"Make me do anything that I haven't done for the last ten years" Hail Centurion!!

The gently exasperating and always engrossing Sourav Ganguly has reached 100 Tests. What a scandal! What about the obit writers! They've been at it for longer than anybody can remember, certainly from much before our centurion had appeared in his first Test. In his current, serenely paternal avatar, you can see him putting a sympathetic arm on their shoulders: "See, it happens..."

Ganguly, at various points of his career, was supposed to have been the teenage upstart who would not carry drinks; the symbol of Jagmohan Dalmiya's awful hegemony over the good game; the captain who backed a dud, name of Yuvraj Singh, because the two shared an agent; and the ex-captain who jeopardised his team's chances at a World Cup by trying to make a few extra bucks on his bat-logo contract. Reading the newspapers you would think the man ought not ever be allowed onto a field, a view match referees too seemed to concur with.

Underestimating Ganguly is among the game's more frequent misjudgements, a point he seems to be almost gleefully alive to. Sooner or later every detractor is charmed, bar perhaps one former coach.

This has been a well-earned century. A hundred Tests is hardly the phenomenon it once was. Forty players have gone past the mark in the last two decades, and ten in the last couple of years alone. But it still speaks of longevity - that is, the capacity to overcome hard times. It is a statistic that privileges character above ability, as sport ultimately must. Close to half of Ganguly's Tests have been while in possession of the maddest job in the business. And every innings from him right now is all the more poignant because there has been something more to his story. It was not the cricketer who was written off; it was the whole man.

Aside from the facts that Greg Chappell neither worked with Ganguly during his comeback and never ever wanted him back in the team, Chappell can be credited with the revival. In other words, Chappell's intervention made it an izzat ka sawaal (question of honour). Thus, our reassuringly lethargic Bengali was stirred into issuing his trainer the instruction, "Make me do anything that I haven't done for the last ten years", and was thereafter seen running about in Eden Gardens with a parachute attached to his rear, or moving into kickboxing stances. More instructive than his batting in first-class cricket was his bowling.

The movement, though, took some defeating. Chappell's management of cricketers may have been suspect, but he was a rousing leader of editors. When the words "cancer", "manipulative", "corrupted" and "past his sell-by date in all ways" find themselves in a single paragraph in an email from coach to journalists, you know what tone this campaign is going to take.

The issue is not whether Ganguly needed to be dropped from captaincy, or even the team, or even that he is doing well now. It was the response. You would have thought there was a civil-rights matter at hand. In fact, this was only a man who had temporarily lost his way. So it was that an editor supporting the revolution might shake his head when Ganguly was among the runs in domestic cricket and gravely pronounce, 'Not good for Indian cricket.' Classic scenes.

To watch him put together this fabulous year of batting has been fulfilling. He has confronted pace and bounce in South Africa, swing and seam in England, and the sneaky low pitches in the home series against Pakistan. He has done the rescue act (Johannesburg, Bangalore), played the key match-turner (Johannesburg, Trent Bridge, Delhi), and constructed precisely the epic that even his staunchest supporters thought was beyond him (Bangalore).

At the crease he cuts an uncluttered picture. In his newer stance, adjusted after seeking the opinion of Zaheer Abbas, he stands far more upright, less languid but more effective than before, particularly on the leg. The re-focusing walk towards square leg after every ball is tiring to even watch, but it does the job. He has become an excellent leaver of the ball.

Some of his batting has transcended context. There was something magical about his fifty at The Oval; coming from 11 for 3, with that much-cherished series victory in the slyest danger, it was valuable for what it achieved but memorable for its utter sleekness, the ball sliding off his bat like ice on marble. His second-innings 91 in Bangalore, because of its pace, because it made batting on such a difficult surface look easy, contained a touch of genius. If he carries this form through the Australian tour, this will have been a body of high accomplishment.

And it will also alter the way history judges him. His reputation as possibly the best and certainly the most successful captain India have had was secure, but he was also seen, accurately, as a batsman who could not fully live up to his exceptional talent. With this burst of productivity he has gone past Gundappa Viswanath in runs and centuries, is not far behind Dilip Vengsarkar, and at this moment averages more than either. Players, leaders in particular, are remembered by their image. But there is a kind of finality in figures. Centurions know that better than anybody.

