More Than Just Games

The Two Horse Race

2010-08-27T17:31:00.005+05:30

It’s the beginning of the new football season. This time of the year, one usually encounters a lot of talk about one league being better. Like all others I have my own criteria of choosing one league to be better than another. Sometimes these criteria are not deemed as important to others and obviously theirs to me. That's when I decided to put down a post taking into account a multitude of factors and statistics before reaching a conclusion, if possible. I will safely assume that the only two leagues in competition are La Liga and the English Premier League.

I’ve broken down the comparison into different points. Of course, I could have skipped some, but I’ve put down whatever came to my mind.

• Top of the league

EPL 10 Che 86 Man 85 Ars 75 Tot 70
EPL 09 Man 90 Liv 86 Che 83 Ars 72
EPL 08 Man 87 Che 85 Ars 83 Liv 76
EPL 07 Man 89 Che 83 Liv 68 Ars 68
EPL 06 Che 91 Man 83 Liv 82 Ars 67

Liga 10 FCB 99 RMA 96 Val 71 Sev 63
Liga 09 FCB 87 RMA 78 Sev 70 Atm 67
Liga 08 RMA 85 Vil 77 FCB 67 Atm 64
Liga 07 RMA 76 FCB 76 Sev 71 Val 66
Liga 06 FCB 82 RMA 70 Val 69 Sev 68

o Chelsea and Manchester have dominated, similar to Barcelona and Real
o Similarly if one of the above teams win, most often the other finish 2nd
o Teams in 3 and 4 positions are usually off the winners by a fair bit

As we can see, both leagues are ultimately 2 horse races, which can put to rest the theory of one league being more competitive than the other. Point totals are also similar and equally high, which goes on to show the top teams are significantly and equally better than bottom rung teams. Of course statistics don’t always tell the truth, but they point you towards the right directions.

When we look at the overall history of both the leagues, we observe that Real Madrid lead the Liga with 31 titles followed by Barcelona with 20 and Atletico Madrid with 9. In the English league Manchester United and Liverpool are tied at 18, followed by Arsenal at 13, whereas in the era of the Premier League Manchester United are miles ahead of the rest of the pack with 11 titles followed by Chelsea and Arsenal at 3 apiece. This again reiterates that one or two teams always dominate the league.

• Performances in Europe

Both these leagues almost always send 4 teams to the Champions league and 3-4 to the UEFA Cup/Europa League as well. I suppose, for a CL or EL campaign to be called successful, semi-finals can be set as a benchmark. Some more statistics follow about number of semi-finalists from each country and the eventual winners.

CL 10 1 ESP 0 ENG Int
CL 09 1 ESP 3 ENG FCB
CL 08 1 ESP 3 ENG Man
CL 07 0 ESP 3 ENG ACM
CL 06 2 ESP 1 ENG FCB

Cup 10 1 ESP 2 ENG Atm
Cup 09 0 ESP 0 ENG Shak
Cup 08 0 ESP 0 ENG Zen
Cup 07 3 ESP 0 ENG Sev
Cup 06 1 ESP 1 ENG Sev

While it is evident that in the Champions league, England sends more team regularly to semifinals, Spain has a better track record in the ultimate prize. When it comes to the second rung, clearly, Spain has the advantage with more victories, and semi-finalists. A conclusion is hard to reach because one cannot say one league is better with just these statistics

• Players and Awards

Another central point of argument is the quality of players in each league which statistically can be measured in Golden Boots, FIFA Player of the year, and the Ballon d’or. As for Golden Boot, La Liga has produced 5 and the Premier League 4 in the new format of the award. When it comes to the FIFA award, Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate with 4 and 7 respectively where as the only English entry is to Manchester United. Stats are similar in the Ballon d’or where Barcelona have 6, Real 5 and Manchester 4. This is the first time we can see one league that has a clear advantage over another. It is safe to assume the better players are from the Liga.

• Money Matters

Strength of any league financially is a good measure of how much a better a league is compared to another. This one clearly is in the favour of the EPL because of a much more stable structure where TV money is distributed in accordance to a predefined ratio, which ensures parity being ensured between top and bottom teams. La Liga allows teams to negotiate their own TV deals which creates imbalance at the top, which works against its favour with the view of maintaining equality and competition.

• Popularity

Again, I think the EPL is the clear winner here. Football is the religion in both countries where newspaper headlines are dominated by footballing matters, but where the EPL has scored points is in marketing the league as a brand to the rest of the world. Shifting the time of the matches in view of getting into the Asian primetime slot because of the potential financial benefits trumps the Liga in terms of popularity where most of the games are scheduled in EU night time which is the wee hours of the morning in Asia. I guess statistics are not necessary here.

• Intangibles

There are certain aspects of football you cannot measure. Bill Shankly famously said that football is much more than life and death. This is reiterated in La Liga. There is a certain romance to games which are not so in England. Football is a culture, more than just a sport. The connection between sporting history and political history is enough to say that it is more than life in that country. I somehow see this aspect lacking with England. Fans are equally passionate no doubt, but it is just not the same. Beauty is a subjective term, but it has been said time and time again that La Liga offers some of the most beautiful football in the world over the years. With a league full of talented Spaniards, Brazilians, and Argentines, this comes as no surprise. England on the other hand seems to have a much more tactical game, which has merits of its own, but surely can appear dull to the eye. In this regard, Liga has the upperhand in my opinion.

• The Verdict

I cannot think of more points to compare, so I guess I will leave it at that. It is clear that while each of the leagues have their own charms and advantages, it is difficult to come to a conclusion as to one being better than another. Liga is proclaimed to have the better history, EPL is said to be the hands down number one in the recent future, but with all said above, I will conclude by saying no one league is better than the other and all we can do is to enjoy the beautiful game and wait for this season to unfold.

Edit : A friend provided me with http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jonathan_wilson/08/24/epl.observations/index.html?xid=twitter_share another article on similar lines, do take a look.

A-Z of World Cup 2010

2010-07-13T18:42:00.002+05:30

This is quite a clichéd topic after every world cup in most newspapers and websites, but I decided to have a go at one on my own anyway. So here's the A-Z of this year's recently concluded spectacle that is the FIFA World Cup 2010

A for Africa : This was always going to be pitched as the Cup hosted by the entire continent, and it's fair to say that the hosts have exceeded expectation in terms of organising.

B for Blue : Blue was a bad colour for jerseys this year as giants like France and Italy crashed out infamously after the group stages putting their nations and footballing legacy to shame.

C for Casillas : San Iker will go down in history as the first captain to break Spain's curse of not winning the World Cup. Of course there was the small matter of the Golden Gloves.

D for Diego Forlan : Forlan wowed us with what Manchester United failed to see in him. This class act showed us some fantastic football capping it off with lots of brilliant goals.

E for Expectations : France,Italy,England,Brazil,Argentina. What was common to them in this World Cup is that none of their teams performed to the fans mighty expectations, which seemed to be the flavour of this tournament.

F for Flops : Flops again seemed to be the bug biting all big name players. Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka, Rooney were all bitten and put on quite a horrendous show.

G for Germany : If there was one team that deserved to win the tournament and didn't, It was the Die Mannschaft. Playing counter attacking football at levels we have not seen since the Brazilian teams of old, they gave us some amazing matches. This team is young and is bound to be around, and hungry for many years to come.

H for Handball : The world cup just seems to love Handball incidents. The Hand of God by Maradona paved way to a new tactic of using the hand to the benefit of the team. Suarez showed us all, a supposedly heroic sacrifice, with good presence of mind, taking his team past Ghana through to the Semi-Finals.

I for Injuries : Most teams were not at their full strength thanks to injuries. Blame the long club season or lack of fitness or desire to come back ahead of recovery period, we were unlucky not to see some good players in action.

J for Jabulani : World Cup's always have controversial balls and this was no different. A Goalkeeper's nightmare, this ball showed us physics as never seen before.

K for Kung-fu : A term that became popular after Nigel De Jong's tackle on Xabi Alonso in the final, justified the way The Netherlands tackled throughout the whole tournament.

L for Larissa Riquelme : The Paraguay lingerie model created waves all across the world and made lots of men Paraguay fans as she promised to strip if they went all the way.

M for Maradona : The man who was the centre of all attention even with the Argentina team boasting of arguably the best player in the World. Only Maradona could have done it, and it is only a pity that his coaching career is not nearly as glamorous as his playing.

N for Nigeria : Nigeria's FA gave us some humour by initially banning the national team from all competitions for the forthcoming two years as a punishment for their performance, which was later revoked after the firing of 3 top officials.

O for Oranje : Once again, the Oranje made it to the finals, and once again they would not win. I personally felt this was a good thing because the way they played would not do justice to the great Netherlands teams of the past, if they did better.

P for Paul : The most valuable person of the tournament would end up being the Psychic Octopus Paul who got the predictions right for all of Germany's matches and the finals. He has now become a betters’ favourite and German enemy number 1. Rumour has it that he has retired from his newfound profession.

Q for Questions : Some questions will never be answered. Was he offside? Did the ball cross the line? Were the FIFA officials right with that decision? Expectedly, this world cup was full of such Questions.

R for Referees : The refereeing this tournament was clearly sub-par. Barring a few excellent performances, most Referees, and linesmen made some rather horrible calls. Time for Video Technology.

S for Spain : Spain has at long last won a World Cup. The team always full of talent, and years of lack of unity due to regionalism and other reasons finally delivered with what is not becoming known as the Golden Generation of Spanish Football.

T for Tiki-Taka : The Spanish (Catalan) word for touch football used by Spain(Barcelona) has evolved into the new(boring) style of possession football and ended up winning the tournament(It was Villa!)

U for Uruguay : If everyone were to bet which South American team would qualify for the semis, nobody would have predicted Uruguay. Yet this bunch of no nonsense footballers, led by some spectacular goals by Forlan and Suarez did their country proud.

V for Vuvuzela : Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 'nuff said.

W for Waka-Waka : The jumpy number from the ever sizzling hot Shakira became the anthem for this World Cup with every Tom-Dick-Harry addicted to it, including my 3 year old cousin.

X for Xavi-Xabi : The X-Men (Ok, that was bad) were a solid centre of midfield pairing carefully picking out passes, became one of the hardest duo's to play against.

Y for Young Players : Every World Cup produces some fine young players, and this one no different. Germany being the most impressive with their youth gave us some fantastic promise in players like Ozeil, Mueller et al.

Z for Zuma : I was running out of creative thoughts, and thought I had to do justice to South Africa being such great hosts for this spectacle. The guy may be really boring with speeches but heads a country the loves football, which is now loved by the footballing world.

I hope that puts in a nutshell what this World Cup was about. Let me know your views, or if I've forgotten any important thing. Joga Bonito!

Yearbook Entry : Basketball Diary

2010-05-13T01:04:00.004+05:30

Chapter 1: The Beginning

When I first came to this college, I didn’t think much of my chances of getting to play quality ball. Quite frankly, nobody expects an NIT, to have a basketball team worthy of any praise. I would realise I was wrong, the moment I stepped into court on my first day. There were 4 other guys on court. As it would turn out, we were the golden batch in NITK Basketball, in more ways than one. For the first time in NITK’s recollectable history, 5 guys from the same batch would have to join the team. Alok brought his Karnataka State Captain experience along with his superb ball handling skills. Nitin brought a style element and a work ethic unrivalled by anyone. Sharan, Abhishek and I, brought to the team technique and determination that the rest of NITK was very happy to see. The Basketball team is once place where ‘jugaad’ does not exist. If you’re good, you’re in – That’s the mantra which is followed. It was safe to say a few seniors were disappointed that 5 of us had joined. But the true ballers knew that NITK Basketball was going to change, and for good.

The time had come for me to experience my first tournament. MBC is a Mangalorean Club that hosted a couple of tournaments every year. They have a sleek indoor court, with wooden flooring, shot-clocks and what not. It was quite an intimidating fact for a bunch of first years. We were told that we had not beaten MBC in this tournament ever before. This was also going to be the first time we would see our talisman Hardeep in action. Along with Bogie, Ham and Krum, Alok was the only first year who was chosen to play in the match. The finals was close, and Hardeep hit an amazing buzzer beater 3-pointer, to send the DK district into a state of shock. NITK finally had a recipe to create a successful basketball team. This victory qualified us to represent the district in a tournament in Mysore, my first out-station trip with the team. Planet X, Bopi’s Beer Bar, Old Mylari Butter Masala Dosa, were the highlights of this trip, more than the tournament itself.

