Federer crowned ATP World Tour Champion 2009

Roger Federer added another feather to his cap by regaining the year ending #1 rank for the fifth year. Federer now joins Ivan Lendl as the only players to have held, lost and regained the ATP World Tour Champion title in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973). He has been crowned ATP world tour champion for 5th year and is now only behind Sampras' 6.

Roger has had a remarkable year and he was candid about it too. He said, “It means a lot to have returned to No. 1 and to finish the year again at No. 1, it was an incredible year for me both on the court and off the court and to be able to break the all-time Grand Slam record and finish the year on top is amazing.” To be able to achieve this after the heart break in Melbourne at the start of the year is an amazing feat.

Federer clinched the 2009 ATP World Tour Champion title by beating Andy Murray at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals group stage tonight. Federer and rival Rafael Nadal, the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion, had entered the prestigious circuit finale at The O2 in London locked in a two-man battle to conclude the season atop the 2009 ATP Rankings. While Nadal has been on a decline since Australian Open, Roger has only gone from strength to strength. He reached all 4 grand slam finals and is now poised to win the ATP tour finals to cap an eventful and fulfilling year both on and off the court.

The 28-year-old Swiss held the World No. 1 ranking for a record 237 straight weeks from 2 February, 2004, to 17 August, 2008, before Nadal ended his streak. Federer reclaimed the top rankings spot on 6 July, 2009, after winning a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

For more read on:
http://www.rogerfederer.com/en/rogers/news/newsdetail.cfm?uNewsID=993

Tiger Woods Injured in car accident!

Tiger Woods has been injured in a car accident in Florida, according to reports from the US. It was initially feared that his condition was serious, but his agent has since been quoted as saying he is "fine".

Details about the incident remain unclear as per BBC.

Liverpool's champs league exit: The Financial implication: Part 2

European clubs participating in champs league earn a combination of participation fees and income from TV rights, the latter contributing a larger chunk.

Here is a breakdown of how much participation money is at stake for every Champions League game. This is just the participation fees.

Group Stage:

-Reaching group stage: €3.8m

-Participating in group stage: €550k per match, x6 matches = €3.3m

So that’s €7.1m guaranteed. Now the results of each group game also matter as below:

-For a win: €800k

-For a draw: €400k

Knockout Stage:

-Playing in Round of 16: €3m

-Playing in Quarters: €3.3m

-Playing in Semis: €4m

-Playing in Final: €5.2m

-Champions League winners: €9m

As I had mentioned earlier, another chunk comes from the market pool (TV audience size in home country of the club). These figures are even higher than the participation fees and would be even more skewed for EPL sides owing to the enormous TV audience.

Here’s how UEFA puts it: "In addition to these sums, the clubs receive a share of revenue fixed in accordance with the value of the TV market of the country they represent. If an association has more than one representative, the amount received by each club depends on its position in the national championship in the previous season and the number of matches played in the current season’s Champions League."

Last night ESPN Sportscenter put things in perspective when they mentioned that overall loss for Liverpool could be anywhere in the region of 25-30 million if they fail to qualify next year. The figure suggests that Rafa and the owners need to put their best foot forward to finish in top 4 this season else the club would in real bad shape. If they fail to qualify for next year they would potentially lose a lot of top players including Torres and maybe even Gerrard.

Source: http://www.theoffside.com/tournaments/champions-league/uefa-champions-league-200910-prize-money.html

Sreesanth: Coming Back to Life

He was hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket when he burst onto the international scene in 2006. Johannesburg was the ideal setting for a young and sprightly Indian and Sreesanth announced himself to the cricket world in style. He had the pace, the swing and he was moving the ball both ways- he was an enigma that Indian pace bowling had always lacked.

South Africans were humiliated in their own backyard and India did it with pace spearheaded by Sreesanth. The commentary team of experts scrutinized his bowling action, seam position, wrist position and myriad other positives to hail him India’s “Richard Hadlee”. That comparison in itself was ill conceived as Sreesanth would do well to be capped as many times as the number of scalps Sir Richard Hadlee had in ’85 series against the Aussies.

He however was every bit as good a bowler as he was hailed to be and he had the aggression too- well a little too much I guess. He had a rare streak of an entertainer too and he showed that with the “Dance” routine after hitting Nel for a six and then with the Amla incident for which he was quickly reprimanded.

