BBC SPORTDAQ: Sports Celebrity Stock Exchange

A friend of mine has introduced me to this online celebrity stock exchange game called SPORTDAQ. I have recently signed up and it appears to be quite appealing and addictive. I have checked prices of my portfolio picks a few times since buying them a few minutes ago and the fun part is I don’t really feel the pinch if Rooney goes down a little while Wenger gains... It’s just a game after all..

I would urge everyone to come on board and give it a try. In case you join the game please be kind enough to post your ID’s so we can have a league of our own going.

Read the details about the game below and follow the link to register and start playing …

What is Sportdaq?

SPORTDAQ is an online sports celebrity stock exchange game. Instead of shares in companies you buy shares in sports stars (players from various sports who are listed on the game exchange). To play you have to sign up. Once you're signed up we'll give you a cool ten thousand pounds (that's Sportdaq pounds, not real cash!).

The aim of the game: to make as much profit as you can by buying and selling 'shares' in listed sports stars. The person with the highest weekly percentage gain is crowned Top Trader.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE MONEY?

1) Dividends: Every day we count how much press coverage each celeb gets. Then on Thursday the shares you own will pay out a dividend, depending on how much press coverage those sports stars received. The more press coverage a celeb gets, the more money you make. To get the full pay-out you have to own the celeb from Monday night to Thursday morning.

2) Capital Gains: Just like in the real world, share prices rise and fall as demand for them changes - so as well as receiving dividends, you can make money by day-trading and buying low (when demand for a specific celeb is low) and selling high (as the celeb gets more press coverage and the demand for them increases). Prices are updated every 20 minutes so you can make or lose money on a celeb very quickly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/insideline/howtoplay.shtml

Nadal injury : Official Statement says he will be out for 4 weeks

Nadal has been advised a two week complete rest and at least a month away from the game after a medical assessment in Spain. The official statement informed that he will miss up to 4 weeks of tennis but the relief is that this is not the reoccurrence of his tendonitis problem that kept him out of Wimbledon last year.

It's not as bad as I had initially feared in my previous post but it will still keep him out of any competitive tennis for at least a month. I hope he is back to full fitness at the earliest though his long term career prospects would depend on how he handles his game and makes required adjustments.

"For me it is more important to play well again and to have the good feelings on the court that I had in Abu Dhabi, Doha and also at the Australian Open where I played at the highest level.", Nadal said.

Dr Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, who examined Nadal's injury, said the four-time French Open winner would have to rest for two weeks before he "steadily resumes his sporting activity".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8486448.stm

Nadal knee Injury scare deepens. Could keep him out much longer.

Rafael Nadal had to retire midway through the quarter finals against Murray but he had appeared upbeat about his recovery. He had said, "I am not worried, I just have a little tweak and I hope to have recovered in a week or even less,".

Recent update from Nadal camp suggests that Rafa is going to come out with an official statement later in the day. The whole business of making an official release about his injury suggests that it could be much worse that initially suspected. It might keep him out for far longer than the one week he had initially thought.

Will update as soon as the statement is out but if it turns out to be much severe it would be a huge loss to the tour. He could be out long enough to even miss French which possibly would make Roger Federer a top contender in Paris. Could it be all 4 for Roger this year. We will wait and see ...

Make sure to catch the Aussie Open finals between Roger and Murray this sunday.

Australian Open radio

Tennis fans who can't get to a TV for the live telecast can now listen in to the live radio coverage of Australian Open at:

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html

Federer v TSonga is live now .... enjoy ..

3D TV becomes a reality. Sky set to telecast United v Arsenal in 3D this weekend

3D TV appears to have finally arrived with Sky sports deciding to broadcast the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester United in 3D this weekend. This telecast would only be aired at select pubs in UK which have been fitted with 3D ready screens. Sky expects to make 3D TV experience publicly available very soon however there are concerns over both the cost of viewer equipment as well as the gear required to record and telecast images in 3D.

Some more exciting news along with this EPL initiative by Sky is that Sony has also agreed with FIFA to record some of the football world cup matches in 3D later this year in South Africa.

I am not sure about the cost and availability of 3D TV’s as well as the preparedness of broadcasters at this time but whenever it comes, it would be a game changer forever.

ESPN will unveil it's 3D network in 2010 as well. It will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa versus Mexico.

http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2010/01/arsenal-vs-manchester-united-in-3d.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4796555

4.5 million rands in severance for Mickey Arthur

South African cricket coach Mickey Arthur resigned from his position a few days back citing differences in “vision” for South African cricket with the governing body CSA. Soon after his resignation the entire selection committee was sacked by CSA with a complete revamp expected soon.

Numerous theories ever since have been doing the rounds including Smith-Arthur tussle and teams’ performance as a reason for the upheaval. In a latest revelation, it has come to light that Arthur has been paid a hefty severance amount by CSA which begs a few questions. One, was his resignation a mere formality and that he was actually asked to leave and therefore the severance? Two, Is there something more to it than meets the eye in terms of both internal politics as well as outside political influence?