Chapter 2 : First Time, Big Time

The team was chosen to represent us at the Inter NIT Games in Rourkela. Nobody knew what to expect from the other NITs. Would they be a bunch of nerds? Would they have random tall built guys who could dunk? We would find out that only Trichy had a team that they thought could beat us and we blew them out by 30 points. Highlights of the trip : Annapurna breakfast, Bogie’s admit and the never ending supply of spirit, and card games. Once we returned it was time for Inci. Now, for the basketball team, Inci is a World Cup of sorts. Playing in front of the NITK crowd is like being in a pressure cooker. Every shot you make pumps you up with 300 people applauding, but then every shot you miss is greeted with a seemingly larger number sighing ‘Ohhh’. The best of Bangalore teams turn up, and it is almost as if we have a point to prove to them that we can play in the big league. We would go on to lose to Christ, the eventual winners, in the semi-finals. Inter-Year was for the first time won by first year, who against all odds defeated the favoured third years, and the unbeatable Final years, much to the surprise and delight of college crowd. We would wrap up first year with the traditional Basketball farewell at Malpe Beach, where you get wasted without second thoughts. The final years would leave on a high note, with Krum going to Amdocs, Ham to Accenture, Brat to IIM Bangalore, NJ to Trilogy, and Bogie setting the benchmark at UC Berkley.

Chapter 3: Let’s rag ‘Em Juniors

We had finally become seniors on the team. One year after bearing the brunt of ragging and other silly chores that we had to do, just because we were the youngest, the time had finally come for the next batch of first years to feel the wrath. There were lots of players who came into this batch as well. Ewin and Nashath would make it directly into the starting 5 thanks to their sheer determination and size. Appi, Nikki, and Ravi would join the team in the following year. Our team finally looked like a strong unit. It was a team that we thought could even take on the Bangalore powerhouses. MBC and other local teams were dismantled with such ease that you would wonder, ‘Was this the team we once used to lose to?’ We decided to push things up one level by taking part in the RV tournament. After a comfortable 20 point win in the first game, we were all ready to play Ramaiah in the next. Ramaiah were perennial powerhouses in the Bangalore circuit. We knew it was not going to be easy, but we thought with this team, we should be beating them. 40 minutes later, we would fall right back down to earth. 15 point loss. More than the score, it was the way we played, we weren’t ready for the big time yet. Work had to be done, and quick, before Inci.

Chapter 4: Redemption

The Ramaiah loss hit us hard. We realised things had to change if we were to do anything useful in Inci. Practise intensity doubled, team bonding tripled. They say tragedy brings people together, this was the first time the team started to feel like a family. We wanted to work hard together. We wanted to win together. We wanted to push each other to make sure we achieve success. Just prior to Inci, we won another local tournament held by MBC very comfortably, which gave us some confidence. We had made the fixtures in such a way that we would meet Ramaiah in the semi-finals and that could be our redeem game. Unfortunately, Ramaiah ended up losing to Baldwin. Now the frightening part of this was Baldwin comprised of 5 African giants, all of whom were at least 6 foot tall, and built like ox. Scary as it seemed, a valiant effort from our side, we lost a humdinger of a game by 1 point. Once again our dreams were shattered at the semi-final stage, in the cruellest of fashions. But a statement was made. Teams came and congratulated us on the way we played defence. We were now considered worthy opponents. But the dream was still a dream.Yet another Malpe treat worth remembering, although our senses wouldn’t allow us to, and second year was wrapped up. Hardeep got himself a job at GE. Navin, Jeff, and G went to Carnegie Mellon, Boston and Georgia Tech respectively, maintaining the stud image of the team.

Chapter 5: Coping up

The beginning of the year was swarmed with comments from fellow college mates, other teams, referees, almost everyone connected to NITK Basketball you can think of, that we could not be the same team that we were without Hardeep. We all knew he was our star player, but we also knew, what the others didn’t, that we can be just as good, if not better without him. This served as motivation that year. Vind and Shank joined us, bringing a new dynamic to the team. MBC tournaments were swept once again with ease as people in the DK district were getting ready kill to see us lose. Yet again, we decided to step our schedule up one notch by taking part in another Bangalore tournament. As fate would have it, we had to play Ramaiah first up. We had a point to prove, more than that, we had a score to settle. A superb team game hence, we emerged victorious. People in Bangalore thought it was a fluke. We knew it was meant to happen, it just took one year more than it should have. This was by far the most meaningful and thrilling victory we had had. We now knew, there is no looking back, and up, is the only way to go.

Chapter 6 : Trophies, Trophies and More Trophies

The sem started out with Inter NIT which was held this time in Warangal. I have never witnessed our team performing a better demolition act than at this tournament. We owned each team by at least 30 points, distinguishing us as the clear winners. Our egos were well massaged when we would see teams clearing the court when we entered, teams giving us standing ovations when we entered the mess, and other acts of the same ilk. Highlights of this trip would be – Nikki’s traffic control after smash session, Bhimsingh’s downing skills, and Chennai stopovers. Yet another MBC tournament was won comfortably. We were set up for a grand Inci, which we hoped would finally be the one. The demolition continued, as we not only beat the Bangalore teams, but tore a couple of them apart, so much so that we won our semi-finals, which seemed like a perennial hurdle, by 20 points against RNS, which had just beaten Ramaiah. NITK had arrived at the big stage, but the crown was still missing. Jain outplayed us in the finals, not by better basketball, not by bigger hearts, just by pure experience. Our Cinderella run ended, but we were happy with the way we performed. Our year ended with another tournament win at Yenapoya. We had captured 5 Winners trophies and 2 Runners up trophies. This was by far the most successful year for NITK Basketball. A bigger year, called for a bigger celebration at Malpe, with everyone living up to prior standards, making wine shop owners very happy. Sam would go on to Georgia Tech, BD to North Carolina and Camel would make the trip to IIM Calcutta.

Chapter 7: The Beginning of The End

Everything that is associated with NITK peaks during Final year. For us though, it was a little crooked. The batch, being worst hit by recession, suffered during placements. GRE and CAT givers also had a slightly tough time, hence bringing a sort of irregularity towards practise. Few were beginning to wonder if we had peaked last year and the only way to go was down. Doubts were starting to creep in among ourselves too. We tried to convince ourselves that that was not the case, and we were still the same hungry team that wants to win Inci. An extended rainy season resulted in not much practise, and some unrest between players. The lack of tournaments didn’t help much either. We hosted another tournament this year, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the institution. A confidence boosting win in front of home crowd is always welcome. Thus ended a relatively drab penultimate sem, with all leading up to the last one.

Chapter 8: The Swansong

The final sem started on a good note with placements, and admits coming the team members’ way. Inter NIT victory at Surat would follow, reinstating our dominance at the NIT level. Nitin got his second successive MVP at Inter NITs. Highlights of the trip included Bombay Thanni, Sasumaa Gujarati Thali, The forgetting of Swami incident and our epic journey from Bombay to Surat in the general compartment. A couple of months of heavy practise was required to reach optimum levels for Inci. Prior to Inci, we had a confidence building win at KMC Mangalore, where a couple of differences in the team were settled, to show the emergence of the complete team game. Organisers almost always gave away best player awards to the losing opponents, because each player in our team would have scored the same amount of points. The final Inci had arrived. Bigger than the prior editions, this one witnessed some really close matches and a superb exhibition of stylish basketball. There were a couple of annoying incidents, but what’s an Inci without a controversy? We sailed through the group stages to reach the semi final against Josephs. Josephs were one of the co-favourites to lift the title. We knew we had to bring our A game to the court, and by god we did. The entire team played at a level we ourselves did not know we could reach. To take such a team to overtime is no mere task. We would eventually go on to lose by 3 in OT, but we went out with our heads held high. This was our last chance to win Inci, as the outgoing batch. It is nagging when college randoms ask you why we never win our home tournament, but how we perform above our expectations and limits year after year and give it our best, is difficult to explain in words. The year ended with a victory at the Manipal tourney, one that had eluded us the first 3 years. Not only was that fact special, but also the way it was achieved, a stroke of genius from Alok and a lot of luck is the only thing that could have saved a hungover team from losing the finals at 7 in the morning. As I write this, I am wondering how my last Malpe will be, because this time it will be the others bidding farewell to us, something I don’t want to happen as soon as it seems to be happening. Resigning to the fact that all good things come to an end, I would always look back to my days with the basketball team of NITK, where teammates turned to friends, and friends in turn became brothers. This team shaped us to what we are in this college and it would only be appropriate if I said that We may not be a part of this team anymore, but the team will always be a part of us.

Batch of 2010

Alok Shankar
Nitin Chandra
Abhishek Premkumar
Sharan Basavaraj
Kaushik Lakshman(author)

Cracker of a Diwali!

2009-10-18T10:48:00.001+05:30

It was the first Diwali of my 4 years of college that I spent back here and not at home. Many reasons for that, but this would have all the makings of a great day. I woke up with a sore knee from previous morning's game against the tribals. Woke up anticipating a difficult game against a rejuvenated MIT team, in the finals of Golden Jubilee Cup. We were conducting this extra home tournament this year, and even though competition from the local teams isn't anything worthy of a mention, there was pressure to win. We had lost Dasara, which we had been winning from when I can remember. We were just not in that free flowing zone that we were in by this time last year. We needed the win. Come 5 o clock in the evening, we went in to the game with a funny line up. A gamble to start our freshman center payed off. The gamble of going in to the game with not much height and presence inside, which again payed off. We shot the ball like never before this year. 'I knew after the first shot, that we were winning this easily' said Captain Blok. That's the feeling we all got. 40 minutes and a dirty game hence, we won. We won by 9, much easier than we thought. After being robbed off the best player award to many worthy candidates, we celebrated the festival of light and our victory with a team dinner. Little bit of DSP, and we took 3 hours to answer one simple question the above mentioned freshman posed. All in all it rounded up a great day, possibly the greatest of my final year so far. Happy with my game, Happy with the team's, Happy that we're such a nice unit, Happy that Diwali away from home would end up being such a great day, Happy that I've got to go pick up our brand new red jerseys in a few minutes - Oops, Gotta Run. Happy Diwali, everyone :D

Dream team of our generation

2009-07-02T23:16:00.000+05:30

While I've grown up watching the beautiful game, I have often wondered, who are the greatest set of players that I have been priviliged to grow up watching. If there was ever a dream team of the greatest players of our generation, who would it be. Here's my list. Opinions and refutations are mot welcome.

Goal Keeper - Iker Casillas - He's my favourite. He's won so many titles in so few years, when he's so young. And in my opinion the number 1 shot blocker in the game. Buffon's better in some aspects, but Casillas is the overall package for me.

Right Back - Cafu - What a joy he was to watch spring up and down that right wing. A great champion, a great man, and also a great football player. Probably one of the greatest ever to play the position, barring Garrincha. He's an automatic choice in this team.

Centre Backs - Alesandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini - Nesta is one of the modern day greats and Italians have always led the way in showing how one defends. Maldini, is one of the game's elites, possibly the greatest defender. These two would make a killer twosome at the centre of the defence.

Left Back - Roberto Carlos - Complementing Cafu on the right, Carlos would be an awesome add to the left side. One of the best long range shooters ever to have played the game, he was a terror on the wing in his days, and is almost an automatic choice for this position

Right Wing - Luis Figo - What a winger, multiple winner of the World and European player of the year awards and a menace down the wing in his days, has scored plenty of wonderful goals and almost carried the Portugal team when he led it.

Centre Midfielders - Claude Makelele and Pavel Nedved - Makelele is the best ever DM that I have seen. Pre Galactico era, Madrid were that stable because of him, and Galactico and post that, they weren't because of the same guy. Rock in front of the defense, is actually a pleasure to watch even if he is the DM. Nedved, although plays for my most hated team Juve, takes this place mainly because of one performance against Real where he scored a hat-trick to send us out of the CL. What a class performer, truly deserves the spot on this team.

