Bleacher Report - Articles by Dev Ashish

Australian Open 2009: Final Day Recap

Dev Ashish — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:40:23 -0500

February 1, 2009: Rafael Nadal outpysched Roger Federer in an epic five setter to win his first Slam on the hard court by beating him 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2.

The one man Spanish armada, supposed to be tired and worn out physically and mentally after the gruelling five setter win over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, was quick to latch onto a weak Federer backhand and a surprisingly weak Federer serve early on in the match.

Nadal also successfully avoided the dreaded Federer forehand which would have been a weapon of mass destruction on any other day.

The calm and serenity in the whole Rod Laver arena seemed to be reflected from the face of Federer's fiance in the box with eight other staff members.

The Spanish camp was filled with ecstatic and enthusiastic men, including the ever calm uncle/coach Toni Nadal...all in the family... Mexicans!!!

SPANIARDS!!!

Well I was very pissed off about one guy, who was sleeping so soundly as if it was a Jane Eyre broadway in play, in the front row behind Nadal as he was serving in the fifth set.

I swear on my ... I swear I could hear him snore right then!

Roger Federer: Then and Now

Dev Ashish — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:14:57 -0500

While Rafael Nadal chose to simmer down his oozing "raw sexual appeal" for his fans and be a humble king wielding the thorny crown, Roger Federer is displaying his most secret and potent weapon on display at the arena: his emotions!

Nicknamed "The Silent Assassin" and "Iceman", for his colder-than-ice on court persona and stoic reflection during the games, Roger Federer, the champion, never let his emotions to get the better out of him. The calm and serenity in his eyes as he destroyed his rivals betrayed the ruthlessness of his assault.

Added his mythically perfect game, he made believers of atheists, and nothing suits more aptly than the quote from Hindu scripture Bhagwad Gita to describe his might :

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds"

But he was human after all and as a fact, to err is human.

He erred, in one way or other and lost his crown to Rafael Nadal, lost a few matches to Andy Murray, revealing his fallibility. At present, he is just another challenger for the title, without the invincible aura.

To me, it seemed natural that the evolution of a more clinical and ruthless assassin, redefining stoicity was near the corner and its a spine-tingling feeling, when gods are out to redeem themselves.

But with election of Barack Obama to the world's most powerful office, change has suddenly become a more positive and hopeful word.

In the first Slam of the year, a new Roger Federer has emerged. There's a change and it's pretty unsettlingly pleasant.

The Roger Federer, at present, is at peace with himself, relaxed and enjoying his game while, hold your breath, expressing his emotions!

There's the uncharacteristic pumping of fists, the wave of hand and the acknowledgement of the fans' appreciation with a wider smile.

For many, this may not be of any significance and too early to predict, but all the fans who worship Federer know that this is completely uncharacteristic of his earlier dominating self.

While the world and players anticipated a charged-up hustling and stone-cold Federer, instead what they got was a friendly, humble and peaceful Federer enjoying his game.

He is done proving his credentials and now he is living[not resting] the credentials. But that's not an easy feat to accomplish, gauging the standards Federer has set for himself.

He is self assured and much more composed now that his head lies at peace without the crown. He acknowledges that he is Roger Federer, the winner of 13 Grand Slams.

He knows what he is capable of and where he falls short, which is pretty advantageous for him as he is now aware of his chinks in his armor.

This is important to note because now his opponents have a tougher job at hand, that of facing Federer, the man not the enigma!

Earlier, every point/set they won against him was a morale booster because he was "Mr. Perfection" but now though he will drop points and he will err, yet the points doesn't boost the morale since he is just a human, a human with extraordinary talent and skill.

Its a different game with Federer altogether now. He isn't in the race anymore. He isn't chasing anymore. He has risen his stature above the contenders, a legend in himself.

Beware tennis world, you are now witnessing the Roger Federer!

It's All About Money, Honey!

Dev Ashish — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:24:17 -0500

Disclaimer: Content of this article is completely fictitious, inspired from standard facts, and represents the author's intention to portray the business aspect of the sport to the layman without involving any specific details or in-depth analyses, keeping aside any emotional sentiments at bay as a sports fan, to present an unbiased picture.

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I remember as a kid I used to spend the evenings with friends kicking the ball in the park practicing for football match on the weekend against our rivals from the other side of the city. All our friends and sometimes families came together to watch those games.

An ice-cream vendor was always present near the spectators, enjoying our game as well as selling his treats. On a later day, he admitted he did sell out more often on game days than on normal days.

As we grew up, we started playing tournaments for cash prize and pride. There was usually a park was booked by the organisers for a fixed period where we used to fight our epic battles. As of today, those parks are now full-fledged sports complex offering a variety of sports at a very nominal fee.

By the time my friends and I started dating, it was obvious with our little pocket money and meagre part-time job salaries that we could not afford to take our girls on a decent date or buy gifts either. So, searching for an alternative source of income as high school students, the only way to earn easy cash soon and without much effort other than selling weed, was to organise a football tournament.

All we had to do was book a park for a month or so, decide the tournament pattern, decide the tournament entry fees, sell a few counters to food and refreshment vendors, and fix the prize amounts.

For example, 16 teams with a nominal fees of Rs. 600 per team, we got Rs. 9600 in total. Park booking for a month normally meant paying the Municipal Committee a very nominal charge around Rs. 2500-3000. That leaves nearly Rs. 7000 cash in hand.

Now set the prize money for winners at Rs. 2500 and for runners up at Rs. 1500. That leaves Rs. 3000 in hand plus more from vendor agreements amounting to around Rs. 5000.

So, a total of Rs. 8000 was available for us the moment the tournament begins and the money gets equally divided among the organisers, usually four. Depending on the number of organisers, the number of teams and entry fee per team keeps varying proportionally.

Now that we knew of an easy source of income, surely there will be competition from others. How did we beat it? By advance booking the parks and advertising the tournaments. That required a bit of investment, but it came back with huge returns.

As we had housefulls stands for every match, we put a small ticket on entry of Rs. 5 per person. The crowd thinned out a bit, but still the ticket money was an additional profit!

The money was pouring but the competition was heating up. We couldn't monopolise the sports altogether, eventually we had to give in but we had a better plan.

Alternating day and night matches under lights for a month, (two tournaments in one month, with increased prize money), bringing in double profits. Added to that we increased ticket prices to Rs. 25 with a coke mini-bottle and snacks pack included.

As for the vendors, we paid them a fixed amount for all the sales, after of course they entered bids. The ones with lower prices and good service won the contracts. We took bribes of course. Considering a coke mini-bottle and snacks cost not more than Rs. 15 and paying the vendors Rs. 13 per customer, we still made Rs. 2 per spectator, plus Rs. 10 extra on tickets.

Now you do the maths on the profits earned by us. It definitely got three-folds in no time.

Other innovations to keep our business alive included bringing in the local cable channel to cover the matches, bringing in the sponsors and partnering with other tournaments to widen our scope.

By now, you must be wondering what this got to do with anything.

Assuming you got the concept of what me and my friends were doing, supersize the concept into millions of dollars. Add to that club ownerships, player salaries and sale of team merchandises, we got ourselves a billion dollar industry, whose operating profits are more than the GDP of many African countries combined.

With almost every club running under debts, owning a club is more of a status symbol for billionaires than anything else these days.

The media and marketing are the major deals through which the clubs earn revenues, after from ticket sales from the matches.

Better player at the clubs bring in more fans, more viewers, more media exposure and more merchandise sales, apart from the trophies and awards which could be won.

This, in turn, leads to competition among clubs to shell out more money to buy the players, irrespective of whether or not they are worth it, rather depending on the depth of owners' wallets and need of the team.

To conclude, you see football has grown from being a weekend entertainment to a multi-billion dollar industry. Its no longer a sport, its commerce. As the demand grows, the prices are bound to rise. With so much cash in flow, the players and management are bound to demand,"Show me the money!!!"

After all, it's just business, nothing personal.

NOTE: 1 USD = 48.757 INR , 1 GBP = 71.872 INR ... Comparing Indian teen lifestyle in a metro with an US or Uk teen, I would say what I quoted as Rs.3000 in the start could well be around $100 roughly give or take, or you can assume almost an amount one and half times your pocket money and part-time jon salary combined, whichever is less.

The Only Manager Who Would Not Be Punished

Dev Ashish — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:00:51 -0500

When Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez came clean on his views regarding rival manager Sir Alex Ferguson, he claimed many things and one none more important than others that Ferguson is "the only manager who would not be punished."

Without getting into the claims and rebuttals of the controversy, let me steer clear towards the way I see the scenario.

I'm an United fan, make no mistake I swear by the Red Devils, but I admit Mr. Benitez got a point to be taken note of here, but its not about his rival's team management strategies.

Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the longest serving managers in the history of English league and currently one of the most influential persons inside the League.

But the fact which I would like to stress upon is that the English league is no longer just the national entertainment, it is now a well organised, controlled and managed multi-billion dollar industry that has slowly and steadily made a name for its own in the business world.

The FA administration is a system that has been put in place after years of trying and testing, and it is paying rich dividends now.

Sir Alex Ferguson has now been serving as the United boss for 22 long years and he has seen over the time passed by how the First Division league became the Premier League, how the system was built and how it was run.

He has been in the system for more than a decade and knows how the system runs. The system is in place to make sure everything goes according to the plans without hampering the cash inflow.

He has been part of the system for too long and it would have been quite surprising if he didn't knew how the system runs. He is survived through the trials and tests, and now he, himself, is a part of the well-oiled system.

He knows their strengths and their weaknesses, their ambitions and their expectations, their hopes and their plans, their dreams and their nightmares.

He knows the system like the back of his hand. He knows what, when and how to do to extract benefit from the system without disrupting it.

