Leicester on course for first ever EPL title

Claudio Ranieri (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is proving to be a fairy tale finish for last year’s almost-relegated Leicester City in the English Premier League (EPL).

Even a 1-1 draw against Manchester United last evening couldn’t dim the jubilation in their joyous fans.

And it’s not just their die-hard fans who are celebrating.

The mid-level club has made fans all over the world with their glorious run to the title this season in an unlikely topsy-turvy EPL season.

Defending champions Chelsea are nowhere in the top four and will not qualify for next year’s Champions League.

They still lurk as potential spoilers for both title aspirants. Tottenham Hotspurs play them this evening and Chelsea encounter Leicester in their final game next week.

Should the Spurs drop any points to Chelsea, Leicester will be home and dry with two games in hand.

Should Chelsea lose, a win against Everton at home should suffice for the Foxes.

Either way, it’s looking very rosy for Claudio Ranieri’s men and the Italian manager will be looking forward to a two million pound bonus in his burgeoning kitty.

A couple of years ago, it was Atletico Madrid who made believers of sceptics knocking out Barcelona and Real Madrid on its way to its first La Liga title since 1996.

Atletico are in the running this year as well— a three-way race including Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It is always gratifying to see the small guy win and as this writer put it in his mid-season piece, “It’s not about whether you play as well as you can, it’s about simply doing better than the rest.”

That happens to be the story of this year’s EPL. None of the former champion sides could lift their standards high enough to take the fight to giant-slayers Leicester.

Leicester are deserving victors unless there’s an unlikely, nasty twist in the tale.

Former doubters disbelieve no more.

Rahul S Verghese: Family man, marathoner and musician

Rahul Verghese is the founder of Running and Living, “a marketing company with a passion for running.” Their goal is to get 200 million Indians running: man , woman and child. Their marketing goal? Let’s talk about that later, shall we?

When did you start running? What was your first race? How many races have you completed so far? Can you break it down by distances?

I started running in December 2000 and ran my 1st Marathon in Oct 2001 in Chicago. Have done 54 Marathons and Ultra marathons across 6 Continents so far.
You’ve written and published a book, Unleash Your Potential. (I haven’t read it.) What’s it about?

My book – “Running And Living – unleash your potential” is about Running And Life and the several parallels and learnings between them. It’s about the multiplicity of impact points that running can have on you as a person and fire you up with passion, get you to start dreaming, and then going on to living your dream, whatever it may be.

Lots of lessons from Running that I incorporate into my daily life – read the book – Running And Living 🙂

Have you ever not completed a race? When and why?

I have had one DNF at a 50km trail run in Faridabad. I had not trained as required and paid the price with getting cramps and opting out at around the 40km mark. Big learning that like on Wall Street you are only as good as your last quarter.

Have you run races injured or sick? What’s your advice to runners concerning it?

I have never run a race sick, I have run a Chicago marathon post hernia surgery in 2003 and a San Francisco Marathon post a fall on my back. I took it really easy in both and kept a strict watch on listening to my body. I never take pain killers as that would mask any signals I need to listen to. I would suggest that if you are sick or injured – run a shorter distance if possible, else run much slower than planned – or change your objective to having fun – carry a camera, cheer people on – or else just opt out of the run and perhaps volunteer or spectate. There is always another run to participate in when you are back to normal.

Where do you usually train? How often?

There is no usual place that I train – the usual place that I train is – Outdoors – wherever I am. I am in the Himalaya this week and I will be running at around 12000 feet. But its not training for some event. I am just running to enjoy myself and be out in nature.

I came across a picture of you holding a guitar in one of your Facebook posts? Are you also a musician? What instruments can you play?

I like playing the Guitar and Harmonica and singing 🙂

You’re married. What’s your spouse’s name? What does she do? Any children? What are they doing?

My wife Jamuna runs on and off. She’s a banker and now consulting with PWC. My daughter Diya is working with VISA and my daughter Naina is studying economics and psychology, with a year more of college to go.

If you were to do it all over again, what would you change? Why?

I wouldn’t change anything if I was to live life over again. I have enjoyed every moment so far and will continue to do so.

Part II of this interview will follow when Rahul Verghese returns from the Himalayas on May 10.

Disclosure: The interview was conducted via email. Answers are published as-is except for spell-check.

Is winning the toss an advantage and is doing away with it the solution?

Trust Ravi Shastri to look upon the toss-or-not debate from his own unique perspective as a commentator, “I’ll have no job left if the toss is done away with.”

