Sachin, unburdened by the cares of the team and varied niggling injuries.
Tendulkar is also back at the top of the ICC rankings, the first time since 2002.
It is said that all’s well with the world when Tendulkar is in full flow and so it is for cricket fans.
The full interview will be published this Saturday.
_______________________________________________________________________
Tennis Bytes: Wozniacki stays No. 1
Caroline Wozniacki ensured that she retained her No. 1 ranking for the year by winning her first match at the WTA Doha championships.
She beat Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in three sets.
Vera Zvonareva stays No. 2 behind the sizzling Dane.
It would have been interesting if Zvonareva had come through to be ranked No.1.
I wonder how many instances are there of two different players ranked No. 1 in the same year without ever having won a Grand Slam?
Any bets as to which of these two will clinch a Slam first?
Samantha Stosur lost to Elena Dementieva 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in her third round robin match.
But her earlier victories against Wozniacki and Schiavone have propelled her into the semi-finals.
Clijsters, too, has made her way to the semis triumphing over Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
All Time No. 1s in Women’s Tennis
 |
Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open. |
Source: http://quotes4all.net/quote_573.html
[Powered by QuotesPlugin v1.0 for Windows Live Writer]
Australian cricket: The Big Bash à la IPL raises more than a few questions
Image via Wikipedia
The Big Bash League
If the BCCI is not quite open to having private equity from foreign investors in the IPL,that is not quite the case with the Australian version (The Big Bash League) of the IPL scheduled to begin in the 2011-12 Australian summer season.
New South Wales and Victoria have allegedly already sold shares in their state associations to two giant Indian corporations.
Brisbane-based Adani Group and Jay Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, have been named as Indian corporates with possible interest in the Big Bash league.
Gautam Adani recently bid unsuccessfully for an IPL team.
In breaking news, Cricket Australia (CA) has approved minority private ownership paving the way for Indian investors.
The Australian Cricketer’s Association had backed the entry of private overseas investment saying that it will not only bring in much need investment into the sport but also raise the profile of the sport Down Under.
Each Big Bash franchise is valued initially at $20 million each which is expected to rise to $80 million over the next few seasons.
The Australian cricket calendar is being punctured to accommodate the new entity; tests will be foregone for the period of the tournament to ensure the availability of top Australian cricketers for the duration of the tournament.
Tennis Bytes: Stosur Musters Her A-Game For Doha, Mirza travels to Ranchi
Image via Wikipedia
I love Thomas Muster!
The man has guts! Big time!
From coming back from injury and practising in a wheelchair to making a return to the ATP Tour at the ripe old age of 43, he’s shown that there’s still life in the old dog!
Sunil Gavaskar: A Contradiction In Terms, From Calypso King To IPL Flop
Gavaskar , The Original Little Master
I have always been a huge fan of Sunil “Sunny” Gavaskar, the cricketer — the original Little Master.
When the rest of the world cowered under the barrage of bouncers and intimidating pace bowling unleashed by the marauding, rampaging Windies side of the late 70’s , 80’s and early 90’s, one man stood firm amidst the ruins.
That man was Sunil Manohar Gavaskar; thirteen of his 34 hundreds were against the mighty West Indians.
Another eight were belted against the Australians.
Whenever India played a series against the West Indians, we knew that as long as Gavaskar occupied the crease we were safe.
When the ace batter succumbed, the Indian team surrendered weakly as well.
At a time when India were making the transition from being mostly a spin bowling side to a pace bowling attack (thanks to another all-time great, Kapil Dev), we depended on the batsmen to save Test matches.
Bowlers win matches, batsmen save them.
This was a time in Indian cricket when a draw was always a noteworthy achievement; Indian sides rarely had the bowling strength to bowl out a team twice.
Venky’s chicken takes over Blackburn Rovers: New Product Ideas (Satire)
The news that Indian poultry giant Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) affectionately known to all as Venky’s chicken, struck a deal to take over BlackBurn Rovers , an English Premier League (EPL) team has come like a thunderbolt out of the blue.
This is a wonderful time for Indian companies making their presence felt across the international sporting arena.
The Indian Premier League is the second most expensive league in the world.
Force India is Vijay Mallya’s acquisition in the Formula 1.
And now Blackburn Rovers joins the stable of notable sporting buyouts.
Well, if you can’t beat them, let’s buy them is a mantra that is easy to follow!
The acquisition of Blackburn Rovers and the sizeable Asian population there leads Venky’s strategic marketing advisors to look for synergies between the historic footballing franchise and the poultry giant.
IPL: Kochi franchisee in ICU , issued a thirty day termination notice
Image via Wikipedia
If the BCCI bigwigs were in a tearing, unholy hurry to terminate the Lalit Modi-associated franchisees — Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab — they are now dragging their feet and going by the book in their dealings with the Kochi consortium.
The IPL governing council met this morning , October 27, 2010 . After due deliberations they issued a thirty day termination notice to the alliance partners.
Shashank Manohar — a lawyer by profession — pronounced that the Kochi franchise’s case is quite different from the other two expelled franchisees. Since there were no new partners added to the shareholding structure , it is considered a ‘remedial breach’ of the agreement. The Kochi franchisee lives on for another thirty days.
"The Governing Council has invoked clause 12 (1) and given them a 30 days notice that in case they don’t remedy these disputes in the 30 days, the franchise would stand cancelled on the 31st day," he said.
The infractions by the other two franchisees have been termed ‘intermediary breaches’.
IPL: Sunny Gavaskar’s ‘revolving door’ is greeted with disdain in the Indian media
Doubts still linger about Sunny Gavaskar’s role in the Kochi franchise bid.
Was he just being helpful when he informed the Kochi consortium members about how the bidding process worked?
Should not the Kochi franchisee members have approached the BCCI for clarifications rather than a sitting member of the IPL Governing Council?
The question of propriety is yet to be answered comprehensively by the master batsman.
If the Kochi proposal is accepted by the BCCI and Sunny Gavaskar handles the newly formed team’s cricketing operations, would this not be a case of a ‘revolving door’ where Sunny has moved from a governing body to being part of a governed body?
IPL: Sunny Gavaskar hits the headlines, Kochi decision on Wednesday
Sunny Gavaskar hits the deadlines once more; this time it is his links with the Kochi franchise that have drawn flak from all quarters.
The Indian batting legend , the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs and surpass Don Bradman’s 29 tons, is mulling over an offer from the Gaikwads, the Rendezvous group owners, to handle all matters cricketing.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise and there exists speculation about Gavaskar’s role in the bidding process as a possible conflict of interest ; the master batsman was then on the IPL governing council.
(The fallout between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor was the result of allegations that Tharoor sought Modi’s interference in the bidding process to ensure that the Kochi group’s bid would be successful.)
Gavaskar is no longer a part of the IPL set-up; he quit the re-constituted governing council citing differences with the BCCI.
Was the conflict of interest a reason for the differences? If yes, why then was just the super accumulator penalised?
Number of readers subscribed
Read it on Apple News
Read it on Apple News
Stat Counter
Sports, Health and Exercise
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Make Time For Sports. 