sports

Diego Maradona: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Diego Maradona Recommends Comedy To Unsettled Fans

What he said:

“If you are scared then don’t come and watch. You can stay at home and watch a comedy on DVD. Football is passion and entertainment.”

Diego Maradona is as expressive with his words as he is with a football.

The Argentinean genius responds to criticism that the results he has achieved so far with his new employer—Al Wasl—are unsettling the team’s supporters.

Al Wasl is part of the 12-team UAE professional league.

Maradona signed a two-year contract with the Dubai team in May.

The league is just four years old and Al Wasl are yet to win a title.

Al Wasl were handed a 5-0 drubbing by Dubai Club in one of its warm-up games.

The club’s owners gave Maradona a vote of confidence in a public statement, “The season is long and this is just one match.We have full faith in our head coach who is working hard to develop a strong team that will be true contenders for the league title.”   

The club is more than satisfied with the the recruitment of the stocky No. 10 and its effect on the club’s international profile.

Club chairman Marwan bin Bayat spoke to Reuters:

There’s no doubt that ever since the appointment of Diego Maradona as head coach the name of Al Wasl has exploded on the worldwide radar.     
In four months our followers on Twitter grew from 50 to 1600 and we have received over 30000 visitors to our website which is a 300% increase.   

Maradona said:

If someone does not like me or has anything against me, it doesn’t really matter to me. I am with Al Wasl, I have a contract here and I will complete my contract to the last day. I will give my best at all times. After the 5-0 defeat, some people might think otherwise, but I don’t care about what they think. Al Wasl have probably one per cent the budget of Arsenal and they lost 8-2 the other day [to Manchester United].

What he really meant:

“You can either watch comedy on DVD or watch me  on the side-lines. Oh, I forget, one man’s comedy is another’s tragedy. Yes, I stick with my recommendation, ‘Stay home and watch comedy instead. I have the fans’ interests at heart’.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m the next Danny De Vito. Why isn’t Hollywood coming calling yet? Do I have lose that mop of hair?”

David Gower: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

David Gower Pricks Shoaib Akhtar’s Hot Air Balloon

What he said:

"Its all talk, hot air. Wouldn’t want to get stuck in the argument.”

Former England skipper and commentator David Gower is dismissive of Shoaib Akhtar’s remarks concerning Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography, “Controversially Yours”.

Gower said:

Shoaib had the talent. He was one of the quicks in his generation. He had the pace to trouble the best. Even (Vivian) Richards was troubled by pace. There was nothing new about that. But look at Sachin’s record, his thousands of runs in Test and one-day cricket…Its all hot air, irrelevant!

The left-hander with the sublime skills at the crease was equally critical of Akhtar’s suggestion that ball-tampering be sanctioned:

I understand what they are saying but there has to be a line somewhere. Its like legalising good ivory. It will increase poaching anyway. If you say its okay to do tampering, you will get a lot of tamperers. It will encourage cheating.

What he really meant:

“Shoaib’s  blowing hot and then cold on Tendulkar makes this a non-starter. Do we really need to take this topic further?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m a batsman. Do you seriously expect me to take a bowler’s side—on this? I can still recall quaking in my boots when we had the West Indian quartet of fast bowlers at our throats in the 80s. It’s the stuff of nightmares.”

Rajeev Shukla: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rajeev Shukla Is Not Fatigued For Excuses

What he said:

We have three formats. There are very few common players. There is no fatigue in common players.

To avoid fatigue, we said there should be proper coordination between physio and trainer. We will talk to the franchises to reduce the participation of players in parties that are held on the eve of matches.

So that the players get rest. But, if you say that there is fatigue due to IPL, I don’t agree with that.

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla refutes the ‘absurd’ notion that cricketers are tired because of the IPL. The ICC virtually cleared the Future Tours Programme (FTP) schedule to accommodate the IPL.

The BCCI was severely criticized following the abject surrender of the national side in the away series in England. The tourists lost 0-4—a complete whitewash.