That’s the least of his worries considering he’s the front-runner to be the next Team India coach.

It was Ricky Ponting who set the ball rolling with his suggestion that the toss be done away with and the visiting captain chooses to bat or field.

He was seconded by his former skipper Steve Waugh and Michael Holding.

The underlying theme was that home sides would stop preparing pitches that suited them hopefully resulting in more sporting contests.

Would it eliminate ‘hometown’ advantage? Michael Holding felt not.

The English broke with tradition and effected the desired change in their County Championship this year.

The visiting county is given the option of bowling first—should they refuse, the toss is taken as normal and the winning skipper decides what to do, take strike or bowl.

Robert Key, ECB cricket committee member, had this to say:

“My original view was that we should have tougher penalties for poor pitches. But that is so hard to police. It just becomes a minefield. But what I still think is that the stigma over spinning pitches has to end. If we see 15 wickets fall to seam bowling on the first day of a game, nobody bats an eye. But if the ball turns on day one, people start to worry. That has to stop.”

The above is probably manna to the ears of BCCI chieftains and the Indian team’s think-tank given that the Nagpur Test wicket for the match against South Africa was sanctioned by the ICC.

He added:

“The cricket committee had a two-day meeting and 90% of it was spent talking about pitches. We went through all the options. We talked about everything you have seen suggested on social media. And in the end everyone there agreed that this was the way to go. The rules governing the use of the heavy roller are remaining the same.

We want to stop counties producing pitches that just suit their seamers. We want to take that luxury away from them and instead get them to produce pitches that result in a more even battle between bat and ball and require pace and spin bowlers as well as seamers.

I’m not surprised by the negative reactions. They are the same reactions I had when I first heard the suggestion. But it was not a decision taken lightly, and I’d just say to people: let’s try it and see what happens. Our original suggestion to the ECB board was to try this for a year in Division Two. It was their idea to try it in Division One as well.

We’re not suddenly going to see five more spinners. We can’t expect a miracle cure. But we might see a situation where, instead of spinners bowling 20% of overs in the Championship, they might bowl 30%.”

Andrew Gale, Yorkshire skipper, disagreed:

“It’s a decision that has come straight after a Test series defeat in the UAE, which has brought the problems to everyone’s attention. But we don’t want subcontinent-paced wickets in England. That is not what people want to watch. If we had gone to Australia and won this close season, I doubt that this decision would have happened.

Obviously the rule has been brought in to encourage spinners and because of a recognition that the wickets have become too seamer-friendly. The intention is a good one – I know that. But if wickets are that bad, why haven’t points been docked? Fifteen-plus wickets have fallen many times on the first day and it has repeatedly been put down to bad batting. I can see Keysie’s point about something needing to be done, but why haven’t pitch inspectors done their job properly? It comes down to people being strong. “

He added:

“I am a traditionalist. I love Championship cricket. The toss has existed since the beginning of time. Why keep messing with the game? It’s too complicated for some people as it is.”

Nathan Leamon, England’s performance analyst, wrote a piece for the NightWatchman questioning whether doing away with the toss would achieve the desired results.

The reasons listed were:

• Can we be reliably certain that groundsmen can and will prepare pitches to order? (Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravi Shastri, take note.)
• Home teams may prepare pitches even more favourable to them.
• Winning the toss may not be an advantage at all.

Cricket is now played on covered pitches I.e. they are no longer exposed to the ravages of inclement weather. In the era of uncovered pitches, batting first made sense and was definitely advantageous.

Is winning the toss an additional asset—a twelfth man?

Gaurav Sood and Derek Willis answer the above query in an analytical piece on Cricinfo.

They write:

“After analysing data from more than 44,000 cricket matches across formats, however, we find that there is generally just a small – though material – advantage of winning the toss. The benefit varies widely, across formats, conditions, and depending on how closely matched the teams are.

We find that over all those matches, the team that wins the toss has won the match 2.8% more often. That small advantage increases for one-day matches and decreases for T20 contests. For day-night ODI and List A matches, the advantage is greater still, with the side winning the toss winning nearly 6% more games.

Winning the toss convey an advantage of 2.6% in first-class and Test matches, where pitches can deteriorate, giving the team that bats last a tougher challenge. But the largest boost appears to be in one-day matches, where teams that win the toss win the match 3.3% more often. “

What’s even more striking is the following observation:

“Using ICC monthly rankings for international sides, we looked at whether winning the toss made a difference when teams were closely matched or at opposite ends of the rankings. When closely matched teams play, winning the toss has a larger impact on the probability of winning. As expected, the impact of winning the toss was less when a clearly better side played a weaker one. “

They add:

“Whether due to cold weather or grassy pitches that can make batting difficult, teams that won the toss in April matches in England lost nearly 5% more often than they won. In every other month, the toss winner was more likely to win the match. Perhaps that alone will encourage visiting captains to take the field first, at least at the start of the English season.”

