sports

Sanju Samson is allegedly the Abominable Salivator

Sanju Samson has allegedly behaved badly.

The India ‘A’ keeper has been accused of salivating spitefully at his Australian opponents’ feet.

The incident occurred in the tri-series final between the home side and the visitors.

India ‘A’ clinched the title, registering their first victory in the series against their counterparts from Down Under.

The Kerala player claimed a catch that the Australians felt was illegal.

This led to an exchange of words when the 20-year-old came out to bat.

Usman Khawaja, the Aussie skipper, said:

“Obviously the guys in our team were disappointed that he claimed he had taken the catch.

Today he spit in front of our player’s foot three times. If you do that the boys are going to get worked up and the umpires were not understanding it. We did try to calm the boys, but they just went on and on.

I am happy if the batsman happens to talk back but spitting is not on. He spit on one of our players when he came onto the field.

If one of our players said something to him, he can say something back but not spitting.”

Khawaja added:

“I do not want to make a big deal about things that happened on the field. I do not want to take away any credit from India. They really played well today and were the better team to have won.

Unfortunately, incidents like that happen. Some incident happened the other day with one of your bowler (Sandeep Sharma). He was coming back and it was fine. I was happy with that. I have seen it all, it is another game, it does not affect me too much.

It is always tough to defend a total of 220 runs. We had our chance when the fifth wicket fell but we have to take wickets to win the game. India just batted sensibly. The wicket was up and down and it was not turning massive. If we had few more runs we could strangle them on that kind of wicket.”

The match umpires and other officials should be filing their report with the BCCI.

An investigation into this kind of unwarranted behaviour and its antecedents should be launched to prevent any such recurrence.

Players behaving badly—spittle-less or not—can only lead to more bad blood in the future and should be nipped in the bud.

It is a gentleman’s game after all.

Jose Mourinho makes Eva Carneiro the best known name in the EPL this week. How and why?

“I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. I will not be ashamed to say ‘I know not,’ nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery. I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm. If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.”

The above text is the Hippocratic oath—the modern version—as transcribed by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University in 1964.

Will someone bother to inform Jose Mourinho, arguably the most powerful soccer manager in the world, in his own words, ‘The Special One’ that his players’ well-being comes first and then his side’s winning chances?

Eva Carneiro, the Chelsea team doctor and Gibraltarian sports medicine specialist of British and Spanish parentage, together with head physiotherapist Jon Fearn, rushed to treat Eden Hazard in Chelsea’s game against Swansea last Saturday reducing the number of players on the field to nine. This did not go down well with Mourinho who publicly rebuked them.

The temperamental coach criticised his medical staff as being “impulsive and naive” and displaying a lack of knowledge of the game.

Some might say the same of the Portuguese national’s remarks and actions being indicative of his lack of awareness of medical ethics.

While his castigation of  Carneiro may not be sexist, it certainly is cause for concern as it shows a disturbing trend wherein players’ welfare is put after the club’s.

Peter Brukner, formerly Liverpool’s head of sports medicine and sports science and Australia cricket team doctor, said:

“I thought it was appalling behaviour by the manager. He has a player who has gone down, who has remained down and the referee obviously considered it serious enough to summon on the doctor and the physio. They went on as they must do when they are summoned on and the player is down, and as a result the player had to come off the ground. What do you expect the doctor to do? Just ignore the referee beckoning them on? Maybe he should be criticising his player for staying down, rather than the medical staff. The medical staff were only responding to the referee’s instruction to come and treat the player, who was on the ground. So then to criticise the medical staff publicly in the way that he did was absolutely appalling behaviour. The medical staff deserve a public apology and I’m very disappointed that the club hasn’t come out and done something to support them – they were just doing their job. Our first priority as doctors and physios is the health and safety of the individual player, and that’s what they were attending to. They were doing their job and they’ve been criticised very publicly for doing the job. I think that’s a very disappointing result.”

Carneiro has been with Chelsea since  February 2009. She was previously with the British Olympic Medical Institute and with England Women’s Football and UK Athletics.