Left Wing - Zinedine Zidane - My footballing god, the greatest player to have ever touched a football, the scorer of the most beautiful goal, I cannot stop talking about this guy. If there's one person I miss in the Real team and the world of football its my beloved Zizou. So versatile, so classy, nothing more needs to be told I suppose.

Forwards - Thierry Henry and Ronaldo - Henry, I personally do not like him that much, but his records stand out. He will always be one step below the greats because of his money minded move to Barca, but he is a classy striker he is on the pitch. Fatty Ronaldo, who is the greatest striker of our generation, is well, a shame to a young fan, but his talent was undeniable. Those stepovers, those quick dashes, and not to mention, the great finishing skills make him truly deserve this spot.

PS - Near Misses : Del Piero, Giggs, Pirlo, Ferdinand

PPS - Far Misses : Kaka, Messi, Iniesta, CR9? They have to achieve lots more before being considered for this.

Comment away people.

Criminal Financial Dealings

2009-06-15T22:21:00.002+05:30

About a year back, I wrote an entry on this blog about how Marca sells newspapers by publishing false football rumours. Some of these news items materialise into deals, and most don't. While the earlier article talks about the hype rumours create, this one is for the hype, the actual transfers that come through, create.

Yes, Yes everybody knows Real Madrid splashed out 65m Euro for Kaka and 93m for Ronaldo. That's a hell of a lot of money. Now it would be a legitimate question if people ask, why Madrid overpay for their transfers. A possible explanation to that is that, teams know Madrid will pay close to whatever they demand, so they just inflate the transfer fee. This does have its bad effects on the transfer market, yes. What I find ridiculous is, not just fans or players or managers, but the management of several clubs are criticising the Madrid transfer system.

Some facts before you start jumping at me. Clubs in Spain are not owned by individuals, like the case is in England. You have Oil tycoons, Arab Sheikhs, American finance big shots and many more funding the English clubs, whereas in Spain, specifically Real Madrid, no single owner exists. There is a president who is the authority on the business dealings, and Perez being the shrewd businessman that he is, has pulled off some amazing deals. Our money, Our dealings, anything wrong with that?

People often complain, why do Madrid buy superstars of every club, why can't they grow or develop talent like some of the other clubs. The answer to that is pretty complicated. Madrid is a club where patience is unheard of, fans want success all the time. Such is their history and they have every right to be that way. It is not as if they do not produce good kids at all. They don't use them properly, but that's a different issue altogether. People who know the Spanish game will know that Negredo, Granero, Mata, Diego Lopez, all of whom are product of the Real Madrid Castilla, are superstars in the making at lower clubs. Coming back to the point, one way, and the right way in my opinion, to look at the transfers is this. A club X develops a player from its youth system, and his value increases. They do well with him, but after a point, he seeks newer challenges and better avenues for success/money whatever. This is where Real come into the picture. They pay a lavish sum and all parties are happy. X has not much more it can offer to the player, and also end up making a profit on the sale. This is how most transfers to Madrid work. Now your non Madrid big shot clubs, cannot afford such lavish sums, what do they do instead? Steal other clubs' youth talent for dirt cheap sums and 'develop them'. Such is the case with the top 3 players in the world at the moment. Ronaldo was nicked off a Portuguese club, Kaka similarly from a Brazilian club, both at around 18 years of age. Messi, the third was stolen at 12! 12- the kid would not be knowing percentages by then, but Barca recruit him and now call him one of their own. Now which policy is more criminal? You tell me.

Inci Bball Review

2009-03-07T00:45:00.001+05:30

It's that time of the year again. When everything that you looked forward to in the year is over. You are terribly bugged and experiencing a hangover of sorts. You tend to look back and think of how you got to where you got. You tend to look at what you wanted to achieve and whether you did. You think about whether you justified all the work that you put in. You finally boil down to whether you are happy with what happened or not. Before you think I'm getting really philosophical, all I'm thinking of is just reviewing how Inci went from the viewpoint of my team.

People said our team wouldn't be any good. Every now and then we heard 'Oh - What will your team do without him?', 'NITK team is not that strong this year right?' etc. We wanted to set and end to all that. The way we trained changed, the way we played changed. And the results showed just that. We've made a few friends, a few enemies as well in the course of the year. But all that seemed worth it. Until last year we were known as a team that plays fairly well at home, a team that has some great shooters and not much else. A bit of that changed when we went to PESIT this year, and all of it was about to change during Inci.

We were a little apprehensive while making fixtures this year. Because the standard of the tournament was going to be so high, we had to take on a semi-decent team in the quarterfinal league itself. After lots of speculation and arguments we decided to put PESIT and MVJCE in our group. Our debut game was against PESIT. Although we beat them by 20ish we had a big team talk after the game because clearly we could have played a lot better, and wouldn't get away with the tougher teams if we played like that. Next day our previous captain arrived with the idea of helping us in the form of a coach. Apart from that we went out with the intention of seeing to it that we did not make the same mistakes as we did the previous night. Also, we had no idea how MVJCE were and usually not knowing the opponent has always worked to our favour. A nearly perfect game was played that night by us, resulting in another 20 point win. Now for the hurdle of semi-finals that we hadn't cleared ever in the previous five years of our home tournament. RNSIT did us a favour by beating Ramaiah, Jain and Josephs would meet in the other semis as we had planned it out earlier. The prospect of playing RNS was scary, yet comforting. Scary because they had 2 huge 6 foot 5 giants and a good defence. Comforting because they are a poor offensive team and we are one of the best defences in the tournament. Come Saturday evening, we had a good chance to finally break the jinx and reach Inci finals for the first time. The first semi between the two powerhouses Jain and Josephs was a humdinger of a game. A buzzer beater three pointer to settle it says it all. That was followed by arguably the best dunk contest performance ever seen live for us here in college. A little tension was in the air, but that had to be gotten rid of. Smart play and some sweet shooting by our star shooter made sure of another 20 point win. Finally, we were there. A hurdle for all these years had been passed. There was so much joy that it felt as if we were content enough to have got this far. But we wouldn't let that ruin a golden opportunity. We could feel the nerves even before the game began. A tough game, after which a little inexperience probably showed but a lot of character was also shown when we lost to Jain, Basketball royalty in the state just by five, thus bringing to a close, by far the most successful year for our college's basketball team.

As, I reflect back upon these memories, I only wonder of what's to come next year. As of now, I'm just sitting, wishing and waiting.

Inci Preview!

2009-02-16T00:29:00.002+05:30

SlamDunk was first added to Inci 6 years ago. What was once a small time tournament has now become one of the biggest college level tournaments in the state. A total of 20 guys teams and 10 girls team meet in this exhibition of professional basketball every year to produce some great matches. And boy, do we have some awesome teams coming this year to contest for the prestigious title and cash prize.

The guys tournament has always witnessed some of the closest, some of the most fast paced, some of the most tactically played out games you can see. The best teams from Bangalore, a certain team from Kerala and local teams along with us round up the participant pool for the tournament. This is what we have been waiting for the entire year and here is a preview of what you can expect from the basketball court during Inci.

Let's have a look at the teams. In no particular order, a jist of some of the favourties.

· Jain - Defending Champions, surely this year too a frontrunner for the title.

Star Players : Kaushal, John, Puneeth

Strengths : Scoring machine with tremendous experience in tournaments.

· Ramaiah - Always strong contenders in any tournament, known for their game intensity, they are always a force to be reckoned with.

Star Players : Abhishek, Chandy

Strengths : Intensity. They have a chant that goes 1-2-3 Team and that is the essence they play with.

· Nehru - The second most popular team among the NITK Crowd after the home team, who give us the match of the tournament year after year.

Star Players : Rahul, Mahesh

Strengths : Tremendously fast paced game with incredible ball movement.

· NITK - Home team. Home Ring. Great shooters. Makes for an almost perfect recipe.

Star Players : Alok, Ewin

Strengths : As mentioned earlier home team and crowd support coupled with the fact that shooting is very accurate especially on own ring.

· RNSIT - A very beautiful team to watch, on their day can beat any of the other strong teams.

Star Players : Krupesh, Pradeep

Strength : Excellent team game and a pleasure to watch.

· Josephs - They have the most superior record in Bangalore tournaments this year and will be looking to add to that.

Star Players : Markesh, Sood, Chimpu

Strength : Superb team game, Superb accuracy, Superb speed, arguibly the best team when put on court.

· MVIT – A team that has grown over the years and have a reputation to be very motivated during important games.

Star Players : Abhishek
Strength : The above mentioned player can at times single handedly turn around games and lift up the entire team’s spirits in no time.

Potential Surprise Packages : PESIT, NIT Trichy, BMS, Surana, Dayanand Sagar, MVJCE, NITTE, PA College, Aloysius, RV, NHCE, BMS, Father Muller and NITK-B

With added attractions like the Dunk Contest, a record high of 10 girls teams, and a debutant planned for this year – A three point shootout, SlamDunk promises to truly live up to Inci’s punchline – BEYOND EXPRESSION.

Gods at play.

2009-02-05T01:33:00.001+05:30

Tennis : A game that is played with rackets and a light elastic ball by two players or pairs of players on a level court divided by a low net.

God : A being believed to have more than natural attributes, The supreme or ultimate reality.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal : Gods of Tennis.

That brings us to the question that is unanswerable to a few people, but fairly easily answerable to most others one way or another. Which one of them is better? Statistics say Rafa owns Federer based on head to head. Tournament records say Federer is close to being the greatest ever. Of late, especially after the Aussie open finals, it was pretty evident that maybe it is time for people to admit that Nadal is well and truly the king. On the other hand, Federer is playing some of the most patchy tennis of his life. On some days and off the other, Unforced errors like never before in his career. People say he is in bad form. But as Murray pointed out- He has reached 3 grand slam finals in a row and won one of them, and you say he is in bad form? Such is the high standards he has set. These two men have given us some of the greatest tennis matches we have ever seen. Surely there is more to come this year. Will Federer win his first one at Roland Garos? Or Will Nadal beat the king of grass on grass? Who's going to have the final say in the US Open? These questions will be answered in a few months. The other question is the tricky one. My answer- Nadal may beat Federer, but he can never be Federer.

Endurance Running

2009-01-13T23:20:00.001+05:30

It was the usual Friday evening when we had collected on court for practise. After a tiring 2 hour work out, with exercises with and without the ball, someone thought aloud, asking what it is that we would be doing the next morning in our first proper morning practise session. First proper in the sense that it was the first holiday that we would wake up in the morning, and do something productive. Immediately, almost as if it came naturally, the think tank of our team suggested an idea. We would aptly name it Endurance running. Now, for an average sportsman what we do may not be termed as endurance running, but then again we are students who play, not players who study like the ones who are regular favourites at tournaments. That said, for an average student in our college, what we do is of quite some magnitude. Endurance running, if we were professionals would have probably been a run that lasted say 10 rounds around the football field. That would be 10*700 metres = 7 kilometres. But as always we do things with a twist, a twist that makes getting tired so much fun, you don't stop even if its completely exhausting. What the aforementioned think tank suggested was a really nice break up of running. First a warm up for 4 rounds, not the usual rounds around the field but again with a twist. The twist being everyone runs in a straight line and at every turn, the last guy in the line overtakes the first guy. This can be really hard, but also is fun. I suck at it, but then that's a different story altogether. Right, so that was warm-up. Then there is the best part. To put it simply it was five 100 metre sprints. Then four 200 metre sprints. Three 300 metre strides. Two 400 metre strides and a final round the pitch 700 metre jog again. Doing the math, it comes up to 6.5 kilometres of running, subtract a little for laziness and cutting of the track, also some inconsistencies. 6 kilometres of running could never be made this interesting. As we finished, we were barely able to walk and carry our arses back to the block. Thankfully as some sort of reprieve, Captain Camel Calcutta and the aforementioned think tank decided to treat us breakfast. Benefits of hard work you could say. That rounded up a week that was never short of anything - morning practises, evening games, 2 people quitting the team and eventually coming back realising that the pros of staying in would always outweigh the cons if you stayed out. Oh, did I forget to mention, I love this game, and this team.