Newton D’souza: Sportsman, sporting guy and more than just a running enthusiast

How would you define yourself?

A fun loving , Positive, full of energy person who believes that Life is very short and we have to make the most of it.

When did you start running? What was your first race? How many races have you completed so far? Can you break it down by distances?

I used to run during school days in races however lost touch after that when life’s hectic schedule took over . The Weighing scale touched 100 kgs in 2007 and that’s when I realised, I need to start running again.

The SCMM Dream Run in Jan 2008 followed by the HM in 2009

1 full marathon, 12 Half marathons, one 25K run ( BNP endurathon) and approx.. 17 nos 10K runs

Which race in your opinion is the toughest course?

Amongst the ones I have run.. It is BNP Endurathon because of the Steep climbs it has.

Have you ever not completed a race? When and why?

Never… Crammed once but completed within qualifying time

Have you run races injured or sick? What’s your advice to runners concerning it?

Ran one race in 2011 where I had just recovered 2 weeks prior to the race from having water deposited in my lungs and mild fever .

My advice, is know your body really well and then take a decision. Run that race for Fun and ignore the timing part if injured or sick.

Have you ever been a pacer? When, where? Would you like to do it more often?

Yes.. At Aarey Half Marathon in 2010. Was a 2hr 30 mins pacer.   Yes , would love to as its an amazing experience…

What, in your opinion, is an accessory every runner must have?

A Simple Stop Watch

You’ve always been a sportsperson from a young age. What sports were you into when you were much younger? Could you list your medals and/or awards?

Football , Hockey, Cricket, Athletics  &, Langdi (Guess this game developed my strong legs for running).. on a lighter note.

It’s all during school Days ( 100 M , 200 M , 400M , 800 M ( won 3rd place at State level in junior category) )

Is it true that even if you’ve not been active physically for a time, the base you’ve built when active stands you in good stead when you resume? I’ve read articles that say so. What’s been your personal experience?

Yes its true and I am a prime example. From being an active sports person during younger days to a fat obese man in the thirties to a Sub 2 hrs  half marathon runner in the 40’s)

At one time, you were considering doing the triathlon. What prevented  you?

Still not confident about completing the swimming part of it as well as .. don’t have the time to practise for it.

Do you draw any lessons from running that you incorporate into your personal and professional life? What are they?

Yes.. Personal life is nothing but a marathon race. You do not have to win the race or be a top category runner to be a marathoner… Which many strive for and get disappointed with life because they hav’nt achieved it. You have to only complete the race  and enjoy it and  keep striving to getting your personal timing/ Life better.

You travel quite often for work. How do you fit in running into your busy schedule?

Yes I Do..    Somehow try to manage it when ever I have the time. To be honest, I haven’t been practising much for the last 2 years due to travel and work.

Where do you train? How often?

Mostly at the Air India ground in kalina and at times on Juhu beach or Bandra Mount Marys ( for hill runs)

On an average .. twice a week

Any last words for the readers?

Birds were meant to fly, Fish were meant to swim and Human’s were to Run.   It  comes Naturally.

Newton D’souza is a friend first. He’s also Senior Management level at Tech Mahindra Business Service Group a  Reputed ITes & BPO company. His running motto is: I don’t have a Runners Body but this Body can and will always Run.

Email: ndsouza946@gmail.com

Disclosure: The interview was conducted via email. The answers are published as-is.

Salman Khan: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Salman Khan would rather be a walkabout at Rio.

What he said:

“Since I can only participate in the Olympics if walking were a sport, isiliye main woh hoon jo gaadi ko piche se dhakka de sakta hai  (I’m that vehicle that can push from behind).”

Salman Khan is unperturbed about the controversy on his appointment as the Indian contingent’s Goodwill envoy to the Rio Olympics.