The Chelsea boss insists that the medical duo will not attend at this Sunday’s derby game against Manchester City.

Carneiro alienated Mourinho further by posting a ‘Thank you’ note on her Facebook account.

Ralph Rogers, a former team doctor for Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti, criticised his contemporary.

He said:

“You are support staff. You’re not one of the stars. There’s almost a slap in the face to the manager.

Why would she go to social media? It’s something we, as a profession, ethically should not be doing.”

The Premier League Doctors’ Group though supported Carneiro.

Their prepared statement read:

“Dr Carneiro has universal and total support from her medical colleagues at the Premier League Doctors’ Group. It is also of great concern that at a time when the both the Premier League and the Premier League Doctors’ Group are intensifying efforts to safeguard player welfare, the precedent set by this incident demonstrates that the medical care of players appears to be secondary to the result of the game.

The Premier League Doctors’ Group considers that removing Dr Carneiro from the Chelsea team bench for their next match is unjust in the extreme. In the publicised incident in last Saturday’s game against Swansea, the Chelsea medical staff were clearly summoned on to the field of play by the match referee to attend to a player. A refusal to run on to the pitch would have breached the duty of care required of the medical team to their patient.

It is a huge concern that Dr Carneiro has been subjected to unprecedented media scrutiny and a change in her professional role, merely because she adhered to her code of professional conduct and did her job properly.”

So what will it be?

Will the Chelsea supremo back down and accept his fault? The man demands total loyalty from his staff and considers himself a benevolent dictator.

Or will Eva Carneiro be reduced to backend support and, perhaps, an eventual exit?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Tennis: Nick Kyrgios targets Stan Warinka with inappropriate remarks at Rogers Cup

Nick Kyrgios is young and stupid.

He’s an ass.

A sorry ass but nevertheless an ass.

A sledge went awry and suddenly the bad boy of Australian tennis is the scourge of the gallant game.

Australian cricketers, perhaps, could teach the young man the intricacies of gamesmanship.

“Nick, don’t indulge in sledging with your front to the camera specifically with your voice audible to the on-court microphone. We could have easily told you that, mate!”

The insult was grave; it also needlessly involved a third party and a fourth, both of whom had very little to do with the battle in the center.

Kyrgios dragged Wawrinka’s current girlfriend Croatian Donna Vekic and Nick’s compatriot and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis into a sordid war of words.

Wawrinka recently separated from his wife and is now dating Vekic.

Vekic is a younger, blonder version of Maria Sharapova or Caroline Wozniacki or both or so the marketing geniuses at the WTA would have us believe.

She’s currently ranked 127th in the world.

Stan, the Man, was quick to respond to the hothead’s slurs taking to Twitter calling for swift action from the ATP.

The Swiss star revealed that he later confronted the Aussie in the locker room.

He said:

“He tried to avoid me, but I confronted him. I just hope that the ATP will take big measures against him because he’s young maybe, but there’s no excuse. Every match he has problems. Every match he behaves very badly. On top of that the problem is that he doesn’t just behave badly towards himself he behaves very badly towards the people around: the other players, the ball kids, the umpires. I really hope the ATP will take major action against him this time.”

Kokkinakkis was linked to Vekic in 2013 but has laughed off any such rumours of them being a pair except on court.

Kyrgios was fined $10,000 for his remark  by the ATP.

This is the highest fine allowed for an offense for bad behaviour while playing.

Novak Djokovic reacted:

“I think it is very important to keep the fairness in the sport. There is no excuse for what he has said.”

Kyrgios posted an apology on Facebook for his fans:

Members of the Kyrgios family have not made it easy for their starling.

Nill Kyrgios, Nick’s mother, speaking to Fairfax Media, said:

“It’s not a nice thing to say, it’s not, but you can’t always cop it on the chin from other people without retaliating. If you give people lip then you’ve got to receive some back. You know that Stan did say that Nick was faking an injury last time they played and Nick was actually very sick (with asthma). So there was no love lost there to start with. We let it go, we didn’t comment on Stan’s comment. That’s still in Nick’s head, so the minute that Stan starts giving Nick cheek, what do you think will happen? He’ll say whatever comes to his mind that will upset the guy.”

