"ASHES"--Firing Up!!!!!!!!

Sorry guys!!!!!It's been a long time since I posted.Was a bit busy with the exams.

You may all recall the euphoria and excitement in Britain because of the England Cricket team's victory in the ashes test against Australia at Lord's, the good old home of cricket. Actually England have won at there against their old foes after a gap of 75 years. Thanks to Freddie who really wnat to bow out in style.

Already the English press is carrying frenzied news as if england had retained the ashes they lost woefully last summer. But never write off Australia, the best team in the world for nearly the whole of last decade. They might have lost some quality players but the replacements have done so far. Also their pride has been hurt badly and i say that the last thing you want to do an Australian.

Now the news is out that Pieterson a.k.a "K.P" is going to miss the rest of the Ashes due to achilles heel injury he suffered earlier this year during his IPL stint. This could be blessing in disguise for Australia, as K.P is the sort of batsman who can change the course of the game singlehandedly in a blink of an eye.Also he has a remarkable record against the antipodeans amssing nearly 1500 runs at 60.

Though Flintoff wants to win the ashes for England as he did in 2005, he may not be able to as he is not fully fit. Even though his second innings bowling at Lord's strike fear in the Australian's hearts for it's sheer hostility, the question to be asked his can he sustain that hostility and fitness throughout the series? I'll rather bet against it.

But the Australians shoulod never get complacent over the fitness issues in the england camp. Rather concentrate in their own game and try to beat the team from the Old Blighty.

What is rather clear from the two tests completed is that the Australians still have no answer for England's swing. Also neither team has convinced that they can bowl out the opposition twice. which is the main thing to win a match.

If both teams raise their games a few notches, then we are in for a repeat of 2005, which perhaps is considered by many as the best ever ashes series. So wat are u waiting for. fasten your seat belts, it's goin to be one hell of a summer.

Doom For Hamilton?

Its been a hectic week in the formula one circus.It all started with Trulli(Toyota) being handed a 25 second penalty after finishing third in the Australian grand Prix last weekend. The move pushed him from third place to 12th on the grid.The penalty was imposed for overtaking the mclaren of hamilton during a safety car period.This moved Hamilton into the last podium place. But further investigations by the race stewards has revealed that both Hamilton and Mclaren manipulated information about the move and lied to stewards during the initial investigation. As a result hamilton has been stripped of his third place finish and also totally excluded from the final classification. But this is not where it all ends. FIA, the governing body of F1 has indicated that it may be inclined to take further actions as the incident has violated the FIA regulations and also the International Sports Code. As the FIA has started talking tough, there are only two possibilities,one suspend Hamilton for one or more races,the next one is more likely,which is disqualifying him for the entire season. a decision is expected to be taken after the Malaysian Grand Prix next week. so both Hamilton and Mclaren cannot breathe easy until the FIA lets the cat out of the bag. Will it be gllom and doom for hamilton or will he emerge unscathed? Lets wait till next week.But one thing is sure,Hamilton will not be the great champion he was tipped to become no matter how many championships he wins.........

Formula One- Wil it be the same?

Hi folks,

               The engines have started to rumble for the new Formula One season which has started over this weekend in Australia. But its not the same from last year due to the numerous changes made to the rules by the governing body FIA. The major thing that will have the teams sweating out is the return to the use of slick tyres.It makes all the teams compete on level grounds,. The next big change has been made to the front and rear wing designs ensuring less downforce. This will in turn ensure the speed of the cars a bit reduced than lst year. But the biggest debate is reserved about the use of KERS(Kinetic energy reuse system),which allows cars to store the energy saved during deceleration and use it to get maximum speed in a straight with just a push of a button. There has been a lot of speculation about the use of this system. Also stated is the winner takes all system for deciding the championship. So it promises to be an interesting season with so many changes,but the biggest question is can it sustain the interst levels of last year when the championship was decided in the last corner of the last lap in the last race o0f the season.Lets wait and see.

Is Man Utd Experiencing a Slump?

The recent events unfolding in the premier league have thrown the title race open for liverpool to catch up. But apart from this the most glaring aspect is the raggedness of ManUtd. Their display for months have been of thr mark but they have been able to scrap out results in their favour. But now their ruthlessness has been dismantled by consecutive league defeats. Incidently this is the first time after 150 games they have faced consecutive defeats in the league. Suddenly everyone who wanted to avoid the red devils before,wants a piece of them now.But they have Sir Alex at the helm and he knows how to get the ship out of troubled waters. But this time it may not be easy as it looks,because Liverpool have their captain Steven gerrard in the form of his life and would want title glory after all these years in the wilderness. So Sir Alex Ferguson may even indulge in the tried and tested tactic of indulging Rafael Benitz in a mind game. Remember 1996 when the then Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan succumbed to the mental warfare of ferguson and surrendered the title to the red devils. But i don't think Benitez is a man like Keegan and so we can expect a tough fight till the very end. All that the footballin world and fans worldwide now need is that ManUtd can shrug of its rustiness and play the kind of football that made them the world beaters in the treble year of 1999.

May the best team win

Things are getting heated up in the Barclays Premier League as manutd have been trashed by Liverpool which has reduced their points advantage to 4 points. Although ManUtd have a game in hand , the result has made Liverpool and Chelsea excited at the prospect of toppling the reigning Champions . And make sure both teams will be going at full throttle to ensure that ManUtd does not make it a hatrick of titles. It's a matter of pride for Liverpool as they don't want ManUtd to equal their recrd of 18 domestic league titles.Also Chelsea want to prove that they retain the same hunger and grit after the Scolari saga.But knowing ManUtd, they will want to avenge for that trashing and expect them to be more show more resolve and grit in the upcoming matches. So lets hope that the remaining matches live upto the expectation and show to the world taht English football league is the best league in the world at the moment.

Champions league Draw

I am very excited at the prospect of seeing the UEFA Champions league draw for the quarter finals. It's because my team ManUtd are one among them. Also in the fray are some of europe's elite teams such as Liverpool,Arsenal,Bayern Munich, Barca, Porto,Villareal,Chelsea. This is the first time that four English teams are in the mix for a quarter finals spot.The draw takes place today (Mar 20) at switzerland around 6.30 IST. To know the full details keep visiting this site. Ill keep you posted with all the details and also the reactions of the players.....

(Please pray that Liverpool are pitted against Barca)

Change in Formula One

FIA has just released a new ruling that will reward the driver with the most race wins in a season with the world title.

In a dramatic move less than three weeks before the start of the new season, the International Automobile Association (FIA) has opted to change the format, which, if used in 2008, would have seen Felipe Massa crowned champion.

The governing body's World Motor Sport Council has agreed to the proposal put forward by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management.

The allocation of points will remain the same as last year's 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 sequence.

The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will also be decided by the current points system with the constructors' championship unaffected.

"If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points," the FIA said in a statement.