Can india produce a phelps or a bolt

Watched the cnn-ibn coverage of sushil's kumar's residence in delhi yesterday.The place was inhuman, with twenty people being crammed into one room with just a bed for each trainee there. There is no gym, no food specialist, no tv nothing even remotely resembling a decent living place let alone a training place for national sportsmen. Contrast that with our cricketers being paid crores for loosing their pants everywhere and playing politics more than cricket. Yes this is an age old complaint but i did not realise the extent of it till now. These guys [the wrestlers,boxers and the others]dont want to be pampered like the cricketers all they want is a decent training facility and they promise to bring glory. Is this too much for our government to provide?Why try to outdo each other in doling out rewards to a medal winner [yes these guys deserve the adualtion they get but then rewarding only the winner and leaving the other thousands in the same old situation leaves me a bit sick] when this money and attention should have been given to the guys long before when they are preparing for these events.

Akhil kumar in his interview after the quaterfinal bout loss,said if one of the two remaining boxers win a medal my pain is nothing. I was really touched by this spirit of sportsmanship and love for the country. Men and women like him have to be cherished and not left to rot in obscurity.I serioulsy hope that some corporate group takes up the baton for indian sports becoz i dont think the babus give a shit about any of this.

Premier League Opening Weekend

Almost all the teams in the league are under one transfer saga or the other.For Liverpool it is alonso and Barry, ManU its Berbatov and Ronaldo,Arsenal one long transfer period where every player was linked with every club and vice
versa,Chelsea were under a cloud with regards to Lampard,Drogba and Carvalho but its been more or less resolved now.

And it showed on the pitch too,they were easily the best team amongst the top four in the opening weekend and if they keep this team fit for the season i think its going to be really hard to beat them in any of the competitions but they lack a bit in depth so ManU might still pip them to it again.Liverpool's crazy lusting after Barry i cannot understand cause they need a decent winger and having seen Jonas play for Newcastle i dont know how rafa missed such a gem.Without a decent winger or two,Liverpool do look a little flat.Arsenal's unwillingness to spend money is going to cost them,i mean i could understand when he did not buy anyone after that unbeaten season but now with flamini,gilberto and diarra all leaving in the last six months i think they need a holding midfielder and a good central defender.

The spurs have been most active in the market but there seems to be little direction in their buys,they have one striker in bent[this is not a joke] with berba laving soon and though their midfield and defense is better than their north london rivals without a good striker they will lose the plot very soon.

Amongst other teams Aston Villa,Newcastle and Borough look like this season's also rans.But right now Chelsea are the team to beat.Lets see what happens in the remaining two weeks,hope Liv gets in a good winger[sionko looked damn impressive to me in the euro's and riera is another good option] and spurs get in a good striker or two[personally i would prefer pavlyuchenko and mccarthy] and newcastle get in a good attacking midfielder and a left back[warnock and inler preferrable] and arsenal get no one in.That would make the season really interesting.

Gen-X 1 Old Guard-0

So the old guard has been put down ruthlessly.Dada,Sachin,Dravid,Laxman(gilly) the great indian middle order found wanting in T20.Sachin's mumbai was very unlucky to make the semi's they last three matches they lost were all victories being thrown away rather than losses. Kolkata too dint have lady luck on their side with their monster batsman gayle getting injured a day before the ipl hungama.But the dada,buchannan,srk mela was never going to come off that smoothly.Yet dada managed to salvage somthing with a stunning performance against punjab.
The other two teams were dismal to put it lightly.Laxman had no idea what being a captain meant i mean running off to the MONKEY for advice is the limit.The team was uninspired for the most part.Bangalore received a hammerblow in the first match and never recovered from it. Despite having probably the best bowling attack they could not put up enough to win matches.Some strange team selections and panic attacks in a few close matches early on ensured that bangalore was out of the race early.
The above four could make the semi's next year but for now it is Gen-X 1 Old Guard-0

Grant Sent Home

I would not say the sacking had any good reason behind it except roman might have been really pissed at losing to manu in his own backyard. The guy as i earlier mentioned had managed the club decently in really turbulent times. Compare his team's performance with that of Liverpool which performed worse under similar boardroom troubles. Couple that with the injuries to key players throughout the season and the african cup of nations you see that grant has done a good job of challenging on every front.
A lot of people say he had no involvement in the training ground and steve clark does all the groundwork et all but i am for the maxim 'If it aint broke dont fix it' . Done's done though grant is gone and a new manager in the horizon. Personally would like to see lippi take charge. Lippi vs Fergie would be absolutely lip smacking. Lets see what happens though more likely rijkaard or hiddink or scolari will be in charge.

The devils getting closer

Another trophyless season for my beloved Liverpool,another season of success for manu(cant they just die like the class of 58).

Liv - ManU
English Titles 18--17
European Cup 5---3

Pull your socks up u scousers time has come to defend the history of the club.

La Finale

First of all what was Terry thinking while taking that penalty.It would have been hugely better off if kalou/essien had taken that penalty.If it is going to be your life's best moment then you better enjoy rather than try to be a hero.But one must add that terry had been heroic for most of the match if not the whole season.
The match started in a very cagey fashion.With neither side creating any openings till the 26th min when scholes and brown played a delightfull excange of passes,then brown put in a good cross that was headed in superbly by ronaldo.The goal seemed to better compose man u better and they started taking control of the midfield.They had an amazing chance later when rooney sent a superb cros field ball that ronaldo controlled well and set tevez up but cech was equal to the task and saved superbly twice in succession from tevez and then carrick.Tevez again had a great chance when hargeaves square was missed by every body.
But near the stroke of half time a hopefull essien shot was deflected and with van der sar caught in the wrong foot lampard finshed with superb composure.The second half was chelsea all the way the midfield trio of lampard ballack and makelele were controlling things well and chelsea were looking dangerous.The drogba shot in particular almost getting them the cup.Players were tiring now though after a loooooooong season and also due to the poor surface.Malouda had a decent penalty shout when ferdinand seemed to trip him but was waved off.Extra time brought a superb chelsea move with cole and ballack setting lampard up whose turn and shot let van der sar rooted but it came off the post.Giggs then had a chance of his own with evra fantastic run and cross but terry was on hand to smother the attack.A petty argument then started over putting the ball out leading to drogba getting himself sent off stupidly.
Down to penalties ronaldo being his usual showy self missed it while terry unfortunately slipped when he could have won the cup for chelsea.Anelka then missed to give Manu 6-5 win in the penalties.
Felt sorry for chelsea,pissed off at manu and overall am depressed

Leeds In Final

Its good to see leeds in the league one playoff finals.It was sad to see them sink another league at the end of last season and with the harsh fifteen point deduction the final is richly deserved.It will be even better if they win and come to the championships with Nottm Forest.Now forest is another club which has a even more illustrious history than leeds with two european championships and several years of great football in the premier league.
Two giant clubs coming back up is great for the game and for the fans.It improves the quality and the atmosphere of the league.The Leeds-ManU match is one of the biggest matches of the season and the likes that everybody looks forward to. Hope to see both teams soon in the premier league.