It was clear as early as South Africa that this young lad had some temperamental issues to sort out. He needed some counseling and support from the people who run the sport but I guess he received none. India was still in SA when Sreesanth was criticized for his demeanor and his sometimes over the top on-field antics. While I was watching him closely those days I could sense trouble brewing slowly but surely. Sreesanth the entertainer was taking over the bowler in him and it hit the rock bottom with “Slapgate”. His scuffle with Harbhajan made him infamous and he soon lost confidence of the selectors- he had gone too far for their liking.

A young man was left distraught and he cried his way to cricketing obscurity after being slapped by his India team mate. He had a few injuries thereafter and he was all but out of India reckoning. He did not really help his cause as he made one headline after the other- none for cricketing reasons. He danced his way to reality television and was soon all over the print and television media with his dance show, celebrity linkups and brawls. He was more on page3 than where he belonged – the sports page.

It all went from bad to worse when he failed to turn up for Kerala camp following which he was given the final warning - for repeatedly violating the code of conduct. BCCI too issued a final warning in October 2009. All hope must have waned for a young and talented fast bowler and I am sure he would have been at least as surprised as I was when he was recalled to the India team. I would be lying if I said I was all hopeful for him as I was completely amazed to see him in the playing eleven.

Today, in a single day of test cricket, this young maverick has put all my doubts to rest- cricketing or otherwise. He has shown he still has the pace and movement he once flattered with. He has come alive on a slow track and has all but won the test match for India. How many fast bowlers have done that for us in the years gone by?

I am sure a lot of his detractors would still cast a doubt on his temperament but for me he is a different Sreesanth. His celebration after completing his 5-for was subdued as if to give out a signal of his true intent – of playing cricket to win matches for India. If Sreesanth is a changed man as he confessed after getting the elusive India call, he is making it amply clear and rightly so. I am doubly sure he now knows the importance of making quick amends and he has taken important steps today –not only by being superb with the ball but by also being restrained in his demeanor. Entertainer has taken a back seat and rightly so. Cricketer Sreesanth has finally arrived.

Ritchie Benaud sets retirement plans aside.

I switched on the TV to watch some sport early morning and while I was not really keen on Aus v WIndies test match that started today, I was hooked to the channel for a few minutes. The reason was Ritchie Benaud behind the mike and I remembered that this could be his swansong. Soon I was surfing the web and found that the man has decided to stay put for another 4 seasons albeit only in Australia. I am sure cricket followers across the globe would welcome his decision and hope he continues for as long as possible. Read the complete story at:

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,26350949-948,00.html

Benaud had earlier expressed his desire to quit commentating after the Australian summer this year. Benaud had said: "I’ll be doing Australian cricket next year – 2010 – but I don’t do any television at all anywhere else now and when I finish next year, then I’ll be doing other things. But that’ll be no more television commentary."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/richie-benaud-retires-from-all-television-commentary/story-e6freuy9-1111118890878

How European leagues make their money?

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This is how the different leagues in Europe make their money. Check the link for more details:
http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2009/11/europes-football-finances-200708.html    

Indian cricket sponsorship receives “lukewarm response”

What is going to happen to other sports is the big question?
http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2009/11/indian-cricket-sponsorship-receives.html

Liverpool's champs league exit: The Financial implication!

Liverpool has crashed out of the Champs League as was widely expected and there are some serious financial implications for an already beleaguered club. It leaves a huge dent on Liverpool's yearly earnings which are far more dependent on UEFA's contributions than other top clubs in England - Chelsea, ManU and Arsenal. Reason is simple, they lose out on the chunk that UEFA shares with the teams from its television rights and that money is significantly higher for knockout stages. The financial hit from failing to qualify for the knockout stage is substantial, although not as calamitous as it would be if they fail to qualify for next year’s Champions League. To put things in perspective, Liverpool are expected to suffer a shortfall of 2.4 million as a consequence of group exit. The figure would be much higher if fail to qualify for the next season.

One thing is clear, Liverpool needs to get its act together swiftly towards resurrecting their premiership season failing which they might have to put a lot of top players up for sale. I just hope they can somehow make a strong statement in the remaining EPL season and resist selling Torres because that would be a complete disaster.

Listen to what Rafa had to say after the exit. His job appears to be quite safe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8377734.stm

France Ireland replay - well not quite...