The Greek-Australian’s elder brother Christos was dumped from an interview with Sydney radio station Triple M.

Christos continued to make derogatory remarks about Wawrinka’s love interest Vekic.

The sibling appears to have said that Vekic “loved the ‘kokk’”.

Christos then went onto Facebook to update his online pals.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

“‘So just did a media interview for nick. Said Donna obviously loved the ‘kokk’ they cut my interview and said its the worst thing they have ever heard on air. Ah cheers.”

Friends posted messages laughing at his comment, before Christos responded: 

‘Hahahah f**k me who cares if the women likes a root – good on her, jump on the Kokk then on the stanimal IDC!! All I know it Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios the king fried his ass.’”

In other reports, it is discovered that Kygrios delivered another barb at Wawrinka during the Rogers Cup match that he won.

He added another innuendo saying:

“He’s banging a nineteen-year-old.”

Much as we would all like to believe that these Kyrgios reprehensible actions are aberrations and there will be no such repetition of such obnoxious behaviour or attitude on-court or off, it is hard to believe that the young Australian can be reined in without an older, calming influence on him.

It is also clear that such a service can hardly be expected from his emotional family members who clamber on the train wreck that is Nick Kyrgios at full throttle.

It’s true that family is expected to stand together. But there has to be a line drawn at atrocious behaviour. While the Kygrios contingent is right to point out the history behind the provocation, Nick had no right to embroil Vekic or Thanasi in the drama. His mother and brother may be emotionally and financially invested in Nick’s success or failure in the sport but that does not allow them to dictate terms to the ATP or tennis fans.

Kyrgios was right to issue an apology and pay his fine. No further defense or excuses are needed. Social media fury is short-lived. The Australian has a glittering future awaiting him if he grabs his chances.

Lleyton Hewitt is believed to be mentoring the excitable talent. But is he the best person for the job? Hewitt himself was and is an atypical Aussie believed to be too intense and too much of a scrapper on court.

The question then is:

Who’ll bell the cat?

Soccer: Sebastian Ariosa beats cancer and club Olimpia

It’s not okay to be seriously ill when contracted out to a soccer club.

At least, that’s what Paraguayan club Olimpia seemed to believe when it suspended Uruguayan Sebastian Ariosa’s contract when the player chose to undergo chemotherapy for a chest tumour.

The defender had a five-year contract with the club beginning 2011.

The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) ruled in Ariosa’s favour awarding him 7% of his contract value ($60,000) as “moral damages” and $90,000 as sporting compensation for his team’s lack of “sportive ethics”.

This is as against an earlier FIFA edict that the Uruguayan’s contract should be paid out in full.

Both sides appealed to CAS; the Uruguayan sought other compensation.

Club officials had demanded his return to training from Uruguay while he was undergoing treatment there.

Alexandra Gomez, a lawyer for the global players’ union FIFPro, said:

“We see this as a great result. CAS stated that the club was not responsible for the condition of the player, but it was responsible for its own response to this situation.”

The court has also ordered the club to pay Ariosa his overdue salary plus interest as well as a 13th month accrued over the term of his agreement.

FIFPro , in its statement , said:

“FIFPro is pleased to announce a major legal victory has been awarded to Uruguayan footballer, Sebastian Ariosa.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Paraguayan outfit, Club Olimpia, breached almost all of its obligations toward Ariosa, including a blatant attempt to exploit the player’s incapacity to work after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Such is the significance of this case, CAS awarded ‘moral damage’ to Ariosa, which is extremely rare. It stems from Club Olimpia’s appalling behaviour to suspend the player at a time when he was suffering greatly, fighting for his life and dealing with the effects of chemotherapy.”

FIFPRO added:

“Olimpia was in breach on all counts. Its response was to stop paying and suspend Ariosa, while demanding that the player return to training in the midst of his treatment. This behaviour corresponds with the two requirements which the tribunal considered in order to grant moral damage; exceptionality and severity.”

Ariosa now turns out for national side, Defensor Sporting.

