Didn't know I liked MJ so much...

Tuesday night was a strange one for me. Had an early morning class to attend at the gym and knew I had to get to bed early but I was stuck in front of the tube watching the memorial well into Wednesday morning. I just could not get up till the whole service was over. A lot of my older friends ridiculed the guy and asked me why I liked the guy so much. I don't know, honestly.

Till the 25th of June even I didn't know I liked MJ and his music till a friend called and told me about his passing. Since that day, I have been listening to his music and memories from my past have been flooding back. All of which reinforced his role in my life in a strange sort of way. Part of the reason to want to sit and watch the memorial was a way of getting closure I guess.

How much of a role he played in our lives was apparent the next day when every friend I asked said they were sitting and watching the memorial too!

The dream run ends

It had to happen sometime, just didn't expect it to happen at the one tournament you didn't want it to. Dhoni and his boys are out of the T20 WC before the tournament even got started. There are many who'll say it was coming. I was among them, but like an eternally optimistic Indian fan, I thought my gut feel was just that and far away from what would happen. But gut feel does come true more often than not. Fatigue, cockiness, determined opposition teams and lack of technique all combined to show India the door. Like the last time this happened to an Indian team, I hope this time too, it starts another run of ruthless wins and success. I hope Dhoni doesn't chuck the job in a huff.

Everyone forgets, especially the media that MSD is still a novice at this job. he just had a brilliant run which has ended. That is not the end of the world though. The fans need to be a bit more patient and the team will bounce back under Dhoni. I am sure this will make Dhoni an even better captain than he is already.

Federer fans vs Rafa fans...

Finally, mighty Federer did what he could not do the last 4 years. Win the French open albeit without having to beat Rafa. That job was adequately done by Soderling who finally ran out of steam. As expected, the final was an anti-climax after a fairly upset filled tournament.

That's what happens when the players in a slam final are any other pair than Fed and Rafa. Rafa is still the only one who believes he can beat Federer and he does. No one else believes they can beat Federer which shows them up to be fairly ordinary competitors when it matters most.

But what I cannot understand is the preoccupation with belittling Rafa's achievements that Federer fans have. Even Rafa agrees that Federer is the best player there is but that doesn't stop him from beating Federer. So a little consideration from Federer fans while discussing or dismissing Rafa would be decent. A friend recently said, all Rafa does is to get the ball back over the net. How naive and shortsighted can you get? If returning or retrieving balls is all Rafa does, then surely the rest of the field would have found out a way to negate that advantage by now?

Some facts that Federer fans refuse to see or don't want to acknowledge

1. Rafa has won all of his Slams beating Federer in the finals or the Semi-finals.
2. Federer has won just 2 of his slams beating Rafa since his emergence as a contender.
3. The great man himself said "I knew the day Rafa won't be in the finals, I will be there and I will win." He almost admits to not being good enough to beat Rafa at Roland Garros.

That should be reason enough to show some respect.

Rafa lost at Roland Garros!!!

Well, it had to happen but no one expected it to happen this year. Almost everyone predicted a Rafa cakewalk in the finals. But then sports usually has a way of showing up pundits when you least expect it to. No wonder millions across the globe follow sports fanatically.

Everyone is making excuses for Rafa or gloating in his defeat but the man himself is as classy as can be. He didn't make excuses and I don't think he ever will. That's why Rafa and Federer are two of a kind. This slam, if he wins it will not be as highly valued by Federer I think. He will take it though, no question about it but in his mind he would want to win one more beating Rafa cause he knows that the best player n clay is Rafa at this time.

While his fans will despair, he will plot his Wimbledon defense fresh from some unintentional rest. Vamos Rafa!

United gets a dressing down!

Manchester United's dreams of a Quadruple trophy winning season went up in smoke last night in Rome. Most teams and fans would have been happy with a treble any season but not United and it's famously greedy fans. The double last season had whetted the appetite for more this season and the team did not disappoint winning 3 out of the 5 trophies they were contesting for. But the biggest one eluded them and how.
The Catalan giants played a mesmeric brand of football to unravel United in a spectacularly one-sided final. For United fans, the Barca display would have been painful yet enthralling to watch as it was for me. I have been a United fan for a long time but even I could not but marvel at the silken grace of the Barca midfield with the 2 dimunitive masters Iniesta and Xavi holding court with United being helpless spectators.
I had an inkling that this one was not going to go the way every pundit was predicting. The premiership win was too scratchy and opportune almost to give me any comfort. Liverpool were the better team in the premiership by a margin. United didn't look like they were going to swamp lesser teams unlike the 08 season. All of this came home to roost within the first 10 minutes of the final with E'to's goal. That just liberated Barca and tied United down. The rest as they say is 'history'. I however did not watch the whole thing. I could not bring myself watch as my team were outplayed by the better team on the night.
However, this should just gee up Sir Alex for one more tilt and Pep Guardiola better watch out!

The new center court at Wimbledon

While the rest of India was busy OD'ing on the IPL, I was busy watching history unfold at Wimbledon. As promised the roof was up at Wimbledon and the opening was a show befitting the most coveted slam of all. With a full house in attendance, the roof was closed and the show got on. And it rained. But it didn't interrupt the proceedings. Thats a resounding success for a new idea at the oldest slam steeped in tradition.
But the highlight of the evening for me was watching Agassi and Stefi play on a court they had lorded over during their playing career. More so in Steffi's case. For a couple of 39 year olds, they sure put on a show. While Agassi has always been a hero for me, Steffi has only recently been accepted into my set of favorites and it has a lot to do with her marriage to Agassi. The love and affection they have for each other even after many years of marriage and 2 kids is something to behold. Some might say it was a put on, but to me it looked totally natural and that's what made it so beautiful to watch. While Agassi pretty much dispatched Henman as was expected, Steffi put up a fight after having retired 10 long years ago. The forehand was still in evidence and the court craft was as immaculate as ever.
If she did want to have another go in the top flight, I think she can give the current lot a good run for their money as Klijsters found out to her discomfiture.

Class is permanent as they say. Yesterday on center court was another demonstration of that oft repeated truth.

Lok Sabha 09!

What a relief the election verdict has been for hordes of people this time. After dire predictions of a hung parliament and nightmare scenarios of seeing 'Behnji Mayawati' as PM were painted by pollsters and power brokers alike, it sure was a welcome sight to see the results. The 2 GOP's of India polity were clearly the largest parties with one of them going on to win a significant number of seats to safely continue in power for the full term.
Now the country will expect some decisive moves from the ruling coalition and some definite results in the next 5 years from them. If they squander this chance then they won't recover for a long long time. I just hope the youngsters in the government make their voices heard and lead India forward.