The IPL was seen as the largest contributory factor for this defeat.

Injuries to key players on the tour only exacerbated the perception.

What he really meant:

“Cricketers are superheroes, robots or demi-Gods. Have it whichever way you like. Fatigue is for mere mortals.“

“Just wave a little IPL moolah and the word ‘fatigue’ disappears from the players’ dictionary.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“It’s a no-brainer. Let’s drop Tests altogether.”

Brandon Kelly: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Brandon Kelly Is One Hot Dog

What he said:

“I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie Drive.As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, ‘I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.’"

Brandon Kelly, who gained his fifteen minutes of fame by dunking a hot dog at golfing superstar, Tiger Woods at the Frys.com Open in San Martin, California last week, comes up with a bizarre explanation for his misdemeanor.

The 31 year-old claims to be a Woods fan.

He said:

"I honestly wish Tiger the best.One day I hope he breaks Jack Nicklaus’ record."

Woods, speaking to Golf.com about the incident, remarked:

"I guess he wanted to be in the news.And I’m sure he will be."

What Kelly really meant:

“Tiger’s lucky I wasn’t watching Demi Moore’s ‘StripTease’ instead.”

What Kelly definitely didn’t:

“Hot Dogs—Part Deux, here I come.”

Anna Kournikova: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

Anna Kournikova Wishes For Children—Own or Adopted

What she said:

"I absolutely want to have children, whether I have my own or adopt.I love taking care of people."

Anna Kournikova, former tennis diva and trainer on ‘The Biggest Loser’ television show outlines her future plans.

The stunning Russian is still with longtime boyfriend and pop superstar, Enrique Iglesias—son of the legendary Julio Iglesias.

Marriage isn’t a priority though.

"[Marriage] isn’t important to me. I’m in a happy relationship – that’s all that matters.I believe in commitment. I believe in being open and trusting each other and respecting each other completely."

Kournikova’s interview appears in the Oct 18 issue of Women’s Health magazine.

What she really meant:

“Yeah, I don’t mind gaining a few inches around the waist—for this cause.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“No prizes for guessing who the disciplinarian is gonna be (when we have kids).”

Andy Murray: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Andy Murray Roils Up Some Tennis Balls

What he said:

"If you asked a golfer to change balls every single week, they’d be hitting balls 20 yards too far and hitting shots all over the place."

Andy Murray takes aim at the differences in tennis balls used for various tournaments.

Murray set the ball (pun unintended) rolling with his comments on Tuesday, 11th October, 2011 at the Shanghai Masters.

Rafael Nadal chimed in —on Wednesday:

You play in Bangkok with one ball, in Tokyo with another ball, here with another ball. That’s too much in my opinion. (It) is dangerous and can cause injuries.

Something must change because is too dangerous for the shoulders. You cannot change the ball every week.

Nadal was almost magnanimous claiming that he would accept less prize money as long as he does not have to give in to sponsor demands to use their spheroids.

I am very happy to win less money and have my health.

If we compare the Tokyo ball with this one (in Shanghai), it was much bigger, slower. The ball is completely different. This ball is very fast, it goes small and doesn’t stay on the racquet. It flies a lot and is tough.

Nadal relented somewhat conceding that it was not necessary to have one standard ball the whole season.

For example, when you start the clay-court season, you have the same ball for that period; when you have the American hard court season, you have the same ball. So that’s positive.
But what cannot happen is to have one ball in Rome, one ball in Madrid, one ball in Barcelona… That doesn’t work.

What Murray really meant:

“It’s not as though we’re dancers on court—a slow dance, tango and then salsa. Can you imagine that?”

What Murray definitely didn’t:

“Goodness gracious great balls of fire!”

Men’s Tennis: 3 reasons for Novak Djokovic’s superb season

Three  reasons for Novak Djokovic’s stupendous season:

3) Gluten-free diet

From being floored by flour, the Serb mopped the courts with his opponents.