South Africa is going to be in India for a crucial away series between two closely matched teams from the top of ICC rankings. I just wish South African cricketers arrive here with their focus on Cricket and not the adjoining politics. Politics is going to overshadow cricket this time or so it appears...

Carling Cup: Manchester United V Manchester City highlights video

Here is the highlights package of last nights match and it has some brilliant moments including some super goals especially the Tevez flick to level things up and than the Rooney winner followed by his unusually acrobatic celebration.  The video takes a little while to load so have patience cos it's worth a watch ...

Carling Cup: United beat City in a cracker. To play Villa in the finals.

I missed the match last night cos my DTH service did not have the channel that aired it live. From what I have seen and read I believe I missed a cracker. Of course it had to be a cracker after the drama of the first leg and all the chatter that followed.

All I can now do is try and watch the videos and see as many pics on the web. For all the poor souls like me, I would try and post some of the good one's as and when I lay my hands on them. Below are just a few from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ and http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

Chinese challenge ends at Aus Open. Henin-Serena make it to a mouthwatering title match.

I was quite surprised to find two Chinese women in the semi finals of a slam but their challenge today was finally thwarted. Li Na showed a lot of grit and determination to take top seed Serena to two tie breakers but that was all she could manage. She failed to find the killer punch to deflate the American who now appears poised for yet another grand slam title. Serena blew a few match points in the second and it could have reminded her of Venus’s loss in the quarters. Li Na however failed to make any impact in the second set tie breaker which Serena took with relative ease at 7-1 to win the match 7-6, 7-6.

The other semi final was a mere formality as Henin completely demolished the other Chinese challenger - Zheng Jie. Zheng had a good tournament so far but she failed to find any rhythm in her game and any penetration in her strokes to worry Henin who played a perfect match. It was an easy passage to the finals for Henin today but it would be very different when she faces Serena for the title coming Saturday.

Quite surprisingly, this would be the first grand slam final clash between Serena – current no.1 and Henin- former no.1. The way Henin has comeback after a 20 month lay-off is quite stunning but she would now face her biggest test since making that comeback in Brisbane. If Henin wins it would possibly be the greatest comeback in the history of women’s tennis and I would root for her to go all the way. Serena would surely be the favorite but I would go for Henin to upset her and lift the crown. Women’s tennis is alive and kicking again…

Mickey Arthur press conference update

At a press conference in East London, Mickey Arthur confirmed that his resignation was offered due to differences with the cricket board. He said "my vision for the national team differed with that of Cricket South Africa's. I am disappointed, because when I started there I said I wanted to get South Africa to No. 1 in both forms of the game, I wanted to be the first South African coach to win in England, and the first to win in Australia. The only thing I didn't achieve was an ICC trophy."

It was earlier reported in the media that he could have resigned due to differences with team captain Greame Smith and other senior players. Other reports had suggested that board was not very happy with the performance of South African cricket team lately and that had led to differences between the cricket board and the coach.  Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola however mentioned Arthur's tennure as successful but stated that the entire structure of Cricket South Africa would be changed next month.

Federer makes it 23 in a row at slam semis. Fights back to beat Davydenko.

Federer was down a set and a break in the second before he decided to switch on and what followed was a complete annihilation of Davydenko. Federer won a whopping 13 games in a row before Davydenko could hold again.

The start was quite unexpected as Davydenko broke Federer twice to take the first set 6-2. Federer was looking out of sorts as he was soon broken in the second and he looked set to lose it again down a break point. The serve was looking fragile and ground strokes were sailing long and wide as Davydenko was completely running Federer ragged till that moment in the second set when Federer decided to make amends. Amends he made, in-fact he completely ran over his opponent in the next 13 games to take the second and the third set- third at 6-0.

Fourth set was a classic and the quality of tennis produced by both men was scintillating. It was as good if not better than the first set from yesterday's Nadal-Murray quarter final clash. The set started like the third and Federer was soon a break up and Davy was staring down the barrel. The Russian however was not going to go down without a fight and he broke back after facing a match point at 4-5 with some spectacular ground strokes – 3 winners in a row - on Federer first serve. Soon it was deuce at 5-5 with Davydenko serving when the two men produced an epic of a game that finally sealed the match for the champion. He broke and then served 3 aces in the last game to win the set 7-5 and the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5.

Federer turned it around from 2-6, 1-3 and a break point down with some epic tennis. While Davydenko was untouchable - for nearly one and a half sets- the champion showed his class in the end. It was an awesome display of tennis by both men with Federer displaying why he is the greatest man to have ever played this game.

For the record, Federer has now made 23 slam semis in a row and it could be the least decorated of his records at this time but history would make it one of his biggest and possibly the toughest to overcome in the years to come… what a player, what a champion, what a man …

Mickey Arthur press conference today

As per CSA, Mickey Arthur, the outgoing coach of South African cricket team will hold a press conference today. He is likely to reveal the reasons behind his resignation.

