Federer has beaten Blake and won the Tennis Masters. Anyone had a doubt about the winner? This guy is incredible! He has won everything in sight, except the French Open, beaten everyone within sight and is so far ahead of his nearest competitor that people are constructing a beast from players across ages to even compete.

I don’t see how the next season is going to be any different. There isn’t a competing compatriot. He is pretty much playing against himself and his demons (does he have any?). Federer has to beat history, inconsistency and Nadal at the French, at best. If he does these next year, he will be hard to bet against as the greatest player to play tennis in the Open era.

I mean, he will then only need to play doubles as an individual to prove himself.

PS: Nirmal Shekar writes about Federer here and Keats makes such an obvious choice to describe the Swiss maestro’s game. Nice article.

- Prof

Schumacher What the hell does that name mean? To any Formula1 fan, it means passion, excellence and most of all a burning and all-consuming desire to win.

In 1991, he drove his first race for Jordan, miraculously taking a pathetic car to seventh position on the grid; everyone on the grid immediately took notice. Over 250 grand prix, 91 victories, 68 pole positions and 7 world championships later he’s firmly stamped himself into the record books and our memories. His driving is perfection itself- he makes precious few mistakes; he’s supremely fit, technically astute and tactically brilliant but that isn’t what makes ‘Schumi’ who he is… It’s the man behind the driver who made him the success he is today.

Joining Ferrari, a team which hadn’t produced a world champion since 1979, he gelled them into a cohesive unit, leading them by example with a singular enthusiasm for the sport, a raging competitive spirit and exemplary work ethic (Williams’ bosses once lamented that Ralf Schumacher and Juan Montoya didn’t show Schumi’s enthusiasm for work. Michael, reportedly, used to call his technical director at three in the morning to discuss adjustments to his car.) all of which has made him a demi-god at Maranello. No champion is without his detractors and Schumi has his share, like those that believe Lance Armstrong took performance enhancing drugs and think that Pete Sampras was unexciting. For them, I have a story to tell - Eddie Jordan is fond of recollecting how before he gave Schumacher his first drive, he had asked him if he had driven around the Spa circuit to which Schumi promptly replied that he had, conveniently leaving out the fact that he had done so on his bike…. Jordan, of course, has no regrets considering the qualifying performance that he managed that weekend but that’s classic Schumacher. He may bend the rules a little, but he gets the job done…

Schumacher has driven us through sixteen years of unforgettable moments- the duels with Senna, Prost, Mansell and later Hakkinen, Villeneuve and Alonso, the many last minute blitz to pole position, the tears after equaling Senna’s number of race victories and more shocking ones like ramming into Villeneuve in 1997 but the picture of him that will always always remain in my memory, is him taking his victory leap on the podium, jumping onto Ross Brawn afterward and reveling in the champagne showers. The look on his face, reflecting all the joy in the world, is inspiring. Flawed genius though he maybe, that desire to win makes him an unequalled champion….

- Ranjani Murali, Guest Writer

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A long due post on Schumi. The writers have been fairly busy and hence the drop in frequency of posts. Hopefully, this situation will be amended in the near future.

Hope you enjoyed the post… let us know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Schumacher, Senna, motorsport, formula1

Sania Mirza has just defeated Martina Hingis in the second round of the Hanso Korea Open in Seoul. Mirza defeated Hingis 4-6 6-0 6-4 and avenged her defeat in last week’s Sunfeast Open in Calcutta. In Friday’s quarterfinal, Sania will face doubles specialist Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain.

Hingis is now ranked number 8 in the world and this definitely has to be Sania’s biggest victory of her career. Sania’s career is now starting to resemble the perfect sine curve. Just when people were starting to write her off as a one-season wonder, she seems to have picked up her form and after a semifinal appearance in Calcutta looks set to progress far in the Korean Open.

This victory should do wonders to both her confidence and her ranking! We all know what Hingis is capable of and beating her can be no easy task. If Sania can keep herself injury-free for one or two years, she can possibly work towards becoming a real contender at the grand slams. (barring the French obviously)

It has to be said that the people at Sportsnob are huge fans of Sania for a number of reasons and hopefully she will give us a lot of things to write about!

Z

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Update:

Sania Mirza lost to Virgina Ruano Pascual 6-7 6-4 6-7 in the quarterfinals of the Korean Open. The match was bound to be tough. Pascual is a tough and experienced campaigner. Pity she couldnt go through. The fact that the third set went to a tie-breaker shows how close she got.
Technorati Tags: Tennis, Sania, Mirza, Hingis

This was by far, one of my toughest assignments. Dunking has changed over the years from its showy plain beginnings to becoming a form of art in the modern era. Just looking back at the past few decades, there has been a gradual change from power dunking to finesse. What you thought was impossible a few years ago, is reality now and only imagination stands between man and his elevation to stuff the ball into the hoop. Here are my top 5 NBA dunks

No 5

Rightly nicknamed ‘The Human Highlight film’, Dominique Wilkins personified the Windmill dunk. The raw power in each slam had the stadium rocking. It was only right that I did not pick one of his Windmills over the other. There was so little to choose in between them, that I had to thrown in a compilation of his Windmills at No 5.