So when Mr. Benitez says that Ferguson would never be punished, he might be right because Ferguson is an indispensable part of machinery in the system who knows too much, yet cant be disposed of. He's evil but he's a necessary evil.

And add to that the fact that Manchester United wins trophies, gets them publicity worldwide and keeps a steady inflow of cash in system, he is untouchable.

Ever wondered why a football club manager be knighted as "Sir"?

Now suddenly Sir Alex Ferguson sounds like a villain, an evil man, doesn't he?

But he isn't. That's a fact. He is just the part of a system. You challenge him, you challenge the system and the system runs the show.

What Mr. Benitez doesn't understand is that in a multi-billion dollar capitalistic industry, there is no place for communist catcalls, for the cries of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" always lead to the guillotine in the end.

Hence, Mr. Benitez and others play the game and follow the system, remember the guillotine is always thirsty.

As far as Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned, he is still doing what he does best: leading United's campaign ahead successfully in the League, UCL, and offshore to Asia as well.

Richard Gasquet: Is "Baby Federer" a Bastion of Hope or a Burdened Prodigy?

Dev Ashish — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:22:30 -0400

In April 2005, an 18-year-old French kid defeated the world number one Roger Federer 6-7. 6-2, 7-6 in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Masters Series. It was an epic match in which the kid not only outperformed Federer but also outclassed him. Even on his off days, Federer isn’t easily outclassed by any stretch of imagination; but this kid had managed to do that, becoming the youngest player to defeat the world number one.

In the words of the commentators:

“A star is born…Today at Monte Carlo he has beaten a legend in the game of tennis… Perhaps he will be in the same boat one day.”

The kid was Richard Gasquet. Many, including me, believed in the commentators' words not only because he managed to beat Federer, but also because he had delivered on his potential.

Gasquet, from Serignan, in southern France, even at 18 was not new to tennis. He featured on the front of the French Tennis magazine with the caption “Is Richard G the champion France is eagerly waiting for?” when he was nine years old. At the age of 15 years, 10 months, he became the youngest player ever to qualify for as well as win a match in a Tennis Masters event in 2002. A month later, he was the second youngest player to participate in the French Open.

Gasquet finished 2002 as the numero uno junior tennis player in the world and was named World Junior Champion, having won the junior titles at the French Open and the US Open. He was also the youngest player to finish in year-end ATP top 200.

At 21, he became one the three active players to have won a title on every surface. He ended the year 2007 at world number 8th position.

In a Davis Cup match against Marat Safin, British TV presenter Barry Cowan described him as “naturally more talented than Federer." The critics called him “baby Federer” for his technically sound game.

The French media had already heralded him as their bastion of hope and called him “Mozart of tennis” when he was just 15 years old.

“Great talents are the most lovely and often the most dangerous fruits on the tree of humanity. They hang upon the most slender twigs that are easily snapped off.”- Carl Jung

Gasquet is one of the most talented players to come out of France with the potential to win more than one Grand Slam. But he has failed to win any and of late, he has been struggling with injuries and losses. The French fans are already labeling him as microwave for his ability to cool down after a sudden hot streak. The French media too aren’t taking his underachievements lightly. They needed him to win Slams as badly as he did to prove himself as soon as possible.

The French media and fans have been taunting Gasquet for the shying away from the responsibilities and not delivering to his potential. The Gallic French media have enjoyed every bit of their role in launching a scathing attack on him and piling up misery over misery over him.

Such was the immense pressure on Gasquet to succeed that he was crumbling down under its burden. He has admitted that it was hard growing up, under the burgeoning expectations. And even now, when his game is below par, he sometimes seems to lose the will not just to play tennis but to live.

Being the only child of his parents, both tennis coaches, he was handed a racquet right from his birth. Ever since he came on the cover of French Tennis magazine, his life has been under constant scrutiny from the entire nation. The fact he went onto became a World Junior Champion only helped in increasing the burden on him to succeed.

Furthermore, Gasquet maybe just fifteen days younger than Rafael Nadal but is very fragile physically in comparison to the Spaniard. Even with a technically sound game, the fragile body of a young Gasquet wasn’t strong enough to meet the demands of senior circuit but the expectations off him made him continue.

Eventually injuries were bound to happen and then, he was called quitter by the French fans. It wasn’t fair to him, he was still a teenager then, but so huge were the expectations from him, his age never came into consideration.

After fining tuning his technique to perfection, doubts over his mental strength and physical fitness started lingering around him. They began to call him “former French hope” when he was just 18! When he became match fit, they began questioning his temperament and killer instinct. When he broke into the top 10 players in 2007, he was criticized for not breaking into it earlier.

Negative criticism hasn’t helped Gasquet in any way. He may be talented but he is human; and it is making things worse for the tennis prodigy.

“I have a hard time accepting advice from so many others who know nothing about tennis, but who feel they have the right to tell me what to do,” says Gasquet.

“I don't care about people who think that I should be higher ranked, and that I'm not fulfilling my potential. It's great for me, my parents, my coach, and those close to me because, believe me, reaching the Top 10 is anything but easy."

“Sometimes it is difficult because everybody tells me I have a lot of talent, I have everything. I don't know if I have more talent than other guys, but for sure I'm working really hard. People, yeah, told me all the time 'you are talented, you are talented'. But I'm working so much to do it, to be talented on the court,” he laments.

This could well have been a eulogy to one of the saddest tragedies involving a gifted sportsman ever conceived, but it is not, considering the fact that Richard Gasquet is just 22 years old at present.

Even Roger Federer had not won any of his Grand Slams till he was 22, neither Marat Safin faced so much flak for his erratic behavior in his whole career!

“Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to the place where it leads.” - Erica Jong

But Gasquet is not running away from his responsibilities either. He has managed to keep his grounded and head cool. Tennis is still his top priority.

Gasquet took professional help from Yannick Noah, former French superstar, in improving himself and coping with the pressure. His coach Eric Deblicker believes he can still improve mentally and tactically while concentrating on his fitness. Gasquet has been training harder than ever.

Despite the ever increasing burden of expectations and the ruthless French media and fans impatiently breathing down his neck, Gasquet hasn't lost his mind and managed to keep it real.

“Anything is possible, of course, but I know how hard it [winning Grand Slams] is, and I prefer to focus on climbing one step at a time.”

Many doubts still linger over the destiny of this teen prodigy, personally I am convinced it's only a matter of time before Gasquet starts delivering to his potential.

Is Tennis Under F-Man's Curse?

Dev Ashish — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:17:58 -0400

Let's get this straight people, I'm really trying hard to love tennis but I can't. I simply can't.

Everywhere I go talk about tennis, in the real as well as virtual world, the F-man pops into every conversation eventually. He's good, no doubt about it; maybe the best ever player or whatever.

Honestly, I like to watch him play but I'm kinda getting tired and irritated listening to people, reading articles and watching video specials on him before every tournament!

He has become more like Paris Hilton of tennis for sportswriters, who aren't tired of writing and speculating about him at the drop of the hat!

Look for genuine editorials in any media publication today and there's the F-man! Look at B/R tennis forum, for instance. It is swarming with articles on him [no disrespect meant to others, even I wrote one...but hey, let's save it for another day]!

People keep telling me tennis is more than F-man, I want to believe that...honest, I swear on F-man's brilliance...but all I hear is F-man this, F-man that, even while talking about other players! I'm not even gonna bother myself by naming him, everyone knows who the F-man is!

He's like corruption in India, omnipresent and omnipowerful, making his presence felt every time we think of tennis! It is almost as if the F-man has put a curse on tennis itself!

Thou shalt not talk of tennis without mentioning the F-man!

Now, just to prove that discussions on tennis without mentioning tennis' bogeyman aren't humanly possible, I start by assuming that such discussions are actually possible and began thinking of things related to tennis completely oblivious of him. It's logic theory-proof by contradiction!

It sounds weird to mix maths with tennis in journalism, but hey, I'm willing to take my chances.

The first such thought that comes to my mind is Maria Sharapova (super cute face, her grunting, those *censored thoughts* legs, not to forget her game, too).

It is actually a good topic to talk about as it is completely oblivious of my nemesis, though can't think of a way how he can make it into a conversation about women's tennis but again I'm not taking any chances.

Now, let's not try and discuss my thoughts on Maria Sharapova's legs or grunting and simply concentrate on her game.

For me, whenever Maria plays, it's like watching squash with Maria and an invisible wall at the net! Normally when we watch tennis, we tend to sway our heads to and fro from player to another but with Maria, my head gets locked to the side of court where she is.

The other player is inconspicuous, as she is out of my visual scope. It's just Maria running around in the half court and hitting or missing the balls.

Her dressing sense, off and on court, is impeccable. Honestly, I have never seen a lady so gorgeous fully dressed!

Clothes somehow look very odd on her as if she had suddenly grown an imperfection, just not to intimidate prospective suitors with her flawless beauty. I still believe it was her beauty which made that fashionably disastrous "swan" dress look delightful!

Her game...well, it's difficult to concentrate for me on technical details simultaneously while observing such a captivating and visually enthralling masterpiece. I guess its better to leave the finer nuances of her game to the better qualified persons to dissect her game play.

Some may consider this an amateurish and chauvinistic take on one of the leading sportswomen of today's world, but love makes you do things, silly things, that you can bet on your wife absolutely sure of not doing any one of them in a million years to come.

Every feminist would agree when I say all men are pigs: some want it less, some want it more, but in the end, every man wants it! I can't deny the fact that I'm just one of the 99 percent of the normal un-"fairer" male species of mankind, nor that I love Maria [okay, maybe lust at first, but eventually lust leads to love anyways].

Now stop staring at me and move onto other things. Novak Djokovic is a really funny guy off the court. They call him the Djoker. The guy has a story of hardship and trauma behind him, and still manages to make everyone smile with his antics and jokes.

