Roger Federer. Is he probably the greatest tennis player the world has seen?. In my opinion, I have not seen a complete player like him in the last few years which has seen greats like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and before them the likes of Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg. All these players were spectacular in their own way but I feel that Federer is just a better all round player than them. Yes agreed the competition these above mentioned names had to face was of top quality and except Nadal, not any have troubled Federer recently. Its a tribute to his fitness and quality that he has an upperhand over most of his contemporaries. So my view is that let us enjoy the show as long as it lasts.
Talking about the show, Federer was magnificent on Wednesday night. The NY crowd could not have asked for a better way to spend their evening, watching the superstar put on a scintillating show for them. His shot making was fantastic. And that overhead smash...was so reminescent of the great Pete Sampras. Yes, he did have to play a qualifier from Chile, who I thought payed very well himself. But the sheer quality of Federer's strokes were an absolute treat to watch.
It is going to be an interesting Saturday evening again for Federer as he gets ready to face the giant 6ft 10in American John Isner. But having seen Federer quite a lot, he will gauge his opponent for the first set or so and then take over. So the New york public can look forward to another FedEx performance on Saturday night. Of course they also can watch Roddick and Bake play on Saturday too. If I were to spend my money on the games involving these three, I would blindly pick Federer. He is just brilliant and a a treat to watch on any surface. He just makes tennis look so easy. I just wish tennis was that easy though!!!
August 31, 2007
August 24, 2007
Does Team India need a full fledged coach?
Team India successfully won a series in England after 21 years, and more importantly without a coach. Of course we do have Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh as bowling and fielding coaches respectively. But the main coach who suppervises everything was absent. So this begs the question, Do we really need a coach?.
I personally feel there are two ways of looking at this issue. One is the fact that the main players are so well established and have a wealth of experience. So a youngster coming in to the team can always look up to these players like Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly etc and learn from just watching them and discussing cricket with them. Also, these players can explain things in a simpler way, a more easy to understand way. This might lead to a better bonhomie and respect among the players. So you might be tempted to feel that a coach after all is not important
On the contrary, the presence of a coach allows the captain to think more calmly about the possible strategies and also devote some time towards his own batting for example. The captain should not be burdened with too many things, especially with the amount of cricket being played nowadays. A coach can take some of these responsibilities and also can come up with novel ideas and strategies of his own.
And if this coach happens to be a high profile legend like the one we had during the WC, then another serious issue is the clash of "egos". When that happens, it is very detrimental to the team spirit. There tends to be factions within the teams and this may show up during the games too.....
So what is the best option?. Should we have a coach? Should he be one of our own or a foreign coach?. I feel that since we already have a coach for bowling and fielding, we should have a similar one for batting too and India has had a great set of batsmen for a long long time. How about some greats like the stylist GR Vishwanath or Jimmy Amarnath for example. These people have served India with distinction and have not had any controversies during or after their playing careers. Above all, the entire country and the current set of players have the utmost respect for them. I personally feel it would be a great choice instead of BCCI throwing millions of dollars for foreign coaches, we could rather use that for the development of cricket in India and also improving conditions for the paying public.....who by the way are the biggest strength of Indian cricket.
It is high time the BCCI starts thinking about this option rather than trying to fill up the playing schedule with insane number of ODIs in all corners of the world. These three coaches along with the senior players can have fantastic exchange of ideas and also most importantly maintain the teamspirit which is priceless.
I personally feel there are two ways of looking at this issue. One is the fact that the main players are so well established and have a wealth of experience. So a youngster coming in to the team can always look up to these players like Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly etc and learn from just watching them and discussing cricket with them. Also, these players can explain things in a simpler way, a more easy to understand way. This might lead to a better bonhomie and respect among the players. So you might be tempted to feel that a coach after all is not important
On the contrary, the presence of a coach allows the captain to think more calmly about the possible strategies and also devote some time towards his own batting for example. The captain should not be burdened with too many things, especially with the amount of cricket being played nowadays. A coach can take some of these responsibilities and also can come up with novel ideas and strategies of his own.
