As sick as it gets

One could not have asked for a more sick finale of a sports major

• Reducing the contest to 38 over a side. Come on, why do we have a reserve day?
• The dumbest of formulae - Duckworth-Lewis method deciding the outcome of the final
• Umpires offer light to the batsmen who accept it and the Aussies start celebrating only for the men in black to inform the Aussies that they can celebrate only when the three remaining overs are completed the next morning.
• Upon protest from both the captains, the three remaining overs are played in pitch darkness

End of a really boring, mis-managed cricket Worldcup. Period.

Uncle Sam

Its been just over 10 months since I have set foot in the States but till last weekend I really never got a feel that "I am in another country", leave alone the thought "I am in the States". The spectacular road network is an aberration of course. No one can beat these guys in that. Washington D.C gave me a slight feel of being in a foreign country with its royal splendour when I had been there early in March but again it was more like seeing Delhi. So I was still wondering as to when I would get the feel.

Luckily I did not have to wait any longer. The city of New York gave me an instant answer. Parking in NYC is a big headache and so we had our parking slot booked in 43rd street in Manhattan the previous day itself but my friend took the route for 43rd street in Brooklyn! yeah, a different island altogether. And we did not realize this till we called up the parking company after trying in vain to locate the space in Brooklyn. And just as we were roaming in Brooklyn looking for 43rd street, we saw this Ad,

"Divorce at $399"

Spouse's signature not required

Of course I am in the States. Who am I kidding?!?

Oh ho ho Joey...

Joey Crawford has been suspended indefinitely for the Duncan episode. A sports analyst has comeup with Duncan as his MVP pick ahead of Nowitzki and Nash for tossing Crawford out of the play-offs :-)

Hey... he he... he he... I am very happy... Start meesic!

What are you upto Mr. Joey?

Sunday April 15, 2007: The place, Dallas. An NBA game between I-35 rivals Dallas and San Antonio towards the fag end of the season.

1:16 left in the third quarter and there comes arguably the "worst" piece of refreeing ever, all sports put together. Tim Duncan tossed off from the game for "laughing". You read id right, "LAUGHING". Referee Joey Crawford was apparently provoked by Duncan - technically the most perfect player and amongst the nicest individuals ever to have played the game - that he gave him two 'T's while "sitting on the bench". Yes, when Duncan was on the bench!

It was just ridiculous.

Duncan never speaks a word unless its absolutely needed and he never said any on Sunday. Joey did what he did to the utter disbelief of players and fans in a nationally televised game. He has always had his temper taking control of situations in games in the past and one can always expect something to happen when he is around. But imagine what will happen if he does something similar in the playoffs or in the championship game - it will turnaround the contest!

Hey Joey, we don't watch games to see you flaunt your so called authority w/o thinking. David Stern can atleast do something for the players now.

மொழி

I chanced myself to watch மொழி and I have just one word to describe it - Refreshing. Certainly so, I've watched it three times within two days... :-)

System Abend 0C7

I know this was going to happen somewhere down the stretch when this happened, but certainly I did not expect it to happen the way it happened.

Oh my God!

Check this one out!

கோவம் வந்தா என்ன கத்தக்கூடாது சொல்லிட்டேன்!

போங்கு...

I had been to a mall last weekend and just could not digest the fact below.

A good plain jeans/carpenter/boot cut - $15~20
முட்டி, தொடை and other areas-la நாய் கடிச்சு விட்டா மாதிரி இருக்கிற Jeans - $70.

I asked my friend... "என்ன டா இது சொறிஞ்சு உட்ட Jeans ellam 70 nu சொல்ரான்?". He said "workmanship skills cost".

நல்ல போங்கு டா டேய்... ஒரு blade இருந்தா நான் கூட தான் இத செய்வேன்!

தத்துவம்

Yet another "தத்துவம்" from the stables of வெட்டி people - Sports this time

விக்கெட் விழுந்தா விக்கெட் கீப்பர் சிரிக்கலாம், ஆனா
கோல் விழுந்தா கோல் கீப்பர் சிரிக்க முடியுமா?

ரூம் போட்டு யோசிப்பாங்க போல

சங்கு

"Sehwag, Please don't make this Sachin's last game in WC's" - This was a placard in Port of Spain enroute to India's humiliating exit from cricket WC 2007. Do you see the anguish in those words? KG has observered another placard in the same game

A couple of quick observations at this instant

• Fans are going to go berserk back home. This time, no construction sites... வீடு பூந்து அடிப்பாங்க. இன்னிக்கு rod தான் டி!
• India may be the first team to catch a flight back home as Pak may be detained in Jamaica.