Looking Back

2008-12-31T12:06:00.001+05:30

It's new years eve, Some people look view it as the time when people look back on the year that has passed and look forward to the coming year. Some people try to use this day as changing, making new year resolutions. While some people just use it as an excuse to party and get wasted. I at this moment am doing the first. I don't believe in the second. And the last, there's still a few hours to go before that :)

2008 was quite eventful. It was a year when I lost really good friends, made some even better ones; Lost track of who mattered, and found it again; Did not know what I was going to do with life post college, then realised and finally decided; Did not know where my priorities lied, but found out a way to find out where they did; when there was a someone, and suddenly there wasn't; and Went from a neither here nor there to finally knowing to choose somewhere.

Now that the year is coming to a close, looking back at whatever happened, it was a great year. It has changed me, definitely for the better. Now for 2009, a year of extreme importance. Happy new year!

Revenge : B'ball Game Review

2008-11-30T11:40:00.001+05:30

In an attempt to not get bored in the holidays, along with the idea of establishing the fact that we can indeed play without our ex captain in Bangalore level tournaments, we decided to enroll ourselves in the PESIT tournament which was to happen in the middle of the holidays. That would mean 2 things. Firstly we would not go with our first choice team, with a couple of our International models missing out. Secondly, since everyone in Bangalore is in a different corner of the city, we would not have much of team practise. That said, when the fixtures were out, almost as if destiny had it in store for us, we were drawn against Ramaiah. Ramaiah for starters, is one of the best teams in the city, boasting of 3 VTU players, and excellent tournament records, and regarded in most tourneys as potential winners. To add to this, there is a certain feeling of desperate revenge, because of a loss to Ramaiah in a game last year, which was a scar on our team that we wanted to erase. We were praying to get a chance to play them at Inci last year, but we had got that chance only now, and we were in no mood to let it slip.

The final day had arrived. Ramaiah, as confident as they always are, brought along their second jersey for the evening game, expecting it to be a breeze against us. Little did they know how much this game meant to us. Since one of our first 5 players were not available we had to do with a makeshift lineup. Ramaiah too in all fairness was a makeshift lineup, but that shouldn't have made any difference. Camel, Alok, Nitin, Sharan and Ewin lined up for us. Ramaiah, known for their high intensity game were up to it from the first minute. Full court press, physical rebounds, Clutch shooting, all in an attempt to psych the opponents out like they always do. But this wasn't going to be another 'always'. Simple screens and some intensity from our own end, and there we were leading 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. Team huddle's message was to keep up the intensity and not let this chance slip. Second quarter did not go as expected. We slacked, they picked up intensity and it was slowly beginning to slip away. 21-12 at the end of the half. Disastrous second period, but it was pointed out that we were going wrong in basics. Simple screens could break that defence. Fundamental basketball would do the trick. Third quarter and Bloke went beserk. Three three pointers and there we were back in the hunt again. Good defence coupled with the fact that they were getting tired too, meant that we took complete advantage and lead was back with us at the end of the third. Final quarter, we were ten minutes away from what we wanted so badly last year. Bloke continued his streak, with a few more sweet three's. With about 3 minutes left we were leading by 6. It was not done, we had lost the Inci semis in the exact same scenario. But it was not going to happen this time. Raphael shocked us with a couple of clutch three's and there it was. It was looking like the dream would slip away. Just a couple of seconds later, Bloke puts up a shot, misses, and almost as if it is meant to be, the ball lands right into Sharan's arms under the board for an easy finish. 2 Points, and there we were, 11 seconds away from what we wanted so badly. The referees came to us and said just 11 seconds. Surana coach told us the same thing. 11 seconds later, it was over. We had finally beaten Ramaiah, in the process handing them probably their first ever first round exit, and probably their first ever loss to an Engineering team. Ironic we did it without our martyr, Singh, but we achieved what we wanted badly. Revenge, does taste sweet.

Although we went on to lose the semis to a really bad team, in an equally close affair, which shouldn't have been the case, the first victory was something special for all of us. Something we dedicated to Singh. Something that showed to the people that we can play outside our own tournament. With the required effort, surely, a sign of things to come.

Top 5 Movie Endings

2008-11-28T15:34:00.001+05:30

Here's my pick of what I feel are the best movie endings/ twists at the climax.
No descriptions of course, for people who haven't watched any of these.

5) Fight Club
4) Shawshank Redemption
3) Saw
2) Memento
1) The Usual Suspects

You may have your own order, or perhaps even other movies on this list. If so let me know, I would love to watch them if I haven't.

Real-ly Ranting

2008-11-21T23:01:00.002+05:30

When I started writing this blog, I told myself that I will never make a rant entry. And even if I did, I never once thought it would be about something I love so much, Real Madrid. And now that it is about Real, it must speak volumes about how bad the current scenario at the Spanish capital is.

With 11 games gone in the season, sitting at 4th place on the table, 3 points behind the leaders, and most probably getting into the next stages of the Champions League, would not mean that a team is in crisis. But this is Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world. A club where, two continuous losses would mean that the manager's neck is on the line. A club where, a title-less season would be catastrophic to even imagine. A club where just winning is not enough, it has to be done with a certain amount of style and conviction. And that is exactly why this season looks like a bad one for Real.

A wise man named Murphy once said that, everything that can possibly go wrong happens all at once at the worst possible time. He couldn't have been more apt with the current situation in Madrid. 2 back to back Champions League losses to Juventus is completely inexcusable. A friend of mine wrote on his blog in the preview to this game as the game against the Old lady with a broken hip, referring to the number of injuries they had. Away loss was okay, home loss, an embarrassing one at that is completely inexcusable. Losing to Real Union in the Copa, a Segunda B team, which means they play two divisions below us. How on earth does that happen? Only god knows how. Barely scraping a win against Malaga, and then going on to losing against Valladolid, a team that Barca beat 6-0 the previous weekend, surely meant there was a crisis at the Bernebeu.

Now, the blame game begins. Spanish press is dying to get things to sell their papers, And Real have given them a cakewalk for achieving what they want. So who is really at fault. Naturally fingers point to the manager, Schuster. I really do not think the fault lies with him. It is more at the top level of the hierarchy. Calderon cannot be expressed in non swear words at this moment by most Real fans. Mijatovic, the supposed technical director, is equally to blame. Their over ambitious chase for Ronaldo in the summer meant the rest of the buying would be hit, and hit it was. No naturally right sided winger yet in the team. An aging Cannavaro, a full of himself Pepe, and the truly horrendous Man Utd reject Hienze in charge of the centre of defence? Surely that is not the material of champions. Garay's loan has to be terminated. Ramos has to be moved back to centre and Torres has to play on the right. Midfield is a mayhem. There are far too many central midfielders, far too many players who stray forward never to bother about defending once they lose the ball. And to top all that, Van Nistelrooy is injured for the remainder of the season. Raul is looking like a mere shadow of the great man he was. Thankfully Higuain has found his scoring boots. And then there is Saviola? Who? That's right that Argentine, the Saviola we all know about. Yup, he is rotting the benches at Real.

With possibly the toughest part of the season coming up where Getafe, Sevilla, Villareal, Barcelona and Valencia the next five opponents and two crucial Champions League games thrown in to the mix, it will take quite a run to bounce back from the situation they have put themselves in. This is Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world. A club where a title-less season would be catastrophic to even imagine. A club where winning is not enough, it has to be done with a certain amount of style and conviction. And that is what this team has to prove. Hala Madrid.

King James

2008-11-18T23:18:00.001+05:30

I've been watching a lot of NBA Highlights lately, and sort of got my inspiration for this post. It's been a while since the league has seen a god-like figure. Bird, Magic, Jordan, are all of a by-gone era. It's high time there was some one of that calibre, someone that the kids of the present generation can look up to. There have been critics who say that the face of the game is changing, there isn't much you can do individually, showboating with the dunks etc. Agreed, but games do evolve and let's face it, this is the new phase of basketball. I'm not sure you can have the Stockton kind of players anymore in today's game. Coming down to what I really wanted to write about, is that idol that I mentioned earlier. Le Bron James, often referred to, aptly I might add, as King James, is that guy. Before you jump at me saying what has he done yet, I want to say that even the great Jordan won his titles only after 6-7 years of playing. There is a transition a player has to make from college to NBA, and James directly jumped from High School to the NBA. At 6 foot 9 inches, with his swiftness, he's a monster. Time and time again, he has 40 point games, where he single handedly carries his team to victories. His effectiveness has increased, he makes his teammates play, he's blossoming into the player that will take him to the Bird, Jordan league. He's supposedly pretty down to earth also, according to what I've read, and if so, has that class that the greats of every game do. This year he has got a decent team to back him up with the addition of Wallace, and his teammates are improving their effectiveness too. At this rate, I'd back them for a good run this season. May he start winning championships, and truly show everyone in the basketball world that he does belong amongst the greatest of the greats.

MinRel

2008-10-30T18:50:00.006+05:30

Wednesday 12:00 -
C: We got screwed man, That AL was taking our thing and HOD suddenly walked in because he was terribly pissed off with some other group. He checks all code, everything and be careful.

Wednesday 16:30 -
K: Maga, how was project submission?
S: Don't ask maga, HOD came. We got raped.

Wednesday 20:00 -
Call from M : Let's meet and discuss about the project. I'll explain the code and stuff so that we can confidently tell HOD about everything.

Wednesday 21:00 onwards -
A: Any idea how the others did?
K: Most did okay, but whoever got HOD, better not talk about it.
Sources: You are group 25, so you will get HOD only
M: Maga, full tension if HOD comes, I don't know what to say only.
A and K : If you only don't know what will we say man!
All : Okay how do we divide functions? You do destroy, I do Load, He'll do select. No man, I can't do this.
A: Okay I'll do Select Insert and Join, He'll do Create,Load and Project and you do Describe Drop and Print
M: What about delete!? Delete is bevarsi maga. lol
All : Hey Let's make a PPT and go show him, might be impressed and all. Ohh nice idea!

Thursday 8:30 -
A: I've started making the PPT. You'll present it to him?
K: Yeah okay.
M: Don't take tension maga. Whatever happens will happen.
A: Yeah, let's just distract him and be confident so that he doesn't get the feeling we haven't split it.
M: After today, whatever happens let's go put Golconda in Garuda!
K: Sure!

Thursday 10:30 -
M: Cha, I wish this help file would work, that way we he'll be more impressed.
K:Okay, arbit idea, lets open the ppt when you click on help file. But is it easy to do?
M: Shit, yeah man, let's do that! AJ How do you open PowerPoint in DOS Prompt?
A: powerpnt
M: This isn't working man.
K: Ayyo, chuck it da, big deal.
M: No da it will be sexy if this works!
A: Idea! Create batch file and call that.
M: Fak! Sexy maga, yeah we'll do that only.
M: Works!
K: Shit, this is the first thing that all 3 of us have done together!
A: Haha, that's why you need three people.

Thursday 11:00 - Enter HOD
HOD: You all look very happy. Why is it so? Completed the project?
All three: Yes sir
HOD: Let's see. Okay why do you need a PPT?
After some explanation and some time
HOD: Good work. But tell me just for argument's sake why are you using this load?
M: Sir, you can't access physical memory, so we load it into the RAM
HOD: But you have to go to a lower level for that.
M: Sir, that is a typical C approach. The purpose of using Java is defeated if we go to low level.
HOD: Who asked you to use Java?
*Shock*
HOD: Just joking, I wanted to just listen to what you have to say.
All Three: Sir, these are the join, project and delete functions.
HOD: It's okay, I don't think I need to see it. Proceed.
All Three: Sir, some extra features are there that we couldn't implement because we didn't know if it was apt.
HOD: No you have done everything. You want me to cut marks?
*Silly Smile*
A: Sir, what about the implementation of the other part?
HOD *Smiles* : No need. I'm sure you would have done that. Just copy your project in a CD and give it to me.

Thursday 12:00
All : Yess!! *High 5's all around*
M: Maga today GB for sure! Once again, for the second year in a row, DM's project gets stored in the dept.
M:That's enough maga. Now balls to end sems.
A and K : Haha haha.

Thus ended our dramatic project story. So much for all plans we had in case HOD was in belting form. With all the imbalanced fun we had and even more imbalanced code of the Java Guru this is something I thought I'd pen down to read sometime and feel nostalgic.

