Shriya's skirt issue won't go away

With the enormous attention that Shriya's skirt has raised, she should auction the now made world famous skirt and donate the money to her favorite charity.

I bet some of the TN Ministers may be more interested in bidding for the skirt based on the interest they have been showing on this non-issue

Public Works Minister Durai Murugan responded saying: "There can't be a yardstick to judge obscenity. We cannot say to what extent a woman should expose herself and what kind of undergarments she should wear."

"It is all in the eyes of the beholder", added Durai Murugan.

His colleague, Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy, chipped in: "All that we can do is advise them (the actors) to be appropriately dressed."

Deputy Speaker V.P. Duraisamy had the final say. He told the PMK legislator: "You seem to have seen all these programmes scene by scene."

What a waste of tax payer's money !

Cricket notes

"The thing that pisses us off is that it shows how much power India has ... the players are frustrated because this shows how much influence India has, because of the wealth they generate. Money talks."
An unnamed Australian player quoted in a Sydney newspaper in the aftermath of the decision to reduce the charges levelled against Harbhajan Singh

Courtesy: cricinfo

I still don't get it. What does money got to do with this? This is a straight forward "he says she says" case and unless one has conclusive evidence it is difficult to prove these cases. It was stupid of Mike Procter to ban Harbhajan based on hearing just one side of the story and any fair judge will throw the case out. This is what happened here.

A free advise for Harbhajan - Shut your mouth and try to pick up wickets.

There were multiple occasions in the past when Indian players have got the wrong treatment from match referees including Mike Procter. ICC must revamp the system (umpiring, rules, technology, match referees, etc.) completely to improve the game.

Oh by the way, the unnamed Australian would be one of the first players to sign up for IPL to earn big money. Just a hunch! Not that there is anything wrong with that.

One other quote caught my attention ...

"And when John Buchanan was in charge ... let me tell you, we needed as much common sense around as we could, because I believe the coach had none."
Shane Warne, in a tribute to Adam Gilchrist, can't resist another dig at his former coach

Seriously, John Buchanan must have ratted Shane Warne (antics/sexcapades/text messages) to his ex-wife to earn this wrath. Warne has been consistent in digging his former coach at every given opportunity.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mohammad Ali

Tsonga stuns Nadal in the Oz Open semifinals. Amazing win. It is good to see some more players stepping up. Otherwise, Federer seems to have it too easy most of the times.

Doesn't Tsonga look like Mohammad Ali in his younger days?

Pictures courtesy: bbc.co.uk and answers.com

Brett Favre Retirement Watch Party Countdown starts

Will he? Won't he?

After throwing the overtime season ending interception against New York Giants, will the future Hall of Famer retire? Brett would like to have that throw back. Suddenly Bad Brett came from nowhere in the overtime. He has been patient throughout the season in avoiding those throws until that throw. Having said that, Giants deserved to win and the better team won.

In terms of personnel, Favre's future is the only major, immediate concern for the Packers. Favre -- surprise, surprise -- was noncommittal on his future after Sunday night's 23-20 loss to the New York Giants, saying only that he planned to talk to McCarthy on Monday before heading back to Mississippi to huddle with his family.

Neither Favre nor McCarthy were available to the media on Monday.

Keep waiting.

But one thing for sure, the first season after Favre retires, it will be difficult to watch Green Bay games? NFL will miss Favre. NFL fans will miss Favre.

Roger Federer: Supreme Dominance

In modern day sports, only Tiger Woods and Roger Federer have dominated their respective sports. In my humble opinion, Roger's dominance is even more remarkable as he has to be on top of his game whenever he plays Tiger can have a day or two off and still win the tournament by dominating the other days.

I have not seen any tennis player in as dominant as Federer. His opponents just hope of not getting embarrassed on the court when facing him. He seems to relish adverse situations on court when he gets into one of the occasional five setters. His dominance has been so compelling that he enjoys those occasional tough matches.

His comments after the recent five setter with Tipsarevic:

"It's not such a relief -- it's more happiness," Federer told the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena, where he has won three Australian titles including the last two. "I'm happy I could deliver a five-set thriller. It was good to be part of something like this."