Back to shooting school with 70% attendance compulsory

It’s back to school for our national shooters.

Headmaster Raninder Singh,  NRAI president, has cracked the whip.

Air rifle, pistol and shotgun shooters have to minimally attend 70% of the training camps.

Else they will not be allowed to represent the country at international events.

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The immediate trigger for this rule change are the “baseless” sexual harassment charges against national coach Stanislav Lapidus by Anjali Bhagwat, Suma Shirur, Sanjeev Rajput, Ayonika Paul, Lajja Gauswami, Tejaswani Sawant and Kuheli Ganguly.
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Singh said:

“When you don’t attend the national camps, how can you accuse him (Lapidus) of not attending to you? Most of the time our top shooters remain absent from the camp.”

The rule affects ‘hobbyist‘ Abhinav Bindra and army shooters Jitu Rai and Vijay Kumar most.

The policy , however, is quite progressive—for an Indian body.

Young and single mothers can miss camp during emergencies.

20 elite shooters had skipped the recently conducted senior national camp in Thiruvananthapuram.
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At the same camp, 14 army shooters had received orders to report back to their units for selection to the World Military Games in South Korea from October 2-11.

The trials were scheduled for July 2. The national camp concluded on July 6.

An NRAI representative said:

“The Army told us about their selection trials at the last minute. NRAI was always clear in its scheduling that the shooters will have to report for the camp after the World Cup trials. Army never informed us in advance about their trials, otherwise we would have worked out a solution. NRAI has requested them to postpone their trials by a week so that their shooters can report to them after July 6.”

The Army later rescinded its orders.

The shooting camp was also hit by a food poisoning episode with at least 12 participants hospitalized.

Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai, Apurvi Chandela and Abhinav Bindra are the only shooters to have secured quota places for the Rio Olympics based on their international performances.

A maximum of 30 quota places (two each) in 15 disciplines are available to every country.

Lalit Modi wishes to take over the cricketing world

Lalit Modi is a megalomaniac.

The former czar of the IPL wishes to take over the world—the cricketing world.

And that too in style.

Modi and his cronies have envisaged a new world order that does not require the sanction of the ICC, one that affiliates itself with the Olympic movement. The blueprint will do away with ODI cricket altogether and consist of only Test and T20 tourneys.

Modi said:

“We’re talking about another cricketing system. There is a blueprint out there, it’s got my rubber stamp on it. I have been involved in it. I say it for the first time, I’ve been involved in putting that (blue)print together. We could take on the existing establishment, no problem. It requires a few billion dollars, I don’t think it would be a problem to get that … into action.

The plan that I have put together is a very detailed plan, it’s not a plan that’s come off the cuff, it’s been taking years and years and years in the making.”

International Cricket Council (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The fugitive from justice has termed the big three of international cricket, India, Australia and England “snakes”.

Speaking to ABC Network in its documentary, ‘The Great Cricket Coup’, Modi said:

“They are the three snakes of cricket. You’ve got to take their neck off, you’ve got to chop their head off, otherwise cricket will not survive.”

(Modi apparently does not understand that snakes have no necks.)

Modi added:

“For me to get players would be…a switch of a button. There was a report that ran on the front of The Australian newspaper that said $100 million pay cheque for two of your players. I think that’s an easy cheque to write and if that cheque is easy to write then ‘would I get the players or not?’ is a question you should ask the players, not me.”

The heartening aspect of this extraordinary plan is that Modi does not intend to do away with Test cricket.

Also, he does see the need to gain approval from another body, if not the ICC, the IOC.

That is going to be an onerous task.

The ICC is unlikely to relinquish control over a sport that is a money-spinner for the powers-that-be without a fight.

It would be interesting to see how Modi’s plot pans out.

Kerry Packer and his ‘pyjama cricket’ improved cricket telecasting and was the harbinger of fatter pay packets for the players and commentators.

Not that the sport needs more; at least, the Indian players would differ strongly.

But an offshoot of any such attempt might mean that more cricket is played all over the world and the profits redistributed to many more nations much like Sepp Blatter’s FIFA, perhaps, without the endemic corruption and powerplay(s).