Fw: They asked and now I answer

2008-10-14T20:16:00.003+05:30

Rolu Polu Dolu aka Dholax aka Engi Publicity Co-ordinator had this on his blog and asked for me to answer them too. And hence.

Last movie seen in a theater:
The Dark Knight *bows*

What book are you reading?
For a while it has been Ptolemy's Gate, but I'm a noob, speed can be excused

Favorite board game:
Monopoly

Favorite magazine:
Autocar, Sportstar

Favorite smells:
Petrol and new shoes

Favorite sounds:
Piano

Worst feeling in the world:
People you trust, go against you

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Argh! Class!

Favorite fast food place:
KFC

Future child’s name:
Not given it a thought

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”
spend it like a man who has a lot of money

Do you drive fast?
Yeah, in a while.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Yappa! No!

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Scary !

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Don't mind them.

If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
None, I like it Black (Call me racist! Heh)

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:
Hyderabad ( 0-0.5 )
Palakkad ( 0.5-3 )
Bangalore ( 3-17 )
Surathkal ( 18- )

Favorite sports to watch:
Football, Basketball

What’s under your bed?
A couple of bags and lots of dirt

Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Of course

Morning person or night owl?
Night Owl.

Favorite place to relax:
I don't know really, depends on the situation, can vary from bed to B'ball court to beach and what not.

Favorite ice cream flavor:
Chocolate. Chocolate. More Chocolate!

Forwarding this to whoever is jobless and wants to answer this. :)

Colour v Color

2008-10-06T23:58:00.002+05:30

I just logged in to my facebook account today, and there was this new translator tool that popped up to choose my language. Just like I always do, I chose English (UK), which led me its page where there were forum topics, one of which was Americans cannot speak English. That made for quite an interesting reading. I personally prefer the Brit version. It's what we grow up learning and it's what we should talk. American English has its own merits as well, considering they spell how they hear which makes things simple. But the reality is that basically an average American is not very smart and that's why they very conveniently made spellings simpler. Brit English on the other hand is complicated, yet a beautiful language. I may not exactly be the best person, or anywhere close to good in proper English, but I'd try to sound(not with the accent of course) and write as much British as possible. Frankly calling trousers pants, or boots trunks does not make a difference, or neither is the usage of color for colour and zee for zed too much of a crime, but it's just the portrayal of may be this new dialect 'American' as the correct form of English through different forms of media that tends to put people like me off. I once had a friend in school say, India should follow American English since it is a whole lot easier, easier it might be, but is it right? Perhaps eventually one day 'American' might take over English, but I hope that day is far away, for English English is how the language is supposed to be spoken, written and used. God save the queen, and her language.

Anything Barça can do, Madrid can do better

2008-09-28T15:13:00.003+05:30

Warning: I've flicked the article from elsewhere, I liked it, I thought you might too.
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They're the cocky kids arguing whose dad's bigger, neighbours preening over their pebble-dashing, tuning types upping the stakes with another pointless appendage to their Seat Ibizas — egging each other on, winding each other up. "If Barcelona didn't exist, we'd have to invent them," remarked former Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, and he was right. Barcelona go Dutch, Madrid go Dutcher; Madrid go galactic, Barcelona go cosmic. They're the US and the USSR racing into space, with missions to the moon and monkeys at the controls. Anything Barça can do, Madrid can do better. No, they can't. Yes, they can. No, they can't. Yes, they can. No, they can't. Yes. They. Caaaan!

And, let's face it, mostly they can. Barça buy a posy new team bus, Madrid buy a plane. A rickety airfix plane soon quietly ditched but, still, a plane! Barça have two Catalan comics fawning over them, Madrid have two national ones. Barça celebrate their centenary by playing Brazil, Madrid celebrate theirs by playing the whole wide world. Barça visit the Pope, Madrid visit the King, the UN and the Pope. Barça nearly buy David Beckham, Madrid really buy David Beckham. Barça beat Madrid 5-0, Madrid take Michael Laudrup and beat them 5-0 back. Barça get Alfredo di Stéfano for three games, Madrid get him for 11 years, eight league titles and five European Cups.

And now it's getting really silly, with a little helping hand from a fixture list that groups together all the likely title contenders (except Atlético), meaning the champions may not be the best team over the course of the season but the best team over the course of two six-game stretches in which Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal and Madrid face each other. More importantly, a fixture list in which twice a season every team plays Sevilla, Barça, Madrid and Villarreal consecutively, giving Madrid the perfect opportunity to succeed and supersede Barça. Which is exactly what they've done. Barça lose 1-0 to Numancia on the opening day, in the very next match Madrid beat Numancia 4-3. Barça draw 0-0 with Racing Santander, the following week Madrid beat them 2-0.

So far, so standard, but even raising the bar impossibly high makes no difference: On Sunday night, Barcelona smash Sporting Gijon 6-1 (six bleeding one!), prompting the Catalan press to declare, "it doesn't get any better"; one Madridista pundit to declare, "Bah! We're better than Barça, 6-1 is nothing!"; and Sporting's marvellously moustachioed manager Manuel Preciado to declare, "Madrid suit us better, although I might be eating my words soon." Only it does, he's right, and Preciado is busy wolfing down a plate of Alphabetti Spaghetti when Real Madrid do it better. Barcelona smash Sporting 6-1; three little days later, Madrid smash Sporting 7-1. Anything you can do better, I can do better.

Be Brave. Be Dave.

2008-09-17T15:47:00.001+05:30

Last evening something really shocking, fearfully shocking happened. When a friend called asked me if had heard about what happened to Dave, I panicked. After a series of phone calls I found out what exactly had happened. As dramatic as it may sound, this was the story. Dave went outside college to a nearby store to get a recharge and he heard a lady scream. He went to see what it was and saw to his disbelief that there were three guys on the verge of sinning. Instinctly he picked up whatever was next to him and tried to hit them. Meanwhile the lady runs away, and the gang in disgust sways their knives in random directions causing random cuts on Dave's body. He somehow escapes the scene and his truly wonderful friends take him to hospital to get the necessary treatment. What I would like to stress upon here is that, any of us would have normally just run from the situation, but this guy, potentially put his life on stake to perform the rescue act for a lady who he has never seen. Some of his wing mates called it foolishness, I would like to interpret it otherwise. It's courageous. It's manly. It's what someone who goes by heart and not his mind does. And that is the perfect description of Dave. I don't know if I would have done the same. I would have probably run away, and I'm sure many others I know would have done the same. But thank God for people like him. As some sort of consolations, the wounds are barely serious. But what matters is that he did what he thought was right. Be Brave. Be Dave. Get well soon mate.

New Role

2008-09-02T00:30:00.002+05:30

It's been a mixed past week. And it ended in a very mixed way too. After the bizarre cancellation of club event, to firing from team, due to lack of balance of two equal passions, as a blessing in disguise I felt how it is to be something like a coach to a basketball team. The experience was enthralling. Although it didn't finish in the best possible manner, the whole feeling associated with the job was good. When it came to calling the plays, I was not very much involved, thanks to a certain national player on the team and a few others who are sound with the game and have practised more together. The important job was to call the necessary timeouts and make substitutions if need be. Keeping the guys updated about the scores and time situation was also an important part of the job. The feel this gave was simply amazing. I believing in giving back to whatever makes you a better person, and this just increased the want that I already had to get to Basketball coaching at some later point of my life. Today, after the players I had almost as big a responsibility, for one I had to choose the replacement for the injured national player, apart from the above mentioned jobs, but nevertheless this was a challenge, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sad part is that we lost, but it's just our first tournament and we obviously will improve by a huge margin. Huge trophy, team photo session and Akshaya dinner was nicely rounded up by a truly amazing truck ride back to college, thus ending this very bittersweet week.

Real Season Preview

2008-08-30T02:20:00.001+05:30

After a long and rather uneventful transfer season by their regular standards, Real Madrid get ready to kick off their proper season. With a string of preseason victories, which has never happened before, and just one signing, which hasn't happened in a long while either, this is a tricky season to predict. A team was bought last year to last for a few years. And thankfully the management is sticking to a long term plan. Although I would have welcomed maybe one or two more entrants to the squad, I am rather happy with the team for the upcoming season. No worries on goal. Defence doesn't look very concerning either with enough depth with lots of players flexible between centre halves and wing backs. Midfield is a concern, not because of the lack in talent, but the overflow. There are too many left sided players, and too many central midfielders and absolutely nobody on the right. Gago/Diarra/De La Red for the anchor position. Gago would be my automatic choice, but you will need Diarra for some games and De La Red needs to get a game once every few games else he will be off too. Guti/Van Der Waart/Sneijder for attacking midfield. Guti is a genius but unpredictable, Sneijder is the natural choice. Van der Waart is flexible so may be he can be played elsewhere. And to top it all off Robben/Robinho(if he stays) on one wing. That's a selection headache, it's better headache but it's still one. Although I'd kill to be in Schuster's position, this makes me thank god I'm not in it. Forwards is a slight concern. Van Nistelrooy will fetch you the goals, but he isn't getting any younger and Raul is not getting any faster either. Although I love the latter, so much so to an extent I would rate him as one of the top five footballers during my short football watching career, I would say we need fresher blood than him. Higuain is doing well and I just get the feeling Villa will arrive next year at least, if not for a shock transfer with two hours left for the window to close or some such. Bench strength is good, Team is motivated to win the Champions League. I hope this is a good season. We should win the league, and at least proceed to the quarters this time around in Europe. Hala Madrid.

Ole Ole Ole

2008-08-19T16:30:00.000+05:30

It's football season once again. And once again it is the time for predictions, taunts to opposition clubs, and lots of anxiety as to what entertainment and action this season will bring. Some clubs have been very active in the transfer market and some not so much. Here's my take on the so called top 8 clubs at the cream of European Football. All these clubs aspire to win every tournament they enter. But of course not all of them can. Here's what I personally feel about them.

Barcelona: Very active in the transfer market. Alves is a brilliant signing albeit a little overpriced, but hey aren't all signings overpriced these days. Kieta is decent signing, much better overall player than their last year's Yaya Toure signing who was pretty much rubbish. Ronaldinho is gone, which is the best thing to have probably happened to them. Guardiola is in charge, for people who don't know what that means, it's almost like a Keane managing ManUtd or something to that effect. I don't expect them to do much this year but they are building a team. As the Spanish cycle goes, they should be very strong by next season.

Real Madrid: After many days of the failed pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, they have had an unusually quiet summer. Usually big players in the transfer market, it is their first summer in many a year, when they have made less than 5 transfers. Baptista sold to Roma, was a good deal at 15 million euro. And Van der Waart was a steal from Hamburg. With quite a decent squad, they should take the league pretty easily, but I don't know if they are good enough to be European Champions just yet.

Arsenal: Hleb, Flamini gone. Nasri In. Quiet summer by their standards as well. Arsenal this year are younger than ever before. Only God knows what Wenger is thinking. This squad needs a bit of experience to actually win trophies and not just play beautiful football. I don't see them doing too much this year.

Liverpool: Keane was a brilliant signing. Probably the best striker combination in the premier league, with Torres and Keane, they should be scoring a lot more goals and winning a lot more games. Alonso might leave anytime soon, but they have enough depth in the squad to challenge for the title be it in England or in Europe. I hope they play more on the ground and live up to how they look on paper. Top 3 finish in the league and final 8 in the champions league for sure.

Chelsea: What a squad! Great manager! and a drive to win especially since they were so close last year. Deco and Bosingwa are pretty decent signings and they have only lost the old horse Makelele. With probably Robinho joining their ranks, they are my bet for English champions this season, and to have quite a strong Champions League run as well.

Manchester United: Double Champions, it looks like they will have a tough time defending both those crowns. Extremely quiet in the transfer market, with zero sales or buys (although Berbatov might join soon), they are depleted by injuries in the starting part of the season, will hope for their talisman Ronaldo to be back and take them to the heights they achieved last season. I'd say they will fight it hard with Chelsea for the league, and will have a strong European campaign as well.

AC Milan: I hope Ancelotti knows what he is doing with such a glorious club. Random signings like Ronaldinho and nothing to improve their ageing defence. I predict a disaster season for them, be it in the league or in the UEFA Cup.

