All Hail El Furia Roja

El Nino

Finally Euro 2008 has come to an end. The great Spanish drought is over. The long wait of 44 years has come to an end. They have comprehensively beaten all that have come their way , be it the world champions Italy , the spirited Russia or the gritty Germans. Now Mr.Luis Aragones can smile [I too as a spanish supporter :)] as his tag of the under achievers is gone.

It was a fitting end to the tournament for the Spaniards , though only a 1-0 score line in the end. And who else but El Nino score the winner. Throughout the early stages he was under the shadow of David Villa but he had the last smile scoring the winner in the final. The Spanish formation of 4-5-1 was found too hard to contain by all the teams. Cesc Fabregas , Xavi Hernandez, David SIlva , Marcos Senna and Andres Iniesta formed a deadly combination and were off target only against Italy. Yet otherwise no one had an answer to this awesome five. Also having Sergio Ramos and Capedevila as wing backs further strengthend the attack. Credit must also be given to Carlos Puyol and Marchena who had the defence under control. And well the best of the lot Iker Casillas who not only saved the 2 penalties against Italy but made a number of spectacular saves. He conceeded just 2 goals in the tournament.

Germany, who were through out the tournament highly erratic, had an off day. They were consistently off the mark and their defence was always under pressure. Michael Ballack will return home again without the winners medal , something which has been eluding him for quite some time now. Despite the failure of some highly rated players , this Euro has had its share of surprises and shocks and also rise of new stars.

Now on the longer perspective , this Spanish team is a very young side who can be a major force by 2010. Italy , France will have to regroup quickly since they have had some retirements. And finally we will have to wait and watch if teams like Russia will remain as One Tournament Wonder or will they become a feared force. So now its time to celebrate and enjoy with Spain. Its been a truly wonderful and colourful tournament. All hail El Furia Roja!!!

NBA Draft

The NBA season is over. The Boston Celtics have been crowned the Champions. Now the time has come for the NBA Draft. NBA Draft is the process where the 30 teams select players who wish to join the league. The players are selectes from College and High School Level. The order of teams to pick the players is decided by the NBA Draft Lottery , where preference is given to the 14 teams which failed to qaulify for the playoffs[Poorest Win-Loss record]. The Lottery system used is a very interesting one where numbered ping pong balls are used to choose the order of teams. Its been designed in such a way that the team with the poorest performance has the maximum probability of getting number 1 draft pick. The logic of this is simple , the teams picking first get better players.

After the college level season is over there will be a few players who are expected to take the top positions in draft. The tag NBA first overall draft pick is a very coveted one and also one which becomes a household name for the media.The order for draft this year is

1. Chicago
2. Miami
3. Minnesota
4. Seattle
5. Memphis
6. New York
7. LA Clippers
8. Milwaukee
9. Charlotte
10. New Jersey
11. Indiana
12. Sacramento
13. Portland
14. Golden State

15. Atlanta (To Phoenix)
16. Philadelphia
17. Toronto
18. Washington
19. Cleveland
20. Denver
21. Dallas (To New Jersey)
22. Orlando
23. Utah
24. Phoenix (To Seattle)
25. Houston
26. San Antonio
27. New Orleans
28. LA Lakers (To Memphis)
29. Detroit
30. Boston

The Names indicated in the bracket are the teams which get the pick. They were given on a mutual basis.

There are 2 rounds of draft picks. The 2nd round is done in a different order.This year the Derrick Rose of Memphis is the NBA first overall draft pick,followed by Michael Beasley. So far the top drafts havent failed to live up to the expectation. Lets see what happens the coming year.

"Test"ing Time for ICC

When Asia Cup was staged in the year 2004 , it was seen as the introduction of associate teams to the real cricket world. It was thought UAE and HongKong would be given more opportunities to improve.But still they remain the same team 4 years back , only difference being new faces.

Cricket has been a game played by very few countries. Since the last decade or so it has been spreading to other countries as well. ICC has been doing commendable work in this regard. They have formed the associate group of nations and have their tournaments and tours. But time has come to move a step further.

Holding a tournament like Asia Cup once in a while will do no good for these teams. It would merely help the players of the Regular cricket playing nations boost their stats , as we have seen in this tournament so far. They may have dominated sessions of play, but they are still very far from even batting 50 overs. In this regard , even Bangladesh though a test playing nation has not show cased consistent performance. Probably , they are still a "one-day wonder".

Playing more cricket is the only way to make it big at International stage. At present its more of a part time affair for these players.Here comes the importance of a good first class system and this is what these countries lack. Playing more cricket is what makes a talented player a good player. There is no dearth of talent in these countries , the problem is in the system. What ICC could do in this regard would be to include these teams in tournaments like Duleep Trophy or some part of County Cricket. This would give them the much needed exposure to what is played at International Level. Also including them in T20s would be more meaningful.Here they will have a better chance of winning a game since its only a matter of getting the momentum for 40 overs.

Zimbabwe,Kenya and Bangladesh are 3 teams which have been around for a while yet they still arent a team to be reckoned. The reasons are the same , except in Zimbabwe where the political system is in such shambles that there is no time to look at cricket. Kenya and Bangladesh, though they have a first class cricke system , its not competitive enough nor does it provide a decent income.