Infact the latest is that Mickey Arthur and CEO Gerald Majola would both be addressing the press. We can now expect to hear the official reasons for Arthurs' resignation and why the selection panel was sacked.

http://www.cricket.co.za/mickey-arthur-press-conference.html

South Africa cricket in disarray as selection panel is sacked

Mickey Arthur's resignation a couple of days back came as a surprise but now it appears to be complete chaos in South Africa cricket as the selection panel is sacked. The news was confirmed by Mike Proctor, the chairman of selectors, on a local radio station in Johannesburg.

Mickey Arthur had earlier quit citing irreparable differences with skipper Greame Smith as the reason. It couldn't have come at a worse time as South Africa prepare to tour India early next month. It appears that Smith and other senior players have the reigns and Arthur possibly lost favour with them. As per the latest, Duncan Fletcher appears to be the front runner for Arthurs job.

Nadal - Murray set to clash in Quarter Finals tonight. Nadal camp picks Murray as the favorite.

It is the biggest draw of this year’s Australian Open so far and I wish it lives up to the billing. Nadal v Murray will happen today and it will be the biggest test for Nadal in his quest towards retaining the crown he won last year.

Nadal and Federer have been so dominant over the past few years and the way they are playing it won’t be a surprise if they make it to yet another final in Melbourne. The biggest threat to that ‘dream’ final stands in front of Nadal today and it’s none other than Andy Murray.

Murray has a good record against Nadal but still it is quite surprising for Nadal camp to consider Murray as the favorite not only for this match but also for the tournament. Uncle Tony and Nadal have put the pressure right on Murray by calling him the top contender this year and it could be a ploy to stress Murray out even before the match starts. Nadal camp believes that the surface in Melbourne is Murray’s best and therefore he would be a favorite.

I personally believe that Nadal has not quite touched his form from last years’ Australian Open and that is quite evident from the results since he won here last time. He was quite ordinary in years ending Masters where he was eliminated in the group stages. Nadal is trying to regain his top form and Murray would provide him with sternest of tests tonight. This quarter final clash could well have been a deserving final and therefore the winner of today would be tipped to go all the way this year.

I would pick Murray above Rafa for tonight only because Rafa is still not at his best and Murray has enough firepower to upset him. Whoever wins it would be a close match and the one to watch.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/jan/25/andy-murray-rafael-nadal-australian-open1

Salvador Cabanas critical even after the operation.

Paraguay international Salvador Cabañas is in critical condition after doctors failed to remove a bullet that was lodged inside of his head after he was shot in a Mexico City bar earlier today.

Cabañas was rushed to Los Angeles Pedregal Hospital after the shooting where he underwent emergency surgery under the care of Dr. Ernesto Martinez. Dr. Martinez held a press conference moments ago to update the public on the Club America striker’s current condition.

"Cabañas arrived in a critical condition with a severe trauma to the cranium. We managed to put him under control but there was also a skin lesion, a clot inside his head," said Martinez.

"We operated on his cranium and stopped the bleeding and the clotting and the brain is in a stable condition.”
Dr. Martinez went on to state that although he was successful in his attempt to stop the clotting, Cabañas’ condition was still grave and that he had a long fight ahead of him."

“The problem of the blood clot has been solved but the gravity of the situation is not over. He is sedated and needs several days before we can withdraw the anaesthesia.

We can not talk about predictions or consequences. We can only hope that his situation remains favourable. Injuries of this type are unclear.

We do not know what kind of consequences the patient may have. That will depend on his progress," he said. Dr. Martinez then stated that the surgery had lasted about seven hours and confirmed that a bullet was still lodged in Cabañas' brain.

"The bullet is not removed. It is in the back of the brain, we would do more damage if we tried to extract it," he said. We cannot assure you that he is out of danger. If he had not been attended to immediately, he would not have survived. He is young and healthy, that helps.

"He arrived at 6 am, we prepared everything and operated on him. The operation began at half past 7 and we finished about 40 minutes ago, meaning the surgery lasted about seven hours."

Dr. Martinez concluded the press conference by stating that he might have to perform a second operation on Cabañas.

"We might have to operate again because we do not know if it will start bleeding. The bullet has not been removed, but his life is of our utmost concern. Now, we can only wait. We do not know if he can return to a normal life," he concluded.

Source: http://goal.com/en-us/news/114/mexico/2010/01/25/1761370/paraguay-and-club-americas-salvador-cabanas-undergoes

Paraguay international Cabanas shot in the head

Paraguay striker Salvador Cabanas was shot in the head early on Monday in an apparent robbery that he tried to thwart. Cabanas is a prolific goal scorer in Mexican league and was expected to play in the World Cup 2010 in South Africa later this year.

Official update as of now is that Cabanas has survived the shot and has to undergo a surgery to remove the bullet from his head.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1700/paraguay/2010/01/25/1760642/breaking-news-paraguayan-international-salvador-cabanas-shot

Manchester United raise £504m to cover most of the clubs dues

Manchester United have successfully raised £504m through a bond issue, which will cover most of what the club owe to international banks.

http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2010/01/articles-worth-reading-25-january-2010.html

Wayne Rooney could get £200,000-a-week at United.