Inter Milan: As usual, they make many signings in the summer, and seem to have a squad the size of 2 average sized ones. That precisely is their mistake, they have lots of half-stars and they are just not good enough to make it big in the European stage. They might still end up dominating their league and win it just because there is not enough competition.

Worthy Mentions: Juve have a decent team, but it will take time to get back to the heights they are known for. Roma are very unpredictable and can hope for a strong league finish at most. Munich might enter the European fray if they manage to play some decent football with the nice looking squad that they posses. Atletico and Villareal are very nice teams, but I don't think they will proceed very far in the Champions League but will almost surely finish in the top 4 of La Liga again.

Now, it's time to sit back and enjoy one more season of Topsy turvy, unpredictable and the ever so awesome game called football.

Social Networking

2008-08-15T11:19:00.001+05:30

Everybody is addicted to these sites nowadays. Actually the peak might have been this time last year. I have known people who used to access Orkut, Facebook and the likes at every given opportunity. These things have become so popular that they are used in the verb form these days. It pains me to hear something like "Dude, I haven't been orkutting at all these days man!" or something to that effect. And when things like this become so popular, the critics start opening their mouths and say a certain aspect sucks about Orkut, and something else about Facebook, and so on. Then there are the people who can't have a life without these things, people who think their love lives can become better through these websites, Shocking? there have actually been success cases! I personally feel these sites are not the worst things to have happened. To be frank, it actually helps you keep in touch with people you normally wouldn't or couldn't have. Funny thing is that these sites are never happy with the way they are. For example, Orkut was a big hit when it started, but slowly Facebook started catching up and Orkut tried to become like Facebook with all sorts of nonsense applications. Now it's Facebook's turn to become simple like Orkut was. This is some sort of a cycle. People will never be pleased with these sites, yet they provide what people need, which is why these sites are the million dollar companies that they are.

Rafa!

2008-08-07T15:07:00.001+05:30

Spain now has another Rafa, except he is not Spanish. Although this name is used mainly for Nadal and Benitez in the world of sport, we might soon see it being used for Real Madrid's most recent signing- Rafael Van Der Waart. Rafa was signed from Hamburg for a measly 9 million Euro. For Hamburg this is not too bad a deal, considering if they kept him for one more year, he would have left for a cheap 1.5 million Euro due to a contract clause. Real were constantly in the foray for signing a midfielder this year, but I'm glad it is not Ronaldo. The whole Ronaldo saga has put me off, and thank goodness he will remain remain a Red Devil for at least one more year. Coming back to Rafa, his signing couldn't have been made at a better time for us. Sneijder was the victim of a not so nice tackle from Diaby in a 'friendly' against Arsenal. He remains injured for much lesser than what was expected but three months is still a lot of time. And serious injuries have been known to unsettle players. Now Rafa, at the moment is most likely to take Sneijder's place in the starting lineup, although he is looked at as a long term replacement for Guti. The dutch connection in Real adds one more member. With a midfield that boasts of him,Sneijder when he returns, and the glass-man Robben and Ruud up front, that's pretty scary for oppositions when they click. Rafa can play anywhere in the midfield, be it centre, or on either wings, or even behind the strikers in the 'hole'. Problem arises when Sneijder returns, how will the midfield look? Will Robinho be on the team? We will only have to wait and find out. Apart from his work ethic, accurate long ranged shots, free kicks and great runs from midfield, Van Der Waart also brings another thing to please us Real fans. His bride Sylvie is smoking hot, and will be present at every home game. Yay! (Google her to see what I'm talking about).

War

2008-08-05T16:25:00.001+05:30

The war is over and it was stressing physically and mentally. Lots of things could have been different if the approach was a little different. Standards were dropping. The gap was getting closer and closer and finally has been turned upside down. But what's done is done. Have to pick up and grow around this now. Good thing is that how to rectify is known. The master, we are sure has a plan. It needs to be known to the troops for being more effective. Time to nurture troops and plan on new and better strategies and aim to win next time we go to war.

The Cat and Mouse Race

2008-07-28T00:21:00.000+05:30

A couple of nights ago, to celebrate the weekend, 7 of us sat together and played Poker. The game was interesting and went on till about 3:30 in the morning. We were all hungry and wanted to wait till Thadambail opened. While waiting for time to pass somebody remarked on the fact that how an MBA can change your life. One thing led to another and we ended up at the topic of CAT going online when my batch writes it. That's what 'the race' is about and I wanted you all to think about the difference this will create. In the last few years the CAT has been referred to as the most competitive exam in the world. With percentages of people getting in with respect to the number of people attempting very low, its supposed to be harder to get in to an IIM than to any of the Ivy Business Schools. So since, the CAT is going online next year, we were discussing what all the pros and cons of this would be. For one it is easier for the organisers to hold it because it will cut out the labourious and expensive tasks of transportation and correction. One of the more important aspects is that there will be no more of paper leaking and other unscrupulous things figuring in the scheme of things. The test is to follow the adaptive pattern that GRE and GMAT follows, except that a score will not be given immediately after the end of the test. It remains to be seen whether the percentile system will still be used, because technically percentile talks about the number of people you did better than in a particular test. Since everybody does not take the same test, percentile may not be apt. The adaptive pattern has its own advantages and disadvantages. It's better than the written paper in a sense that its more accurate in testing a person's intelligence. But, it also depends on the first few questions, so if someone screws up there, it might not be the best test for him. CAT has always been about speed and time management. Nobody knows how this will work. With the adaptive system you cannot comeback to or skip a particular question, so it might not be about speed anymore. Besides this, there is the psychological feeling about being more comfortable with a pen in hand and solving a paper than clicking answers on a mouse. I want to know what's your take on this, do you think the online system is better? or its better to have the good old pen and paper test. Will the 'cat race' be any different once you have to use the mouse to catch the CAT? Only time will tell.

Whats up?

2008-07-21T21:47:00.001+05:30

It has been a bit more than a week since I got back to college. Lots of changes. For one, it is a bit of mixed emotion when you think upon the fact that you are a third year. The upper half of college, you have 2 batches below you, all that is fine. But it also happens to be potentially the most difficult year academically, not just because we might have more classes or anything, but just because people tend to take things a lot more seriously and by that they really step up and I might have to actually put in some effort to get through the semester. On other fronts there is a lot of anxiety. Club recruits, Basketball team, a new La Liga season, amongst many other things. There are some changes in college. Placements are going haywire. Bad combo of recession + Shastri in charge. Scares me what will happen this time next year, but then again that's a whole year away. Elections are approaching and the politics and all other nonsense that goes along with it have already begun. It is shocking what people can do to obtain fame, power and some underhand money. Basketball practice has started way before it has in previous years. Of course we miss Singh, but i think the team will go far this year as well, we're a closer unit than ever before. Coming down from home food to mess food is a hard task semester after semester. Usually what helps that process are the other eating options in and around college. That's been a disaster this year. NFC has some weird self service system, 3rd block canteen hasn't started yet, Kalash has gone under project renovation, and Amul samosas have lost their charm owing to them being duped of 18 grand last year from account debts. But such stabs are always expected, and that is what makes this place as lovely as it is. It feels great to be 'home'. Second year was full of events, some insignificant, some life changing. Third year only promises more, and hopefully ends up just as good.

Summer, Sports, Spain, Stomach aches.....

2008-07-09T10:48:00.001+05:30

Its been quite an eventful last couple of months. And as i prepare to head back 'home' in the next couple of days, I was beginning to think of how great this summer has been. I have done things that I never have or would have before. In the world of sport a lot of things new have come, seen and conquered. Here is the story of the summer of sports,Spain,stomach aches,and some other things.

Summer is supposed to be that time of the year when we get back from college for two months absolute bliss away from college. This was the case for the first few days. Mom's food, Dad returning back to India for good, brother finishing his first hurdle of Class 10, makes for the perfect family time. After a while the repetition to life kicks in. This is where I started getting into some good habits like reading,blogging and gymming. Yes, these were the above mentioned things that i would have never normally done. But I'm happy that I finally have started. A formality project was done, although Poston was a great person to listen to. He has got infinite knowledge about anything under the sun and he speaks with a lovely smooth Brit accent, which makes it a heavenly combination to be audience to. And the crowd there was actually fun, contrary to what I imagined it would be.

In the world of sport, there are some major changes. What must be noted here is that we had something to keep us going all the time. IPL to start off with made sure no night was boring. And then the Euros and eventually Wimbledon. Spain deserves a mention here as the country that takes all the limelight in the world of sport this summer. Deserving champions of the Euro, they were a sight to watch for one and all. And if that wasn't enough, Rafa goes on to do the unimaginable - beat Fedex on Centre Court in the finals. What a great match that was. To call it the greatest match we have seen in a long time would be apt for a match of that standard. After 2 awe-inspiring sets from Nadal, only a man of Federer's calibre could have taken in to the final set. But it was seen that Nadal was the hungrier of the two and definitely deserves the trophy.

For some strange reason, I have suffered with stomach aches once too often these holidays. The latest of which occurred at the end of my trip to Pune and Mumbai. I spent just one day in Mumbai, and that was enough for me to realise that, that is not a place for someone like me. the city is just too big. Just the fact that one day was filled with horrible weather, getting ripped off by taxiwala, travelling in local train to one of the satellite towns which was in the news that day for a website promised free money to everyone who came there (Angry mob, Stones thrown, Policemen, Lathi Charge and what not), God level Vada Pav and Pav Bhaji, made me realise that this city is just too busy for me. Pune was a lot better. It reminded me of what Bangalore was 5 years or so back. Pity that they don't seem to realise and are headed the same way to see the city grow to a mess. Sincere thanks to Ranga,Krum,Ani,Shambavi,Mugdha,Sameer and Shaky for making our trip so memorable.

As a interesting third year of college awaits me, with possibly the most screwy semester with reference to academics, the first time the basketball team plays without Hardeep, an interesting football season ahead with all the transfer rumours about Ronaldo and Real, I cannot wait for what is to come after what has been a summer to remember.

Euro Review : Team of the tournament

2008-06-30T10:39:00.002+05:30

Now that the Euro 2008 tournament is over, and Spain have deservedly won it, I will reserve writing about that for another entry. For now, I thought of putting down a team of the tournament. There were very many impressive players and finding a 11 is a pretty hard job. However this is the best that I thought that one could put together.

Goal Keeper - GIANLUIGI BUFFON : This was a difficult tournament when it came to picking a goalkeeper. You might be shocked I haven't picked Casillas being the Madridista that I am, but although he did not concede many goals, he barely had any saves to make, the defence was solid enough and Saint Iker did not have to show why he is god. The other keepers in the semis are not even worth a mention. The Russian, forgive me for forgetting his name, conceded way too many goals. Lehmann is a joke, and Rüştü is a bigger joke. Buffon gets the nod here because he made some fantastic saves, including Mutu's penalty and kept the Azzuri in the game with some incredible saves, until he came up against Casillas of course in the shootout.

Right Back - SERGIO RAMOS : Okay, here the Madridista in me comes out, but if you think about it seriously, he has been the best at this position. Defensively a little questionable early in the tournament, but slowly attained back the levels that he is so famous for as the tournament progressed. Constantly menacing down the right flank, he's a night mare for oppositions and to add to that he's almost the target man for any setpiece and almost came close to scoring in the final. Even defensively he had a brilliant last couple of games. Deservedly on this team.

Centre Back - CARLES PUYOL : Catalan by birth, you would not expect him to give his all while playing for La Furia, but he was the linchpin of the defence. Crucial tackles and interventions giving the Spanish defence the necessary experience and calmness, he was the defender of the tournament for me.

Centre Back - GIORGIO CHIELLINI : The Juventus wing back was employed in a make shift role for his country and he stepped up to the occasion. He was sure of all tackles, and was so solid and it is primarily due to him that when they played Spain they did not concede any goals. To stop such a creative force from scoring goals for 120 minutes, that is surely an achievement to put him on this team.

Left Back - YURI ZHIRKOV : The Russians took everyone by storm this year, and storm is the right word to describe this player. The pace with which he goes forward is unbelievable and defensively solid too, was a regular in Russia's now famous open approach to the game. Lahm had a fairly decent outing as well, but Zhirkov is my pick.