How many players have you ever heard say that he enjoys playing mixed doubles because it allows him to have the best view of his partner bending over? Corny yet humorous!

He even does imitations of other players off the court. He even did a Maria Sharapova imitation, which was terribly funny.

He has even been linked with Maria Sharapova earlier after he karaoked with Maria all night long in New York last year. But I wasn't really stressed out with that news as you would expect.

She's a celebrity sportsperson, and such rumors are bound to fly. Now she is reportedly dating Charlie Ebersol as per a New York newspaper. What the heck? She was even said to be dating Andy Roddick once!

This brings me to Andy Roddick! When that guy when first arrived on the big stage, I believed he could be the next Pete Sampras, but boy, was I wrong! He was doing great until 2003 when he won the US Open.

Even on a bad run during 2005, he saved the umpire "a trip" when he reversed the linesman's call on Verdasco's serve while being on match point and ended up losing the match despite a great show of sportsmanship!

A-Rod, not to be confused with baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, has great sense of humor too. Always prompt and upfront with funny remarks on himself and his rivals, he is every journalists delight. But he can only provide the journalists with entertainment, not genuine scoops; blame it on his severe losing streak against Fe...Damn it!

This is exactly why it is so irritating! Remember where we started? On Maria Sharapova and everything genuinely unrelated to the F-man wondering how could he possibly creep into this discussion, but look where we ended after possibly three minutes-on the F-man again! It feels inevitable now to talk of tennis without acknowledging him!

Hence it is proved that no discussion on tennis can be held without the involvement of F-man! Tennis is indeed under the curse of the F-man nowadays and I'm no exorcist but I know better than provoking the ire of millions of F-cult worshippers! I know exactly what to do!

Hail the F-man!

If you can't beat them, join them! After all, we got to live today to continue the fight tomorrow!

Federer: Killing Tennis Softly

Dev Ashish — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:25:31 -0400

Today the world can be classified into two distinct sections—Federer fans and non-Federer fans. I am myself a Roger Federer fan but I wonder if there is anyone who isn't trapped in the enigma of the mythical web of an embodiment of perfection within the human limitations called Federer.

There were many great players before Roger Federer began his epic world conquest on the tennis courts, who played brilliantly and left a lasting impression on every tennis fan's mind. Till then, we had seen tennis evolve as a sport in its style as well as in the players. From Bjorn Borg to Pete Sampras, the sports had evolved slowly and gradually.

But then arrived Roger Federer and suddenly everything changed. Federer marked "an evolutionary end point in tennis". Tennis was no longer a sport, rather a religion in which Federer was God.

His magical dominance on the tennis court with his awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping game and stoic yet humble nature conjured up a mire of disbelief and admiration. He wasn't playing tennis anymore, he wasn't a tennis player anymore. He was defining tennis in his own special way.

"His intelligence, his occult anticipation, his court sense, his ability to read and manipulate opponents, to mix spins and speeds, to misdirect and disguise, to use tactical foresight and peripheral vision and kinesthetic range instead of just rote pace — all this has exposed the limits, and possibilities, of men’s tennis as it’s now played."

Even after being dethroned by Rafael Nadal, the enigma of Federer doesn't end there. In an emphatic, mystical, dominating way, he has shown that the speed and strength of today’s pro game are "merely its skeleton, not its flesh."

He has, figuratively and literally, re-embodied men’s tennis, and raised it to such incredible heights in terms of technicality and beauty that looks very unreachable.

The difficult part of attaining perfection is to find someone to do an encore. The realisation that one day Roger Federer will be gone from the tennis arena and will leave such a huge void that I fear no present player can fill.

I have seen Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and others play intensely fought matches among themselves but sorry, none captured my imagination or met my expectations that Federer has set.

Rafael Nadal is a great player too but he awes me more with his stamina and brute force rather than with his subtlety, touch, and finesse. He perspires, he yells, he pumps his fist after winning an important point. Roger is effortless even in his hard fought victory, he is graceful, he is stoic to every decision.

This is what that is troubling me as a tennis fan. The realisation of the fact that after Federer is gone, tennis will no more be magical, stylish, technically polished, and graceful. Tennis will no more be perfect.

Every time I watch tennis without Federer, it is imperfect, real and missing the magic. It saddens and troubles me that Federer has raised the bar of excellence in tennis to such heights that anything less is a disappointment to me.

What captivates me in sports that unique moment of perfection where thing falls into place, the perfect players , the perfect play, the perfect timing. It is in anticipation of these moments that I watch sports.

But the regularity of Federer displaying perfect tennis is somehow satiating my appetite for tennis. He may be struggling now and never be able to be perfect again, but the damage is done.

He has shown perfection in every area of the game and now, even if some other player achieves it, the uniqueness is gone. "Been there, done that" kinda feeling is growing at an increasing rate in me.

After witnessing those magical doses of "Federer moments", no other player awes or inspires me. Every time some other player hits a winner, it automatically raises comparison with Federer and the faults with the play are glaring at me. Its like I have seen everything that this sport has to offer to me in its entire technical and visual brilliance.

I know no player is bigger than the sport but after Federer, will the sport be scale any further heights than where Federer left it? Will the sport get any more beautiful and stylish than what Federer made it? Can the sport get any more perfect than what Federer made it?

A resounding NO echoes in my ears.

There is nothing more left in the game itself to interest me because the perfectionism of Federer has grown larger than the game itself.

You are killing tennis for me Roger. Every match that I watch you playing now on will be an eulogy of tennis for me.

For every moment of thrill, excitement, awe and disbelief, I can never thank you enough Roger but for killing tennis gradually, I will never forgive you Roger.

References: Quotes from Late David Foster Wallace's article in italics.

Humor: Why Manchester United Is the Greatest Club In the World

Dev Ashish — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:44:21 -0400

This article was previously published on another forum, I just copy pasted it but hey,it suits the need of the hour at B/R. We got to learn to take jokes on ourselves and learning starts at home. Hope you all have a good laugh! Sorry about copy pasting but I suck at humor!

Our best players are better than your best players.

Our mediocre players are more mediocre than your mediocre players.

Our crap players are more crap than your crap players.

Our most experienced players are more experienced than your most experienced players.

Our most psychedelically coloured players are more psychedelically coloured than your psychedelically coloured players.

Our most gangster players are more gangster than your most gangster players.

Our good looking players are better looking than your good looking players.

Our ugly players are uglier than your ugly players.

Our loved-by-our-fans-hated-by-everyone-else players are loved more by our fans and hated more by everyone else, than your loved-by-our-fans-hated-by-everyone-else players.

Our injury prone player is more injury prone than your injury prone player.

Our best ever season was better than your best ever season.

Our utility player is utilised more than your utility player.

Our celebrity fans are more celebrated than your celebrity fans.

Our alien player is more alien than your alien player.

Our transfer successes are more successful than your transfer successes.

Our transfers flops flop harder than your transfer flops.

Our unwanted foreign owners are more unwanted than your unwanted foreign owners.

Our absurd excuses for poor performance are more absurd than your excuses for poor performance.

Our French lunatic is more insane than your French lunatic.

Our legends who have have their own hairstyles named after them have more of a hair legacy than your legends who have their own hairstyles named after them.

Our dead ex-players are more revered than your dead ex-players.

Our ex-assistant managers are less successful than you ex-assistant managers.

Our glory seeking bit-part players are more glorious than your glory seeking bit-part players.

Our goals conceded aren't as conceded as your goals conceded.

Our over-priced because they're English players are more overpriced than your over-priced because they're English players.

Our horse-face strikers are more equine than your horse-face strikers.

Our random foreign players with names that would get ridiculously high scrabble scores have names that would get ridiculously higher scrabble scores than your random foreign players with names that would get ridiculously high scrabble scores.

Our angry protests to the referee are more angry than your angry protests to the ref.

Now beat that, ********s!

Cheers!

Joga Bonito Doesn’t Win You Trophies!

Dev Ashish — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:21:48 -0400

When Dunga led Brazil to their second successive Copa America title on July 15th 2006, he was criticized by fans for playing ugly, defensive football.

He replied in style, “How many trophies did we win playing joga bonito? Joga bonito doesn’t win you trophies!”

He may have ended Brazil’s era of playing beautiful football, much to the disappointment of their media and fans, but statistics provide evidence in his favor.

Joga bonito wins you fans, not trophies.

Joga bonito refers to the style of football game play, promoting fair and creative play as well as honesty and team spirit, and showing the true and beautiful side of football by having a motto of "play from the heart”.

The Brazilian national side is famous for playing joga bonito in the past, so much so that it is called the Brazilian style of football.

Tele Santana is widely credited for the invention of the “joga bonito” by the vast majority of the Brazilian press. He believed that if the opposition scores five goals against you, your obligation is not to score seven goals, but to score seven "spectacular" goals.

But Brazil lost 3-2 to Italy in 1982 World Cup with this mentality and then lost in a penalty shoot-out to France in 1986 World Cup playing pure joga bonito.

Coaches such as Lazaroni, Parreira, and Scolari played very un-Brazilian style of football (read, European style of football) to get trophies for Brazil.

Frank Rijkaard is another manager who believed in joga bonito, but his only success season was 2005-06 with Barcelona. He even led the Holland national team to the semifinals in Euro 2004.

Jose Pekerman’s emphasis on playing joga bonito led Argentina to the quarters of World Cup 2006, wowing the world with some scintillating football (remember the 24 touch perfect goal?).

Now the question that’s lingering on the back of every football fan’s mind is whether “joga bonito” is heading towards extinction, with European style of football gaining preference among managers?

Is “joga bonito” style of football ineffective for winning trophies?

Tigers Shocker: Hull City Upsets Arsenal

Dev Ashish — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:41:09 -0400

Tonight in a major upset, Hull City defeated Arsenal, 2-1, in the New Emirates Stadium.