Sepp Blatter has called for a crisis meeting of FIFA chiefs to deal with the fallout created by the 'Hand of Henry'. It however changes nothing for the Irish since a senior Fifa source told the Press Association: "A replay is impossible. It would be against the rules of football."

The idea of having an extra referee's assistant behind each goal, as is the case in the Europa League, might well be discussed. This would mean another human eye behind each goal line as early as the World Cup.Wait and watch this space for more.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8375320.stm

2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw: Part 3 - An English perspective

England has received a seed boost ahead of the final draw. They are amongst the top 8 and I believe they deserve every bit of it. If England keeps their best men fit, they would surprise a lot people including themselves.

A lot would depend however on the draw and there are umpteen possible permutations and combinations for the possible groups. The two most alluring possibilities for England lie at the opposite end of the spectrum. If England comes out really lucky they could end up with teams like - Switzerland, New Zealand and Algeria which would nearly guarantee a safe passage through at the top of their group. If the draw however is unkind, they could be pitted with the likes of Portugal/Netherlands, Ivory Coast and USA in what could arguably be the group of death. Most likely outcome would be somewhere in between the wide range of possibilities and the 3 Lions would be mighty relieved to avoid both Portugal and Netherlands upfront.

I just wish to see England go the distance this time because this could be their best chance for a lot of years to come, considering most of their top players wouldn’t be around for too long.

A friend of mine has put an interesting spin on the current England squad and what lies ahead. Check it out at:

http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2009/10/for-england-and-fabio-road-does-not-end.html

2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw: Part 2 - 'French' connection and the 'Host' factor

In my previous post I talked about the formal procedure that could determine how FIFA would seed the teams before final draw happens on Dec 4. We saw the 8 lucky ones who would be seeded and therefore avoid each other at the group stage. Amongst the unseeded teams, Portugal could be feeling the most aggrieved because the 'French Connection' has cost them an entry to the elite group.

While 'Hand of Henry' has sunk Irish hearts the most it has also meant that Portugal have moved to the second tier of teams. If it was Ireland who had qualified, the points system would have meant a seed for Portugal and Ireland would have taken their place amongst the second rung.

Another aspect about the seeds and how they would impact the final draw is the host country. With none of the top 8 countries hosting, SA have been auto drafted into the elite group to make sure they play the opening fixture as part of Group A. This again means that another top nation has lost on the elite spot. This time Netherlands suffer as they miss out on the top tier and together with Portugal would pose the greatest threat to the top 8 teams.

If both these anomalies were eliminated, we could have had both Portugal and Netherlands in elite group thus making life much easier for the top teams - including England.

2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw: Part 1-The Basics

Speculation are ripe about the formula that FIFA could use to seed the teams before the draw on Dec 4. FIFA’s World Cup organising committee are expected to confirm the eight seeds at a meeting in Cape Town on ­December 2, two days before the draw. These 8 seeds would then avoid each other in the Group Stages.

If we consider that FIFA would use the same formula as for 2006 world cup where last two worldcup performances and last 3 years FIFA rankings are taken into account, then following is the list of teams that would be seeded as follows:

Seed      Team

1            Brazil
4            Spain
7            France
3            Italy
2            Germany
5            England
6            Argentina
8            South Africa
Note: The seeds were calculated using the exact formula that FIFA used in 2006.

These 8 teams would make it to Pot#1 of the draw with each group headed by one of these teams. Rest of the teams would not be seeded and 4 pots would be used to group teams from every continent such that no more than 2 European teams end up in the same group and no more than one country from South America, Africa and Asia is in any group. Pot# 2 consists of all the remaining European nations and the third and fourth pots will divide the remaining qualifiers from the CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, African, Asia, and Oceania regions. Based on the above, following are the four Pots for the final draw. Exactly one team from each pot would make it to each group.

Pot 1: South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Argentina

Pot 2: Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Greece, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia

Pot 3: Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Algeria

Pot 4: South Korea, Japan, Australia, North Korea, Mexico, USA, Honduras, New Zealand
 
With one team to be picked from each pot to form a group, draw would be of enormous scale for each of the top teams.
 
Following are the list of references used to calculate exact seeds and rankings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_seeding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_full_team_ranking
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/293526-world-cup-draw-2010-england-set-for-seeding-boost

Ferguson picks Brazil for 2010 - writes England off

“I can’t see past Brazil, actually,” Ferguson was quoted in the Daily Mail. “They are going to be the ones in South Africa.”