Wayne Rooney is the most influential player at United and it appears he would soon sign a new 5 yr contract which could see him take home a whopping £200,000-a-week. If this deal is sgned he would be one of the highest paid footballers in the world alongside Ronaldo who takes home close to £250,000-a-week including image rights and tax benifits.

I am sure a lot of European clubs would see the current financial state of United as an opportunity to get Rooney and therefore a lot would depend on how Sir Alex decides to go about this deal. United would be keen on keeping Rooney at all costs and therefore a deal is likely sooner than later.
Read the full story at:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=730986&cc=4716

Australian Open 2010

Australian Open 2010 has already produced some brilliant matches and we are barely into the second week. The busness end of this years first grand slam is on. Get all the official live scores, news, match results, pics, schedule and everything else you want to know right here.

WTF: David Beckham grabbed ..by the BALLS

In a bizarre incident a female TV reporter in Italy groped David Beckham while he was being interviewed. It appears to be shot for a hilarious TV show in Italy which is quite wierd since this could be defined as assault in most other countries.

IPL goes online. YouTube to telecast matches live.

Great development for millions of cricket fans around the globe especially in countries where telecast did not reach last time around. IPL and Google India have entered a 2 year partnership which would enable live braoadcast of all 60 IPL3 matches on http://www.youtube.com/ipl. Advertsing and sponsorship revenue from the IPL page would be shared by both parties.

Some concerns remain about this deal eating into Sony's share which has a 9 year exclusive TV broadcast deal with IPL for which they had reportedly paid a record INR 8,200 crore- more than a billion US dollars. This is what Sony had to say - "In India, the number of people having access to broadband is limited. Also, the service that is available is patchy and may not be able to support three-hours live video streaming. Besides, the number of YouTube users is also small here. So it won't dent our loyal viewership set. Likewise, our advertisers will continue to be with us because of the mass access to people we can provide,".

Sony's stand appear logical in today's context as pointed out in the statement. This could however change quickly owing to the rapid telecom infrastructure advancements that India is making and soon broadband would have a much higher penetration. Till then all is well for all parties - IPL, Sony and Google.

news.yahoo.com/48/20100121/934/tsp-ipl-live-on-youtube-no-problem-says.html

Awesome catch by Manish Pandey...

I did not watch this live but a friend pointed me to it. Awesome effort by Manish Pandey. He appears to be the next big thing for India the way he has been batting in all formats. Brilliant young cricketer.

Take the "boot licking moron" poll

84% people think Neville is a "boot licking moron" as suggested by Tevez. Do you agree?
Take the poll at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poll/2010/jan/22/gary-neville-moron-carlos-tevez-manchester-united

Tevez calls Neville a "boot-licking moron" :)

Carlos Tevez's response on the pitch was spectacular when he scored both goals to secure a famous win for City but alas he slipped up on his promise of "responding on the pitch". Tevez launched a severe counter salvo on Neville by calling him a "boot licking moron" and the one who just "sucks up to the manager".

Picture taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/

I am not sure whats coming next but whatever Neville says would pale in front of the "moron" line. Neville needs to get really creative now to salvage anything from this duel which Tevez seems to have sealed as of now.

News Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/21/carlos-tevez-gary-neville-boot-licker

IPL auction turns sour for Pak players.

IPL auctions for the third edition are over and the money spent defies the times we are living in. The buzz after the auction however has been more about the players who were not picked up rather than the ones who have made millions.

The fact that none of the Pakistani players were bought has been making headlines ever since the auction ended and quite rightly so one would think. I disagree, simply because the Pakistani players should have seen it coming. I am quite bemused by the reactions that have poured in from across the border claiming some sort of conspiracy between Government of India and IPL management. In my honest assessment, the exercise was entirely business in every sense and no franchise wanted to risk large sums on players without being certain about their availability. Now to give this an emotional twist and claim conspiracy is surprising to say the least.

I am sure the Pakistanis had a good idea about how our relations have been and also the stand that Government of India has taken since 26/11. I think the money on offer was big enough for them to take a risk by appearing for this auction and to miss the big ticket IPL yet again would have been disappointing. That disappointment has sadly turned into an agitation of sorts with most Pak players coming out strongly against the way they were dealt with. I am however convinced that some of them would have made the cut if business made sense but it did not and quite rightly so.

The real newsmakers of the auction were the players who made millions. Speculative figures suggest that a guy named Pollard was bought at close to $2.5 million and that’s an astronomical amount for someone as little known as he is. I have not seen much of Pollard except the one innings in Champions League and therefore it’s really hard for me to even speculate the kind of impact that he will have for Mumbai Indians.

Apart from Pollard, Kiwi quickie Bond surprisingly raised a lot of money for a man with his physical fragility. What remains to be seen now is the number of overs his back or knee would allow him to justify a tag of more than a million dollars.