He considers himself a performer/entertainer, entertaining us with his sublime tennis.

Lleyton Hewitt on Roger Federer's 5 setter:

"Obviously, an incredible day of tennis," Hewitt said, sounding hoarse and tired. "I mean, for Roger Federer to go five sets -- how often does that happen?"

Poetic Justice

Picture courtesy - Getty images.

Undoubtedly, this is India's best win abroad for the following reasons:

1. It happened in Perth. Except for the Caribbeans in the 80's (with their barrage of fast bowlers) no team has beaten Australia in Perth. India is the only team that can claim a rivalry against Australia since 1992.
2. It happened after the ugly incidents in Sydney.
3. It was complete team effort with everyone contributing in the bowling and some spectacular knocks by all recognized batsmen.
4. Anil Kumble's captaincy and diplomacy in this tour.

Green Bay Packer fan tapes his son with Packer jersey

Not a model father behavior in this case.

Upset that his 7-year-old son wouldn't wear a Green Bay Packers jersey during the team's playoff victory Saturday, a man restrained the boy for an hour with tape and taped the jersey onto him.

Mathew Kowald was cited for disorderly conduct in connection with the incident with his son at their home in Pardeeville, Lt. Wayne Smith of the Columbia County Sheriff's Department said. Pardeeville is about 30 miles north of Madison.

The 36-year-old Kowald was arrested Monday after his wife told authorities about the incident. Kowald was taken to the county jail and held until Wednesday, when he pleaded no contest, paid a fine of $186 and was released.

Watch for those hotel cups

For those that travel - your health is at stake.

Just ask for throwaway paper cups, even if it is not the most environment friendly option.

Shankar's Robot

Is Director Shankar's Robot (Rajini in lead role) based writer Sujatha's "En Iniya Eyandhira" story that was published in Ananda Vikatan in the 90's?

Bucknor cries foul

Bucknor like all kids caught red-handed doing a mischief, is upset that he is no longer part of the India - Australia tour.

"I am disappointed that I am not continuing the tour," he said.

"I consider it a sad day to see umpires sidelined after making only two wrong decisions out of a record 35 appeals."

Yes it would be unfair if he is axed for 2 wrong decisions out of 35 appeals. But Bucknor has history of consistent incompetence including the major goof up in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Final.

Here's a partial list on Bucknor related incidents.

Bucknor riles the Indians

On age and technology

Pakistan v India, 2nd Test, Lahore, 3rd day

The only jarring part of the day came at the start of the Indian innings, when the course of play was altered not by the players of either side, but by the incompetence of an umpire. Steve Bucknor was appalling during India's tour of Australia, and consistently so, through first the Tests and then the one-dayers. I had argued then that Bucknor's powers seem to have diminished with age - for umpiring relies on physical faculties that only get worse as the years go by - and that umpires should be regularly tested by the ICC to see if their abilities are still intact.

It is scandolous that despite the Indian team's complaints about him, based on an entire series and not a handful of stray understandable mistakes, the ICC has taken no action on this matter. John Wright, India's coach, reportedly complained to the match referee yesterday about the poor umpiring, and Bucknor gave India more reason for anguish today. After not upholding a number of good appeals during Pakistan's innings, he gave Aakash Chopra out lbw, after Chopra had inside-edged the ball. Given that Rahul Dravid was out immediately afterwards, run out without facing a ball, Bucknor's mistake had a huge impact on the game. It is unfair to Bucknor that his legacy as an umpire should be tarnished by his performance when he is clearly past the peak of his powers, and it is unfair on the players as well.

India v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Kolkata, 3rd day

Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar had added 98 in 168 balls when Bucknor struck. Tendulkar was beaten by the late swing of a ball from Abdul Razzaq, and the daylight between bat and ball was visible from the press box, at the furthest and highest part of the ground. Bucknor, after his usual deliberation, lifted his finger. Tendulkar shook his head and walked off. India have been hard done by Bucknor before, but they were still in a strong position as the day ended.

I'll stop here. The list is long. You get the point ...