And if this coach happens to be a high profile legend like the one we had during the WC, then another serious issue is the clash of "egos". When that happens, it is very detrimental to the team spirit. There tends to be factions within the teams and this may show up during the games too.....
So what is the best option?. Should we have a coach? Should he be one of our own or a foreign coach?. I feel that since we already have a coach for bowling and fielding, we should have a similar one for batting too and India has had a great set of batsmen for a long long time. How about some greats like the stylist GR Vishwanath or Jimmy Amarnath for example. These people have served India with distinction and have not had any controversies during or after their playing careers. Above all, the entire country and the current set of players have the utmost respect for them. I personally feel it would be a great choice instead of BCCI throwing millions of dollars for foreign coaches, we could rather use that for the development of cricket in India and also improving conditions for the paying public.....who by the way are the biggest strength of Indian cricket.
It is high time the BCCI starts thinking about this option rather than trying to fill up the playing schedule with insane number of ODIs in all corners of the world. These three coaches along with the senior players can have fantastic exchange of ideas and also most importantly maintain the teamspirit which is priceless.
August 23, 2007
A R Rahman, The Genius
Firstly, I have to thank a friend of mine, met him recently in Boston, whose blog inspired me to have one of my own. Thanks GK. In fact I feel its always a good exercise to write what you feel about a particular topic, just share your view with the world. So on my way back from Boston, I hooked on the iPod and started listening to the genius ARR, Hindi and Tamil. Thats when I realised that he is just an unbelievable godsend to not just Indian music but to the world of music. What stands out in spite of all is achievements is his humility. There is a lesson to everyone that no matter how high you go in life, you need to respect others and be humble.
In Boston my friend Sameer, GK and I were so hooked up with the Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera song in Swades, that I must confess that I listened to that song about 20 times on my way back. And when you are traveling back on a plane, that song made perfect sense!!!! and that has to be one of ARR's best. You can literally feel the pain in his voice. He is a fantastic singer too. He has a knack of picking songs to sing too. Whatever is the case, he is just unique.
Whenever I have had a discussion with a few friends of mine about music directors in Tamil cinema, there are two giants that stand out. ARR and Ilayaraja. There is a strong feeling in many that no one can replace Ilayaraja and ARR is just computer music and so on. Then, there is another group saying ARR has achieved so musch fame not just in India but all over the world whereas Ilayaraja is more of a Tamil phenomena, not even Bollywood. Well, my take on this is simple. Such arguments are an utter disrespect top both geniuses. Both have and will be providing music that allows people to enjoy their amazing gifts.....music. So let us just enjoy what they have provided and will provide in future. Enjoy whatever brand of music you like. Never make comparisons!!!
Thanks ARR for the soulful and mindblowing music you provide to make so many lives happy, be it your Swades, Roja or Maa Tujhe Salaam. Above all, its a tribute to the humble person in you who still has his feet firmly planted on the ground......in spite of the stupendous success you have achieved.
In Boston my friend Sameer, GK and I were so hooked up with the Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera song in Swades, that I must confess that I listened to that song about 20 times on my way back. And when you are traveling back on a plane, that song made perfect sense!!!! and that has to be one of ARR's best. You can literally feel the pain in his voice. He is a fantastic singer too. He has a knack of picking songs to sing too. Whatever is the case, he is just unique.
Whenever I have had a discussion with a few friends of mine about music directors in Tamil cinema, there are two giants that stand out. ARR and Ilayaraja. There is a strong feeling in many that no one can replace Ilayaraja and ARR is just computer music and so on. Then, there is another group saying ARR has achieved so musch fame not just in India but all over the world whereas Ilayaraja is more of a Tamil phenomena, not even Bollywood. Well, my take on this is simple. Such arguments are an utter disrespect top both geniuses. Both have and will be providing music that allows people to enjoy their amazing gifts.....music. So let us just enjoy what they have provided and will provide in future. Enjoy whatever brand of music you like. Never make comparisons!!!
Thanks ARR for the soulful and mindblowing music you provide to make so many lives happy, be it your Swades, Roja or Maa Tujhe Salaam. Above all, its a tribute to the humble person in you who still has his feet firmly planted on the ground......in spite of the stupendous success you have achieved.
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