After wunderkind Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead with a dazzling run down the right flank, causing an own goal from Paul McShane in 52 minutes, Marcio Geovanni struck a marvellous volley to bring the Tigers equal.

Four minutes later, Hull City stunned the stadium when Daniel Cousin headed the Tigers into the lead off a corner.

Hull City displayed great tenacity and courage taking on Arsene Wenger's boys, who had been on fire lately. But some excellent defending and great saves from the 'keeper, Myhill, kept Arsenal from equalising.

Arsenal had their chances, but Hull City held on to clinch a major victory through some dogged and determined defending.

The Tigers continue their dream run, not riding their luck but through some excellent football and a positive attitude.

More news on Tigers:

Tigers Not Afraid To Kill

Sports Fan Psychology: It's More Than Just a Game

Dev Ashish — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:08:18 -0400

Very few pitiable persons who don’t follow any sports often question the sports fan’s enthusiasm saying, “It’s just a game. What’s the big deal about it?” The fan often ignores the whimsical query, acknowledging his blissful ignorance, nodding in approval and just moving on.

But many psychologists actually wondered, “What’s the big deal?” and have conducted in-depth studies on the psychology of sports fans to learn more about the integral ties between the fans and their team.

The studies came up with surprising results and revealed why it’s not “just a game” for the fans.

Identity

Fans tend to identify themselves with the teams/athletes they root for and consider themselves a part of the team/athlete’s journey.

''Our sports heroes are our warriors,'' Robert Cialdini, a professor of psychology at Arizona State, said about sports fans. ''This is not some light diversion to be enjoyed for its inherent grace and harmony. The self is centrally involved in the outcome of the event.”

“Whoever you root for, represents you.''

When their team/athlete wins, the fans tend to believe it’s their success too, bask in reflected glory (“we won”) and with defeats, they mourn equally (“we lost”).

This newfound identity of the fan not only inspires them, but also instills a sense of loyalty and respect in them.

Self-Esteem

The self-esteem of fans also rises and falls with a game's outcome, with losses affecting their optimism about everything from getting a date to winning at darts, one study showed.

Dr. Daniel Wann, a psychologist at Murray State University in Kentucky, has done several studies showing that an intense interest in a team can buffer people from depression and foster feelings of self-worth.

Edward Hirt of Indiana University has demonstrated that men and women who were diehard fans were much more optimistic about their sex appeal after a victory. They were also more sanguine about their ability to perform well at mental and physical tests, like darts and word games, Dr. Hirt found. When the team lost, that optimism evaporated.

Escapism

Sports allow fans to escape their normal daily life, as well as social inhibitions and express themselves freely by cheering from their teams/athletes, as well as lashing out at rivals.

One theory traces the roots of fan psychology to a primitive time when human beings lived in small tribes, and warriors fighting to protect tribes were true genetic representatives of their people, psychologists claim.

In a modern society, athletes play a similar role for a city in the stylized war on a playing field—as the theory goes. The athlete’s exploits helps reconnect the fans with those intense emotions that tribal warfare did for their ancestors, which the modern society codes and conduct doesn’t allow them.

John Herde, a 65-year-old accountant in Manhattan, has been attending Rangers games since he was a teenager and owns season tickets.

''It's a release,'' he said. ''You can yell and scream and do whatever you like. It's like therapy.''

Eustress [Euphoria+Stress]

Even among non-avid supporters, sport manages to bring about physiological changes, which induce various emotions like euphoria, dejection, and stress.

A study in Georgia has shown, for instance, that testosterone levels in male fans rise markedly after a victory and drop just as sharply after a defeat.

The same pattern has been documented in male animals that fight over a mate: Biologists theorize that mammals may have evolved this way to ensure quick resolutions to conflicts.

Some researchers also believe that eustress is a “severely dangerous” form of addiction.

Sense Of Belonging

Psychologists add that some fans find a sense of belonging and acceptance in the sports that they haven’t been able to find in their life.

“So many of the traditional institutions are beginning to break down, religion and family,” Dr. Wann said. ''The human psyche is the same and something has to take the place of that. Sports fill an important void.''

Michelle Musler, one of the most visible Knicks fans in New York, acknowledges that her 27-year love affair with the team may have had its genesis in loneliness.

“My ex-husband ran away with the lady next door, and I didn't seem to fit into suburbia anymore,'' she said. ''The Knicks gave me a purpose, something to do, a place to go. As a fan, I guess, there is a sense of belonging. That you are a part of something.''

While non-sports fans watch sports for mere entertainment and finer nuances of the technicalities of the sport, for the fans, it is a much more complex experience which the others find it hard to relate to.

It isn’t just a game—but I guess some people will never get it.

References: NYTimes

Why I Respect Cristiano Ronaldo’s Wish to Join Real Madrid

Dev Ashish — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:45:04 -0400

There has been much talk surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and his wish to join Real Madrid ranks during the summer.

After his wonderful season at Old Trafford, which saw him score 42 goals while leading Manchester United to the Premiership title and European glory as well, he shocked United fans and the footballing world with his wish to join Real Madrid.

Real Madrid showed genuine interest in signing him at record price but United held onto him.

Things got ugly when Ronaldo accused United of treating him “like a slave” but Ferguson quickly got things under control by talking to him and convincing him to stay at United.

Fans have bashed Ronaldo over the incident and questions have been raised on his professionalism and commitment.

In my opinion, the whole issue has been blown out of proportion by both the media and the fans. I am a Manchester United fan and I respect his desires, not because I like him as a player (which I do) but because there are various circumstances and reasons which made me believe in him.

Cristiano has completed his training at Old Trafford, reached the pinnacle of his career, and basically achieved it all at Manchester United. He has won the Premiership twice, FA Cup once, League Cup once, Community Shield once, and after the Champions League final victory in Moscow there is nothing more for him to achieve in England.

As a player, I believe as long as you have the zeal to succeed, you have the capability to improve and better yourself. But some players constantly need new challenges to stir them to perform better and out-perform others as well as themselves. Cristiano is one of those players in my view.

When United signed him from Sporting Lisbon, after he demolished United with a sterling performance in 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson gave him the legendary No. 7 jersey instead of his favorite 28.

"After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."

Cristiano took it as a challenge to prove himself worthy of the No. 7 jersey and he has proved himself worthy with his sterling performance. Though it is quite early to compare him with the legendary No. 7s, it would not be wrong to say he has justified his claim over it.

With nothing left to conquer in England, he lacks that special motivation and zeal to succeed. Hence, he wants to move to Real to play with El Galaticos and conquer Spain.

One more thing I would like to add is that when you were a kid and went to see your football legends play, the only thing on your mind when you were watching them was "I want to play in their team when I grow up."

You become a professional football player and are picked up and honed at another prestigious club where you have had an amazing season. Now you have a chance to actually stake your claim to play in the dream team starting lineup. Wouldn't you take it? Your chance to fulfill your dream?

I admired Ferguson when he admitted that the southern Europeans want at some point to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona. He understood what was going on in Cristiano Ronaldo's mind when he declared that he wanted to join Real.

But I also agree with Ferguson when he says that at this stage of his career, United is the right place for Ronaldo.

Cristiano is just 23 years young and with the turbulent atmosphere in the Madrid camp, it would not be the right step for him at this point. Remember Michael Owen?

As a player, the best you can ask for is a manager who believes in you, a team which accepts you, and the fans that cheer you.

At Old Trafford, Ronaldo has Ferguson who believes in him, a team which has accepted him (remember rumours surrounding Rooney-Ronaldo clash in WC '06), and fans who have cheered him always (remember the ovation he got at Stamford Bridge when he returned).

Hence, Manchester United is the best place for him at present and for the next four to five years at least.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect Ronado’s wishes. He may be arrogant, selfish, stupid, and shoots off wrong things at the wrong occasion, but give him a chance guys. Everyone deserves a chance to follow their dreams.

I may be utterly wrong in his assessment and he may actually be moving to Real for money, but I still respect his decision because he is human. He's not superhuman and is prone to err, but there is no reason in denying him a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, and a shot at redemption.

Thus, when he comes out on the field in the legendary No. 7 jersey for Manchester United this season, I'll be cheering for him and our team.

Ferguson Tells Ronaldo: "Leave a Hero Like Eric"

Dev Ashish — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:20:26 -0400

In the manager's column in the Middlesbrough match programme, Sir Alex Ferguson seeked to clear all the rumours surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo once and for all by insisting that Ronaldo is here to stay.

Ferguson believes Ronaldo has well and truly put all the furore regarding his Real move and is completely committed to United for now.

Ferguson added,"Graeme Souness was right when he said on TV recently that just as Italians playing abroad all dream of playing one day for Juventus or the Milan clubs, so the southern Europeans want at some point to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona."

"So I understood what was going on in Cristiano Ronaldo's mind when he declared that he wanted to join Real, but once we had talked he accepted that it was a move for the future."

"Ronaldo came to accept that at this stage of his career, United is the right place for him," stressed the United boss.

He added, "I pointed out to him how much better it would be to leave like Eric Cantona with the fans loving and appreciating him."

"The crowd still chant Cantona’s name and I told Cristiano: 'Leave a hero like Eric' and one day he will…but not yet of course!"

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his first start this season with a goal against Middlesbrough and showed that he is ready to boost United's attack, which has not fired much yet in the league.

Whether Ronaldo can dedicate himself to Sir Alex's dream or follow his own dream, only time can tell.

Though Ferguson might want Ronaldo to leave Old Trafford as cherished as "King" Eric, before being compared with legends like Eric Cantona Ronaldo has to prove his loyalty and commitment to the club as well as to every United fan.

