Mediawatch(Pt. 1)
and
"Football ... Bloody Hell!" (Pt. 2)

Sometimes one read the newspapers and comes across something so utterly incredulous that one just goes, 'WTF!?!?'

Well, here was my week's WTF moment, regarding Cricket, strangely.

Harbhajan Singh is back in the limelight for the wrong reasons. After the racial slur drama, Harbhajan, leading the Mumbai IPL team, allegedly slapped paceman S. Sreesanth, who represents Mohali, after the IPL match on Friday night.

The incident happened when the teams were shaking hands at the end of the match. Sreesanth broke into tears and his teammates had to console him and take him to the dressing room. -Hindustan Times Online

Wait, hold on a second. He broke into tears? A sportsman? After being slapped? On what's effectively National Sports TV? Come on dude, you have to do better than that!

People break legs. A Welsh pro Rugby player is currently lying in hospital with what may be a broken neck. Horrific injuries occur all the time. And you cry after a mere slap. Grow a pair!

Gosh.

"Football ... Bloody Hell!"

And now for the small matter of the Champions' League Semi-finals. Three Legendary Football teams and, well, Chelsea FC.

After 8 campaigns of hurt, of waking up in the early hours to see them crash out at the quarters and semis to teams like Leverkusen, Bayern, Real Madrid, AC Milan, porto, (let's not discuss Benfica); Manchester United are at long last in the Champions' League Final! And how fitting is it that none other than Paul Scholes himself, the midfield maestro, the ginger prince, is the one who sends United into their second Champions' League (in its modern format) Final, having missed the first one in 1999 due to a suspension.

It was a vintage European performance, a culmination of the club's tireless efforts to restructure and tweak its playing style to one more suited to the Continental game. Attacking with potency and ruthless accuracy, defending intelligently as a unit, and doing the right thing at the right time. It's a sophistication that doesn't come easy, especially to a team with an essentially british core (don't intend to be stereotypical here) and an unrelentingly attacking philosophy.

I talk too much. You have to see the goal to believe it. Glorious, a thing of beauty, side-winder, top-corner stuff!

Moscow, we're going to MOSCOW! Three games to go to the double! GET IN!

In all its multiple-angle splendour! Gotta love the commentary!

Murder, he wrote. At 4/30/2008 08:08:00 pm

f*cking hell......

Sigh. Not good. Man United just lost 2-1 to Chelsea. I feel really gutted about this loss, as the team wasn't allowed to give a good account of themselves. First of all, two KEY players go off injured. Two players very much the spine of the team in Rooney and Vidic. Vidic had to be stretchered off early, a bloody mess. That's what you get for being brave, unfortunately. Rooney looks to have aggravated his hip injury, ironically after scoring the equaliser. Wonder if he'll make it for the Barca match on Wednesday morning.

Second, you could see from the first team selection that Ferguson had one eye on the Barca match, with Ronaldo, Hargreaves and Scholes rested. Let's face it, United without Ronaldo this season has
been toothless. And it just shows how tough it is sometimes when you're challenging on multiple (okay, two) fronts. I mean, it's easy to save all your energy and best players just for the Premier League. Even easier if you save everything for the Champions' League.

Third, the ref and linesmen were blinking homers. Every fifty-fifty decision went Chelsea's way. When the penalty was given I just knew it was the result of all those prior nonsensical penalty appeals by the home fans, that the ref was swayed by the baying home fans. Make that the assistant linesman. And that BLATANT dive by John Terry at the edge of the penalty box. I won't be surprised if the football media don't pick up on that. England poster boy, former captain. Surely he's not prone to diving, is he? At the exact moment he takes a fall Nani's leg is nowhere near him. Disgusting!

Fourth, two injury-time goal-line clearances! Auuuggghhhh... how close can you get?!

Credit where it's due, Chelski played okay. But it was just really bad and ponderous defending on the first goal that left Ballack totally unmarked. Yeack!!!!

So with two games to go, Man Utd and Chelski are level on points, but United have a goal difference superior by 18. So all United have to do is to win their remaining games against West Ham (home) and Wigan (away). I'm not a betting man, but I'd put my (metaphorical) house on them winning those two games.

The Title is still in your hands. Make history. UNITED!


Rei: Hope it's okay now. And according to my physiotherapy regime, it seems the MORE I work my knee the faster it'll recover. Something about strengthening the supporting structures. Enjoying school? (=

Feebee: Yo! Greetings from back home! Funny thing is both you taggers are from Japan ...

Murder, he wrote. At 4/26/2008 10:31:00 pm

This is ourselves ... ...

It's been really frustrating not being able to run. But at least I've been able to go to the gym.

Until I injured myself. Again.

Think I can go back by end of the week, fingers crossed.

I'm really looking forward, no, targetting, to be back and playing sports by end June. Hopefully no setbacks.

I've actually sat down a few times to try to blog but for the last few attempts it's been tabula rasa - nothing but the blank slate of my mind. I think work is killing my brain (ironically).

Well nothing better to ease (or add) to frustration than a lovey-dovey precursor-to-the-emo-nemo-of-today 8os power ballad. Kudos to wala wala nights for resuscitating all those almost-lost childhood radio memories.

Under Pressure.


I won't hold you back by Toto

Murder, he wrote. At 4/21/2008 11:56:00 pm