Its tough days ahead for ICC with the take over by T20s and decline of some cricketing nations.It would be interesing to see how ICC is going to tackle these problems.

Euro Top Ten

The Indomitable Russian

Euro 2008 has been a thrilling one so far. The quarter finals have all concluded. Germany,Spain,Turkey and Russia have made the cut. Lets look at the 10 players who have made an impact in this tournament so far.

1)David Villa:-Started of brilliantly with a hattrick against Russians and scored the winner against Sweden. Has been the striker of the tournament so far.
2)Andrey Arshavin:-He started the tournament late due to suspension but since then he has been unstoppable. Winning the Man of the Match awards in both his games, he has done everything,scoring goals,setting up his team mates. Probably the best player in the tournament till now.
3)Bastian Schweinsteiger:-He brought about the spring in the steps of German players. Having been a substitute in group games,he responded well and was rewarded with a place in starting XI against Portugal. Easily the best player in the match scoring one and setting up another.
4)Iker Casillas:-The backbone of Spanish team. Has showcased strong performances and was the hero in the match against Italy. The best goalkeeper of the tournament.
5)Roman Pavlyuchenko:- The lone striker of Russian team.Got his chance due to injury to first choice striker. Has repaid the faith shown by his coach , by scoring 3 goals in 4 games.
6)Nihat Kahveci:-Showed why he is regarded as a dangerous striker by scoring 2 goals in 15 minutes against Czech to take his team to quarter final. Played his part in quarter final also.But will miss out the semi final clash due to injury.
7)Wesley Sneijder:-Scored 2 brilliant goals in the group stage against Italy and France. Was the controller for Netherlands in midfield. But failed in the match against Russia.
8)Cesc Fabregas:-This cheeky mid fielder has been wonderful coming in as substitute and supporting his striker.Scored one against Russia and the winning penalty against Italy. He is proved his value when some felt he would not be able to play in this team having many world class mid fielders.
9)Gianluigi Buffon:-The best Italian player of the tournament. Saved a crucial penalty by Mutu and made many saves,which kept their tournament alive.But could not produce the same against Spain.
10)Lucas Podolski:-He has been the goal scorer for Germany,scoring 3 in 4 games. But he has been under injury concern before the quarter finals. He is now back strong and the Turkish players will have to be wary of him.

The defense of most of the teams have rather been team effort. So my list does not feature any defender.

A look at X Marshall

Xavier Marshall is in news now for his whirlwind knock against Aussies which won West Indies the game. This Jamaican burst in to the seen back in 2004 creating waves with tags like next Vivian Richards due to his aggressive style of batting. But his form after his initial success has been very poor. He scored a century in his first season but failed to score any more.
He was first spotted as a youth player, and he lead West Indies to many victories in U-19 Tournaments. His century against South Africa stands out.But he got in to problems due to his fiery temper and has been reprimanded more than once. Thanks to immense belief of West Indies board in his potential, he is come out pretty safely.This series against Australia could define his career. He has done pretty well in Test Matches scoring 2 half centuries and has started off well before the one-day series.
Will this be the making of another great West Indian batsman???He is got age on his side, but he will need to be more consistent and play more of first class cricket. West Indies would be hoping this generation of players would bring back their old glory and surely X Marshall will be in their plans.

So far...So good...

The group stage of Euro 2008 has concluded. Holland,Spain and Croatia have been phenomenal. Specially Holland,which was grouped with Italy,France and Romania. They thrashed Italy and France , something which was least expected. Croatia too caused an upset when they defeated Germany. Spain as expected cleaned up all the teams in their group. Portugal also played well with Ronaldo,Deco and Simao in great form. Germany were scratchy but were lucky to be grouped with Austria and Poland. Italy may well have been out, but thanks to Buffon who saved a penalty by Mutu, they finished of their campaign defeating France 2-0 to qualify for the next round.Turkey came back strongly from 2 goals down, to win 3-2 against Czechs who were let down by a rare mistake from Peter Cech. Russia too came back after their ransacking by Spain to win last 2 games and reach the quarter finals.The worst performance was from France scoring just 1 goal and losing 2 games. They were expected to easily make the cut from their group. Switzerland,Sweden were outplayed by lesser known teams. Greece were just a shadow of the team which won the last Euro.Austria,Poland and Romania had nothing much to cheer about. They played their part as minnows very well.
David Villa has been the striker in form, scoring a hatrick in his first,and the winner in his second. Wesley Sneijder has been in great form scoring 2 spectacular goals. Podolski has shown why he is regarded as a very dangerous striker.
The quarter finals start today. Spain have the toughest game ahead,against Italy. This will their real test. Germany also face a tough opponent , Portugal.This would be really interesting. Holland play Russia and Croatia play Turkey,both could be as much tricky as it could be one sided. So lets wait and watch who will be crowned the Champions of Europe.

The Case of Switch Hit!!!