Ronaldo Scores on Return as Possebon Suffers Serious Knee Injury

Dev Ashish — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:23:50 -0400

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his return to Manchester United’s starting line-up with a goal as Manchester United defeated Middlesborough 3-1 in the Carling Cup, while Rodrigo Possebon was seriously injured following a nasty tackle.

Sir Alex Ferguson started a fairly well balanced side, featuring comeback boy Ronaldo and experienced players like Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic, along with youngsters like rookie ‘keeper Ben Amos, Possebon and Rafael da Silva.

Though Afonso Alves and Stewart Downing threatened early on, they never quite tested the United defence.

25 minutes into the game, Cristiano Ronaldo headed home to put United ahead on the score sheet and also confirmed that the desire to excel hasn’t died in him.

Boro equalized just after the break when Adam Johnson caught his first-time volley perfectly, giving Amos little chance of keeping it out.

The game was well-contested until 'Boro captain Emanuel Pogatetz was sent off for a nasty tackle on youngster Possebon, who had an impressive outing up until the incident.

The 'Boro captain got to the ball just in front of Possebon as the pair went for it in fully committed fashion.

But Pogatetz's dangerous follow-through cut Possebon down, a nasty gash instantly appearing on the Brazilian's right leg as he yelled in agony.

Possebon was given medical treatment on the field before being carried off straight to the hospital. Darren Gibson came on as a replacement.

With a numerical advantage, United took the lead when Giggs calmly chipped the ball into the net off O’Neill, who had tried to control a long ball from Gibson.

Nani wrapped up the match in the stoppage time by adding a goal to his name.

Ferguson was completely livid regarding the tackle on Possebon and launched a scathing attack on Pogatetz.

''The thing that gets me about challenges like that is that the opponent always claims he has done nothing wrong," the United manager said.

''He [Pogatetz] should have just walked off the field. Then you get their bench screaming that is wasn't a sending-off and there is nothing wrong with our player.

''At least Gareth Southgate was very good about it. He apologised and understood the gravity. It was an absolutely terrible tackle.''

Boro boss Southgate branded the challenge "poor" and admitted members of his bench had stepped out of line.

"A couple of lads on our bench did not have the same view as I did but that is dealt with now," said Southgate.

''We can have no complaints about the decision. It is difficult to know why it happened. It was an unusual aberration for him because his discipline has improved in the last two years.'

Meanwhile, reports have been confirmed that midfielder Rodrigo Possebon did not suffer a broken leg, which was a welcome news for everyone.

Though Possebon faces further tests to determine the extent of the damage to his leg, with fears remaining that he may have damaged knee ligaments in the incident.

Image Is Everything: Boldest Fashion Statements In Tennis

Dev Ashish — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:23:23 -0400

Ever since Andre Agassi stepped into the tennis with his ‘rebel’ image, the world has taken an increasing interest in the fashion trends in tennis.

Be it the exotic designer two-piece outfits and tight-fitting Lycra body suits worn by Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams; or the acid-washed jean and Capri pants worn by Agassi and Nadal, the traditional all-white sport has seen a rise in fashion trends in recent times.

But it was interesting to take a look into the some of the boldest fashion statements in tennis history before Agassi began endorsing Canon ‘Rebel’ camera and its tagline “Image is everything.”

In women's tennis, the first major bold fashion statement was made by Suzanne Lenglen in the 1920. She was the first to wear the innovative short tennis dress designed by Patou and it is aptly described by Lord Aberdare in his Story of Tennis:

Suzanne acquired strength and pace of shot by playing with men, and for playing a man’s type of game, she needed freedom of movement. Off came the suspender belt, and she supported her stockings by means of garters above the knee; off came the petticoat and she wore only a short pleated skirt; off came the long sleeves and she wore a neat shortsleeved vest. Her first appearance at Wimbledon caused much comment, but the success of her outfit led to its adoption by others. In her first championship, she wore a white hat but on subsequent occasions she wore a brightly colored bandeau which was outstandingly popular until challenged by Miss Helen Wills’s eyeshade in 1924.

Men’s tennis took fashion centre stage in 1939 when Henry “Bunny” Austen, two times Wimbledon finalist, decided to bare his legs by being the first player to wear shorts in the history of tennis.

In 1949, Gertrude Moran earned herself a 33-year ban when she wore a Ted Tinklin-designed Wimbledon ensemble with laced undergarments, which obviously didn’t go down well with the strict traditionalists.

The sport relaxed its strict traditions in later years, but fashion took the limelight again in 1985, when Anne White stepped on the court dressed head to toe in an opalescent Lycra bodysuit. After one of her matches was delayed by rain, she was told by a referee not to wear the outfit the next day.

But even with Bjorn Borg’s painted-on shorts and Agassi’s rockstar looks with his colorful shirts and acid-washed jeans pants, the sartorial boundaries of Wimbledon didn't bog down as Agassi had to sport 'boring' traditional white dress to compete in it.

In an homage to White, Williams showed up to the '02 U.S. Open dressed to kill in a black body-hugging Lycra cat-suit designed by Puma that left precious little to the imagination (and I mean precious little). Less startling was that she went on to win the tournament.

Though the fashion police at Wimbledon have cracked down in 2006, saying any player wearing low-cut tops, which show too much cleavage and aren't all white, will be sent home, fashion hasn’t taken a backseat in tennis.

Maria Sharapova has since then taken it on herself to lead the fashion parade.

In 2006 US Open, she donned a dress inspired by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Last year, she wore the famous “white swan” dress at Wimbledon. The dress was created with the tagline “Pretty Traditional,” which represents its underlying beauty.

Many sports fans believe it was only Sharapova’s beauty which made that ‘hideous’ dress look good, since no one else could have carried it off.

Apart from these major contributors, there have been a few fashion disasters in tennis too, notably Dominic Hrbaty’s peek-a-boo top designed by Lotto. When asked about why he beat Hrabaty in straight sets in NY, Lleyton Hewitt sarcastically responded, 'Didn't wanna lose to a bloke wearing a shirt like that'

Whether Wimbledon breaks its traditions by bowing to fashion power remains to be seen, but until then, the fans will surely not be deprived some bold fashion statements on the tennis court in the rest of the Grand Slams.

Andre Agassi: His 10 Greatest Achievements

Dev Ashish — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:17:32 -0400

Andre Agassi has been one of the legendary players in the history of tennis. Throughout his career, he has never disappointed tennis fans by displaying some fantastic skill. In this article, we go down history lane to look at his major sporting accomplishments.

Wimbledon, 1992
Agassi's path to the finals included wins over three-time champion Boris Becker and another former three-time winner, John McEnroe, in quarters and semis.

That set up an intriguing championship match with hard-serving Goran Ivanisevic, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam final. Agassi entered his fourth Grand Slam title match as the underdog to the eighth-ranked Croat, who was coming off consecutive victories over Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras.

Agassi had survived 37 of Ivanisevic's aces to become the lowest seed (12) ever to become champion in a classic five-setter. Agassi joined countrymen Stan Smith (1972), Arthur Ashe (1975), Jimmy Connors (1974, '82) and John McEnroe (1981, '83-84) to win the prestigious Wimbledon title in the Open Era (since 1968).

Davis Cup
Agassi holds an impressive 30-6 career record and helping the U.S. win their last three titles (1990, 1992 and 1995). He also was a member of the runner-up squad in 1991.

Agassi's 30 singles wins is second all-time in U.S. history behind John McEnroe's 41, and his 35 singles matches played is the third-most in U.S. history, trailing only McEnroe (49) and Vic Seixas (36).

From 1991-98, he tied a U.S. Davis Cup record by winning 16 consecutive singles matches, a feat first accomplished by the great Bill Tilden from 1920-26.

Olympic Gold, Atlanta, 1996
Agassi became the first American man to capture an Olympic gold medal in singles since Vincent Richards in 1924, when he defeated Sergi Bruguera from Spain in straight sets.

Three years later, he would win the Roland Garros title in Paris and by doing so, become the first man ever to win all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal.

17 ATP Masters Series Titles
Of Agassi's 60 career titles, which ranks him No. 7 on the Open Era list, a record 17 have come in ATP Masters Series tournaments.

Over a 10-year span (from 1994-2003), Agassi won at least one ATP Masters Series title in eight different years.

Agassi is the only player to win seven different ATP Masters Series tournaments, having won six times in Miami (Key Biscayne), three in Canada (Toronto/Montreal) and Cincinnati, twice in Paris and once each in Indian Wells, Rome and Madrid.

The only events he has not won in four attempts (each) are in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.

The Grand Slam, Roland Garros 1999
The Grand Slam title that eluded Agassi in 10 previous visits to Roland Garros was the one many expected the American to have captured earlier in his career.

Again, Agassi came into his third Roland Garros final as the favorite, ranked No. 14 against the No.-100 ranked Medvedev. The 24-year-old Ukraine native won the opening two sets 6-1, 6-2 in 53 minutes and appeared headed to his first Grand Slam title.

Agassi roared back in style to take the next three sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, and become the fifth man in the history of the sport to join the Grand Slam club (winning all four major titles) of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson.

The Comeback
In 1997, Agassi had dropped to No. 141. He finished at No. 122, his lowest ranking as a pro. But in 1998, he made the biggest one-year jump into the Top 10 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973), climbing from 122 to No. 6.

He led the ATP circuit with 10 finals, winning five titles and he only lost one opening round match in 22 tournaments. That year, he was voted the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year.

1999 turned out to be Agassi's year, as he went on to win Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open; he also reached the Wimbledon final. He captured five titles and was runner-up in three others en route to finishing as the year-end No. 1 for the first time at age 29.

In May 2003, Agassi climbed to No. 1, becoming the oldest player (33 years, 13 days) to hold the world's top spot.