More power to Modi.

‘The Great Cricket Coup‘ is available for viewing here.

Sexual harassment charges hits the shooting fraternity

The Athletes Commission it is.

The National Rifle Association of India’s probe into allegations of sexual harassment of junior shooters by its Kazakh coach Stanislav Lapidus drew a blank.

The complainants were six senior women shooters including Olympians Anjali Bhagwat and Suma Shirur.

The probe concluded that the sextet were lying.

The other members of the group are Ayonika Paul, Kuheli Gangulee, Tejaswani Sawant ,Lajja Gauswami and Olympian Sanjeev Rajput.

A DNA India report states that the above “accused the Kazakh of making ‘sexual overtures’ and forcing junior shooters into having ‘physical relations’ with him. They alleged that Lapidus promised the juniors ‘personal coaching’. Why, they also said he was rude, arrogant and doing everything in his power to ‘finish off’ the careers of the country’s top marksmen.”

It is believed that the senior shooters had a grievance that the coach was being too strict with them and did not care for seniority.

Five ways to fight sexual harassment(public service poster on a Seoul Subway Line 2 train) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NRAI chief Raninder Singh said:

“When we asked Bhagwat and other shooters to substantiate their claims, they had nothing to share with us. They could not provide us the details of any incident where they felt that such sexual overtures have been made. In fact, Bhagwat herself told me that she wrote the mail in a fit of anger. The reaction of the other shooters was also the same. They said Bhagwat told them to become co-signatories and they put their names in.

In the letter, it has been mentioned that Lapidus asked one of the junior girls her age. When she said she was 17, the coach told her ‘to come back when you are 21’. That’s all. Now, where is the sexual overture in this sentence? What the coach meant was that he couldn’t impart coaching to her as he only trains shooters above the age of 21. He doesn’t look after the junior coaching programme anymore. He only deals with seniors.”

The DNA India report claims that Lapidus was traumatized by the accusations and offered to quit.

The allegations were emailed to the NRAI by Bhagwat’s husband Mandar.

Singh added that the NRAI is unable to take any action against the errant shooters since they are not contracted to the association.

The complaint will be further probed by an Athletes Commission headed by Arjuna Awardee Moraad Ali Khan.

Interestingly, Anjali Bhagwat in June was part of a probe investigating sexual harassment charges by a junior against two of her male colleagues.

Bhagwat and Shirur will be asked to recuse themselves from the committee.

According to Wikipedia,

“Sexual harassment is bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.  In most modern legal contexts, sexual harassment is illegal. As defined by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ‘It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex.’ Harassment can include ‘sexual harassment’ or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. The legal definition of sexual harassment varies by jurisdiction. ….

Where laws surrounding sexual harassment exist, they generally do not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or minor isolated incidents. In the workplace, harassment may be considered illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted, or when the victim decides to quit the job). The legal and social understanding of sexual harassment, however, varies by culture.

In the context of US employment, the harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer, and harassers or victims can be of any sex or gender.

It includes a range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. Sexual harassment is a form of illegal employment discrimination in many countries, and is a form of abuse (sexual and psychological) and bullying. For many businesses and other organizations, preventing sexual harassment, and defending employees from sexual harassment charges, have become key goals of legal decision-making.”

Michael Clarke bites the Ashes dust

“Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust

Hey, I’m gonna get you too

Another one bites the dust

How do you think I’m going to get along, 

Without you, when you’re gone

You took me for everything that I had, 

And kicked me out on my own

Are you happy, are you satisfied

How long can you stand the heat

Out of the doorway the bullets rip

To the sound of the beat”

Steve Waugh never conquered the Final Frontier that was India. He never captained the Aussies to a series win on the sub-continent.

A cricket shot from Privatemusings, taken at the third day of the SCG Test between Australia and South Africa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Similarly, the Ashes remained Clarke’s bugbear, his Waterloo.

A bad back, a sore hamstring, an injured then retired Harris, a missing Haddin and a lackadaisical Johnson all added to his woes.

The cup overflows and not with Ashes.