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1229939/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-insists-Fabio-Capellos-England-wont-win-World-Cup.html

ATP world tour final- Fight for #1

ATP tour final kicks off this weekend and it promises to be one hell of a tournament. Tennis season has hardly been as eventful over the past decade and while Nadal just about slipped from being completely in control, Federer has made it one of his most memorable by adding the only missing piece of silverware - the French title.

Australian open saw Nadal completely overwhelming Federer and the post match tears could have meant the end of Federer era, but it wasn't to be. Roger has been one the greatest tennis champions and he showed exactly that by bouncing off the psychological low of Melbourne to such an extent that he has all but closed the argument about the "Best" player in the world.

I witnessed the dethroning of my favorite champion in Australia and while Federer shed his tears it made Nadal's dominance complete. Rafa at that time was threatening to completely wipe Federer off and he looked poised for a brilliant year with people even mentioning "the Grand Slam". Federer comeback was least expected on the red clay of Paris but it started when he defeated Rafa on clay just before French Open and then grabbed the French title that has almost tilted all scales of greatness in his favor. I would have to agree that Soderling did Roger a favor by eliminating Rafa in the quarters but since then Rafa has shown nothing about him being the same player as he was at the start of the year. It appears that his physical style of play has taken some toll on his body and now it's time for him to make a comeback of his own.

While Nadal has been struggling since the French open, Federer has gone from strength to strength and has added another Wimbledon to his tally. Alongside the ever simmering rivalry of these two champions we have seen the arrival of some of the future tennis stars and all of those would be playing in the year ending ATP masters tournament starting today.

The lineup for this tournament is brilliant and it's hard to find an easy game in the draw. The format is also different to the conventional Grand Slam tournaments and every game promises to be as good as a slam semi-final/final. Though slams are still the most sought after prizes in tennis, master finals would make sure no single match is a walk in the park. I wish to see Federer and Nadal face off at the finals but it's going to be hard to even get there for both of them. All in all I am hoping for some fine tennis action over the next few days to close off the brilliant year in style.

For details check - http://www.atpworldtour.com/

Liverpool's slide continues

Since the last time I wrote just before their Champs League match, Liverpool's season has gone from bad to worse. Champion’s league season is already out of their hands and premiership hopes have waned faster than the injuries to some key players. It's clear that without both Torres and Gerrard on the pitch, Liverpool lacks inspiration and last night’s draw against City was ample proof of lack of overall talent. Benayoun was the savior this weekend just when it appeared to be all over after Adebayor and Ireland had struck in quick succession. Last week they had managed a point against Birmingham thanks to the referee.

Liverpool's performance all through the season has been scratchy to say the least and now they find themselves hard pressed to even secure a Champs league birth for next season. They find themselves in the seventh spot with Sunderland breathing down their neck after a fine win over Arsenal. Liverpool can now forget about the top 3 finish but the fight for the title is alive with ManU and Arsenal both looking good to challenge Chelsea. If I have to take a call now, I would stick with Chelsea as the title favorites with Arsenal and ManU close behind.

Irish hopes dashed by the HAND of GOD

Ireland have been cheated and it's sad to see such crucial matches being decided by the 'hand of God'. England suffered at the hands of Maradona some 23 years ago and it's ireland now. The sad part is that we have learnt no lessons in more than 20 years.

I understand that human errors are hard to eliminate and that referee's would continue to have bad days at office once in a while. I also completely disagree with the 'moral' arguments made by some pundits blaming Henry and France of being the cheats. The article in Telegraph does just that and puts all the blame on Henry. I found it hard to find even one logical point in the entire article. Read for yourself and decide.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/republicofireland/6609355/Thierry-Henry-must-be-banned-from-playing-in-the-2010-World-Cup.html

There has been a lot of hue and cry about technology in sports and about the shortcomings of some of them, a simple video replay would have settled this issue in not more than 15 seconds.

Check the video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2D6LdNakzE

World Cup playoff's are over

Finally the playoffs have ended and though I could not catch last night’s matches live on TV, from the reports it appears Ireland got a raw deal and Russia missed out much to my disappointment. I just love Andrei Arshavin and would have loved to see him play the world cup - a chance every footballer plays for. We know some of the biggest footballers who have never been to a final and there are some great names - Gigs, Cantona and Best- to name a few.