Gluten was his kryptonite; free of it, he was transformed into a redoubtable foe—a Superman.

2) The HEAD Commercial

The Maria Sharapova imitation in HEAD commercials had opponents confused. Were they playing the Joker or Gorgeous Maria?

The ‘gentlemen’ would not let a ‘lady’ lose.

1) Rafa’s Autobiography

Rafael Nadal was too busy co-writing his autobiography leaving the Serb free to rewrite history books.

Feel free to add your own….

Quote of the Day:
All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened.
–Ernest Hemingway

Yuvraj Singh: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Yuvraj Singh Lays Down The Law

What he said:

“The problem in India is if some one says a rooster has given an egg it will become news!! Whether it’s true or not it doesn’t matter."

Yuvraj Singh is livid that bookie Mazhar Majeed named Harbhajan Singh and him among the cricketers he had ‘access’ to.

Majeed and Pakistani fast bowler, Mohammad Asif, are on trial in a London court facing spot-fixing charges in a betting scam.

The News Of The World broke the sensational expose with footage of meetings between intrepid reporter Mazhar Mehmood and the crooked bookie.

Yuvraj tweeted:

"And who is Majid!! Absolute rubbish! Don’t no (sic), never met!”

The next tweet compared Majeed to a rooster practically terming his ‘lie’ a cock-and-bull story.

Harbhajan Singh was equally furious speaking to reporters in Nagpur:

I don’t know who this person is, I have never met him. We will definitely take some action against him. I don’t know whether it will be legal action or whatever.

But I will definitely bring it to the BCCI’s notice and I’m sure they’ll take the right kind of action against these kind people who are trying to spoil the game.

What he really meant:

“Sensationalism first, fact-finding later. That’s the name of the game.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“This rooster (Mazhar Majeed) laid some golden eggs for us (Harbhajan Singh and me).”

Rafael Nadal: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rafael Nadal is Retrospective

What he said:

“The Rafa of 2010 had something more special than Rafa of 2011.”

Rafael Nadal introspects on his performance this year comparing it to his impeccable 2010.

Nadal said:

“Win or lose depends on small things. These small things I did better in 2010 than 2011.”

On Djokovic:

When I talk about improving or being a better player, it doesn’t mean making big changes in my game, it’s always just the small things, you just do them better, try to do them better.

This year Djokovic won three Grand Slams, he didn’t lose many matches. I don’t believe that he changed his game unbelievably. He did some small things better than a few years ago.

What he really meant:

“The Djokovic of 2011 is something special too.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“With Djokovic taking up permanent residence in my head, you’d expect me to return serve like him—circa 2010.”

Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Graeme Swann Provides Skipper Material

What he said:

“I lose my rag fairly easily, so the captains I’ve enjoyed playing under are the ones who don’t get flustered in the middle even when the pressure is on.”

Graeme Swann expounds on his reasons why Kevin Pietersen was not the right choice for skipper of the English cricket side.

Swann wrote—in the Sun:

There is no doubt Kevin Pietersen is a really fine batsman but he was never the right man to captain England.

Some people are better leaders of men and Kev, for all his talent, is not one of those natural leaders.

The English off-spinner further elaborated that he needed someone “who can calm me down”.

Swann said—of Pietersen:

“At one point in India, his leadership was reduced to screaming ‘F****** bowl f****** straight’ at everyone.”

Swann contrasts Andrew Strauss’ leadership saying “he is one of those guys who demands respect.”

The No. 1 Test bowler in the world commended Strauss:

He always says the right things and his word is never questioned.

If you were in the trenches, you’d pick him to be in charge and his captaincy is founded on leading from the front. He can be hard-nosed, too, if necessary.

What Graeme Swann really meant:

“You can rest assured asking me to ‘F****** bowl f****** straight’  got me to do anything but that.”

What Graeme Swann definitely didn’t:

“Just give us a ‘F****** skipper’—as long as it’s not me.”