Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

American Pharoah triumphs – but Secretariat’s records still stand

June 7, 2015

Lat night American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes and with it the first Triple Crown since 1978. In the 1970s we saw 3 Triple Crown winners starting with Secretariat in 1973 after a gap of 25 years and followed by Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner American Pharoah stands while being bathed following his morning workout at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York June 3, 2015.

American Pharoah: photo Shannon Stapleton /Reuters via The Daily Beast

Comparisons are of no great significance but back in 1973, Secretariat caught my imagination in a manner that no horse ever had before – not even Silver or Trigger.  Last night, American Pharoah faced a much larger field in the Belmont Stakes than Secretariat did. He won quite comfortably by five lengths and a time of 2:26.65, the sixth-fastest time in Belmont history.

Trying to compare the two horses, 37 years apart is meaningless. When Secretariat won the Belmont he won by 31 lengths and he was till going away at the finish line. He set winning times in all the three Triple Crown events. The Kentucky Derby(1:59.4), the Preakness Stakes (1:53), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24). But, 37 years later Big Red’s record times in all three races have not yet been beaten. The longest time a human athletics record has lasted was Bob Beamon’s long jump record which lasted 23 years (though 47 years later, his Olympic record still stands). To hold one record for so long is impressive enough, but Big Red still holds his records for 3 major races.

American Pharaoh has ensured his place in equine history. But it is still Secretariat – “The Tremendous Machine” – which embodies the Triple Crown in my imagination. “That is a record which may stand forever”.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Sport | Comments Off on American Pharoah triumphs – but Secretariat’s records still stand

1200 years after the Vikings invented krykket, cricket comes of age in Sweden

June 1, 2015

The theory is that cricket was actually first invented, not by the Saxons or even the Normans, but by the Vikings in Britain about 1200 years ago. It is said that as they raided, injured Vikings started whiling away their time by using their crutches (krykka) in a game to knock the skulls of their victims around. It was played on the beach where the injured Vikings were left to guard their ships. Perhaps it was markings on their ships which provided the first “wickets” and the notion of “guarding your wicket” originated there. For Viking warriors it was a game only for the weak and the crippled. The practice ceased as Vikings started to settle in Britain and playing with the skulls of victims became politically incorrect. The krykket games sank into disrepute and into the subconscious, only to surface again in the 16th century in England, and the rest is history. The game of skulls and crutches was never taken back home by the Vikings for want of non-Viking victims’ skulls. (Viking victims were sent off to Valhalla, with their bodies intact, on their burning ships).

(It is worth noting that Viking raids – on average – planned for 5 day forays inland, limited by the provisions they had to carry. So possibly the beached Vikings ensured that their games were completed within 5 days before the raiders returned – and somehow this time limitation has survived the centuries!)

The Swedish Cricket Federation was founded in 1990 and now at 25 years of age was accepted into the Swedish Sports Federation on 30th May.

There are some 3,000 active cricketers in Sweden in 55 clubs, with 42 clubs participating in a national league. The clubs are located all over Sweden with the northernmost club probably being the Skellefteå Cricket Club. The Skillinge Ladies & Gentlemen’s Cricket Club is one of many holding fort in the south.

The SCF became a member of the International Cricket Council in 1990 and played its first international match in 1999 against Portugal. In May 2011, Sweden won the ICC Europe Division 3 tournament and participated in the ICC Division 2 Europe 20/ 20 tournament.In 2012 Sweden participated in the European Division 2, 20/20. Sweden finished in 2nd place in the tournament and advanced to ICC Europe Division 1. In 2013, the Swedish national team traveled to England where it took part in ICC Europe Division 1 and competed against teams like Italy, Germany, Belgium, Guernsey, and Norway.

The Swedish Cricket Federation now becomes the 71st member of the the Swedish Sports Federation (Riksidrottsförbundet).

SCF comes of age

SCF comes of age

 

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Sport, Sweden | Comments Off on 1200 years after the Vikings invented krykket, cricket comes of age in Sweden

The difference

December 8, 2014

Dress code for football coaches.

The key difference of course being that European football coaches are more formally dressed than the US football coaches.

Reblogged from RealScience

B4QpUtmCcAAsMA3

Tags:, ,
Posted in Sport, Trivia | Comments Off on The difference

Tragic death of Phillip Hughes triggers memories of Nari Contractor

November 28, 2014

Phillip Hughes image rediff.com

The tragic death of Phillip Hughes has triggered some discussion about safety and the design of helmets. But I am not sure that this is the right discussion to have. Hughes was hit on the top of his neck, behind his ear but just below his helmet. He was hooking and had hooked a little early so that he was almost facing long leg at the moment of impact.