Well the good news is that we have the final 32 teams for arguably the biggest sporting event in the world and it’s going to be one hell of a ride. I just wish I could be there in the stadium cheering for England..

Ridiculous BCCI

It’s hard to believe but its true – BCCI does not seem to have an official website. There are throngs of other sites with same or similar names to add to the confusion. Now either BCCI is completely unaware of the utility of hosting on the web or they don’t really care. If I would have to a take call I would go with the latter. BBCI is notorious for being run unprofessionally and this is just another simple proof. It is completely disgusting for world’s richest cricket board and the one which dictates all cricket played in the world to have absolutely no interface on the web. Do you know of any decent sports body that is so utterly unabashed?

Unprofessionalism of our cricket board is an oft publicized phenomenon and the overall state of sports in India is perfectly well reflected by the actions of our cricket board. Indian cricket is lucky to have fanatical fans that make a beeline for third class cricket stadiums and completely chaotic experience of watching a match at one of our grounds. There is complete lack of world class infrastructure barring few new grounds. Average Indian cricket fan is often taken for a ride and there is absolutely no doubt that BCCI is a money guzzling authority that cannot care less for the poor Indian fan. Time and again we have heard voices advocating a professionally run organization at the helm of Indian cricket but sadly sports management in India is an offshoot of politics and that in itself is case in point of inefficiency and unprofessionalism that plagues our country.

Big day for Liverpool’s season!

It’s quite obvious that Liverpool’s season is in tatters and it could be more so if they fail to produce a win tonight at Lyon. What a debacle it would be for 5 times champions of Europe if they were to get knocked out at the group stage itself. Rafa appears to be short of answers and has made some undeniably woeful decisions this EPL season and it could get from bad to worse if his team fails to gather 3 points tonight.

There are problems aplenty for the reds and it would be interesting to see the starting lineup for tonight’s big game. The injury list has grown stronger and Rafa is going to have tough time getting a fit and confident team up for the game. Based on the form of its players and more so it’s manager, I would be more hopeful than confident to predict a positive result tonight for the reds.

While everyone seemed to suggest that the win against United was the turning point for the reds, last week’s loss to Fulham has all but put an end to their premiership hopes. While a whole lot of football still has to be played and loads of surprises still in store this EPL season, Liverpool's championship chances are remarkably bleak as early as November. Europe could again be the saving grace however it could be rather optimistic to suggest so at this time. One more loss in Europe could spell doom and the game tonight is going to be huge in terms of where Liverpool ends this season. Silverware appears to be distant though it would be great to see the team advance through the group stage. I hope they do because they are a formidable force and great to watch when in full flow. I am hoping for a great display tonight from one of Europe's foremost clubs.

Sad state of sports reporting!

It was a good game of cricket and as usual one team had to lose. The reason I am writing this post is beyond what happened on the field and is more about what happened on Indian news channels soon after. Aussies fought like tigers and produced some fantastic on field cricket to beat India in a close game.

Soon after the match was over I flipped to a news channel and I saw some cricket experts blaming the loss on a poor umpiring decision. Mr. Expert was so vehement in his approach and so unreasonable in his argument that no amount of reasoning from the news reporter could have changed his position. The argument went something like this:

News Anchor: So "expert", do you think a bad umpiring decision cost India the game?
Expert: (screaming) the decision was poor and this is not the first time as this happens all the time to our team. Sachin was so close to taking India to a fantastic win and to get to his landmark 17k but for a disastrous decision by Asoka d'Silva. He has been giving poor decisions against us for a long time now and has to be stopped. ICC needs to make sure such incompetent umpires are not allowed to officiate in big games.
News Anchor: But don't you think it was the failure of our middle order that was responsible?
Expert: Don't underestimate the importance of losing a set batsman who was anchoring the innings and the umpire made a blunder so he should be thrown out of the elite panel.

So I sat there wondering about the state of sports reporting and the incompetence of so called 'experts'. It appears that most channels and their expert commentators are so fraught with the idea of sensationalism that they completely overshadow the basic inspiration of reporting – TRUTH.

The truth part is conspicuous by its absence in every form of news reporting these days and sensation is so prevalent around news and entertainment channels that the real story is actually lost. The story I could not understand from last night’s news was that India lost a closely fought and thoroughly entertaining game of cricket to a superior opposition on the day.