Togo Banned by CAF for two ACN's!! What gives

About two weeks ago, The Togo national team was travelling in the Angolan province of Cabinda toward the African Cup of Nations tournament, when they were ambushed by a group of terrorists/insurgents/separatists. An assistant coach, the bus driver were killed and a few injuries also resulted. So understandably the Togolese team withdrew from the ACN. Now the CAF has banned them for the next two tournaments. That has got singularly be the most absurd and insensitive decision in the history of all sports.


Last year a bus carrying the Sri Lankan National cricket team was attacked in Lahore and they pulled out of their tour. Did anyone question them? No, of course not. They were SHOT AT!! I do believe that that calls for some allowance when it comes to withdrawing from sport events.

Imagine if this had been the FIFA World Cup and a non-African (read European/North American) team had been attacked. Would this be the decision taken by FIFA. NO!!! Firstly, I'm sure the World Cup would have been called off and the western "powers" would have begun a "war on terrorism" there as well.

This decision to ban Togo is a shame on humanity and should be withdrawn immediately along with the resignation of the obviously idiotic CAF president!
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Sad Match

Today morning began with me watching one of the worst basketball games I have ever seen. Sure, the Nuggets pulled away only at the end to win 97-94 versus the Trailblazers. But this was a sad, sad game. What should have been an exciting last quarter became a free throw extravaganza. What should have been an exhibition of Portland's efficient offence turned into a series of horrible shots. Portland only kept up with Denver because they completely out-rebounded the Nuggets. Denver rode on Melo's back who's 41 points eventually won the game

When you see such games it annoys you as a viewer. Sure defences were pretty decent but in a game between too evenly matched foes you expect a certain degree of athleticism. The only really adrenaline pumping play I can remember is when Martell Webster drove along the baseline and dunked hard. No transition points of note. Free throw points galore. Please God please give me a better game to watch :(
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Taken for granted

This is probably going to be one of the corniest posts (I have) ever written. So those averse to such posts may stop reading.

Life is complicated. Filled with so many choices: Right from our careers, our friends, hell even our lunches and dinners. And yet somehow, our choice in the opposite sex seems made, by someone other than us.


That's what makes love special. No matter how much you'd like to, you can't control it. You can't change your mind overnight. Love, somehow is something which feels like it should be in our control and isn't.

So why is this post titled "taken for granted". Well, here goes. Like I said, love is something beyond control. And those who know, and feel this emotion sometimes take it for granted. Living in the present is always special for any couple but, that's when they should realise that they are lucky. Lucky to have a present together.

Take the recent "prom" situation in campus, with loads of couples hooking up for the big day. They will have a great time, whilst people like me will sit out and dream about what it would be like to have that kind of present. I have no such present. My love is elsewhere, far away. I have only the future to look forward to. And yet I know, that only I can see how lucky the "prom" couples are.

So, getting back to it, they will have a great time. But, they will take it for granted. Until the day comes to part (if it does). And when that day comes they will regret taking such moments, such enjoyment for granted. So, my advice to these couples would be enjoy yourself like there's no tomorrow, because you never know when fate will be cruel and hold you apart. Remember to feel lucky. To have someone you love, so close to you. Remember to cherish every moment, because you never know when those moments will run out.

I will sit out, jealous of every couple at the "prom", trying to distract myself by working on something. But my mind will be back home, thinking of her and what I'm missing. And shed a tear, I will. I hope the couples know what they have is special. You never know when God will play a cruel practical joke on you, and leave you with nothing but hope.

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NOTA - Right or Wrong??

Elections are always full of surprises... They are filled with suspense and excitement... And generally a candidate would go in knowing that it's definitely one of the contestants who is going to win... But what if that wasn't a sure thing??? What if you could have a scenario where none of them wins??? That is the exact definition of "NOTA" or "None Of The Above"...



Now there are different scenarios in which NOTA could get a person's vote...
1. It's the "k3wl" thing to do...
2. The person doesn't give a crap but still wishes to perform his/her duty...
3. The candidates are all bad...

Now when a person lets people know that he's in favour of NOTA reactions vary from "Wow that's so cool... I'm going to do it too..." to "just be happy with what you have, vote for somebody and get it over with"... Of all possible reactions its the latter-mentioned one I hate the most... Why be satisfied with what you have when you can do better... George Bernard Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself... Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man..." I say be unreasonable... Don't settle for less... Why should you??? Are you so unimportant that you have to pick your leader from a pile of rubbish??? Does it not matter to you that if a bad candidate should win you would suffer for that entire term because of your unwillingness to be unreasonable???

Another phrase I've heard and hate is "You didn't have the guts to stand, now don't complain..." To those guys I ask, what would you do if this was a real government election... What if your options were between a rapist, a murderer and a paedophile??? Would you tell me to vote for them??? Would you tell me to accept one of them as my leader??? Or would you tell me to be unreasonable and go against them all??? Wouldn't you tell me that NOTA is the best way to deal this situation??? Would you ask me why I didn't fight the election and use that as an argument against NOTA??? My argument might seem an over exaggeration but it's an amplification of the situation before us... The focus of the discussion at the moment should not be why I didn't stand or why you didn't... Our focus instead should be on whether or not you are willing to accept a bad leader??? If you are, you are weak... And the world in which we live in will never develop... That's because development will happen only when we be unreasonable... So be unreasonable... Be the change... Vote for NOTA!!!

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Experiences with PS

Man PS Sucks... Our instructor is a rule-abiding moron even worse than "Ambi" in the movie Anniyan (also known as Aparitchidu)... The only saving grace is being in Trichy is close enough to go home for Sundays (not counting the 3 days leave allowed)...


