sports

Dream Run!

I will be running the Dream Run on the 17th of Jan, 2010 in Mumbai.

The Dream Run is 6kms and covers the distance from CST (VT) to Nariman Point and back to Metro.

I have been training for the past 3 months, running 2 – 3 times a week. Slowly but surely increasing the distance covered. Have brought the distance run w/o a halt to 9.6 kms.

I started out running to increase my stamina and strengthen my legs. Those goals have been met to a large extent! Losing fat will take some time! Can’t have it all, I guess!

Intend to give the half-marathon , (21 kms), a shot next year. My friend, Newton is participating in the half-marathon this year.

Wish us luck!

Cheers!

For more details about the race, check out

Mumbai Marathon WebSite

The Woody Woody feeling!

Tiger’s got that woody feeling all over again!

He thought  it was the feel of the woods in his hands!

But no, its not that woody feel!

Its the wooden replies he gives out on his site!

Oh, what a dilemma!

To play or not to play!

In more ways , than one!

Elin’s not biting the bait!

Tiger’s out for privacy on Privacy,

But the censure has just not stopped!

Accenture has added censure !

After Gilette pulled the plug saying.

“Tiger, you may be a tiger,

In more ways than one,

But we don’t think you’re sharp enough,

And that just won’t do!”

Tiger now feels completely wrong ,

about the woody feeling too!

Its more of a woolly , woolly feeling!

And he thought he was smooth with the wool!

Tiger, you’re just not cool!

Take a holiday! Take a break!

Let the heat cool off!

And we’ll see you sizzle again!

With the woods! Out of the woods! On the greens!

____________________________________________________

Have a good one! Have a good day!

Not yet out of the Woods!

The latest scandal to hit the sporting world concerns Tiger Woods and his tumultuous private life.

With all the salacious details of his secret trysts and rendezvous with a bevy of beauties making the press rounds and bar-room conversations, Tiger is just one among  the long list of heroes (our modern day demi-gods)  who have been shown to have feet of clay. Like many before, (e.g. Beckham and Shane Warne), once the shit hits the fan, the fan keeps whirling and soon the whole room is full of crap!

But before we dwell on Tiger’s indiscretions, let us first note his sporting prowess! Together with Federer, he is the among the best sportsmen of this generation, in any individual sport. With his 14 Slams and Federer’s 15, they both epitomise sporting excellence at its very best. There are perhaps, arguably other contenders but those are in team sports; individual sporting excellence belongs in a separate category and is of a superior pedigree.

Perhaps, there is an argument here that team sportspersons are better family men! But Shane Warne and Beckham are posits against that argument! So no, there’s no likelihood that that hypothesis is ever going to be proved true! Sounds more like a canard to me!

The latest news flash states that Elin, his wife, insists that he now spend more time with family and put golf on the back-burner. That would be an immense shame because we are unlikely to see such grace and power on a golf course for a very long time. Before Tiger, golf was the white man’s last sporting bastion but Tiger with his powerful driving stormed this citadel and crowned himself the unchallenged prince of the sport.

Tiger is said to have numerous trysts with long-legged beauties and also solicited ‘ladies of the night’. For some weird reason, it seems to be less of  crime or sin to have been a solicitor ; its just a transaction and then its done with no complications. Anyway, that does not , in my opinion, make it less of a reason for censure. It just seems a weird distortion of justice that something transacted so casually and coldly is a more pardonable offense! Maybe that’s just my middle class morality or my Catholic upbringing, but it just seems a warped sense of values there!

So what next for Tiger? Will we see him on the golf links again? I certainly hope so! If any golfer in history deserves to go past the ‘Great Bear’, Jack Nicklaus, it is certainly Tiger Woods. No , Tiger may not be out of the woods, but for the glory and beauty of golf, he should be soon!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/sports/golf/12woods.html?th&emc=th

The NexGen Of Indan Cricket?

With the Indian Test team now at the summit , (we are now No.1 ) , let’s take a pause from celebrating , and ask a pertinent question, where’s the next generation of players, who will keep India at the top?

The Big 3, namely Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid will soon be retiring within the next 2 years. Sehwag will then be the elder statesman of the team; I wonder if that will have an impact on his batting style. Will he still be as care-free? I have a feeling he will. He’s more in the Viv Richards/Srikkanth mold in terms of his persona; as long as he can score he’ll play else he might even retire early. The last 2 batsmen to retire early i.e. in their early 30s, were Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravi Shastri. Shastri probably has no regrets ; he made his debut for India at 19. For a man of his limited talents, he was an overachiever. To start as No. 11 and end as the opener must be a record of sorts.

So who do we have to replace Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar?

Murali Vijay has made the most of the limited opportunities he has been given. With an eye on the future , he can be the No.3 bat for a long time if he plays to potential. The top 3 slots can then rotate amongst Gambhir, Sehwag and Vijay.

Wasim Jaffer , though already in his early 30s, might be another one who deserves a second or third chance. Remember even Australia, when phasing out their No.1 side, opted for players in their 30s before making a clean break over the past 1 year. So Jaffer cannot be ruled out.

So who’ll take Tendulkar’s place? On the weight of sheer talent itself, Rohit Sharma comes to mind. He has impressed one and all when he has put his mind to it. If he can be a bit more consistent , he can cement his place in the Indian side.

As for the contenders for Laxman’s place, there’s Uthappa, maybe a comeback from Kaif, though unlikely, Dinesh karthik perhaps, and in all likelihood, Suresh Raina but no other batsman springs to mind. None of the other T20 and ODI players selected seem like good bets for Test cricket. So there is a possibility that this Indian side can go the Australia way, (i.e. from world beaters to struggling to remain the best) , if we do not unearth gems who can adorn Indian cricket’s showcase over the next decade and a half!

Your thoughts and comments are welcome!