South African left arm pacer- Wayne Parnell- for me was the biggest surprise. He has hardly played for South Africa but was picked up for a lot by Delhi Daredevils. I was quite bewildered about Parnell being picked by Delhi with Nannes, Nehra and Sangwan - all left arm pacers- already in their ranks. Bond could have suited them better.

One last thing of note is the silent tie breaker and the fact that some of the final figures have gone undisclosed. I am not entirely convinced either by the idea of a silent tie-breaker or the non-disclosure of final figures by IPL management. I am sure it would be a good idea to know the cost of a player to better derive the ROI at the end of the tournament.

Read my older post for minute by minute details of how the auction unfolded.
http://expresssport.blogspot.com/2010/01/ipl-2010-auction.html

Neville fingers Tevez

Tevez was out to prove a point in the Manchester Derby and he did quite spectacularly. He scored both goals to secure a remarkable win over United. City are now one match away from their first Final appearance since 1981. 

Tevez was quite incensed with the way Gary Neville had written about him recently but decided to respond on the pitch. "I just think Gary was very disrespectful which, to be fair, is out of character, but he didn't know the whole story of why I left Manchester United and I believe I deserved his respect," Tevez said last night. "We achieved a lot together at United, I was the second top scorer there in my first season at the club and I deserve respect from my fellow professionals."

Tevez's reaction after scoring the first of his two goals on the night.

Picture taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/

This was Neville's resposne from the bench.

Picture taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Full story at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/20/carlos-tevez-gary-neville

Fifa World Cup 2010 tour packages by Emirates

Football World Cup is just round the corner and as always it will be the most sought after sporting event of the year. Emirates and SOTC have come up with package deals for the tournament that includes match tickets.

Anyone who is keen to be in South Africa this summer for the biggest sporting extravaganza should have a look at:

http://www.emirates.com/in/English/destinations_offers/special_offers/fifa_world_cup_packages/fifa_world_cup_packages.aspx

EPL January Transfer Window update

Beyond all the speculation and gossip that a few newspapers,websites and channels ocassionally create , the bottom line is that it has been a very slow January transfer window this year in England.

Read the full post at:
http://sportsbizfreak.blogspot.com/2010/01/transfer-window-11-days-more-to-go-and.html

IPL auction 2010

IPL Auction 2010 as it happens:

I would be watching the show on ESPN and would try to get the big news as it unfolds.

- Lot of excitement building up as the auction nears. A total of 66 players and 12 slots available. Lots of players from ICL -the rebel league- and Pakistan would be up for grabs. Some of the big names for today are: Afridi, Pollard, Bond, Umar Gul, Eoin Morgan, Umar Akmal, Imran Nazir, Brad Haddin and Greame Swann.

- My top 3 picks for today are Afridi, Haddin and Morgan

- There could be an issue with buying Pakistan players owing to Visa issues popping up in the near future. It would be interesting what teams decide to pay for them.

IPL auction Pools - 2010

The pools for this years auction looks like this. The auction would start at 12:00 noon tomorrow, announced Modi and said that there would be 8 pools during the auction:

First Pool: Shahid Afridi, Graeme Swann, Brad Haddin (All with a base price of USD 250,000) and Kieron Polland (Base price of USD 200,000)

Second Pool: Eion Morgan, Wayne Parnell (Both with a base price of USD 200,000), Shane Bond and Mohammad Kaif (Both with a base price of USD 100,000)

Third Pool: Doug Bollinger, Sohail Tanvir (Base price of USD 200,000 each), Umar Akmal, Shakib Al Hasan, Tim Bresnan, Darren Ganga, Justin Kemp and Nuwan Kulasekera (Base price of USD 100,000)

Fourth Pool: Kamran Akmal, Wavell Hinds, Phil Hughes, Damien Martyn, Imran Nazir, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chamara Silva, Lendl Simmons, Upul Tharanga, and Jonathan Trott (Base price of USD 100,000 each)

Fifth Pool: Suleiman Benn, Grant Elliott, Naved ul hasan (Base price of USD 100,000 each), Tyron Henderson, Rory Kleinveldt, Jason Krejza, Nathan McCullum, Thissara Perera, Vaughn van der warth (Base price of USD 50,000) and Ashley Noffke (Base Price of USD 20,000)

Sixth Pool: Abdul Razzaq (Base Price USD 100,000), Rizwan Cheema, Zander de Bruyn, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Graham Manou, Anthony Mcgrath, Vernon Philander, Morne van Wyk, Adam Voges (Base price of USD 50,000 each) and Ryan ten Doeschate (Base Price of USD 20,000

Seventh Pool: Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul (Base Price of USD 100,000 each) Nuwan Zoysa, Yusuf Abdulla, Clint Mckay, Monty Panesar, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Welegedara (Base price of USD 50,000 each) Ben Laughlin and Kaushalya Weeraratne (Base Price of USD 20,000 each)

Eighth Pool: Mark Ramprakash (Base Price of USD 200,000) Misbah ul Haq (Base Price of USD 100,000) Darren Bravo, Murray Goodwin, Thilina Kandamby, Robert Key, Luke Pomersbach, Vaughn van Jaarsved, Lou Vincent (Base Price of USD 50,000 each)

Source:
http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/23358/modi-announces-ipl-auction-pools

Tennis World Cup on the horizon. Could change the sport forever.