Describing his duties as ambassador, he said:

“I want to charge up the players and see how they are progressing. If we can increase our medal tally compared to last year, it would be great. When that happens, the infrastructure, diet, coaching and other facilities get better. Pehle (ambassador) nahi lekar aaye thay toh theek hai, par ab jab kisi ko lekar aaye hain toh (earlier the players never had an ambassador but now that they do have one ) the players should be encouraged. “

What he really meant:

“I don’t really have a sport and walking’s really not my style either, I’ll be that ambassador who leads the charge from behind—for a change.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“An ambassador is a man (or woman) who lies abroad for his or her country. Look at me, I’m doing it right here—for myself and Indian sport. ”

Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are making a new wrestling film together (Satire)

MUMBAI—

Salman Khan is upset and wishes to make amends.
The Bollywood star was apparently taken aback by all the criticism from various quarters—specifically Yogeshwar Dutt and Milkha Singh—at his appointment as goodwill ambassador to the Rio Olympics by the Indian Olympic Association.
Salman has announced that he and Aamir Khan will join forces and make yet another wrestling movie that will depict the stories of Dutt and Sushil Kumar.
The scion of Salim Khan will play Dutt and Aamir will essay the role of Kumar.
“That’s the least we can do for these magnificent real-life wrestling heroes. And I know how painful wrestling is— after Sultan. In fact, we’ll have Dutt and Kumar perform as body doubles for the shooting of this opus.”

The biopic is titled ‘Pehelwano’.

The Great Khali will be making a special appearance in the picture.

Dutt and Kumar are not so happy about Khali’s appearance grumbling that WWE is mere showmanship and wrestling cannot be about jumping up and down and yelling at your opponents. Kumar added that in the WWE anything goes and most fighting happens outside the ring.

The IOA was unavailable for comment.

Disclaimer: While the characters in this story are real, the tale isn’t. But you knew that already, didn’t you?

Salman Khan does not generate enough goodwill as IOA’s brand ambassador (Updated)

Indian actor Salman Khan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is Salman Khan the right choice as Indian Olympic Association’s Goodwill Ambassador for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games?

The sporting fraternity is divided—-split wide open in fact.

Olympic bronze medalist at the 2012 London Games in the 60 kg freestyle wrestling category Yogeshwar Dutt condemned the move in a series of tweets.

“Can anyone tell me what’s the job of an ambassador? Why are you fooling the nation’s public?”

“You can promote your movie anywhere you like to. You have every right. But the Olympics is not the right place to do so.”

“PT Usha and Milkha Singh have served the country during difficult times. What has this ambassador done?”

“I’m a sportsperson, so I was made an ambassador. I don’t drink liquor nor smoke beedis or cigarettes. Why Salman for the Olympics?”

Milkha Singh who missed a medal by a whisker at the 1964 Rome Olympics in the 400 metres joined Dutt’s criticism saying:

“India has produced so many sportspersons who have given their sweat and blood for the country like PT Usha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ajit Pal and so many others. One of these could have been made a goodwill ambassador. What was the need to import a person from Bollywood?”

IOA Vice-president Tarlochan Singh defended the decision.

He said:

“When celebrities who appeal to public come forward to help naturally we get more publicity which is good for sports. Trend among the youth is that they look towards such film celebrities. If we utilise them there’s no harm. We’re getting his ( Salman Khan) help and not giving him anything. IOA is not paying him a penny.”

Sports is entertainment and sports persons are entertainers.

So why can’t entertainers be sporting ambassadors? They can attract more eyeballs and appeal to a wider demographic. Perhaps, women will take much more interest in sports now that actors such as Dharmendra, Abhishek Bacchan, John Abraham, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and others are investing in sporting properties such as the IPL, ISL, PWL and others. Isn’t that what the IPL and Big Bash all about—an attempt to attract more women and children, making these games a family outing?

Sports other than cricket can certainly do with the boost and interest generated.

However, the timing of Salman’s appointment is suspect. The Bollywood superstar plays a wrestler in his upcoming movie Sultan. His rival Aamir Khan plays yet another in Dangal.

Was this one-upmanship on Salman’s part cocking a snook at the more thoughtful Khan?

It certainly stinks to high hell.

Salman Khan does not smell of roses given his embroilment in a hit-and-run court case despite being acquitted.

It doesn’t help that Sardar Singh and Mary Kom behaved like star-struck fans at the press conference.

Reel life imitates life—not the other way around. It’s time our sporting heroes realized that.

Pro boxer Vijender Singh disagrees:

“This isn’t about Salman bhai’s upcoming movie Sultan or its promotion. Salman does a lot of movies every year, and he doesn’t need Olympics for it. Like he himself said, he is doing it as a goodwill gesture. And I have no doubt that he is doing this for the better of Indian sports.

So all in all, I feel this is a really positive step for the future of sports in our country. I have no doubt that it will make a difference in terms of getting more people interested in Olympics sports.”