Defensive Midfield - MARCOS SENNA : If ever Spain has missed something all these years, it is someone like him. The Brazilian born holding midfielder is the most composed player in the centre of the pitch for the Spanish team. Sitting in front of the defensive and launching off attacks, the perfect blend for a holding midfielder, he gives room for the creative forces of the likes of Iniesta,Silva and others to carry the attack forward. My pick for player of the tournament, surely walks in to the top 11.

Left Midfield - DAVID SILVA : One of the unsung heroes of the Spanish team, and probably unheard of to non La Liga watchers, this Valencia starlet is a beautiful left footed player. All of 23, he has a big future in store for him. Constantly switching flanks, he is elegant with the ball and is a threat to any team with his attacking instincts. He gets the nod ahead of other competitors like Van der waart,Podolski.

Right Midfield - WESLEY SNEIJDER : The centre of all attack for the Oranje, he has been a revelation in this tournament. With powerful long range shots, and quick counter attack movements, this flexible winger/central midfielder is an asset to any team. Schwienstieger although deservant of a pick, misses out because of his silly red card and poor showing in the finals. Altintop also is a name worth mentioning but Sneijder is a bigger and better player.

Centre Midfield - MICHAEL BALLACK : The German captain is the centre of focus in the German team, with a largely young team, he is the father figure of sorts who brings the much needed experience and a player of his stature is surely an asset to any team. With his deft touches and powerful strikes, he is the best central midfielder in the tournament. Xavi deserves a mention here, but Ballack almost single handedly carries the German team and hence gets the nod.

Attacking Midfield/ 'The Hole' - ANDREI ARSHAVIN : Not many had heard of this Zenit St. Petersburg star before the tournament. He missed out on the first two games Russia played due to a suspension. But when he came back, he came back with a bang. Setting the tournament alight with his quick counter attack, classy touches and brilliant passing, he has been the revelation of the tournament. He surely is not a 2 game wonder and we will see much more of him in Europe's big stage, possibly with Barcelona.

Striker - FERNANDO TORRES : You could argue Villa deserves this position. With no disrespect to Villa, he is not in the league of Torres. True he might not have scored that many, but he is a sensation. His pace and strength is unmatched and there is barely anyone better than him when he does what he does best, which is torment the defence. Unselfish, Precise, Classy you almost tend to run out of adjectives to describe this Spanish kid turned hard scouser. El Niño is my forward to round off this team.

Manager - LUIS ARAGONES : This was tough, Hiddink gave me second thoughts when i thought of Aragones, but the wise old man has to get it. I have to admit I didn't want him in charge when he made his spat with Raul public, but he seems to have everything right to give Spain what they truly deserve, a big title. Hats off to the 'grandfather'.

Substitutes - Fabregas,Villa,Schwienstieger,Xavi,Anyukov,Altintop,Casillas : Most of these are justified, with Fabregas deserving a special mention for the tag of super-sub, he has been extremely effective once he has been introduced in the game. The rest of them make up the bench only because they cannot fit into the starting eleven.

This is my pick for the team of the tournament. Everything ranging from comments to slippers are welcome to be thrown.
It has been a great Euro, and we have deserved champions. Viva España.

Best of Mangalore

2008-06-28T11:09:00.002+05:30

Two years into engineering, and staying away from home, one would have learnt to appreciate home food. Thanks to the rather bad quality food that is offered at our hostels, and even our canteens, it is not surprising why people flock to Mangalore at every given opportunity. I have often been a victim of this, and even though its hard on the pocket at times, food at Mangalore is the only sort of compensation one has when home food is not available. So I decided to make a list of the 5 best things I have eaten in this wonderful city, that has done justice to my lack of good food. It has seen me evolve from a staunch veggie to one that almost eats anything now. But the fact is that I have never been disappointed at the quality of food this place has to offer at any time of these two years. I will most certainly miss these once I am out of college. Here's to Mangalore, my second most favourite city.

5. Chicken Dum Hyderabadi Biryani at Palkhi
During my first trip to Mangalore as an NITKian with some seniors, Palkhi was often mentioned as the most expensive restaurant in the city and it is not often that people can afford to go eat there. I have been to Palkhi a few times after that, few times enough to know that this dish is brilliant. The closest you can get to authentic Biryani, priced at 100, is quite a steal for the quantity and quality it has to offer.

4. Dal Makhni at Rinku Punjabi Dhaba
There's a good chance you have not heard of this place. But one hungry day, I found this place and I thought to myself I struck gold once done. Roti's are probably a rip off at this place, but the Dal Makhni is simply superb. It even tastes better than the one at Palkhi and its costs just 40 bucks. Now that's a deal for a hungry person who carries a light wallet, which of course describes most NITK guys. The Dhaba is a little hard to find, it is located near KMC Hostels at Attavar, in case you want to give this dish a go.

3. Murg Kali Mirch at Palkhi
This is a regular for me, I probably have had this almost every time I have eaten at Palkhi. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but is the best non-vegetarian side dish one can find in Mangalore to eat with Rotis. Oh by the way Palkhi offers a 10% discount on all bills if you flash your NITK Id card. Now that surely is an incentive to at least try this dish once.

2. Paneer Shazlisk at Liquid Lounge
People either do not understand me or brand me an idiot when I say I like LL for the food more than anything else. But trust me, the food there is simply out of the world. There are many dishes that could fit this list but this one beats them all, by a big mile that too. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but it is very filling. This dish is a combination of what looks like Ghee Rice in the dark setting of LL along with the most wonderful gravy which has almost innumerable paneer pieces. And they do indeed make a great combination. People who do not drink, who have things against places like LL, have come here to eat this, that should speak volumes.

1. Kori Rotti and Curry at Kori Rotti
Your probably shocked at this. and you probably ought to be if you haven't eaten this. But that's where I tell you to go eat it. This dish is a Mangalore speciality, it basically comprises of what is known as Kori Rotti, which looks something like fried rottis. These rotti's are placed on a plate and hot spicy Chicken Curry is poured over it which makes the Kori Rotti soggy and my god, it is a match made in heaven. It costs 45 bucks and you are full at the end of one plate. The place is located opposite Empire mall and is on the main road, so it is easy to find as well. I have eaten this dish at a Mangalorean home as well, and this place makes it as good as the home version.You just have to try this.

Honourable Mentions: Twister at Cherry Square, Auflauf at Diesel Cafe, Chilly Chicken Lasagna at Froth on Top, Cheese Burst Pizzas at Domino's, Foot longs at Chef's

If you have not eaten any of the above mentioned, please go ahead and do so, you have less than two years left! And please if there's anything I have missed out do let me know :)

Double Standards of English Football

2008-06-25T15:31:00.003+05:30

What's grabbing the world football headlines these days? Euro ? Nope. Sadly so, it is the Cristiano Ronaldo saga, which has been blown out of proportion. For many weeks we have seen every newspaper, every website and every TV channel that is connected to football talk about the supposed interest from Real Madrid in Manchester United's star midfielder.

First and foremost, there has been NO official approach from Real Madrid at all. A certain Spanish newspaper called Marca which is obsessed with stories that sell and create unnecessary hype is the devil behind this scheme. They have been doing this from when I can remember. Every year they pick one superstar that is apparently bound to arrive at Real Madrid and most often that does not happen. For example, last year the best player was Kaka, and Marca expectedly linked him to Real and all summer long there were stories. What is so different this year then? The mere fact that it is an English team, and more importantly the mother of all such stories, Manchester United. You could alter Shakespeare's saying to suit this context and say "Hype, thy middle name be English football", and perhaps first name Manchester United. Marca sells news like this year after year and they strategically chose England and haven't they been successful.

Another part of this story that not many know the details of is the fact that Manchester United lodged a complaint to FIFA that Real are illegally trying to tap up their player who is currently contracted to them. FIFA of course as expected branded this as rubbish stating that there is no proof that Real have done anything to create this spur. You could argue that FIFA is pro Real, but the truth of the matter is that there has been nothing official and hence Manchester have nothing to work against. Manchester famously declared to the world that they are not the greatest fans of Real's transfer policy, but this where they are at fault. Hypocrisy is one thing that puts off most people. They publicise their ever so famous youth development policy, but the truth is after the so called golden generation of the 99 Champions league winning team, there is nobody that can be called their own. Their moves for Hargreaves,Rooney,Ferdinand etc are all very similar to what they criticize Real for except it was not blown out of proportion like this one. “Do as I say but not as I do” should certainly not be what a club like Manchester United practice if they are going to attack other clubs for being interested in their players. So while Manchester United fans and staff complain about Real’s alleged efforts to sign Ronaldo, Manchester United goes right ahead and does similar types move to what Real is being accused of, and in some cases even worse because they get players with great potential for peanuts. Although the scale is much different between a 15 year old prospect and a 23 year super star (although he is unproven to most of the world as of yet), the principle is still the same.

Similar is the case with other English teams too, Arsenal too buy players at a ridiculously young age, Liverpool raid Spain at every given chance and Chelsea make the most random buys one can. The face of football is changing, loyalty is a thing of the past. Perhaps Spanish teams can be accused of not doing the same but what can be done if English clubs tap up youth prospects at a young age of 15 only because the contract rules are different in Spain,Italy etc than England. They should develop their own players, and maybe some Englishmen, because these days the national team finds it hard even to qualify for big competitions.

New Admission Process to the NITs

2008-06-21T14:41:00.003+05:30

A few days ago, I heard that there will be a change of admission pattern for the NITs from this year. If you are not aware yet, the change is that unlike before, the non-home state seats of any NIT will not have any state reservation and will purely be decided based on a students AIR. Now some people might say how the hell does this affect us. Directly no, but there are bound to be a lot of changes.

Let us first see what this means to different people. People in states like Rajasthan and Andhra will rejoice at this. Clearly these two states produce are the ones that produce the highest AIRs. But due to the limited no. of seats reserved for these states, people with high ranks are bound to lose out. But now, this rule comes as a blessing from the heavens and we will surely see many more people from these states. On the other hand, the states where competition is not that much like Karnataka or Tamil Nadu are luckily blessed with the best NITs, so i doubt it affecting them that much apart from the competition for spots in home NITs gets tougher slightly because of people's subject preferences. Apart from that there are states like Goa,and the North Eastern states which stand absolutely no chance to getting in to the good NITs because they seldom produce high AIR's and have thus far been helped by the state reservation. But i think the most hit will be the intermediate states like say a Kerala, or a Bengal. These states are often caught in the fix between choosing their home state NITs which could be classified as second tier, and choosing the higher rated NITs and that will now be difficult because of this new rule. Some may argue that this rule is fair, because everyone should be given an equal opportunity, but there again is where the other side of the equation is highlighted too. Since the methods of training/coaching/schooling are not that advanced in some states, and are not upto the mark of Hyderabad/Kota, is it fair to deny them admission to some of the best institutes of the country. You could argue that, this will create the study environment of a Kota in other states also because of the competition but its not very realistic.

Coming to how this would affect us NITKians, you can almost say goodbye to the party system, which would mean a first step in getting rid of dirty politics, but it also means there will almost be no diversity in the crowd of people. The college would have probably seen the last of North East people (God bless the football team). And there will be an overflow of gults and the likes.

What does all this mean to you? Do you think this is the best thing to happen or not? I personally am against this because it defeats the purpose of creating NITs to give people from all states the right to a good college after the IITs. Also there will not be as much diversity anymore and the balance of things would be lost. Only time will tell what difference this change will bring about.

Fairy Tale : Shipping up to Boston

2008-06-19T15:22:00.003+05:30

If ever you thought fairy tales were not possible, stop right there and think about the recently concluded NBA Finals. Boston Celtics, were the team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference last season. That's worst out of 15 teams and they finished in the bottom three in the entire league that consists of 30 teams. After such a season, a fairytale tag can be associated with this team only if they won the championships next year. And guess what they did? This year they were the best team in the regular season with a stunning home record of under 10 losses. And in the playoffs although they lost almost all road games, they had the best home record. How did such a remarkable comeback happen? What are the changes that this franchise made? What did this team do in order to justify their name as the greatest franchise ever and lift their 17th title. Here's 3 reasons why I think all this was possible.

3) Doc Rivers and his philosophy : The head coach of the Celtics, is a practitioner of the defence is the best form of offence philosophy. He has revitalised this team to the strongest defensive units. They have come across one of the best offences in the form of Bryant's Lakers and James' Cavaliers. With the ranks of KG and hardworking talents like Powe and Perkins, this is a hard defense to score over.

