Yup, it seems that the red light has gone on for the Umpire Decision Review System that initially received so much support from players and cricket boards alike. Despite Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of batting his heart out to try and keep the system alive it has just not taken off and is being shot down mercilessly by boards world over. So what is the exact problem? It is not so much the cricketing reasons but the financial ones. Since broadcasters of the series involved and the home cricket board are supposed to bear the costs of the referral system, none is ready to take on the extra expenditure in these tough times.

The on going series between India and Sri Lanka is a prime example where BCCI shot down the idea of using referral system as Nimbus and the board had an issue with spending the money. With the richest cricket board in the world backing out, hope seems pretty bleak elsewhere. But Richardson is hopeful as he tries to garner support from Down Under in Australia where he feels both the ACB and the production channel will be more willing to help out.

While there is no doubt that the system is good for the game and viewers alike, it seems broadcasters are just not willing to go that extra mile on the issue. Or a game that is still largely confined to a handful of post-colonial colonies, it would be better to think long term than bother about short-term savings.

Crippling injuries are a part of sports and when you are involved in sports as physical as the UFC, injuries and pain become almost a part of the routine. But career crippling injury is a whole different story and the UFC champ Brock Lesner is currently facing a situation that could mean the end of his fighting career. Lesnar has been diagnosed with some sort of serious intestinal problem that UFC president Dana White says requires a ‘major surgery’. Now you might think people have come out of major surgeries before to resurrect careers, but when doctors tell you ‘you might never fight again’, things can never be too good.

Lesner was a revelation in the world of professional sports with his impressive physical specimen and despite his very limited in-ring talent made a huge name for himself in the WWE before he jumped ship and decided to join UFC. His career has always been full of promise and just when people though that Brock would fulfill that promise the current illness has put him out once again.

While fans and non-fans alike are wishing Brock the very best, Lesner himself could probably take heart from the life of one ‘Shawn Michaels’ who suffered a crippling back injury in 1998 and still came back in 2002 to WWE ring to work again fulltime. Hopefully Brock Lesner will script a similar fairytale in the UFC…

Citypages

Manny Pacquiao has won his seventh title in seven weight divisions. He also just made boxing history. Miguel Cotto ended up with bloodied shorts, proof that a lot of blood had gushed out of a face wound. Through a technical knockout, he lost his WBO welterweight belt to the world’s greatest pound-for-pound boxer today.

Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, boasted that his ward will take Cotto down on the 5th round. Pacquiao predicted one or two more rounds than that. Hillary Clinton predicted his victory. But Cotto was not an easy fight.

The battle, dubbed Firepower, lasted all of the 12 rounds. Well, a tad short of the 12 actually. The referee called for the end of the fight 55 seconds into the last round. While Cotto lost his balance and touched the floor twice early on in the fight, the Puerto Rican lasted that long with the Pacman who is known to take down his opponents well before the middle of the fight.

Pacquiao’s entire extended family plus his wife’s extended family were all in the audience, transported from their respective provinces in the Philippines.

The Pacman admitted he was cautious getting into the bout, saying that the Puerto Rican boxer may be his toughest fight ever. But a concert he scheduled at Mandalay Bay – his own concert – practically right after the fight only proves that Pacquiao was confident he will crush Cotto.

Overall, it was not a fight as exciting as the previous bouts Pacquiao had with Mexicans, or the surprises he pulled on Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton. But Cotto was in top form and posture, and although he ended up with bloodied white shorts, he remains to be the fighter that was able to wrestle the biggest share, among all other Pacquiao opponents, of the prize pie with the Pacman. In big-time boxing, nobody loses.

The New York Times/TIME/BBC

For a generation of loyal Indian cricket fans who saw India lift the world cup at Lords he was the boy who had the potential to replace Sunil Gavaskar, For the next generation he was an icon and inspiration who carried their national side on his young herculean shoulders single-handedly and for the Dhoni-Yuvraj-smitten latest lot he is the senior pro around whom the rest of the team operates. Different though he maybe for different folk, there was one common element about Tendulkar that inspired more than a billion people at home- an ability to put smiles on the faces of those who watched him; those who watched his each and every stroke.

