The other things

The Confederations Cup semi final berths have been decided. Tonight Portugal face Chile, and Germany take on a gritty Mexico. I don't think the line-up has any surprises - was anyone expecting them? 

I have a confession - I have barely watched the matches. Apart from the rather poor commentating, I just haven't felt the oooompfh (Does the Confederations Cup ever have ooompfh?) But this live video refereeing nonsense has certainly piqued my interest! Do I like it? I honestly have to answer a veritable, no.  It will probably take some time to get used to it, but the worst thing about it is that it takes away the flow of the game. And football is gorgeous because of the flow. I hope that in the world cup we don't have massive interruptions because of this new method. Sigh!

In other sporting news, Wimbledon is less than a week away and I begin to dream of being there to watch it live! Ah, the magic of Wimbledon.... can you just see the green surroundings, and the promising taste of strawberries and cream? I am going to wait for a few matches before I dive into supporting my favourites.... oooh, I so hope that it is a good tournament for them! And I can't wait to see how the women's draw plays out... 

Speaking of the women's draw reminds me that the women's cricket world cup is on going and I believe it is exciting - possibly more exciting than the just ended Champions trophy. Thus far: India, SA, England, Australia and NZ have all won games. I am likely to keep my eyes open on this one - I believe it is going to get more intense out there. But here is a comic moment for you - anyone notice the tautology?

Ends and Beginnings

What a sporting weekend! I am about this close (picture me pinching my fingers close together) to quitting watching sports all over again.

Let's start off with the Champions Trophy. As has been the case over the past, the teams I want to win matches are just being contrary. The Pakistan - England game for instance was not good for me. I wanted England to win - for no particular reason, except that I like the English team this season - again, for no particular reason. Or perhaps, it is their awesome uniform. Speaking of uniforms, apart from the New Zealand and English teams, all other cricket teams should consider revamping their very ugly uniforms. But I digress. Pakistan consistently improved with every match they played. Versus England, their batting and bowling was clinical. The Bangladesh - India game predictably went the way of the Indians. But I always felt that they should have won that game with more ease than they actually did.

With the semis settled, Sunday had the promise of an epic battle. Two arch cricket rivals facing off. The battle lines drawn, the two countries poised to fight it out again (pun maybe intended). My genetic make-up does not often lend me to support the Pakistan team in cricket - it just doesn't happen. The last time I supported the Pakistan team was when Wasim Akram was on it - ah, now that was a team worth supporting. Besides, I was inclined to go with the entire insensible bleeding blue tag line. It was pretty simple - I wanted the Indian team to win, and I was sure they would, provided they restricted Pakistan to around 250 runs. You can then understand my annoyance when Pakistan's Fakhar (all comments on his name will be politely avoided in this post) scored 114 runs. India was doomed. And then the indomitable Indian batting line up crumbled against an attacking and well thought out bowling performance by Pakistan. I turned off the TV when India was at 6 men down. I had no intention of being a grumpzilla because of a cricket match - I mean it is not even one of my favourite sports. After the Pakistan team lost their first match, their coach said something about how the manner in which they lost was unacceptable - well, kudos to the team for the fantastic turn around in the tournament. Teams have good days and bad days, of course, and I am not a crazy Indian fan who will spend the next few months criticising the team, but I will say this - fans have it a lot worse than the players! At least I was right on one note - I figured the finals would be a one-sided game: It was

In other news, the confederations cup started off without a bang - which is often the case with the confederations cup, isn't it? The Russia - New Zealand game was dull. Russia won it 2-0 and deserved to win, but there simply was no spark to the game. What is worse, the commentator for the match was, simply put, stodgy. I really hope he is not going to be commentating for the world cup. The Portugal - Mexico match was more promising. Again, I only watched glimpses of it, and this was certain, Portugal had better get their defence into order, or they are going to concede far too many goals! And can Christiano Ronaldo please share some style tips with certain other sportsmen! Please, Christiano? I wish I had watched the Cameron-Chile game, but like I said at the beginning of this post, I was very close to hibernating from sports again. The score card for this game was somewhat predictable. The Chileans took the game 2-0. I am unconvinced about the prowess of the Cameron team - however, I will hold judgement until I watch them play. For now, here is to an exciting rest of the week as I thank my lucky stars that the curse of the confederations cup won't affect my favourite teams!

Ready, Set, Play

The last few weeks have been exciting in the world of sports, even for someone who has been on a strange sporting hiatus. The primary reason for the said hiatus is the fact that all the teams, and individuals I support have been suffering from a sad case of loosing.

It has however been a satisfying few weeks, not because my favourites have suddenly started winning, but simply because the excitement and greatness of sports has caught up with me again.

Sports build character and discipline, and sports personalities within their capacities can really move you. Look at the epic moment when Francesco Totti retired: What a moment in the history of sports. I am not a die hard Roma fan, but I am a fan of the Italian National team, and Totti was a huge part of my football fan-shaping years! The sheer emotion around the stadium, and the world over, as Totti stepped off the football pitch for the last time was humbling, and moving.

Suddenly the sports world was calling to me again... and the Roland Garros was right in time to propel me on wards on this now unfamiliar path. Things started well for me in terms of my fandom in the men's draw, but it all came to a mighty crash near the tail end of the tournament. And then surprisingly, there was still a reason to watch - another historic moment, "La Decima," and the crowning of the king of kings of clay courts! Rafa's 10th French obviously came in style; the stats and figures are simply astounding! What a way to win as well - Rafa was ruthless and clinical, watching some of his matches was almost boring because of how one sided it was (and only because of that). Mad respect for his brilliance on clay - every stroke he hit was aimed at maiming any chance the opponent had at beating him!

And the grand slam women's singles was, truth be told, 100% more enticing than the men's draw. Without Serena's presence, there was a promise of an open, highly competitive playing field. And the favourites - statistically and historically, were dropping off like hot cakes. It is interesting that out of the top 10 players - only 2 made it to the semifinals. And it is telling that from the quarter finals on-wards, almost every match played was a three setter: 5 out of 7 to be precise. If we look at this further - 3 of those 5 three set games were played by the eventual winner Jelena Ostapenko, and the other 2 by the runner-up Halep. In the match ups to the final, watching the gritty, energy of these players promised a tantalising game - and it sure didn't disappoint. What a player Ostapenko is! If she keeps up this momentum, she is up for great things! Just watching her go after every ball was exhilarating, and refreshing! Even trailing down 0-3, you simply couldn't write her off! And more history was made of course - First Latvian grand slam finalist, one of the youngest players to win the French open - in fact, the youngest player in 20 years to win it! Astounding!

And then there was some F1, and cricket, and unexpected results! Plus there is a promise of more - Confederations cup, Wimbledon, Champions Trophy, US PGA.. at this rate, I might soon be out of hibernation!