2) Trades and players : Strategic trades involving their draft picks,and existing players strengthened the team with the arrival of the big presence of Kevin Garnett and the clutch shooting of Ray Allen, along with the presence of their charismatic captain Paul Pierce. This is quite an exceptional team on paper and boy, did they not live up to it on court.

1) Desire : Pierce has been with the Celtics throughout his 10 year long career and he could have easily transferred to a stronger team, but he chose to stick with them because he wanted the championship ever so badly. Garnett is a player of high value. He has been the league MVP, the best defensive player of the year on numerous occasions, and until last year probably the best player ever not to win a championship and one can only imagine how much he would have wanted one. If there is just one second left on the clock, and you trail by one, who is the one person you want to have on the ball ? Nope i would not choose Jordan, Allen is my man. He has one of the most smooth shooting actions and is your go to guy in clutch moments. Apart from this you have the young Rondo, who has got a touch of class about his game and other noteworthy mentions like Perkins,Powe,Brown and Casell. You knew on day 1 that this team wanted to go all the way and restore the pride associated with this franchise.

These are the three reasons as to why the Celtics are once again back on top, and worthily enough their court was resounding to Queen singing We are the Champions.

A Few Good Men

2008-06-17T13:09:00.004+05:30

When an assortment of 400 odd people collect at a college after an elaborate procedure, these are the kind of characters that so peacefully co-exist for the most part of 4 years

One guy who does nothing but play FIFA and WoW
One guy who can be used a substitute for a loudspeaker
One imba writer who spreads the afro-american message of peace and respect.
One guy whose nick name translates to a penis in his native language.
One athletically challenged supposed tech God who breaks up with his girlfriend once a month.
One semi-dasa who blasts techno music so that people in the other wing can "groove to it baby"
One guy who does the same on the other wing only with technical death metal instead.
One old aged guy who thinks he should play only in DoTA games where pros play
One self proclaimed stud who in answer to the above mentioned person's cocky statement of "I didn't get any 6's this sem" said with a smile "Neither did I"
One guy when drunk asked the Chief Warden , "Who the fuck are you?"
One gossip king who is not so accidentally in love with a certain Barack Obama and the US Elections
One supposed circuits God who tells his mother everything including facts like his roommate is going upstairs to watch porn.
One guy who is always in the reading room or on the phone with his girlfriend in Madras.
One guy who has man-boobies and cannot get through more than fifteen minutes if there is no electricity
One of his partners in crime who spends most of his nights at Gamedrome under the pretext of a KC Project, who also by the way has atrocious spellings to cancel his legendary mathematical skills.
One guy who is part of the most diverse groups in college, the GCG,the basketball group,and his wing.
One guy who has a million cousins and just will not go to a movie or eat out with the above mentioned guy.
One god level percussionist who quit drinking for his girlfriend.
One god level guitarist who told his girlfriend he quit drinking.
One guy who repeats whatever people around say, and now anyone else doing so calls for the usage of a verb that derives its name from this guy.
One ardent Manchester united fan who's daily activities consist only of sleeping,playing dota, and saying Shata Thu
One supposed con to be who blames the above mentioned guy for his gpa for dropping from 8.5 to 7.5
One guy who started stalking a girl who in the first place started stalking him, so much so to an extent the girl's brother threatened to launch a police complaint.
One guy who owns most of Kulai, and has Tavera's at his disposal at the call of a few Tulu words.
One guy who did not deserve to pass second standard and has a name that co-incidentally rhymes with 'Gay one'
One guy who's music taste range from Carnatic to Led Zeppelin and who gives 'points' when he appreciates acts of people.
One guy who is fat,gay and always messages
One guy who can never be seen.
One sardar who thinks he is the greatest singer ever born.
One guy who has a godly aura about him and defines the word Imba in any respect, who even has a cult following under his name.

Now, with such a collection of people, its not hard to see why people generally tend to prefer college to home.

PS: Amul Treat to anyone who puts the correct names to each of these descriptions :D

American Drama

2008-06-15T23:17:00.001+05:30

Initially I thought of restricting to writing about sports,but I will write on other things as well, starting off with this.

* Orange County

Drama based on a rich society in an upmarket California locality. Basically about this one rich family who adopt a tough poor kid and how life revolves around these circumstances.

* One Tree Hill

Series based on two half brothers, set in a town called Tree Hill. One is from the richer side of town, popular basketball player from high school and the other, obviously from the poor soccer mom who is a good basketball player but never gets to play for the school etc. and how these two gel, amongst other things.

* Grey's Anatomy

Soap based on the life of a medical intern, who is the daughter of the best doctor to have worked in the same hospital that she is doing her residency in, and that hospital also employs her one night stand converted to boyfriend to true love etc.

There are many more dramas like this that i have seen.

What is common about them?
*They all have very promising first seasons but fade away drastically then onwards.
*They all work around with a maximum of 8 main characters and a couple of other recurring characters.
*At least one case of adultery in every three episodes.
*Ridiculous things happen to these extra-ordinarily dumb people like getting into Berkley and Harvard Med and what not.

Looking at this we see that these serials are no different from our good own Indian ones except for the long and stretched out ones we have. So what is it that draws people to these kind of serials. My guess : Just the sheer brilliance of these writers to make a story based on the lives of just 6-8 people, its not easy and they do in fact end up making a good, albeit funny job of it.

¡Viva España!

2008-06-11T12:52:00.003+05:30

Spain 4 Russia 1- If you did not catch the game live, somehow find your way to catch it on repeat, or at least the highlights. Last night Spain produced the best performance in the Euro 2008 tournament thus far. The Spanish national team have always boasted of some of the biggest names in world football. Sadly, they have also never won any major international silverware apart from Euro 64. This has earned them the 'underachiever' tag in every tournament. There are several reasons for Spain not to perform at the big stage.

Firstly, it is a country that is plagued by regional rivalry. There are mainly three regions in Spain: Castilla, Catalunya, and Basque among many other subdivisions. These regions do not even identify themselves with the name Spain. They speak different languages, and are even granted autonomy in government. Hence,in the past the team that Spain has put out has never had the national pride that most other teams can associate with. If you notice, even in the present day team, the players born in the Catalan or Basque regions do not wear the Spanish socks, instead they wear their own 'country's'. There are many other political affairs with this country. During the reigns of Franco, Catalan players(including some of the greats like Kubala) were never allowed to play for Spain.Even today a player born in Catalunya cannot become the captain of Spain. This is why Iker Casillas,although has every right to lead the team, is chosen as Captain ahead of the more experienced Carles Puyol. With this sort of regionalism involved, its not hard to see why Spain has never been very successful.

Secondly, Spain just never seem to have the luck. From recent history: In the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, it wouldn't be wrong to say they were cheated out by Korea. In Euro 2004, they got eliminated through goal difference and some last minute goals. In the 2006 World Cup, they bumped into a very inspired Zidane, just at the wrong time.

But,this may be the year in which history is changed. With a squad boasting of some of the world's top class players, there is every chance for them to fancy their chances at this year's European Championships. At goal, they have one of the best shot stoppers in their captain Iker Casillas. The amount of experience Puyol adds to the defence, that already has some of the young stars of the game in Ramos and Capdevilla makes the defence an all the more tough one to breach. In midfield they have Xavi and Iniesta, who have pushed the likes of a player of Fabregas' calibre to the bench. In Torres and Villa, they possibly have the best striker combination in the World at the moment. We saw last night, what this team can do, how fast they can hit opponents on counters, how sublime their passing can be, and just how determined this team is to finally deliver on such a big stage. Its high time the La Furia Roja deliver and this is that tournament. ¡Viva España!

For love or for money

2008-06-06T15:07:00.003+05:30

Inspiration for this post is taken from happenings in the world of sport of late and especially a conversation i had with a friend last night. As the title probably suggests, I have often wondered what is it that drives sportsmen these days. Is it really their love and passion for the game or is it just the monetary benefits that are associated with it. Doing a small financial analysis, I would like to bring to your notice that they amount of money that has been involved in sports these days going up almost exponentially. There was a time in the 90's when a world record football signing would cost say 5 million pounds at the most. There was a time when a cricketer's salary was actually more than his commercial endorsements. There was a time when people had backup jobs whilst simultaneously representing their national team in any particular sport. Think of the situation today. A football signing for 5 million pounds is considered a steal. Commercial endorsements are the primary source of income for cricketers. Thus the motive for sportsmen has changed from playing for love to playing for money. Just the number of business tycoons that have entered the sporting business in the past few years is exhilarating. Most NBA teams are owned by Hollywood big shots, Football clubs are owned by oil tycoons and the likes. Owners of formula one teams are amongst the richest people in the planet. And now even the most patriotic of games, if you could say so, has been invaded by money in the form of the IPL. With the amount of money pouring in, it is expected that the sportsmen live up to it and take it up as something very serious. No longer does it seem possible to play just for the sheer joy of it. I'm beginning to wonder, is it not fair for sportsmen to say they do not play for love of the sport, but for the love of money.

IPL Champions - Really ?

2008-06-03T18:32:00.002+05:30

Rajasthan Royals were recently crowned the champions of the inaugural DLF Indian Premier League. Is that apt ? Now, before you start thinking you should beat me up, hang on. No doubt they were the best team and they are deserved winners. What I meant by apt was the term 'Indian' in the statement. Firstly Jaipur is not a city that boasts of one of the 8 biggest cricket stadiums. It was perhaps chosen even for an IPL Team only because of Lalit Modi. Rajasthan has barely ever produced Indian cricketers (2 in the entire history of cricket in fact). Statistically Ahmedabad has one of the best stadiums in terms of capability, and capacity. But I am guessing this city was not chosen mainly because Gujrat is a dry state and the image of the IPL is a rather cool modern one. Alright fair enough to chose Jaipur. The name was chosen to be Rajasthan Royals and since there is a severe dearth of cricket players from Rajasthan, they could not be associated with an 'iconic player' (which is actually a good thing, because the two finalists happened to be the ones without these 'iconic players'). After the bidding process, the biggest name that the team could associate with is that of Shane Warne. No disrespect to Warney, but its a shame that we cannot have 8 capable Indian leaders. Now, coming to the rest of the team. If you count, you notice that there are barely any Indian team players. Barring Yousuf Pathan, who in all fairness to what I'm saying, has just broken into the national team. And then there is Munaf Patel, he was supposed to be the next big thing in Indian fast bowling, but as usual fatigue and the hype associated with everything in Indian cricket has made him a not so regular earner of a spot in the final eleven that plays. People talk about irony in life. They say the best rapper is a White, the best football player in England is not English, so on. Perhaps it is not that ironic that the best cricket team in India is barely even Indian.

2008-05-31T15:55:00.000+05:30

Hello World! Joblessness has taken its toll and I have decided to join the world of bloggers. Everyone closely associated with me will know that I am a huge sport fanatic. So I thought, I might as well start writing on sports and related issues.

A couple of months ago, some friend of mine happened to tell me about a movie called Glory Road which was about basketball. I thought it would be the average movie where a bunch of school kids play for the team and the usual fairytale ending. But it was nothing of that sort. It is based on a true life story which changed the world of basketball from what it was to what it is today. The movie is about how a coach named Don Haskins takes up the job at Texas Western College, which uptil then was a no good team. El Paso, which is where this college is located, was back then a primarily a White and Hispanic dominated area. Coach Haskins believes in plain simple basketball, the way it is supposed to be played. He does not care one bit about colour,style etc. Nothing but fundamental basketball. So anyway this movie is about how he drafts in 7 African American players (excuse me for calling them Black henceforth) and with his strict regime, goes on to win the NCAA title.His team was the first to do so with an all black starting lineup. This was a revolutionary move. Back then, people could not think of a black player who played basketball at high levels. Just think of the situation today. There is almost no NBA Team without one. This determined and fearless coach's brilliant masterly decision has changed the game to what it is today. The game's greatest players Micheal Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Le Bron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar etc. would have never existed if this event had not happened. I suggest everyone who reads this, give the movie a watch and not just appreciate the movie, but the actual event itself. Thank you Don Haskins, thank you.