ITF, the International Tennis Federation, is trying to shake things up in a bid to reinvigorate Tennis. The move is towards finding new and younger fan base by bringing some interesting and innovative changes to the game. Top men’s tennis players are in consideration towards getting a football world cup like tournament added to the calendar which in turn could mean curtains for Davis Cup.


A lot is still needed to be done on this front but according to top tennis players this might be the best thing for the sport and its future. It could be a tennis version of T20. Following is the summary of the bits currently being evaluated and some of them would be revolutionary:

- World Cup of tennis with 32 countries participating. A 10 day tournament on the lines of football world cup. Davis Cup could be sacrificed if this happens.

- Shorter sets with race to 5 point tie breaker.

- Substitutions allowed. This one could be the most ground-breaking of all. Imagine Federer leading a tired Nadal and suddenly he has to face up with a fresh Verdasco. Could be a great move.

- Reduced time between games and between points. Sort of rapid tennis if you may. Players would have to rush through with an eye on the clock. Great step to speed up the game.


Read more at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/jan/13/tennis-calendar-proposals-world-cup

EPL January transfer update: Rodriguez, Chamakh for Liverpool. Flamini for Spurs.

Liverpool: Reds sign Argentina international Maxi Rodriguez on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Liverpool:  Marouane Chamakh has agreed to join in a £25million deal and the club expect the player to sign a big money pre-contract agreement before the end of the month. The highly rated striker was wanted by Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan and West Ham.

ARSENAL: Old and new. As well as Sol's return, Arsene Wenger is poised to sign Bolivian wonder boy Samuel Galindo. Wenger snatched the attacking midfielder, who is his country's under-21 skipper at just 17, who had been training at Everton.

TOTTENHAM: Tottenham are set to make a shock move to bring former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini back to north London and want West Ham's Matthew Upson while Zenit St Petersburg have tabled a bid of £10.2million for striker Roman Pavlyuchenko (Daily Mirror). Harry Redknapp is monitoring Joe Cole's contract situation at Chelsea (Daily Star) and has agreed personal terms with Internacional's 20-year-old Brazilian midfielder Sandro.

Source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/multiplex/30940.html

Hockey crisis resolved. Camp to resume tomorrow.

Indian hockey could be back on track after the strike was called off by the players. It appears that a timely intervention by sponsors Sahara could have broken the deadlock. The players have agreed to resume camp on Thursday.

Update: Sahara to release 1 crore for Indian Hockey

Sahara, the team sponsor, has stepped in to break the impasse between the striking players and the federation. Sahara has decided to release RS.1 crore immediately to be distributerd amongst the striking players.

"In the genuine interest of the national hockey players, Sahara India Pariwar has decided to pay immediately Rs 1 Crore in suspense account to Hockey India, only for distribution to the players so that they can peacefully and happily practice and play for the country," Sahara said in a statement.

"Sahara has also paid Rs 77 lacs in December as advance for the quarter of January 15 to April 14, 2010. Sahara will go through the past accounts of Hockey India and shall take suitable decision for this amount," it added.

News and comments source is NDTV. Read the entire story at:
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/Ndtv-Show-Special-Story.aspx?ID=495&StoryID=SPOEN20100125519&ch=113201013100PM

Sol Campbell set for Arsenal

While a striker is what they needed the most, it's a central defender Sol Campbell who is set to make a comeback for Gunners. 35 year old is quite an atypical Wenger signing but he has been drafted to fill in for Gallas who has fitness concerns.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/12/sol-campbell-arsenal-return

Save Indian Hockey campaign by NDTV

Read all the stories as they develop on ndtv page below. Once on the page join the petition to the government to pay hockey players their dues. Just enter your name and email id to pledge your support.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/NDTV-Show-Special.aspx?ID=495

Indian Hockey crisis deepens!

Crisis in Indian hockey has further deepened after an inconclusive meeting between the players and HI officials. The meeting was arranged as a last gasp effort to diffuse the situation with the all important World Cup in sight. It appears that Hockey India officials made their stand clear about non availability of funds and therefore no agreement could be reached as the players continued their demand for pending wages to be cleared before they get onto the field of play.

The latest update as of now is that the players have been given a final ultimatum of 48 hours to start practicing else the camp would be shut down. HI president AK Matoo described it as a sad development while quoting "Any player who is in the complex has to train but it seems for them (players) money is more important than playing for the country”.

Also read my view of the crisis at:
http://expresssport.blogspot.com/2010/01/indian-hockey-in-despair.html

Manchester City replace United in partnership with Sporting Lisbon

I personally had no idea about an agreement between United and Sporting Lisbon that allowed United first shot at their players. Sporting has a history of producing some outstanding players including CR7, Figo, Nani, Quesresma, and Moutinho amongst others. Just the fact that Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 is courtesy of this agreement where Sporting were required to inform United of any bids and allow them first refusal.