I Miss Mourinho! :(

So Avram Grant has been handed a new four-year-deal by the Chelsea board of directors for his good work so far since his short tenure at Stamford Bridge started. So, the quiet unassertive Israeli has taken the team into the knockout stages of the Champions League. So, the Russian billionaire is happy and enjoying his team’s new style and performances in recent games. Is this all true I ask.

I miss the days where we eagerly anticipated post-match conferences to see what our Portugese warlord had to say. I miss the days when Didier Drogba and team walked onto the field with that air of arrogance and stubbornness. And most importantly, I miss the hype and buzz surrounding our club.

Since Jose Mourinho left us so hastily, the media has taken their pen and paper somewhere else. They knew after the first few interviews with Grant that they were not going to get any earthmoving quotes off the new man. Suddenly, the focus shifted to Liverpool. The media started hounding Rafa Benitez instead. They knew that he was the next best option for a good quote in the papers. So here we are, back where we used to be. Just Chelsea. Not THE Chelsea anymore.

Also, you can just see it in the players. Drogba is just waiting for the season to end before he makes the move. He will not stay with us and I am pretty sure he is waiting for Mourinho to make his next destination known before following Frank Lampard on the next possible flight out to join their Godfather figure at his new club. Would Drogba even have considered playing in the Olympics (Yes, Drogba wants to represent Ivory Coast in the Olympics on top of the African Cup of Nations next year.) if Mourinho was still manager? I reckon not.

And the other players who used to look an inch taller than they were when “The Special One” was around have gone back to being themselves. Joe Cole, John Terry and Lampard most notably have all become quiet and polite footballers who have nothing much more to say.

And finally, our Russian magnate is now happy and contented with the attacking style he so craved for. But seriously, how different are we playing now then when Mourinho was in charge? The same formation, same players and usual playing style.

So yes. Same team, same club, different manager. Anything changed? No.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

A very good poem. Read it in 5th standard but then I was unable get its meaning fully. But now when I read it again and again, its beauty just goes on increasing. Just Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

This poem is about life. Robert Frost is making a huge analogy to a decision that will change his future. For him to stay in the woods is one choice. Or he could keep moving on. Its about a tough point in his life and the decision whether to lay down and quit or to keep going. it does say he has promises to keep. this suggests a family. he repeats the last line twice for more emphasis, saying he still has a good long life before him yet to live.

Ghosts....... Do you believe in them?????

Ghost of Gravity

Well… my major being Physics I would certainly say Gravity is a property of anything that posses mass. But II am interested in knowing more of when Gravity originated. This may seem ridiculous logically but as will see its logic that makes things ridiculous. If I say that Gravity was born on Feb 14th 1723 you will say I‘ve gone mad.
It’s something like believing that the ghosts exist even if they don’t (although I don’t think so). A person who talks about ghosts is considered as arrogant or maybe nutty. It’s just all but completely impossible to imagine a world where ghosts can actually exist. But people in past do believed in ghosts and I must say they were as intelligent as we are but the context in which they thought was different. Within that context ghosts and spirits are quite as real as atoms, particles, photons and quanta are to the modern man. Modern man has his ghosts and spirits too.

The laws of Physics, we believe in them so thoroughly that they seem to be real. For example, it seems completely natural to presume that gravitation and the law of gravitation existed before Isaac Newton. It would sound nutty to think that until the seventeenth century there was no gravity. What I am driving at is the notions that before the beginning of the earth, before the sun and before the stars were formed, before the primal generation of anything, the law of gravity existed.

Sitting there having no mass of its own, no energy of its own not in anyone’s mind because there wasn’t anyone, not in space because there was no space either, not anywhere--- this law of gravity still existed?

If this law of gravity existed I honestly don’t know what a thing has to do to be nonexistent. It seems to pass every test of nonexistence there is. You cannot think of a single attribute of existence it did have. And yet its still “common sense” to believe that it existed.

I predict that if you think about it long enough you will find yourself going round and round and round until you finally reach only one possible conclusion. The law of gravity did not exist before Isaac Newton. No other conclusion makes sense and what that means is that the law of gravity exists nowhere except in people’s heads! It’s a ghost! And the reason for which we believe in this ghost is a mass hypnosis in a very orthodox form known as “education”.