The skipper’s out, stumped.

Clarke leaves behind a great legacy as a batsman and skipper. Many believed that he did a wonderful job of rebuilding the side after the departure of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and later Ricky Ponting.

But the replacements were not quite bunnies and thus the task of rebuilding anew falls on the young shoulders of Steve Smith.

The Pup is an old dog.

Clarke will always be remembered for his tact and sensitivity in tackling the shocking demise of Philip Hughes. He was the epitome of a gentleman and statesmanlike in his demeanour. His emotional oration moved his listeners to tears.

He will be missed on the cricket field.

Is Lionel Messi losing it?

Is Lionel Messi losing it?

The charismatic Argentinean first head-butted his Roma opponent, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, and then grabbed him by the throat. Barcelona won 3-0

The usually cool-as-cucumber Messi has been red-carded just once in his international career—on his debut.

The Barca player escaped with a warning from the referee this time.

What is going on?

The Argentinean wasn’t exactly pleased with his performances during the Copa America where his team came close to winning the title only to lose to hosts Chile in the final.

This is the second time Messi has missed out on much-coveted silverware while representing his country. The first was the 2014 World Cup when Argentina drew a blank against Germany in the title round.

The reaction in the Argentine press has not been complimentary with questions about his greatness as a player and commitment to the national squad surfacing.

This despite the diminutive genius being adjudged the best player in both tournaments. There is no doubt that Messi is the best player on the planet.

Is he meeting his own exalted standards and expectations?

Diego Maradona was swift to launch a broadside at Messi’s feats in the South American tourney.

He said:

“It’s logical to fall, it is easy. We have the best player in the world, one who can go and score four goals on Real Sociedad and then he comes here and doesn’t score at all. You would say, but man, are you Argentine or Swedish? We need to stop busting on the folks who say that we should baby Messi. Messi needs to be treated just like we treat all the other players who put on the national team uniform. He is the best in the world, for better or worse. But look, he didn’t kill or rape anyone. Let’s not turn this into a soap opera.”

Messi’s grandfather, Antonio Cuccitini, was even more caustic.

He said:

“Some of him was there. Triumphs are the greatest things there are. But the last three games he was bad. He was lazy.”

More recently, the Human Rights Foundation criticized Messi for hobnobbing with abusers of children’s rights.

Messi laid the foundation stone for a venue for the Africa Cup of Nations 2017 together with Gabon dictator Ali Bongo.

France Football claimed that he was paid 2.4 million GBP to make the trip.

Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen said:

“In providing PR services to Gabon’s Bongo family, Lionel Messi has seriously undermined the credibility of his own charitable foundation. Whereas Messi claims to support children’s rights, and even serves as a UNICEF ambassador to promote youth education, he has endorsed a kleptocratic regime that refuses to investigate the ritual murder of children in Gabon.Messi’s trip is part of the Bongo family’s PR campaign to promote the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which Gabon will host at enormous expense despite the fact that the Bongo family’s embezzlement has left 20 per cent of the population to live on less than $2 per day.”

Is it all adding to the pressure on the AlbiCeleste forward?

Or is this latest incident merely an aberration, a blot on a stellar record?

Still waters run deep.

Are we witnessing a rebirth of Messi as a firebrand on the field?

The speculation continues.

Wasim Akram’s road rage incident provokes thought

Road rage almost claimed a high profile victim this side of the Arabian Sea. Former Pak bowling superstar and commentator Wasim Akram escaped unscathed  when an unidentified person shot at his car tyres.

The incident occurred on Wednesday in Karachi.

The ex-cricketer was on his way to a training camp for young fast bowlers.

Akram said:

“A car hit mine, I stopped him and then this guy stepped out and fired at my car. When I asked the driver to come out he suddenly opened fire at me. He was definitely an official, I have noted the number of the car and given it to the police.

I am still in shock. There was no threat. I was going to to stadium for the camp. Your (media) job is to find out who that person was. If he can do it with me, then you can imagine what he would do with the common man.”