Here's the clincher... We got nothing to do... For a couple of weeks we went around observing stuff, but after a while observation gets old... Now we just reserve ourselvses to sitting in an air-cocnditioned room, drinking tea and entertaining ourselves (with penfight, movies, games...)

In recent news Shaq joins the Cavs... Well this should be an interesting season!!

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Special post for a special game...

It's sad, but down here in India we get to watch two or three NBA games a week... Which combines to roughly 84 games a year... Now one team plays 82 regular season games + playoffs so you can guess how little we actually get (thank you very much ESPN)... Now the chances of a game turning into a classic is obviously small (because otherwise it would be an average game)... And with Game 6 of the Boston Chicago FIRST round (yes FIRST ROUND) series the Indian audience was incredibly lucky to get to watch the 3OT 128-127 Bulls victory live...

The match was amazing because there was always something going on... Both teams for at it right from tip off especially the Bulls... I though Salmons was incredible in the first quarter, knocking down all kinds of weird shots... Then Ray Allen showed up, and BOY did he show up... The most incredible part was someone or the other kept coming back... 1 minute the Bulls would be up by 12, 5 mins and a 23-3 run later Celtics lead by 8 and then comes Miller from nowhere with clutch plays... Followed by Hinrich... And this was just regulation...

You know the feeling?? When a team is 3 points up, but Ray Allen is on the opposite team... It's like you know the shot is coming, you just don't know from where... I mean how the hell do you shoot over a (generously listed) 7 footer fully extended... I mean, you can't fault (for most parts) the defence on Ray Allen... This guy is as good as Reggie Miller at his peak (I know you're thinking it)... "Big baby" Glen Davis was great to credit to him for some of his clutch shots... I still cant get over the fact that this guy was a second round pick last season...

For Chicago, it was a team effort (barring Ben Gordon who didn't show up - hamstring problems too much I guess)... Salmons starred in the first... And through out the game there were spurts from him, Rose, Hinrich, Miller... But, (even though they didn't score as much) to me, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah were the key players... Not because of the number of plays they made but the nature of the plays they made... Tyrus Thomas' emphatic dunk in the 4th made the crowd go wild... (Not to mention is superb rejection of Rondo - possibly the only time I saw Rondo drive the whole game)... Noah - What a steal... I mean sure Pierce is old... But if your big man can make a play like that? Well you've got one hell of a player... A lot of Bulls fans were upset at losing Nocioni (and his energetic & emphatic moves that got the crowd into it) in the Kings' deal but Noah has turned into a much better version of that... He makes sensible and hard plays... And he does it emphatically... Derrick Rose seemed a bit nervous in parts, but come on, he's only a rookie!! I personally felt Hinrich should have been handling the ball down the stretch... Rose looked like he could cough it up any moment...

Miller... Man what can I say... He's slow yes... But can he make clutch shots or what!! I really never knew he could shoot 3's today... (Yes I can be ignorant)... Not to mention that driving layup past Perkins late in the fourth...

Now I'm about done... Just a word for the fans dissing the coaches... Give them a chance!! Look at their results over a long term... Just by 2-3 games you cannot say a coach is bad just because some of his calls flopped... And in Vinny Del Negro's case, give him a break!! He's a rookie coach, but he's already proven to be decent (barring a couple of weird decisions)... Give him a couple of years, then judge him... For the Bulls it could be ideal - A young core growing up with the coach could help the team... It really could... Can't Wait for Game 7... Don't really care about the result, but we may need to keep the ICU's ready... Because Game 7 is going to be the clincher of one of the best playoff series' ever... Continue Reading »

Shah Rukh Khan - King of the noobs

There have been a lot of nice ads on the television of late... Added with a lot of corny ones and outright idiotic ones... I recently saw this ad with Shah Rukh Khan advertising a Hyundai Getz (I think)... Basically he "proves his teacher wrong" by showing that he can get mileage without sacrificing power... But come on the way they say it!!

Mileage can be increased for equivalent power only by increasing the combustion engine efficiency... Mileage is indeed inversely proportional to power... So Shah Rukh Khan if you want to "teach" people physics, well (to put it nicely) don't...

So anyway Shah Rukh Khan has been in the news lately... No it's not about some hare-brained movie of his but about his (lets say "interesting") team the "Kolkata KnightRiders"... First which owner in the world approves a system of having four captains, knowing the kind of ego's that players tend to have... Next, who supports this decision later by getting into a media battle with a former great?? I mean seriously I'd like Shah Rukh come to me and say he knows more about cricket that Sunil Gavaskar... Sure he may not have been the greatest in the limited form but he still stood there against attacks of the likes of the great West Indians for the country... So give the man some respect! And anyway when it comes to cricket who would you listen to, Gavaskar? Or s-s-s-Shah Rukh... Coming to John Buchanan... It's a theory (highly propagated by Shane Warne who himself is no saint) that Australia won all their trophies and accolades inspite of Buchanan... (In Warne's words, Buchanan was labeled a "goose" and the Aussies had to put up with his "verbal diarrhoea"... Ian Chappell was a lot more concise... He just claimed his daughter would make a better coach :P)... Anyway, who the HELL hires a coach with such a reputation among his own players, and then gives him total freedom?? Result?? Take a look...

Shah Rukh better decide what he wants now... To be "right", or to admit he's wrong and perform repairs... Because this IPL season will be long gone before long...

PS: Yeah I'm not a great fan of his acting either...
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