That agreement between United and Sporting is now kaput which has allowed city rivals Manchester City to take lead. Mancini's City has now signed a similar agreement which would allow them first shot at any exceptional talent from Lisbon.

Read the complete story at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/11/manchester-city-partnership-sporting-lisbon

EPL January Transfer Window update

Headline: Joe Cole could leave Chelsea for Manchester United, Tottenham or Liverpool...

Chelsea: With Joe Cole set for a Stamford Bridge exit, Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery could back-track on his 'Spain or bust' claims and move to London.

Chelsea: Spanish wonderkid Sergio Canales could be the latest small boy to leave a decent European club for Chelsea's reserves.

Chelsea: Another exciting winger tipped with a move to the Bridge is long-term target Angel Di Maria of Benfica. There was talk of a £35m buy-out clause but sources claim they will accept £20m for the Argentina starlet.

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/multiplex/30940.html

EPL January Transfer Window update

Latest interesting developments :

Chelsea: Joe Cole's contract situation at Chelsea 'precarious' (he wants £120k a week; they will only offer a measly £100k), Manchester United could pounce (The Times). He'd be available on a free too, which is nice for the debt-laden US owners

WIGAN: The Sun claims the Latics are looking to solve their goal problem with an audacious £5m move for Mallorca striker Aritz Aduriz. The Basque, formerly of Athletic Bilbao, has hit eight goals in 14 Liga games this season and scored 11 last time out. Steve Bruce, meanwhile, says he will NOT bid for Latics keeper Chris Kirland

Sunderland: Kenwyne Jones probably will not leave Sunderland, because he would cost too much, so says boss Steve Bruce.

Roma striker Stefano Okaka will join Fulham, according to his agent.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/12012010/63/okaka-se

Source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/multiplex/30940.html

EPL January Transfer Window

Some interesting transfer news:

Arsenal: Long-time Gunners target Marouane Chamakh will soon reveal his intended destination. The Moroccan striker, whose contract with Bordeaux expires at the end of the season, says he will give an answer at the end of January (The Sun).

United: Manchester United may seek a new striker following the news that striker Dimitar Berbatov may need exploratory knee surgery.

Stoke City: They have made an official approach to Real Madrid for veteran striker Ruud van Nistelrooy

Liverpool: Rafa Benitez wants to take former England U21 defender Nedum Onuoha on loan from Man City

PORTSMOUTH: Pompey have told Manchester City and Sunderland that they won't sell Younes Kaboul for less than £14m (Daily Mail).

Found a nice place for all the latest football transfer news:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/multiplex/30940.html

Indian Hockey in despair!

SRK’s tweet about the recent Indian Hockey imbroglio made it to the front page of our leading daily and I have little doubt his dog’s birthday would have made it too. He however touched upon a rather serious issue about sports governance in India, especially Indian hockey, which is going through one of its worst crisis. Players have revolted against the administration due to non-payment of wages at a time when India is preparing to host the men’s world cup next month and Commonwealth Games later in the year.

Before I delve further into the issue and its implications let’s get the basics right and understand the enormity of this situation. For the uninitiated, Hockey is the national sport of India and quite understandably so, since at the top level no other Indian team or individual can boast of a better record than our hockey teams of yore. The Indian team has a total of eight gold’s, one silver and two bronze medals in Olympics which is far bigger than any of our other sporting achievements.

Indian hockey has been in a state of decline for years but now it appears to be doomed. We have all heard and read players of various past generations crying foul against the federation but nothing has come of it. The corruption at the highest level has been in news over the last few years but no steps have been taken to change things. We have seen the arrival and departure of numerous coaches but hockey in India has continued to slide and I am afraid it’s not looking any better now.

The situation on the ground is that Indian hockey team players have decided to stop practicing ahead of the world cup scheduled next month. Players’ grouse is that they have not been paid their match fees for the recently concluded Champions Challenge tournament in Argentina where they had finished 3rd. The demands that Indian players have put on the table are simple:

- Payment of pending dues (nothing wrong in demanding what’s due)
- Defined Remuneration structure (it’s comical to even think we don’t have that in place yet)
- Performance based bonus (even sales reps get that so how come Indian hockey players don’t?)
- Professional management (ah, and I was crying foul about BCCI. They are all the same except that BCCI has the money and the strings to pull)

None of the above demands are such that they can put Indian hockey on hold however recent developments suggest that the federation has informed about the unavailability of funds to pay the match fees. Now there can be nothing more comical than the fact that the governing body does not have enough money to pay its players when I am absolutely sure that every top official in the federation would have swelling bank accounts with enough to pay SRK for a couple of stage shows. A recent news flash on NDTV suggests that Hockey India is mulling a ban on revolting players. Now, this is even more absurd than the no money argument since the players appear to be in the right.