I know first hand just how hard a cricket ball is. Forty years ago I was hit on the head by a cricket ball while playing a club match in Birmingham. It was not the bowler in this case and I was not wearing a helmet. I was running between the wickets and the ball was thrown in by a fielder and caught me on the top of my skull – a little forward of centre. Apparently I just crumpled to the ground but came to a few minutes later. I was kept in hospital for a few hours for observation but fortunately suffered only a mild concussion. But I am told that if the point of impact had been an inch further forward or an inch further back, the result could have been far more serious.

Nari Contractor image sportskeeda.com

But after the Phillip Hughes accident, what comes to my mind is not my little accident but the Charlie Griffith bouncer which caught Nari Contractor on the back of his skull in March 1962. Like Hughes, Contractor was a left-hand bat. This was 52 years ago when as a schoolboy avidly following the tour of the West Indies, I was up at all hours listening to the live radio commentary whenever I could. Helmets were not in use in 1962. India were playing Barbados between the second and third Test matches. Contractor was leading the side after a series win against England and he opened the innings with Dilip Sardesai. Contractor seems to have turned his head due to some distraction from the pavilion. But he was, like Hughes, facing sideways with the back of his head exposed at the time of impact. He suffered a fractured skull and was unconscious for 6 days.  A neuro-surgeon had to be flown in from Trinidad and he went some 24 hours – unconscious – before proper medical treatment began. He needed a blood transfusion and Sir Frank Worrell – the West Indies captain but who was only a spectator at this match – was the first to donate blood. Later Contractor had to have a metal plate inserted for the fracture. He survived and went on to play first class cricket but never again played a Test match.

Contractor is now 80 and spoke about the Hughes accident to the Mumbai Mirror:

“I am not sure if any technology or better technology can prevent such injuries. My injury took place in 1962 and it has taken 52 years for another such injury. You cannot ensure anything in cricket.”

I do agree that safety and safety standards should be reviewed. But without trying in any way to minimise the tragedy of Phillip Hughes demise, it is nether opportune or appropriate, I think, for any knee-jerk reactions.

My point is that all rules for safety or safety equipment are inextricably linked to the skills of the game. Every new rule or new piece of equipment suppresses some skills and encourages others. There is nothing wrong with that of course but it does change the game. There is little doubt that the advent of helmets and chest pads has suppressed the skill of weaving and dodging to avoid being hit by the ball while not taking your eyes off it. On the other hand the use of helmets and other protection has allowed the hook shot – among other shots –  to be played much more confidently and – for the best players –  has led to the development of new skills of shot making. Shot making has never been as inventive as today (to the chagrin of many bowlers) and this is partly due to the lower level of physical risk perceived by the batsmen. For the less skilled players, it could be argued, it has led to a greater proportion of injudicious shot selections because the downside is low. More players try to hook today and fail – but it is safer to do so. The balance between “avoidance” and “playing the shot” is different to that when there were no helmets. The skill of “avoidance” is needed less and is therefore less well developed.

Phillip Hughes was certainly one of the better players of the game. But the game today is not the same game as it was in 1962 when Nari Contractor suffered his injury. But would a player of the 1962 game, brought up without the use of helmets, make the same shot selection that Phillip Hughes did? It is impossible to know but the 1962 batsman would surely have had a different background of risk assessment and a different basis for selecting when to play the hook shot and when to avoid the ball.

Changing the risk level in any game changes the game. But – lest we forget – without risk there is no game.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Cricket, Sport | 2 Comments »

No surprise – FIFA whitewashes itself and Qatar but their investigator dissents

November 13, 2014

UPDATE!!

It seems FIFA’s conclusions are not even shared by their own investigaor:

BBC: The findings of Fifa’s inquiry into allegations of corruption during bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups have been questioned – by the man who conducted the two-year investigation into the claims.

In an unexpected twist, lawyer Michael Garcia says the report “contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions”.

 

(more…)

Tags:, ,
Posted in Ethics, Football, Sport | Comments Off on No surprise – FIFA whitewashes itself and Qatar but their investigator dissents

California Chrome is a great horse but no Big Red

June 8, 2014

Well, California Chrome came up short. He is not the “tremendous machine” that Big Red was!