Four Consecutive Grand Slam Finals (1999-2000)
Agassi had a dream run beginning with Roland Garros title in 1999 and went on to reach the next three Grand Slam finals, reaching the title match at Wimbledon and winning titles at the US Open and the Australian Open in 2000. During that stretch, Agassi won 27 of 28 matches, with his only loss coming to longtime rival Pete Sampras at the All England Club.

It was fitting that "Rocket" Rod Laver presented Agassi the Musketeers Cup trophy in Paris, since the Aussie was the last man to reach four consecutive Grand Slam finals.

During Agassi's run of Grand Slam finals, he defeated at least one former Grand Slam champion in each tournament.

Four Australian Open Titles
The only Grand Slam tournament to elude him during the first eight years of his career was the Australian Open.

But in 1995, Agassi displayed flawless tennis throughout the fortnight, losing only one set in seven matches, against top-ranked Sampras in the final to become the first player to win the Australian Open title in his first appearance since Johan Kriek in 1981.

In 2000, he began his stretch of three consecutive titles by defeating Sampras in the semifinals in five sets and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in four sets in the final.

In 2001, he outlasted local favorite Patrick Rafter in another five-set semifinal before taking out Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the final.

A wrist injury kept him out in 2002 but he returned the following year as strong as ever, dropping only one set during the tournament, to crush Rainer Schuettler 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

Agassi joined Aussie Hall of Famers Roy Emerson (six), Jack Crawford (four) and Ken Rosewall (four) as the only players who have won at least four Australian singles championships in tournament history with a 44-4 record.

Longevity: ATP Top 10 for 16 years
Of the 94 players who have finished in the Top 10 since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973, Agassi is the only player to rank in the Top 10 in three different decades (1988-2002 except for ’93 and ‘97). Jimmy Connors is the only other player to finish in the Top 10 for 16 consecutive years from 1973-88.

Along with his Top 10 consistency, Agassi is among an elite group of players who have ranked at least 100 weeks at No. 1 during their career: Pete Sampras (286), Ivan Lendl (270), Connors (268), John McEnroe (170), Roger Federer (126), Bjorn Borg (109), and Agassi (101). Agassi's 60 career titles have come over 20 years (from 1987-2005, except 1996).

US Open, 1994
In 1994, Agassi entered the US Open unseeded for the first time since he was 17. On his way to the final, he played some incredible tennis, defeating Wayne Ferreira, Michael Chang, and Todd Martin to beat No. 4 seed Michael Stich in the finals.

Agassi set a record by defeating five seeds en route to his second Grand Slam title and he became the first unseeded player to win the U.S. crown since Aussie Fred Stolle in 1966.

In 1999, No. 2 seed Agassi rallied from a 1-2 sets deficit against seventh-ranked Todd Martin to win 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 and captured his second US Open title. This marked the first time a player rallied from a 1-2 deficit in an Open final since John Newcombe in 1973.

Besides being a champion player, Agassi is perhaps the most charitable athlete of his generation and was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for his efforts to help disadvantaged youth.

Personally, I would count marrying Brooke Shields as a major off-court accomplishment too.

References: DEUCE magazine.

Cristiano Ronaldo With Chelsea Next Season?

Dev Ashish — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:59:11 -0400

Before the Super Sunday clash of titans between Manchester United and Chelsea, the Blues' manager Luis Felipe Scolari began playing his mind games by hinting that Cristiano Ronaldo may be with Chelsea next season.

Chelsea is the latest team to hop in the race to woo Ronaldo away from Old Trafford, joining cash-rich City and La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid.

Sir Alex Ferguson spent most of the close-season fending off Real Madrid’s attempts to pry Ronaldo from Old Trafford as well as the surprise bid from rivals, Manchester City.

Scolari cleverly chose this very moment before the very important clash to make this surprise announcement, ensuring maximum impact as well as maximum media coverage before the match.

“Maybe next season, Cristiano is with me,” he said. “If he wants to change, I’ll open the door to that. He’s my friend. I like him as a father likes his son. But his life is his life. I talked to him once or twice when I was with Portugal, but he had an agent, a mother, friends, he’s an intelligent boy.”

“He is one of the three best players in the world. I said that two years ago and I repeat it now. He’s improved himself very well. Ronaldo has grown up, matured.”

Scolari with his comment has managed to hit their rivals Manchester United where it hurt most and try to put the pressure back on Manchester United by hitting on their most valuable player, Ronaldo.

Ronaldo has played under Scolari for the Portugal national squads and both share a good rapture, but realistically many experts feel there's no chance of Scolari signing him and this is just intended to mentally unsettle his rivals and also their fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to be named in the starting line-up against Chelsea and his return boosts Manchester United considerably. They have had a patchy run till now in contrast to Chelsea's juggernaut.

Scolari plans to share a bottle of wine with Alex Ferguson after Sunday’s clash at Stamford Bridge, but the Brazilian is in for a taste of the United manager’s hairdyer treatment instead after giving Ronaldo an open invitation to join him at Chelsea.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had earlier said that the prospect of ending Chelsea’s record unbeaten home run would spur his side on when the two powerhouses of English football meet on Sunday.

Wenger and Ferguson Share Views, Drinks, and Laughs!

Dev Ashish — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:40:37 -0400

Everyone knows about the intense rivalry between Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger.

But of late, the rivalry seems to have been replaced with mutual respect and admiration for each other’s efforts—at least off the field—as one got the impression at Wembley’s Great Hall last Friday.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger shared the stage at the League Managers Association (LMA) evening in aid of the LMA’s Benevolent Trust and Community Fund.

Special guests including Fabio Capello, Sir Trevor Brooking and Alan Curbishley were there, with many other past and present football greats in attendance.

Both managers aired their views on future managers and management issues, as well as on foreign investments and managerial sackings.

Both managers agreed on the need for strong, capable, and responsible managers ready to stand up against change in principles of the game, to maintain complete control over their team and be responsible for the outcomes, since the quality of the manager is always determined by the quality of his control of team affairs.

While Sir Alex maintained that money can’t buy every player and certainly not the best team, Wenger held out that too much money is exercising inflationary pressure and destabilizing teams by putting undue stress on their resources; and questioned the nature of interests of foreign investments.

Both managers stressed the importance of robust and comprehensive contracts, regarding managerial sackings. They both echoed sentiments in agreement with Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley over the Newcastle debacle.

On a lighter note, they were seen sharing a few laughs and drinks as well—a rare sight!

While Wenger stressed mutual admiration and respect between them, Ferguson broke the ice revealing the pair have shared and enjoyed many glasses of wine and meals during coaching conferences.

As the evening drew to a close, the shock and euphoria of watching these two great managers share not only views but also laughs, is yet to pass though.

It remains to see how they treat each other on field.

Sri Lankan Board Revokes Ban On Its ICL players

Dev Ashish — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:25:34 -0400

Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) interim governing body has allowed its national cricketers who have signed contracts with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) to play in the domestic cricket matches, though they still are banned from representing the national team.

“Players will be allowed to play for their respective clubs and share their expertise, but cannot represent the country,” SLC's media manager Shane Fernando said.

An SLC interim committee made the decision last week, although it has only now been made known, paving the way for five players and an umpire to return to domestic ranks.

The decision comes two days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board joined its other major cricketing counterparts to ban 13 players, including former captain Habibul Bashar, who joined ICL.

The banned players included former Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardene, and Saman Jayantha, alongwith umpire Ranmore Martinesz who is now free to stand in matches.

Of the following, Atapattu, Arnold and Chandana have already retired from international cricket.

The ICL was launched last year in a direct conflict of interests with the BCCI. The BCCI not only banned its domestic player and officials from participating in official cricket, but also convinced other cricketing boards to take similar action against their “rebel” players. In response to ICL, BCCI also launched its own Indian Premier League (IPL), which was very lucrative and a massive success.

Previously, banned ICL players have only been able to play in county cricket where trade laws in Great Britain allow their participation.

"We are happy that Sri Lanka Cricket has taken a positive step towards the game," ICL business head Himanshu Mody commented, "and we hope that this decision will pave the way for Sri Lankan cricketers to play both for the ICL and their country in the near future."

ICL executive board member Kiran More released a press statement welcoming the decision on Friday and called the event “a victory for cricket”.

"ICL or IPL both are from India and both play the same version of cricket. I do not think that other cricket boards should get into their local politics by taking sides," a leading cricket commentator commented.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Modi put the ball in ICC’s court, by responding, “We are concerned but this will be decided at ICC level.”

ICC has not clarified its status on ICL yet, though Irish ICL player Niall O’Brien was among the four shortlisted for the Associate Player of the Year award by ICC earlier this month.

Top 5 Haunting Penalty Misses

Dev Ashish — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:28:17 -0400

Missed penalties never have been a pleasant memory but how many ever do come back to haunt the fans and players back ?

Here's my pick for the top 5 haunting penalty misses which the footballing world could never forget!

1. Roberto Baggio , Italy vs Brazil, 1994

On world football’s biggest and grandest stage, and the first World Cup ever to be decided on penalties, no better man than Roberto Baggio could have been selected to take the final penalty—as he had dazzled the world with his scintillating performance in the tournament. It was a dream end to the World Cup, and Baggio’s performance, but the dream turned into the most haunting nightmare as he fired the shot over the bar!

2. John Terry , Chelsea vs Manchester United , 2008

On club football’s biggest and grandest stage, the European Champions League final, with Chelsea in front thanks to Ronaldo’s missed penalty, Chelsea skipper John Terry had the opportunity to lead his team to its first European title. It would have been a fitting tribute to the charismatic and resilient Blues leader, but he lost his footing and shot agonizingly wide off the right hand post. Manchester United capitalized and went on to win the trophy for a third time but since then, this has been a traumatizing memory for Terry.

3. David Beckham , England vs Portugal , 2004

The golden boy of English football, David Beckham was losing his sheen. In Euro 2004, after having missed two penalties in consecutive matches—against Turkey (he fell over) and against France (Fabien Barthez made the save)—he had a shot at redemption in the third match, the quarterfinals, against Portugal.