He added:

“It was just an accident when I was coming to the stadium. There is lot of rush at this time and I was in the middle lane and a car hit my car from behind. I signaled the driver to come to the side but he tried to make a fool and tried to race off which irritated me a lot

I got a bit frustrated and chased that car and blocked it and while I was standing and arguing with the driver a person stepped out from the back seat holding a gun and pointed it at me. But since the traffic had stopped and people recognized me as Wasim Akram the man than lowered his gun and fired at my car which was very scary.”

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan cricket team captain, after retirement from test cricket in 2002 and ODI 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Senior police officer Munir Shaikh said:

“This was just an incident of road rage. We have identified the car from CCTV footage and will have the suspect in custody in a couple of hours.”

What is road rage?

According to Wikipedia,

“Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other road vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions that result in injuries and even deaths. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving.”

Manifestations of road rage include:

• Generally aggressive driving, including sudden acceleration, braking, and close tailgating
• Cutting others off in a lane, or deliberately preventing someone from merging
• Chasing other motorists
• Flashing lights and/or sounding the horn excessively
• Yelling or exhibiting disruptive behavior at roadside establishments
• Driving at high speeds in the median of a highway to terrify drivers in both lanes
• Rude gestures (such as “the finger”, or [especially in Greece] giving mountzes)
• Shouting verbal abuses or threats
• Intentionally causing a collision between vehicles
• Hitting other vehicles
• Assaulting other motorists, their passengers, cyclists, or pedestrians
• Exiting the car to attempt to start confrontations, including striking other vehicles with an object
• Threatening to use or using a firearm or other deadly weapon
• Throwing projectiles from a moving vehicle with the intent of damaging other vehicles

The DMV website advises motorists how to deal with road rage thus:

“You must realize that you can’t control another driver’s behavior, but you can control your own. When another driver cuts you off, how you react will determine what happens next. If you are able to back off, take a deep breath, and remain calm, then you can defuse a potentially violent situation.

True, you might need to vent about the driver tailgating you all the way from town or the overly cautious motorist who consistently drove under the speed limit. Venting your frustration is normal and healthy, so long as you vent appropriately.

Talk to a friend or family member about the driving experience―telling the story can relieve your stress. Some driving clubs or online discussions offer members a chance to vent their frustration.”

Is there a medical basis for road rage?

The DMV page adds:

“In 5% to 7% of the nearly 10,000 drivers studied, road rage behavior was present. A general theory came out of the study, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) was identified as the cause of road rage.

Losing your temper used to be just bad form; now it has a diagnosis and can begin in the early teens. People diagnosed with IED have had multiple outbursts that are way out of proportion to the situation at hand. Generally, someone gets hurt or property is damaged.

Whether or not you believe in a medical basis for road rage, you still need to know how to deal with it. Uncertain situations can escalate unpredictably, and the best advice is to avoid confrontations altogether. If you tend to provoke other drivers or are on the aggressive side of road rage, put some effort into learning new driving habits.

And for those of us who run the middle of the road, maintain those defensive driving skills and keep a watchful eye on developing hazardous situations.”

Indian actor Salman Khan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Driving under the influence gets the headlines especially when accidents involving deaths hit the headlines like the Salman Khan case. However, aggressive and drowsy driving can be equally potent and harmful manifestations of carelessness behind the wheel. Perhaps, it’s time that besides breath analysers, yawn-o-meters and BP monitors are pressed into service by our hardworking defenders of the law. Perhaps, autonomous vehicles—as tested by Google—are not such a bad idea after all. Mass public transit systems always remain an option as long as they are not priced out of reach like the Mumbai Metro system threatens to be. As for raging maniacs, it’s simply ‘commuter rage’ now!

A driver is in charge not just of himself; he is also the steerer of 2000+ pounds of heavy metallic machinery that can cause immense damage when misdirected. It can act like a manned, guided missile.

It is in everyone’s interest if drivers recognise their aggressive tendencies and take steps to prevent untoward and possibly fatal incidents.

The message:
Don’t drive drunk.
Don’t drive angry.
Don’t drive sleepy.

As someone once said, “Safety doesn’t happen by accident.”