The Human Highlight film, Windmill Mix

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tv1egELYa6A

No 4

Dr. J (Julius Erving) has to get the credit for changing the dunking world. Before he came into the scene, dunks were primarily from close to the basket by really tall players with absolutely zero entertainment value. Dr. J showed the world, the art of dunking. He was most famously known for this dunk at No 4. Dr J starts the break with a steal, drives on the left lane and cuts towards the basket, clutches the ball in one hand, swings it across his body and elevates over Michael Cooper of the Lakers for the jam.
Dr. J clutches the ball in one hand, swings it around and throws it down over Michael Cooper of the lakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbQKzTg0SPI

No 3

What was Tracy McGrady thinking of. This play had fans going crazy. Free throw dunks were reserved for the dunk contest not by choice but by physical ability until this day. Not a single person has even dreamed of pulling off a free throw dunk during a game. At No 3, Tracy Mcgrady starts the break, shuffles his feet a few yards from the free throw line and takes off, soaring for the slam.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BZdWcYNxBb8

No 2

I really did not want to rank a dunk from the dunk contest here as it would change the ratings considerably. But this dunk was one of the most amazing dunks I had ever seen. Really doesnt matter when or where he did it but it was a masterpiece. The Mona Lisa of dunks and it belongs to His Airness, Michael Jordan. Jordan needs a 48 to tie and a 49 to win against his perennial dunk contest foe Dominique Wilkins. Although many people have dunked from the free throw line, this was something special. Micheal starts his run up from the end of the court, gradually gaining speed as it culminates with a smooth flowing figure taking off from the free throw line, double cluthcing in the air with his tongue out as cameras flash for the most famous picture of a dunk. It was God disguised as Micheal Jordan. Oh yeah and they gave Jordan a 50.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m0EcVR04bAE

No 1

What can one say about this dunk. People talk about dunking on the defenders but actually going over them? And how many people could go over someone standing at 7 foot 2 inches. Well America’s Vince Carter can. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Vinsanity gets the steal at midcourt, gets a couple of short steps before he elevates over Frederic Weis of France and slams it over him. He actually takes off in front Weis and lands behind him. Weis did retire after the Olympics( I do feel sorry for him ) but on the bright side his name will always be synonymous with the best dunk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_H0gLc7jUY&NR

C2

P.S: Look out for James “Flight” White at this years dunk contest. He was drafted at No 31 by the Portland Trail Blazers. This guy can dunk from the free throw line and still have enough hangtime to put the ball between his legs while doing it.http://youtube.com/watch?v=pA4L-_Wic78

Technorati Tags: Basketball, Dunks, Jordan, Carter, Basketball+Videos, McGrady, Erving

Although I have read a lot about how mischief on wikipedia. Like how John Seigenthaler Sr. was accused of being involved in the murder of John. F. Kennedy (go here) I have never come across a case myself (or maybe I simply didn’t know)

Until today. Go HERE. Scroll down to the trivia section!

Hilarious! Wonder how long this has been there. Maybe people have already included this “trivia” in their quizzes!

Z

P.S: Don’t tell me there IS such a lake!

Technorati Tags: Wikipedia, Seles, India

The glam factor of the US Open took a sudden dip when Sania and Hingis were knocked out. Hingis losing in straight sets was a surprise. She had displayed good form before the tournament. However, none of that form was on display as she went down 6-2 6-4 to Virginie Razzano of France.

And Sania… well, what can one say? When you start believing she’ll start playing more consistently, she goes out and loses in three sets after winning the first. Not that i expected her to go very far in the tournament but then you always hope. There is an interview clip of Sania with Taylor Dent at The US Open website

And what on earth is Taylor Dent doing interviewing people instead of playing on court? (I am guessing there was an injury I didn’t read about… a pity, though). A beautiful serve and volley game and I mean SERVE and volley. I remember him playing Hewitt last year and also playing him once before and troubling Hewitt, who was then at the peak of his meagre powers. Hope this guy is back in action soon… the world needs another successful serve and volleyer, it’s a beautiful game.

Talking of beauty, today will see Roger Federer play the forgotten great English hope, Tim Henman. The modern “Fred Perry” should be disposed off in straight sets. Tim, your fifteen minutes are up!!

