Indian sports turning a new leaf

1. IHF Chief IPS Gill sacked, IHF suspended

Indian Hockey has hit rock bottom and it can only go up from here. I can't believe that I am saying this. Thanks to Jyotikumaran's bribery episode, IPS Gill has been sacked and IHF can turn a new leaf. Without this, IPS Gill would not have budged from his seat and Indian Hockey would have suffered another decade of mediocrity.

2. Harbhajan banned for 11 IPL games and maybe more

Enough is enough. Harbhajan deserves this very expensive (the slap has cost him about $800 grand) break from cricket. It's high time Harbhajan realizes that playing cricket as a profession is a privilege and it cannot be taken for granted on and off the field. Am I hearing Andrew Symonds laughing aloud? Its all karma ! If you ask Harbhajan under sodium pentathol he would have readily taken the ban after the monkey episode rather than lose $800K now.

Now here's a first

Drew Rosenhaus on youtube implores Cincinnati Bengals to trade his client, Chad Johnson. Chad Johnson is disgruntled and does not want to play for Bengals.

Now this is a first. A Sports Agent asking for his client to be traded on youtube.




It is said that Tom Cruise's character in Jerry Macguire is based on "Super Agent" Drew Rosenhaus.

Vintage Laloo

Laloo at his best :-)

You can catch Dayanidhi Maran behind Laloo.

What? Woodlands Drive-in is closing?

I came across the news about Woodlands Drive-In restaurant closing. The plan is to build a botanical garden and research center at that place. Nice plan, if executed well.

A lot of old timers will miss the nature friendly ambiance and the long time restaurant. I had the opportunity to visit the place and taste their sambar-vadai in December 2006.

Blogging May Be Hazardous To Your Health

If you are prolific blogger with dollars attached to your blog, please take a step back and take care of your health. The constant pressure of keeping your blog updated to ensure reader loyalty which in turn could translate to ad revenues from your site has serious health and stress consequences. There have been reports of high profile bloggers getting stressed out and suffering health set backs in recent times. More on this here.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Here is a humorous take on this serious issue.

More on Writer Sujatha

Feel like crying after reading this.

தண்ணி, பேப்பர், ரிமோட், சாப்பாடுன்னு எது கொடுத்தாலும் சின்னதா “தேங்க்ஸ்..” சொல்வார். “எதுக்கு என்கிட்டயும் தேங்க்ஸ்..?”னு கேட்டா, “உன்கிட்டயும் தேங்க்ஸ¤க்கு ஒரே அர்த்தம்தானே!”னு சிரிப்பார்.

Desikan recollecting Writer Sujatha's last few weeks/days.

'சொர்க்கம், நரகம் இதில் எல்லாம் நம்பிக்கை இல்லை. இரண்டும் இங்கேதான் என்று எண்ணுகிறேன். அப்படி ஒருக்கால் இருந்தால், நரகத்துக்குப் போகத்தான் விரும்புகிறேன். அங்கேதான் சுவாரஸ்யமான ஆசாமிகள் இருப்பார்கள். சொர்க்கத்தில், நித்ய அகண்ட பஜனைச் சத்தம் எனக்கு ஒரு நாளைக்கு மேல் தாங்காது'

என்று அவர் தன் எழுபதாவது பிறந்த நாள் கட்டுரையில் எழுதியிருந்தார்.

Another classic Sujatha touch. Hmmm ....

Factoid that may interest only me

Alex Rodriguez of NY Yankees makes $28M this year.

The entire Florida Marlins team makes less than $22M this year.

Ironically, Florida Marlins have won a more recent World Series (2003) than the NY Yankees (2000). (Source: AP Stories and Yahoo Sports)

Sadly, it will take a long time for the newly formed Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchisee holders to realize that money does not win championships. Ask the NY Yankees who have been the top spending MLB team since 2000 with no World Series wins.

PS: There is no salary cap in Major League Baseball (MLB) unlike other major sports in USA. Hence this difference in total team spend on player salaries.