I am no horse racing fanatic but much of my lingering interest was first engendered by Big Red (Secretariat) and his exploits. Over the years my interest has declined but it was rekindled this year as the California Chrome “rags to riches” story has unfolded.

WaPo: His humble origins — born to an $8,000 mare, by a sire with a $2,000 stud fee — turned him into a cult figure and then a superstar following his wins in Louisville and Baltimore. But was he a “one-in-a-bazillion” champion, as co-owner Coburn called him this week? Or another Triple Crown pretender who lacked the stamina, sturdiness or stomach to win for the third time in five weeks against a pack of rivals?

Only 11 horses have ever won the Triple Crown. Big Red was the ninth winner after a gap of 25 years in 1973. Then Seattle Slew triumphed in 1977 and Affirmed won the Triple in 1978. And now it will be at least a gap of 37 years before there is another Triple Crown winner.  This year, California Chrome had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and was attempting to be the 12th winner. He was the odds-on favourite, but yesterday he came up short and finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes.

Secretariat was special. When he died in 1989 his heart was found to be almost twice as large as “normal”. Big Red still holds the record for all the 3 races (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes). Maybe he was a freak. In any case, in forty odd years of trying, genetics and horse breeding “science” have failed to produce a horse to match.

Wiki: Secretariat’s genetic legacy may be linked in part to the likelihood that he carried the “x-factor” (a trait linked to a large heart, carried only on the X chromosome) and thus, a trait Secretariat could only pass on via his daughters. However, it is yet to be proven whether the x-factor increases athletic ability.

I listened to the running of the 1973 Belmont Stakes on radio (live telecasts across the Atlantic were not around). It was not an exciting race in itself because Big Red was never threatened. It was enormously exciting as the culmination of a season. It was awe-inspiring in the manner and margin of his winning. At the finish line he was 31 lengths ahead and still going away.

But nowadays with the magic of YouTube, his majestic run is universally available.

“THE TREMENDOUS MACHINE”

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Genetics, Sport | Comments Off on California Chrome is a great horse but no Big Red

It is time to take the 2022 World Cup away from Qatar

June 1, 2014

If FIFA is to retain any semblance of credibility they need to re-run the selection process for the 2022 World Cup. This time without Qatar participating.  That won’t stop the corruption of course but at least it could clean out the stable before it is despoiled again.

The latest revelations in the Sunday Times (paywalled but reported by the BBC) merely confirm that Qatar did buy selection.

BBC:

Fifa is facing fresh allegations of corruption over its controversial decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

The Sunday Times  has obtained millions of secret documents – emails, letters and bank transfers – which it alleges are proof that the disgraced Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totalling $5m to football officials in return for their support for the Qatar bid.

…….. the Sunday Times alleges Bin Hammam’s strategy was to win a groundswell of support for the Qatari bid which would then influence the four African Fifa executive committee members who were able to take part in the election.

The Sunday Times also alleges that it has documents which prove Bin Hammam paid 305,000 Euros (£250,000) to cover the legal expenses of another former Fifa executive committee member from Oceania, Reynald Temarii.

Temarii, from Tahiti, was unable to vote in the contest as he had already been suspended by Fifa after he was caught out by a Sunday Times sting asking bogus American bid officials for money in return for his support.

But the paper now alleges that Bin Hammam provided him with financial assistance to allow him to appeal against the Fifa suspension, delaying his removal from the executive committee and blocking his deputy David Chung from voting in the 2022 election.

The paper claims that had Chung been allowed to vote he would have supported Qatar’s rivals Australia. Instead there was no representative from Oceania allowed to vote, a decision which may have influenced the outcome in Qatar’s favour. The paper also makes fresh allegations about the relationship between Bin Hammam and his disgraced Fifa ally Jack Warner, from Trinidad. ….. 

That Qatar bought its selection was already known.

But what now becomes obvious is that many of the FIFA officials currently in power and including Sepp Blatter have known about this for some time. Some of them were probably involved themselves.

A Qatar World Cup will probably break all records in the number of deaths per goals scored. The competition will probably have to be shifted to the winter.

It is time for FIFA and Sepp Blatter to bite the bullet and take the 2022 World Cup away from Qatar. Blatter will probably try to pin the blame for Qatar on Michel Platini.

It would be best if neither Platini or Blatter stood for the FIFA Presidency next year.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Corruption, Sport, World Cup | Comments Off on It is time to take the 2022 World Cup away from Qatar

Just not cricket anymore!

May 22, 2014

It is quite possible that there are no longer any matches – especially in the Indian Premier League – which have not been fixed in some way. But the malaise is present even in English County Cricket.