- Prof

Update:

Agassi beats Baghdatis in five sets. That takes out one of my predictions for a possible semi-final spot. I would love to see Andre play at the fag end of week 2.

Technorati Tags: US, Open, Tennis, Agassi, Hingis, Sania, Mirza, Federer

British Sensation Andy Murray beat Federer 7-5, 6-4 in the Cincinnati Masters. He later beat seed 15 Robert Ginepri. Will he alter my predictions? Wait and watch. While this might not make the front pages like Prince Harry, read the British Press and hear them dub him the next Perry, Laver or Sampras

http://www.usopenseries.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=355860

- Prof

PS: HOH has pre-empted my post. I am still not sure how well he will perform at the US.

Technorati Tags: Murray, Tennis, Federer

Well, I am sorry if the title is derogatory but those aren’t my words, those are of Martina Hingis (who had observed this about Mauresmo way back in 1999) Like many a intelligent celebrity, Hingis went on to deny the statement in-spite of being caught on tape.

But I digress; Mauresmo’s victory over Henin-Hardenne makes her the first French woman to win Wimbledon in 81 years. More important, it finally puts to rest all the doubts about her ability to beat her nerves. The eternal bridesmaid at the grandslams, she has made innumerable Semifinals , usually losing to the eventual champion. Her first grandslam came at this years Australian Open after her opponent in the final (Henin again) defaulted due to injury.

But the reason I am blogging about Mauresmo is that she is probably the only successful (publicly) homosexual sportsperson in action (discounting Navratilova). I cannot think of too many other homosexual players from the past either. Coming out of the closet at the age of 19 in the same 1999 Australian Open must have been tough, considering the fact that Navratilova herself never received sponsorship and endorsement commensurate with her status till she retired.

Anyway, the fact is that we will NEVER probably see a footballer or a Basketball superstar coming out of the closet. Something about the whole concept of naked men in showers and physical contact with gay men is set to make many a man uncomfortable. Rugby is worse, thirty sweaty men jumping on top of each other and also the scrum!
Will be interesting to see what happens if a Ronaldinho or a Kaka comes out of the closet.

Zarquon

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I watched portions of the match and honestly, Mauresmo showed no hint of nerves and seems a highly improved and strong player. In the final set, she was hitting such fine first serves. Not too many variations but when you hit them wide enough to get the opponent off-court, you don’t need variations!

And Henin, she fought all the way. The woman with the best backhand ever. She threw all she had at “Half Man”, her ripping backhand cross-courts and a really strong forehand - strengthened to counter the Williams sisters (Reminder: Post on how the Williams sisters changed women’s tennis).Â

Well Played Amelie, a well-deserved victory.

Prof

Hostels have a nasty habit of taking away the sports viewing habit. Other than the BIG tournaments and games, rarely does anyone switch on the TV. And over this period, my source of sports news has been the internet.

I have always wondered how people can carry on a knowledgeable discussion without actually watching the game. While I don’t pretend to be knowledgeable, I will be penning my thoughts/opinions here- probably without watching entire games. But then, this is my space!

Prof

V( extreme left) - Loves Barcelona and everything to do with them especially Messi. Hates Arsenal (especially Henry) with a passion. Obviously, greatest moment as a sports fan came when Barcelona won the Champions League in 2006 beating Arsenal in the final. Henry messing up two brilliant opportunities made it all the more sweeter!

Has this ability to come up with brilliant predictions at times although his last two predictions that Arsenal and Spain would win the Champions League and World Cup respectively have gone SPECTACULARLY wrong! Has tentative plans of getting to South Africa in 2010 for the World Cup.

Doesnt care too much for Cricket except when India are playing. Passing interest in every other sport. Has a (and Z is worried) great deal of interest in what is happening in the world of WWF. Has a fancy Xbox but will be ditching it for a PS3 soon. And yes, if he hasnt mentioned it to you already, he will be watching Barcelona in action in LA on August 6th. Expect a lot of posts and photos ! ( the lucky b******)

Secretly hoping to meet a hot chick who loves football through this blog.

Prof: What can one say about the Prof? Well, for starters the man fell asleep in the 89th minute of the semifinal match between Barcelona V AC Milan. Pretty much sums up his interest in football. Legendary knowledge of New York Yankee Japanese pitchers. His S&M skills will come in handy in taking this blog places.

He loves his cricket. Loved watching Sampras. Lately ofcourse he has taken to Federer. Also, enjoys watching the LA Lakers and Ferrari. ( Do we see a pattern here?!) The Prof’s intellect is well known. The Prof is THE Best! Yes, he has offered to employ both V and Z after their spectacular failures in the corporate world.

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