So what I think is that the disembodied words of Sir Isaac Newton were sitting in the middle of nowhere billions of years before he was born and magically he discovered these words. They were always there even when they applied to nothing. Gradually the world came into existence and they applied to it. In fact those words themselves were what formed the world now. That is friends (I think you will agree by now) ridiculous.

So, I believe in the ghost of gravity; do you?

Yo Sehwag!!!!!!! There you go..........

Probably the selectors in India are getting a good intuition nowadays. Making Kumble the captain and now picking up Sehwag for Australia all these are the things that no one expected but they are just thinking that by surprising everyone out there they may do some good. The first decision made by the Board has paid off and I think the second one will also not disappoint them. The only problem is that they have been a bit late. But we can't complain. After all intuition is a thing that only time can bring to you!!!!!

Now This is Jose Mourinho :)

Now, a message for the poor Englishmen, Either you respect talent in whatever form it comes to you, and if you can't don't you try to use it for your own purpose. At least don't do this to human being's . We make full use of pets but tell you what Mourinho is one who can use you but don't even try getting near to to that Bulldog, he bites.

The Englishmen who were unable to justify his decisions as Chelsea Bose and gave him all the pains in managing the club, what would Mourinho expect outta 'em when He's managing the bloody fuss between Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard?? No my dear Goras do what you can but you can't get Mourinho. This guys is made to work wonders wherever he goes, but the condition is; He'll do it by his own wish,methods and own principals no matter how big you are or how big your name is. Don't believe me?????? Drop in a mail to Shevchenko !!!!

This is Jose Mourinho... This is Chelsea... This is England ... Bah

A couple of months back, the entire country stood united when it came to a common hatred for Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho. Only a few months on and the flamboyant Portuguese is now the England fans’ and players’ first choice to save their nation’s ailing fortunes.

The English FA, all too happy in the past to opt for a safety first appointment, don’t have much of a choice this time around. They need to give the fans an answer. They need a manager who will have the backing of the fans and players. England need a messiah. And who better than Jose Mourinho - the epitome of a British bulldog.

Let’s face it, being England manager is not just about choosing the right players and tactics for each game. It’s about facing the constant barrage of media attention and unreasonable amount of scrutiny that comes with the job. And look how Mourinho did when he fronted Chelsea.

When his players let him down, he stood by them and barked at the media for berating his men. When the referee made a decision that cost Chelsea the game, he made sure the media knew exactly how he felt about it. And most importantly, when opposing managers tried to undermine his team and tactics, he made sure he gave them back ten fold what they dished out on him. This man bites! And he chomps you hard. That is why the English media never dared play games with him. They asked him the questions needed and they left him to do his job. Just what England needs at this point in time.

Ferguson and Wenger are known to be great admirers of Mourinho and they have come out many a time to state the immense respect they have for him. So if he is the England manager, these men would have the sense of security that their players are in good hands and that Mourinho will take care of them physically and mentally when on international duty.

Every player you speak to wants to play for Mourinho and they all see him as a good coach to play for. Look at his Chelsea boys after he left. Ivorian hitman Didier Drogba cried! John Terry and Frank Lampard apparently want to follow him to his next club. Now this is respect. It cannot be bought. It has to be earned. And the man has plenty of it in England.

Mourinho has also plotted countless battles to stop the likes of Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney in his time at Chelsea. The man knows how the English leagues work and he definitely knows who the best English players are in the modern game. What sets him up nicely for the job is that in Mourinho, you have a man who is not afraid to drop the star players even if it means getting stick for it. Look at what he did with Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. He never liked them and he simply refused to play them. He reportedly wanted Gareth Barry and Gabriel Agbonlahor at Chelsea, so that bodes well for the future.

Having said all that, it is time to sit back and see what Brian Barwick and his team decide on. But with a ready made manager who is unemployed and willing to take to the England hotseat, Barwick would do well to give the fans what they want.

The fans want a change. They want a reaction. They are tired of the politically correct manager. They want the loud mouth Portuguese in their corner and I say give it to them! No more hiding under umbrellas and sipping lattes. Give them the real deal. The Portuguese bulldog! Bite!