The most captivating aspect about Tendulkar was his ‘boy next door’ persona that would just turn up at the ground against seemingly insurmountable odds, fierce fast bowlers and of course once in a while sell a razor blade or energy drink… doing all that in a shy and humble fashion that floored you with its simplicity; the same simple and uncomplicated approach that translated into his batting and his work ethic at the nets. Yet, once he took guard, the shy boy next door transformed into an all-demon slaying giant for his countrymen and those who watched from the other side of the fence were equally taken in by his batting brilliance.

Yet watching Sachin bat for us commoners was more about waiting to see the brutal destroyer inside being let loose. Batting was the one time when the master of his chosen craft seemed to allow himself some indulgence (and also in case of fast cars), but even that stemmed from countless of hours of practice in the nets- the paddle sweep fine, the scoop over the slips, the late cut and top hand-like flick that sent the ball from an yard outside off step to behind square on the leg. For all his genius, Tendulkar never seemed to enthrall his followers off the field with the eccentricities that come attached.

Watching the master of his chosen craft for two decades has been a unique and captivating privilege and those of us who have been lucky enough to jump onboard have enjoyed it immensely. Even till today as the dust settles and the side screen is set (which is ever so important for Sachin), some wait for the straight drive, some for the cut, some for the paddle sweep and some for the straight hit over the spinners head and Yours truly waits for that vintage and beefy pull into the stands… Different strokes for different folks… all still flowing off of one blade!

Indian cricket is as unpredictable off the field as it is on it and the selection of mercurial (on the borderline of crazy) Sreesanth seems to be another twist in its ever vibrant tale. Announcing the squad for the first two tests against Sri Lanka that will commence at Ahmadabad in less than a week, the selection committee has been anything but decisive in its methods. Announcing the 15-member squad for the first two tests saw the return of Sreesanth and Zaheer Kahn to the Test team while the Tamil Nadu duo of Badrinath and M Vijay made their way into the 15 as well.

What seemed startling though is the fact that the selection committee went in with 3 seamers and two spinners (Harbhajan and Ojha), leaving Dhoni with far few bowling options. So, if he does decide to go in with three pacers and lone spinner on the match day then he has to pick the out of form Ishant Sharma, the guy returning from lay off- Zaheer Khan and the completely unpredictable Sreesanth… Not the way to be stepping in to a test series. With the middle order already packed, and the openers in full fitness, a batting spot seems unlikely for either Vijay or Badrinath.

In short, the selection committee will have some explaining to do if the show flops at Ahmadabad. Even otherwise, the early signs seem to be that the men at the top have been rattled by the Aussie debacle at home and have pinned their hopes on the solid batting lineup to once again save them on home turf!

Playing a 7-match one-day series in this time and age seems a bit outdated, even boring perhaps and that is the general feeling going around both within the players and the spectators despite the two best teams in the world going head on. With cramped international schedule and growing demand on players’ fitness, it seems that this absurdly long and congested series between Australia and India is claiming victims and that too fast. With the hosts going 2-1 up as we head to Mohali, Brett Lee is already out, Clarke was never here and now Sehwag and Gambhir seem to be destined for the sidelines.

Team India will be stepping out at the beautiful stadium in Mohali knowing that a win here will give them the number one spot in one-day team rankings and Australia will be motivated enough as a defeat here would make their task of winning the series almost impossible.

Key Factors:

Ponting and Hussey: They have carried Australia through this series so far and they might have to do it again here. While the captain seems to be in sublime touch, Mr. Cricket is getting his touch back against a deliciously easy Indian attack.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj: While the senior partner needs to put up a big one on the board, the local boy will be looking to raise his bat after a ton in front of his adoring home-town fans. Sachin’s start will be crucial, all the more if the Delhi-duo is forced to sit out and Yuvi’s blitz will be equally vital.
Dew: If the pitch remains good for 100 overs expect the team that wins the toss to bowl first as gripping the ball will be a nightmare later on. That sail, it could seam a bit up there at the PCB stadium under lights.