There is light at the end of every tunnel and I wish this crisis would once and for all change the way Hockey is managed in India. Every Indian and not just the sports fan would like to see the end of this era and the beginning of a new one for hockey in India. Indian Hockey deserves better and it needs to be saved and now- for India’s pride at least.

Voronin, Dossena leave Liverpool...

Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin has left Liverpool to join Dinamo Moscow on a three-year deal. This ends his disappointing spell at Liverpool. Earlier Dossena had left Liverpool for Napoli.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8450798.stm

African Cup of nations in Jeopardy after firing on Togo's team bus

Togo international football players, including EPL stars Adebayor and Salifu, were ambushed en-route their training base in Angola. Angola is host to this year’s African cup of nations. The team bus carrying Togo’s team was attacked with machine gun fire killing the driver and injuring 9 others.

Latest fallout of this incident could be a pullout by Togo while some EPL clubs demand their players' immediate return to England. It has been a sad start to an important year for African football with the World Cup set to start in South Africa later this year.

Read the full story at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/08/togo-football-team-ambushed-angola

Off Topic: Basterds, Idiots and Avatar...

Movies are one of my interest areas apart from sports and rock music. I therefore cannot help but post my thoughts about some of the brilliant one's I have watched recently. Sports would soon follow, for now just read about these movies and go watch 'em if you haven't as yet.

Cinema as an art form grants the greatest freedom of expression any artist can demand but there are very few makers who justify the freedom. All the movies in question here put their makers in the elite category and these movies are some of the best I have watched in a long time. Avatar, Inglorious Basterds and 3 Idiots are all celebration of Cinema that everyone should enjoy and appreciate.

Avatar in my opinion is technically the most sophisticated cinema I have ever witnessed. It left me speechless not just for all the visual wizardry that Cameron unleashed on us but even more so for the originality of the idea and its breathtaking execution. It had loads of character and finesse to classify it as one of the best ever made and it never lacked emotion. Avatar made me wonder about what all I could give away to be part of anything as artistically grand and spectacular as it was. Indeed, Avatar is the most spectacular work of James Cameron and that’s saying a lot for a man who has Titanic and Terminator to his credit. This is one movie you have to watch in 3D possibly in the best theatre close to you.Oscar for best movie and director along with slew of other awards are my modest guess.

Tarantino has always been a maverick to me. If there is one director who takes his artistic freedom to another level, it is Tarantino and he does just that by trying to rewrite History with Inglorious Basterds. Basterds is Tarantino’s imaginary spin on World War2. His view of how History could have been and it’s a bloody interesting take. The movie has all of Tarantino’s classic elements of tight screenplay, brilliant dialogues and perfect characterization. It has no dearth of moments of imploding tension. The “Mexican Stand-off” sequence stands right next to the Russian roulette scene from The Deer Hunter while the opening sequence is equally powerful. Basterd’s is every bit as engaging and sometimes hilarious as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs were. It’s a classic that should not be missed. Tarantino would be in the running for Director at the Oscars however Cameron would pip him to the post. Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa would be my front runner for the supporting actor award. His performance is the one to watch out for.

Hindi cinema has come of age with the younger generation taking the reins over the last couple of years but most of the younger brigade have not quite repeated or bettered their first grand effort. Not so for Raju Hirani and Vinod Chopra team. Munnabhai’s were both awesome movies but 3 Idiots tops them - with Amir Khan in team it had to. It’s a hilarious take on Indian education system and what plagues it. Very watchable but I am not sure of the awards because I don’t know what certain SRK did this past year. Anyways I care only so much for our Awards as possibly Amir does.

I am back and so is Patrick Vieira!!!

I am back after a brief hiatus and though I have not been blogging for more than a week, rest assured I was catching up on most of the International sports on the tube. What a wonderful couple of weeks these have been with loads of drama in football as well as cricket. Ah, so that reminds me to why I am here writing today and not tomorrow or a day after.

Looks like the first big January move has been wrapped up in Manchester and sorry but there are no prizes for guessing the Clubs name. Sir Alex still appear to be as uncertain about who he wants to bring to United as he is about the depth of his pocket. Quite contrary to how most English clubs are positioned financially, City seems to have the most supply even after the club reported £92.6 million loss in the year to 31 May 2009. Mancini appears to be a man possessed- with all the money- after a fine start at City and there is little doubt his bosses in Abu Dhabi would let him run amok if he wishes to- if not immediately than surely next summer.

It must therefore come as no surprise that Mancini has made the first big scalp as City has confirmed the arrival of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira at £100,000-a-week. At 33, age is not on his side but with French International recall for the World Cup in sights, Vieira might have enough fire to power City to a Champs League birth ahead of Liverpool and Villa. Mancini would like to believe Vieira is still the same player as he was when they were together at Inter and it looks like a great move for City.

Read more about the Vieira story at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/07/patrick-vieria-manchester-city-internazionale


PS: I have made some amount of interesting observations while watching sport over the last couple of weeks and I would soon be back with some interesting thoughts. Stay tuned…