Singh is hardly the best person to comment though. The pugilist is part of Bollywood starring in the Hindi film Fugli. He probably still harbors  filmi aspirations.

Vijender Singh at Milind Soman’s gym opening (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the press conference, the charming Khan said:

“My heroes are Sania Mirza, Vijender Singh, Sushil Kumar in sports. I think wrestling is a very painful sport. I was shooting for my film where I shot for many wrestling sequences. I can act like I am fighting, but I cannot fight like wrestler in real life.”

Scriptwriter Salim Khan supported his son’s selection by taking to Twitter shooting out the following tweets:

(Salim Khan does make a point.

After sports persons, models and film actors are probably the fittest people in this country.

The fitness revolution in the film industry was heralded by the likes of Salman Khan and Sunjay Dutt.

Dutt took to body-building after kicking a drug habit.

The duo were a  sea change from the chocolate heroes Indian womanhood went ga-ga over. It must be said that Salman and Sunjay combined brawn and glossy looks. They are also the perennial bad boys of Bollywood.

Now it’s rare to encounter any newcomer to Bollywood  who does not boast a chiselled physique.

Abhay Deol and Ranbir Kapoor are notable exceptions.

Salman cultivates an image of a fitness icon and a hard drinker. It’s hard to reconcile the two. The man is a contradiction in terms: actor, drunk, Casanova, reckless and foolhardy, philanthropist, singer and painter.

)

Ben Stokes: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Ben Stokes is not comforted by nemesis Carlos Brathwaite’s shirty request.

What he said:

“[Carlos] Brathwaite came and asked me for my shirt at the end, which was pretty strange, looking back on it. You’ve just whacked me and now you want a shirt? I didn’t really need to ask him [for his]. Can’t imagine what I’d use it for. A duvet maybe?”

Ben Stokes gives up his shirt as well to Carlos Brathwaite besides four hits out of bounds.

What he really meant:

“What?!!! You’ve clubbed me for four sixes in a row in a World Cup final and you want the shirt of my back too???!!!”

What he definitely didn’t:

“ Was that a not so subliminal message from Carlos to switch to another sport like soccer, perhaps?”

Sania Mirza: What she said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Sania Mirza works out.

What she said:

“Strong is sexy. I don’t think very skinny is attractive. I think healthy, strong and muscular is extremely attractive.”

Sania Mirza is not confused. She’s a tennis player first and then anything else or everything else.

The Indian tennis diva says:

“I have the kind of body that no matter how much weights I lift, I don’t look muscular – not that I have a problem with anyone looking muscular. I don’t bulk up, I don’t have that body shape or type, which is not a good or bad thing, it is what it is. Tennis is my first priority. If I don’t have tennis, I don’t have anything else. I don’t think anyone wants to photograph me if I’m not playing well. Tennis requires me to have a certain level of fitness and strength, and I’ll do everything I can to get there.”

What she really meant:

“Strong is beautiful. Isn’t that the WTA tag line for their promotional video. Can I say otherwise?”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I wonder why tennis players don’t come in ‘petite’ anymore.”

Dipa Karmakar vaults into Rio Olympics and history books

Dipa Karmakar was hardly an unknown name when she made history a couple of days ago by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. She’s also the first Indian gymnast to do so in 52 years.

She was that girl—the one who won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth games, another first.

Her compatriot Ashish Kumar won a medal at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth games and another at the Asian Games that same year.

But his success story ended due to infighting within the national gymnastics body and apathy from its administrators.

Karmakar hails from Tripura—one of India’s backward states. That she made it so far is incredible.

What’s galling , however, is that it is only now that she becomes part of the TOPS scheme for Olympic athletes with a grant of Rs. 30 lakhs.

Karmakar is an exponent of the dreaded Produnova vault; she has the highest score  ever among women logging 15.100 with a 7.000 for difficulty, 8.100 for execution and a 0.1 penalty.

Incorrect execution could result in serious spinal injuries and even death.

Karmakar says, “I’d seen boys do it, so why not? It’s tough because when you land after two aerial somersaults, the weight that comes on the leg is double – if I’m 45 kg, the legs have to take 80-90 kg.”

The 22-year-old from Agartala has strong legs. She is only the third from five women gymnasts to successfully attempt the maneuver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUVLSIZV_0U

Can Karmakar bring home an Olympic medal?

Karmakar believes she can. She wants it—badly

Her sister Puja has no doubts that it’s possible.

She says, “The world maybe wondering where this motivation suddenly came from. We always knew. Just watch her on the Vault.”