He was the chosen one to take the first of the penalties in the shoot-out and redeem himself in the eyes of his fans, but destiny wasn’t kind to him as his shot fired high and wide over the bar as England tumbled out of the Euros.

4. Martin Palermo , Argentina vs Colombia , 1999

How much worse could it get in a single match? Ask Martin Palermo! Poor guy missed three penalties in a single game against Colombia as Argentina crashed out of the Copa America, Latin America’s premier national tournament. One penalty miss...bad...two misses...worse...three misses...haunting experience really! No more comments!

5. Adrian Mutu , Romania vs Italy , 2008

In the group stage encounter of Euro 2008, Romania and Italy were tied at 1-1 when Pannucci fouled Niculae late into the game. Adrian Mutu stepped up to the challenge as a win would not only have taken Romania into the quarterfinals but also have knocked Italy out of the tournament. But Buffon was up to the task and dived left to stop Mutu’s shot with a combination of his hands and legs.

The game ended as a draw but Romania lost to the Netherlands and were knocked out as Italy made it to the quarterfinals. Mutu even offered an apology to his nation for the debacle, though his teammates and coach were very supportive of him.

These were my top 5 picks and I would to clarify my decision to include Mutu in this list for the fact that he offered an apology to the entire nation of Romania, which shows how much the missed penalty has affected his psyche and he is actually haunted by that disaster!

But these were my views and now it's up to the readers to offer their opinion!

Why is the Serve-and-Volley Game Extinct in Today's Tennis?

Dev Ashish — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:02:35 -0400

That’s the single most haunting question in the world of tennis today. As Federer and Nadal continue to awe the spectators with their fabulous rallies and scintillating baseline game, most of the fans still yearn for the serve-and-volley game to make a re-entry into the sport.

The art of serve-and-volley had been perfected by tennis greats like Jack Kramer, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Martina Navratilova to name a few, but of late this art seems to have lost its sheen.

Serve-and-volley is a style of play in tennis where the player serving moves quickly towards the net after the serve. The server then attempts to hit a volley, as opposed to the baseline style, where the server would stay back following the serve and attempt to hit a groundstroke.

The aim of this strategy is to put immediate pressure on the opponent, so that good returns must be made, or else the server can gain advantage. This tactic is especially useful on fast courts (e.g. grass courts) and less so on slow courts (e.g. clay courts). For it to be successful, the player must either have a good serve or be exceptionally quick in movement around the net.

But, as John McEnroe puts it in his book “You Can’t Be Serious!”, the cause of the decline in the serve-and-volley game are the powerful lightweight composite racquets that everyone uses today.

In the days of wooden racquets, it simply wasn't possible to generate enough power to just crush a forehand past your opponent. To be successful, you had to work the point to create unreturnable angles. It is much easier to create angles at the net, so the serve-and-volley game was more popular.

Now, though angles can still be important, with the introduction of wider graphite racquets, everyone hits the ball so hard that it can be difficult to even approach the net.

When you do get there, passing shots from your opponent are much more difficult to handle. So it doesn't pay to work too hard on serve-and-volley skills, so no one does.

To encourage more artistry through the strategic use of angles, McEnroe advocates a return to wooden racquets in the professional game.

Some experts argue that the game has turned more 'vanilla' in the nature of the surfaces. Even the new laid grass surfaces at Wimbledon is slower and the balls sit up more than they used to, due to changes in the undersurface and the type of grass used there.

Even Boris Becker once said, “I could have never won a single Wimbledon on such ‘slow’ surfaces.”

Another interesting fact about the whole issue is the lack of encouragement of serve-and-volley style by the USTA. The coaches now emphasize more on the baseline play of the junior players, and volleying is taught only in respect to doubles game.

The most interesting take on the decline is blamed on a conspiracy theory involving tennis organizers to encourage longer rallies and attract more spectators!

In support of the claim, supporters quote the introduction of new laws [supposedly] against Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer to curb their serve-and-volley game.

The rules include the VASSS introduction in '50s, the three-bounce rule and making the second serve line a yard behind. Though the rules were subsequently dropped, the introduction of graphite racquets, hybrid strings, and slower grass courts have eventually managed to kill the serve-and-volley game.

Others neutral to the issue consider serve-and-volley as a created opportunity, not a total game.

It is only one pattern of many used in the game. Top players still move the serve around and use variety at all sections of the court looking to come in and hit the easy volley to close out the point.

Personally, I believe the serve-and-volley can still be employed in the game, though the players need to put in more effort not only in their movements, but also mentally, in order to anticipate the location of the return and move into position early, and the only way to achieve that is practice. After all, practice makes one perfect.

Sources : Wikipedia, TennisForums

Racket Technology: That Extra Inch Made the Difference

Dev Ashish — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:10:54 -0400

What revolutionized the game of tennis? Was it the heavy baseline topspin of Bjorn Borg or the early-ball technique of Agassi?

None, according to the studies of Rod Cross, technical advisor for the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association, it is the change from wooden racquets to graphite racquets which were an inch or two wider than the conventional ones!

The modern game of tennis is played at a furious pace compared with the old days when everyone used wooden racquets.

Today’s game has players grunting and screaming on every shot, calling for the towel every third shot, and launching themselves off the court with the ferocity of their strokes.

The difference is obviously due to the change from wood to graphite racquets, which happened during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Everyone concluded that graphite racquets were much stronger, lighter, and more powerful, while the players themselves somehow became taller, stronger, and fitter. How else could the game have changed so drastically?

The real reason for the change is more subtle. It’s because racquets got wider. Wooden racquets were always 9 inches wide and 27 inches long, so players could check the 36-inch height of the net by putting one racquet on top of another.

Today most racquets are still 27 inches long, but they are now 10 to 12 inches wide. They are also lighter, which means they are less powerful, but it also means that players can swing them faster, which they need to do just to get back the power they lost when they became lighter.

When players started swinging their racquets faster, they noticed an interesting effect—they generated more topspin on the ball. So they started hitting the ball even harder, which made the ball spin faster, and it still dipped into the court.

Not only that, the added swing velocity wasn’t resulting in mishits, due to the larger sweet zone and extra inch or two of frame clearance.

The extra frame clearance allowed players to start swinging upwards at the ball to get even more spin, and they rotated the racquet in their hand to a Western grip in order to swing at even steeper angles to the ball.

That grip gave them problems with their backhand, so they had to grip the handle with the both hands to tilt the frame back into a vertical position.

The faster they hit the ball, the faster it spun, and the faster it spun, the harder they could hit it. That’s why players today usually have both feet off the ground when they hit the ball, and it’s why they need to grunt and scream.

The 10-inch racquet can be swung upwards at 27 degrees or tilted forward by 27 degrees, and it will then present to the ball exactly the same area of string as a 9-inch racquet.

No one tilts the racquet forward by as much as 27 degrees, but they now swing up into the ball at angles of 30 degrees or more to generate topspin. Tilting the racquet head forward slightly generates even more topspin.

Players were given an inch in the 1970s and they took a mile. The ball now spins four or five times faster than it did before the 1970s. An increase in just one inch allowed an amazing increase in spin due to steeper, faster swings and a tilting of the racquet forward by up to 5 degrees, all without clipping the frame.

Reference: Racquets Sports Industry magazine, Technical Tennis: Racquets, Strings, Balls, Courts, Spin, and Bounce by Rod Cross and Crawley Lindsey

Garrincha: The Forgotten "Joy Of The People"

Dev Ashish — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:46:13 -0400

"Garrincha was more of a danger than Pele I believe at the time, a phenomenon, capable of sheer magic." - Wales' Mel Hopkins.

The world might be still divided between Pele and Maradona, but there once, walked a humble genius, shoulder-to-shoulder with Pele who still is the greatest dribbler the world has ever seen. With his curved legs—the left one, bent inwards and the right, six centimeters shorter and curved outwards—Gentle Genius Garrincha scripted some of soccer's most beautiful performances ever.

Manuel Francisco dos Santos was born in Pau Grande, a small city near Rio de Janeiro, on 28 October, 1933 and died of alcohol abuse on 20 January, 1983 in Rio de Janeiro.

Garrincha, means “song bird,” was a carefree soul who apart from his passion for football, shared his interest in alcohol and women as well. He was nicknamed as Alegria do Povo (Joy of the People) or Anjo de Pernas Tortas (Angel with Bent Legs).

The art form of dribbling might just have been discovered for Garrincha, who played with such free spirit and non conformity that he often displayed a reckless disregard for the flow of the game that is almost impossible in today’s world.

His ability to change direction off the step at such acute angles was astonishing. He invariably went right, even if he went left initially, coming back to go right and the defenders must have figured this out, yet Garrincha had the ability to evade the lunge by the angle of his step.

This obviously takes the highest levels of dexterity of foot. Even today, he has no equals, not even the swift footed Cristiano Ronaldo or wonderkid Lionel Messi can match his genius, sadly, not even the great Maradona draws comparison.

During one game, he is said to have bamboozled his marker so much, the defender fell to the floor as Garrincha ran past him. Instead of carrying on, Garrincha dribbled back to his opponent, picked him up off the turf and then carried on down the wing.

Garrincha as a footballer was more than about winning matches and trophies. He was one of the creators of the beautiful game that we are so used to talking about while referring to Brazil, Argentina and Netherlands.

Before Garrincha and his team-mates arrived at the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden, Brazil were considered second-rate even on their own continent, with Uruguay being the dominant force having won the first World Cup in 1930 and then, catastrophically for Brazil, beating the hosts in the Maracana in 1950 to claim their second crown.

In 1958, Garrincha was held back by Brazil till the third game against the powerful Russians and with Didi, Vava and Pele, he led Brazil to a memorable victory. In the same game, Garrincha referred to the Russian defender Kusnetsov as João , a common Brazilian name. Since then, all the defenders who tried to stop him were named João.