1. ECB charge Lou Vincent and Naved Arif with match-fixing county cricket game

The England & Wales Cricket Board are anticipated to make history later these days by announcing they have charged Lou Vincent and his former Sussex group-mate Naved Arif with fixing the outcome of a county cricket match.

Telegraph Sport can reveal that former New Zealand batsman Vincent, who has currently confessed to fixing, and Arif, a Pakistani living in this nation, are becoming charged with additional than 15 counts of match-fixing.

If the players are found guilty they face lifetime bans from the sport, and the 40-more than match amongst Sussex and Kent played at Hove in August 2011 will be the initial verified case of the result of a county match becoming fixed.

Vincent, who has given proof to the International Cricket Council of fixing in five countries, faces a lot more than 10 charges of fixing some relate to the Sussex/Kent match and other individuals relate to an additional 1-day game he played for Sussex in 2011.

Arif faces at least 5 counts relating to the Sussex game versus Kent alone.

2. Chris Cairns named by NZ Test player’s ex-wife in match-fixing testimony

Former New Zealand Test player Chris Cairns continues to protest his innocence amid more evidence against him, this time from Lou Vincent’s ex-wife, who alleges he was a cricket match-fixing ringleader.

Cairns’ name was publicly linked with sworn evidence to International Cricket Council investigators for the first time on Tuesday, as the former New Zealand all-rounder issued a second statement in a 12-hour period. ‘‘I totally reject the allegations against me, and I will prove this.’’

The latest leaked evidence is a sworn 10-page document from Elly Riley, Vincent’s ex-wife, that she provided to anti-corruption investigators last October. It follows leaks in the past week of former Test opener Vincent’s explosive 42-page testimony, and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum’s signed three-page statement, both of which are understood to name Cairns as a fixing ringleader.

Riley’s evidence was that the fixing began at the Indian Cricket League in 2008, and that Vincent told her: ‘‘Chris was going to pay him $US$50,000 a game for the fixing.’’

The amount of money sloshing around in Indian Premier League and in the betting surrounding the matches makes spot fixing both tempting and extremely lucrative

3. IPL spot-fixing allegations

The IPL is no stranger to controversy, but on May 16 it met arguably its biggest crisis when Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals players – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – soon after their match in Mumbai for spot-fixing. Eleven bookies were also arrested at that time, including one – Amit Singh – who was a former Royals player. Royals later suspended their players and the BCCI set up an inquiry, headed by its ACSU chief Ravi Sawani, into the allegations. The board also announced enhanced anti-corruption measures, including two more security personnel with each team. The arrests kicked off a nation-wide search and arrest of bookmakers – betting is illegal in India. One of those picked up in Mumbai was a small-time actor, Virender “Vindoo” Dara Singh, arrested on charges of links with bookmakers. His testimony led the police to arrest, on May 24, Meiyappan Gurunath, a top official of Chennai Super Kings and son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan. Delhi Police eventually chargesheeted the players, among 39 persons, under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, while the BCCI handed out life bans to Sreesanth and Chavan after Sawani’s probe found them guilty of fixing.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Corruption, Cricket, Sport | Comments Off on Just not cricket anymore!

FIFA Presidential electioneering underway as Blatter blames Platini, France and Germany for selling 2022 World Cup to Qatar

May 17, 2014

FIFA Presidential electioneering for 2015 is underway as Sepp Blatter (who is Swiss) blames Michel Platini (who is French), France and Germany for selling the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. But this attack is just positioning by Blatter in case the 2014 World Cup in Brazil doesn’t go too well and Blatter will have to take that blame.

FIFA bows primarily to financial inducements (not political pressure as it sometimes appears). In many cases the financial inducements are just simple, straight-forward  bribery implemented in a very sophisticated manner. Even after the FIFA technical committee had clearly indicated that Qatar was unsuitable as a location for a World Cup tournament, the Executive Committee decided otherwise. That Qatar bought the 2022 World Cup is clear and it seems likely that the number of deaths per goal will be the highest ever by a long way in 2022.

Qatar 2022 will achieve more deaths than goals

Based on the track record of World Cup Tournaments, the Qatar 2022 championship will see between 100 and 180 goals – most likely around 150. But this number will be easily exceeded by the number of construction workers who have been killed by then. Already over 70 Nepalese workers have died since 2012 and the total number is probably around 200. By 2022 this number will exceed 1000.