The MCC has ruled Kevin Pietersen's switch hit as allowable. This is seen as a success for batsman as this allows them to whack the ball changing their stance without prior notice. But reverse hits have been a part of the game ever since, then why was this raised before MCC??
The original Reverse hit was the reverse sweep. When this shot was played only the bat's position was reverse , both the body and stance remained same. This new concept of switch hit has the player suddenly changing his stance and his grip and then executing the shot. It can be seen as a bowler changing from over the wicket to around the wicket without telling before hand. So if a right hand batsman plays this shot , its like a whack over mid wicket played by a left hand batsman. The first instance of this was KP's shot against Muralitharan back in 2006. He recently scored 2 sixes against Newzealand employing this shot. This was the reason for this to be referred to MCC.
Now since they have ruled for it citing it provides a chance for the bowler also to strike. Will we see more of this innovative shot or will this be confined to batsman like KP??

Form Trouble for Aussies

With Simon Katich scoring back to back centuries and Phil Jacques also in form the Australian management are faced with a dilemma , regarding their star batsman Mathew Hayden. How will they accommodate him???One possibility could be to use Katich as a middle order batsmen but then who is to be replaced??Ponting , Hussey , Clarke , Symonds and Haddin are playing well. And then maybe , only Hussey and Haddin seems to be a bit out of touch.When teams are looking forward to players scoring a century here we got them scoring in almost all the chances they get.This could be interesting as we might witness a consecutive centurion being replaced.Hard Luck Katich!!!

Pakistan : Played to the occasion

How many times have India been through this??Playing well all through out and finally faltering when it matters the most. The 2 matches prior to this had been fully dominated by India , yet we saw a very familiar sight in the final. Well we can say our middle order did not have match practice since openers dominated the other 2 matches , but in the end we lost the Cup. Its a fact a our bowling was relatively inexperienced , but this was the same attack which won us the first game. But this team has made a pretty strong statement that they have come to stay. This was a first experience for many playing a final. Anyway we can take lot of positives from this so called Tri-Series.Fielding standards has been great barring a few occasional miss fields and Gambhir has made it a point that he is not only good in 20/20 format. But if you notice the last time India won in Australia there was this factor Sachin Tendulkar , which shows that experience counts. Hope India learns from this loss and wait and watch what happens in the Asia Cup.

Allen Stanford strikes!!!

The deal has been signed.The next 5 years will see England and West Indian players play 20/20 matches. The format is very interesting.The winners take all the cash i.e US$20 million. So if England wins the match each of the XI players earn US$1 million , the rest of team share another 1 million , the management gets 1 million and the rest is shared by their respective cricket boards. This will see players earning much more than the IPL players except a few top players.The deal for 5 years is worth US$100 million making it one of the biggest, the cricketing world has ever witnessed.

The Story behind Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford is a Texas based billionaire financier and he has been into sports from early days.He has been sponsoring lot of tournaments in golf , sailing,cricket,tennis. His involvement in cricket has been Stanford 20/20cricket tournament. He built a stadium for that in Antigua and the tournament was first held in 2006 July. This tournament has the Caribbean nations fighting out for the trophy.
After the 20/20 World Cup there were offers up to US$20 million to from him to team India to play a 20/20 match(Initially he said 5 million and finally he was ready to shell out a whooping 20 million). This was not considered by India. Recently he has offered US$100 million to England Players to play 5 games. If this takes place this will go down as the maximum money earned by players bettering IPL. This would be a great chance for the West Indian players also. Time will tell us if this man is going to make history!!!!

Ho|_|_@Nd RockZZZZZ

Euro 2008 began with a bang for the Netherlands.....Italy the world champions were humbled by these orange guyzz.....well 3-0 sayz a sad story for the Azzuris but the game was actually close...
The first goal by Ruud VanNistelrooy was a superb piece of refreeing......It might seem a clear off side...But the point to be noted is that he was played onside by Panucci who was lying injured.....the rule book sayz this is a possible case.....(Controversies Apart)
Sneijder then had the game in their hands with a brilliant volley.....It was a very tough angle....but he made it look so easy......(Comparisons with VanBasten's famous volley)
Italy then attacked relentlessly but Edwin VanDersar was not to be beaten....Infact Pirlo was left open mouthed after his free kick was saved by Vandersar.....
And finally adding fuel to fire was Gioz header......
Its said well begun is half done...But not in this group of death...
Lets wait n watch till where these guys reach....Its been Long since Holland has had an international succes....maybe this is their year...!!!!!!

C'est la vie.....So close yet so far.....

As I write this the much awaited UEFA Champions League Final is over and the Red Devils are on cloud nine....the expression across the countenance of John Terry tells the story for the blues...its been a long night....and its all over for Chelsea...two runners up title this season....
Considering the historical aspect....this year is the 50th anniversary of the munich tragedy which killed 8 ManUtd players...a source of inspiration for the players...(may be there should have been something to remember for the blues too!!!!)
The match was well competed....the first half saw the goals....ronaldo scoring first and the lampard equalising before the half...The second half saw the blues playing at their best and were unlucky twice to hit the wood work.....Finally they met with their end in penalties......with a little more luck the story could have been different.....may be the russian tycoon would have had something more to say about his team other than the money he spends......But this will definitely go down as one of the best seasons of soccer the english have witnessed....