How is this?!?

Boo Boo Daylight Savings!

-> Bugged by the spring tradition of setting the clocks forward?
-> Waking up early because you are still not accustomed to the time change? I belong here... infact I don't even need an alarm now-a-days :-(

Here is something you can take solace from.

Time for crap...

Come World Cups or big events in popular sport, "vetti" people come up with crap lined up from nowhere and predict who would win the World cup. They came up with one last year after Italy won the football WC and have now extended it to the cricket WC currently underway in the Carribbean. Here is the theory.

ஒக்காந்து யோசிப்பாய்ங்களோ? Of course, I want India to win the WC. அதில் எந்த மாற்றமும் இல்லை :-)

But still, I found a flaw in that. Pope did not die in 1981 - there was an assassination attempt and he survived. எங்ககிட்டயேவா? :-)

I am not taking it back...

Whatever may have happened today, call it even a St.Patrick's day reverse carnage from the minnows, I am not taking my word back on this.

P.S: Pak is out of the world cup for all practical/theoretical purposes, India are in their footsteps.

P.P.S: This is my 50th post :-)

Minnow Bashing

Cricketing records kept tumbling in St.Kitts. The reason? Heavy-weights South Africa are playing the minnows Holland. The Dutch were torn apart so bad had it been a 50-over game, SA would have plundered 500 runs, a record no one has ever thought about so far. The rain gods ensured that it does not happen. But it could soon become a reality with 6 minnows waiting to get bashed in this WC.

A quick look at the records that were shattered today.

• Gibbs clobbered Dan van Bunge (pronunced van Bunga) for six sixes in an over - a record that so far had its place twice in first class cricket. Look at that kid. I instantly remembered this Vadivel dialogue on seeing van Bunge - ஒரு பச்சை மண்ண போட்டு துவச்சு த்வம்சம் பண்ணிருக்கியே டா யேன்டா இப்புடி?
• Maximum number of sixes in a WC innings - 18
• Maximum number of century partnerships in an innings - 3

And as if this were not enough, Johnnie Walker had pledged $1 Million in charity if someone hits six sixes in an over. That has become a reality now :-)

All these lead me to the question - Why do these teams win the toss and put the opposition in? Perhaps they think getting bundled out for a cheap score is more embarassing? But the duration of the travail would be much less batting first. They bat second, its the TV companies that ring their cash registers.

Next question - What is the need for 16 teams to play in this WC? Agreed that the game of cricket needs to be developed in the associate nations. Use "Money" to get the infrastructure ready in those countries. Conduct tournaments among the countries so that their game develops and then launch the top two in the international stage with the others. Not all 8. And please don't let them make their debut against the professionals. This certainly does not augur well for the associate countries who would certainly be distraught at the prospect of the "bashing". The matches that associate nations play must be accorded International status.

Michael Holding drew flak when he chided the concept of a 16-nation WC but one would realize how true he was after today's carnage in St.Kitts.

And finally, contributing to news as always is Messers Duckworth and Lewis with their dumb formula. The formula has helped the referee arrive at this conclusion - "to win the game in the event of rain, the Dutch will be required to make (their eventual final total) 132 in less than a single delivery". (Source: Cricinfo)

T.Nagar in Downtown Hartford

5.45PM - My friends and I were waiting for the bus to go back home. There was a huge traffic pile up every street and even in nearby Interstate ramps. "Mama" was omnipresent controlling traffic. The bus that usually comes at 5.40 and starts at 5.45 did not arrive till 6.30.

A cop parked his car on the road in an attempt to regulate traffic on a one-way street! He supposedly didn't know what he was doing. Buses usually turn right and arrive at the stop. Courtesy the cop, all buses were forced to divert towards the left (its a 50 degree turn only).

An official from the transport dept came around announcing that buses would start from a different place and so a crowd of close to 75 people ran towards the other boarding point which was about 250 feet away.

Based on our experiences in Chennai, we firmly believed that the cop will move his car and so, did not travel the full distance towards the new boarding point. We were waiting on the pavement and guess what? the cop moved the car away and the transport official came about apologizing to everybody asking people to go back. One could not hear the flurry of words people had reserved for that cop... siva sivaa... தேன் வந்து பாயுது காதினிலே...

This summarizes a daily routine in T.Nagar or any other big terminus in Chennai albeit with a difference... The transport official wouldn't have had any courtesy in Chennai, first to go about asking people to move and then apologize and ask them to move back.