Perhaps FIFA could introduce a safety performance index for the Qatar World Cup? Maybe to have less than 6 deaths per goal?

FIFA’s next presidential election is in 2015 and Sepp Blatter will be trying to retain his seat and Michel Platini will probably be opposing him. And so the electioneering has begun. This year’s World Cup is less than a month away and kicks-off on June 12th. The stadiums and infrastructure are still not quite ready. A fiasco in Brazil will be blamed on Sepp Blatter and will undermine his chances in 2015 of being President again. For some time now he has been trying to ensure that anything negative to do with Qatar is tied to Platini. Come 2015 Platini will have to deal with the Qatari dirt if he opposes Blatter.

A plague on both their houses!

November 2013: Sepp Blatter Now Blames France and Germany for 2022 World Cup Fiasco

Always looking to blame somebody else, Sepp Blatter hasn’t let us down by now blaming France and Germany for the 2022 World Cup mess in Qatar. According to theFIFA fool, these two nations are to blame for the ongoing turmoil regarding Qatar hosting the 2022 event. In addition, he believes they’re also accountable for some of the ill treatment of the migrant workers over there, along with the construction firms. 

Blatter said on November 22 that France and Germany exerted a lot of political pressure to grant Qatar with the World Cup because of their financial interests and they’re the two biggest economies in Europe. In Blatter’s own words, there was a lot of “political pressure from European countries…because there were so many economic interests. Two of these countries pressured the voting men in FIFA: France and Germany…I think the heads of state of these two countries should also express what they think of this situation.” 

March 2014: Only I Can Beat Sepp Blatter In FIFA Elections – Platini

“Only one person can beat Blatter,” Platini said at UEFA congress in Astana (quotes from Reuters). 

Platini told the UEFA Congress he would have more meetings with European football leaders in coming months before announcing whether he would stand for FIFA.

“I will give my answer after the World Cup. There will be a series of meetings with European federation officials. Maybe 99% of them will say ‘we prefer that you stay at UEFA’, that could also be an element of reflection” in the decision, Platini said.

Meanwhile, the Frenchman earlier blasted the world federation’s lack of action over secretive companies owning players as he stepped up a war of nerves with Blatter. Platini said the so-called ‘third party ownership’ of players is a “danger” to football.

May 2014: Sepp Blatter: awarding 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a mistake

“Yes, it was a mistake of course, but one makes lots of mistakes in life,” said Blatter, Fifa’s president, in an interview with the Swiss broadcaster RTS. “The technical report into Qatar said clearly it was too hot but the executive committee – with a large majority – decided all the same to play it in Qatar.”

… Blatter is believed to have voted for the USA to host the 2022 World Cup while his prospective rival for the presidency, Uefa’s Michel Platini, voted for Qatar and has been closely linked in the public mind with the controversial plans for the 2022 tournament.

The Fifa inspection team ranked Qatar as the only “high risk” option overall, yet it was still chosen by 14 of the 22 voting members of the executive committee in December 2010. ….. 

Platini and others have denied being influenced by their heads of state into voting for Qatar for business reasons. ….. 

“I will never say that they bought it, because it was political pushing. Really, both in France and Germany,” said Blatter, who has previously claimed there was “definitely direct political influence” on European executive committee members to vote for Qatar.

France’s foreign ministry said the assertion was “without foundation”, despite the fact that Platini has admitted to attending a high level meeting with former president Nicolas Sarkozy and the now Qatari Emir.

 

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Corruption, Football, Sport, World Cup | 1 Comment »

Dutch beat England AT CRICKET!

March 31, 2014

In the cricketing world this must be the equivalent of a magnitude 9 earthquake or of Jamiaca beating Canada at ice hockey.

Except that this happened 5 years ago as well.

Cricket has in fact been played in the Netherlands for over 150 years – mainly by expats. Their first recorded match as a national team was in 1881. A number of Dutch cricketers have also played at the first class level in England, Australia and India.There is even a Dutch women’s team.

BBC:

England ended their winter of discontent on a new low as they were beaten by minnows Netherlands at the World Twenty20 in Chittagong.

With neither side able to reach the semi-finals, the Dutch raced to 84-1 in 11 overs before Ravi Bopara’s stint of 1-15 limited them to 133-5.

In reply, England were all out for just 88 as Bopara top-scored with 18.

England’s 45-run loss echoed the four-wicket reverse they suffered at the hands of the Dutch at Lord’s in 2009.

 

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Sport, Trivia | Comments Off on Dutch beat England AT CRICKET!

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »