End of an Era!
My (ex) favorite Indian cricketer, Saurav Ganguly, has at last retired. After having made several spectacular comebacks after he was dropped, I was happy to see that he went on his own terms. Few people can stir up emotions like he did. You had to either detest him or adore him, there was no one saying "hes OK."
He was the first "great" cricketer that I was able to follow from his debut to retirement and he was the subject of innumberable lunch time arguments with my college buddies. Needless to mention, I was always the only one supporting him :)

Also, personally, this Oct 4th 2008 was the end of an era, in more ways than one!

New beginning - 05/11!
Maan, it feels so nice when u finish or start as the lead in anything, even though there is no talent involved in it :)
Gift yourself good times..."to be preserved for years"

Life changing moments!
I know there are many people who will believe that every moment is life changing, but I think there are a few of them which are important than some others. I had one this week which at least decided where I will be staying for the near future. I was a lot relieved and thank Him.

Slapgate!
I thought Ishant bowling Dravid would make headline news on the sports section. But how about this - Bhajji slaps Sreeseanth! This was probably in the front page in India.
It is really difficult to take sides in this issue and say who was at fault. Both have a troubled past and to make matters worse, we don't and will always never know the whole story. But still getting your hands on another person will always get you in trouble, whatever the provocation may have been. More so when they are supposed to share the same dressing room in another month or so. I think Harbhajan was rightly banned for the remaining matches. IPL has got this one right!

Ishant bowls Dravid !!!
Ishant taking Dravid's wicket is not a big surprise - it could be a Ranji match. But when Ponting celebrates the dismissal with Ganguly? Welcome to IPL - the Indian Premier League!
The first stage of IPL has got over and all the teams have played once. No doubts, it provided some exciting cricket. But which team do you support? Your home town is the obvious choice, but some of the favorite players that we have been rooting for years are the opponents here. I am sure a lot of the fans are trying to figure out how to react when Sachin is bowled by Symonds in Hyderabad. I will know when Murali bowls to Saurav in Chennai.

Am Back...
For the past couple of months, I [thought I] was a bit busy that I could not find time to write five lines. But now, when I can watch three full days of US Open games, I decided it was time to bring the writing guy to the front of the mind (Have you seen the Mass Mutual ad?)
I hope he works and gets something by tomorrow.

Break Time!
Am forced to take a break from vetti time pass and do other things. These other things might help me be vetti for longer periods at a later point in time. Will get back to my blogging later.
Enjoy your summer!

Power vs. Grace ?
I had picked New Zealand to win against Sri Lanka.
Mr. Bond didn't show up.

I had also backed South Africa to stop the Aussie streak.
The whole team didn't show up.

So the cricket WC finals is going to be played between Sri Lanka and Australia :)
Both the semi-final games were decided even before the start of the second innings, there has been just 2 matches that went to the wire this World Cup. May be 3 if you count the Ireland vs. Zimbabwe match!

I just hope atleast the finals turn out to be a nail biter. This match up in the finals is what everyone [else] expected and wanted to see - the ruthless Aussie power against the grace and charm of lankans. I think it will come down to the magician's spell. If Murali can get a 35 for 3 and the under-rated Vaas has a decent outing, I bet Australia will have a tough job on their hand. And yeah, the Sri Lankan batters also need to turn up for the game unlike the South Africans.

May be I should back Australia. May be I can stop the Aussie juggernaut ;)