Garrincha eventually, in partnership with Pele, led Brazil to lift the 1958 World Cup, their first. But the real worth of Garrincha was revealed in the 1962 World Cup when Pele was out of the tournament in the second game with an injury. He spearheaded Brazil with sheer brilliance and genius and in the process, produced some memorable victories, notably over England in quarters, on the path to Brazil’s second World cup.

Garrincha won the player of the tournament in the 1962 World Cup. But his carefree spirit and indulgence in alcohol and women led to his downfall.

In 1966 World Cup, he was far below his best and a pale shadow of his former self, struggling with a year-long knee injury, which devoided him of his electrifying bursts of speed, which terrorized his opponents.

He made his last appearance in a Brazilian jersey, when he ended up on the losing side for the first time with Brazil against Hungary in 1966 World Cup.

With Garrincha, Brazil won 52 games, had seven draws and a single loss. Brazil never lost with him and Pele playing together.

For Botafogo, his first professional team, Garrincha played 581 games, scoring 232 goals. His first match was in 19th July 1953. That day, he scored three goals in their victory of 6-3 over Bonsucesso.

He was champion of the Carioca League in 1957, 1961, and 1962 and of Rio-São Paulo league in 1962 and 1964. In that time, there was no Brazilian championship, and the Rio-São Paulo joined all the best Brazilian teams. Garrincha's Botafogo made against Pele's Santos some of the best games of the history of Brazilian soccer.

Garrincha was named to the World Team of the Twentieth Century by 250 journalists from across the world in June, 1998.

It is a sad reality that while the world today swoons over the Ronaldos and Messis, no one seems to remember this timeless genius and one of the true exponents of the beautiful game, the “Angel with bent legs.”

UCL 08: Plenty Of Positives For United In a Goalless Draw

Dev Ashish — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:33:24 -0400

Villarreal has returned to haunt Manchester United as they walk out of Old Trafford with a goalless draw in their opening Champions League group game.

The much awaited return of United’s prodigal son, Cristiano Ronaldo, was delayed till second half and he did not disappoint the fans with his 25 minute cameo. He looked a bit rusty but he managed to bring hope to the United fans who gave him a such rousing welcome that searched in vain for a red carpet. His immediate signature step-over move showed he meant business.

After the match, Sir Alex Ferguson insisted that there were plenty of positives to take from United’s performance against Villarreal on Wednesday night, even though the Reds failed to find the back of the net.

“I think we played some good football," he commented.

"The lads expressed themselves and enjoyed themselves and played with a great deal of commitment. Considering three or four players were playing their first real game of the season I think we can take heart from that performance. We were unlucky not to win it."

Earlier, Sir Alex Ferguson picked a completely different team from the last Anfield disaster and made six changes to the side, including surprise selection of young Jonny Evans, in place of Nemanja Vidic who is ruled out of the next match against Chelsea.

United dominated the first half with a performance of verve, commitment, and less grandeur as their waves of attack failed to breach the Villarreal defence who held their own with hard work and some luck.

Ji-Sung Park, Nani and Darren Fletcher made most of the opportunity provided to them by some scintillating display of skills.

The energetic Park was excellent with his incursions and should have been rewarded with two penalties which were surprisingly turned down by German referee W. Stark.

First, Sebastien Eguren stood on the Korean's foot in the box and then Joan Capdevila mistimed a challenge and brought him down.

Nani, meanwhile, was at his best on the flanks , sort of Cristiano Ronaldo Mini-me. He caused regular alarm down Villarreal's left flank with his runs and crosses. His dipping shot from out of the box was fumbled badly by Villarreal ‘keeper Diego Lopez.

At the centre of it all stood Fletcher. United’s leading goal scorer this season, displayed maturity with a sense of purpose, drive and penetration for his team. He kept the midfield ticking over sweetly with deft passes and switching the plays quickly without fuss.

The 20-year-old Northern Irishman Jonny Evans was making his second start in the Champions League. He combined with Ferdinand in forming a barrier that Villarreal rarely threatened. Evans almost headed United home off Ronaldo’s deflection to Nani’s cross in the dying moments.

Forwards Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney combined well and displayed great skill and maturity but were unable to find the back of the net. Ronaldo made an exquisite pass to Rooney who, in turn, fed the Argentine striker, who saw his effort cleared off the line by industrious Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini's ambition seemed to be to stonewall United by keeping his players almost exclusively behind the ball. This was more than understandable.

The Chilean coach appreciated that a point at the home of European champions would represent an outstanding start to this Group E campaign.

Villarreal fashioned the best move of the match and almost took the lead after 59 minutes when Franco flicked Angel Lopez's cross against the post with United keeper Edwin van der Sar beaten.

Overall, it was a disappointing stale home draw for United but the positives drawn from the game were immense as United seemed to have gained back their lost swagger and confidence, in addition to Ronaldo’s much awaited return.

Manchester United-Villarreal: Beware of the Wolf

Dev Ashish — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:57:22 -0400

As we all await for the current champions of Europe to begin their title defence against Villarreal tonight, and after already having dissected the two lineups, their strengths and weaknesses, and the ground realities, the question remains: Are we missing something here?

The answer is yes.

The missing link is the most important figure on the football field who can single-handedly decide the match—the referee.

Don’t believe me?

Ask Chile's U-20 side and they will tell you all you need to know about Mr. Wolfgang “The Wolf” Stark.

Born on November 20, 1969 in Landshut, Stark is a German football referee who officiates in the FIFA league. He has refereed matches in Champions League, qualification games for the European Football Championship, and the World Cup.

In 2007, he officiated at least two matches at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, including Portugal vs. Gambia and the semifinal between Chile and Argentina.

But Stark’s claim to infamy came during FIFA World Cup U-20 semifinal between Chile and Argentina.

He lost control of the match with just six minutes gone—showing a yellow card to Argentine Mathias Cahias for bringing down Nicholas Medina of Chile, when it was clear it was a red card offence.

However things went from bad to worse in the match as Stark ended up issuing seven (out of nine) yellow cards and two reds against Chile, as well as denying one very apparent penalty appeal from Chile!

Following the match, Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by livid Chilean players who were restrained by members of the Toronto Police.

Stark then had to be escorted off of the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by police officers for fear that he would be attacked by the crowd and/or Chilean players at the National Soccer Stadium.

Stark's performance is connected to a further ugly incident, in which Chilean players, still angry after losing the match, fought with and were pepper-sprayed by police officers outside of the stadium. The players were temporarily held inside the stadium by the police for several hours, but were released without being arrested.

Stark has apparently been very trigger happy as we delved into some research into his background. And we found another UEFA Cup tie between Barcelona and Celtic in which he had issued three red cards, two against Barcelona who were obviously not pleased with the referee as they lost the match 0-1 to Celtic.

In Beijing 2008, Stark was appointed for the USA vs Nigeria in the final pool game, and the match saw in total more than 18 offences deserving a yellow card but only two yellow cards were issued and a red card in the third minute!

His overall Bundesliga record speaks for itself, as it clearly shows he has officiated nine games in which he has issued more than five yellow cards and a red card at least.

Manchester United faces Villarreal in their opening encounter of the Champions League tonight under the supervision of Stark.

The question here is whether he is ready for the big stage, where he has fumbled so often before, or will another controversy ensue?

We can only but hope for the sake of the beautiful game that the game ends peacefully and without any ill contribution from "the Wolf".

UCL 08: Fabulous Gerrard Sinks Marseille

Dev Ashish — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:28:25 -0400

In the opening encounter of Group D clash between Liverpool and Marseilles, Steven Gerrard’s fabulous double helped Liverpool secure three points from the match. Gerrard – who took his tally to 99 goals in Europe – and Torres were named in the starting lineup after being sidelined with injury and it was a sure sign that Liverpool meant business from the word go.
In the frenzied opening moments, Torres almost scored at six minutes but France ‘keeper Steve Madanda was up to the task.

Marseilles almost immediately replied with Mamadou Niang firing it over the post.
Liverpool immediately upped the tempo with Dirk Kuyt feeding Ryan Babel, who after a wonderful turn lifted the shot a tad high. However, Marseilles skipper Lorik Cana beat the offside trap, shooting low past Reina to send his team into the lead at 23 minutes, leaving Liverpool aghast.

But almost as always when Liverpool are down, Steven Gerrard never fails to inspire and that’s exactly what he did at 26 minutes when he blasted a right footed curling ball into the net leaving ‘keeper Madanda a helpless spectator. Four minutes later, Ronald Zubar tripped Babel as the Dutchman cut in from the left hand side of the box and Austrian referee Konrad Plautz immediately pointed to the spot.

Plautz then complained the ball was not on the spot before making Gerrard take the kick twice after Kuyt intruded into the box. Unfazed, the Liverpool skipper coolly tucked the ball away the second time, as he had the first, sending Mandanda the wrong way to take his competition haul to 27.

Marseilles switched things quickly with Mathieu Valbuena, whose goal settled last season's encounter at Anfield, for Modeste M'Bami shortly before the break and Hatem Ben Arfa, increasingly peripheral following his bright start, replaced by Karim Ziani. Pepe Reina did excellent in holding on to a Vitorino Hilton header on the line.

Marseilles rallied but Liverpool held their guard and maintained their lead. After the match, Steven Gerrard commented, “We played well in the first-half but then they pinned us back in the second-half. We stopped playing in the second-half and we will have to have a look at that and see what the reason was."

Benitez echoed fellow perfectionist Gerrard's own admission afterwards that "He played well - but he could have played better." Benitez added: "The first game is really important (but) three points now is a good position. The key was to score a third goal and finish them off but we couldn't and we were under a bit of pressure at the end.