Prediction: Brett Lee’s absence could be the factor that allows India to sneak in with a win at a place where they have generally done poorly and Australia have found plenty of success.

The NBA, professional basketball league in the United States will transmit full games live on mobile phones including the iPhone, for U.S. $ 40 per year.

Until now, the NBA offered only highlights of the Games on mobile phones. The association already offers subscription packages to watch the games live on computers, as well as plans for cable TV and satellite. Research firm IDC estimates that there are potentially 59 million phones in the U.S. who can adopt the new package.

The NBA package allows fans to watch more than 40 live games each week. The package also offers technology for digital video recording to pause and rewind 30 seconds of images, as well as access to games played until two days before. Users can also check statistics while watching a match.

Among the telephone companies involved are AT & T, exclusive carrier of the iPhone, and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom which sells devices that use the Android software from Google.
Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile operator, will begin offering its first phone with Android software in November. By the end of the year, the product of the NBA will also be available to users of RIM’s BlackBerry.

Via: Folha.

Four selections of Europe conquered their vacancy on this Saturday, after the next to the last round of the preliminary rounds for the World Cup of 2010. Denmark, Serbia, Germany and Italy didn’t give chances to their opponents and stamped their respective passports. Of the nine groups, only two will still need to define which will be them classified direct (2 and 3).

In the total, 19 selections are already guaranteed in the World Cup: South Africa, Holland, Japan, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, United States, Korea of the South, Australia, Korea of the North, Ghana, Costa of the Ivory, England, Spain, Serbia, Denmark, Italy and Germany.

In 2010 Africa of the South will be headquarters of the first World Cup in the African continent. The expectation is very big, in spite of being a developing country. There will be nine host cities that will be the nervous center of the Cup 2010.

Several world leaders will give prestige to the event, besides Barack Obama. The President of the United States Barack Obama will be illustrious visitor in the ceremony in the opening of the World Cup of 2010 in South Africa, Blatter said to journalists.

Mr. Obama, whose the father was kenyan, said that will go to participate in the event that will happen on June 11, when the first World Cup will be commemorated in the African continent.

The American leader calendar can change in one year, however, he said that if he can, he will be there.

Via: Copa do Mundo 2010.

Sports fan aren’t that fond of gaming fans; they consider gamers quite unhealthy and think of them as little kids who sit in darkened basements playing away for hours on their PlayStations or some such thing. Then again, perhaps the two aren’t so different from each other.

The Cowboys stadium is an amazing structure built especially for the Dallas Cowboys, the local football team (we’re talking American football which isn’t anywhere near as hot as real football). The stadium had been a much waited structure by football fans who swear by the rugged manliness of sweaty socks and jerseys but interestingly, the first game ever to be played at the Cowboys stadium didn’t involve real football players.

The first game played at the stadium was one of Madden NFL 10 on a PlayStation 3 and played out on the stadiums 1080p HD screen which is currently the world’s largest. The game was viewed by 200 fans invited by PlayStation and EA Sports who organised the event and an audience of about 10,000. The winner of the tournament won a PSP3 and the two runners up won PSPs.

Via: Kotaku

Michael Schumacher is already training with all the intensity for his return to the Formula 1. The German pilot began to run on this Friday with a Ferrari F2007 in the track of Mugello. Through an official report in his page in the internet, the 7 times world champion of the category says to be anxious to run, even if is in a model already outdated.

The German announced that will compete three years after leaving F-1. With 40 years, he will be in GP of Europe, in Valency, marked for August 23, and he will substitute the Brazilian Felipe Massa, that suffered serious accident in Hungary.

In spite of the tests of this Friday with an outdated car, Schumacher can have contact soon with the model 2009 of Ferrari. In agreement with the Speed Channel site of the, Fota will open an exception and it will allow German to test F60 of Ferrari for one day. With that, the pilot will have one day to adapted to the Kers, to the tires slicks and the movable wings.

In theory, Schumacher meets in perfect form, in spite of some problems in the nape as a consequence of a motorcycle fall. The accident happened in Spain, in February. Therefore, he will need a medical guarantee to confirm return.

Via: UOL Esporte.